No sight is more provocative of awe than is the night sky.
Llewelyn Powys
Zachary's POVThe sky seemed to be telling me something, but I was unsure as to what exactly. I had been watching the night sky for the past four days, and from the first day, I had been seeing strange sights. Looking up at the sky again, a constellation seen only in the southern hemisphere was clearly visible. It was impossible. Stars didn't move. I went in search of Lorena who was supposed to be mapping the sky with me and Justine. She was with Justine. "Have either of you noted the changes in the sky from a week ago?"
"That's what we were discussing, and we can't even guess at the meaning. Maybe Professor Nickodemus can help," Lorena said.
"Good idea. I have my mappings with me," I said, holding up my folder.
Lorena and Justine grabbed their chartings and followed me into the tower classroom. Professor Nickodemus was just coming up the spiral stairs.
"Professor, we have made a strange discovery and do not know the meaning. Could you help us out?" Justine said.
"Of course, my dears, let me see you chartings," the Professor said.
He spread our charts on a wooden tabletop and arranged them. We watched as he puzzled over our work. "Interesting. I wonder why no other students have seen this."
We looked at each other and then back to the Professor. He pointed down at the pages. I studied them. They were nearly identical, and we were working on different quadrants of the sky.
"You don't think our mappings are incorrect," Lorena said.
"Not at all. The sky revealed something to you three for a reason. Now it is our job to figure out what it is saying," he said, walking out on the balcony with the three following.
"Whoa," we all said at the same time when they looked up.
"What is with the light?" I said.
"What light?" the Professor asked, a wry smile creeping onto his crinkled face as his eyes sparkled.
"You don't see the colors dancing across the sky?" Lorena asked.
"Describe what you are seeing," the Professor.
"Well, there are streaks of gold, pink, royal blue, and silver," Justine said.
Professor Nickodemus gazed at the sky for a long moment. "Ah, I see them. Let's see if we can decipher what the sky might be telling us. What have your studies in any class told you about these colors?"
"Well, royal blue suggests someone of high standing is involved. Whether it is a member of a noble family is not really clear," Justine said.
"It also means urgency," I added. Justine glared at me with narrowed eyes. I shrugged. She could give the evil eye all she wanted. It wouldn't change anything. I continued on, "Pink would suggest a female but could also indicate that a change is coming."
Lorena scribed something down in her notebook. "Gold indicates an increase in power and the hope of success."
"Silver," we all said with only Lorena continuing, "I don't recall anything about it."
Reading was my passion. I loved to go to the library and spend hours perusing magical history or researching a topic discussed in on class I found intriguing. That's how I large the little tidbit about royal blue.
"Ah Silver," Professor Nickodemus said thoughtfully, pushing his glasses up. "It's a bit strange silver would light the sky on such a night as this—a night in following a new beginning. There is much wisdom in the color as there is in the moon. As the moon controls the tide with much patience so does silver in the control of emotions. Silver also indicates a female energy." He paused looking at the three. "So, what conclusion do you draw?"
The three of us conversed with each.
"It seems to us that a great and powerful person of the female persuasion is about to bring about a great change," I said.
"And since it was revealed to us three, we might have a role to play," Justine offered.
"But," Lorena added, "caution is needed since the moon is beginning to hide itself. Or, perhaps we are to reveal something about her to the wizarding world."
"I think you have your meaning. But where are you to go? You have left out the night sky movement."
Lorena looked at each chart. "The states," Lorena said. "The west coast of the United States… in a rainy, small town."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" I asked, scratching my head.
"The first change happened after it rained here and was a very small change. We each noted the change even though we assigned different sections. Compare our findings."
I consulted mine and Justine's charts, then Lorena's. In the western portion of each were the same findings.
"You're right, but where exactly?" Justine asked.
"Wait, I think a recall something from when I lived in Washington. There are many small towns but one is particularly standing at to me. Has anyone else noticed the Fornax has been very prominent the past few days," I said, pausing and looked at Justine and Lorena.
They both nodded.
"Fornax shouldn't be visible to us at all. It can onlybe seen in the southern hemisphere," I said.
"That's strange," Lorena said while Professor Nickodemus' smile broadened.
"Anyway, the small town that has been in my mind a lot lately is Forks."
"It seems a trip is in order," Professor Nickodemus said. "Let's waste no time, we must be going."
"But where in Forks?" I asked.
"Where they explore the stars," Lorena replied, disappearing.