The Eyes of Graphorns (Professor Sharp x mc)

The Shadows Of Scarborough (+Epilogue)

The Shadows of Scarborough

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.