Your partner and career as an Auror was stolen from you the night that the werewolf attacked. You've been living ever since in the underbelly of Knockturn Alley, surviving off of black market wolfsbane and tracking down the whereabouts of the werewolf and black market Queenpin that destroyed your life: Rowan Lyulphus.
Fate brings you back to your alma mater, where you find yourself in the role of Hogwarts' newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Along the way, you uncover a more sinister operation than you could have imagined. Revenge drives you. What will become of you when your vendetta is fulfilled?
Ex-Auror and Potions Professor Aesop Sharp is the only person that you suspect may see right through you. Just how far are you willing to let him through your defenses?
The Quidditch Glove Memento
Aesop reflects back on his first year of teaching, and on one of the defining moments in his life post-Scarborough.
Breaking Point
The fate of the Wizarding World is riding your shoulders. The pressure of five years' worth of schoolwork and extra assignments is overwhelming. You were bound to reach your breaking point. Of course it had to happen as you try to complete Professor Sharp's assignments.
*2nd person POV | Gender neutral reader | Worried Aesop Sharp | No slash.*
This wonderful drawing/comic was created by @aesopsharpstuff-voyagerlotus, the author of ‚Unraveling of Fates’ and initiator of the Sharpuary 2026 event; it features my idea and my oc Elaine Hopkins.
This is part of a collaboration, and I have her permission to post it here. Thank you so much for bringing it to life so beautifully; it means a lot to me. 🥹🧡
Hello everyone! It's that time of year again to dust off the keyboards, pens, pencils, papers, and drawing pads for the annual Sharpuary 2026! Reblog and tag anyone you think might be interested.
Below is a low-pressure prompt list for every day of February for anyone interested in participating :)
Suggestions: Bring your art, sketches, drabbles, headcanons, epics, and more for Aesop Sharp! There is a prompt available for every day of February, but feel free to participate in as many or as few days as you'd like. Share on your platform of choice, and tag #Sharpuary2026. Have fun, be kind, and Happy New Year!
I finished my last piece of 2025. I hope you all enjoy New Year’s Eve and that you’ll have a wonderful year 2026.
My New Year’s resolution is to do something creative every day, even if it’s just five minutes of sketching or writing one sentence. Let’s see if I can keep it without making it a chore.
2025 was quite an exciting year for me. I finished my masters degree, quit my old job and started a new one.
Thank you to everyone who kept sticking around this year and to all the people I met here in 2025 and to those who followed my blog!
This is a chapter that didn’t make it to my fic. The curse causes Elaine severe pain which sometimes leads to some kind of seizures. One day, when Aesop visits her in her cottage in Cragcroft and stays overnight, she sneaks out of bed to hide in the bathroom so he won’t witness one of her seizures. He does notice that something is off, though, and finds her on the bathroom floor - conscious, but in pain. She can’t get up, so he grabs a blanket and stays with her.
First Potions class. The first thing I noticed about Sharp was his limp of course because that’s all we get to see from him in the first seconds, but the thing that striked me most were his eyes. Not only does he look incredibly sad in this lesson, but also insecure. I don’t want to speculate about the reasons here, but just point out how closely he observes the class as if he was afraid of someone noticing what’s going on with him. Look at his eyes repeatedly wandering around the room. To me it doesn’t look like he’s watching the class to be sure they pay attention, but to make sure nobody notices his pain or whatever is going on in his mind.
He knows that there’s a new student in his class he doesn’t know yet, so I think that increases his caution because we know there are rumours about him and although he wouldn’t admit it, I think they affect him to a certain point. So, a new student is, I don’t want to say a risk, but a point he has to observe first.
We can also see it when he asks Amit about the Wiggenweld Potion. I think it’s important how Sharp asks the question: He addresses Amit before asking. Usually it should be the other way around, first ask the question, then address a student. We can say it’s because he’s a strict teacher with high expectations, but I think the reason is that he wants to observe mc more closely who stands directly next to Amit.
I also think his Auror history has left a certain need to be aware of things and closely watch the environment.
The next thing I noticed were his hands. I think they’re a sign of him being in pain, not only his limp. As seen in the second picture at his desk above, he clenches his fist. I think that’s a sign of the physical tension he’s experiencing. You can also see in the first seconds of him entering the class he kneads his hands as if he was trying to redirect or compensate the pain somehow as I already stated elsewhere.
And despite all of his caution, mc is like, I see you, Sharp. I observe back (see how mc suddenly stands elsewhere in the room, lol). And I think Sharp notices and he isn’t used to it. We can see it in the way he’s caught off guard when mc says they hope he finds his cure.
We can only speculate about the reasons for his behaviour, but I think we can see a lot of his personality in these first scenes. He’s obviously in pain, but it goes deeper than the physical pain. He’s an observer and tries to control unknown situations immediately. He’s cautious about showing his intentions and emotions. There’s more going on than he wants to admit.
This is the last chapter of this fanfiction, which accompanied me over the past year. It's my first multi-chapter fic, and this story and its characters grew to mean a lot to me. I'd like to thank everyone who I got to know through this story and who made it to this chapter with me.
Pairing: Aesop Sharp x Adult fem OC
Summary: After investigating the Department of Mysteries, Elaine suddenly disappears. Aesop finds a message that is most likely a farewell letter.
Read Chapter 1-17 here.
Chapter 18 - The Shadows of Scarborough (+ Epilogue)
When Sharp returned to Hogwarts, Elaine was not there. He looked for her in her room, her classroom, her office, then in his rooms. Nothing. He tried to tell himself that he had to stay calm in order to think clearly, but the expression on Elaine's face would not leave him alone. Sighing, Sharp sat down at his desk to think. As he sat down, a soft whimper escaped him. The exertions of the last day shot through his leg in a sharp pain. At that moment, he remembered a place he hadn't checked yet.
Aesop made his way to the seventh floor. The cold of the approaching autumn crept deeper into his body with every step. When he reached the wall of the Room of Requirement, he stopped and closed his eyes. He remained there for a moment, then whispered, ‘I need to find Elaine Hopkins.’
Before he opened his eyes again, he heard the wall in front of him begin to change. To his surprise, the door that appeared looked different from the times he had been here with Elaine. It was much smaller and more inconspicuous, a simple wooden door with plain iron fittings that was easy to overlook, even if you knew it hadn't been there before. Sharp pressed down on the handle, which felt cold and rough in his hand.
In front of him was a small room, no bigger than a broom cupboard, with a single table. On it was a small bottle containing a silver liquid, which he thought was a potion, but he couldn't identify it. Underneath was a note. He hastily unfolded the parchment, but he couldn't make out the writing in the dim light of the room. He drew his wand and cast Lumos. He immediately recognised Elaine's small, neat handwriting:
Dear Aesop,
When you are reading this, I will no longer be here. I have discovered what is needed to obtain Phoenix tears. It is a price I know you would not be willing to pay, so I have taken the liberty of making this decision alone. I sincerely hope that this is the path to your recovery and that you can forgive me.
With love
Elaine
Only now did he notice that there were other potion ingredients next to the vial, including diptam, frozen ashwinder eggs and ground horn from a graphorn. Under Elaine's letter, he found a potion recipe. Sharp pressed the piece of paper to his chest. He didn't know what her message meant, but before he could read the second page, he was suddenly overcome by the strange feeling that he would never see Elaine again. With all his strength, he tore himself away from her words and hesitantly pulled out the second page of the letter.
It was a torn page from a notebook he had seen many times before when Elaine was busy with her studies of magical creatures. As he began to read, his breath caught in his throat.
"Phoenixes are unusually loyal creatures. Normally solitary, the phoenix only bonds with wizards who have endured great trials. Its song gives courage to those who are pure of heart, while it strikes fear into those with evil intentions. Phoenix tears have powerful healing properties. The phoenix represents perfection and gentleness, which is why it only sheds tears for wizards who are willing to give their lives for the good of others."
Sharp froze. He grabbed the tabletop with one hand to keep his balance, while absent-mindedly waving his wand with the other to stow the vial and ingredients in his cloak. Then he staggered off to his classroom. Sharp was not aware of what he was doing; it was as if his body was acting on its own and his mind was following it because it had no other choice. His vision blurred several times and somewhere in the distance he heard voices, but he had no idea what they were saying. The prophecy haunted him the whole way – only one can preserve the other's future, but won't be able to save it.
Without realising it, Sharp had arrived at his classroom. There he leaned against one of the wooden beams on the wall to catch his breath and wait for the knot in his stomach to loosen.
‘What in Merlin's name is wrong with you?’
He turned around.
‘Dinah...’ he croaked. His mouth was dry and his throat felt constricted. He frantically searched his coat pocket for the notes and handed them to Professor Hecat, who hastily scanned the message. He cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure. ‘I think it's a farewell letter...’ he managed to say.
He briefly told her about their detour to the Ministry and the prophecy. Sharp put a hand over his face to hide a pain worse than any physical suffering he had endured so far, and gradually collapsed. Quick-witted, Dinah conjured a chair that caught the broken man in front of her. Sitting down, Sharp was almost as tall as her, so she stood beside him and put a hand on his shoulders.
‘Listen to me, Aesop. You can change this.’
Sharp paused for a moment.
‘I can't tell you any more, but you need to brew this potion now and then go find her. Do you understand?’
Dinah's words brought him back to the present. She was right. No matter what the prophecy said, he had to at least be with Elaine, no matter what happened. And he already had an idea where he could find her. He just nodded in response.
‘Good,’ said Dinah, then added quietly, ‘Your bond is strong. Maybe even strong enough to defy fate.’
Dinah turned and left the classroom. Aesop immediately began brewing the potion.
-
It was already dark when Elaine reached Scarborough. This time she had apparated, because she wanted to meet the person who was still lurking here in the shadows of the harbour. She knew she was expected. Here, where it had all begun. If it was really her destiny, she didn't want to hide from it.
‘Ah, look who's back, the lost sheep.’
A figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a woman. At first, Elaine thought that the darkness around her had suddenly intensified, but then she realised that something was accompanying her, circling her in restless black particles. It was the Obscurus.
‘I knew you would return tonight. And I knew you would come alone this time.’
Instinctively, Elaine reached for her wand. Only now did she notice that the witch was surrounded by a dark magical glow, but she couldn't see any goblin metal on her. So that's why she wanted to find Elaine so badly.
"As you may have noticed, I can now use the power that Isidora Morgenach so generously provided us with even without the artefacts. At first, the goblins worked for me because they believed I could help them consolidate their power – now they work for me because they fear me.‘
There was something cold in her voice, a soft growl, almost animalistic. Perhaps bitterness, perhaps a threat, perhaps both.
’Who are you?’
Elaine tried to suppress the tremor in her voice. The blood of an Auror still flowed through her veins, and she wanted to be remembered as such. Her eyes narrowed and she scanned the area for more enemies. The fog rolling in over the calm sea impaired her vision, but it looked like they were alone.
‘You still don't know? Not even after your sister so generously shared the prophecy with you?’
‘My... sister?’
‘Yes, Jane, you have a sister. I actually thought you would have recognised her. You're the spitting image of her.’
Elaine thought of the woman in Scarborough. At the time, she had felt a clear connection to her and had already sensed how their stories were linked, but hearing it now made everything painfully real, leaving her speechless.
‘Nora — your sister — is a seer. You must have wondered how we knew when you would show up... in Scarborough, Haegel's Ham, thanks to her, we were always one step ahead of you.’
The woman's voice suddenly triggered a memory in Elaine. The memory of the day her father disappeared, of the fire, the heat, the figures that appeared above her and the voice in the darkness. Her voice. The realisation settled over Elaine's shoulders like a dark chill: ‘You... you're our mother...’
Elaine raised her wand and took a step back. Nausea crept through her body.
‘Tell me why?’
Elaine's hand tightened around the wand.
‘At first, it was just a nice way to earn a few galleons. You see, I used to work with your father as a curse breaker for the Ministry. I knew about the smugglers and what they earned from their trade. One day, I was fired for a mistake that cost a client their life. That was my chance to get into the business, and it was easy. Far too easy. As fate would have it, that was exactly when your sister began to see traces of Ancient Magic. At the time, of course, we didn't know what it was, because no one else could see what she saw. It didn't take me long to discover that there was a connection between the magic of the goblin artefacts and your sister's gifts. Soon, it wasn't enough for me to sell enchanted weapons and armour on the black market. So I looked for a way to harness that power for myself, and I found one. Unfortunately, your sister refused to cooperate with me, preferring to suppress the Ancient Magic rather than make it available to me. You can see for yourself what that got her. Since she didn't want to help me with her Ancient Magic, I decided to at least make the remaining power of her suppressed magic my own. I can control it!‘
She almost shouted the last words, and before Elaine could react, the Obscurus had grazed her uninjured arm. A familiar burning sensation spread through the spot, and Elaine felt her own magic weakening.
’You just used her for all this, you forced her...’
Elaine's voice broke. All her life she had wondered who she was, where she came from, who her family was, trying to piece together the fragments that remained. Her thoughts raced back and forth between what she should do next and her shattered expectations, making it impossible for her to move. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the black, immaterial wings of the Obscurus slowly approaching.
‘Your father found out about me at some point. I knew it was inevitable, but he was much quicker than I had expected. It was he who asked the Ministry for help that evening in Scarborough. He probably hoped you would be safe with him, but he had to play the hero. He ran straight into his doom to save your ridiculous, crippled Auror friend and his partner...’
A red beam of light shot out of Elaine's wand, and at that moment she couldn't tell if it was the wand's will or her own decision that had triggered the attack, but it didn't matter anymore. She had decided to fight. Only one thought drove her actions: the memory of everything this woman, whom she refused to call a mother, had taken from her: her father, her memories, her childhood, her sister. But above all, she was responsible for Aesop's suffering.
Sparks flew across the harbour and Elaine wondered if this was perhaps the very spot where it had all begun. Perhaps she was standing in the very spot where Aesop had been wounded. She let her thoughts carry her away for a moment too long, which her mother immediately took advantage of. The Obscurus was now right in front of her. For a brief moment, it seemed to hesitate—then it struck her straight in the chest. For a few seconds, everything was silent. Not even the sea dared to make a sound. Then Elaine hit the pavement with the back of her head. The last thing she saw was a green flash of light illuminating the harbour.
-
‘Elaine! Elaine, please...’
Aesop knelt beside Elaine's lifeless body. She had dropped her wand, and he saw that the curse had already spread to her fingertips. He desperately tried to stop the bleeding, but after the last attack, he already knew that no spell or potion would be effective against this kind of magic. He called her name over and over, as if he could bring her back to consciousness.
‘Elaine, please, no.’
He felt his heart pounding against his ribs. Only one word dominated his thoughts, repeating itself faster and faster until he felt dizzy: ‘No – no, no, no, no, no...’ His face grew hot, even though his whole body was shivering with cold.
He shook her shoulders, but her head just fell limply to the side. Sharp's voice trembled and his face glowed. He had come too late. Realising this, he put his arm around her and buried his face in her shoulder, as if to hide the tears and screams that were escaping him at that moment. His upper body shook uncontrollably.
‘Aesop...’
Elaine blinked and tried to sit up to see where the Obscurus was, but the pain in her chest forced her back to the floor.
‘My... mother...’
‘She's... dead,’ Aesop whispered. To his surprise, Elaine smiled.
‘I knew... you would come...’
Her eyes glistened. She felt the curse spreading through her chest. Breathing became increasingly difficult.
‘It's... nice... to see you... again...’
Elaine's voice grew weaker and weaker. Her gaze now wandered past Aesop towards the sky. Aesop put an arm around her neck and supported her upper body.
‘I'm so tired…’
Aesop stared at her helplessly. For a few seconds, he remembered everything he had lost in this harbour, and the memory threatened to overwhelm him. His chest tightened and he felt a familiar feeling creep through his limbs. In his mind's eye, he saw Helen's blood-stained face and her empty gaze fixed on the sky. He felt the flames again, smelled the smoke, felt the ground beneath his body as he tried to crawl towards her, his leg dragging uselessly behind him.
He heard Dinah's voice telling him that Elaine had come back for him because she didn't know how much time she had left to be with him. And he felt that he was about to watch once again as the person who meant the most to him took her last breath here in this place. His shoulder muscles tensed, he squeezed his eyes shut as if he could force what he couldn't bear to disappear. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't fight anymore, couldn't hope anymore, couldn't hide what he wanted to bury deep inside himself anymore. Hot drops left cutting traces on his face as he took Elaine in his arms.
‘Elaine, I'm sorry, but...’ Sharp began, pulling a small bottle from his coat pocket and uncorking it with his teeth, ‘I can't accept your gift.’
She immediately recognised it as the same vial in which she had left him the phoenix tears. Her expression suddenly became serious.
‘Aesop, don’t... why...’
Her voice sounded weak and hoarse, little more than a whisper, and she was breathing very shallowly and irregularly. He looked at her as he spoke his next words. His eyes held everything he had lost here in Scarborough.
‘Because... because I love you.’
He put the bottle to her lips and carefully made her drink the potion. It took several agonising moments before her breathing returned to normal and she could look at him again. Elaine raised a hand to his face and stroked his bearded cheek.
‘You didn't have to do that. I wanted you to...’
But Aesop interrupted her by placing a finger on her lips and shaking his head. His hand, still covered in blood, stroked her hair. He kissed her gently and carefully.
‘It was the only thing to do.’
Elaine pressed her lips together and buried her face in Aesop's cloak, hugging him as tightly as she could. Only when a familiar cry pierced the night did they both look up at the sky. A fiery red bird broke through the darkness like a flame. It settled next to Elaine and Aesop and looked at them. There was a gleam of peaceful sadness in its eyes.
‘Of course,’ Elaine said softly, ‘Aesop, quickly, the vial.’
He didn't understand, but reached beside him and handed Elaine the vial. In disbelief, he watched as the phoenix tilted its head to one side and shed a few tears. It was a touching and deeply peaceful sight. Elaine gently stroked the giant bird's feathers.
‘I don't understand...’
Aesop looked at Elaine questioningly. She tried to smile, but she didn't have the strength.
‘Phoenixes give their tears to those who are willing to make a great sacrifice, Aesop,’ she whispered, quoting her own notes, ‘and you were willing to give up the cure you've been searching for your whole life... to save me.’
At that moment, a prophecy in row 27 of the Mystery Department was extinguished.
Epilogue
Elaine sat in a wheelchair in the middle of the vast grassland in one of the vivariums in the Room of Requirement. It had been very difficult to get her here, but Aesop, who had recovered much faster than Elaine, had insisted. As soon as they had passed the entrance to the vivarium, the Graphorns had rushed towards them and made the earth tremble. They had sniffed her with their tentacles and had not left her side as they made their way out onto the grassland. Now the entire Graphorn family was lying next to them in the grass, and for the first time in weeks, Aesop had the impression that the shadows of the events in Scarborough were lifting from Elaine for a moment. She stroked the Graphorn cub while watching the other magical creatures. The peaceful expression on her face filled him with gratitude. Far too often in the past year, he had feared losing her, and now that time seemed to be finally over. Carefully, he placed a hand between Elaine's shoulder blades and stroked her gently.
‘Are you still sure you don't want to be called Jane?’
She didn't say anything for a while. Aesop wasn't sure if she was thinking or hesitating.
‘Yes... I'd rather have the name I associate with the only good memories in my life. Besides...’ she added with a smile he couldn't quite interpret, ‘I don't even know my last name.’
They were silent. When Aesop had found Elaine's sister, she had already been in very poor condition. They had managed to free her from the cellar where her mother had locked her up after she had sneaked away to warn Elaine. But before she regained consciousness, she succumbed to the effects of the Obscurus. It was a miracle that she had survived that long, but it was still difficult for Elaine to let her go without even speaking to her.
Aesop stared at the ground for a long time, as if thinking about something. He bit his lower lip and hesitated for a moment before finally breaking the silence.
‘Maybe,’ he began, pausing briefly, ‘you were okay with the name Sharp.’
Elaine looked up at Aesop, who was standing next to her wheelchair. He was looking intently into the distance, as if there was something special to see there. She wasn't sure if she had understood him correctly; he had asked her so casually, as if he wanted to know what tea she wanted to drink in the afternoon. Elaine opened her mouth, then closed it again before she could answer.
‘Is that what I think it is?’
Aesop shrugged, but she could see that the corners of his mouth were twisted into a mischievous smile.
‘Well, only if you want to, I can understand if you'd rather keep the name from Haegel's Ham...‘
A friendly nudge with her elbow against his leg interrupted him: ’By Merlin, of course I do, you hopeless case!‘
Aesop turned to her, knelt beside her, and took her hand. The scars of the curse were still visible and would probably never disappear. He pulled a silver ring from his coat pocket.
’Elaine,’ he said, suddenly very serious and in a deep voice, ‘You chose me even though I was a broken man. You always saw the truth behind my façade. You saved my life in more ways than one. Not only did you free me from my physical suffering, you also made sure that I came to terms with my past and helped me accept it as a part of who I am today. You saw the darkest side of me and still stayed by my side. Despite your own struggles, you always thought of others first and, above all, you never gave up on me. You have given me back my will to live. Will you be my wife?’
Elaine's lips trembled. She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, as if she had to hide her emotion from someone.
‘Yes, I will’ she replied with a laugh and a sob in her voice.
After slipping the ring onto her finger, Aesop gently placed his fingers under Elaine's chin and stroked her cheek with his thumb. He looked at her for a long time before pressing his lips to hers.
‘I love you, Aesop Sharp.’
Above them, the phoenix circled and sang its melody.
I know I was wrong… I got too caught up in something else.
You have every right to be upset! And I'm truly sorry.
I swear… I'll never let it happen again.
Will you… Forgive me? Please.
.....
....
...
..
.
Professor Sharp: "No, Mr. Weasley. Detention, no doubt."
Garreth: "But Professor, it didn't even explode! It just…um...smoked a bit."
Professor Sharp: "Two nights of detention."
..
Garreth: "…Right. I think… one night of detention sounds very reasonable, Professor."
I've been to Sharp's room (again), and something caught my attention. Small scratches can be found on the floor in regular intervals. I marked them because they can be easily missed:
Those scratches can be found both in his living room and in his bedroom, however not in the hallway in front of his room, nor in his secret drawing room.
So, I've been wondering if these scratches might be from his cane. What speaks in favour of this are the regular intervals between the marks, and also that they can't be found in his drawing room because that's the way he has to enter:
He probably only uses his cane when there's no other way, as we all know, he's a very proud man who won't admit any weakness, or rely on any help, which leads me to another conclusion/question, related to the location of his room.
The faculty tower can be reached via the floo network. However, his room is on the second floor and can only be accessed by taking the stairs. He obviously started teaching at Hogwarts shortly after his injury, which probably was way worse back then. Why not give him a room on the ground floor? In a world of magic, it would have been easy to swap rooms with another teacher.
My thesis is that he probably even asked for this particular room because it's the only one with no next-door neighbours, and no one living beneath, as seen in this picture:
My idea is that he knew he would have to use his cane or even his wheelchair, and he still does. That's why they can still be found in his room. However, he doesn't want anybody to know. If he uses his cane often enough to leave marks on the floor, neighbours next door or beneath would probably hear it, so he made sure to get a room without that risk, even if it means worse accessibility.
Finally, I'm able to play HL on PC and with mods. After that past (shitty) year, this is one of the most beautiful things. Look at them, I'm not okay. 😭
