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George knows that the students up at the school are widely intimidated by Aesop. They find him difficult and stern, and more than one of them are frightened by him.
Aesop doesn’t exactly seem to mind it because he’s never changed his teaching methods and George does his best to try and get Aesop to loosen up a bit and give the students a little bit of leeway when he grades at home. Usually. Sometimes Aesop is in no mood for it and grades the papers harshly. As far as George knows, however, no one has ever failed Aesop’s class.
Actually, it’s a little bit funny. He knows that Aesop is a stern man. He’s a very serious man. And he values the importance of his position.
It’s also funny that George sometimes works up at the hospital wing when he’s not working at St. Mungo’s. He likes helping out up there, even if he’s just rolling bandages or helping with laundry. There’s very rarely anything seriously wrong with the students which is a very welcome change from the serious cases he gets at the hospital.
One of the most common ailments faced by Hogwarts students is potion burns. Next to plant bites, most of the students will get themselves burned by a cauldron at some point in their schooling. George knows that the hospital has a very large supply of burn salves.
Madam Noreen Blainey is a good nurse, though George knows she’s still getting a hold of her position. They had actually both been in Hufflepuff together at school, so she doesn’t mind when he helps out. And many of the students who are, as George so lovingly puts it, repeat offenders-- returning with frequent burns or Quidditch injuries, or minor hexes from hallway fights-- are used to seeing George around the wing. He counts her among his friends. But Aesop always says he counts everybody among his friends.
“Another burn,” Noreen says, “What in Merlin’s name is Professor Sharp doing to these students?”
George laughs, “Come here, let’s get something on that.”
The student is a first or second year in Hufflepuff robes. He scurries over to the desk while George digs for the salve.
“You know,” George says, unscrewing the lid, “Professor Sharp’s bark is worse than his bite. He’s not going to take house points just for this. Is that what people tell you?”
The boy nods, “My sister said that. She’s a Fifth Year.”
“Oh really? So is my sister,” George laughs, “I think she’s just teasing you. He just wants you all to be prepared for the world after graduation. That’s all. The real world is a lot different than Hogwarts.”
“Mr. Idlewilde is very biased,” Noreen points out. She waves her wand and every unoccupied bed is made at once.
“Be that as it may, you don’t have to be frightened of Professor Sharp.”
The boy frowns, but nods. The salve has already significantly healed the burn. Maybe George ought to convince Aesop to keep a pot in the Potions classroom.
“That feels better,” the boy nods, “Thank you.”
“Certainly. Now, you listen to me,” George uses the voice he used to use on his sisters when they were little and panicked about something. He understands that being a First Year is exceptionally difficult. You are thrown into a brand new world. Even if your family was full of Wizards, Hogwarts is an experience unto itself, “If Professor Sharp is upset with you, tell him that Mr. Idlewilde will be very cross with him indeed. And I’m going to send you down with another little dose. You put this on before bed tonight and that burn will be gone come morning. Yes?”
“Alright,” the boy nods, “Thank you Mr. Idlewilde.”
“You can call me George,” he smiles, “I’m not fussy, especially not with fellow Hufflepuffs. Get back to class. I don’t want you to miss any more of your lessons.”
“You know,” Noreen says, putting her hands on her hips when the student is gone, “I don’t know how you ended up with someone like Professor Sharp.”
“He’s not as abrupt as he pretends to be,” George smiles, “You should see him at the family Christmas parties after he’s had a few glasses of wine.”
“That’s something I’d like to see,” she laughs.
*****
Greta Idlewilde is a Fifth Year and she’s absolutely not looking forward to her OWLs.
Of course, she’s sure that she’ll do fine, but the pressure on every Fifth Year is mad and she’d like to be over and done with them. Her sisters are all graduated and out in the world, but Georgie still lives in Hogsmeade and she knows if he hears she’s messing about and not studying, he’ll somehow show up in Ravenclaw Tower with a study schedule.
George wasn’t a model student, but he always says he’ll be damned if his sisters aren’t the best they can be.
“Greta!”
She looks up from her textbook, “Hullo Ariadne.”
Greta’s two best friends at Hogwarts are a Slytherin, Ariadne, and a fellow Ravenclaw named Kathleen. She is quite pleased with this arrangement. Until she came to Hogwarts, her sisters were her only real friends.
“Can’t you get us out of this ridiculous Potions assignment?” Ariadne asks, sitting down on the bench next to her. She picks up an apple but doesn’t eat it, “Two full rolls of parchment is mental. On top of all the rest of our studying?”
“You know Professor Sharp won’t listen to me. He only listens to my brother.”
“Can’t you get George to ask him?” Ariadne asks. She’s always loathed Potions class.
“He won’t do it. He says all the work is good for us. We need to be prepared for our OWLs.”
“Do you think Professor Sharp would fail George?”
Greta laughs, “Yes.”
Ariadne and Kathleen know George well, since they see him frequently on their Hogsmeade trips. He always has a few coins to buy the girls their first round of Butterbeer. George was already twenty and graduated when Greta was born, so he had had a very large hand in raising her. Therefore, she is particularly attached to him.
Besides, their parents hadn’t always gotten along, so George and her eldest sister Gwen often carried the brunt of things. Greta is glad that George lives so close to the castle. It’s reassuring. She wonders if he knows that.
“I think he probably would do,” Ariadne sighs, “I guess I better get started then.”
*****
Aesop actually thinks that Sebastian Sallow is a very good student. He has had a great tragedy happen to him and Merlin knows that Aesop has had his fair share of loss. He’s had his fair share of curses.
He sympathizes. He hopes very much that Anne will return to his classes someday. Probably she will not and that is a great loss.
Sebastian hasn’t been right since his sister’s illness, which is not something Aesop blames him for.
“Professor Sharp?” Sebastian knocks on the office door. He’d had a hunch the boy would come to see him. There’s something on his mind that hadn’t exactly worked its way out during his lesson earlier.
“Come in,” Aesop calls. He sets aside his parchment and folds his hands on his desk, “How are you Mr. Sallow? How is your sister?”
“The same,” Sebastian frowns. Something happened with Sebastian and the new student and while Aesop does not know all the details, given everything that happened last year that he does know happened last year, he imagines that it’s quite serious, “You don’t know anything about cursebreaking do you sir?”
“Not nearly enough to help you,” Aesop tries to make himself smile, “I’m very sorry. I think about her often. I can’t imagine what it is like to watch something like that happen to a sibling. What can I do for you?”
“I,” Sebastian rubs the back of his neck, “Well, Octavia told me that you lost your Auror partner.”
Aesop feels his jaw clench. This isn’t exactly information he wasn’t spread about the school, but Octavia is very close with her fellow Slytherins so he isn’t really all that surprised, “Yes.”
“I was wondering how you handle something like that.”
Sebastian thinks his sister is going to die, Aesop realizes suddenly. And frankly, it’s probably best to start preparing for this sort of thing now.
“It’s difficult,” Aesop frowns, “But you must allow yourself to rely on the people who care for you. Your friends. I know you and Mr. Gaunt are close. You must allow yourself to discuss your emotions with your friends. They want to know that you are well.”
Sebastian considers this, but Aesop can’t read his face very well. He doesn’t know what he’d have done if George hadn’t appeared in his life, alongside an entire family willing to let him into their ranks. Sebastian can find something like that, Aesop is certain of it.
“Can I ask you another question Professor?”
“If you’d like to.”
“Have- have you ever seen an Unforgivable curse performed?”
Aesop thinks this isn’t exactly what Sebastian wants to ask, but it’s what he asks anyway.
“Many times,” Aesop nods, “I have had the Cruciatus Curse performed on me and I have seen it performed on others. I have taken in Wizards who claim that they only did what they did because they were under the influence of the Imperious Curse. And yes, I have seen the Killing Curse performed as well. I am lucky to never have been hit with it.”
Sebastian frowns, “It’s- they don’t teach it at Hogwarts.”
“And for good reason,” Aesop leans forward, “It is very easy to look for an easy way out of things. To look for revenge against the people who have hurt you and hurt the ones you love. But listen to me very carefully Mr. Sallow. The curses will land you in Azkaban. It might not be right away, but it will eventually. Aurors do not take kindly to this. I think it’s best that you dismiss all thoughts of those curses from your mind.”
“Would you do it though? For somebody you cared about?”
Aesop swallows. He has no idea where this conversation is coming from and frankly he doesn’t want to know. Whatever happened is in the past but he is a professor. He has an obligation to guide his students down the right path.
“I don’t know,” Aesop admits, “I don’t think he’d be very pleased with me if he found out about it. The people that we love want what’s best for us. They want us to be good people. They don’t want any sort of darkness in our hearts because they don’t want us to experience that burden. You understand this? The Unforgivable Curses do not leave the caster unscathed. Yes?”
“I think I understand. Thank you Professor.”
“If I hear,” Aesop says, lowering his voice just a bit, “That you are involved with anything like this, I will have an obligation to deal with it accordingly. I will be very displeased.”
“I know Professor.”
“You’re a good Wizard Mr. Sallow. Don’t let anything stop you from remaining so.”
*****
Professor Black was not the headmaster when George was in school, which he thinks is probably for the best.
George doesn’t really like Black. He doesn’t like anybody who is so hung up on Blood Status or anything of the sort. George isn’t a Pure Blood after all and despite the fact that Aesop is, he too doesn’t care much for that attitude.
However, since George is at Hogwarts with relative frequency, he sees Professor Black with relative frequency.
“Mr. Idlewilde.”
Ugh.
George turns on his heel and flashes a smile. The first hints of Winter are in the air, but Autumn is still hanging on. Piles of leaves are starting to disintegrate into the grass, making way for the snow that will certainly be here before anybody knows it.
A carriage rustles by, pulled by Thestrals. The look on Black’s face tells George that he can see them too. George hadn’t been able to see them until he started working at St. Mungo’s. The lesson in his Beasts class had readied him for the moment, but it’s still a strange feeling.
“Hello Professor,” George says. He’s not sure he has to call Black Professor because he’s not a student, but he’s a little bit intimidated by him, so he’s certainly not going to call him Phineas, “Lovely day. I hope the new term is going well.”
“Justinia Sharp is your mother in law, is she not?” Black asks, entirely ignoring George’s question.
“Yes,” George replies. He and Mrs. Sharp aren’t exactly close, but he is the only healer she allows to tend to her, which perhaps is the only way she can show any sort of approval, “Why?”
“I wish to invite her to my family’s gala,” Black says, producing a letter, “She’s a Pure Blood, is she not?”
George thinks that’s being a little open about the whole thing, but everybody knows what Black’s feelings on the matter are, so he’s not surprised.
“Oh,” George takes it from him. It’s got an elaborate wax seal with what George assumes is the Black family crest, “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.”
George knows that the Sharp family are not particularly well respected in the social circles that Black must run in. Not that she doesn’t try. The Sharps are distant cousins to the Blacks. Most of the Pure Blood families have an ancestor in common after all.
“If I might ask, why not have my husband deliver this? Or deliver it by mail?”
Black frowns, “Professor Sharp refuses to speak to me about his mother. I know that you’re much more reasonable than he is. And I’ve never spoken to Justinia Sharp personally. I thought it might be a little more welcome from someone she knows. She can reply by mail. Thank you Mr. Idlewilde. You are doing me a favor.”
“Certainly Professor. I’m sure she’ll be very pleased.”
“Is she, you know,” he waves a hand, “Tolerable?”
“I think you two will get along very well,” George smiles. He’s about to make Mrs. Sharp’s day. He’ll probably become her favorite child after this. He thinks that the two of them really do get along, in their own way. She’d not been happy at first, with him. She wanted a proper Pure Blood for her son, but eventually she had come around enough to let him in the house. And to trust him with healing her when she falls ill.
“Wonderful,” Black says, in a tone that doesn’t exactly imply he thinks that, “Good afternoon.”
George really thinks Black is a charming man. He’s very glad he’s married to Aesop and not someone like that.
*****
Gemma Idlewilde knows that the Auror training program is very intense.
She also knows that she might not have been accepted if Professor Sharp-- she’s graduated now and working on calling him Aesop, like he’s told her she can-- hadn’t written her a glowing letter of recommendation.
She had presented her plan very clearly to him, presented good grades and done exceptionally well on her NEWTs. Being an Auror was very dangerous, but she was willing to accept that.
Right now, however, she’s still in training, and doesn’t do much that isn’t checking on reported cursed objects, accompany Aurors on routine calls, and sometimes sit in on trials. She’s supposed to visit Azkaban next month which she is more nervous than excited about. Aesop says that Azkaban is a horrible place.
She’s been given a tiny little office in the Ministry which she shares with three other new recruits. Two of them are older than her and one is from the States. She hasn’t talked much to them. They’re always so bogged down with paperwork.
“Gemma?”
She looks up from the report which is starting to swim before her eyes. She’s not sure how much longer she can look at ink.
“Adrian,” she smiles, “What can I do for you?”
Adrian is the Auror trainee from the States. He went to Ilvermorny, the American magical school. They often jokes about the merits of each school. Gemma vastly prefers Hogwarts.
“I think,” he says, “That if I look at one more report I am going to scream. Would you like to get a cup of coffee?”
“Desperately,” she laughs.
She isn’t sure yet if she fancies Adrian or not. She thinks maybe so, but she’ll have to talk with her sisters before she makes a final decision on the matter. That’s always how it’s been.
“How’d you end up working here?” Adrian asks. He’s told everybody how his grandparents are British, and he’d moved here to be an Auror because they always spoke so highly of them. Gemma hasn’t much mentioned her own story.
“My brother in law,” she says. The hallways are busy as ever as they head towards the cafe, “He was an Auror before an injury forced him to retire. He wrote a letter, you know, to the recruitment office. And he told me that I wasn’t allowed to embarrass him.”
“I didn’t know you had siblings.”
Gemma laughs, “I guess I really haven’t shared much at all. I have four. Three sisters and a brother.”
“Four? I’m an only child. Were you all in the same house at Hogwarts?”
Gemma shakes her head, “No. We spread out over all four houses. I was the only Slytherin.”
“Which sibling is the ex-Auror married to?
“My brother, Georgie.”
“What happened to him, to make him an ex-Auror?”
Gemma frowns, “I really don’t know the full story. Aesop doesn’t talk about it. He and his partner were on a case and it all went wrong. His partner was killed and Aesop was injured. Georgie says that the two of them think it must have been a spell or curse invented by the wizard because no one has been able to heal it. It’s to his leg. He still walks with a limp. I think it must still hurt him but he doesn’t talk about it much. That’s how they met. Georgie is a healer at St. Mungo’s.”
“How romantic,” Adrian smiles.
“They were married six months after they met,” Gemma frowns and briefly wonders if she might ever fall in love like George had. It would be nice. George seems so happy, “But I know Aesop misses being an Auror.”
“Well then you’ll have to do right by him. Make him proud.”
“I think I will.”