7:15pm, Thursday

"No! You have to carry the four! It's Jupiter! You always have to carry! Here, just- just!" Frank insistently reached for the quill and the star chart they were all sharing adamant that he make his point about the alignments Professor Trishna had them working on. 

Finals didn't begin until June, but in typical Ravenclaw fashion the first years were driven by both excitement and fear to begin studying early.  Most evenings a knot of them would convene in the commonroom to do homework together, or alternatively, huddle around an older year to beg for quizzes or clues on what they could expect.

"Augh! Just let me show you!"

The normally calm if earnest Frank Sellaphix was far more flustered than usual.  He loved school, but hated being wrong.  He needed to explain or he'd explode!

"But Frank--!" Iris cut herself off, exasperated but aware that the boy was probably right. She passed him her quill, and pushed her hair back from her face, intent on understanding the jumbled mass of stars and calculations. She wasn't above admitting that she had no clue how this worked, and sat back, rubbing her temples lightly.

Iris was no exception to the Ravenclaw pre-final panic, having spent most of her evenings with Frank and the other first-years, struggling to decipher their own handwriting and generally not give themselves stress-induced ulcers.

"Augh! Just let me show you!"

Iris put her hand lightly on Frank's shoulder. It was unusual for him to get this worked up about anything.

"Okay, Frank. Show us."

Finally having the quill seemed to sedate the normally cheerful boy, as did Iris's level head.  He took a deep breath and carefully did some sums in the corner.

"Look, you have to measure the increments here.  Eighty-one.  Then subtract for Jupitor's moons.  Sixty-seven.  Then Galileo's Query and...four! See?"

He handed it back to Iris.  "At least that's what I thought..." He suddenly doubted himself and reached for the thick textbook he'd gotten from the library.  The print was tiny, but Frank wasn't intimidated.  Actually, he was more likely to borrow the large books just to show off.  He hunched over it and ran his finger along the columns seeking confirmation.

Iris let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Seeing the normally relaxed boy so stressed out was almost frightening.

"Everything you did looks right... I got five. But my arithmetic is fairly shoddy, so that might be it."

All the same, she was thankful he had thought to bring the giant book he was now poring over. It would have the answer. Books always have the answers. Iris chewed thoughtfully at her lip, trying to remember exactly what Galileo's Query actually was. She voiced her question, looking around at the other first-years in the hopes that one of them would remember.