Once upon a time, but not so long ago…

A "Charmed Killers" Production

Aurora Sinistra – the Astrology professor at Hogwarts with a dark past.
The Hall of Prophecies – Her original place of employment as a bespeller of prophecy orbs.
She lost this job though and went on the run in 1988.
Nobody knows why. And nobody knows who she really is. But she is hiding something deadly.
The secret? Happens to be so much more than she thinks she knows.
But this, is only just the beginning.

Sinister Beginnings

1

In the eve of the darkest days, Aurora noticed the difference through the stars. She had only begun studying Astronomy in the past five years after leaving for Hogwarts. But her knowledge of the subject now showed no bounds.

She picks up her journal and opens it to the middle. The thick parchment under her hand felt good against her rough skin, almost therapeutic. She pets it slowly, smoothing out the page as she prepares her writing utensil. Charcoal is such a forgotten treasure. She thinks to herself as she slowly etches at the end of it with her nail, making a sharp point.

She was aware that Severus sometimes used charcoal, and smiled coyly when he spotted her using it; it had become an unspoken pleasure between the two. During dinner she would pull out the journal to record her expeditions of the day and as she pulled charcoal free from her bottom pocket, she would always notice him glancing over at her.

She would smile at him and then the two would go about their business. Once in a blue moon Severus would smile back, and that filled her with some strange sort of joy. She had pondered the thought of a romantic involvement with Severus at one point but he always seemed so… bothered. And she couldn't deal with the stress of a dramatic relationship at this point of her life. All she really had was her work.

Her work: something she had suddenly stopped paying attention to, but needed to get done before taking off to her other duties of the night. She writes the date on the parchment and then looks over at her notes from the stargazing she had done earlier that evening.

Appealing to her theory that the stars were beginning to align in some strange sort of pattern, she drew a short illustration in the journal of two gigantic stars that, along with eight other stars, had formed a strange shape in the sky. She sets the charcoal down after finishing and closes the journal, tucking it into the upper pocket of her overcoat.

She places the remaining bits of the piece of charcoal next to the lamp on her desk. She would throw them away but part of her believes she may be able to use it a bit more before going on to the next piece. Charcoal wasn't exactly a product of high demand but it was hard to come by at Hogwarts. She had to use the resource sparingly and it was exactly what she intended to do.

Aurora sighs and looks away from the charcoal. Her mind had went off on a tangent. An activity she came by often lately in Hogwarts. Of course she had her work to keep her busy but it was slowly beginning to stop interesting her. There was only so much you could know about the stars above, especially considering there was no way one could come in contact with the stars - or at least no way that she was aware of.

So she had began enticing herself with other projects. The project with Miss Granger and the project with Lee Jordan. The project with Lee was more for her though. Lee was showing her how to feel young again, even though she would never admit to truly liking the things he taught her.

Oh, no.

The relationship between Lee and Aurora is completely and utterly platonic. But Lee recently started teaching Aurora that life could be more entertaining if she would only take the time out to enjoy it. So recently the two had started pulling pranks on teachers and students all over Hogwarts. But they were executed cleverly enough so that Aurora would never be suspected of the pranks. Most of them either pointed to Lee or they pointed to no one at all.

She was to meet with Lee in the Astronomy Tower at midnight, and as the time grew ever closer excitement bubbled in her blood.

Aurora thought of her sister momentarily, and this triggered a flood of memory and emotion that almost made her have to take a seat. Lately, her memories came back in vivid floods that made her very soul hurt. Guilt from the ordeal in 1988. Guilt she shouldn't have felt responsible for.

"I'm sorry Isaverra." She says to nobody at all in her little office behind her classroom. Aurora reaches for the lamp on her desk and turns it off, and then she walks over to the French doors on the north wall of the office. She looks out into the darkness of the night and then shuts the door hurriedly. Sometimes she thinks her sister watches her through those doors, that the darkness out there is her presence and the gateway to Aurora's life.

She can't see you Aurora. She is gone. They are all gone. And there is nothing more that you can do to change that. Let it all go. Please. For your sanity. Aurora nods slowly to herself and walks to the door on the east side of her office. She lets herself out and locks the door behind her. She walks through the classroom and in that darkness she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched.

And maybe she was.
There's always the maybe.

2

In the darkness of the classroom, Aurora could not see the figure sitting in the back row of tables. The figure was twiddling its thumbs and whispering nonsensical words to itself. The light shone in the being's luminous eyes as it gazed up at Aurora. The being was fighting with its own demons inside of its head; the demons calling out to go to Aurora; and warn her of the coming storm.

"In time, in dark-dark-dark times."

The teacher leaves the room, not hindering to the voice of the being she left behind in the classroom. The being stands and walks over to the office door, it reveals its wand and speaks softly in the night.

"Alohamora!"

The lock on the door sparks and the being lets itself in. The office is completely dark but the being can see perfectly. It roams the mahogany desk in search of the journal. After not finding the book, the being walks over to the French doors and opens them. Then it walks out onto the balcony and takes a deep breath. The night eases the thoughts and troubles in its mind.

The being had no idea what she was doing yet, but it knew that Aurora held the answers to the questions the people in her head were asking.

"Show me the answers Aurora." The being whispers in the dark. "Before we both run out of time."

End Introduction