I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.

Dearest -

The talk with Dai, well, we are talking again finally, so that’s progress. Took an awful lot of yelling (more me than him) though. Hurrah for the amazing powers of sheer bloody-minded stubbornness, I guess.

Still at the Guild - Georg’s plying me with coffee and comets, and he says he’ll walk me home when I’m ready. Could be another hour or three, since I may as well check a few things in the library while I’m here. (And is that the first time I’ve actually called Spence home? Might be.)

And love? This argument, it made it so very clear how you’ve changed me for the better. Thank you for that and your patience.

I’m still feeling rather inspired after last night - the chance to talk to my astronomical peers about a topic near and dear my heart does give a lift. Georg: thanks again for the opportunity, it was delightful, and I appreciate your attention in all the planning. Everyone else: I’ll do my best to make it in April, you’re all right it’d been entirely too long.

I’m particularly intrigued by some upcoming projects, especially one that promises substantial refinements in the astronomy involved in locational magic (such as used in the floo network) and another focusing on the mysteries of star creation. (For older students: several projects are offering summer internships and not all of them require NEWT level work in astronomy. Stop by for details.)

I also got several useful references for my own research, and I’m quite excited to dig into that, now we’ve gotten back into the rhythm of the school term. It seems that errors crept into previous detailed work on stars in Ursa Major. My end goal is deeper study on the origins of those stars, but clearly a corrected survey must happen first.

To my NEWT students and the YPL counsellors:
What a lovely thing just after lunch! Thank you for such a thoughtful present and I especially treasure the notes. (And thank you, for not just leaving it for me: so much more fun to see your faces.) 6th years, now I know why you all couldn’t stop grinning this morning!

Office hours this week
As I was out last night, I expect to be in my office between dinner and curfew tonight (and tomorrow, and Friday) for anyone with questions about your first assignments of the new term (or your exams, if your marks are still mysterious.) Next week, I’ll settle into the schedule we’ve discussed in class.

One last note:
Would the following please stop by my office during any of my office hours, sooner rather than later? You’re not in trouble, I promise. (Diggory and O’Flaherty, same matter I mentioned Sunday).
3rd years: Bradley, Clarriker, Inglebee, Lovegood, Sandoval, Stevens, Zimmerman
4th years: Brocklehurst, Bones, Bundy, Hopkins, Jones, Longbottom, Macmillan, Moon, Parkinson, Perks, Weasley
5th years: Begy, Bobolis, Cadwallader, Coote, Dunstan, Gamp, Jones, Robins, Sloper

I woke up to a half dozen notes, but no details, except that apparently you’re much better off than Stint is.

Are you?

And what on earth did you do happened?

Mum -

Nashira's still busy with orders I need for materials before students arrive, so a note this way seems faster.

Sorry again for not managing to visit: I know I said I'd try, but the YPL debriefing took forever and a day. (Well, till yesterday). And now I'm up to my neck in plans for next year, plus that promise to help Rabastan Lestrange settle in. (I certainly don't mind, but it is one more thing on my list. Plus there's that wanting to be helpful part, and yet not wanting to be overeager or anything like that.)

Speaking of: did you get a chance to ask Orion about our new addition? Orion keeps saying he's too busy with that secretive Ministry project to write, and he's a lousy correspondent anyway. If you do get him to come for dinner, please ask for me if there's anything I should know about, since they were the same year. I'd hate to put my foot wrong with some old upset, especially given his (and his family's) current influence. Storm was no help whatsoever, but he was enough younger that it didn't surprise me. (And, well, Storm. Barely notices his own feet until he trips over them.)

Everyone seems pleased enough with the YPL work, and there's talk of adding another person to the planning staff next year - since after all, we'd be up to three separate years to plan for, and only so many weeks when events are really feasible. If you know anyone who's free in the summer for at least three or four weeks, and is interested, do pass on the name, and I'll send it along. (They are, of course, doing very careful screening: have I mentioned again how glad I am you invested all that time in tracing all the family lines back? Made it so much easier when they were interviewing me.)

Dai sent me a very brief owl earlier this week: he still hasn't found a new job, and he's still refusing to let me help him out. I keep telling him it's not like I've got much in the way of expenses - and the extra YPL salary as well - but he keeps refusing. If you do hear of anyone looking for someone with good detail skills, I'm sure he'd be grateful of a referral. It's not like he chose his parents, or to get so sick and have his miser of a boss fire him. The good news is that he really is mostly recovered: still some weakness, and he really shouldn't have a job that requires lifting or lots of walking, but other than that, he's almost back to where he was.

My friend Poppy's gotten some new interesting possible options transfigured foods in her travels - do take a look at her recent journal about it. I know you think that the real foods are best, but honestly, you'd lose it if you had to eat just what we could grow in Scotland in the winter, even with the greenhouses. And feeding students is hard enough as it is. (Though she was grateful for your recipes: if someone's recovering from something, obviously, it's a bit different than feeding the whole horde.)

If things get sorted a bit sooner than I think they will, I'll see about coming for a day or two before term starts, but no promises. Now, I really should go off and poke around the DADA room to make that list.

A.

I'm taking Poppy's excellent advice (and taking a friend up on a spare bed...) and heading off to even more northern climes for a bit. Seems a bit odd, and even more so coming from Hogwarts, but there you are.

We've plans to do a bit of rambling, and a lot more stargazing. My friend's been plotting the movement of a number of comets for the last decade or more, and rather wants some help sorting the results out.

I expect I'll be back around the middle of July, ready to wrap up the last details for the camping trip (and in the meantime, it's not as if the owls can't find me: I've certainly left clear instructions here about any messages that come through.)

Older students may remember that in the fall of 1990, one of your observations was of the Great White Spot of Saturn. Younger students: this is a large white spot, visible only with a telescope and good viewing conditions, that appears on the planet Saturn at long intervals (at an interval of 27 to 30 years, depending on other factors).

This particular event has been an interest of mine since I first heard of it, and 1990 was my first chance to observe it for myself. Since that fall, there has been some discussion amongst astronomers about the nature of this phenomenon, and what it might indicate about the heavens. I recently got an owl from a friend fellow astronomer, who has been doing extensive research into previous observations. The research is tricky, as many of the titles are obscure.

My correspondent noted that in 1990, the spot seemed to increase, almost encircling the planet - it was apparently much smaller in past observations. Astrologers might argue it heralded some momentous event, but honestly, I cannot think what that might be.

Students: please consider for class this coming week the possible causes of such an event, and what information would be useful in future observations to understand the phenomenon. Questions here are welcome, especially for younger students who are only beginning their study of the theory.

And now, me, I'm up to the tower for some other observations.