My dearest @medaris generated and edited an art for yet another scene for the first part of the VT fanfic finale! I have missed the last two chapters’ aesthetics and I don’t think I’ll go through with them, but I just can’t have this scene missed, so here it is, with the little audio I've made and the extract from the fic of course.
The tune changed, and Nancy noticed out of the corner of her eye that the small groups were beginning to break into pairs. The awkward triangle she found herself in was beginning to press even harder.
“Solomon, I hope you'll forgive me if I steal Miss Montgomery away from you for one dance?” suddenly she heard a voice from the side, almost choking on wine.
Sallow Senior cocked an eyebrow, but nodded briefly in agreement, casting one last squinted glance at her, and left. Aesop, muttering something, picked up the rapidly diminishing cane with ease and placed it in his pocket, straightening up and extending his hand forward in an inviting gesture.
“I hope you won’t deny me the pleasure, Miss Montgomery?” Now that they were alone together, Nancy heard again the familiar tingle in his voice, the same tingle that had made her lose her head and throw herself into the deep end.
The girl shifted her questioning gaze to the ex-Auror's injured leg.
“I wouldn't want to strain you with unnecessary movements, sir," she replied politely, raising her eyes to his again.
“You don't have to worry about that, Nancy, let me feel younger for just a moment," his wide-open palm was still outstretched towards her and the Gryffindor hesitantly dipped her fingers into it, sending her glass off to the nearest passing tray.
He was still considerably taller — she barely reached the top of his nose with her head. She put her hand on his shoulder and he gently squeezed her waist, the warmth of his palm instantly penetrating the thin silk fabric. Even without pressing close to him, she could smell the almost forgotten bitter-smoky scent. He led her slowly but confidently, seeming as if he were about to pick her up by the waist and lift her into the air — so effortless his movements were.
“I didn't think I'd see you here today, Miss Montgomery," he said softly, tilting his head and squeezing her hand tighter. “I confess you took me by surprise.”
“I didn't think you could dance like that," Nancy replied in tone. “With your injury.”
“It's been with me for too long, I think I can manage one dance," Sharp grinned. “You look stunning, Miss Montgomery, my House colours suit you very much.”
“Thank you, but it was a mere coincidence. You and your ex-colleague are on the same page, though; he seems to be just as sentimental about school memories," Montgomery said, irritated.
“Well, I suppose sentimentality is common at my age. I didn't mean to offend you," Aesop lowered his gaze to her and smiled fondly. “You've changed a lot in the three years since graduation, Nancy, and you seemed warmer towards Hogwarts before.”
“I was just an overly enthusiastic, naive girl, no surprise there.”
“I liked that girl," he admitted so easily and disarmingly that the Gryffindor nearly stepped on his foot.
It was as if a charge travelled from his fingers to her waist, making her chest heave nervously. His words caught a deep boil, Nancy looked up at him defiantly and lifted her chin, lips tight.
“So you don't like me anymore?” She asked, playing.
An actively circling couple suddenly came upon them from behind, and Sharp, saving the girl from collision, pressed her harder against him. She had no time to realise what had happened but hurried to pull away as soon as they were at a safe distance.
“I don't know this new ‘you’ yet, Nancy," he replied, his velvet gaze sliding over her cheekbones.
“Well, that's true," she was the first to avert her eyes.
As the tune came to an end, the dancing couples let go of each other and, out of breath but quite satisfied, began to applaud. Sharp, sliding his fingers along the thin silk of her waist, released the former student and brought her fingers, clasped in his other hand, to his lips, leaving a weightless kiss on them.
“I am eternally grateful to you, Miss Montgomery. And I was delighted to see you. Have a nice evening!”
He bowed gallantly and, taking out the reduced cane, returned it to its former size. Nancy, exhaling, hurried away from the epicentre of the gathering of guests, but followed his broad back with a glance. Before he was out of sight, she saw a vial gleam in his hand as he tipped the contents into himself and ducked behind a huge column. Montgomery did not see him or Solomon again for the rest of the evening.
Helplessness is a devastating feeling | Aesop Sharp & F!MC SFW Audio
So I was playing with ElevenLabs and decided to try and make the audio with Aesop for an extract from my Volatile Times fic. No smut, no spice, just our beloved professor expressing his thoughts on certain aspects. The visual comes from our screenshot guru @phinik, I'm absolutely in love with all of them, but the top one in particular, thank you, my darling, I couldn't be happier!
The door to the little office swung open and the Potions Master appeared. A white shirt, not covered with either a jacket or a coat, and a few top buttons on the waistcoat undone created the impression that his shoulders were even wider and more sweeping than usual. Seeing the troublemaker and the photo in her hand, the professor furrowed his brows and started limping in her direction.
“Curiosity is not a sin, Miss Montgomery. But I prefer my students to show their interest solely in my subject,” he said with a touch of reproach, waving his wand. The photo twisted from the girl's fingers, flicked her nose playfully, and landed in the professor's hand. He carefully took it by the edges.
Sharp looked at her closely, the corners of his lips twitching slightly. He gestured to the seat opposite his own and with some effort sank into his chair, placing the photograph on the table. Montgomery obediently sat down. He didn't say anything for a while, sitting with a stony expression and gazing at her unceremoniously, making her feel even more embarrassed. Yet again she felt her cheeks starting to burn.
"I hope Mr. Sallow is all right?" the Potions Master finally asked.
“Sebastian, yes, he is already much better,” Nancy immediately pulled herself together, remembering why she was really here. Even though she couldn't get herself to look at Sharp, ashamed.
"And what did Madam Blainey diagnose him with?" His voice expressed absolutely no emotion, only his eyes glinted slyly from under furrowed brows.
"Slight poisoning," she lied without batting an eyelid, still avoiding looking at him.
The former Auror grunted and started tapping something elusive on the table with his fingers. Montgomery, in panic, tried to figure out the way to get the professor off this topic. Remembering how she had spent the evening the day before, the Gryffindor caught herself and started to feel her pockets in search of a vial.
“I'm sorry Professor, I've been practicing a little on my own with the book you gave me. It's the Draught of Living Death, would you mind taking a look?” holding out the bottle, she looked up and immediately her cheeks flushed again. Sharp looked at her with disappointment and was in no hurry to take the vial from her hands.
“Do you know what I value most in people, Miss Montgomery?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, and continued without waiting for an answer. “The ability to take responsibility for their actions. As you quite bluntly hinted to Mr. Sallow in my class today, not everyone possesses such a skill.”
"Damn, he heard everything!" consciousness literally screamed as Nancy, chaotically probing the recesses of her memory, tried to remember if she had mentioned the curse, their flight to the shaman, or other delicate details. Professor continued.
“Sooner or later, we all have to learn this skill. In your case, I really hoped that you would take the responsibility more seriously, aware of the fact that you have a much heavier burden than your classmates. It must be quite challenging to carry it, but I thought you managed to prove to everyone that wisdom does not depend on age.”
The meaning of his words didn’t reach Montgomery immediately. She absentmindedly drew back her hand holding the potion. There was no causticity or arrogance in Sharp's voice, only disappointment. An unusual sensation for her, from which the heart squeezed unpleasantly. She had absolutely nothing to say in her defense, and she didn't want to. She lowered her head and continued to listen to his leisurely guidance.
"You Gryffindors are always trying to take on a little more than you should," the professor said, leaning back in his chair. “To seem bolder, better, more resilient than you really are. But it's easy to overestimate yourself, and overconfidence can make you lose the focus of what's really important. However, this definition often applies to other faculties, as evidenced by our mutual acquaintance, who, I do hope, is feeling better indeed. I am well acquainted with his uncle – at times we worked together in the Ministry.”
Nancy raised her head in surprise and immediately stumbled upon his piercing gaze. He looked down at her, carefully watching her reaction. The meaning of his speech was starting to get to her.
“Then, you are aware of what happened to Anne?” the girl cautiously voiced her guess, to which the Potions Master nodded in the affirmative.
“You are incredibly perceptive, Miss Montgomery. Solomon contacted me almost before he did the Mungo’s. But potions won't break such a curse — I told him so. Helplessness is a devastating feeling, I have gone through it more times than I would like to remember. But no matter how much you want to take on the pain of other people,” the girl even shuddered at these words. “The truth is that if we are not able to cope with our vices, it will not work out with others’ even more so.”
Nancy was silent. It was already crystal clear that her plan to distract the professor from what had happened failed grandly. All that remained was to figure out just how much he had already understood.
“Mr. Sallow is a promising young wizard, it would be foolish to deny it, though he never showed much liking for my subject. But his self-confidence and arrogance played a cruel joke on him – he stopped listening to people who are dear to him. From my own experience, I’ll say that this is a path to the Darkness that is difficult to abandon,” saying this, the former Auror got up and approached the board painted with formulas, folding his hands behind his back.
“And how did you manage to abandon it, professor?” Montgomery finally decided to speak up.
When Sharp's dark eyes weren't staring at her, hypnotizing, any action came much easier for her. He was still standing with his back to her, rocking slightly on his heels and looking for something in the magical formulas and inscriptions in Latin.
“When I lost all the people that were dear to me,” he answered slowly in a hoarse voice.
Nancy didn't know what to say.
Turning the card, Nancy saw a signature written in sweeping handwriting with lines running in all directions: “Next time, leave a troll to m
