The Eyes of Graphorns (Professor Sharp x mc)

The Battle of Hogwarts

Elaine Hopkins knelt in front of Professor Fig's lifeless body. She couldn't believe she had lost him. Just moments ago, he had fought side by side with her to defend Hogwarts and the entire wizarding world, and now he lay there, his gaze empty. Dead. She had unconsciously held herself together as he directed his final words to her, to give him reassurance in the moments before his death. She felt the control over her emotions gradually slipping away as she realized what had just happened. She had lost her mentor and watched him die.

A pained sound escaped her lips, and she squeezed her eyes shut, her body curling forward as if someone had cast the Cruciatus curse on her, which she would have preferred now if given a choice. Elaine couldn't remember the last time she had a choice. Knowing that Fig was dead was almost unbearable. Just like that. Her own voice sounded like that of a stranger as she whimpered "No-no-no-no-no-".

Suddenly, a hand and some calm, reassuring words rested on her shoulder. Elaine flinched but couldn't move.
"There's nothing more you can do for him."
As she heard the gentle sound of the familiar voice beside her, her stiffness melted away. She turned around and looked into a pair of alert eyes that seemed to convey an understanding of what she was going through. Professor Sharp stood next to her, leaning forward towards her.

"Come, I'm here. Please. Don't torment yourself more than necessary," Sharp's voice sounded almost pleading. There was a tone in his voice that burned through Elaine's chest, indicating that while it was important to say goodbye, to honor that one last moment, she shouldn't give in too much to the pain - at least for now. It was suddenly noticeably quiet in the cave under Hogwarts, as the battle had subsided, and everyone realized what had happened. Sharp had immediately sensed that something had gone wrong, that something terrible had happened, that something was no longer as it should be, and he was the first to correctly assess the situation. He had apparated instantly to the scene of the accident. To his student who had just suffered a great loss. "Come, you need to get out of here."

Elaine reached for his hand, and he pulled her up. His grip was firm, allowing her to find the stability she had just lost. Sharp wrapped his arm around her trembling shoulders. Elaine was surprised by the strength and ease with which the Potions professor had helped her up. On the way up to the Map Room, the other teachers watched them in silence - full of sorrow and horror. Elaine caught herself thinking that she was surprised by the smoothness with which Sharp moved at her side, interrupted only slightly by the limp that always accompanied the former Auror.

All sorts of accusations crossed Elaine's mind. If only Fig hadn't accompanied her on her journey to explore Ancient Magic and protect it from falling into the wrong hands. If only she had worked alone. If only she hadn't demanded so much from him.

Sharp led Elaine into his office and asked her to sit down. Like a statue, she sank into a chair in front of her Potions professor's desk and stared blankly into space. Sharp sat across from Elaine Hopkins on the other side of the table and looked at her patiently. He recognized that look. In his years as an Auror, he had seen many colleagues come and go, leaving their mark on the survivors. For some reason, seeing his student in pain hurt him a little more. Perhaps, he thought, it was because of her age and the idea that she had already endured a kind of suffering during her school years that was still difficult to bear even when one had learned to cope with it.

He could have asked her why she and Fig hadn't informed him and the other teachers earlier, why they hadn't given them a chance to support them, but he didn't. He was aware of the accusations Elaine must now face and didn't want to make it worse.

"If you'd like to talk about it, you can come to me anytime," he said instead, albeit somewhat awkwardly. Until now, he had always sat on the other side of such tables and been the one who had lost someone. Elaine was grateful that he didn't ask about what she and Fig had been working on over the last year; the tears that she had held back until this moment suddenly ran down her face. She buried her face in her hands. It tore Sharp apart to see her like this. No one should be subjected to this kind of pain. But weren't those his own words? None of us has a guarantee of survival? If he had known how soon Elaine would experience this firsthand, he might have chosen his words more carefully.

-

Sharp lay awake for a long time that night. What a day it had been. In the morning, he had been busy explaining the difference between bezoars and Ashwinder eggs to third-year students without realizing what was happening deep beneath the school at that moment. Even less could he have imagined that Matilda would rush through the school hours later in distress, talking about an emergency to gather all professors together to defend Hogwarts against trolls and goblins.

He hadn't fought since the ambush where he lost his partner. Of course, he was always ready to defend himself and others, but he was sure that due to his injury, he had lost some of his abilities. Nevertheless, his senses were sharper than ever as he disapparated that evening to secure the school and, above all, support the student who was currently trying to protect whatever it was that goblins wanted.

Sharp sat on the edge of his bed and wrapped a cloak around his shoulders. "Lumos!"
He walked over to the fireplace in his bedroom, lit it with "Incendio", and sat in one of two chairs in front of the fire.

The warmth relaxed him a bit. Since arriving at Hogwarts, the second chair in front of the fireplace had always remained empty. He didn't often receive visitors in his private quarters anyway, not least because he didn't want anyone to discover either his cane or wheelchair.

During battle, he hardly noticed his leg; he had been too focused on defensive spells and attacks while keeping an eye on what was happening on the battlefield. He had felt filled with passion during the battle - a feeling almost forgotten since his time as an Auror. It was a kind of passion only felt when one put their life on line for something significant beyond their own existence. Adrenaline surged through his body; the tension of not being allowed to make any mistake had given him the certainty that what he did mattered.

However, they suffered losses. Sharp gazed into the fire. Thinking about Fig made him sad; even sadder was remembering his student. Sharp's thoughts kept returning to her over these past few hours. She not only lost her mentor but also her trust - if it hadn’t already been lost before today. Who besides Fig knew what she had already gone through up until this day? At Fig's request back then, Sharp conducted investigations into Ranrok and goblins at Ministry but only now did complexity of situation gradually became clear to him.

Otherwise, Sharp didn’t know much about Elaine Hopkins; until now, his interest in her had been limited to her academic achievements, which undoubtedly surprised him. Beyond that, all he knew were the rumours that she was caught hunting dark wizards outside school or rescuing lost Nifflers from poachers more than once.