Title: Star Gazing for Dummies
Author: Grevola
Rating, Word Count: PG, 812 words
Notes: Don't own GW or HP. Part of the Sorting Hat Arc. Wufei-centric. Made-up astronomy. [Words in Chinese]. X-posted on my LJ.
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First year Gryffindors had exactly one class with the first year Ravenclaws, and that was double Astronomy at midnight on Wednesdays. Rain or shine, they would gather on the top of the highest tower to look through their cloud-piercing telescopes and identify various planets and stars. Chang Wufei absolutely hated astronomy class. Not because it was difficult, he could already identify most of the major constellations and all the major planets, but because the class was with the Gryffindors.
The very first night, more excited than sleepy, he and the other Ravenclaws had clamored up the astronomy tower. He had quickly fit his telescope to one of the brackets on the wall of the tower, and was arranging his notes when a snide voice called out to him from across the tower. [Well, if it isn't the bookworm out of the library! I hope the fresh air isn't setting off your asthma, Chang]
He didn't bother glancing up from his book, [Hello, Meiran.]
The annoying girl walked right up next to him and peered though his telescope, undoing his careful positioning. Then she leaned in close to him and whispered in his ear, [I've finally found some one more annoying than you, Chang. Please, please tell me you can put that Granger girl in her place!]
Wufei blinked at her a few times, [I'm sure no one could be so bad that you would ask me for help.]
[Oh trust me,] Meiran said, [she is. You'll see.]
By the end of the lesson Wufei was quite ready to agree with Meiran. There wasn't a single question the teacher had asked that the bushy-haired girl wasn't practically jumping up and down to answer. Which wasn't completely unique, because plenty of the Ravenclaws knew the answers and were happy to volunteer them, but none of them felt they had to answer every question every time. At first Professor Sinistra had tried to give a variety of students a chance to answer, but by the end of the first hour no one but Granger even bothered to raise their hands.
This continued until the professor passed around a very basic star chart and asked the students to locate a few of the indicated constellations and fill in the missing planets. Wufei rolled his eyes at the exercise, and had already recorded his bearings for the north star and two of the other constellations when he heard the boy at the next telescope asking a frustrated question. He was a Gryffindor Wufei hadn't met, and who hadn't spoke at all before now. He asked Professor Sinistra, in fairly accented English, which "moon house" the constellations referred to.
Wufei was surprised enough by this he nearly jostled his telescope. The professor seemed to consider the question with a small smile on her face. "That's an excellent question, Mr. Yui," she said, "Let's put it to the class. Who here can tell me which lunar house is associated with the constellation Andromeda?"
Granger's hand started to rise before she frowned and lowered it again, "But we haven't covered that," she said, "I've never even heard of it before."
Wufei felt a sharp pain in his ankle, and turned to tell Meiran off for kicking him, [What did you do that for?]
"Ah Mr. Chang!" Professor Sinistra smiled as she noticed him, "Can you answer the question?"
There was a pause where the whole class was staring at him. The Ravenclaws in expectant curiosity, the Gryffindors in challenging disbelief. And there was Yui, the start of all this, just looking like he was sorry he asked. Wufei bowed his head quickly to the professor, "I believe Andromeda is the same as the stars of the house we call [stride]. It means, walk or step, because it looks like a slipper."
"Excellent description," Sinestra clapped her hands together, "Five points to Ravenclaw!"
Wufei bowed again, noting with pleasure the grumpy look on Granger's face before he turned back to his own work. A minute or two later someone tapped his shoulder and he found himself the recipient of Hiiro Yui's intense glare.
"You mean the tokakiboshi?" he asked, holding up his star chart. Wufei noticed the regularly placed characters, the additional pentagrams, and the unusual construction lines in a glance, his attention mostly occupied with the rough oval of stars around a single symbol in the right had corner of the chart.
He nodded, "Yes, that's [stride]," he said, "but you've put it in the wrong place. This time of year it's further south, about here."
Hiiro looked from the chart to him and back, then slumped slightly, "K'so..."