Chapter 57: 2nd September 1991, Monday: Part 12

Remus and George ascended the many flights of staircases until they reached the Astronomy classroom with only a minute to spare. Since the other first years were still being escorted by the prefects, it was fair to assume that George would be the last to attend the class. Remus looked at his wrist to check the time and relaxed after confirming George was not late.

"Oh, George. Just one last thing."

The werewolf fumbled around in his jacket before pulling out a copper alarm clock.

Remus then handed it over, "I almost forgot, take this."

George took the dinted alarm clock and inspected it. There wasn't much to see except for a faint enchantment on the clock's arms emitting some chaotic waves. The magical radiation was oddly similar to the enchantments placed on the alchemic batteries he'd been working on for the past month. If George had to guess, he would say this clock must produce some sort of electric current.

Fortunately, Remus was here to explain, "this used to be my father's alarm clock. He gave it to me during my first year at Hogwarts, and it seems only right that you have it now. Your mother did tell me you're a heavy sleeper so it should prove useful."

George looked back up at Remus with a slight smirk, "this isn't any old alarm clock."

Remus returned the smile, "always the perceptive one, aren't you George? Well yes, you're right. Let's just say you'll know about it when the alarm goes off. You won't be accidentally lying in anymore, I assure you."

"It's going to electrocute me, isn't it?", George confirmed.

Remus shook his head, "no, nothing so dramatic. Don't knock it till you try it, it'll just give you a little zap. That life-saver was the only reason I didn't miss every single morning lesson."

"Consider me convinced, I'll certainly make good use of it", George said while pocketing the clock.

George then promptly expressed his gratitude, "thank you again, Remus. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Don't mention it", Remus brushed off the compliment before looking at the classroom door, "and this is where I'll be leaving you. Astronomy was always one of my favourite subjects at Hogwarts, it should help clear your mind."

He brushed off his jacket and adjusted his tie, "right then, I'll tell your parents that you're all well and good, so there is no need to worry about them finding out. Don't forget to send me a letter every time you turn.

I'll guess I'll see you again in just over three months."

Remus held out his hand towards George, he was obviously intending for a handshake. George felt it was more in character to have a more personal way of saying goodbye considering their new relationship.

George ignored the hand as he embraced Remus in a tight hug, "goodbye Remus, I'll really miss you."

Remus gave him a few pats on his back, "it will be alright George, I'm only an owl's letter away if you need anything. You'd better get going now or you're going to be late, I would hate to be responsible for ruining your first impression with your Astronomy Professor."

George hesitated to let go before slowly releasing his grip on Remus, he made sure to look happy with a slight reluctance. Remus smiled and pointed towards the door to the classroom, he then turned around and headed back towards the staircase they'd come from. George exhaled in relief after separating with Remus, that was one more thing ticked off the list. He could not be sure how much Remus is going to tell Dumbledore, but there were decent odds he'll do as George asked. If that werewolf could turn back time, George was sure that Remus's younger self would have wanted the same thing. The irrefutable truth is, no one wants to be seen as a monster, not even the real ones.

Once Remus was out of sight, George's face completely relaxed. Although the Calming Draught was performing wonders for his cognitive abilities, nothing was halting the cumulative exhaustion induced by the intense acting since he had woken up. He had initially presumed that the sixteen hours of sleep would have been enough, but, a wave of tiredness was beginning to cloud his judgement. His brain's recovery period caused by the stroke must have ruined his night's sleep. This meant his enhanced performance was nearing its limits, there needed to be recuperation time allocated before the 'meeting' with Snape. The solution was simple, use the Astronomy lesson to rest his eyes for an hour or two.

George pushed open the door and was greeted with a large space full of children excitedly whispering to each other. He looked around the room and found that the professor was not present, she must have been still in her office at the back of the classroom. Since nobody had noticed him enter, George made his way to the far corner of the room and sat down on a row of empty tables and chairs. The broken stool almost gave in under his weight and the crooked desk was covered in spider webs. It became immediately obvious that this corner of the classroom shrouded in darkness had been abandoned for many years. Regardless of the poor conditions, George was content as long as he remained out of sight and out of mind.

The last thing George wanted was to become the centre of attention all over again. With a bit of luck, the Astronomy teacher won't even notice he was there. Speaking of the devil, just as George was pulling out his quick-quotes quill, Sinistra came out of her office and stood before the students. She had dark skin and black hair that was braided, some of her long hair was draped over her shoulders. Her robes and witches hat was made from golden silk, and there were intricate black patterns on her torso. The entire classroom fell silent upon seeing the noble-looking witch and eagerly awaited for her to speak. A smile formed on Sinistra's face as she walked up to the blackboard and pulled out her wand.

"Welcome class, to Astrology. I'm Professor Sinistra, your Astrology teacher. To start what will hopefully be an excellent year, does anyone know where the word Astrology comes from", Sinistra confidently asked the class.

George could imagine Hermione practically frothing at the mouth to answer that question. It was a shame Slytherin had to share this subject with Ravenclaw. The answer was easy to anyone who'd memorised the entire school book in advance, but George wasn't about to put his hand up.

Sinistra looked at all the students before saying, "anyone? Okay, allow me to enlighten you."

You are reading story Harry Potter and the Fractured Dragon at novel35.com

She pointed her wand into the air and a white light shot out of the tip, not too dissimilar to a flare gun. The ball of light stuck to the ceiling and, counterintuitively, turned the entire ceiling pitch black. The roof appeared to have been bewitched in a similar fashion to the arched ceiling in the Great Hall. The white light she'd produced slowly grew in size and shape until it mimicked a miniature sun. Sinistra's magic wasn't too dissimilar from the ball of fire George could make, except, hers was merely an illusion. The big giveaway was that her mini sun didn't produce any heat and wasn't bright enough to hurt the student's eyes.

Sinistra pointed at the 'sun' and explained, "that is a re-creation of what all astronomers since the dawn of mankind have wished to comprehend. The great Greek astronomers called them Astron. In English, that means Star. And that's what this lesson will be all about. We will be on a journey to uncover the mysteries of the Universe, and will learn how the vast expanse of stars can influence your very fate..."

The kids were loving the performance put on by Sinistra, they were all entranced with their heads craned up to the ceiling. George was also looking up but only because he was reclining back into his chair. The starry night sky illusion was a great backdrop to catch some Zs. Judging by the way Sinistra was conducting her lesson, there wasn't going to be much worth writing down. This lesson was shaping up to be more of an icebreaker, she was more interested in learning about the students than teaching the subject. Therefore, he shouldn't miss much if he went to sleep for a little while. It's not like he would lose out on vital information even if she did decide to suddenly start teaching.

The subject was practically pointless for George since he already had a College School level of comprehension of Physics and Astronomy. Since Sinistra was limited to wizarding research, there was a good chance that he knew more about the universe than she did. The only purpose of the subject at Hogwarts was to help wizards and witches predict eclipses and the like because certain incantations and potions are affected by natural phenomena. Remus no doubt paid great attention during this lesson, but George did not share the same interest.

Unfortunately, Sinistra seemed to be the sort of teacher to like the students engaging with the education. About an hour into the lesson, she finally noticed George skulking at the back of the classroom. His days off the radar were officially over.

She spoke loudly, "how about you? Could you please answer the question?"

George's sensitive hearing picked up on the fact that her voice had been specifically aimed in his direction, this woke him up out of his semi-lucid nap. To his misfortune, he had no recollection of what she had been saying up to that point. George looked at the blackboard for a suggestion only to find a few generic lines about the Astronomy semester and nothing alluding to what she was asking him. Although George didn't care about impressing this teacher, he didn't want to appear as a bad student either. There may come a day when he would need Sinistra's help to solve one of his many problems.

George nervously apologised, "I'm sorry, Professor Sinistra. Please could you repeat the question?"

Most of the class turned around to look toward George whilst sniggering at his expense. Theodore was the only one who, upon recognising George, immediately turned back to face forward without making a single noise.

Sinistra shook her head in disappointment, "what's your name?"

George immediately answered the question, "George Linwood, Professor."

Sinistra paused as she recognised the name, no doubt every professor in Hogwarts knew George's name by now. Her expression softened after realising who he was. George assumed that she had forgiven him due to the stroke he'd had the previous day. After all, he couldn't be blamed for feeling tired after going through such an ordeal. Even in the wizarding world, it couldn't be normal for a recovering stroke patient to undergo such mental gymnastics after only one day.

She repeated the question without reprimanding him, "I was asking the class why they think wizards and witches have been fascinated with the stars for thousands of years. I would like to know your opinion, Mr Linwood."

George didn't take long to come up with an answer, "morbid curiosity."

Sinistra looked quite confused after hearing his blunt answer, it had taken her quite off guard. George felt there was no harm in offering his legitimate opinion on this matter. There was no need to give another impassioned performance right after his talk with Remus. His answer would hopefully satisfy the professor whilst using very few of his overworked brain cells.

She repeated his words back to him, "morbid curiosity. Do you care to elaborate?"

George faintly smiled, "certainly Professor, but this is only my personal opinion. Of course, there is a more obvious answer to your question. After all, understanding Astronomy is a necessary part of magical comprehension and research. But, I highly doubt it's the main driving force that motivates human beings to look toward the stars.

Take muggles for example. They alone have spent vast quantities of their currency, equal to billions of galleons, on researching the Universe without the promise of a return on their investment. They do not reap the same benefits we do as magic practitioners, but they still strive to reach the stars.

I think that all people, muggles and wizards alike, use the Universe as a focal point to help rationalise their purpose and meaning. I can't speak for others, but personally, I use my limited understanding of the Universe to help define my self-worth."

Sinistra listened to every word and nodded after his speech concluded, "that's a very interesting perspective. Perhaps we can all strive to find some solace in our future studies of the stars.

Anyway, getting back on track, has everyone got a copy of the star charts? There should be one beside every desk."

The class continued as normal and George wasn't bothered again. This let him return to his semi-comatose state to allow his brain to continue recovering. This time, George reserved some of his dwindling attention to make the quick-quotes quill write down every word Sinistra said. This way, he couldn't be caught short on another surprise question. By the time the lesson was coming to an end, George woke up with a partially refreshed mind and a thumping headache. It turned out that maintaining a psychic link with the quill whilst resting wasn't a good idea, who knew?

George climbed out of his disintegrating chair and picked up the notes the quill had written. The handwriting was atrocious, as one would expect from a sleeping mind, but it was mostly legible. Upon reading through the entire page, George realised there wasn't much worth remembering other than a few of the students' names. The only important thing of note was the fact he had to attend a class at midnight every other week. Astrology had found yet another way to mess with his sleeping routine. It seemed this class was determined to guarantee George never gets an ounce of rest.

You can find story with these keywords: Harry Potter and the Fractured Dragon, Read Harry Potter and the Fractured Dragon, Harry Potter and the Fractured Dragon novel, Harry Potter and the Fractured Dragon book, Harry Potter and the Fractured Dragon story, Harry Potter and the Fractured Dragon full, Harry Potter and the Fractured Dragon Latest Chapter