Professor Sparrow Blackheart

Kind of an enigma and a recluse, Blackheart has taught at Hogwarts since the end of the Global Wizarding War, which it is known he helped fight in as well. He has also fought in many other battles and always promoted fairness and equality in his classroom and on campus.

Obsessed with coffee and mostly kept to himself only a handful of people know who he is and why he gives off an odd aura of dark magic. Dumbledore trusted him though so he’s been grandfathered in on most things and left to teach. It has also been recorded that he did at some point teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, stepping away from the roll after a year due to the incidents that occurred, returning to his normal two classes. Sparrow hosts a fair few clubs, including Muggle Games Club, Foreign Culture Club, and Dark Arts Club.

Sparrow has had a few incidents at the school, none of them terrible, but enough to be on the radar for the ministry as an unliked professor. The biggest incident was before the Battle of Hogwarts, during Harry Potter’s time at the school, Blackheart was caught teaching the children Dark Arts and spells above their level, including the three Unforgivable Curses and how to properly use them. When confronted on it by professors and ministry agents his only response was, “Are you ready to let those children die?”. After everything with that event he has seemed to withdraw and relax more, not joining in many conversations or the like, always appearing tired in some aspect. He frequents muggle towns and cities to go grocery shopping or hunt down any fun trinkets he likes. It has also been recorded that he will randomly say bits of information, almost like a memory, from events that occurred ages ago, pretending he said nothing afterwards and either switching the subject or walking away as a reply.

## Early Years

Born and raised in Venice during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire in the mid 1300’s, near 1250, “Sparrow”, or Fortuna (his birth name) was a Natural Born Seer, unbeknownst to his parents. He hid his visions from his family and everyone around him, afraid of being tried and killed as a witch, picking up a trade and becoming an Apothecary’s apprentice and working to refine those skills. Many ended up hearing about him though, as he would use certain visions to help him out with his medicines and salves, creating things that weren’t supposed to exist just yet. At the age of 19 his parents passed, as well as his teacher, and he was left alone with the shop and himself to fend off the people that began coming to him and asking for his future cures and more.

This terrified him and soon, as people grew more aggressive in their demands, begging for insight into the unknown, he closed shop and fled, hoping none would follow him. He was proven wrong all too swiftly as that only made certain parties more persistent in their pursuit of knowledge.

One particular figure, as well as a goon of theirs, proved to be the worst. The goon asked and demanded information on this place called ’Hogwarts’, threatening Fortuna and attacking when he refused multiple times to give any answers of make himself look into it. This resulted in a fight that ended in the mans death. From the dark the second figure walked out and used the Imperius Curse on Fortuna, trying to force his foresight and failing. From there this unknown figure forced the seer to make a Horcrux, as all the components were there, and then released Fortuna from the spell.

Back to being himself but feeling off Fortuna demanded to know what had just happened, only met with the same questions about the same place the dead man had been speaking of. Refusing yet again as he would not give into such requests the figure left, leaving the seer with the sentenc, “You’ll answer once you’re broken”. After that, mortified, Fortuna fled the country, traveling and learning what he could about about foresight, divination, and dark arts, including what had been used on him.

## Witch Seer Fortuna Years

Making his way through other parts of Europe Fortuna quickly learned how to do wandless magic, as he had no other choice, and traveled through many location, doing odd jobs to earn enough coins to get by or hunting when needed. He made yet another mistake when caught once, earning him a title that would haunt a small rural town in France. Brought up to the gallows the head of that town asked if he had any last words just as a powerful vision hit him, terrifying the man and crowd. Proceeding to be caught in the troubling near future Fortuna proclaimed loudly to the people that in less than ten minutes a great storm would hit this coastal land, tearing apart home after home, murdering close to everyone, and that they all needed to flee. Screams of horror and disgust filled the air as he came back to himself, many ignoring him when he pleaded with them to listen to him and run. There was no point though as his words fell on empty ears, many not noticing the dangerous winds and heavy rain getting worse.

Minutes later, just as the noose was going to be looped around his neck, a monumental galeforce hit the town, waves destroying the docks and harbors, winds bombarding the buildings and wearing them down in minutes. Chaos followed and knocked him off of the stand and away from death, giving him the chance to run and escape as best as he could. There were a few that let him help them, desperate to get away from the hellish storm he had predicted, most of them being children and beggars. Hours later, outside the damaged remains, Fortuna watched the angry weather at last calm, determined to go back and help anyone else. All he was met with though was hatred and the few remaking townsfolk screaming “Witch” at the top of their lungs.

News of this tragedy spread like wildfire through the rest of the continent, raising alarms and many cries of fear, the name “Witch Seer Fortuna” plastered as that of a devil to most and a saint to the few that he saved. As for Fortuna it made his travels and studies more difficult as many of his own kind turned him away simply because he drew too much attention to them. Some sold him out to guards in exchange for protection from the church. Others gave him food and then shooed him far away from their home. England proved to be the most difficult land for him to navigate, as there was a heavy bounty on his head set in place by a noble that had caught him and tried to take advantage of him but ended up with a hairpin in the eye instead.

In northern England, in a small place called Blacheborne, Fortuna was finally and securely caught, held in prison, tortured and tried until they found him guilty of unholy deeds and witchcraft. Sentenced to be burned on a pyre and then the ashes burnt until there was nothing left, Fortuna accepted his fate, hoping that the item he learned was called a Horcrux would be destroyed if he died. While he was tied to the pyre, flames slowly growing stronger, a figure unseen by all save for himself approached, surprised to find someone so willing to die. Death approached him and Fortuna begged them to let him die, unafraid of the haunting cloaked figure, also asking if they had the ability to destroy what he had been forced to make; a coin that held part of his soul...a Horcrux. Confused as this was not what they had been expecting to reap, Death made a deal with the Seer, giving him temporary immortality until they could find and destroy both the Horcrux and the one responsible for forcing such an action.

To show the deal was accepted and that Fortuna was now working under him, Death left the symbol of Omega on his upper right shoulder, telling them they would receive one last thing after getting out of this. From there Death left, and Fortuna burned, but once the flames died and he was left as a charred body he realized he was still alive, screaming in pain and traumatizing all that saw. Swiftly the mortified people acted, taking the wailing cadaver off the pyre and tying weights to Fortuna, dragging his burnt body to the nearby river and drowning him in hopes that that would kill him. When he was brought back up after three hours it seemed to everyone he was dead, as he was not breathing or moving and held no pulse. Satisfied they left his corpse out there on the coast for wild animals to finish off.

Minutes later though Fortuna came back to life, body slowly healing and regenerating from all of the damage he had taken. Crawling up to him was the last gift from Death: a small dark ferret that would act as his familiar and aid him in his journey to end this unwarranted damnation. Together they gathered wood from the pyre he had been burnt on, and hair he had found on a bush nearby, making the 17 inch wand, sharpened to a point so he could use it to defend himself without magic if necessary.

## Rise of Blackheart

In 1340 Fortuna left Blacheborne, officially declared dead, and changed his name to that of a common bird: a sparrow. Now known as Sparrow he quickly put together the last name Blackheart, creating a faux lineage and history, as well as family tree. It was around this time that the Black Plague began to course through the nearby lands, making it’s way to Europe in a few years, just as he traveled back to his home of Venice. Back in his hometown Sparrow opened up shop again, after buying his old place back, and began trying to find a cure for this blasted illness that was sweeping through the country. Tirelessly he slaved away, exposing himself to this deadly disease and studying how it affected the body, nearly dying a few times himself but thankfully and surprisingly healing before he could.

It was late one night when, after getting close time and time again, Sparrow forced himself to see into the future and find out what he could about this ravenous plague, hastily scribbling down all he could and working to recreate the vaccine with what he had. In his exhaustion he went outside and found an orphan, one of the many that now roamed the streets, and explained to them that he had made a medicine for them to take, that it would keep them safe. Desperate and afraid the child took it, and was surprised days later when they were alright despite constant exposure to the disease riddled corpses. Ecstatic that this cure worked the child went back to Sparrow and told them that they had found what everyone needed, claiming he was a miracle worker. Yet at this same time a figure that had been in the dark for too long came knocking at his door, letting themselves in and startling the pair.

Coin in hand the mystery figure congratulated Sparrow on his work and then asked if he was willing to tall them about Hogwarts again. Refusing and claiming he would never tell someone so evil about a place so good, Sparrow watched as they sighed and put away the Horcrux, vanishing a second later. Before he could tell the child to run to safety, as well as give them the papers that held the recipe for the cure, explosives went off under Sparrow’s home and shop, hurriedly sinking the structure. He tried desperately to save both the child and the papers, only managing to get the child out of the home before a large stone hit him in the back and dragged him down into the ocean with all of his hard work.

Dying again either from the rubble or drowning, Sparrow came back after a few minutes, only to repeatedly die and come back as he struggled to get out of his sunken home. Nox, his familiar, swam down and shoved what she could out of the way, helping him and going back to the surface once he was free. Waiting for both of them and sobbing was the child, scared at first when Sparrow climbed out of the dark depths. They were happy he was alive though and explained that there were people coming here to look for him as he was being accused of witchcraft and creating the plague in the first place. Together they fled the city, Sparrow keeping the child safe from everything he could and ducking in and out of every shadowy hiding place he could.

Upon exiting the city and reaching the countryside Sparrow explained to the child that he was a witch but one that used their magic for good, as that was how he made the cure. They were scared but chose to stay with him, traveling with him through the Holy Roman Empire and learning about potion making, as well as basic magic and magical creatures. Things seemed happy between the two and after a year of traveling Sparrow grew fond of the child. It wasn’t to be though as they were traveling through Spain that the figure with the coin appeared again, asking again for the same thing as last time. He responded the same and tried to run, scooping the child into his arms with Nox and taking off, only to topple over as spell hit him hard in the back, killing him instantly. Minutes later he came to, finding the child torn open and on their last breath, passing away right as he dragged himself over to them.

Angry and cold he buried the child, unable to say their name for the next three centuries, and numbly left that land, knowing he needed to learn more on dark arts as soon as he could.

## Covens and Courts

Sparrow spent the next couple of decades as a shadowy figure, raiding black markets and freeing animals and people being sold, rescuing and rehabilitating many of the dragon folks as well as others from this. In southern Scotland he had been chased down by witch hunters, rescued when he turned down an alley and taken in by the local coven there. Grateful for the help he spent a day speaking with them, taking their offer to give him a room for the night, and was surprised to learn they were a coven that worked mostly with dark magic, including the unforgivable curses. Explaining to their leader, known as Mother Mallin, Sparrow told her some of why he needed to learn these taboo arts and spells, thrilled when she offered him a chance to do exactly that. Mallin would teach him dark arts, how to resist them, and keep him from witch hunters if he returned the favor by helping them with any apothecary needs, as well as being their doctor. As he was desperate for a teacher in this elusive subject he made the deal, creating a blood contract with Mother Mallin and joining them.

In the beginning things went swimmingly with this new group, as they let him still go out and help folks, becoming popular in that town and seen as a well versed doctor that could help anyone of any race. Mother Mallin grew jealous and possessive of him though, hiding it from Sparrow but baring her fangs to any that said anything about him in her presence that could be seen as them liking him, even as a friend. Years passed and she pressed harder on him training rather than being out with the people, claiming his soft heart was keeping him from resisting the curses. To make a point one time when they argued this she used the Imperius curse on him, waiting and watching as he struggled to get out of it, enjoying having control. It was after releasing him that she put on her mask, acting like it hurt her to do that, and convincing him he indeed needed to spend more time learning to fight it off. From there she slowly began wrapping him around her finger, only being stopped when a certain dragon approached him in a tavern months later.

King Izaleon had heard of a ‘Dragon Doctor’ from many in his growing family and, as his own insanity grew, “King’s Madness” as it is called, so did the amount of dragons asking for a proper doctor to take care of their wounded and sick. Traveling to the nearby town he tracked down Sparrow in a tavern one night and spoke with him, arguing his cause for his people, relentlessly pushing and trying to convince this “Dragon Doctor” to come and work for him with his people, offering to pay him, give him a room, an operating area, anything he needed. Sparrow, concerned about how the coven would react but also wanting more freedom, agreed eventually on the terms that Izaleon would give him protection outside of the city and to any place he traveled. Thrilled at the news the king immediately went and set things up, happily telling the hoard that Sparrow would be helping them. Sparrow went and told his coven of his decision, explaining that he wouldn’t be there all the time, only two days a week. Mallin begrudgingly agreed to this, guilting him and saying it was cruel of him to make this choice without consulting the others and herself first, and said that the king was not allowed to lay a hand on him. Uncomfortable with these rules he agreed and left to start his work two days later.

What Sparrow found at the Dragon Nest, their home, was a lot of pain and lack of medical knowledge, as well as a king struggling to keep himself together mentally and suffering just as badly as his people. Setting himself to work he began at the bottom where the worst of it was, and began instilling rules and routines amongst the dragons, patiently explaining to each one of them the importance of hygiene, keeping wounds clean, what to do when shedding. He also took on addressing the many that suffered from mental ailments as well, ranging anywhere from severe PTSD to mild Schizophrenia, using his foresight to look into how to make the needed medications for each and every person. It was grueling and painful work as many times those suffering would lash out in fear sometimes, apologizing when coming down from their fits. Sparrow always gave them a warm smile though, understanding that the pain they had inside themselves was worse than any pain they could inflict on him physically and most importantly that it wasn’t their fault.

Two days a week quickly turned into every other day, sometimes days on end as the dragons grew attached to him and warmly welcomed him into the fold while the coven grew colder and harsher on him. Mallin became more enraged as the months passed, angered that her precious doll was gone too often and she couldn’t use Sparrow as much as she’d like to. Many of the times he came back from the dragons it was immediately into “training” for him with Mallin, those days and nights lost memories as he would only come to hours later when she finally let him out of the curses control claiming he wasn’t doing as well fighting it off as he used to. This didn’t stop him from continuing to help out as much as he was with Izaleon and his people, as he had little care left for himself after everything he’d been through. No, Sparrow continued this rough routine and when he saw how much Izaleon himself was suffering, dedicating most of his efforts on trying to help the King out of his madness.

Soon Sparrow began having trouble making himself go back to the coven, guilted every time he had returned and loosing days to ”training”. Izaleon, who had been making progress and growing fond of the doctor, began noticing things he couldn’t, including marks in places that were hard to see. Some of them were of romantic nature and others were of violent nature. There was also the concern of Sparrow complaining about his joints and muscles being sore, saying it might be the weather and work getting to him, or old age. Izaleon, unsure of the mans relations with the others, withheld any choice words he had, saving them in case it turned out things were worse than a misunderstanding.

This became clear to King Izaleon after a series of incidents, the first being one where he injured Sparrow on accident while lost in his own madness, tearing the doctor’s chest and shoulder open and terribly wounding him. Sparrow had enough strength to push through and bring Izaleon back to himself, collapsing after telling the dragon king everything would be alright. Bed ridden for a week, Mallin eventually came looking for her coven member, entering the nest and fighting off several dragons to get to the person she had been looking for, furious to find the king was caring for Sparrow. Her and Izaleon argued, her claiming that she and the other witches were best suited to care for their own, not measly reptiles, while he questioned her about all of the marks he found on the young man, asking why he didn’t know about them. Eventually Sparrow woke and interrupted, saying he would return to the coven as he didn’t want to cause more problems.

After this Sparrow wasn’t seen by the dragons for months, three months exactly, and soon Izaleon went looking, finding the mansion they called home and the horrendous nightmare that was Sparrow’s “training” to fight off the Imperius Curse, the one he struggled with the most as Mallin claimed. More arguments ensued and only came to a temporary end when once again Sparrow brought up that he needed to learn how to fight this off, that it had been used on him by someone else and he did something unspeakably terrible. Tensions high and each party holding back by a hair, Izaleon listened once more to Sparrow and backed down, privately telling the man that if he found out it was more than training, then he’d be back and burn down the entire house and three other coven members.

One year passed before this issue came to a bloody end. Sparrow grew tired of the coven, mainly how Mallin would use and treat him, unable to get out because of the blood contract, and he soon spent most of his nights with the dragons. On a particularly gloomy evening after he had spent three weeks away from Mallin, the blood seal on his arm grew hot and painful, bleeding and burning him awfully as well as alarming Izaleon. Within seconds he was unconscious and Izaleon patched him up, leaving him in his room where he believed the doctor to be safe. Mallin snuck in that night and stole Sparrow, returning back to the home with him and leaving an empty bed for the Dragon King to find in the morning. Furious and inconsolable he flew out the instant he went to check on the doctor and found nothing, going straight to the mansion and breaking down the doors to find the collective using Cruxio on Sparrow, asking if he had learned his place yet. Not much else is known by either Izaleon of Sparrow himself as to what else occurred except that the blood contract was released and the entire coven and mansion was burned to the ground.

From that day onward Sparrow lived with the dragons, and Izaleon did not trust Sparrow to have his own separate room, his paranoia and on and off madness telling him someone else would come and try to steal his friend away. Coming to a compromise, Sparrow shared a room with Izaleon. Close to fifty years passed of the two bickering and working with one another, before they admitted to each other there were feelings that were more than just friends. After admitting their feelings and agreeing to try things out, the pair grew closer and Izaleon’s mental state vastly improved as he became more at ease, no longer worried about being alone or his people needing a doctor ever again. As he made leaps and bounds Sparrow enjoyed being safe and able to continue his research, enjoying a more stable life and almost forgetting there was someone out in the world hunting him.

Lasting fifty more years as a couple and friends, all of this came to a close as war approached the dragons, as it had many times. In one of the tougher battles Sparrow shoved Izaleon to the side, taking a head injury that would have killed anyone else, but instead left him waking up days later, unable to remember the past fifty years of his life. This became evident as Izaleon naturally tried to hold him close and was only met by Sparrow pulling away, asking why he was acting so cozy with him, and confused at the heartbroken expression that followed. Days later, once they could for certain say that Sparrow had indeed lost his memories, the doctor came to the conclusion that he needed to leave and see if he could find something, anything, on what this issue was. With a promise to see Izaleon again, that it wasn’t the end, he left the dragons, still clueless as to how much he had had there.

## Global Wizarding War

Centuries passed, Sparrow making some friends but never staying close as every time he did get close to someone the figure with the coin would appear again and proceed to ruin everything, destroying multiple times any research he found on memory charms and ailments. He lived in New York, New York for a decent amount of time, getting looped into the mafia and working as a doctor for them as well as an assassin, using the dark connections to try and help him in his search for the cure to his amnesia and to possibly help him find his Horcrux. The family held him in high regards, respecting him decently, learning about his foresight and refusing to make him use it, as they chose to leave that up to him. Surprised but pleased Sparrow stayed with them and came close to finding the Horcrux and the person responsible, only to come back to this new home and die as him and the family were taken out, all of them eliminated by a single well placed explosion, followed by a raid to take out any survivor.

The last thing Sparrow saw before taking a bullet to the head was a familiar face, and a coin stashed away in their breast pocket, waking up minutes later surrounded by the dead bodies of the family he had almost made here. Taking time to weep for them he swiftly picked himself up, as well as his ever faithful companion Nox, and packed what he needed, set on leaving New York only to watch as more issues erupted. Chaos took over the city for 24 hours, magical creatures breaking lose and rumors of the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald being in the area. Watching and evading this insanity, he saw MACUSA agents, modern witch hunters, and more roam the streets, hoping none of them would notice him or come after him. The instant things came to a dramatic close and most people forgot the craziness that had occurred, Sparrow fled the US and went to France, Paris specifically, and opened up a small apothecary shop again.

Not too much later those same issues resurfaced and came overseas, nothing preparing him for the fact that a war was on the horizon, or the panic he faced when he learned that some of the issues originated from a school named Hogwarts. Finally done running when the chaos came around again, he joined the fight that ensued, mainly the one in the graveyard, dodging and apparating out of the way of the flames that had burst forth from the underground and saving as many witches and wizards as he could. Once things calmed, for the moment, he continued to help fight against the building of dark wizards, explaining some of his abilities to the French Magical Ministry, as well as that he may be oh help tracking down some of the more dangerous folks, going after many of them himself.

Of course things only grew more chaotic and at one point during what would eventually be known as the Global Wizarding War, Sparrow soon found he wasn’t the only immortal in this fight, meeting many folks but angrily facing yet again the mystery figure who had caused him so much pain in life. In a difficult fight they appeared and put him in a precarious situation, one he didn’t know exactly how to get out of, and watched Sparrow struggle and fight back until he died on the battlefield in front of many others, coming back to life in seconds and causing the fighting to come to a halt at this terrifying occurrence. Horrified Sparrow dispatched of the enemies in his way, scooped up Nox, and fled, apparating back to his home and packing yet again. Still doing what he could to help the war he hid on the sidelines, avoiding being seen, fleeing to England.

There he ran into, literally, one of the pivotal people in this war: Albus Dumbledore. Sparrow had been caught after a fight, as Albus had noticed him helping move people out of harms way as well as throwing up well timed and placed protective spells. Relieved that he didn’t want to fight him, Sparrow and Albus spoke with one another, Albus claiming that he had no qualms with how Sparrow became who he was, just that he was helping the good side. He then offered a hidden away place to live during the war if Sparrow continued to help, pleased when the Seer took him up on the offer and proved to be a great asset to ending the conflict, as well as saving many lives.

At last in 1945 the war ended and an odd bittersweet peace came about to the Wizarding World. For Sparrow it ended in both relief and annoyance, a somber mood floating about him as was becoming usual. They had won, at a cost, and the figure who had damned him to this life vanished yet again, but not before jeopardizing his entire existence. Not too long after that Albus came back to him, sitting down in the small home and explaining that he had heard of Sparrow, or Fortuna as he used to be called, and that there were many tales surrounding this peculiar immortal, some good some bad, none certain as to what he really was or what he was after. Yet there was a moment of silence before Albus revealed the wand he now owned, one Death had made, and said that they had a friend in common. Fearful at first Sparrow was reassured that he was not going to be harmed, in fact the opposite as Albus had managed to speak with Death and ask what exactly was happening with “this lost soul” as he put it.

Ready to cry as someone finally understood, Sparrow listened as Albus chatted some with him, the school Hogwarts, and that there were a few classes that the children could really benefit from, including Xylomancy and Telepathy, two skills Sparrow was fairly good with. Smiling the two made a deal. Sparrow would teach at the school and live there, as it was his best chance at being safe and having the resources he needed for his search, while Dumbledore would pull a few strings at the ministry and have the files on the anonymous wizard Blackheart hidden or destroyed.

## Teaching at Hogwarts

From there Sparrow moved to the school and slowly adapted to the teacher life, having a rough time adapting in the beginning as the job required a lot of social interaction and he wasn’t exactly the most personable person. He eventually got the hang of it and became a teacher many admired, especially as he would have many items from the muggle world, including things from the various jobs he’d had in life and his adventure. Many students came and went, as well as events, parties, and professors. He took up the role of the DADA position for one year, because they could not find a replacement in time, and he both loved and hated it. Loved it because it was fun and he was fantastic at the job. Hated it because he died a very painful death at the end and had to keep it hidden from most everyone that he had actually perished, leading him to politely stepping down from that and returning to him two other classes.

As he expanded Xylomancy to Xylomancy and Alternative Forms of Divination, a very memorable student arrived at the school, one by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle. Tom was a talented orphan who Albus brought to the school, having him study and live there. Sparrow took to the child as he felt the need to help him, uncertain as to why but afraid to try and look for the answers. Yet time continued and things grew dangerous at the school, including the opening of an ancient part of the school very few knew actually existed and many doubted: The Chamber of Secrets.

After the death of a young girl and Tom quickly changing his demeanor and view on several subjects Sparrow bit the bullet and locked himself in his office, forcing himself to use his foresight and look into the future to see what would come of this child and the many events that seemed to surround him. The visions and pain, both emotional and physical, knocked him out for several days, leaving him unconscious and bleeding on the floor. When he next woke in the infirmary all he could do was cry. He collected himself though and refused to tell anyone what he’d seen, knowing very well what could happen if he revealed the truth. The only person who learned of what what was to come was of course Sparrow’s friend Albus, as they were both responsible for the child. That night was spent full of many theories, preparations for what was to come, and Fire Whiskey. Years following grew darker, especially as more familiar faces from his visions came to the school, including a lovely bunch that called themselves the “Marauders”. While he couldn’t change any set events for these children he knew and had seen, Sparrow made it his goal to give them the best time at Hogwarts as he could, nudging the four in the direction to become anamagai. He gave Severus as much encouragement as he could on being the best person he could be, teaching him some of the few potion tricks he knew, ones that were not in any text book.

There were many other students that Sparrow ran himself into the ground for, making sure they knew they were doing a good job, letting them sneak out at night to practice shifting into their animal forms, mentioning things to them so that they might find what they needed to. There were also many conversations had with with Dumbledore and at this point McGonagall, who had figured things out on their own, about how conflicting all of this was and how much the frustrated Telepathy teacher just wanted to keep all of these kids safe. However, as much as he had prepared himself for it, it still hurt immensely when the students graduated, left, and and then started to build their lives only to die at the hands of another child he could have helped if he didn’t follow his own rules so closely. Painfully he watched as the stories about Tom, or Voldemort as he called himself, came out and filled the Wizarding World with fear yet again.

When he got the news of James and Lily he locked himself in his office, declining Dumbledore‘s offer to have him go with Hagrid to retrieve Harry and bring him to his aunt and uncle. Instead he focursed on himself on his work, trying so hard not to go and bust Sirius out of Azkaban, to not rush into the Weasley home and kill that damned rat, to not fix everything he knew was wrong. All of this, on top of his many travels during the breaks to go and find his Horcrux and failing or having to fight off that person one too many times, was almost more than he could take. He receded into himself until Harry and the others finally made it to the school.

Spending time with Severus, as he had since he became a professor, Sparrow had another vision the first year Harry came to the school, learning the fate his former student would face. Once again he made himself do nothing and tried to focus on his lessons. It was only a little more than a year later that Sparrow finally snapped and snuck off, sneaking into Azkaban and helping Sirius get free from his cell, knowing that there had to be something that happened in order for other events to occur. Of course, unlocking his cell and telling him to turn into a dog wasn’t what he had planned. Neither was smuggling him over to Remus but it all worked. That one snap, that break, was all it took for Sparrow to begin, little by little, breaking his own rules, slipping things to people whether it be information or actual things. He did all he could to not be caught, hiding his guilty expressions well whenever Dumbledore or McGonagall would ask him if there was anything going on. The Triwizard Tournament was still a nightmare and that whole year he spent on edge, getting into several arguments with the fake Moody, trying his best to avoid straight out murdering the imposter. Of course there were many questions several folks asked him in this period that he simply had to avoid or walk away from.

However, when questions and searches for Horcruxs came up throughout the next few years Sparrow spoke to almost no one, becoming cold and quiet even with the students, more afraid than he had been in a long time. Several old students turned Death Eater came to him, finding him outside of the school, saying that Lord Voldemort wished to speak with him, as well as many asking how he was still alive. One message in particular, delivered by Lucius Malfoy, was nerve wracking as he told Sparrow that Voldemort knew what he could do, that he could not permanently die, and that if he wanted to keep his students safe he would come join them before it was too late. He refused, standing his ground and saying that if they planned on harming his students they’d have to go through him first. From there many actively sought him, trying to hunt him down, trying to use Imperio and being horrified when they found he knew how to resist it, fleeing or dying afterwards, the latter a result of Sparrow ending them himself.

Angry he dragged himself out of his funk, doing all he could to prepare and protect the school in the coming years, teaching students how to duel, how to use spells above their level, and how to use dark arts, explaining that it was necessary to know this in order to fight the oncoming enemies. Needless to say he was scolded, accosted and reprimanded many times by many teachers. All they got in return was a nod and the question, “Are you ready to let those kids die?”.

When war came to Hogwarts again he fought, just as he had many times before, grieving the loss of the many people he had watched grow up, been friends and coworkers with, killing any Death Eater that came near him or a student. Everything ended though and once again, scarred and weary, he could return to a peaceful place, proud he stood his ground and saved his home and a majority of his family. Things grew calm and over the next few years he slowly got back to being himself, upset that some scars just weren’t fading away and healing, accepting that there was only so much his body could handle and do.

It was a surprise when a new professor for a dragon studies class appeared and it was, low and behold, a very familiar face. Izaleon, in all of his glory, had come to the school and was a teacher, surprised to find Sparrow there as well. The first thing he received from the dragon was a strong slap to the face, followed by a bone crushing hug and a million questions, as well as many sarcastic comments about how Sparrow had spent centuries relaxing at the school. He corrected Izaleon, taking time to sit him down and explain all his travels and how he still hadn’t found a remedy for his amnesia but getting close with some memory potions but still struggling. The information about them being a couple was still unknown to Sparrow though, and Izaleon sadly let it rest, waiting patiently until it was the right time to tell him. Until then, he chose to be his closest friend, dragging the doctor off to do random shenanigans and go on sporadic adventures.

Around 2002 a brilliant student by the name of Zaleah Gale attended the school and after her first week Sparrow took yet another trip down future lane, seeing many more events that he was not too pleased about. After talking to himself for more than an hour he decided to fully go against what the future wanted to be, the leathal Death Eater she and many others would become. The entire time she attended the school he made it his goal to put her and many more on a different path, to steer them far away from being Death Eaters or worse, teaching after school activities and hosting clubs, including a Muggle Games Club, a Foreign Culture Club, and a Dark Arts Club, the last one getting much more flack than the others. He also forced himself to use his insight much more than he ever had, hospitalizing himself many times, refusing to tell any of the teachers, including his friends, why he was doing all of this. All he gave them was that there needed to be an anti bullying group on campus, as well as counselors.

Once those students graduated, set hopefully on a new path, Sparrow continued to try and keep up with that routine, slowing down when he saw change come to the school, students getting the help and support they needed. It was when Zaleah came back to the school as a new professor that he finally let all of the weight drop off of him. He did it. Changed what had been set in stone and made a new chance for her and so many others.