All Years -- Lesson One

[constance barrington]

<sup>She was sad to see summer break end when camping under the stars and enjoying the outdoors made her feel so comfortable and happy. And although she may have had a few fights with her brother on the trip, it was worth while to spend time with the students and getting to know them and their interests. Hopefully they showed that same twinkle in their eyes in her classroom. She felt much rested and rejuvenated that Constance couldn't wait to begin her class. It was an evening class, but it was the best time to look at the stars during her lessons. She had many plans and hoped that her execution would intrigue her students.

Upon entering the top room of the tower, she opened the windows to let the late cool summer air flow inside. Constance could tell that the change between seasons was starting as the nights grew cooler than usual. This was her favorite time of day and not feeling the heat and sweat cover her body was probably one of the best feelings in the world. She lit all the candles in her classroom to make sure that everything indoors was visible for students to read and write in. Though her ceiling was still a personal touch that many have complimented on her. It showed the galaxies and often would change to constellations. It helped when she couldn't bring the students out due to clouding or other weather interference's.

She crossed the room from it's entrance and went to the blackboard, writing the beginning of this term's first lesson. It was an introduction as many should expect. Dusting her hands off, Constance went over to her desk and took a seat, conjuring herself a cup of hot tea to quench her thirst and soothe her throat. She was still recovering from the constant arguing with Joseph, but that was nothing new between siblings who always disagreed on everything. But she wasn't going to let that arrogant fool ruin the beginning of term for her.</sup>

[Lily Lockhart]

<sub>Finally! It was the end of the day, and the last lesson was Astronomy! Probably Lily most favourite class, and the most interesting. As a young child, Lily had learned Astronomy from her mother, all the beautiful stars and planets were visible from the end of a telescope. Thats probably why Lily loved the subject so much. As Lily got ready in her dormitory, she wondered what the lesson had in hold for them. Star gazing? Whatever was going to happen, Lily knew it would be good. She had only gone to one Astronomy lesson last term, and the Professor seemed really nice. Lily got her stuff needed for Astronomy, and then began to walk to the Astronomy tower.

It was a good walk to get to the location of the lesson; Lily had learned in class that the Astronomy tower was the highest tower at Beauxbatons, so it was a good trek to get up there. Lily saw on her watch that she was a few minutes early, and wondered if she was the first one up.

As Lily finally reached the top of the Astronomy tower, she saw that she was the first student in class. "Hello Professor!" Lily greeted. As Lily sat down at the right front of the class, she knew this would be a great lesson.</sub>

[Liam Fowler]

If it weren't for the fact that the professor of Astronomy wasn't his Head of House, Liam would've thought otherwise on taking this class. But he was interested in Astronomy mainly because it was a night class and could possibly be the most relaxed. He loaded up his satchel and telescope in case they would start a star gazing lesson tonight. At least he wouldn't be going in alone since his roommate also had the same classes as he did. Liam left their dormitory and passed many corridors until he arrived at the tallest spire in this school. From the bottom he looked up at the stairs that spiraled endlessly to the top. "You've got to be kidding?!"

He began his long journey up the stairs. Although Liam is physically fit, this was torture and he could feel it in his muscles. This was a workout to get to this class! Several minutes passed and there was a clearing, or more of a level where a door to the classroom was visible. He waited to catch his breath first before entering in and glancing at the two inside. "Erm...good evening Professor," he mumbled as he took a seat and collapsed in it. He was tired already, but the fresh cool night air helped him stay awake. Hopefully going downstairs will be easier than climbing up.

[tinley labonte]

It was a long way to the Astronomy tower but Tinley felt that it was entirely worth it. The classroom sat at the very top of the tallest tower so she had a while to go before she'd get to the door. She had about 15 minutes before the first lesson of the new term would begin and although she was thoroughly excited Tinley couldn't help feel a slight melancholy as she ascended the stairs. Looking out she gazed over towards the area they'd shared the summers adventures and she found it hard to digest that summer was ending. Fall would be on it's way and there were responsibilities to picked up from the floor where they'd been left for weeks. Sighing she hitched the strap higher up her shoulder. Nearing the top with the rest of the students, some sweating profusely. As she entered Tinley smiled in relief as the soft breeze fluttered past her promising a very comfortable class.

Sitting in one of the few vacant seats in the middle she set her things down and grinned with excitement. Finally she felt better about the whole new term thing. She hadn't really felt horrible about it before but just being in one of her favorite classes caused most of her end-of-break sadness dissipate. Students continued to flood into the room and collapsing in their seats. A few muttered under their breath and she was sure she caught the words "never gets easier" and "top of the tallest bloody tower indeed." Grinning Tinley tucked a piece of hair behind her ear an gazed around the impressive room. A solar system sat near the window twirling and glittering with tiny moons and stars. Candles stay light, some floating others held by large pillars but all casting a cozy glow around the room.

Her eyes found their way towards the front of the room where she noticed not only the words on the board but their astronomy teacher. "Good evening Professor." She said cheerfully offering idle chit chat while they waited. "Have a pleasant holiday?"

[oliver smith]

Still feeling the slight tiredness from the day winding down wasn't going to stay for long. Even though dinner was delicious and some students were heading back to their dorms, Oliver knew he couldn't rest just yet. There was still one class left at the end of the day and it was held only at night. He could have chosen not to take the class, but Astronomy piqued an interest. Also the fact that his Head of House taught the class, so the least he could do was attend it and see what the hype was about. Many have recommended the class and he wondered if it was worth staying up and sacrificing his sleep for. Following his roommate out of the dorm, they had crossed many corridors until they appeared at the base of the tower. Oliver craned his neck back to get a good look at the stairs that winded up to the top, mouth gaping at the length and climb they would have to go through.

"I'm going to be feeling this by the end of the night," he muttered, following his roommate up the stairs. It was long, but after living in a castle all of his life with stairs everywhere, Oliver was quite used to it. He felt wheezy toward the end of their climb, but he took in a couple deep breaths before entering the classroom. It was nicely lit by candles and the ceiling was a wonderful display in itself that he was quite awe-struck by it. Other students were already seated and he took his right next to Liam. He really didn't know of the professor until he glanced to the front. When he first arrived at the school, there was a line of them and all introductions were very short. So Oliver didn't have a good chance of knowing his professors and such until entering his or her class. But at least he knows that Professor Barrington is also his Head of House and she looked a little intimidating for a kind woman who sat quietly at her desk. The silence from her was just a little eerie.

[rowan elliot]

The last thing Rowan wanted to do after a long day of classes was attend yet another class. It had been a long day and she was feeling especially irritated and grumpy. Who knew that attending classes would be so exhausting? Rowan almost wished she could go back to the days of slacking off and doing nothing much in the way of schoolwork. It would certainly be easier than this, going to class and having to deal with people and work and making and effort. But, no, she couldn't do that, she had something to prove and once she set her mind to something, she became determined to accomplish it.

As she made her way up the millions of stairs that went up to her Astronomy class she reminded herself again and again all the reasons she was doing this. She was going to become the ideal student to show everyone that she wasn't dumb to improve her untouchable image. It was very important to Rowan that she seemed flawless so that she wouldn't pale in comparison to her nine fantastic siblings. That was just who she was. See, she wasn't nearly as talented or outgoing as the rest of her family. People made her uncomfortable, finding solace in the beauty of the world and clothes. But she knew that people just wouldn't understand that and the last thing Rowan wanted was to be judged by the people around her. So she kept people at a distance with dirty looks and mean words meant to cut deep.

When she finally reached the Astronomy class, Rowan let out a slightly breathless sigh of relief. Despite being in pretty good shape from playing Quidditch, she wasn't exactly built to climb a million flights of stairs. She glared slightly at the other students in class, some of them were familiar and others were not. Regardless of if she knew them or not, it was important to establish herself as unfriendly right away. She'd made the mistake of smiling in one of her earlier classes and some other student had thought it a bright idea to engage her in conversation in the middle of note-taking. To say it'd annoyed her would be a vast understatement. Rowan nervously shifted her weight foot to foot as she took in the class, planning the best place for her to sit. When she found exactly the perfectly place she stalked over to the seat and sat down, smoothing out the skirt of her uniform, and turning her attention to the professor.

[nathaniel sommer]

Nathaniel grabbed for his things and tucked them inside his bag and slipping the strap over his shoulder. He glanced over at November and grinned. "You should probably get ready or you'll miss your first lesson with your favorite professor," he teased. As much as he didn't like the idea of it at first, there was nothing he could do to stop November, especially when it came to Professor Barrington. Besides, the weeks away from school because of the camping trip appeared to have taken some toll on his friend. Not that it had an effect on Nathaniel because he liked being outdoors and spending time with random people he met or knew briefly.

He took the familiar route towards the Astronomy tower and climbed up the spiraling stairs without a problem. He's done it so many times over the past few years that he's gotten used to it. Plus Nathaniel is physically fit and with being a werewolf, he loved to run, jump, and climb. Once he got to the top, Nathaniel entered and was surprised to see many faces instead of few like the previous terms. He noticed some were in his house, but he's never spoken to them before. He's particular with friends and usually stayed with November or Morrigan most of the time. He took his usual seat that was closest to Constance's desk and the front. He flashed a smile in her direction and hung his bag on the side of his desk. "Good evening Professor."

[constance barrington]

<sup>She wondered how she would start the term off. Should she be kind to her students and make them feel at ease or be strict and intimidating? Over the past several terms she had been slacking in presentation toward her classes and students have become used to the relaxing atmosphere. But there was a little fire still inside her from the trip and her knuckles bore bruises from one night. The pain wasn't that terrible, but it was a reminder of how her temper gets the best of her. The person on the receiving end looked worse and she wondered how he did with his class today. She smirked, feeling a little satisfied that she had knocked him down a few notches from his high and mighty pedestal.

Constance sipped her tea silently as her students began to show. There were many greetings to which she replied "Good evening" to them all with a slight nod. "My holiday was good for the most part," she responded to Tinley, still relishing in the moment when she knocked Joseph out. She'll play nice for today because she was in a good mood and didn't want to scare her students off. Setting her tea cup aside, she stood from her desk and walked over to her podium. "Good evening everyone and welcome to Astronomy. If this is your first time meeting, I am Professor Constance Barrington. Tonight we'll begin a brief introduction to Astronomy and if you have brought your telescope you will get the chance to use it. If not, I do have extras for you to borrow. Questions so far?"</sup>

[rowan elliot]

Rowan had a mental face-palm moment when the teacher told the students to bring out their telescopes. In fact, had she had less conscious control of all of her limbs, it would have been a physical face-palm. She should have known better. You see, the weekend before classes had started, Rowan had gone out armed with her long required items list so that she would prepared when classes began. The only problem was that she could not find a telescope. She'd found all other items on the list with ease except for that one thing. So, of course, on the first day of class the teacher was going to require the use of one. For most of her classes that day she'd been bored to near-tears with introductory lessons and review and the one class she wanted that in demanded the use of an item she didn't have. A simple solution would have been to borrow one that belonged to the class but Rowan would have rather not needed to do that.

Sighing, she tentatively raised her hand to ask where she could find the extra telescopes. She rarely spoke out in class, even more rarely volunteering for it. She mentally willed other students to raise their hands. She didn't want to be the only student who showed up to Astronomy without a telescope. In her embarrassment, Rowan was able to hear her sister's taunting voice in her head telling her that she was right, Rowan just wasn't smart enough to excel in school. And in that moment, she promised she would be the idealistic student for the rest of the year if that's what she needed to do to get over this minor blip. It didn't help the situation that Professor C. Barrington was her head of house, a woman who was well known around the school.