Heavenly Bodies
. . .

"That will be all for today class," Aurora Sinistra told her group of seventh-year students. "For next week's class I want a three-foot scroll on Orion and the rituals that are influenced by him," she informed those present. "Let's stop gazing at the bodies above and get yours moving please," she added with a grin.

"Professor, how many rituals?" enquired Lily Moon, the only Gryffindor present. After the war had ended, many students decided not to return to Hogwarts. The remaining seventh-year students from the previous year were being allowed to attend this year to complete their schooling. The number of students sitting their Astronomy NEWTs was so small that they combined them all together into a single class.

"All of them, Ms. Moon," Aurora replied with a grin, confident that the Ravenclaw's had known better than to ask such an obvious question. The professor managed not to chuckle at the answering groans to her words. "Off with the lot of you now. This is your NEWT year, and you need to get some sleep before classes tomorrow."

The students, a mixture of all the Houses except Slytherin, gathered their stuff and left in ones and two or small groups. Hearing her name called behind her, the astronomy professor hid her smile and schooled her expression before she turned around to answer.

"Ms. Patil, what can I do for you?" Aurora enquired of the Ravenclaw witch. The young witch was exceptionally brilliant and honestly seemed to enjoy astronomy, a subject near and dear to Aurora's own heart. The professor had more than once noticed the younger girl staring at her in a sort of wistful manner. I'm probably just imagining it, she told herself, certain that she was just feeling overly lonely after being dumped by her lover.

"I couldn't help but notice that Assistant Professor Brodel has not been with us the last several classes. Is she not well?" the young woman asked. Dark chocolate eyes set within a beautiful face regarded the astronomy professor intently.

If anyone were to have noticed I would have laid money on it being her, Aurora thought to herself. "Ms. Brodel has accepted a teaching position at another school. I can only assume she is well as I did not see her prior to her leaving," Aurora answered, trying to keep the bitter edge from her voice. After the row we had it is no wonder she left without saying goodbye.

"A pity," Padma replied. "I rather enjoyed her company." The girl's tone of voice failed to reflect the same message her words spoke of. If anything is sounded almost as if the young witch was glad the other woman was gone.

"Yes, as did I," Aurora agreed evenly. My bed certainly has been cooler at night without her there to warm it. The two witches regarded each other for a long moment in silence. "Was there anything else, Ms. Patil? If not it would be best if you were to run along," the professor said a bit colder than she had intended. "I need to straighten up before I myself can retire for the night, you see," she hastily added with a small smile to lessen the sting of her previous words.

"I could help you," Padma suggested hopefully. "My first session tomorrow is a study one so it shouldn't hurt if I am a little late to bed." Large hopeful eyes stared up at the taller professor, making it difficult to refuse the offer of assistance.

"Very well," Aurora finally conceded and allowed her to help after a moment of thought. It wasn't like the professor hadn't cleaned up before by herself. Since Tabby had left though she had found that she didn't like doing it alone. Tabitha Brodel had been a bright witch, a Ravenclaw graduate from a few years back, making her younger than Aurora was. There is just something about those smart girls, Aurora thought deliciously. The two of them had often cleaned up after classes together before retiring for the night.

"Professor," Padma voiced as she put away one of the telescopes, "will you be replacing Ms. Brodel?" she asked, her voice deceptively casual.

Aurora gave a shrug, not having given it much thought as yet. "I guess I shall have to before the new school year begins. I'll probably do that during the summer vacation. Till then I think I can manage you lot on my own. Even combining the Houses this class is smaller than normal."

"Well, as you know," the Ravenclaw witch said a bit nervously, "this is my last year. I've really enjoyed your class, Professor. I'll be twenty shortly after the next school year starts," Padma said in a rush, her nervousness getting the better of her despite her best efforts.

"These are all facts I well know, Ms. Patil," Aurora said while straightening up a pile of star charts. "I'm assuming there is a reason you're telling me all this?" she asked, pausing to turn and look at the nervous young witch, believing she already knew what was coming.

"If…if I do well on my NEWTs, do you….do you think you could consider me for taking Ms. Brodel's position?" Padma stammered out in a rush. The young woman was certain she did not know as much as the former assistant professor, but she was willing to work hard over the summer holidays to make up for her lack of experience.

Aurora groaned internally as her over active mind recalled some of Tabby's favorite positions. Merlin's Beard! Aurora chastised herself. She's only nineteen! I'm a decade older than she is! I shouldn't be having these types of thoughts! "That is kind of you to offer but wouldn't you want to see what options you have out there before committing yourself to a position you may not even like once you're in it?"

"But if I wait then you will have hired someone else," Padma stated in a confused tone. "I've really enjoyed your classes the entire time I've been at Hogwarts. I didn't think I would like Astronomy at first but you opened my eyes to it, and I found myself captivated by your passion for the stars!" Among other things, the young witch thought to herself trying hard not to blush as her eyes dropped to the floor, traveling over the older woman's robed body in the process.

Aurora turned away from her student and looked up at the heavens and the stars above as if they held the answer for her. She had always striven to impart her love of the constellations and the impact they had on the magical world to her students. What am I supposed to do when one of them throws it right back in my face? She is one of my best students too.

"Ms. Patil, Astronomy is the study of the heavenly bodies above us," she said, gesturing to the star filled sky to emphasize her point. "We must know where each constellation is at all times so that we can measure their impact on any given ritual as well as our very lives. If you're serious about wanting to perhaps one day be a professor and teach others about the joys of those heavenly bodies, then you must prove to me you know your subject. If you can tell me five facts that I do not already know about the constellations as well as the stars above and you score well on your NEWTs, I will consider you for the position of assistant professor."

"Thank you, Professor!" Padma squealed, just barely keeping herself from running over to the older woman and hugging her. "I won't let you down!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Aurora couldn't help but smile at the girl's apparent enthusiasm. "I'll warn you now, though, I am very well read, and there isn't much I do not know about those heavenly bodies," she told the younger witch as she pointed upwards. "Now, off with you before your Head of House takes me to task for keeping you up later than I ought to."

"Thank you, Professor!" Padma replied with a face splitting grin. "Good night. Sweet dreams," the seventh year student called before descending down the stairs from the top of the astronomy tower.

Aurora looked once more to the stars above. "What have I gotten myself into?"

-oOo-

"Ms. Patil?" Aurora replied to hearing her name called from behind at the end of the class. The last week had flown by far faster than she thought possible. Since Tabby had left her, time seemed to have slowed to a crawl for the professor, until now. "We really need to stop meeting like this," Aurora teased with a welcoming smile as the younger girl blushed ever so slightly.

"Y…yes. Sorry," the younger witch stammered, caught off-guard by the professor's playful words. "I was hoping that I could speak with you concerning the matter we talked about last week," Padma stated, pushing past her nervousness to get to the matter at hand.

"I thought that might be the case," replied Aurora. "I will listen while I straighten up if you don't mind?" she asked with an arched brow.

"No, not at all," Padma was quick to reply as she moved to assist the professor, much as she had done the previous week. The young witch began to disassemble the telescope before her and place it back in its case before she managed to speak again. "There are ninety-six-"

"-know constellations," Aurora finished for her, cutting the girl off in mid-sentence. "The Muggles believe to be only eighty-eight. Do you know what the other eight are?"

"The Giant, The Dragon, The Pixie, The Magus, The Caldron, The Wand, The Quill and The Scroll," Padma replied as she continued to disassemble the telescope and store it away in its case. "While Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky," the young witch continued, knowing that her previous answer was correct and hence she did not require Aurora to confirm them, "the second brightest star is-"

"Carina," Aurora provided with a small grin. "It is part of the constellation, Argo, though the Muggles have since given it its own constellation, Carina the Keel."

Padma frowned in frustration as her first two carefully researched facts were already known by the woman with her. I guess I should have known it wouldn't be that easy, she told herself. "There are no green stars," she offered up the third fact she had discovered in the library.

"Correct," Aurora was quick to confirm. "Do you know why?"

"It has to do with the manner in which our eye perceives color and light," the bright Ravenclaw replied. "We have difficulties seeing the color green when gazing at the stars through a telescope as the light is warped around the planet."

"What of red stars and blue stars?" the astronomy professor queried as she walked over to another table and began to straighten the star charts there.

Padma sighed as that was to be her fourth point, which is appeared the woman already knew. "Red stars as the coolest while hotter stars actually appear blue. It is rather backward as people generally think of blue as cold and red as hot."

"I see you have been hard at work in the library," Aurora praised the girl. "What else have you learned?"

"I came across an unusual story concerning the Dog Star," Padma opened with, only to receive a nod to continue from the professor. "The Dog Star is part of Canis Major who some believe to be Laelaps, the fastest dog that ever lived. Laelaps was a gift from Zeus to Europa, along with a spear that never missed. Europa's husband Cephalus, accidently killed her with the spear while hunting one day," Padma added just to show all that she had learned concerning the story. "One day Laelaps was chasing a fox who was fated to never be caught-"

"They raced about until Zeus put a stop to the madness by turning them both to stone. He placed Laelaps in the sky as Canis Major," Aurora finished the tale for her with a nod of appreciation as it had been some time since last she had heard the story. "Very well done, Ms. Patil, but you have failed to tell me something I don't know."

Padma sighed in dejection. "Sorry, Professor Sinistra. It appears I still have some more research to do."

Aurora was pleased that the young witch was not giving up so quickly. She would have hated to be the one to have crushed the girl's ambitions. "You're a Ravenclaw are you not?" she asked only to receive a nod of confirmation. "Then put that beautiful brain of yours to use, and I am certain you will find what you're looking for." Aurora turned and stared up at the stars above before she spoke again.

"Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck,
And yet methinks I have astronomy;
But not to tell of good or evil luck,
Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality;
Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell,
Pointing to each his thunder, rain, and wind,
Or say with princes if it shall go well
By oft predict that I in heaven find.
But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive,
And, constant stars, in them I read such art
As truth and beauty shall together thrive
If from thyself to store thou wouldst convert:
Or else of thee this I prognosticate,
Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date."

"That was lovely, Professor!" Padma gasped when the older woman had finished. "Did you write that?" she enquired, her eyes alight with disbelief that anyone could utter such beautiful words.

Aurora turned and regarded her student with a soft smile. "Nay, my words would not be as flowery I fear. It was written by a brilliant playwright called William Shakespeare. It speaks of many things and is perhaps one on my favorite sonnets about astronomy."

Padma smiled brightly, treasuring the moment as Aurora had shared something she held dear with her, and her alone. "Thank you, Professor," the younger woman managed to finally get out past the tightness in her chest.

"Think naught of it, Ms. Patil," Aurora replied, not certain why she had shared the poem with the girl. "Off with you now, I'll finish up here."

"Good night, Professor," Padma replied with a bright smile.

"Good night, Ms. Patil," Aurora answered. "Sweet dreams."

And so the weeks passed. Christmas came and went and a new year was started. Through it all, one night a week, Padma would stay to assist Professor Sinistra straightening up as she provided new facts she had discovered only to learn that the older witch already knew them.

-oOo-

"You wished to see me, Headmistress?" Aurora asked after stepping through the door once she was told to enter the office.

"Aurora! Yes, thank you for coming," Headmistress McGonagall said as she stood and walked around her large desk to greet the astronomy professor. "Come, sit with me," the Headmistress directed, gesturing off to the side where there was a pair of comfortable chairs with a small table set for tea between them. "Tea?"

"Yes, please," Aurora replied as she took one of the offered seats. "Just straight," she added upon seeing the older witches questioning look. Accepting the cup of tea, she waited politely for the Headmistress to serve herself and get comfortable before taking a sip from her own cup.

"I feel like we haven't chatted in some time," Minerva opened with in a friendly tone. "How are you these days?"

"I'm well, Headmistress," Aurora replied quickly.

"Please, this is an informal setting, so Minerva will suffice," the Scottish woman told her with a disarming smile. "I hear Headmistress so much that I am starting to forget my own name," she joked. "How were your holidays?"

Aurora sat back, a bit more relaxed than when she had first arrived. "They were well, Minerva. I spent them with family I have in Wales. How were yours, Minerva?"

"Busy," McGonagall replied after taking a sip of her tea. "I was here working for the most part as there never seems to be enough time to do everything." The two sat in silence enjoying their tea for several long minutes. "I must say that you're doing much better these days. I was rather worried about you when Ms. Brodel left us just after the start of the school term."

"It was a bit of a shock," Aurora confessed.

"Salem Institute is one of the premier schools in the Americas," Minerva stated. "I can see why she would have taken the offered position."

"Yes, apparently that is what she thought as well," Aurora replied. The traces of pain and sorrow in her voice angered her as she had thought herself over the other woman. "I wouldn't know as she didn't discuss it with me," she confessed a bit bitterly.

"I can see where that would be a bit upsetting," Minerva told her over the rim of her cup just before taking a sip of her tea. The Headmistress was well aware of the relationship between the two women. As they were both of age, she didn't have an issue with it as long as it did not impact their ability to teach her students. "You seem to be doing much better now, though," Minerva said only to receive a small nod and smile from the witch with her. "I understand that Ms. Patil has been spending lots of time in your company," the Headmistress asked a bit too casually.

Aurora froze for a moment as she had not realized that anyone had noticed the younger girl staying to help clean up after classes. Aurora had greatly enjoyed the girl's company as it allowed her to not feel so alone. Through classes and speaking afterward, they had become friends of a sort. The astronomy teacher paled slightly only to blush upon recalling a number of dreams she's had involving the younger witch. "Y…yes," Aurora replied, raising her cup to take sip in an attempt to hide the coloring of her cheeks. "She has expressed an interest in being my assistant professor," Aurora explained as she lowered her cup while dropping her eyes to her lap.

"I see," Minerva replied. "What did you tell her?" she asked, causing the younger witch to look back up at her.

"I set her a difficult task to complete to show that she is serious," said Aurora only to see the Headmistress arch a brow in question. "She must do well on her NEWTs of course," she continued to explain. "Also, she must tell me five facts about the stars and constellations that I do not know."

Minerva snorted, almost choking on her tea which she had been in the process of taking a sip of. "Merlin! Wouldn't it have just been kinder to tell her no?" the Headmistress enquired. "I don't think there is anything you don't know about your field of choice, Aurora. That is why you were hired on almost right out of school!"

"I'll be the first to admit that I don't know everything, Minerva," Aurora replied with a small smile at the praise none the less. "I don't think anyone ever does."

"True," Minerva agreed. "So, how's she doing?" she asked before sipping her tea.

"She's giving it her Ravenclaw best," Aurora confided with a warm chuckle. "While she has as yet to find something new, she has managed to remind me of several things I had forgotten."

"Do you think she has what it takes?" McGonagall asked, always on the lookout to hire a well-trained mind.

"I…I believe so," Aurora stated in a thoughtful tone, honestly considering the question. "She is scary brilliant. I can see why she was sorted into her House instead of yours," the witch said. Though technically Minerva, as Headmistress, was no longer Head of Gryffindor House it would always be known as Minerva's House. "She is diligent as well as hardworking as her continued research has shown. I think she'd make a good professor someday once she has some experience."

"So you wouldn't mind working with Ms. Patil?" Minerva pressed.

"It's hard to say without actually working with someone," Aurora answered after a few moments of thought. "I think, however, that we would be good at working together."

"Just working?" Minerva asked casually, the corners of her mouth bending slightly upwards.

"I'm not certain exactly what you're implying, Minerva," Aurora shot back in an offended tone as she sat up straight in her chair and regarded the older witch intently.

"Then I needn't remind you that Ms. Patil is still a student of this school and of yourself, Professor?" McGonagall said, unruffled by the other woman's apparent anger at her words.

"Certainly not, Headmistress!" was Aurora's stern reply.

"Good," the Headmistress answered, satisfied with the witch's answer. "So who do you take for the House Cup this year?" she asked, changing the subject. The two chatted and enjoyed their tea for the remainder of the afternoon.

-oOo-

Padma Patil's dark brown eyes followed the Professor as she walked about the top of the Astronomy tower answering questions. The young woman's heart beat rather erratically as she thought of what was to happen after class. For months now she had tried in vain to discover some fact or tidbit that the Astronomy Professor did not know. The witch had even purchased several Muggle books over the Easter Hols in an effort to find even one thing that Aurora wasn't aware of.

Waiting till the class was over, and the others had left the top of the tower, Padma approached the professor who had come to be the sum of her entire school year. It wasn't something she had planned, but the more time she had spent in the dark skinned woman's presence, the more she had come to admire her. Admiration had given way to infatuation and then finally to love. "Professor Sinistra," Padma said, hugging her book bag to her chest as if it could protect her heart from being broken.

"Ms. Patil," the woman replied as she turned to regard the Ravenclaw with the same warm and caring smile she had used since that night back in October. "As this is our last class together this will be your final attempt to teach me five new pieces of information." Aurora, seeing that the younger girl was unusually nervous, took pity on her. "Let us clean up first and then you can impart to me what you have learned."

The two of them settled into their well-oiled routine that they had developed over the course of the school year working together after class. Padma dragged her feet as she went through the motions of packing away the telescopes. She didn't have five facts to report, she didn't even have one! Try as she might she had been unable to discover anything she thought worth mentioning. Finally, the last one was securely stored in its case. Turning from the table, she saw Aurora standing at the edge of the tower staring up at the stars and slowly made her way over to stand beside her.

"Feeling better?" Aurora asked with a small smile as she continued to gaze up at the stars. She had come to enjoy Padma's presence in her life, and now, with the school year over except for sitting their NEWTs, she found herself not ready to let the girl go. It wasn't that Aurora was afraid of going back to be alone. The young professor had been that before after all. It was that she would miss the girl greatly. Aurora hadn't realized just how fond of Padma she had become.

"Yes," Padma admitted, a bit surprised to find it true. The safe, steady routine of putting things away had also helped to calm her and set her at ease. Turning, the young witch regarded her Professor whose face was in profile. Hungry, longing eyes etched the image into her mind as she feared it might be the last she saw of it. "Please let me continue this time without interruptions, Professor, even if you already know what I am telling you." See the professor give a nod of agreement Padma continued.

"Last year in your class I took your words to heart. You said we should find the heavenly body which meant the most to us and learn all we could concerning it. At first, I thought that it would be impossible to select just one from all the constellations in the sky. I mean they were all so beautiful," Padma told the woman next to her. "You must have known I was having troubles with it as you told me to just open my eyes and it would come to me on its own. The funny thing is, it did just that once I stopped trying so hard. So, I will tell you five things you may not know about the heavenly body that I adore."

"You love music but hate to dance, being quite content to sit and tap your foot in time to the beat. You don't like carrots, preferring peas. When you recall something you cherish, you get a soft smile on your lips, and you play with your hair where it trails down your front. When you're teaching, and in your element, your eyes are alight with passion and enthusiasm which is picked up by your students," the young witch continued to speak as Aurora turned towards her with a surprised look on her face and rapidly blushing cheeks.

"When you are lost in thought you always stand right here and stare at Polaris as if you're hoping that it will provide you some guidance. You worship the old way still," she offered only to see a slight widening of the older witch's eyes in response. "When you returned to Hogwarts after the Easter holiday, I could smell Jasmine, Marigold, and essence of wormwood still lingering upon your robes suggesting to you took part in the ritual to bring a warm summer."

"There is something off with your left ear," the girl told Aurora who unconsciously raised a hand as if to hide it. "You wear your hair in a braid draped down your left side to hide the fact. You've never braided your hair to the right, not in seven years. I may not know all there is to know about the stars above and I may not have five facts you are unaware of, but I do know all I need to know about the heavenly body standing before me! I know that I don't want to be parted from you!"

Aurora stood utterly gobsmacked by the woman's words. She had never thought that while she was chastising herself for having adult thoughts about one of her students, that the same student was apparently thinking similar thoughts about her. "My, you certainly have done your homework," Aurora finally managed to get out. "Carrots are detestable things best left buried in the ground," she added in an attempt at humor to break the mood, which it did to a small degree.

The two witches regarded each other for a long moment. "When I was little," Aurora began as her eyes traveled the contours of the woman's face before her, "my family and I were attacked by Death Eaters. The Potters arrived with a few others and saved us, but not before a severing charm took most of my ear," she confessed in a soft whisper of words, the memory still haunting her to this day.

"I'm sorry," Padma exclaimed. "I didn't mean to remind you of something so awful!"

"That's alright," Aurora replied in a reassuring tone as she stared into Padma's eyes only to marvel at how beautiful they were. "It was long ago," she breathed out rather ethereally. She hadn't realized just how close they were to one another until she saw Padma lean in to kiss her.

Padma swallowed slowly, enraptured by the older woman's nearness and beauty. It hadn't been easy to bare her heart in such a manner, but she was glad that she had. Pav's Gryffindor nature must be rubbing off on me, she mused silently. The young Ravenclaw stared up into the soft brown eyes and hastily licked her dry lips. Her own eyes slid down till they came to rest on the witch's full lips which were slightly parted as if they were expectant of her. I've waited all year for this. "I think I'm ready for you to kiss me now, Professor," she whispered leaning in, her voice low and husky while filled with readily apparent need and desire, only to be stopped by a soft fingertip pressed against her lips.

"I think I am too," Aurora assured Padma, seeing the confused and hurt look on the younger woman's face at being denied. "However, at least for another week, I am your professor, and you are my student. It wouldn't be proper for this to go any further, Ms. Patil."

Padma nodded in understanding, she was a bright witch after all. "Then, after I graduate…," she started to say only to trail off.

"Come see me, and we will discuss your responsibilities as an assistant professor," Aurora told her with a large smile that was quickly returned by the other woman.

"Thank you, Professor!" Padma exclaimed, suddenly hugging the older witch before gathering her things to leave. "Good night, Professor!" Padma called as she hurried down the stairs.

Aurora watched as the young woman left, admiring the sway of her hips as she went. "Oh, my giddy aunt! What have I gotten myself into!" she murmured. Still, a part of her couldn't wait to have that particular heavenly body above her!

~FIN~

Author's Note:

This was written for the Harry Potter "Female Character Appreciation Challenge" in honor of International Women's Day.

RULES:

There is no minimum word count, but please keep any entries under 5000 words.
You may enter as many times as you like, but please have only one story on the go at any one time, to avoid claiming and "hogging" characters.
All content and ratings are allowed, except for crossovers. (Femslash is encouraged!)
If there is anybody you WON'T write about (such as next-gen characters or Ginny Weasley), please tell me so I can make allowances for it.
You are allowed to swap a maximum of once for each character you are originally assigned.
Your assigned character(s) must be the main character(s) - prominent enough to be filed under the character filters on FFN.
If your story contains dialogue, it must pass the Bechdel Test - have two (named) female characters having a conversation about something other than a male character.
Because this is an occasion-based challenge, all entries are due on the 8th of March, so starting now gives you just under a fortnight to complete this. Have fun!

We were able to choose between Easy, Medium or Hard characters and then they were randomly assigned to us. I asked for two hard characters and received Padma Patil and Aurora Sinistra. Hope you enjoyed the story!

As always, your reviews are not required, but they are greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,

EJ Daniels

All characters within this story, unless otherwise stated are the sole property of J. K. Rowling the original writer of the Harry Potter series.

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