Aurora Sinistra, professor of Astronomy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a confident but generally solitary woman, when she wasn't teaching of course. She was fairly tall for a woman and lissome as a night-time breeze, elegant in her fitted black dress and lightly feathered toque pinned into her hairstyle. Generally she kept herself to herself, watching the barely imperceptible undulations of the night sky with a fascination that never dimmed. The selfsame passion that was reflected in the silver-grey of her iris'.
As it was a particularly stormy October night, she had no excuse not to eat with the rest of the staff at the teacher's table. She had never liked the claustrophobic feeling it gave her, even when she had been a student here herself, but smiled politely at the Charms Professor, Flitwick and Snape, the Potions Master on either side of her nevertheless. She had tried to sit on one end but the seats were already occupied. It appeared Hagrid preferred the end to make him less inconspicuous and Professor Vector had his lesson notes sprawled over the other end. She had not shown her distaste but simply acted as was expected of her.
She would be able to leave soon, once the formality of dinner was over. She would be able to leave the distasteful company of her school-days tormentor, Severus, and return to her apartments in the lower floors of the Astronomy Tower. She fought back unpleasant memories of his snide comments in their potions lessons, of his sneers through the corridors and of the few times in their second year when he dipped the ends of her hair in his ink well. She sighed, impatient to return to her studies, to go back to her enchanted ceiling and its lulling visions of the Aurora Borealis.
Feeling a prickling sensation, she was vaguely aware of the Potions Master looking at her. She had hoped he would not make this evening any worse than it already was. She took up her goblet, sipping at the Hippocras and averted her gaze, staring fixedly at the rim of her gold plate. Maybe he would leave her alone if she ignored him. As the volume increased she glanced up at the students that had begun to fill the room. As the space lessened she felt her heart begin to pound and her lungs tighten as the Oxygen began to dissipate… She decided it was best to focus on calming herself, this was the first time she had been present at the Staff table in at least seven months so she didn't want to make a fool of herself. She took a few gulps of air and swallowed a mouthful from the jeweled goblet to fortify herself. Once she began to regain her self control she realised she could stil feel Severus Snape still watching her.
Did he know her discomfort? The sniveling, greasy haired know-it-all of her school days- did he know how much she feared the confines of the castle? No doubt he found amusement in her plight. The anger helped to take her mind off the lessening space and calmed her down a little more, in that respect at least. In truth she wanted to throw the contents of her goblet in his face and scream at him to know what he was looking at, what he was thinking, his silent staring was infuriating.
Professor Flitwick cleared his throat to gain her attention. She turned, smiling, and raised one dark, finely sculpted eyebrow inquisitively. Her impeccable outer appearance hid her discomfort well, though it had taken several years to master it.
"Perhaps you could pass me the Hippocras, Aurora, Pumpkin Juice wears a little on the palate," He smiled through his white facial hair. His watery blue eyes danced in the candle light. He was a polite man, a little like her in some respects but his conversation could grow repetitive and dull. As much as she loved discussing the finer points of 'swish and flick' she had rather talk of the subject closer to her heart. Obliging, she handed him the crystal decanter of hippocras and returned her attention back to her plate.
With a clap from Dumbledore gold dishes began to fill up with steaming vegetables, three kinds of potatoes, slices of lean meats, various types of stuffing, but best of all were the wonderfully fluffy Yorkshire puddings. As the serving dishes were passed up and down the staff table, Aurora filled her plate with small portions of most of the food on the table so she didn't look greedy and Severus would not be able to pass comment. She did however, take three Yorkshire puddings. Once she was satisfied, she poured a nice helping of gravy over her food and then arranged her napkin in the lady-like fashion on her lap. She picked up her gold cutlery and began to cut a morsel of the tender venison. The clinks and scrapes and boisterous conversation from below the dais told her that the students too were tucking into their meal.
She had eaten her way through half of the delectable food on her plate and it seemed she would make it through the evening's torture without comment from Severus when he turned to her, elbows on the table, of all the bad mannered things to do, and asked her a question of which she was sure he knew nothing about.
"Have you had much luck, what with the bad weather we seem to be having, in the documenting of the Northern Taurids this year?" The question caused her cut of roast potato to go down with some difficulty. Asking about a Meteor Shower…a Potions Master who only ever ventured from his filthy dungeons to eat…She smiled wryly at him, dabbing at her full lips with her silk napkin and replaced it carefully in her lap before answering. She had gone rigid and her face had become cold.
"More luck than I had believed, thankfully, the North Tower is above the cloud-line. They seem a little more erratic this year, however, several moving more latitudinal than longitudinal," Then she returned to cutting the rich sage and onion stuffing, mixing it with a morsel of the best Yorkshire Pudding to grace Merlin's green Earth…
"But the North Tower is so cold and lonely, and so far away too," He leaned a little closer to her, toying with his goblet in one hand to punctuate his speech.
"And the Dungeons, Severus are dank and lonely. What is your point?" She replied tartly, suddenly loosing her appetite. He remained silent for a moment, suddenly unsure in the hostility of her gaze. He swallowed but forged on.
"I was wondering, perhaps you would care to show me these Taurids, I hear they are quite…lovely," That caught her off guard but she bristled. Was this a genuine interest?
"Well, I personally would not care to show you but if you can stand the cold and lonliness of the North Tower, I cannot stop you from looking for them yourself,"
"I would hardly be lonely in your company, Aurora," He quirked a brows suggestivly at her. "And as for warmth…" He trailed off at her eyebrow steadily arching in a quietly disapproving manner. He covered his uncertainty with what he hoped was a seductive smirk.
"Indeed," Her nostrils flared slightly, her indignation at this new source of torment was not one she particularly enjoyed. "Although, I would hardly wish to keep you from your lotions and tonics. Please excuse me…" She dropped her napkin on the table, rose and glided from the room, her head held high. Muscles in her jaw worked at his sheer audacity to even think…think what?