Year 1: Star Gazer
Chapter 10: June 2016
While the lead up to exams dragged on forever, the exams themselves seemed to pass by in a blur of activity. Before Louis even knew it, he had wrapped up his final exam of the year.
"I can't believe it's over," Justin said as the boys walked away from the history of magic classroom.
"It doesn't feel real," Louis agreed.
However, even with exams over and done with, Louis and Justin weren't done with school quite yet. There was still the astronomy club telescope to complete.
"Hurry up!" Melody screeched Monday afternoon as everyone worked to get it finished as quickly as possible. "The unveiling is Thursday night and it's going to be really humiliating if it's not finished in time!"
Ever since Louis and Justin had overheard Melody and Caleb in the astronomy tower, they'd noticed that Melody was more and more irritable and easily angered. Not to mention she and Caleb kept a safe distance between one another at all times now.
"We're go as fast as we can," Caleb called back, screwing in another mirror. Louis held the protractor steady for his partner, knowing that even the slightest wrong angle would cause them to have to restart – something Melody would not thank them for.
"Well go faster!" Melody cried. "Professor Brunwell's counting on us!"
Louis wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't experienced it, but astronomy club was turning out to be even more stressful than his actual exams were. At least with his exams, he'd been the only one he could let down. But if he and Caleb failed to complete their part in time, they'd be letting down the whole team.
"Don't let Melody worry you," Caleb assured Louis on Tuesday. The two had elected to skip lunch and had stayed back to secure some more mirrors. At the rate they were going, they'd be done by the end of the day, which would give the rest of the team the time they'd need to put the finishing touches on the telescope. "We'll finish on time. If anything, we're a little further along than either me or Melody had expected back at the beginning of the year."
Louis nodded. He thought about Melody's mood recently and about the internship applications for MAI. He wondered if he should broach the topic but wasn't sure how Caleb would react to knowing Louis had eavesdropped on a private conversation.
"Has Melody heard anything from MAI yet?" Louis wondered, trying and failing to be discrete. "I'm sure they've sent their letters out by now."
"You'd have to ask Melody," Caleb replied shortly.
"And you?" Louis ventured.
Caleb's head snapped up in surprise. "I never said anything about applying to the Institution," he said.
"I just meant – you know, had you heard back from anywhere…" Louis muttered.
"Oh," Caleb nodded, clenching his teeth and looking away. "Right."
Now it was out in the open, Louis took his chances and pushed the subject.
"So about MAI…" Louis hesitated.
"I'd rather not talk about that," Caleb said, shutting the conversation down.
"Sure," Louis agreed, dropping it. "Here, do you need me to hold the protractor again?"
LlLlLlLlLlL
Just as Caleb had predicted, the telescope was finished on time. It was a relief to the whole club when it was completed, if only because it meant they'd all escaped the wrath of Melody.
The unveiling was scheduled for Thursday night, and the entire school had been given permission to be out after curfew if it meant they were going to the astronomy tower.
Louis and Justin could hardly contain themselves. Not only were they going to get to use the telescope finally – and this would be a thousand times cooler than the comet that they'd missed – but they were going to get to show the whole school that astronomy was cool.
On Thursday after dinner, the whole astronomy club trooped up to the astronomy tower to get things ready. Professor Brunwell had given them permission to rearrange his classroom however they liked, so Melody had everyone levitating the desks and other unnecessary things down to the main floor and storing them in the astronomy club room.
Bringing the telescope up was another matter. It had to be levitated by a team of three in order to keep it steady. It was assumed that Melody, Caleb, and Ben would do it, being the leaders, and also the oldest and most experienced club members. But Melody kept screaming that Caleb shouldn't be allowed to do it, because he was a disaster at charms and would surely drop it. When Greg and Arnold volunteered to help, she insisted that she would only accept the help of a sixth year or higher, and only if they were taking N.E.W.T. level charms. In the end, someone had to fetch Professor Brunwell, because Melody was getting too hysterical. He helped to levitate the telescope upstairs, and then he insisted on bringing Melody down to the hospital wing for a calming draught.
With Melody temporarily gone, Caleb was in charge. Louis thought he was a much better leader than Melody, if not at least he was calmer. He had the telescope positioned just right, and then instructed everyone on where to position the chairs around the circular room for their guests.
When Melody returned about an hour later, she was much less agitated and significantly more pleasant to be around. It was getting dark now, which meant soon it would be time to test the telescope. The school had been invited for eleven o'clock, which would give the members of the astronomy club a chance to use it before everyone else showed up.
Once everything was in place, Melody had everyone sit down. She took a deep breath and then she addressed them.
"So this is it," she said. "This is our last meeting of the year. I know it hasn't been the easiest year – and I know that I was a large part of making things more difficult, what with the yelling and the pressuring everyone to work harder. And I apologize for my mood these past couple of months, because I know it couldn't have been fun for you all. But just look at what we were able to accomplish together."
She pointed at the telescope with a wide smile on her face and let everyone just soak in and accept the fact that they'd built this. From their brains and their bare hands, they'd built this telescope.
"This telescope is ours," Melody said. "It's a testament to this group and our extraordinary teamwork. No other astronomy club has managed a feat such as this in all the years it's been in existence at this school. And whether you're leaving the school this year like I am, or whether it's only your first year… this telescope is part of your legacy. Professor Brunwell?"
Their astronomy professor came forward – Louis hadn't even realized he'd been there – and presented Melody with a plaque.
"This plaque will serve as a reminder for all future astronomy clubs of what we accomplished this year," she said. She placed it against a flat part of the body of the telescope and cast a spell to magically screw it on. "All your names are on it now. You are a part of this."
Out of nowhere, Ben started clapping, and his applause caused more applause, until the whole club was on their feet clapping their hands. Greg stepped over to stand next to Melody.
"And we the astronomy club thank you Melody," he said. "And Caleb and Ben as well. For all the time and effort you put into this project and the years of dedication you've given to the astronomy club. We wouldn't have done this without you."
Tears came to Melody's eyes and Louis couldn't help but smile as they all regained their seats.
"Thank you," Melody smiled. She cleared her throat and turned back to address the club. "Now since this is our last time together, I just wanted to share some news with you all. As you know, the Magical Astronomy Institution accepts twelve internship applicants from all over the world each year. It's a very prestigious Institution and to be accepted is a great honor."
"Wow," Justin whispered to Louis. "Only twelve? I didn't realize it was so exclusive!"
"This year, we at Hogwarts are pleased to congratulate Caleb Hardy for his acceptance into the program!" Melody finished.
This time the applause was even more fervent as everyone rushed to congratulate Caleb personally.
While the rest of the club was doing that, Louis turned to Justin. "Wow, looks like he got in after all," he said.
"Yeah," Justin nodded. "They sure processed those N.E.W.T.s quickly."
"They were over a week ago," Louis pointed out. "And I'm sure MAI is able to pull strings to get the results of their applicants processed before others."
"It's nice that Melody's happy for him," Justin commented, gesturing to the club president, who was presently giving Caleb a congratulatory hug.
"Yeah," Louis agreed. "I wonder what she'll do now."
Justin shrugged. "She's still a great student, and fantastic at astronomy. She'll find something."
Finally, Melody and Caleb settled everyone down. It was getting close to eleven and it was time to test the telescope for the first time.
"You should have the honor," Melody offered to Caleb.
"No," Caleb shook his head. "You're the president, and you put more work into this project than any of us. It should be you. It's only right."
With a smile, Melody gratefully accepted, and with a great amount of dramatics, she took the first official look through the telescope.
"How is it?" Ben called out excitedly.
Melody didn't respond at first, she was so focused on what she was seeing. When she finally pulled away, the look on her face was one of awe.
"I can't even describe it," she said. "But it's fantastic."
As vice-president, Caleb got to use the telescope next. When his turn was over, Melody joked that soon this telescope would seem like a shrimp compared to what he'd be working with at MAI.
Ben went third, as the final leader of the club. After he was done, the club offered the fourth turn to Professor Brunwell.
"Oh no," he shook his head. "I'll go once all of you've had a turn. This is your telescope after all, not mine."
"But we'd be nowhere without you," Trent insisted, practically dragging Professor Brunwell forward to take a turn.
Their Professor conceded, and couldn't help but contain his excitement when he looked into the eyepiece.
"This is simply splendid," he told them all. "Absolutely fantastic. You all did an amazing job here."
After Professor Brunwell's turn, the rest of the club lined up to take a look. As the newest members of the club, Louis, Justin, and Makayla stood at the back of the line. The other club members had spent the past two years working on this project, while they three had only jumped on the bandwagon at the end. They wouldn't feel right trying to take a turn before one of the others.
When Louis' turn finally came, he was beyond excited. The lead-up had been immensely suspenseful, not just today, but all year. And when he finally lowered his eye to the eyepiece and adjusted the lenses, he was taken aback. It was truly spectacular.
LlLlLlLlLlL
They waited in the astronomy tower for an hour, but when midnight came and went, Professor Brunwell told them they might as well head back to their dorms.
"I can't believe it," Louis said to Justin as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower. "Nobody came!"
"It doesn't make sense," Justin agreed. "Maybe the notice on the notice board got covered up by something?"
"In all four common room?" Louis frowned, thinking this seemed unlikely.
Justin shrugged.
"The notice isn't the problem," Kelsey said, coming up behind the two boys.
"Then what is?" Justin wondered.
"It's us. It's the astronomy club. It's lame. Nobody wants to come to the unveiling of a telescope."
"How can you say that?" Louis asked, shocked. "Astronomy is the best."
"Well of course I agree with you," Kelsey assured him. "But to the rest of the school? This club is just as lame as the arithmancy club, and even lamer than the gobstones club."
"But if people would just come and try the telescope out, then they'd see – "
"But they won't," Kelsey said with a shrug. "That's just the way it is."
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The next day, exam results for non-O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students were available, so Louis and Justin headed down to Professor Longbottom's office to retrieve theirs.
"How'd you do?" Justin asked as soon as they were back in the hallway.
"Hang on," Louis said, fumbling with the envelope. "Okay let's see… Astronomy O – "
"Nice!" Justin said. "Same here."
"Sweet," Louis nodded, obliging Justin in a high five. "Alright, um… in charms I got an E."
"Aw, good job man," Justin said. "I only got an A. But I got an E in defence!"
"I got an A in defence," Louis revealed.
"What about herbology?" Justin wondered. "I got an A there as well."
"Same," Louis agreed. "I'm just glad I passed that one though honestly. History too – looks like I managed an A in that one."
"Hey, I got an A in history as well," Justin said. "Though I was sure it'd be a P and I'd have to go to summer school."
"Thankfully not," Louis nodded in relief. "Looks like I passed everything. A in transfiguration and an E in potions."
"Awesome," Justin said. "I got the opposite there as well; E in transfiguration and A in potions."
"Pretty good reports to say the least," Louis said, satisfied. "I wouldn't show mine to Molly, but I wouldn't want to see hers either."
"Why's that?" Justin wondered.
Louis laughed. "Because she's bound to have straight O's again just like last year and it'd only make me feel badly about myself."
"Straight O's?" Justin cried. "That's insane!"
"That's Molly," Louis replied.
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The following day it was time to head home. Louis and Justin realized belatedly that they hadn't packed yet, so Saturday morning turned into a mad scramble to locate all their belongings in time to make it to breakfast. They didn't make it. By the time they were packed and downstairs, breakfast was over and the students of Hogwarts were making their way down to Hogsmeade station.
"We'll be able to grab something to eat on the train," Louis assured Justin. "And thankfully there's that trolley full of healthy food, so we should be able to find something nutritious to make up for missing breakfast."
The trip to Hogsmeade station was a rather uneventful one, and in no time, Louis and Justin were settled in a compartment, staring out the window at the castle in the distance.
"Looking forward to next year?" Justin wondered.
Louis nodded. "Should be interesting," he agreed.
Whatever fortunes and misfortunes first year had brought Louis, he knew for certain that second year was bound to be even better. Not only would he be older, wiser, and more mature, he and Justin would also be returning members of the astronomy club, riding on the tailcoats of this year's feat with the telescope.
"Just think of the incoming first years," Louis said. "At least one of them will surely join the astronomy club, and next year, we'll be the ones who know everything, teaching the new kids."
"You're right," Justin agreed. "And who knows? Maybe we'll come up with an even cooler project to undertake next year. I mean, we have to come up with something to top the telescope now that it's finished."
"I wonder if Ben has any ideas?" Louis wondered.
"Oh, he has ideas," Justin nodded with a smirk. "I saw a parchment with the title Astronomy Club Ideas on it, but he grabbed it away before I could read anything on it."
"Well I'm interested to hear what he has to say when we all get back in September," Louis said.
"Me too," Justin agreed.
The train started moving, and Louis watched as the castle got smaller and smaller in the distance. Next year would be a good year. He could feel it.