Hanna wasn't optimistic about the getting in trouble bit with the tea. She wasn't about to argue with a Professor, but he did know that Professor Stewart was sacked, didn't he? What if Professor Scrimgeour came to 'observe' and saw that Professor Kennedy was just giving them all tea and hot chocolate and gave him the sack too? But no, he was much, muuuuuch older than she was, so surely he had thought about that.

Anyway. She was just participating in class activity by drinking her tea. So, rather than stress about it, she sipped away.

Astronomy. It wasn't Hanna's best subject. So, when it came to facts about the moon she really didn't have any, and those she did have were already being spoken about. Hm. One thing she WAS good at was potions. She raised her hand before saying "Fluxweed can be used in a Polyjuice potion if it's picked during a full moon." Well, it wasn't really a fact about the moon, but it was related to the moon. Maybe. Possibly? Ah well.

It had seemed Astronomy was a Safe Space for now. The Cups of Tea or Hot Cocoa were very welcome and wanted. Mark sipped his cup of Hot Cocoa as he listened to many of the other answers being said. He was surprised it hadn't been brought up though Nettie had said something that could have been expanded upon.

"Professor, the Moon has no Atmosphere. So, like Nettie said before. There are a lot of craters on the moon from asteroids. That's because the Moon doesn't have an atmosphere like we do to protect it from them." Or slow them down, at least.

The moon....she looked up at it and thought hard of a good fact about it. She much more liked the stars, but the moon was important. Finally thinking of something she raised her hand as the Professor had instructed and waited for the Professor to call on her. When he did, she spoke,

"The way the moon rotates, it means we only ever see one side of it, that's why there's a dark side, like in the Muggle song."

Nathan stared at the moon. He wondered what was there to be said about it. He wasn't very much interested in it but he knew most cultures follow the cycle of the moon closely. He raised his hand to answer, "Its roughly 28 days from New to Full to New Moons. The cycle repeats every month for most cultures who still follow the lunar calendar." Kind of reminds him of menstruation cycles for girls. Of course, he knew that much.

Kalen watched as the answers came in quickly and he nodded to every student as they gave their answer, and as each person’s answer came in, he would wave his wand and what they said would appear written in gold letters in the air. He wouldn’t be giving direct answers to what everyone said. But he wanted to see if anyone would mention what the lesson would be on.

Text Cut: Answers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Students Answers

The moon controls the tides,- Skylar
" The moon is the Earth's only permanent natural satellite Sir." - Stella
“It’s really just a big rock and it looks so bright because the light from the sun reflects onto it.” -Maxton
"The moon goes through phases of visibility throughout the month, known as waxing and waning, which is caused by the position of the earth, relative to the sun."-Natasha
"Turns out, the moon is just REALLY big. Which is why people everywhere see the same moon, no matter where they're standing."- Zoryn
"All those holes we see on the moon are craters created on impact by asteroids that hit the surface," - Nettie
”The earth only has one moon, other planets have many moons.””-Juniper
"It takes the moon roughly 27 days to orbit Earth once, Professor"- Dorian
"Well...the moon is NOT made out of cheese."- Thadius
"People say that the moon has quakes because of the, uh, the pull from the Earth? Something to do with gravity?" He didn't really remember WHY. "But they're called moonquakes!”- Lucas
"Its orbit around earth is not circular, but more of an oval, which is why the moon sometimes looks a lot bigger or smaller than other times."-Natalie
“Sir, the moon is the fifth largest moon in our Solar System. Although, there are hundreds of moons altogether”. - Ewan
"Professor, the moon has a different gravitational force than that of the earth, so on the moon you would seem lighter because there's not as much gravity pushing down on you.”- Kaitlynn
"It... well, it plays a big part in werewolves' conditions. I don't really know why other than because magic. But, yeah, when it's full..." - Abra
"The Moon holds influence over many creatures, specifically a full moon. Mooncalves only comes out of their burrows during it to perform their mating dance..." And his eyes naturally went to look for Natalie after saying this. "...it can also induce the hatching of basilisk eggs and witches and wizards infected with lycanthropy transform into werewolves when exposed to it...like Ab-----ra mentioned just now."- Derf
"Fun fact: If we're on Earth, we'll only ever be able to see the same surface of the moon because the moon orbits in the same direction as Earth. It has a synchronous rotation. So if you want to see the so called "dark side of the moon", you'll have to get into a spacecraft to see it." - Chase
"It impacts when and how potions are brewed, and it has a huge impact on Divination. So there's definite magical influence, in addition to gravitational."- Chloe
"The full moon specifically has been linked to the changing of werewolves. Several other creatures have also been known to take their cues from the moon."- Jessa
“Once someone told me that the moon is the same size anywhere in the world.” he looked at his notes quickly, “but I’m pretty sure that can’t be true.”- Patrick
"The moon is moving away from earth. I think at about 4 cm a year? I can't remember exactly, but yeah... it's drifting away from earth.- Madison
"There's earthquakes, well I guess they'd actually be called moonquakes on the moon. They've actually been measured by seismometers left there by the Apollo moon missions.- sterling
"Fluxweed can be used in a Polyjuice potion if it's picked during a full moon."- Hanna
"Professor, the Moon has no Atmosphere. So, like Nettie said before. There are a lot of craters on the moon from asteroids. That's because the Moon doesn't have an atmosphere like we do to protect it from them."-Mark
The way the moon rotates, it means we only ever see one side of it, that's why there's a dark side, like in the Muggle song." - Lizzie
“Its roughly 28 days from New to Full to New Moons. The cycle repeats every month for most cultures who still follow the lunar calendar." - Nathan

He nodded as it looked like everyone who would answer did. “Before I continue with the lesson, if anyone is uncomfortable with the beverages I have provided, especially the prefects, they can leave. No one is keeping you here and the homework assignment will be on the bulletin board outside my office as usual.” He said as he eyed Jessa, Derf, Abra, Daisy, Destiny and Maxton. “If you guys need to go due to “rule breaking, or for the sake of your badges and your notebooks.. feel free.”

He waited for a beat and then turned to the rest of the class.

“You all did amazingly well, and have some great knowledge about the moon. Several of you mentioned how it affects magical plants for potions, as well as magical creatures such as werewolves and mooncalves, and then we have the basic answers as well, it controls the tides, has no atmosphere, has impact craters from the asteroids that has impacted it, not to mention the moonquakes, the drifting away as well as the moon being the same size wherever you look.” He said with a smile. “All of those answers are good and if I was teaching a lesson on the moon, I’d practically have my lesson done for me. ” He said as he took a sip of his tea and looked around.

“The Moon as you can see, does so many amazing things, however something happens to the moon, that none of you mentioned. Something that will start soon enough actually.” He said as he glanced up again and smiled as he saw the edge of the moon start to darken just a bit.

It was right on schedule, and he checked his watch again.

“Tonight we will be seeing an Eclipse. Does anyone know what that is? Can anyone tell me anything about Eclipses?” He asked as he looked around with a smile.

OOC: The question is easy, what do they know about Eclipses! Just one fact each please! I’ll be moving on in about 36 hours or so.

Madison had made sure to take notes of everything that her classmates had mentioned about the moon. Some things she had already known, like how it controls the tides, but others were new to her. She wanted to make sure that she was covered for anything that might come up on a test.

The discussion turned to eclipses, something that she also knew a little bit about but not too much. Madison raised her hand. "I believe that for an eclipse to happen, the sun, earth, and moon are either exactly aligned, or very closely aligned." There was a word for that, but it wasn't coming to her mind right now. She couldn't remember.

Benji had been sipping his tea defiantly, HEADMASTER WHO? Although of course he would never publicize that thought EVER and listening to his classmates answer the first question. He had nearly raised his hand about twenty times, but every time, somebody else said what he'd been thinking. Oh, well. Now was his chance!

He raised his hand and offered, "Sometimes the moon turns red during an eclipse, called a blood moon. It happens when some of the sun's light still filters through the earth's atmosphere and bends toward the moon. Red is usually the only wavelength that makes it all the way there." There were probably more scientific terms for that, but it was close enough, right?

Honestly, blood moons were kind of scary. They just looked... evil. They wouldn't be seeing a blood moon tonight, would they? Because Hogwarts already felt pretty evil these days...

...

.....

............

..................

The reactions happened all at once. The blood drained from her face, her throat went dry, her mouth fell open agape. The Ravenclaw was simply more stunned than words could express. Not a single comment....acknowledgement....acceptance that he was in fact more aware of his actions than he was trying to play it off as. The man was really going to pretend like there was nothing wrong here.

Except not? In the next second, he was....well frankly he was calling them out for not simply going along with the rule breaking and it left her all the more appalled. By now, Jessa had opened her eyes, fixing them firmly on the man who'd now put her and the prefects on the spot. To be uncomfortable with the rule breaking put them against the rest of the class and the Professor himself with all his encouragement of the opposite. He was essentially aligning them with the Headmaster. On the flip side, stay and take on the responsibility themselves should Scrimgeour really make that appearance. He could always say they'd been given the chance to leave and decided to stay and condone the bad behaviour.

Why would you do that?" She asked, her brows knitting in confusion as she collected her things. The 7th Year gave no explanation for her question but she was shook, properly shook by Mr. Kennedy tonight. One action after the other had sank the man in her regard and the lesson itself was proving to be more anxiety than it was worth.

Jessa turned her gaze to the floor as she left, still determined not to see anyone sipping so she wouldn't have to report. Better to be back in her lab than here and if the man had specifically given her permission to not be here, then she would take it and save herself further anxiety. To say she was disappointed would be an understatement but she was glad for the opportunity to skip class and go back to her own interests so maybe it worked out.

She didn't bother looking back to see if anyone else was walking too. This decision was for her. For her sanity.

Derf was admittedly a little embarrassed to see his answer transcribed word for word upon the board like that all the way down to his stuttering over Abey's name - to which he gave his Gryffindor a bit of a sheepish look in apology because...that had to be a little awkward for him too.

Piece of parchment now out to jot down notes, Derf found himself hesitating before he even had time to date and title the paper. Head shooting up and eyes locked on the former librarian, Derf had to take a few beats to properly understand what was being said. Struck with a jolt of guilt because, well, whatever damage the man had been hoping to avoid was more than a little late and the Hufflpuff felt like sinking beneath his robes for acting on petty and emotional impulse. Though really...he had been on such a brigade against food and drink in lessons for so long now that he wasn't all that sorry.

But it was what the man said next that really hurt. He was acknowledging that there was rule breaking going on (which was fine on it's own because Derf owned up to when he was doing things against code but doing them anyway) but it was what came next that stung like the sting from a bullet ant. He felt betrayed and the 16-year-old wasn't sure that he would be able to explain why when he himself couldn't entirely understand the feeling. His chest constricted and he just stared, agape, ahead at the Slytherin Head of House who seemed to be putting the education of his students on the back burner to something else. He didn't have to be here but he had wanted to be...and now he felt..unwanted? It was all terribly confusing and one thought contradicted another, one action negating another...which left him in a terrible spiral that was guiding his actions: packing up his things.

At least now he wouldn't have to stress about himself with the 9 pm curfew?

Solemnly, the Hufflepuff dropped his things into his enchanted briefcase just as he saw Jessa get up and leave. Biting his lip, he offered Maxton a small shrug as he stood and, with a heavy and bruised Hufflepuff heart, began retracing his steps back to the castle in pursuit of Jessa. Hopefully...they wouldn't run into the Headmaster on their way back. Or if they did it wasn't while out on the grounds as it only was now that he recalled the rule about not being out unsupervised after 5 pm on the grounds. So much to remember now. SO MUCH.

And right now he just wanted to flop in his bed and cuddle with Cholera.

Eclipse though...well, he reckoned he could always view that from one of the windows in the castle if nothing else.

Merlin, Professor Kennedy was dismissing people if they wanted to leave? Well not this Ravenclaw. Not that she was a student leader, but still!

She remained solidly in her seat, and took another sip of her drink.

Hanna followed the Professor's gaze up to the moon. An eclipse! She really didn't know much about them at all. She mostly just knew that it was when one object moved in front of the moon and blocked it for a while. So, really, that was all she could offer. Raising her hand she said "An eclipse of the moon is when something moves in front of it." Well, a very crude definition anyway.

She was also quite surprised as she watched Jessa and Derf.. leave. They left!

Huh?

Max blinked in confusion when Professor Kennedy gave him and the other Prefects present permission to leave the session if they wanted. If it had been any other class, he probably would’ve taken up the offer. Especially if it was Herbology. He was more than happy where he was right now though.

He hadn’t really been expecting any of the others to get up and leave either, and Max watched in bewilderment as first Jessa and then Derf packed up their things and left. They just ….. LEFT. Because of some refreshments……?

Oh well. That meant more hot chocolate for him. He sipped some more, enjoying all the chocolatey goodness.

Professor Kennedy had assured them everything was fine, and Max believed his Head of House so he opted to stay put. Besides, he didn’t want to miss this eclipse that was apparently going to happen.

“Eclipses don’t happen very often, do they Sir?” He raised his free arm in the air, “so it’s sorta special when they do happen?”

Hence why he was choosing to stick around. Yep.

Ryan raised his hand. "Professor the moon is made from cheese, they found that out in the episode of Wallace and Gromit. Wallace run out of cheese and so goes to the moon to have a cheese cracker." Ryan loved watching that programme over and over again.

Now Daisy was really confused at Professor Kennedy's words. She was at a bit of a dilemma but she decided to not remove herself from the lesson. She nervously bit her lip as Jessa and Derf departed the lesson. Daisy then looked at Max and was glad that he was staying. Her mind was reeling too much for her to answer the question, so she just sat quietly.

Brown eyes were watching, watching to see who took Professor Kennedy up on his offer to leave. Making notes so as to not necessarily exclude or be unfriendly to those who did, but to be wary of them. Only to let out a small gasp when Derf was one of said students. Great. That meant that she had to be wary in her own common room. But it also didn’t really make a lot of sense to her either. Hadn’t he had his badge temporarily taken away for ‘mouthing off’ to Fletcher?

As for the eclipse…..”They only happen during a full moon.” Could they eclipse Scrimgeour and his flunkies from the planet already?

Ryan raised his hand. "Professor an eclipse is a tv programme right, something to do with total eclipse I think it's about when something blocks the moon or something like that and so for an hour or so you can't see the moon at all.

She watched as Jessa grabbed her things and left followed by a Hufflepuff Prefect. She waited to see if any of the other student leaders would get up and leave but they stayed put. Kaitlynn wasn't going anywhere either. If that made her a rebel, then so be it.

She stared at the moon for a moment and then raised her hand, "Not every lunar eclipse is a full lunar eclipse and this can cause them to have different time lengths." She took a very small sip of her tea and continued to stare up at the sky.

Nettie frowned as Jessa and Derf got up and started to leave. UGH. This entire school was going down the drain thanks to the Headmaster and his stupid rules. The prefects were being called out for literally the DUMBEST thing. Beverages. But rules were rules, and they were ALL in a tough spot because of it. Sigh.

She turned back to the professor and wrinkled her eyebrows. Um, eclipse? Drat. She couldn't remember what that meant. She flipped through her book as the rest of the class spouted off answers around her.

Uh.

Had her ears just deceived her? Did he say ANYONE (especially the prefects, but also ANYONE) could go?

They were allowed to just LEAVE? No questions asked?

Zoryn took a moment to look around the room, see if anyone else was taking the bait too. As soon as the sixth year saw BOTH Jessa AND Derf get up and walk away…

LOL THE REST WAS HISTORY.

Zoryn had skipped plenty of classes in her lifetime, but perhaps this was the easiest. She quickly threw things into her bag and got up before her Professor had a chance to change his mind. The rest of the kids who were sticking around?

HA, NERDS!

Who would willingly stay to LEARN when they were just given A GET OUT OF JAIL FREE card.

Bruh. Zoryn didn’t even have a problem with the beverages. She just didn’t want to be in class, like, ever.

Lizzie listened to the Professor as he spoke glad that her answer had been accepted. She was also slightly shocked when she heard about a curfew, she must have missed that announcement. She watched as a number of the Prefects left, including Derf. She would take extra good notes and let Derf copy them later.

The Professor looked towards the moon again, where it was beginning to grow dark increments at a time, an eclipse! It was amazing to see one without the pollution of city lights, so many more colours appeared on it's surface reflected to the earth. She let some of the others answer and then spoke.

"Unlike Solar eclipses, Lunar eclipses are safe to watch with the naked eye without risk of damaging them."

...........

Uh. So, people were leaving.

Lucas blinked as he looked around and saw the Head Girl and then the Hufflepuff Prefect and Zoryn get up and go. It was.... sad. What if they wanted to stay? And wanted to learn? But something - and he didn't really understand what because it was all very confusing and he wasn't a student leader - was stopping them so they had to go. For themselves. He didn't..... really like any of this so he just sat there and sipped on his hot choc-

THEY WERE GOING TO WITNESS AN ECLIPSE?!

Lucas sat up immediately, his eyes wide. This was happening today? TODAY?! His mind immediately went to one Mr Airey Flamsteed, who'd been teaching them when they were young, and silently started wondering if the man was going to be watching the eclipse today too. Maybe he should write and ask. Maybe.

But letters were being inspected which...... made him feel worried to send anything in writing.

Shaking his head to scratch out that idea, he started thinking about the question. What DID he know about eclipses? He knew that there were two types: the one that has the sun and the one that doesn't have the sun. Basically. And...... oh! His hand went up in the air. "So..... uh, a lunar eclipse," Which was what they were concentrating on, right? "can last up to..... I think it's four hours? Yeah, FOUR! That's a very long time."

Ewan couldn’t help but snicker over the fact that he’d missed the eclipse that was scheduled to happen tonight. How on earth did he miss it when he’d looked up at the moon he’d never know.

Delving deep into his bank of knowledge now, he briefly considered everything he knew about eclipses, having covered them way back when he was still in Muggle primary school. “Sir, there are two different types of eclipses. You can have an eclipse of the sun, which is called a solar eclipse, and an eclipse of the moon, which is called a lunar eclipse”. Ewan couldn’t help but look up at the moon in excitement now, ready for the eclipse to happen.

Natalie had pulled out her notebook to jot down things as she saw need to that were added to the board up front. Most of them she knew already, but some were interesting to add. She looked up when Professor Kennedy continued... and her eyes went as wide as the moon when he told some of the students that they could leave...

Because he was obviously breaking the rules and the Prefects were obligated to report him. And he clearly didn't care. But... by doing so, he was either getting those prefects in trouble by NOT reporting him or he was making them leave class and miss the lesson because he was being defiant and breaking the rules himself.

It was like Herbology all over again. Why couldn't the professors just make it easy on them?

Natalie's blue eyes immediately turned to Derf. She wasn't sure what she expected him to do, but she wasn't really surprised when he gathered his things and left. Natalie herself was honestly a little torn. Kennedy's actions seemed childish at the moment because he was sort of acting out like a lot of the students had done against the new Headmaster and his rules.

It left a bad taste in her mouth.

And now her stomach hurt.

Glancing nervously between Derf, the castle, and the Professor, Natalie's brain went a mile a minute and she turned her attention back to her notebook. But she couldn't focus. The Professor's words just echoed in her ears. So, Natalie closed her notebook. Then she packed her bag and stood. She gave the professor a somewhat apologetic look (but also somewhat of a glare), and then slipped out of her seat, following Derf, Jessa, Zoryn and the others back up to the castle.

And then she made another realization. She wanted to talk to her mother and ask for her advice, but the school's ruling system now blocked and changed letters coming in and out of the castle. So, she was walking away from a Professor who was probably fighting for a good cause and walking towards a school that was trying to keep her save by invading her privacy.

Eclipses? Solar or lunar.....

Hadn't a famous adventurer been able to get out of trouble by using an eclipse to his advantage? Chase paused, trying to jog his memory about a particular article that his father had come home and happily re-told at least twenty times (or more perhaps) to his mum, his sister, and him. AH!

Yes. Christopher Columbus, right?
....... Maybe. He wasn't sure.

"A Lunar eclipse only happens when syzygy occurs between the Earth, moon, and Sun. That means all three of the celestial bodies are aligned?"

Uhhhhhhh... what? Leave???

For a moment, Abra sat, slightly wide-eyed, wondering if he was actually sort of actually being reprimanded for being uncomfortable with the whole drinks thing. Rationally, he knew that wasn't the tone of what Kennedy was saying, but the irrational side of his brain was an awful lot louder. And now... well, now he didn't know what to do.

Which meant he started to fret, which led to anxiety, which meant a lot of squirming and fidgeting and feeling a little bit like his heart was trying to escape his chest. Others were leaving, and he was apparently free to go with them, but wasn't it likely that that would ultimately get him into trouble, especially if the Headmaster caught wind of it? But then, was it also possible he'd get into trouble for turning a blind eye to the beverages in the lesson? Abra didn't know. He didn't have a clue what to do.

But, in the end, doing nothing was a whole lot easier than actively choosing to do something, which was why Abra kept his seat, and didn't follow the others away from the lesson area. He still felt anxious, and like something bad was going to happen very soon, but he stayed. All the fretting, however, took him far, far away from the state of mind required for giving intelligible answers in the lesson. Eclipses? The very little he already knew about them - that it had something to do with how the earth, sun, and moon were aligned - had already been said anyway, so Abra did what he fully believed was the smart thing to do, and kept quiet. Actually, his anxiety was starting to make him feel more than a little bit nauseous.

Taddy was confused on the situation, so the Prefects weren't allowed to be here since it was too early? Oh, that's right. They had to report anything wrong. But... why was this class being early so bad? Proper sleep time was good for everyone's health. So he blinked at the words of the Professor. What was going to happen then if they reported it or stayed? He wrapped his blanket tighter. "An Eclipse.. I hear it can blind you if you stare at it too long without special glasses." He said this after raising his hand of course.

Now why was that Gryffindor saying lies. "Um, no it's not true. The board says so, the moon isn't made of cheese." Tad just had to insist.