Yay for the two of them! Glad they ended up together like this.

This was an interesting pairing and an enjoyable read. I especially loved your portrayal of Slughorn as a man who had put ideas of romance behind him but still likes the idea of having a companion and someone to care about him. The ending was sweet and I was happy when he said okay.

Wow this is certainly an interesting pairing. Hm, I wouldn't think age is such a problem in the wizarding would. It's interesting to see Sinistra with a personality because we know so little about her, and what little we know tells us that she's pretty serious and strict. So this lighter side of her when she's not a teacher and the fact that she has a life outside of the classroom makes her so real and relatable because I'm pretty sure normal teachers irl are like that too. Slughorn didn't play hard to get too long, did he? xD Well, as long as they live happily ever after.

Hullo xD

Sorry this is late.

[her Mother] – Mother should only be capitalized when there’s no possessive pronoun in front of it – [her mother]

I find the fact that she dated Regulus once upon a time to be a good foil to her current relationship. That relationship seems a lot more teen and puppy-lovish, and it contrasts with her later romances that also come across as youthful but with a bit more maturity. It’s a nice foil to the relationship with Slughorn.

It seems to me that Aurora has a fetish for Potions Masters. It’s interesting that she was attracted to Snape, and even more interesting that Snape was not a dick and let her down gently. Who knew you could be such a gentleman, Snape.

The ending – it’s a nice, warm ending, and they seem to complement each other well despite the rather ungainly age gap. I’d have liked to see some reactions to it by Aurora’s mother, but at the end of the day, it’s a very nice read.

-Ciao Mate

I must say that this is a pairing that I never ever considered. It never even crossed my mind to ship these characters even once. With that being said, it's actually... not that bad. It works for the purposes of this story. The way you explained it... it doesn't come off as a crack ship at all.

A fifty year age gap is a large one to us yes, but in the Wizarding World, it might not raise much of an eyebrow, considering the many types of other couples possible, judging by certain half-breeds...

I understand his feelings of awkwardness around her when it all started. Being in a relationship with someone you taught in school and whose parents you also taught... you can certainly understand his reluctance, especially as he remembers her school years so clearly. Imagine, if someone found out, he'd be seen as a dirty old man, his reputation and career could be ruined and so could hers...

Even him contemplating a potential relationship with her from all sorts of different angles was nicely done too.

In terms of technical details, I found that it flowed quite nicely for me. I felt that the description of your setting and the characters in it was quite adequate in order to clearly set the scene in my mind. Spelling and grammar-wise, I couldn't find any errors to pick at if they are present at all.

Nice job!

Hullo xD

Holy age-gap. Fifty years? FIFTY? True, when looking at it in Wizarding terms where the average lifespan is closer to 150 and 200, it's not that big a deal, but to us mere Muggles whom acknowledge that by fifty we're entering the final decade or two . . . it's a huge age gap.

Well, I've seen stranger.

I like the way you develop Aurora through Sluggy's eyes - we see her as an almost Luna-like character at first, and then you gradually develop it to show that her constant eccentric behaviour was just a side effect of her devotion to Astronomy. I can only imagine how tired that would make one, staying up stargazing till the early hours of the morning every night.

They need Monster or Red Bull at Hogwarts for these students. Seriously, they do.

It's great that you acknowledge that neither of them are beauties - Aurora having a face that's already becoming lined, and Sluggy being pudgy and not much of a looker. It makes them both more relatable as characters. I mean, not everyone can look like Emma Watson or Evanna Lynch.

Whilst I like the steady build up, I find that the ending is a bit sudden. Maybe you could have drawn it out a little longer, like them going on a date and stuff first, because with all his doubts in the beginning, them just hopping into bed seems slightly OOC in terms of the opening of this story.

Overall though, a really good read.

-Ciao Mate

I didn't realize there was a chapter two, so I figured I should come back and read it. :)

Right off the bat, there's a loooot of action in that first sentence, so instead of drawing me in, it sort of just throws me off. There's too much happening, too much description, and too much to focus on all at one time, so it sounded jarring. I'd recommend maybe breaking it into multiple sentences so that it sets the scene and it's easier to focus on what you want us to focus on. (ie. The fire cast a warm glow upon them. Aurora sighed in contentment, bringing her toes up from the stone floor and tucking them under the warm folds of the throw...).

I like the idea of her dating Regulus briefly, and I really like the comparison of her former relationships with the one she's in now. It does a really good job of highlighting the differences and how she's grown just as a person. The conversation with her mother made me laugh in a sort of evil way, as I can just picture it perfectly with her mother cackling in a knowing way like it's totally payback. ;)

Falling for Snape is never a good idea. Poor Aurora. D: She couldn't possibly have known. I like how brisque Snape remains, though, and tries to let her down sort of easy. Well, at least he's not a jerk about it, right?

I very much like the ending and how their relationship seems like a compliment to both of them. As she's grown, there are plenty of things she's been able to learn from Slughorn, and spending time with him has taught her many things, as it has him, which is what a relationship is really about, so I like that glimpse into their dynamic.

I can't imagine Slughorn as a father, though. xD It's hard for me to imagine him being a good, attentive father, or even wanting a kid at his age. I really wonder how he reacted to the news, though, or if it was even planned or intended.

SPaG:
[sneaking out their dorm] - out of
[she's dated several] - she'd (past tense)
[once did, instead,] - once did. Instead,
[she ought bow out] - ought to
[With thought, Aurora had wondered] - This seems redundant to me, because if she's wondering then of course it involves thought.

I wasn't really expecting this (though quite honestly I don't know what I was expecting). But I like how Aurora thinks back to her past relationships and remembers back to her how she changed over the years. The chapter with just Slughorn's side of the relationship sounded complete without this, but at the same time I think that this kind of like a closure.

Omg I'm so sorry, I totally forgot I tagged in this game until I saw your review on B&B.

Oh that first paragraph has me reading forward a bit more tentatively. While I think Sluggy deseves some love, I don't really want to expressly read about it. :D

There had been parties* Heh, I hear you Aurora. Mom instincts really kill stuff. Bwhaha Snape would eat you! Awwww or be all sad and 'I miss lily and am a spy' at you, then die. Poor baby.

This was a nice way to wrap it up and we got to see the start from Sluggy's pov and the 'end' from Aurora's. Nicely done.

Wow, I ended up liking this little fic way more than I had expected, given the rather odd pairing. It was refreshing to read Aurora's point of view. I found it a bit peculiar that it was her maternal instincts that played a part in her pursuit of Slughorn, given that he's much older and not necessarily the most fertile man most. However, it made more sense when you explained that it was the children of Hogwarts that had developed her maternal instinct and that there was slim pickings at Hogwarts, or so to say :)

I particularly liked the first line of this fic, when they're both laying on the stone floor. It was very poetic, although I had a hard time imagining Slughorn still being that limber, haha!

This was a pairing I hadn't ever considered before. With a name like Horace Slughorn and some of his less than generous personality traits shown in the books, it's hard not to find his character a bit repulsive. However, with this story you've managed to make him more relatable. It makes sense that his desired to collect a group of talented students stemmed from his lack of a female companion.

I also liked your characterization of Aurora Sinistra. I liked that she was a Slytherin, I liked that Slughorn initially looked over her because she didn't show obvious talent, I liked how forward she was with a much older man, and I really liked all your descriptions of her character, particularly all the references to her eyes (sleepy, half-lidded, tired, orphic - all examples of excellent word choice). You managed to make this alien pairing make a lot of sense. This was a wonderful little fic, and I think I'll read the next chapter :)

Don't see many Sluggy fics out there. You sure do branch out with your characters. Such a weird thought, being with someone who was a student once. But I guess if you spend enough time as a teacher, especially in a set up like they have in the wizarding world, almost everyone you know was a student once.

I like his thoughts on her as a student and how it all made sense to him when she finally settle on a job. Lol sounds like he was clueless for quite a while. He's able to be very introspective here, with a lady on his lap. :D Wooo they just got right to it there. I guess there's probably not much need for dates, seeing as they seemed friendly already, but daaaaaam.

This was a nice story, lots of great insight into Horaces thoughts. They all seemed very plausable too, although, again, not sure how many of those would really have popped into his mind right at that particular point.

It's nice to see a follow-up to this, since the first chapter left a lot of things up in the air. I like that you chose to portray their relationship as relaxed and affectionate, not wildly passionate but two people who care about and support each other in their daily lives and careers.

Her failed attempt to date Snape probably wasn't meant to be funny, but it made me laugh a little.

Well this is an interesting pairing. I come across so many different and unusual pairings on this forum, many of them completely new to me. And it's neat because it allows me to read about pairings I've never seen or considered before.

It's not that usual, having such a big age gap when people in the wizarding world can live to be a hundred years old. And it's not like Slughorn is just rushing into it like some dirty old man. He's taking his time to consider things, thinking about his actions and what might happen if their relationship fails.

He must have bonded with her as he watched her grow up. And all the little things she did when she was a child in school, like tapping out rhythms in class during exams, he can look back on it now and see it as a cute little quirk she had.

I can't help but find this cute, and I like how he was thinking about what their life might be like if they got together, such as her taking care of him when he's sick, or the two of them walking hand and hand through Hogsmeade.

I was a little wary going into this with the pairing. I just never really imagine (or wanted to?) imagine Horace in a relationship. I have also never read anything in his voice before and I think you captured him well. I like his reluctance because of the age gap and that he knew not only Aurora as a child, but her parents too. The detail that she was a sleepy child and he now in retrospect realizes it was because she spent late hours stargazing was a nice touch. I liked how even though he's content with his life and being a bachelor he still thinks it would be nice to have a wife and someone to come home to. I do think this needs more... Maybe something from aurora to show why she's interested in him? There's very little interaction between them here to show why they'd work (or not work) as a couple. Cheers!