Till The Sky Fall Down
It was a while before the curfew would hit that Atlas stood still at the Astronomy Tower. The boy felt the spring evening to be a bit chilly, it was evident by the thick mist of his breath curling in wispy against the chilling atmosphere. His journal was open on the bunk where he sat and he also held feather quill and a bottle of ink that he used to write.The sky above was stretched out and black as velvet, the sky looked like it was seeded with stars that shone like distant thoughts. He numbered them indolently—Orion, the Pleiades, the ghostly scratch of Leo spanning the sky. The constellations were old acquaintances, known and trusty. Unlike the lad he was now waiting for.
Earlier in class, Professor Starwise had paired students together to work on a certain homework he had given them and seemingly, Atlas ended up with a Gryffindor whom he cannot remember his name at all. "Oh gawd, it's almost past curfew!" he thought to himself. His eyes flicked to the tower door and it was still closed. The Slytherin boy took a deep breath wondering where his homework partner was, impatience was not a virtue and he learned thing a long time ago to wait for things that mattered—Astronomy mattered. He eventually turned slightly and flipped few pages in his journal as he scanned through some old notes he has been taking. Astronomy had a lot to give in terms of constellation and even back in the muggle world, Atlas used to read so many books based on the constellation that he wanted to visit NASA someday.
Like he would usually do when he waited, he started singing a song from that most muggles would be familiar with, although he did not sing it out loud, but he did it just to fuel his patience.
@Harlan Montgomery
OOC Note: Permission to mention Professor Starwise pairing Atlas and Harlan was granted by the user.
Till The Sky Fall Down
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 —— ——summary, this thread is happening on APRIL 14TH, 2025, in the EVENING with @Atlas Anderson / wc: 381. After a full school week of being back at Hogwarts, Harlan felt entirely capable to be placed back with his third year classmates. He knew his grandmother was quite the Charms professor and with a tutor to help him practice sanctioned magic, Harlan felt comfortable and capable. It was a bit nice to meet the wizards and witches a year younger than him and to easily transition back into school with a curriculum that he felt comfortable with. When Professor Starwise had partnered the two of them together, Harlan was quick to observe the shifty eyes of a curious wizard and thought perhaps it be time to start his proper takeover of the school - one student at a time. It's when they decided to finish their homework right before curfew, Harlan would push the time just a bit later as he finished getting ready in civilian clothes and a spritz of cologne to smell nicely and he made his way towards the Astronomy tower with his school bag and a devious plan. " ... Are you singing? " With a cocked head in absolute surprise and furrowed brows in slight confusion, Harlan had heard the light humming as he turned the corner but he wasn't expecting it to be Atlas singing himself a little song - what a dweeb. It wasn't a song he recognized from his childhood, but perhaps it was some snooty elitist song from the upper echelons. The Gryffindor lion made his way next to Atlas and quickly grabbed his journal, quill and bottle of ink, before he let out a big yawn and gave himself a good stretch before settling himself next to the boy. " Sorry about that, stairs were a pain. " He lied, offering a brief look of innocence and charm while his body collapsed onto itself and he brought himself to the floor with his eyes looking up at the constellations for them to chart out for their project. " Are you pretty good at Astronomy or do you need a quick little lesson of our anchor constellations? The ones to point out first to help orient yourself to the sky. " With a craned neck, Harlan made a quick note in his mind of where Pleadies and the Big Dipper was before returning his gaze back to the second year. |
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Till The Sky Fall Down
Atlas had artist he liked in the muggle world, they were really creative and songs such as Ariana Grande's NASA was one of the few good once. His parents usually let him listen to some of his favorite Artists like Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Ghost etc, they were not strict, not really. He sang the song the chorus' repetitive line, as he gazed at the sky. He blinked once..."Are you singing?" The ensuing silence after Harlan's question was charged with judgment so piercing that it might have cut glass. The boy did not make a point of swiveling his head to take in the boy's gaze at once. Rather, his eyes simply rested on the curve of Cassiopeia riding across the sky over the edge of the tower, her lines of W-shaped constellation incised crisply into the stars.
It was not until after a measured delay that he crept ahead by a hair's breadth to present Harlan with a sidelong glance and his eyes remained alert under his hair which had been swept back from his forehead before "Reciting..." he remarked serenely, though in fact he was singing. He did not even go so far as to cut Harlan off as he grabbed the journal, ink, and quill from their neat placement. Within a flash of tension flared in his chest at the audacity of the move—his gear was personal, his notes more so—but the only outward sign was the slight contraction of his eyelids as a sardonic twitch at the edge of his mouth just hinted at a smile that never quite went that far. As the Gryffindor sprawled next to him, Atlas faced the sky once more. He could catch a whiff of something faint—cologne, barely covered up by the smell of parchment and castle stone. Too much effort for a school project and in his mind, which informed him precisely the sort of person he was working with.
"Sorry about that, stairs were a pain."
Maybe he was lying...
Atlas didn't immediately speak and overhead, the sky had cleared completely—a wide expanse of stars that extended past the borders of coursework. And here they were, grounded, matched up by the capriciousness of a professor and whatever personal drama Starwise seemed to relish. "Are you pretty good at Astronomy quick little lesson of our anchor constellations? The ones to point out first to help orient yourself to the sky.
That earned a response.
Atlas's eyebrow went up, his expression unreadable as he turned to Harlan now, one eyebrow raised in polite scorn. "I have been charting the sky since I was able to hold a quill." He sarcastically said and reclaimed his journal from where Harlan had placed it alongside him—firmly, but not rudely. "But if you wish to teach me about constellations we can see without a telescope, I'm certain that I could feign ignorance long enough to permit you to dazzle yourself."
The Slytherin flipped his journal open, he uncapped the ink bottle with one hand and began to jot a line beneath the previous entry, quietly recording the time of Harlan’s arrival. Atlas said nothing more immediately. He enjoyed allowing silence to drop like dew—uncomfortable for those who had to fill it. But then, after a pause, he gave the slightest yet most subtle smile. "Hope your handwriting is legible," he grunted, not even looking up.
He extended the quill to Harlan unceremoniously, and dove into his sack to produce a blank star chart. "Let's get begun, shall we?
@Harlan Montgomery
Till The Sky Fall Down
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—— ——summary, this thread is happening on APRIL 14TH, 2025, in the EVENING with @Atlas Anderson / wc: 399. Slytherin's were so fickle; even the thought of a kind gesture often turned their already stoic and judgmental gaze into something twisted and defensive without much reason for it. Harlan kept agile, the other's jabs back wouldn't bother him because he had known how to maneuver through this with relative ease. " Atlas, right? It's okay to just saw you don't need a lesson. I wasn't sure. I'm just trying to pass this class. " Harlan's grasp moved to the other's shoulder and paused it there for a second while he squeezed lightly keeping his eyes on the other to keep him from trying to disarm an olive branch into something more sinister and vengeful. It was clear that the other had yearned for a more delicate touch and the chameleon that was Harlan would happily adjust, all his life had been so far was this need to constantly tinker at the parts of himself that hadn't served him and augmented what he could use to propel forward (adapt, adapt, adapt). " We can just do the homework. " Harlan wasn't sure if Atlas would feel a little stupid for such a brazen display, but he hoped perhaps he would feel it - if even just slightly. With that, the Gryffindor happily took the quill from the snake and wrote their names on the top corner of the star chart. He hadn't had the most pristine quillwork, but it was legible enough. " What's your last name again? " He asked in earnest, there were far too many people in second year for him to remember every single one's first and last name before the year was over. It'd matter more when he was hopefully back with his true classmates, but he'd at least ask. Without skipping a beat, Harlan would stand on his feet and moved to the middle of the room, where the controls for the roof that showcased all of the stars. " C'mon, I need help moving the sky. We have to set the north star in the sky, that'll help us figure out the rest of this damn map. " His hand went to the levers, pulling one as the sky began to move swiftly. Uh oh, maybe Harlan wasn't exactly paying full attention to when Professor Starwise gave the instructions of how to navigate the room for this assignment. Lucky, the Slytherin seemed like all he did in class was pay attention. |
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