A place to relax Closed

Charlotte was homesick, plain and simple. She hadn't talked to her parents in days, which to her seemed like a lifetime. She hadn't even gotten around to telling them where she had been sorted. They would be proud of course, their little girl in the house they were in, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She felt like she didn't belong. Everyone there was so... smart. Most of them were bragging about having practically completed the first year curriculum over the summer. Meanwhile, Charlotte hadn't even opened half of her school books. All she wanted was to go back home. To play outside until the moon was her only light, when her father would come home and show her all of the constellations.

Constellations. One of the few similarities between Lottie's home and her current residence was the fact that they were both under the same sky. Father or not, she could still look at the sky and pretend everything was okay. So up, up, up, she went. The staircase carried her all the way to the top of the astronomy tower. The sun had recently set and dinner had just finished so she hoped that no classes would be up here yet. When she reached the viewing area, Charlotte saw another first year. He appeared to be a Slytherin. She made herself known by clearing her throat, not wanting to seem like a stalker.
"It's gorgeous, innit?"
She cautiously sat herself down next to the boy.
"I'm Lottie."

He smiled at her as she sat next to him. "Don't worry I am not like most Slytherins. I think the Sorting Hat is loosing its touch. I'm Kyden by the way. It's nice to meet you." He looked at her for a quick second before looking up at the sky.

"Isn't it crazy to think that you are looking at the same sky that so many other people are looking at that are thousands and thousands maybe even millions of miles away from you? It's even crazier to think that this is the same sky we look at during the day. I like the night much more."

He stared up at the sky for awhile not saying anything. He was quiet for so long he had to look next to him because he thought she may have gotten up and left. He smiled when he realized she was staring up at the sky also. She was just as entranced with the sky as he was. "So what's your favorite constellation. I have so many I do no think I could pick just one you know. Sometimes I wish I could just spend my whole life just staring up at the sky you know."

She shot him a quick smile when he introduced himself, making a mental note of his name.

"I agree, I like to believe that you aren't as far from home as you think when you can look at the same sky that your friends and family do."

Lottie pulled her knees up to her chest as she got lost in the sky. It was a different angle than she was used to, but once she found Ursa Major she was orientated. She agreed with Kyden about liking the night sky better, she felt as though it understood her. She found Orion's Belt, but was snapped out of her daze when she heard the boy speak.

"I think that Cassiopeia is lovely, according to mythology she was placed in the stars as a punishment for bragging about her beauty. She claimed to be more beautiful than the sea nymphs. That's the level of confidence I'm trying to get."

She cut herself off with a quick chuckle. She didn't want to come off as a know-it-all to this random boy she just met. Lottie shifted closer to Kyden to point Cassiopeia out in the starry expanse.

"Right there, you see that bright star? The w shaped ones surrounding it are her sitting in a throne of sorts. Which one do you like?"

He smiled. "My turn. See that one there. He took her hand and used it to point it out. That one is Messier 45 or many people tend to call it The Seven Sisters. That is one of my favorites. Did you know that the Nine brightest stars of the Pleiades are named after the seven sisters of Greek Mythology and their parents? Sterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygeta, Celaneo, and Alycone. Their parents were Atlas and Pleione."

He abruptly stopped talking. He realized he was rambling. He tended to do that when he was nervous. He also did not want Lottie to think that he was a know it all. He was so far from that. He just really loved Astronomy. He looked over at her. He loved how engaged she was in all of this just like he was.

"So how do you like your classes so far? Charms and Astronomy are my favorites. I am not so great at Defense Against the Dark Arts but  I am sure I can grow to like it. I am just not sure how I feel about Professor Mellowrose."

Once again he realized he was rambling. He hated how he always started to ramble like that.

Lottie hugged her legs and looked at the sky as he explained Messier 45. She was in awe of both the beauty of the dark sky and the boy's knowledge of it. She blushed a little when he grabbed her hand, but ignored it otherwise. She nodded slightly, trying to commit this new knowledge to some sort of memory. Of course she would only remember bits of it tomorrow. When he changed the subject, she thought for a second before she answered.

"I quite like Transfiguration. Defense Against the Dark Arts is fun so far, I'm just not too good at it. Astronomy is definitely one of my better classes as well, but the year is still early so it all could change."

Lottie was fairly sure that in time, she wouldn't like nearly as many classes as she currently did, but for the sake of optimism she didn't elaborate too much. She was starting to feel comfortable around Kyden but she wondered if he was up there for he same reason that she was.

"So, uh, you don't really have to answer this question, but what brought you up here? If you don't mind me asking."

She chuckled nervously, hoping she hadn't overstepped anything. She knew that some people were very private, and technically it was her who had invaded his alone time.

"Well mainly I came up here to talk to Professor Blevins about something but she wasn't here so I decided to just stargaze for awhile. It wasn't like I had anything else to do you know. I also don't much like being in the common room so it was easier for me to just come hang out up here."

He looked around them and shivered a bit. It was growing even darker, which was causing it to get colder. He hadn't thought he would stay up here this long so he did not bring a warmer cloak. Normally he would have. He also knew that classes would be starting soon.

"We should probably think about going. I know astronomy classes will be starting soon. As much as I really don't want to but alas we do not have much of a choice I suppose."

He turned and looked at Lottie. He could tell she didn't really want to go. He didn't either. He loved it up here. "Maybe we could meet up here again tomorrow. I can show you some more of the constellations I know. I know so many of the obvious ones but I also know even more of the not so obvious ones.