"Oi, Hermione do you happen to have an extra telescope on you?" Ron rushed his words knowing that Hermione would be upset if he borrowed her spare telescope again.
Hermione sighed. "Ron. We only have a month left of this class and then we're done. Can you pull yourself together for a month?"
Harry laughed as he walked up beside Ron. "Here mate, you can borrow mine." Harry winked at Hermione as she rolled her eyes.
"The two of you I swear." She responded.
Tonight their assignment was finding a planet or constellation of their choosing, and researching it for the next two weeks. At least two feet of parchment for this assignment was expected and Harry was the only one looking forward to it for a change.
Class was held outside on this night due to the abnormally warm weather for October, so Hermione, Ron, and Harry spread out and set up their telescopes at the edge of the class.
"I think I've got one," shouted Harry.
"Blimey, Harry already? I can't sort out a thing in this telescope." Ron groaned.
Hermione walked over to Harry's telescope and peered in.
"Well that's Andromeda, Harry very good!" Hermione praised him and Harry smiled wide.
"Have you found yours yet 'Mione?" Harry asked.
Hermione shook her head no, making her long curls bounce. "I've found quite a few of course, but I'm looking for the perfect constellation."
Hermione walked back to her telescoped and aimed it at the night sky. She noticed a colored star blinking quite brightly. Well that's odd, thought Hermione. Hermione scanned the nearby night sky hoping to find the constellation this star belonged to.
"Harry, come look at this here," asked Hermione, her eye still on the constellation.
Harry grasped the telescope and looked at the blinking "star".
"Well, uh, it's kind of moving a bit, see here Hermione? It's probably just an airplane."
Ron came to look at the star as well. "What an airplane?"
"Muggle flying contraption," mumbled Hermione as she looked once more at it. "It doesn't make any sense! Airplanes usually can't fly over Hogwarts, or we at least don't see them."
"Maybe it's a shooting star!" Ron exclaimed.
Harry and Hermione looked at him and burst out laughing.
"Yeah mate, a shooting star that doesn't move!" Harry laughed even harder.
Ron turned beet red. "You thought it was an airplane…" He mumbled embarrassed.
"Ron is right. It can't be an airplane if it doesn't move, and it is definitely not a shooting star. So what is it?" Hermione pondered out loud.
Hermione pulled out a notebook to write the star's location and nearby constellations.
"It's- it's gone!" yelled Hermione.
"Students! May I have your attention," Dumbledore bellowed.
Hermione could hardly pay attention, she was still too wrapped up in the vanishing star from two nights ago.
"Due to unfortunate circumstances regarding an unusually strong pepper up potion, we have had a change of position in our Astronomy department."
Hermione glanced up at the podium, curious to see the new professor.
"I introduce to you, The Doctor."
"Oi, Professor, why is a healer teaching Astronomy?" Fred Weasley called out.
The Great Hall was full of murmurs as the students tried to understand what exactly a "doctor" of astronomy was.
"Silence!" Dumbledore spoke at a normal volume, but quiet soon followed.
A tall, lanky man with short messy hair walked up to the platform slowly. His hands were in his pin stripe suit pockets, and he was wearing muggle trainers, which Hermione found peculiar.
Who is this "Doctor"? Hermione wondered to herself.
The man rose his right hand up in a slight wave.
"Well, then! That was quite a bit of excitement, don't you think? I'm the Doctor as your kind headmaster pointed out here- no 'Professor Doctor', no 'Professor' just Doctor, right then?"
The great hall was silent as they took in this "doctor".
"Alright then," the Doctor took a step back on the podium where the other professors were sitting. He spun around and walked to his seat.
"The Doctor is a very qualified teacher and has studied the stars for a very long time-"
"Longer than I care for you to say!" The Doctor cut in.
Dumbledore chuckled and continued. "I'm sure you will find a very helpful companion in him."
The Doctor was scribbling furiously across the blackboard in front of the class. All the students were quiet, still intrigued with the curious man. The Doctor slammed a piece of chalk down and faced the class with open arms.
"The Doctor?" asked a voice coming from the back of the classroom.
"That's quite right, yes see there on the board it says 'the Doctor'," the Doctor pointed to his name on the board.
"Doctor? Doctor who?" Draco Malfoy sneered as he said the name.
"Yes! I love it when they do that! Doctor Who is a perfectly acceptable name to call me, Doctor, the Doctor, Doctor Who, all the same really it's all fine." The Doctor was shouting with excitement as he said this and it seemed as though he was unable to stay in one spot for very long. He bounced over to his new desk and ruffled some papers before throwing them all away.
Hermione's mouth gaped open. "Well that was quite rude!" Hermione frowned at the doctor. "Those are our professor's documents." Her nose upturned at his lack of manners.
The Doctor quickly walked over to Hermione's desk and crouched down to look at her closely. Too closely for Hermione's liking, she was a fan of personal space and only a few close friends could invade it.
"Looks like I'm your professor now doesn't it… Hermione."
Hermione rolled her eyes and scooted her chair back as far as it would go, touching the front of her fellow classmate's desk behind her.
Hermione didn't care all too much for Astronomy. It could quickly end up in the rubbish called "Astrology". Her last professor was very good about keeping things by the book which Hermione appreciated. The Doctor seemed like the type to start rambling on about zodiac signs and extra terrestrials which Hermione did not find amusing.
"Today class- or tonight I should say, you are going to continue writing your 2 feet of parchment. I'll be walking around looking over your shoulders to make sure you're getting all this space stuff correct and I'll be offering my sage advice, how does that sound?" He clapped at the end of his sentence, loud enough to wake Ron up who was previously sleeping soundly next to Hermione.
"You there lad, what's your name?" The Doctor asked Ron.
Ron rubbed his eyes and croaked out, "Ron, eh, Ronald Weasley sir."
"None of that sir, nonsense mind you! It's Doctor."
"Alright, Doctor." Ron turned pink, he didn't much like being called on in class.
"Now, Ron, what are you doing your essay on?" asked the Doctor.
Ron turned an even brighter shade of pink. "Well sir, I mean Doctor, I haven't really found a constellation yet."
"What!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Why there are loads of stars and planets and places in the night sky! Just pick one and I could tell you all about it, really though Ronald, pick a star and star and I can help you with it. Has everyone else found a star group?"
There was a collective, mumbled yes from throughout the class except for Hermione who sheepishly raised her hand.
"Doctor, I found a star three nights ago that interested me greatly, but I can't find it anymore."
The Doctor turned his head and locked eyes with Hermione. "And what was this star doing Hermione?" he spoke barely moving his lips and it was the first time anyone saw him stand so still.
Harry spoke up. "It was blinking a bit at first sir, and then it just kind of disappeared. Hermione found it."
The Doctor continued to stare at Hermione and then clapped his hands to break the silence. He was once again his normal self. "Well, it was probably a shooting star, nothing to worry about then."
"Actually- Doctor it didn't move-"Hermione spoke and the Doctor cut her off.
"I'm sure it was nothing, just a bit of dust stuck to your lens that caught the light, simple explanation, right now class, let's start learning!"
The way he avoided the topic of the star, raised hairs on the back of Hermione's neck. What exactly was this "doctor" hiding? Hermione was going to find out.