| Ramora
Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kita's pocket
Posts: 5,228
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Aslan Archer
Slytherin First Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Rose Woods
Gryffindor Second Year
Ministry RPG Name:
Amrita Sandhu
Law Enforcement
Ministry RPG Name:
Laleh Kiani
 x9  x6
|  ˝ of Lauralie | Koala | The being in Ern's pocket | Baby Smurf | Prouf member of The Flock
SPOILER!!: SneakySeverusSnape Quote:
Originally Posted by SneakySeverusSnape  Analiese untied her scarf as she greeted Professor Sandhu. "It's Anderson now, Professor.", she explained. She walked to her desk and hung her woollen scarf on the back of the chair. "My day's been alright, thanks. I'm just a bit tired. What about yours?", she answered in response to Avalon's question. She yawned and waited for the lesson to start.
Once the door shut, Analiese's eyes turned to Professor Sandhu. She thought carefully about the question before raising her hand. "The power of nature taken from astronomy can help to make new spells and potions.", she simply said. She couldn't be bothered to say more. She was too tired. She needed her bed. Simran blinked. Of course it was Anderson now. She had known that since the beginning of the year, but it was difficult to kick oneself out of old habits. She had the same problem last year, with Drewett Gunther. “Of course, dear. My apologies. Won’t happen again.”
Analiese’s response to the question caused Simran’s eyes to narrow. This copout of an answer felt uncharacteristic, and while she understood that the lateness of the hour was something to take into account, she wondered why the girl had bothered to raise her hand at all. “A great many things can be used to make new spells and potions, dear. While it is true that Astronomy helps, I was looking for a more specific effect.” SPOILER!!: hermionesclone Quote:
Originally Posted by hermionesclone Lucas couldn't help but smile at her words. She seemed really proud of her house, didn't she? Or, both of their houses because it was one house. That. Yeah. She still seemed proud, which only made him smile even more.
The smile only stayed when Cole came and sat down near him. "Hey! How are-"
CLANK!
.............
Oh. Uh. That was..... awkward.
Instinctively, the boy tried to slide down his chair until he was under his desk, something that was a LOT harder to do now that he was...... well, still growing. Long legs, y'know? But that didn't matter right now. He started gathering up the items closest to the desk and trying to set them back on the desk again. A little awkwardly but, well, yeah.
Some items and a lot of shuffling on his hands and knees later, he looked up at Cole again. "Do you think that's everything?" Because, well, they were his items, after all. And how was his telescope? No cracks, right? He was hoping.
It was only when Sandhu started the class that Lucas shuffled back to his chair and sat down again. Astronomy. Astronomy and magical applications? He knew about the muggle science part but that was more obvious. This was..... less so, and that's what made him start thinking. Really thinking.
Some time later, he slowly raised his hand up in the air. "Well, see, Astronomy's helped with muggle medicines, right? So I guess the same could be said for Healing as well." Because logic, right? "Especially if there are some potions or pastes that need ingredients picked at the right time or according to the cycle of the moon." Or was this just potions in general? It was always heartwarming to see students help one another. And especially so when they happened to be Gryffindors, because Simran adored every opportunity she got to give house points to her little babies. “Take five points to Gryffindor for your assistance, Master Dakest.”
Meanwhile, she’d just… attend to the telescope now, yes. SPOILER!!: Nordic Witch Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordic Witch Ducking low to the ground Cole stuffed his belongings back into his backpack and to avoid any stares from his peers. He had a feeling there we’re some. Professor Sandhu of course had heard the loud clank as his telescope hit the floor. He supposed it had been hard to miss hearing. With most of his stuff back in it’s right place, Cole lifted up his telescope to examine it as he heard Professor Sandhu’s concerned queries. Not exactly sure if anything was broken even if it looked okay, he went up front with it to the professor saying "I think my telescope survived the fall Professor Sandhu, but can you please still look it over?" Leaving it on her desk Cole went back to his seat.
Minutes later the lesson begun with a question on astronomy’s application within magic. Erm. Cole listened to his peers answers for a while before he raised his hand to answer "I don’t know if it’s right, but being born under certain star sign I’ve heard can make you more apt at certain magic spells. If your born under a water sign like pieces you could be pretty apt at water spells and so on." Cole was probably way off but at least he had answered. The telescope now on her desk, she smiled gently at the boy as he retreated to his seat. She had been an astronomer long enough to have knocked over her fair share of telescopes, alongside more delicate and expensive equipment. She’d also been an astronomer in both magical and muggle spheres long enough to run diagnostics on both sorts of telescopes.
And because this one here was a magical telescope (was it one of those which recognised constellations? Simran had always found those cool, though they weren’t allowed during exams for obvious reasons), she ran her wand over it, and when nothing appeared to glow red after the charm’s completion, returned it to its owner.
“Everything seems to be in order. Quite a resilient telescope you have there." ”Well done, Master Dakest!” she exclaimed, thrilled. Though, really, she shouldn’t be surprised, considering the boy frequently came to her for additional astronomy worksheets. “Moon phases do indeed affect the properties of some ingredients, both in potions and alchemy. Fluxweed, commonly used in the Polyjuice and other form-altering potions, is a good example of something to be picked under the full moon.”
And as for Master Vance, he too received a smile. “Indeed, that is a very prevalent theory, and has yet to be conclusively proven,” she said, nodding. “There has been a great deal of speculation as to the connection between the astrological sign one is born under and the wand that becomes one’s life partner, and the natural affinity for certain magics.”
“I’ve heard that water signs make the best healers, and that fire signs are excellent offensive duellers, but that’s all hypothesis at the moment.” Sadly, speculation was all it was. “Perhaps one of you will be able to indisputably prove it.”
She had full faith. SPOILER!!: TakemetotheBurrow Quote:
Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow Cecelia couldn't WAIT until she'd perfecting warming charms. She imagined her own scarf would be SUPER nice to have wrapped around her neck when it was all toasty warm and she smiled just thinking about it. ...Only she had to STOP thinking about it PRETTY quickly 'cause before she KNEW it, they were starting class!
Cool thing WAS, Cecelia was NEVER allowed to stay up this late at home. Well, not unless there was a special occasion, so THIS having class SO LATE thing made her feel VERY grown up. As for the question being asked, she wasn't too sure? She could take a guess, though! "It helps in relation to dealing with magical creatures. Like, well, knowing when a full moon is coming will help you know when mooncalves will be out." She nodded seriously...and then smiled a little, just glad she was able to come up with something she was happy with. Simran could scarecely remember the thrill of perfecting warming charms – it had been so many years ago now, that she really didn’t think much of it when she performed it now. When she had been Cecelia’s age, though, she had done a whole happy dance in that charms lesson. Her charms professor had given her quite the look, and then took off three points for ‘excessive celebration’. Grouchy old grouch, her old professor was.
“Excellent, Miss Summers! And mooncalves are important, especially to herbologists. They’ve got some really special poop.” Wait. Was she allowed to say poop? “Dung, I mean. Mooncalf dung is a highly valued fertilising substance, due to its high nitrogen content.”
She was totally an adult. SPOILER!!: BanaBatGirl Quote:
Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl Ooooh, enchanted chalk! Enraptured, Bernadette watched the fancy piece of chalk squiggle across the board, then she attempted to do the same thing the chalk was doing on her paper.
Applications of Astronomy within Magic
Now then, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... Bernadette's small mouth hung open a bit as she tried to think of an answer. Of course she'd thought of one that built off Cece's response, but she knew better than to mention l y c a n t h r o p e s in any lesson at any point for any reason whatsoever anymore.
Nope, she wasn't falling for that one, not even from professors who may appear to be nice and kind toward Gryffindors! Hmm, wait, Bernadette DID have a DIFFERENT creature-related guess though. Her hand shot up with the same eager first-year enthusiasm as always.
"We can um, work with centaurs to study the stars, and make good star charts, and write down when the planets and stars move, and when we on Earth move, and then we can predict stuff, and thus I think we would be using astronomy in a ... divinit--dividend-- divination application?"
Erm? Was she speaking wizardese yet? Simran really wouldn’t refer to centaurs as creatures, although that may have been their official classification. She was firmly of the opinion that if wizards were to refer to other magical entities as beings, that they must also acknowledge that they themselves fell under the category. But, somehow, that was weirdly still controversial in the year 2099.
“Very good, Miss Grantham,” she nodded. Very fluent wizardese for a beginner. “It is a very important part of Astronomy, and in Astrology, which is the intersection of the subject with Divination.”
Though she wouldn’t go into too much detail, because she still wanted to ask the rest of the class this, and that would be really counterintuitive. SPOILER!!: FearlessLeader19 Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 The shutting of the door meant that the lesson was going to get started. The lateness at which the lesson was being held did not bother Claudine, actually. She liked to be up later than students her age because it usually meant that less persons were around to disturb her.
Anyway…
Astronomy and its applications within magic?
Claudine listened to a few responses then raised her hand. “For Divination purposes such as recording birth charts.’’ Sure, Bernadette had mentioned Divination but Claudine just briefly expounded on a particular topic within the subject in which Astronomy would be most useful. ”Indeed,” Simran nodded. “Well done, Miss Blaze. The intersection of divination and astronomy is a whole subdiscipline called astrology, and while many astronomers sniff at it, it is a delicate subject, and can easily be misinterpreted.”
The smallest miscalculations could change fortune to disaster, you see. It was a great deal more than luck and guesswork. SPOILER!!: Felixr Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir "Lovely to be here again, Professor." Honestly, it was. She was one of the good ones, Professor Sandhu. All the same, Kaiser wasn't really sure if her being a cool professor plus the night time classes would have been enough to make him want to take Astronomy (which he did not find easy) at NEWT level, even if he hadn't only achieved a Poor grade in his OWL.
Onto the lesson then and, true to form, they opened with a question that Kaiser could not easily answer. Of course, every time someone else provided a response, he realised he had already known what they'd said but just hadn't made the connection, which was... frustrating.
So he had to think for... a while. Long enough that Sandhu would have been forgiven for thinking that he was just sitting out this question, but then Kaiser raised his hand.
"The process of being an Animagus?" he tried. Not that this was anything he was remotely interested in, even before hearing what little he knew about the process. "They keep a leaf in their mouth from full moon to full moon. And then they have to spit out the leaf in the rays of the second full moon." There was more to it and all, but that was plenty of information. Moon. Astronomy. She got the idea. Simran always knew she could rely on Kaiser for a response that was away from what the others were thinking, so while she did throw her gaze on him more than once after she asked the question, she was just about to call on the next student when she noticed him finally raise his hand.
And to think she had thought he no longer cared for her subject. What a truly touching moment.
“Very good, dear! Astronomy, specifically with the changes in moon phases, can and does have a strong effect on transformations, whether caused by potions or by transfiguration. As animagus transformations require both, and require them strongly, it only follows that the moon would have strong effect on it.” SPOILER!!: Cassirin Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin Phoebe was so so excited to be in class this late at night, and she had to keep from bouncing around and breaking something. Like a telescope. Those were probably terribly expensive, right? She was so busy admiring EVERYTHING - the moon, the stars, the other students, whatever - that she almost missed the question being asked.
Phoebe's hand shot into the air. "We do star charts and things, so it must be important where we are in the whole UNIVERSE. Like... does that mean that gravity and the laws of physics and all that make a difference in how magic is performed? That must be what it means." She tried not to make it seem like she was asking a question, since she was meant to be answering one, but she HAD just confused herself. Simran would have been perfectly okay with her leaving the room to take a lap around the corridor and release some of that energy if she’d made clear that she needed it. She had a few students who did it on a regular enough basis that only a vague hand gesture and a nod had become all the necessary communication for permission to do so. Permission was important, though. She had to keep track of who was where, especially late at night.
“That is indeed what it means,” she nodded. “The forces and particles around us are a great part of what makes magic possible, especially since most spells are actually alterations made to the electromagnetic field of the earth, but I digress.” SPOILER!!: Bazinga Quote:
Originally Posted by Bazinga Chloe yawned as she tried to stay awake and listen. Her early morning was catching up to her now. Maybe on nights she had this class, she should try not to wake up super early to exercise. That was a note she as going to have to remember to make.
She wasn't fully sure of the answer, but others seemed to have something to say so she listened and wrote some notes as they spoke. If she was being honest she never really thought much of the magical side, she knew it was about stars and planets, but that was about it and she had enough trouble figuring all that out.
Looking up she drifted from the conversation going on and started thinking about where certain stars should be. Simran’s gaze fell on the younger McCarthy – although, she was the middle McCarthy to her now, since there was a new one in her first year class. She’d have to stop referring to this child as the younger. Or perhaps she could continue, and refer to her brother as the youngest McCarthy. Superlatives were truly superb.
But this one seemed to be spacing out, so Simran headed to her desk and rapped it with her knuckles in a sound both soft and sharp. “If you do not intend to contribute to the discussion, Miss McCarthy, I would recommend paying attention to those who are doing so.” SPOILER!!: Yaya Quote:
Originally Posted by Yaya Applications of Astronomy in Magic. Her brain was a little taken back, as she had been here and there all day and in the library the last hour before this class. Her hand was ready to be raised, thinking of a brief way to say it to give others a chance to talk.
She definitely raised her hand now, after a final thought in her head landed last minute. "The closeness of the moon from the earth, or some other celestials can affect the way some creatures behave in certain times of the year...this includes plants too." Not a wild guess but hopefully a pleasing answer. ”Indeed, Miss Barrie,” Simran nodded, and then took a moment to think on how to delicately phrase her next sentence. “Creatures influenced by the lunar cycle can be emboldened during a supermoon, and distressed during a blood moon.”
The intersection of the two was a cause of great concern for many magizoologists, and also why they were largely kept apprised by Astronomers, so that they could be prepared for what may happen. SPOILER!!: MadMadamMalfoy Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy Tina had just enough time to arrange her supplies neatly on the desk in front of her before Professor Sandhu began the lesson. She focused all her attention on the woman, hoping that listening would help her stave off the sleepiness. Well, that explained the late hour! Why was she not at all surprised that the Beauxbatons astronomy professor hadn’t found a better time slot for them? Desmaris treated the Hogwarts students like second class citizens, so of course her staff would follow suit. Mumbling matagots, she’d forgotten just how snobbish Beauxbatons could be! Was that how she sounded to everyone at Hogwarts?
Tina mentally shook herself to stop her wandering thoughts. Astronomy now, rage against injustice later. Back on track, she copied the words written on the blackboard at the top of her notes as she considered the question. Astronomy’s applications within magic… her first thoughts went to divination, but somebody beat her to it. Then she thought of potions, how some potions ingredients needed to be picked or added at certain times in accordance with the moon phases, but that was already said too. She was beginning to draw a blank when something that Hufflepuff girl (Nora) said jogged her memory.
Her mind went back to that herbology lesson about spiral gardens earlier in the term. Her hand shot up, and she said, “Astronomy can be useful in herbology. It’s important to know the position of the sun relative to your location so you know when to plant and what direction your plants should face to get the amount of light they need.” She also knew that the moon’s gravitational pull affected the amount of moisture in soil, but she kept that to herself, as it fell in line with the other girl’s answer and didn’t need repeating. Simran nodded in approval. “Indeed, Miss Dantes,” she said, turning to the blackboard to make sure all this was being written down. “Not only sunlight, but moonlight, especially for night-blooming specimens such as Norandula.” SPOILER!!: love-for-HP Quote:
Originally Posted by love-for-HP Blake thought about it for a minuet. What has astronomy taught him about his other areas of magic. "Well certain plants have to pick at certain cycles in the moon for potions and stuff." that seemed like a good answer ... yup ... he'd just leave it at that. ”And stuff,” Simran chuckled, but nodded nonetheless. “But yes. Indeed. Moon phases are important for the harvesting of ingredients, and also sometimes for alchemical refinement, as the pull of the moon on the magical tide can affect how magical properties express themselves.”
But that might be too much jargon. SPOILER!!: lazykitty Quote:
Originally Posted by lazykitty "Lycanthropy," Dalia replied with her hand raised. It was obvious, wasn't it? "When the moon is full, the affected person shifts into their werewolf form." It wasn't spellcasting, herbology, potions or even creatures, but it was still a part of magic. She was actually surprised at first that no one had thought of it, but on second thought, it was probably because of Professor de Nostradame's reaction to the mention. Even if it had all been in the way the kid had phrased it to the class. Obvious, yes. Polite, no, not really. Which was partly why Simran had been hoping nobody would bring it up, because it really was not a comfortable topic.
“Yes, indeed. The administration of the wolfbane potion is best done in the week preceeding the full moon, to give the victims of lycanthropy the ability to retain their presence of mind during transformation.”
And that was all she was going to say on the matter. SPOILER!!: pundantic Quote:
Originally Posted by pundantic Alessandro politely nodded to the Professor as he entered the Observatory. An already severe young man, he was somehow more reserved than usual due to the late hour. Al tried not to look like he would rather be back in the dorms, in his bed, but, well, Astronomy was not quite his cup of tea.
Still, he was polite. Yet quiet.
As the lesson started and the first question was posed, he jotted down some of his classmates suggestions for practical applications of Astronomy to magic. The only idea he could conjure was in regards to brewing potions. So many potions worked in tandem with moon cycles. But other peers seemed to be on the same train of thought as Alessandro, so his hand remained down and his mouth stayed shut. ”Two points from Hufflepuff for tardiness, Master Toussaint,” she said as he walked in. It was late enough that there really was no hurry from any other engagement. And while she did tolerate a great many things, she expected her students to be punctual. All of them. No matter. Two points was easily earned back.
However, as he did not offer a response when the question was posed, she simply sighed and with one last look at the room, resigned herself to moving on with the lesson. Clapping to regain the attention of the room, she gestured at the blackboard, where the more detailed of the answers given had been copied by the enchanted chalk. "Are we quite done copying? No? Very well, then."
She would wait. But only a few minutes, because she had a lot of material to cover today.
"As many of you mentioned, the sun and moon have great impacts on the magic we produce, and the magic in the world around us," she said, gesturing to the expanse of sky revealed by the dome of the observatory. "However, they are not the only celestial objects that influence it. Western Alchemy is linked with the Babylonian and Greek systems of Astrology, but all magical cultures have their own interpretations, despite many of which being proven effective, do not feature in our syllabus."
If they wanted extra reading, though, she could recommend some books. Some of which were available in the Observatory they were sitting in this very second.
“All seven classical planets – the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have gravitational effects on magic. In healing and alchemy, the most effective remedies for the heart are brewed during a solar eclipse, and during the lunar eclipse for illnesses of the mind. Mercury governs the lungs; Venus the kidneys; Mars the gall bladder, Jupiter the liver, and Saturn the spleen. Remedies for the vital organs governed by these modern planets are best brewed or prepared when the earth, moon and said planet align. A complete alignment of all the planets, while rare, is extremely valuable for the preparation of more potent longevity potions, and is part of why they are so expensive, despite having relatively simple ingredients.”
"In building and potion-work, the effects also extend to the known magical materials. The sun governing Silver, the Moon governing Mercury, and the naked-eye planets governing copper, gold, iron, tin and lead respectively. However, as Mercury has been proven toxic, we try to avoid experimentation on that front."
"The motion of the planets not only affects the magic that we produce, but also innate magic. Retrogade motion, for instance, invites decay, and it is important to be aware of these motions when building magical structures." Magical architecture was a delicate field, and a very small one.
Any questions? That was a lot of information, and even the board was straining to fit all of it.
"However, as we all know, it isn't always possible to have an astronomer on hand to tell us these things. How do most magicians keep track of these movements, and how do we avoid unwanted effects on the magic we perform?" OOC: Sorry about the delay, guys! RL stuff got unexpectedly fun yesterday, and I didn’t manage to get a post in before bed. You’ll have about 24 hours from the time of this post to get your responses in.
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