Astronomy Buddies PV Closed

When Helen had originally discovered Astronomy on her class schedule, she had been absolutely thrilled. Being able to look up at the night sky, free from any restrictions as the breeze whipped across her face -- well, it certainly sounded like a class brought to life from a far-off dream. But now? Now Helen was kind of regretting the timing of this particular class. Her eyes drooped continuously, and she was forced to rapidly blink in an attempt to wake herself up on multiple occasions. Yawning, she murmured a small greeting to the person next to her, a fellow Slytherin.

The professor began to list off instructions and Helen mentally drifted off into a tired daydream, trusting her chosen partner to fill her in on what they were doing. It was only when everyone began to switch around that she jolted into a panicked awareness. Seconds later, she realized that the teacher wanted them to work with someone from a different House, and her options were quickly disappearing as she wasted precious seconds trying to understand what was going on.

Frantically, she scanned the room for a partner, relief filling her as she noticed a pretty Gryffindor girl motioning her over. Gathering her bag, she slid into the seat next to the girl, offering her a hesitant smile. "Hello," she said politely. "My name is Helen Eldridge. I hope you don't mind if we're partners for the year?"

My name is Helen Eldridge. I hope you don't mind if we're partners for the year?

Anastasia laughed and bit back a sarcastic response. Her filter between her brain and her mouth was nearly gone due to the fact that she still wasn't completely awake. She had said some rather unsavory things to the girl who had woken her up, and she hoped the girl wasn't too angry about that. Still, that had made her make sure to think over what she said more than usual. "Not at all, as long as you're not a spree killer or something. I'm Anastasia Beckett by the way," she told the other girl. Based on her reaction to the Beckett name, Anastasia could tell whether or not the girl was an upper class pureblood that her parents would approve of or not. Not that that was especially important to her right now - her parents had practically threatened to disown her when she'd been sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin and she hadn't yet written them back since receiving that letter. 


Anastasia racked her mind for something to ask, but her normally silver tongue seemed to have turned to lead. Typically, or at least during the day, Anastasia could make small talk with anyone, but that part of her brain appeared to have decided that it would rather stay asleep than actually be at all useful. She finished setting out her textbook and supplies for note taking as she glanced back over at the other girl. 

"Not at all, as long as you're not a spree killer or something. I'm Anastasia Beckett, by the way."

Helen let out a surprised chuckle, relaxing a little at the humorous remark. "Well, I can assure you that I am very much against killing, so you don't need to worry about that. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Anastasia Beckett." Helen paused at the surname, eyebrows drawing together thoughtfully. It was most certainly a pureblood name, but her parents had never been around often enough to enforce a strict education in regards to the pureblood society, and her nanny definitely hadn't given two wits about such politics. Nevertheless, the fact that Helen recognized the name at all meant that it was most likely an important family. Not that it mattered to Helen, really; Helen had never been interested in the "high society."

Helen observed the Gryffindor's tired demeanor, offering an exhausted smile. "Hopefully we will get used to having to be up so late at night for this class." Her brain tried to come up with some sort of conversation, but the late hour and the already stressful week away from home muddled with her thoughts. Eventually, she asked the most basic question she could think of, hoping to get to know the other girl in an attempt to help the class pass by more quickly so she could get back to her wonderful, amazing, beautiful bed. "How are you liking Hogwarts so far?"

"I quite like it so far. I must say, charms is my favorite class right now, although that's hardly fair since none of the other teachers give us baked goods. History of Magic is quite interesting as well. What's your favorite class so far?" Anastasia replied, her brain finally being somewhat helpful. She had liked History of Magic far more than she'd expected to based on her parents descriptions, but then again, their teacher had literally been a ghost, so she could understand how that could be rather dull. She was also surprised how much she'd enjoyed Herbology. Neither of her parents had much fancied it, and she hadn't been expecting to like it half as much as she had. 

Astronomy had been one that she hadn't particularly dreaded or looked forward to, but the time of the class alone already made her not as inclined to enjoy it as she would have been. "Have you always known about magic, or did you just find out when you got your letter?" she asked. She did really want to know, since she'd grown up with magic and she found it quite interesting to hear what people who hadn't thought of Hogwarts. She was excited by it and all, but she wasn't too lost and was settling in fairly well, despite her getting sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. She knew what it was like to go your entire life expecting one thing for your future and suddenly having it turned on its head. Even if she was at the same school and everything, she had expected Slytherin her whole life and was still adjusting to be Gryffindor. It wasn't exactly a bad adjustment though, just an adjustment. 

"Oh, I know what you mean; Charms really did well in attempting to sway my favoritism with those goodies," Helen laughed. "But I really like Potions the most, to be honest. I really wanted to take Divination this year, but unfortunately first years aren't able to." She momentarily pouted, the mere memory of her inability to take the class causing her to feel inexplicable disappointment. Sighing, she mentally waved her sadness away, turning back to the conversation at hand. She was mildly surprised that Anastasia enjoyed History of Magic, as most of her peers were more inclined to the more hands-on classes, but she supposed she shouldn't make assumptions.

"And yes, I did know about magic beforehand. Both of my parents work in the Ministry, but because of that they were too busy to tell me anything about Hogwarts, so I didn't really know what to expect. Honestly, I still don't really know how I feel about it, but it is so beautiful here that I think it's only a matter of time before I fall in love with the castle." She paused, feeling a little homesick. She was sure she would grow to love Hogwarts, but nothing would ever replace her true home. "What about you? Did your parents like having you come to Hogwarts?" she asked.

She found it quite interesting that the girl was so strongly interested in Divination. Her family was rather dismissive of it, but she had friends who thought it was a fascinating art. She hadn't ever met anyone that was that motivated to study it though.  

"Oh, I love the castle so far. My dorm room is quite lovely. It's a bit quaint compared to back home, but I do quite like it. I'm quite glad to be at Hogwarts. My mother rather wanted to send me to Beaubatons, but my dad was set on Hogwarts," she told the girl. She didn't mention the fact that her parents had argued quite a bit about it, or her father yelling at her mother. She wasn't even supposed to know about that, much less tell people about it. She also hoped that the other girl wouldn't think her snotty for saying that she thought it quaint. She knew that it was a lovely castle, she was simply stating that her home was a bit more, well, decadent. 

"What do you think of Astronomy as a class? I think the subject is quite interesting, although the time just might be a deal breaker for me," Anastasia said, her brain slightly more helpful now that she had been up for a bit. 

"Yes, Hogwarts does have a very homey feeling, doesn't it?" Helen said agreeably. She didn't think quaint was the word she would have chosen to describe the castle, but she supposed she could see where the other girl was coming from.

"I agree on the time of the class," she sighed despondently. "I like to consider myself a night owl, but being out this late is a bit too much for me. Other than that, I'm really interested in what we'll be learning. I guess I'll just have to start incorporating a nap in before this class so I don't fall asleep halfway through, she laughed. Glancing at the Gryffindor, she offered a smile. "I'm most excited to see a shooting star. It's bound to happen, with how often we'll be having this class."

Helen stared up at the sky, admiring the twinkling stars shining down on them. It had been rare for her to witness one, and the thought of one streaking across the sky made her bounce in excitement. "I believe in them, you know," she said conversationally. "Shooting stars and wishes, that is. I guess I'll need to be thinking of some wishes before we find one so I can be prepared to make my wish."

Anastasia nodded in agreement at the girl's use of the word homey. Quaint wasn't exactly the word she'd meant, but she didn't like the word homey very much. She didn't know why she just didn't like the word. She was like that - she had words she adored and words she refused to use no matter how necessary it might be. For example, she loved the word "obstreperous", but hated the word "truncate". 

"I've never considered myself a night own or much of morning person. I suppose I wake up and get going on the early side, but I abhor it. I do hope that my brain will actually start properly processing information by the time class begins, otherwise, I'll have a problem, but provided that happens I'll looking forward to this," Anastasia replied, smiling at the last bit so the other girl knew she was joking. She was mostly joking anyway. She rather liked this girl so far - she seemed similarly interested in class and not a terribly dominating personality. Anastasia had been told that she was "bossy" and that she had "this obsessive need to be the best", so she didn't get along very well with similarly tempered people. 

"Oh, I hadn't even thought about that!" Anastasia said excitedly at the mention of shooting stars. She was a bit more excited than she should have been, but for once, she actually seemed like she was eleven and not seventeen. "I know that some people don't really believe in them, but then again, a significant part of the population doesn't believe in magic."

Helen beamed in glee at the other girl's excitement. The Gryffindor had seemed overwhelmingly mature, and Helen had been a little bit worried that she was going to be constantly prim and proper, but her age-appropriate happiness over the thought of shooting stars boosted Helen's confidence. Now more relaxed, she grinned at Anastasia. "That's what I've always said! My parents always thought I was silly for believing in them, but I think that anything is possible in a world full of magic." She was complaining a bit, yes, but come on -- shooting stars were definitely not the most outlandish theory compared to other aspects of their society.

Peering over at her partner, she observed the momentarily happy expression on her face. Anastasia was exceedingly polite, but her firecracker sarcasm that sprinkled in through her words were surprisingly witty and offered another side to the Gryffindor that Helen was looking forward to see more of. Speaking of which....

"How are you liking Gryffindor?" she asked curiously. Anastasia, after all, did not seem like the usual brand of person that came from the house of lions. She was too...refined? Helen wasn't sure if that was the correct word she would use. She did, however, seem to think before she spoke, and that was a quality that many Gryffindors lacked. "Is that the House you were expecting?"