Sunny days sending the clouds away on Elective Hall

Professor McFarlan

September 23, 2007 5:50 PM

Third Year Class by Professor McFarlan

The third year students were greeted by the now familiar stars and planets. The recliners were replaced by desks. There would be some writing to do. Professor McFarlan stood, leaning on the edge of her desk. Dressed in emerald green robes and comfortable ballet flat shoes, she greeted each returning student with a smile and exchanged pleasantries with a couple that seemed to be glad to be back at school.

When the class came to order, Professor McFarlan touch the crystal with her wand and the great yellow star grew in prominence. Brightening the room (but not painfully so), it dimmed all the other glowing objects in the universe. Flares, like tongues of fire leapt from its rolling, boiling surface.

“Hello, welcome back to Astronomy.” Professor McFarlan said, genuinely glad to see the students again. She’d found that she had actually missed them over the summer. “As you remember, last term we studied our closest neighbor, the moon. This class will be devoted to the sun.

“If you remember, we discussed last class that magic is gender specific. The moon’s magical energy is female. The sun’s energy is male. Great Helios rules the day. We mark time by its path across our sky. We depend on its light and warmth for our very lives. It is our only true source of light. The strength and duration of its rays on the atmosphere determine our seasons.

“While not as changeable as the moon, the sun’s strength is changeable and different spells and potions react to its seasonal phases. In the winter when the sun’s light is at its weakest ancients lit bonfires with special woods to beg the sun to return and bring spring. Today, many holidays mark their heritage from those ancient times. Christmas, Chanukah, and Yule are a few examples.

“In spring the sun’s magical energy strengthens and, as we talked about in Charms last year, the Vernal Equinox is a perfect time for fertility, love, and artistic spells. Summer solstice, the sun’s most powerful time, increases the strength of combat spells and wizards enjoy several weeks between Beltaine and Lughnasadh where their powers increase in strength, peaking midsummer. This time period is also and excellent time for construction, magical and muggle. Autumn marks the fading of the sun’s magical energies. The veil between this world and the next thins and is the time for harvesting, preserving and remembering, hence spells and potions in these areas work the best.

“Now I would like you to refer to the third chapter of your textbooks and compose an essay about the sun. The more details the better. You might wish to put write about the sun’s circumference, distance from Earth or you may include solar flares and sunspots. Again, any myth, legend or magical facts you may want to add are also welcome. You may work in groups or alone, but I want a parchment from each of you.”

OOC: At least two paragraphs, the more imagination and detail, the better. Have fun.
\n

Subthreads:

Sunny days sending the clouds away by Eavan Valentine with Danae Dupree, Eavan

Walking on sunshines, whoaa... by Red Aarden with Nikki Ramirez

The sun is shiney by Echo Elms with Professor McFarlan

Slipping in last minute by Elly Eriksson

0 Professor McFarlan Third Year Class 1467 Professor McFarlan 1 5

Eavan Valentine

September 28, 2007 10:56 PM

Sunny days sending the clouds away by Eavan Valentine

Eavan liked astronomy if nothing, but for the fact that it had the most interesting classroom setting out of all offered at Sonora. She liked walking in from the normal, boring hallway into the vastness of space. Though she was disappointed to find regular desks had replaced the comfy recliners this year.

Choosing a desk at random, Eavan sat down and pulled out her textbook, ink and quill. They were learning about the sun this term. This made sense considering last year they learned about the moon.She wrote a fair bit of notes, but everything was rather garbled in her hurry to get everything down.

Setting her quill down and sighing, she grabbed her book and flipped it open to the third chapter and read. After finishing the chapter she tried to stat the essay, but it was slow-going.

Scratching out her fourth attempt at a first paragraph, she gave up, deciding that a list of the sun's qualities would be a better way to start.

Staring at her finished list, Eavan turned to the person next to her.

"Hey, how far have you gotten on the essay?"

0 Eavan Valentine Sunny days sending the clouds away 86 Eavan Valentine 0 5

Red Aarden

October 03, 2007 9:28 AM

Walking on sunshines, whoaa... by Red Aarden

Red did love Astronomy. There was something comforting about stars and celestial bodies, knowing that if they died they wouldn't for many many times her lifetime, and that even after they died they were there. Astronomy was one of the few things that made Red miss the mother she could barely remember. It made her miss Godewyn, too; he used to take her out and teach her about the stars. After she'd been invited to Salem and her father had to tell her about the magic that he'd disowned, Godewyn taught her why he always seemed to be sick at the same time every month, teaching her to trace the motion of the moon. Right now it was waxing and almost full, Godewyn's least favorite time--with the Wolfsbane he could handle the full moon, he just hated being sickly and weak beforehand.

There was a sudden flash of light, bringing Red out of her reveries; Professor McFarlan had created a kind of miniature sun in the middle of the room. It wasn't very bright, but compared to the dimness of the room it glowed almost painfully. Red was hypnotized by the flares.

Then came the assignment. Two paragraphs? That was all? It wasn't even creative! Smirking a little, Red put her pen to the parchment and wrote.

MOON: It's not fair, you know.
SUN: What isn't?
MOON: You. Just because you're the big man on campus, you shouldn't automatically get everything you want.
SUN: Says you.
MOON: Exactly.
SUN: Besides, it's not my fault that they [points to Earth with a flare] have an obsession with binary gender.
MOON: Oh, it isn't? I suppose you toying around with all those gods--Ra, Helios, Apollo--had nothing to do with the fact that they're now obsessed with male potency? And dear god, that they should find the face of a MAN on my surface! They admit me to being female, and yet give me male characteristics--
SUN: Oh, be quiet. They love you. You're beautiful, and they like beautiful things. All their lives they're told not to look at me. I'M the one who should be jealous.
MOON: Ha. At least you have light of your own.
SUN: Would you prefer I didn't share anymore?
MOON: ...No, that's okay, I really don't have any complaints with that.
SUN: I thought so.
MOON: AND! You get all these great things--you make things grow, people like to sunbathe, you have sunrises and sunsets--and I get all these awful things, like "lunacy" and werewolves and the menstrual cycle!
SUN: And the ocean. You get that, too.
MOON: Oh, the whole tides thing...
SUN: Exa

Red looked up abruptly, realizing that there was someone looking over her shoulder. She flushed as red as her hair and ducked her head. "I guess I got... carried away."

0 Red Aarden Walking on sunshines, whoaa... 0 Red Aarden 0 5

Danae Dupree

October 04, 2007 3:29 PM

Are you sure they're going away? by Danae Dupree

Entering the astronomy room, being used to the stars and planets, the first thing noticed was that the recliners were replaced by desks. Danae made a slight face. One of the enjoyments of the class were the comfortable recliners. Giving a sigh, she drudgingly sat at one of the desks, waiting for the lecture to begin.

When it did, she pulled out some parchment and a quill to take some notes about the topic of the day – the sun. Last term, when they had learned about magic being gender specific, she had thought it strange and thought no differently this term, but wrote it down anyhow, along with the sun’s various aspects on spells. She wanted to do well in her classes this year, because with Lucie here, she knew her parents would be comparing, even though her sister was two years behind. Now, she regretted not getting better grades her first two terms.

Of course, she didn’t look forward to writing an essay either and unfortunately didn’t know anyone that would help her through the drudgery. Taking out a fresh piece of parchment, she wrote down a couple of facts about the sun, but didn’t get much further before she lost her focus on the subject and allowed herself to daydream.

It was broken when she heard a nearby voice asking, ’Hey, how far have you gotten on the essay?’ Her eyes turned to a girl that she only knew by name due to having classes with her, but had never been formally introduced. Giving a slightly exasperated smile, she said, “Not very far. How about you?”

0 Danae Dupree Are you sure they're going away? 91 Danae Dupree 0 5

Nikki Ramirez

October 06, 2007 9:51 PM

Don't your feet hurt? by Nikki Ramirez

Nikki was disappointed when she heard her assignment. She was much more in the mood for something more interesting, like a discussion or a practical lesson, or even some group work. But no, they got to write a nice factual essay on the sun. She had to do that kind of thing in the primary school her mother had made her go to. In fact, if she remembered correctly, that was an exact assignment she had had when she was nine. What was more, it wasn't even really an essay. Professor McFarlan only wanted two paragraphs.

Nikki wrote her essay in twenty minutes, with her book as a reference. Then she looked around to see if anyone else was done yet. It was then that she noticed that she didn't know the girl sitting next to her, although she thought she had seen her before somewhere. On her paper was written what looked like the lines to a play. She read over the girls shoulder. Nikki laughed.

The girl looked up abruptly, realizing that there was someone looking over her shoulder. She flushed as red as her hair and ducked her head. 'I guess I got... carried away.'

"No it's good. You should put more in there, like about how people go to visit the moon, not the sun." she turned to the redhead, "You're new here aren't you?" she asked, extended her hand "I'm Nikki Ramirez, Aladren."

0 Nikki Ramirez Don't your feet hurt? 0 Nikki Ramirez 0 5

Eavan

October 07, 2007 12:54 AM

unless they plan on doubling back... by Eavan

Eavan smiled and shrugged. "My essay is more of a list; but I think I've got a very good list started up. I'm not very much of a writer."

The girl looked familiar, but Eavan realized that it was probably from three years of classes with the girl. She couldn't remember ever talking to her. With so few people in the school and all the Pecari third years forming such a tight-knit group, Eavan had been without very many friends for a while. She just had Gil and her brother; and both of them were slipping away from her.

"Y'know we've been in all the same classes for three years and we've never actually met." Eavan grinned at the girl and turned her body to talk to her better.

"I'm Eavan Valentine. Teppenpaw. Third year. And a Virgo among other things. Who are you?" she asked, hoping the girl might end up being an actual friend.

0 Eavan unless they plan on doubling back... 0 Eavan 0 5

Danae

October 08, 2007 3:26 AM

That would be rather dreadful by Danae

Danae gave a grin. “Well, you’re ahead of me. I just managed a couple of things about the sun. I’m not much for writing either.” She scrunched up her nose.

The girl’s next words were odd, but true. How did one go for three years of being in the same classes and never having met? Actually, it wasn’t that hard to figure out. At least, not on her part. She nearly always worked by herself, avoiding others, because it seemed that everyone was friends with her roommates. She couldn’t begin to imagine the popularity that they possessed. She was lucky to be noticed at all, even by her own family. They had Devian and Lucie. She just felt unnecessary.

However, for the moment, she had the potential of making a friend, something she desperately needed, especially coming into the formidable teenage years. She gave a small chuckle at the other girl’s enthusiasm. Then, she said, following the pattern, “I’m Danae Dupree. Pecari. Third year. And a Cancer. Oh, and my favorite animals are turtles.”

0 Danae That would be rather dreadful 0 Danae 0 5

Eavan

October 22, 2007 10:13 PM

Almost as dreadful as a delayed post by Eavan

"Turtles?" Eavan asked. "That's kinda cool. I've never met someone whose favorite animal was a turtle. Most people go for puppies or tigers. I happen to be fan of butterflies, myself." Eavan suddenly pulled up her book-bag and held it up for Danae to see. It was a plain gray bag, except for a large yellow butterfly crudely sewn onto the front.

"My brother got it for me for my birthday. I'm working on way to charm it to make the wings flutter." Eavan held it up a moment longer before dropping it back down onto the floor.

"You wouldn't happen to know of a spell that could do that, would you, Danae?"

0 Eavan Almost as dreadful as a delayed post 0 Eavan 0 5

Danae

October 23, 2007 7:30 PM

Maybe by Danae

Danae couldn’t really explain her affinity for turtles. She supposed that part of the reason was that turtles remind her of her. She wasn’t obsessed with them though. It wasn’t like her purple comforter was covered in them or anything like that, but she did have a nice collection of figures.

Most were ceramic ones, but she also had a couple stuffed ones on the shelves as well. Andon, a small stuffed one that had been with her forever, was resting safely in her trunk. She would die of embarrassment if her roommates ever found out. She was thirteen and therefore too old for stuffed animals.

She gave a grin when Eavan confessed her own love for butterflies. “That’s really cute,” Danae said sincerely. “I don’t, but I bet my brother would. He’s really smart. He’s in Aladren.” The only problem would be convincing Devian to do it, because he would want to know what was in it for him, which there really wasn’t anything. She didn’t mention this to Eavan for fear of scaring the poor girl.

0 Danae Maybe 0 Danae 0 5

Eavan

October 23, 2007 10:47 PM

Just a maybe? by Eavan

Brother? Eavan hadn't even thought to ask Earl if he knew a spell. It just showed how much further apart they had grown. Even just a year before, Eavan went to him for everything; told him things, she'd never tell anyone else. He was her best friend. Maybe that was the reason she had never made good friends with anyone. She had had everything she needed in her second oldest brother.

And over the summer, when Earl had gotten his first girlfriend, he abandoned the friendship; or, more likely realized that hanging around his little sister was stupid when you were 15. He had grown up, and Eavan to follow suit.

"Do you think your brother would really help me?" Aladrens were smart. If Danae had a brother willing to help, it would be a lot better than trying to force her own brother(who was only about average in school) to be of assistance.

"It would be nice to have a brother that was smart. I think I might be smarter than my brother. It's a weird feeling." Eavan admitted with a grin. She usually didn't think of herself as smart at all, but it was nice to know she didn't stink at everything. Earl had Quidditch and drawing. She had squat.

0 Eavan Just a maybe? 0 Eavan 0 5

Danae

October 24, 2007 1:08 AM

I really can't decide which is worse by Danae

’Do you think your brother would really help me?’

Danae chewed the inside of her cheek. That was a hard question to answer. Their father had taught Devian far too well for her liking. Whenever she ever asked Devian for any help, he expected something in return. Usually, the result was half a month’s allowance, which was a good reason why she often didn’t ask. Though, why it should really matter, she didn’t know. It wasn’t like she ever really spent the money unless it was on books or turtles. Her parents provided any thing else that she needed, or her siblings needed, such as clothing, parchment, ink, and so on. Sometimes, she wondered why he wanted the money, but was smart enough not to ask.

“I think so,” Danae replied gingerly. It was really her fault for suggesting her brother could help. She knew he could, but she also knew the cost. She supposed half a month’s allowance was a sound investment for a friend and it wasn’t like Eavan would ever have to know. Though, it did seem to cheapen the friendship slightly, but Danae reasoned it away with the fact that she was doing a good deed, something that didn’t get shown very often in her. “He’s usually in the library studying, so I could probably ask him after this class.”

Danae smiled back at Eavan. She wished she was smarter than Devian than maybe her parents would care enough to notice. It wasn’t like it would take away from the greatness that was Devian. He would still be the eldest in their immediate family and the second male in line. If anything happened to Chris, then Devian would become Head of the Family. She gave a small sigh. Was she even smarter than Lucie? She didn’t think so. It wasn’t like it would detract from her either. She was the baby of the family, which meant she got away with so much more. Being the middle child really sucked.

Changing the subject, she asked, the assignment mostly forgotten, “What else do you like to do?”

0 Danae I really can't decide which is worse 0 Danae 0 5

Echo Elms

October 25, 2007 8:49 PM

The sun is shiney by Echo Elms

"Hi, Professor!" Echo chirped on his way in, glad to be back in the room that was even cooler than a planetarium and studying the best subject ever with his favorite teacher. Professor McFarlan was already talking to someone, so he just waved and found a seat at a nice out of the way desk.

When Professor McFarlan finished explaining about the essay, Echo flipped open his text and ran his finger down the index until he found the entry for the sun. There was quite a lot about it. He read it all, jotted down some notes and kept to himself. He preferred working alone and it was awesome that his favorite teacher had anticipated that preference.

The sun is swirling ball of a burning gas, he wrote. It sounded sort of familiar, like that Animaniacs song about the solar system. He was pretty sure it wasn't a pilfered lyric, but he spent a couple minutes trying unsuccessfully to remember the song so he could double check. He made a mental note to ask around about it.

Then he continued, It is so big that if you put all the matter in our solar system together, 99.7% of it would belong to the sun. That means that 99.7% of our solar system is a sphere which the other .3% (like Earth and Mars) revolve around.

The Sun is like the Earth because they both have different layers. The Earth has a core and the core is hot enough that metals and rocks are liquids in it. The sun is already hot, so the sun's core is extra hot. It is 14,500,000 Kelvins of hot. The outside of the sun is 5,785 Kelvins, which is much cooler. So both the Earth and the Sun have cores. The cores are what causes gravity. And gravity is what causes rotation.

Echo scratched his head with his eraser and wondered how long this essay was supposed to be. Someone could write a book all about the sun and still leave stuff out. Did he have to explain rotation? Or was it revolution? Which words was he looking for there? And didn't Professor McFarlane say they should talk about myths and photosynthesis, too?

He raised his hand and waited for her to come to him, "How long should it be? Am I doing this right?"

21 Echo Elms The sun is shiney 93 Echo Elms 0 5

Professor McFarlan

October 26, 2007 12:45 AM

Shiny is Always Good by Professor McFarlan

OOC: Hope this is alright with you, but fuzzy time being what it is I am assuming some things and I hope this plays into what you want to do with your charrie. If not, forgive me. I am playing this as if the class occurred before the letter to staff arrived and doing what Kathleen would do naturally.

BIC Professor McFarlan grinned as she saw Echo raise his hand. Staff were not allowed to have favorites, but his enthusiasm for the subject was endearing. With more wizards like him, there may be a day when muggle science and magic science could meld. What that could do for humankind, McFarlan could only dream about. Brett had chosen to work alone, but he already had more written than any of the students who chose partners.

“Let’s see what you have so far, Mr. Elms.” she relied.

She looked over his work. Facts and figures were all accurate. The paper was written in his own unique style which she very much appreciated. Too many times, students his age were in the habit of copying from the textbook rather than actually thinking things through.

“Well, the assignment was rather open ended. There are so many things one could write about. For instance, why did the ancient peoples in the northern hemisphere celebrate planting and fertility rites during Beltane rather than during the Vernal Equinox? Or how do sun spots affect Earth’s weather and muggle satellite transmissions? A standard sheet of parchment is more than enough for the essay. Although extra work is always rewarded with extra credit.”

Kathleen had hoped that less specific instructions would get the students to use their brains and allow them to explore their personal areas of interest about the topic. Perhaps if she could engender interest, there wouldn’t be so many dismal CATS results in future years. At least she had no worries with this young man.

“An excellent start, Mr. Elms.” Professor McFarlan gave Brett an approving nod accompanied by a brief, encouraging squeeze on the shoulder. “Keep up the good work.”
\n

0 Professor McFarlan Shiny is Always Good 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Echo Elms

October 26, 2007 6:22 PM

Ha! I've got you calling me Brett. by Echo Elms

[OOC: I'm assuming this is the first day of class so I'm in complete agreement that you have not yet received the letter]. BIC:

An excellent start, sounded like he was on the right track so Echo checked his notes and opted to replace rotation with revolution before he continued writing.

Revolution is important because that's what the rest of the solar system does around the sun. It has been doing that for longer than anyone can remember, even the dinosaurs dad digs up don't remember before there was revolution around the sun, so it's not much of a revolution in the way that the Revolutionary War was a revolution. It is a revolution because Earth and the other planets circle the sun. That kind of revolution.

This revolution happens in a specific way. The sun has an imaginary friend who the other planets pretend to believe in. When the planets circle the sun, they also circle the sun's imaginary buddy in an ellipse. An ellipse is either three dots at the end of... or it is an oval. While a circle has one center point (also called a focal point) that everything moves around, an ellipse has two and they are called foci, which is just a fancy word for the plural of focal (like focus) points. In solar systems, the sun stands at one focal point and the sun's imaginary buddy stands at the other and all the planets circle both of them in a big oval or ellipse. The ellipses are different for each planet because none of the planets really know where the sun's imaginary friend is so they all put it somewhere different.

The reason the planets revolve around the sun is because it's so big that it acts like a magnet. Meanwhile, the sun is rotating around the center of the milky way galaxy and is bigger and brighter than most of the other stars in our galaxy.

Echo wasn't sure if that was a good ending or not. It didn't really sound like an ending. He looked it over, but couldn't think of a better line to end it with. Saul might have said something like, "And that's why Milky Ways are the best candy, but Echo wasn't about to do that. He fixed a couple missing words here and there and handed it in.

21 Echo Elms Ha! I've got you calling me Brett. 93 Echo Elms 0 5

Professor McFarlan

October 26, 2007 10:18 PM

OOC: As A Young Friend of Mine Says by Professor McFarlan

*headdesk*!!!!!!!!! sorry\n

0 Professor McFarlan OOC: As A Young Friend of Mine Says 1467 Professor McFarlan 0 5

Elly Eriksson

October 27, 2007 2:39 PM

Slipping in last minute by Elly Eriksson

Astronomy for Elly was one of those neither-here-nor-there classes. She did fairly well in class, which was in large part due to the fact that she hadn’t yet had to perform any spells to achieve grades. Yet it held no real interest for her – the planets and stuff they studied were just millions of miles away, and Elly couldn’t really see much point in studying them. Stars were a bit more interesting, and nebulae were cool to look at, but that was about the limit of her enthusiasm. The professor was okay, though, and so Elly didn’t suffer a great deal as she made her way dutifully through the classes.

Today’s lesson was about the Sun. Elly could barely suppress a snigger as she thought about men ruling the world – or the sun governing them, anyway. All the Earth’s source of power, the guiding of day and night – all by a male energy. No wonder the planet was a mess.

The stuff Professor McFarlan said about magic peaking midsummer made Elly feel a bit bitter towards the laws that governed underage magic – she was most powerful at the only time she wasn’t permitted to do magic? How stupidly unfair was that? And remembering spells worked best in the autumn, when their examinations were at the end of spring. How inconvenient.

The essay was fairly standard, and Elly set to writing it straight away. She wanted to make a point about how messed up the school year was in relation to the Sun’s pull on magic. She still wanted to pass, though, so first she put in all the boring stuff about circumference and distance from the Earth and blah blah blah, before moving onto the juicier bits.

0 Elly Eriksson Slipping in last minute 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Echo Elms

October 27, 2007 10:58 PM

OOC: No worries! by Echo Elms

OOC: I think it's hilariously realistic, actually. I'm a RL teacher and I call this one kid Justin all the time and that is not his name. It drives me nuts that I can't get it straight! I know his name, it's just not the one on the tip of my tongue. He gets so exasperated at me about it, too. He's always saying, "My name's not Justin!" And I'm always saying, "Jacob! I did it again? I'm sorry!"

So, far be it from me to get upset when someone gets my boys mixed up!

21 Echo Elms OOC: No worries! 93 Echo Elms 0 5

Eavan

October 30, 2007 3:49 AM

Flip a coin? by Eavan

Grinning, Eavan began to talk faster than she usually did. She was making a friend and Danae was helping her so soon after meeting. Hopefully her brother would be just as nice.

"Great! If he agrees we could meet in the library. And tell him that I'd be really grateful if he helped me out. He can choose the time. I'm pretty free." Eavan finally settled down, once she realized that she was talking so fast and that smiling too much kind of hurt her face.

'Well, I don't really think of what I like to do," Eavan replied truthfully. "I do what feels good at the moment." Eavan lapsed into silence for a moment, before adding "I like reading these adventure stories my dad got me for Christmas last year. They're all about this girl who finds a Time Turner and goes back in time to help people. And I like waling around outside. It doesn't seem interesting, but when I'm outside, I go into daydream mode, so the time passes quickly."

Eavan paused and took a deep breath. It's been a while since she's talked to someone about something other than classwork. It was nice.

So, enough about me...what do you like to do?"

0 Eavan Flip a coin? 0 Eavan 0 5