hh_clubs | Astronomy Club: Wizarding Constellations VOTING

Activity: Wizarding Constellations
Points: 1st/2nd/3rd/Participation Only: 50/40/30/10 points. Voting is 2 points.
Ends: Voting ends 28 Feb 11:59pm UTC (5:59pm CST).
Join: If you own a star chart and/or telescope, join the club to get your bonus points.

Basilisk

Up in the north sky above Hogwarts School is a constellation that strongly resembles the Basilisk, the king of serpents. It is among the most terrifying creatures in the wizarding world and one has been rumored to be resting comfortably inside a deep underground secret chamber under the school. Well, at least, that's what astronomy students whisper fretfully to one another when they first point their telescopes up near celestial north and start to see the way the stars connect like a serpent's body. Is the rumor actually true? Newt Scamander says no one has seen a basilisk for 400 years, after all...

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Pontikos the Cunning

This is the constellation of Pontikos the Cunning, a rat king who lived in a castle on Mercury. Much like Mercury and rats in general, Pontikos symbolizes agility, dexterity, intelligence, elusiveness, perceptiveness and versatility. It is often said in select circles that Pontikos not only rules Slytherin house but that Salazar himself drew inspiration from Pontikos after realizing their similarities. Pontikos is said to aid all who happen to fall under Slytherin house not only in the traits he symbolizes but also in their magical endeavors.

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FRED

Nobody noticed the W constellation in the sky until after the Battle at Hogwarts. But then Molly Weasley had looked up one night and spotted it, "obvious as day". She pointed it out to her husband, who whispered about it to their remaining children, and the following evening they all gathered outside to stare up at the darkening sky, eagerly awaiting the constellation's appearance. George spotted it first, and he swore he could feel it and every year, on April 1 and again on May 2, the ever-growing family met to stare up at the sky and the reminder of the son, brother, uncle they'd lost.

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Flamel

Nicolas Flamel is lucky enough to be one of the few people who was able to help in the writing of his own myth. He is known in the Muggle world for his works in hieroglyphics (the little man) and in the Magical for his Philosopher's Stone (oblong diamond). He realized that even though the world is huge, we must remember that we are all connected (large rectangle).

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Virgulam the Wand

Once upon a time there was a wizard named Phineas who came up with the idea of a device to channel his magical energy so he could better control it. The device he ended up using was a stick which he named "Virgulam", which was "Wand" in his language. Virgulam ended up being one of his best tools, and when Phineas died, Virgulam was cast into the sky as a wand of stars, which you see here.

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CURVY WHALE.

The Curvy Whale has come from the oceans themselves. It is said that the whale was able to go to the stars due to being a savior of Merlin himself, but not many people know this to be true or not. It is believed that a long time ago, Merlin had been afraid of the water and needed to go in it to get something for his family. Being as afraid as he was, he was very hesitant to even get near the water. However, he was a brave man and after counting to one million and one and taking just as many steadying breaths, he walked into the ocean. Before panicking.

Sure, the water was only up to knees. And sure, he would learn much later that he had the ability to swim. However, at this time he was young -- extremely young -- fifteen, to be exact, and he hated water. It is said that as he panicked within the shallow spot, a whale with a curved vertebrae came up to him. Circled him. Calmed him until he realized just why he was panicking.

He was so thankful that he knew this whale, whom he named Curvy, needed to be remembered, forever. And with an enchanted spell, sent curvy's soul up to the heavens, so he could remain in the ocean for as long as he wanted, and then, when he died, could watch over people as a star.

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Basilixis

The story of the basilixis revolves around the origin of the first Parselmouth, widely known to be an ancestor of Salazar Slytherin himself. Basilixis is said to be a wizard who enjoyed transfiguring himself to be a snake so much that eventually it became the only form he took, and he ended up teaching his most devout students his tongue.

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Buckbeak

According to the myth, one day a group of five young witches and wizards were swimming in a river near their home. As they played, the current became stronger and stronger, pulling them further and further away. They tried to swim back, but soon grew tired. Just as they were about to be pulled down into the depths, a large creature appeared above them, swooping down and allowing them to climb on its back. The large creature was a Hippogriff and it flew the children back to their parents. One of the children claimed she could communicate with animals and insisted that the Hippogriff’s name was Buckbeak. The parents, in honor of the creature who had saved their children, shot a spell up into the heavens, creating the constellation now known as Buckbeak.

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Tent of Three

A long time ago (well, actually, not that long ago), a very famous teller of divination had a feeling that something miraculous was going to happen in the forest just outside her home. To be prepared for the occasion, she spun herself a bed of leaves and spent every night out in the cold, just waiting for a sign. One night, a ghost appeared and told the divination teller that in the future, a trio of Chosen Ones was going to make camp in this very forest on their quest to saving the wizarding world from a very evil lord. However, the ghost said, this trio would never find a spot to make camp unless they had a sign from above to guide them. The divination teller knew what she must do. That night, she laid herself to rest in her bed of leaves and willed her soul to become the guiding light of the chosen trio. The next morning, there was no sign of the divination teller — it was like she had vanished! — but every night since, the Tent of Three has loomed bright in the sky, just waiting for the chosen trio to arrive.

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