After the intense Quidditch battle, the fierce competitiveness between the students of both schools finally cooled down. This change made the cultural exchange significantly more peaceful.
It was then that Allen finally experienced the course that Uagadou students took the most pride in, Astronomy.
At Hogwarts, Astronomy classes were held atop the Astronomy Tower. On Wednesday nights, a crowd of young witches and wizards would climb the winding stone stairs to the school's tallest tower. There, braving the biting cold winds, they recorded celestial changes on parchnt and submitted them as howork.
It was far from a pleasant task. Surrounded by a lake on three sides, the cold wind around Hogwarts carried heavy moisture that could soak through even your last layer of clothing, granting you a whole new level of experience, sothing like a northern lone wolf freezing into a popsicle during a southern winter.
As a result, many students opted to buy miniature star charts and magical telescopes just to escape this tornt. It led Allen to seriously suspect that Filch, the caretaker, might have so shady... ahem... business going on with the sellers of these devices.
Cough, cough. Anyway, Mr. Filch wasn't all bad, aside from being universally disliked by students (as all caretakers seem to be) and his rather unhealthy obsession with corporal punishnt. Okay, maybe he was pretty bad.
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That day, Allen and a group of his peers hiked up the mountain path under the guidance of their astronomy teacher. After about twenty minutes of trekking, they reached the summit. A short tunnel led them to their destination.
It was a vast cavern lit only by a few glowing sapphires. At the brightest point, Allen saw a line of large letters arranged from countless diamonds, reflecting a soft blue light from the gems above. The words read:
"Only the stars and knowledge are eternal."
It was during this mont that Allen felt the real magic of an Astronomy class.
With a simple gesture from the teacher, the rocky ceiling above them began to change, its heavy, earthy hue gradually fading into a translucent, glass-like surface.
Now, this by itself wasn't all that impressive. After all, Hogwarts' Great Hall and even Allen's common room had enchanted ceilings like this, permanently, too. Uagadou's required activation, which felt like a step back in convenience.
But what truly amazed him wasn't the ceiling, it was the floor.
As the rock overhead beca clear, the stone floor began to glow. Embedded within it were star constellations, beautifully pieced together using gems of all colors, perfectly mirroring the sky above. Not only did they match the positions of the stars, but even their angles were precisely aligned. This suggested one thing: the floor display rotated with the sky itself.
"Professor, when will we start learning celestial divination?" asked a curly-haired boy enthusiastically. Judging by the professor's warm smile, the boy, Sloth, was clearly a top student.
"Oh, Sloth, don't be so hasty. While the stars are eternal and reveal many hidden truths, rushing in too quickly may blind us to the very secrets they offer."
The professor paused, then continued, "As we often say, the stars' ssages are subtle. To see them clearly, sotis we need a little help."
At this point, he glanced at Allen, a clear sign the explanation was ant for him. The other students had likely heard all this before.
With a sharp snap of his fingers, a stone basin in the corner, which Allen had previously ignored, began to emit a soft greenish smoke.
It wasn't choking. In fact, it slled like sun-dried grass.
"The smoke of Soso grass is an ideal assistant," said the professor. "It calms the mind, and more importantly, it creates mist, essential for this task."
"The haze may obscure our direct view, but it also dims the overwhelming brightness of dominant constellations, allowing us to observe the more subtle celestial phenona."
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It sounded powerful, but Allen had no clue what any of it actually ant.
He glanced around and noticed the other students' confused expressions. That's when he realized the truth: while the professor was indeed sharing valid knowledge, the material was so advanced even his top students barely understood it.
So this was a subtle show of dominance, a way to keep the youngest, attention-grabbing Hogwarts exchange student in his place. After all, Allen had just made quite the impression on the Quidditch field. No wonder the professor wanted to assert so control.
Otherwise, why would he contradict himself, preaching patience while triggering a high-cost spell effect like the smoke?
With no way to understand the lesson, Allen decided to simply appreciate the beauty of it all.
As he admired the surroundings, the sa student, Sloth, was called forward.
"Sloth, tell us: what does the sudden appearance of new dark stars between Capricorn an?"
While most students looked baffled, Sloth stood up confidently and said, "Professor, if I rember correctly from our first class, this signals the arrival of a Beast Tide."
Beast Tide? Allen thought. What kind of nonsense is that? I understand every word you're saying, but none of it makes any sense together.
But clearly, the other students understood, and looked excited.
"Excellent, very well done, child. Oh, and perhaps our friend from Hogwarts isn't familiar with the term 'Beast Tide'. Could you explain it to him?"
"Yes, Professor. I'd be happy to."
Sloth turned toward Allen with a smile.
"A Beast Tide refers to a large wave of magical creatures migrating or growing en masse. While most of them breed slowly and mature at different rates, they all seem to respond to a cosmic trigger, specifically, the appearance of new stars within Aries."
"This sudden developnt leads to overpopulation. Without enough space or food, mass predation begins. The apex magical beasts, having no natural enemies, grow especially aggressive and dangerous."
"Every Beast Tide results in a spike of magical creature attacks on humans, and the mid-tier creatures suffer population crashes due to excessive hunting from above."
"As one of Africa's leading magical institutions, Uagadou is responsible for intervening. During a Beast Tide, classes are suspended, and students participate in controlled hunts to thin out the top predators and stabilize the lower-level species."
"Did I explain it correctly, Professor?"
"Perfectly. I couldn't have said it better myself. Class dismissed. I need to discuss this Beast Tide with the Headmaster."
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Author's Notes:
Yes, Kanna from yesterday is an ani character. A cute, adorable dragon girl. And if you recognized her and called a weeb… well, you outed yourself too!
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