Nerida decided to try out the Maize Maze again, she couldn't remember but she was pretty sure this was where one of the things was last time or was it somewhere else? Well she couldn't remember but she was on the hunt for more items in the sky.
A planet. Three Constellations. And a star. She loved looking for the stars and planets and stuff.

Setting down her telescope she set up and started looking around for things. She searched the sky for the constellations first. But no luck she couldn't see them. And no Sirius today. So that left Pluto.. Unless she couldn't find it over here.. She scanned the sky left to right and then she stopped suddenly and went to back to the left. There it was, silly little planet.. Wait it wasn't a planet anymore right? Or was it still? Dwarf Planet? Was that still a planet?

Michael could EASILY have turned Z around and pin her to the ground seeing how he was bigger than she was but he let her have her way, because he was good like that.

For that comment though, he was tempted stick his fingers up her nose. "You know what I mean." He said rolling his eyes at her. "Sometimes your Ravenclaw makes an appearance." While she was a true Gryffindor, she did have that bit of Eagle in her. It was to be expected considering most of her family were Ravvies.

Yes that would be funny and Mikey laughed with her. "Only thing is I reckon Cristiana would probably try and eat Barty." Uncle Adri and Aunt Briony's kid was as crazy as they came.

And while she wasn't expecting it, Mikey flipped her over and pinned her down. "Try and get out of that Kettleburn."

"If you're that eager to get out, leave the way you came." Could she find it? Alice cocked an eyebrow at her and jabbed a thumb back in the direction of the maze's entrance. If she knew where the exit was, would she still be stuck here?

She turned away from the girl and began debating which path to take herself.

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Originally Posted by Mell

Michael could EASILY have turned Z around and pin her to the ground seeing how he was bigger than she was but he let her have her way, because he was good like that.

For that comment though, he was tempted stick his fingers up her nose. "You know what I mean." He said rolling his eyes at her. "Sometimes your Ravenclaw makes an appearance." While she was a true Gryffindor, she did have that bit of Eagle in her. It was to be expected considering most of her family were Ravvies.

Yes that would be funny and Mikey laughed with her. "Only thing is I reckon Cristiana would probably try and eat Barty." Uncle Adri and Aunt Briony's kid was as crazy as they came.

And while she wasn't expecting it, Mikey flipped her over and pinned her down. "Try and get out of that Kettleburn."

UGh. WHAT WAS HAPPENING. Zahra's CHEEK was on the ground and she was basically the one EATING DIRT NOW. HOW HAD THIS HAPPENED.

She'd learned long ago, when Mikey started growing bigger than her that.... sometimes... she was just going to lose these battles. Even though she DID try, just as he instructed for her to get out, it wasn't ever going to happen.

"THEM'S FIGHTING WORDS. IF IM A CLAW, YOU'RE A PUFF WITH THE PUFFY PREFECT AS YOUR GIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRLFRIEND"

Definitely got dirt in her mouth with all the wiggling and shouting, so now there was a good deal of spitting. Zahra was trying to KICK him, but mostly she looked like a fish out of water.

And Mikey needed to remember that his BFF was not as big as him anymore and so he couldn't be as rough with her like he used to. Such a shame. He was just about to ease upon her when she went and said that.

"Eww she's like a million times older than me." Definite exaggeration there. No offense to Minnie or anything, she was a cool chick, he just never thought of her as girlfriend material.

Finally letting Zahra go, Mikey rested back on his haunches. "I'm getting hungry." Had she figured out how to get out of this Maize yet? "You got any food on you?" He had thrown his away in an attempt to leave an exit trail.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

And Mikey needed to remember that his BFF was not as big as him anymore and so he couldn't be as rough with her like he used to. Such a shame. He was just about to ease upon her when she went and said that.

"Eww she's like a million times older than me." Definite exaggeration there. No offense to Minnie or anything, she was a cool chick, he just never thought of her as girlfriend material.

Finally letting Zahra go, Mikey rested back on his haunches. "I'm getting hungry." Had she figured out how to get out of this Maize yet? "You got any food on you?" He had thrown his away in an attempt to leave an exit trail.

SPIT. Spitting. SPIIIIIIITTING out the dirt. PHEW. GROSS. Zahra used her sleeve to wipe her face, then she used Mikey's sleeve to wipe her face some more.

SHRUG WHATEVER THEY WERE TOTALLY IN LOVE. Zahra hated that Puffy Prefect and she thought Mikey should too. SHE WAS NOT COOL. NOT EVEN A LITTLE SHE WAS AWFUL. Why didn't he sit it?

"Yeah," she did. Or she would. Zahra reached up and broke off an ear of corn, then she handed it to Mikey. "Eat that."

.... "And give me a lift up. Lemme on your shoulders, man. I'll find us a way out of here." Zahra went ahead and started climbing him anyway.

Mikey had absolutely no idea why Zahra hated Minnie so much. Surely it couldn't be because of what happened in Charms. He had just been messing around with the whole Minvera was his Prefect thing.

He stared at the corn she had handed him before flinging it away. "I'm not eating that. It's not cooked." Not to mention it would take forever in a day to get the husk off.

"Geez Z! Hang on woman!" She was like a bloody monkey. He crouched down so that she could get up on his shoulders. "And don't pull my hair." Or he would send her flying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

Mikey had absolutely no idea why Zahra hated Minnie so much. Surely it couldn't be because of what happened in Charms. He had just been messing around with the whole Minvera was his Prefect thing.

He stared at the corn she had handed him before flinging it away. "I'm not eating that. It's not cooked." Not to mention it would take forever in a day to get the husk off.

"Geez Z! Hang on woman!" She was like a bloody monkey. He crouched down so that she could get up on his shoulders. "And don't pull my hair." Or he would send her flying.

Since when did TOUSSAINT get all hoity toity? Zahra would probably eat corn uncooked if she was hungry enough. On the other hand, if he'd just HOLD STILL and let her on his shoulders, she'd get them out of here and to the Great Hall ANYWAY.

"I'm not touching your hair, geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez, man. It's not like Lex is out here to see anyway." EYES ARE ROLLING. ROLLING OF THE EYES. AS IF HIS HAIR MATTERED. PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.

But anyway... UP on his shoulders, sitting happily now, Zahra could just BARELY (not really) make out.... "Castle's that way." She was pointing, "So I think.... I .... I think we might die in here. I can't see. Wanna levitate me higher?"

There was EYE ROLLING on his side as well. It wasn't because he thought she would mess his hair up. And he knew for a fact that Lex couldn't care less if his hair was messy. No, it was because it HURT alright? He had a sensitive head. "You're just gonna bring her up every chance you get?"

MORE EYE ROLLING. "I've never levitated a person." But hey there was a first time for everything and who better to try it out on? If she wasn't keen on that though.

"Why can't we just cut straight through the corn?"

Zahra tried to get down from his shoulders without any warning. His HAIR did get mussed, couldn't be helped. SLIIIIIIIIIIDING..... kind of falling....

"Like just walk in a straight line 'til we get out? Might work, but it's probably charmed or something to keep us out..." Zahra grunted and squished Mikey," but we could try that if you want since you can't levitate me."

"I didn't say I can't levitate you." He said, rubbing his head from where she had PULLED it while getting down. "I said I had never levitated a person before.

He looked at the stalks of corn and wondered if she was right about it being charmed to keepthings out. Or in. He didn't know which seemed more appealing? Trying to make their way through the stalks and see what happened. Or try and levitate Zahra and see what happened.

"What do you want to do?" And make it quick Kettleburn because he was getting really hungry now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

"I didn't say I can't levitate you." He said, rubbing his head from where she had PULLED it while getting down. "I said I had never levitated a person before.

He looked at the stalks of corn and wondered if she was right about it being charmed to keepthings out. Or in. He didn't know which seemed more appealing? Trying to make their way through the stalks and see what happened. Or try and levitate Zahra and see what happened.

"What do you want to do?" And make it quick Kettleburn because he was getting really hungry now.

Zahra smiled, ALL THE SMUGNESS in the WORLD behind that grin. "You need me to be the brains of all our operations, EH TOUSSAINT?" Zahra punched him playfully before running head first into the nearest WALL 'O CORN.

In theory, if they ran in a straight line, they'd get out. So... RUNNING! Or as much "running" as was possible in a corn maze.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Kettleburn." He would let her think what she wanted so long as she got them out of this damn Maize.

So Mikey took off after his BFF because wherever she went, he went too.

It almost seemed like forever since she'd taken her kneazle on a night time stroll out into the grounds. This was all of course necessary for homework reasons but at the same time it was a relaxing way to bond with the Feline. Good thing Professor Airey hadn't said they should go searching in groups then volunteered to go with, because then Felix would have to stay behind in the Common Room. She didn't think she'd have had the heart to leave him there. Maybe hide him under her shirt and hope he behaved? That could work, yes?

At any rate the kneazle was snuggled in her hoodie--not shirt, there was a difference--claws were no laughing matter. Scratches on her belly from her kneazle would be the least epic injury she'd ever gotten.

Actually no, she could think of a few others that were less dignified...anyway, she didn't want them, so into the hoodie you go. "What do you think we'll find this time?" She asked, her eyes scouring the night sky. Had to be on the alert, never know when a Constellation will pop out of nowher--

OHAI YOU UP THERE!!

You up there because she couldn't exactly make it out at first....it was all these stalks of corn man. It took some squinting, then a game of connect the dots but she finally decided that the figure thingy up there was Cepheus. Good to know.

With his re-cleaned telescope tucked away safely in his bag, Alec made his way down to the grounds again. Occasionally, the boy would stop to take a peek up at the skies to see if he could notice anything using his naked eyes but... no such luck. He also had his textbook propped open in his arms which he would refer to if he thought he spotted something in the skies. But, again, no such luck.

This continued right up until he was well inside the Maize Maze. When he had ventured in there, Alec didn't really know. Or... maybe he did but his brain hadn't really registered that he was in there until some time afterwards. When he was more or less lost in the maze. For a Hufflepuff, this seemed to happen quite a lot.

... Wait... what was...?

He stopped in his spot and glanced up at the sky... and then down at his textbook... and then up at the sky again. ... False alarm. Letting out a small grumble, the boy continued walking for a while until he came to another stop. He held the textbook up to the sky so that he could focus on a particular group of stars and the star chart at the same time. Compare...

... AND YES! Hey there Ce... Cepheus? Seh-phay-us? Or Seh-phee-us?

Whatever. That had been found! The boy GRINNED up at the sky.

... Okay, he needed to get out of here. And FAST.

This constellation was going to be a bit tricky for Caleb. He didn't even know how to PRONOUNCE it and it had taken him forever to find it on his star chart. Now he had to find it in the SKY. But hopefully it wouldn't be too hard since he got the chart thing figured out. Hmmm.

Heading over to the maze so he could get a good view of the sky, he took out the telescope he'd made and gazed into the night. Surprisingly, he got lucky this time - he found it almost right away! Guess looking at the chart DID pay off.

"Got you!" he chuckled to himself, making a quick note on his parchment. Oh, so Cepheus...yes, that was the name!...was all done and marked off his list.

Poor little planet that should still be a planet but isn't considered one because of bigger bully planets who fit the mold better and it just isn't fair.

Grumble. Grumble. Grumble.

She had strong feelings about this little dwarf planet, okay? And mostly because she was small too and understood that just because you were tiny, didn't mean you weren't as good as bigger peo-planets. Those scientists were being discriminatory. They totally were.

The blonde continued to grumble about things as she positioned her telescope and looked for the little guy. The adorable little guy who was totally still a proper planet in her eyes, okay?

Scan. Scan. Scannnnnnn.

BEAM!

Oh hey there, you. I see you. You totally aren't that small.

...and here she was at the maze again. Sophie had come here during the first week of school and went through the maze with a Ravenclaw boy she'd met on the boat. She hadn't seen him since then, though, which made her wonder if he'd maybe transferred or something.

Either way, she wasn't here for the boy. Not now. She was here, because she was roaming the grounds in search of stars, constellations, and planets for the Astronomy project. She paused mid-walk and set up her telescope. After a few minutes, she went behind the telescope to look up at the night sky.

She thought she saw Mars again, but she'd already documented a sighting of it. She kept searching the skies. She finally saw a star that looked somewhat more distinct than the others. She scanned through her star chart and found Antares, which looked pretty close to the star she was looking at. Hmm... Yes. Yes it was! Antares down, and just one more to go in group one!

The maze was sort of creepy at night, y'know? And even though she had her wand with her, she still sort of wished she brought company along too. It was always nice to have a friend with you. Unfortunately, she'd decided that looking for constellations would be easier alone for concentration purposes so this was totally her own fault. Totally.

Setting up her telescope towards the beginning of the maze, the blonde took a seat and looked upward, hoping to spot one of the things Airey wanted them to find.

Scan. Scan. Scannnn.

Hey! Was that Cepheus? Yeah, Cepheus! He was a king, right? And he was Andromeda's dad or something like that. In any case, Ella was pretty sure that the constellation she'd spotted was that dude. It couldn't hurt to double check her chart, though.

Yup. It was him! SCORE!

She was getting good at the star gazing stuff.

Sophie was really getting sick of this maze. For one, she wasn't really that interested in it. Okay, so it was cool and all, but after going through it once or twice, it kind of got old. Maybe it wouldn't seem so old if she didn't have to keep coming out here looking for all those stars, planets, and constellations for Astronomy.

At least she was almost done with group two, though.

She paused just outside the maze--but not at the entrance--and set up her telescope. She pulled out her star chart just in case she needed it. When that was done, she started scanning the skies. She adjusted her telescope as things starting coming into focus. Wonder of all wonders, something came into focus right away. It was clearly something unique, because it looked different than the other things around it. She studied it for a few minutes then finally determined it was Pluto.

Awesome! She marked down the finding then collected her belongings to leave.

This one had a complicated name. Adi wasn't even sure how to pronunce it! It was Cepheus. After setting up his telescope and star chart, he began his search still trying to figure out how to say the name. "Cep...he...us...Cepheus?'' It sounded so weird. He'd ask Flamsteed about it sometime.

The minutes ticked by and still the first year searched. It seemed he was having some trouble with this one. Of course. The name gave him trouble and now finding it was a challenge. More minutes ticked by until..."Found you!'' Yep! He had found another constellation.

Sophie found herself right back at the maize maze in search of more planets, stars, and constellations. She was in a slightly better mood this time, though. Why? Well, she was now on group three of the project, which meant she was on the final list--for now. There was supposedly one more list that hadn't been released yet. By that time, though, she'd be in a really good mood, since she would be at the very end of the project.

This thing had taken forever.

She circled the maze and found a place where she wasn't blocking any entrances or getting in the middle of all the people. She set up her telescope and got out her star chart. She paused ever so often and checked her star chart and telescope to compare what she saw. It took a good ten minutes, but finally she saw Cepheus! WOOT!

One down, four to go.

From the lake she shuffled around until she stood by the Maize maze. The walk took her some time only because she made sure of that. She wanted to waste as much time as she could manage to. Though she couldn't afford to waste much. But so far she could allow it.

Contemplating whether to enter or not, she found herself entering and walking between the corn fields. Although that might take her time, she couldn't ignore the fact that from here she was able to locate a few constellations, stars and planets in the past months. So she had to check and look. And hope that she wasn't going to get lost for long time.

Before holding up the telescope, she made a quick mental plan of where she was going to head and where she remembered the exit was. Hoping that the bunch of times she managed to get out made her gain some experience in this.

Then she was holding the telescope up to her eyes and looking around at the blue clear sky above lingering on every spot and not letting anything pass her. She demanded from herself to be patient and it paid off since her eyes located Cepheus after a while. But at least she did!

After double checking, she slid the telescope into the bag and turned her attention on how to get out of the maze.

It seemed like everyone was out today for Astronomy homework! They might be ending their night's search, but Tora was just beginning hers. Tora passed at least two other students walking in, toting star charts and telescopes behind them. She didn't need a star chart, she had her Astreglobe. She smiled as she slipped her hand into her pocket, under the flap, and touched it's familiar surface. She usually carried it around with her, but had sewn a special flap over the pocket in which it was kept after it had been shaken out of her robes by a suit of armor in Ancient Runes.

She looked to where the students were coming from to see if she could find the spot where they had seen Cepheus and go there too. It would save more time for stargazing. Seeing that they were coming from the Maze, and confirming it to be a good place to find the star on her Astreglobe, she started off across the grounds.

After setting up her telescope, and searching the sky, she finally spotted the elusive star. It wasn't one she had known off the top of her head as easily identifiable, but she had found it eventually! It was nice of Professor Airey to give her a challenge. She grinned and got distracted by the surrounding pinpricks of light. Oops, she could be out here for hours!

Even though Alice had been expecting a constellation next... this was a star? Hm. Maybe it would do her some good to have properly read over Aireyhead's assignment before trying to complete it, but with her star chart and telescope in hand, it couldn't be that difficult.

The sixth year reassembled her telescope once she thought she'd found a good stargazing spot, making sure to clean the lens once more before trying to look through it. Antares, right? The red supergiant. If she wasn't mistaken, this one should have been in the constellation Scorpius, so as soon as she'd found that one, Alice was golden.

This was actually a really fun final, did Flamsteed know? She'd tell him sometime.