Tess' Sharpuary - 14. Valentine
Professor Sharp receives a considerable amount of Valentine's Day cards. The only problem is that they are not from his sweetheart...
chapter specific tags: fluff, friendship, dinah and abraham being menaces of friends
relationships: aesop sharp x reader, aesop sharp & dinah hecat & abraham ronen, natsai onai & reader
14. Valentine (2.6k)
tw: hints of jealousy?? maybe?
The young Ravenclaw was eyeing the High table suspiciously. That was the fourth owl this morning. FOURTH! Of course, she wouldn’t be normally concerned about her professor lover’s correspondence, but each and every single owl that flew in his direction one morning carried what was very obviously a Valentine’s Day card, one of them even brought the most perfect rose she’d ever seen. She looked around the Great Hall, her eyes narrowing. Just who on earth was sending Aesop Sharp Valentine's Day cards?! Someone who wasn’t her!
Of course, she did have her own card for him, but she decided that she’d give it to him personally, as sending Diana over with it would be most suspicious. Someone obviously decided to forego this precaution. On the other hand, she recognised all of the owls as the school ones, kept for the students who didn’t have their own. Who was it? Nobody present in the Great Hall looked suspicious, in fact, many of her fellow students were peering around curiously, trying to see who’d send the intimidating potions master four Valentine Day’s notes.
Oh! There was a fifth one! The owl landed in front of the professor very inelegantly, half landing in his scrambled eggs, prompting his already annoyed face to turn slightly murderous. He didn’t even take the envelope the owl carried in its beak, and the owl waited for him to take it for several minutes at least.
Well, at least it seemed that these notes were unwanted by Aesop… Or was he just annoyed that she was present, and a secret lover just gave him away?
No, no… Aesop wouldn’t do that, the Ravenclaw was sure of it. Maybe it was a prank? Then again, she didn’t think any one of her classmates would attempt to prank the potions master this way, not even Garreth. After all, Garreth only caused trouble with his experimental brews and concoctions, he wasn’t in the habit of actively pranking their teachers, and everybody else either feared or respected the gruff former Auror enough not to mess with him.
There was the occasional gossip that someone planned to trip the man, but nobody ever actually went through with the plan. Maybe the fact that the Ravenclaw made it known that if anyone as much as tried to send any sort of jinx Aesop’s way, they’d have to deal with her. After all, mostly everyone knew she and the potions master were friendly, and even those who thought it a funny idea to jinx the ex-auror teacher thought better about facing the wrath of the thus far undefeated Crossed Wands champion.
Maybe Aesop’s secret admirer was someone who didn’t come to breakfast? She looked around the room again, making a mental checklist of the girls there… But what if was a boy? That could very much happen of course - it came as a shock to her the first time she learned that homosexuality was, unlike in the Muggle world, perfectly normal and accepted. However, as she never truly bought into her parents’ and lecturers’ teachings when it came to societal norms, she soon accepted this fact and didn’t think more about it. After all, all that really mattered was love, just like the only thing that mattered between Aesop and her was love too.
She looked around the room for the third time there, wondering which one of her classmates could have such a crush on the professor, they’d go and send five - a hoot rang through the air and the Ravenclaw sighed - six Valentine’s Day cards. Well, using the elimination method, she could easily scratch out Sebastian; while his feelings towards the potions master changed somewhat, she knew he still felt very wary around him. If it was because of Aesop’s auror history that reminded the Slytherin lad of his late uncle, or perhaps the teacher’s general gruffness and acuteness was a mystery to her… Or… Or what if he actually hid his crush behind the mask of dislike? Sebastian did confess to her that he had a crush on her some time back, but she now knew that some people were interested in both sexes.
Hm. Still, quite improbable.
Who else then? Violet Mcdowell often mentioned how intimidating she found the teacher, but perhaps she said so with a hint of admiration. And what about Sacharissa Tugwood? She was a fairly skilled potioneer and often showed her inventions off to the professor. He certainly seemed more impressed with them than with Garreth’s. Oh goodness! What if it was Garreth himself?! What if all of his little experiments were a way for him to get Aesop’s attention?!
“I didn’t know you were this serious about the silly holiday,” said Natty amusedly as she sat next to the Ravenclaw. “Huh?” she replied eloquently. “That’s like the seventh owl Professor Sharp has received today! I thought they were all from you?” the Ugandan asked, her amusement replaced with confusion now. “First of all,” said her closest friend then, “why would I send school owls? I’ve got my own, and I’m telling you, she would’ve been so much quicker than these. Second of all, have you seen me anywhere near the owlery lately? And thirdly, why would I send Valentine’s Day cards to Professor Sharp?”
Natty snickered at her last point but hid her smile in her tea quickly. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said in a mock innocent voice, “First: could be a romantic surprise? Second: I did not, but then again, you could’ve gotten this ready in advance. And third: no point at all, of course, it’s not like you’ve got little hearts in your eyes at every mere mention of his name.” The Ravenclaw went red in the face, quickly biting into the before entirely forgotten crumpet on her plate. “I do not judge,” Natty said next, “he’s not a bad-looking man. And mother tells her is a very good wizard. And he must obviously like you since he spends so much of his free time with you.”
“That’s great Natty, could you please speak a little louder, I don’t think the Slytherins heard you…” The Ravenclaw said, her cheeks still hot and most likely more red than Weasley hair. Her friends did not yet know about her relationship with the potions master, and she wasn’t really sure how to break the news to them. She better think it up soon, however, as Natty seemed way too close to discover the truth on her own…
“I wonder who sent those then,” the Ugandan said finally, shaking her head. Her friend no longer replied, but merely wolfed down the rest of her breakfast, and made her way towards the Ravenclaw tower to gather her things for the day. She would find out who was this secret admirer sending a frankly concerning amount of Valentine Day’s notes to her sweetheart, sooner rather than later.
—
She was running late for lunch.
After Peeves locked her in the toilet stall and struck the wand out of her hand, she spent at least 10 minutes scanning every single inch of the room, looking for it. After she crawled through the gap under the stall door that is. She huffed in annoyance as she fixed her hair and clothes in the mirror. The poltergeist was a bloody menace. However, as she neared the Great Hall, she found herself actually slightly glad to have been forced to crawl on the restroom floor and look high and low for her wand, because her secret lover was just on his way out.
They were alone, most likely for only a minute or two, but she was grateful for even those two minutes.
As soon as he noticed her, his limping steps quickened, and he cast a swift look around him before leaning in for a quick kiss upon her lips. “I’m glad to see you,” he said quietly, his voice genuine and heartfelt, “I hoped to catch you on the way to the Great Hall, but grew worried when you weren’t showing up…” “Yes, well,” she rubbed at her neck awkwardly, “Peeves…”
“Is he causing you any trouble? If so, just tell me, I’ll talk to the Bloody Baron, he’ll set him straight,” Aesop offered immediately. “No, no, it’s fine. He doesn’t pick on me very often. In fact, I think the last time was about two months ago.”
“Listen,” Aesop almost interrupted, “are you free after dinner?” “I am… Why? Do you have any plans?” her voice turned into a gentle purr, and she was batting her eyelashes at the teacher. It worked like a charm, and a very flirtatious smirk found its way onto his lips.
“I might… Do you know the large hill next to Hogsmeade?” he asked then, keeping his voice quiet and gentle. She knew the one he meant, it stood out nicely against its surroundings. And so, after nodding her head, the professor grinned at her: “Good. Meet me there at half past eight, alright? You won’t regret it, I promise.”
And with that, he left towards the direction of the Faculty tower. The excitement of meeting her lover after dinner made the girl almost forget about the mystery sender of the morning cards. Almost. She spent the rest of the day in this strange mood, switching between utmost bliss and excitement at the clandestine rendezvous, and burning curiosity as to the identity of Aesop’s secret admirer. However, as the afternoon rolled into the evening, she found herself more happy than inquisitive.
She made sure she looked good before she left her dorm room that evening - she donned a very neat white blouse with a burgundy camisole over it, complimenting her curves. Her rather form-fitting dark trousers were partially hidden away by the tall, laced boots on a short heel, and a long crimson overcoat completed her look. It was a rather Gryffindor-ish look, she supposed, but there was no denying that she looked quite lovely sporting it. Her dorm mates were all in the common room, and she was able to slip out of the tower unnoticed by casting the Disillusionment charm on herself and making use of their little roof area to be able to fly away on her broom. It was only after she was away from the castle grounds did she lift the charm. She enjoyed the feeling of wind upon her cheeks - her hair was carefully secured to last the flight.
And as she approached the hill, she could clearly see there was some sort of light there. Flying in closer, it became obvious that there were candles, and what looked like lacewing flies in small jars. And, in the middle of the lights was Aesop, leisurely sitting on a soft-looking blanket. He stood up when he saw her approaching, a dark shade in the light of the moon, and he procured a bouquet of flowers out of seemingly nowhere.
“Good evening,” he said once his young sweetheart landed and put her broom away. The hand holding the flowers extended towards her: “Uh, I-... Happy Valentine’s Day, my sweet.” The girl didn’t waste a single second - she climbed into his arms and let the potions master kiss her senseless. After a few minutes of heated kisses and gentle touches, she pulled back reluctantly, entirely breathless: “Thank you so much, Aesop, they’re beautiful.”
The professor then put a stasis charm on the flowers, and the couple sat down upon the blanket together. There was obviously some sort of enchantment upon it, as it was softer than the ground underneath it appeared to be, and it was also very warm to touch. Aesop revealed that he prepared a small picnic for them, with butterbeer and some sweet pastries, which they proceeded to gladly share, cuddling under the starry sky.
Suddenly, she remembered the card she had for him, and by extension also the ones he received in the morning.
“I’ve got this for you,” she said shyly, handing him the card. His look was like night and day from the one he had on his face in the morning as he read her words.
‘Dear Aesop. To the first of hopefully many Valentine's Days I’m allowed to kiss you, and hold you in my embrace. I am yours.
Love,
(F/N)’
“Thank you, my love,” his words were soft, as were his eyes, “I’ve been looking forward to this one the entire day.” Ah, the girl was glad he was the one to have mentioned it, the last thing she wanted was to make him uncomfortable: “Now that you’re talking about it, what was that all about, in the morning?” Aesop rolled his eyes: “That was my dear friends Abraham Ronen and Dinah Hecat thinking they are very funny. You see, the first few ones, I thought they were from you. It was strange that the owl bringing them wasn’t Diana, but then I reasoned you were keeping a low profile. Well, obviously, neither of those cards were from you.” “Well, who were they from?” the girl asked, her curiosity completely palpable. Aesop grimaced slightly. “My colleagues,” he replied awkwardly.
“Your colleagues? What? I didn’t know you sent Valentine’s Day cards to each other?” she asked incredulously, a small smile fighting its way onto her face. “We don’t… for whatever reason, Dinah, professor Hecat that is, decided to convince our colleagues that I get very sad every Valentine’s Day because I never receive anything. And well, some of them decided to do something about it.”
The Ravenclaw couldn’t help it - she burst into a fit of giggles. “Go on and laugh, now the whole of the student body thinks I’ve got myself some sort of fan club or something,” Aesop said, but he didn’t sound cross with the girl at all. “I’m sorry, Aesop, but you’ve got to admit, it is kind of funny,” she said through her chuckles while he shook his head. However, there was indeed a small smile on his face.
“If it makes you feel any better if you did have a fan club, I’d be most likely the leader, as I’m your biggest fan ever,” she purred into his ear then, prompting him to shiver slightly. “Glad to hear that,” he whispered back before pulling her into a deep kiss.
—
“Did you see her face,” Dinah asked, giggling as she sipped on her Firewhisky, “poor girl was ready to start a full-blown investigation!” Abraham Ronen too chuckled: “I just hope we didn’t cause her too much distress…”
“Seeing as Aesop is nowhere near his chambers or classroom, and Mr Thakkar was unable to find his classmate in the Ravenclaw tower, I think they’re having themselves a nice Valentine’s Day evening date. Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be off to see your wife?” The Charms professor smiled wryly: “I, well… You normally spend today with Aesop, I didn’t want you to be all on your own…” “Oh, don’t you go sentimental on me, Abe. Do I seem sad to you?” she rolled her eyes. “You seem perfectly alright,” the older man had to admit.
“That’s because I am. Now run along, your wife is waiting for you.”
However, before the two could say goodbye, a sooty owl flew in and perched upon Dinah’s sofa. The DADA teacher recognised it instantly and snatched the letter from out of the owl’s beak. It was a simple roll of parchment, with Aesop’s scrawl on it: “Dear Dinah and Abraham, please, refrain from any other tricks like this next year, else you two will find yourself with a goblet of pumpkin juice spiked with bulbadox powder one morning. - Aesop.”
Dinah only grinned: “I expected no less.”
---
I'd like to say that I was so crafty as to plan on always making this the only fully coloured picture because it's the middle of Sharpuary, but that'd be a lie. The reason it's in full colour is simply because it looked weird and half-undone otherwise 😅
[AO3] - [Sharpuary 2024] - [Masterlist]
