Everything goes to JK Rowling and Rick Riordan. I only own the plot. I'm not going to be saying that at the start of each chapter, so that applies for the rest of the book. Got that? Good? Ok, and off we go!

Chapter 1

Harry was returning to Hogwarts to complete his seventh year with his best friends, Hermione and Ron. Everyone from the previous year was to repeat the year due to the Carrows, two Death Eaters that were teaching Dark Arts. Because of the Carrows, the ministry believed that the students failed to get a proper school year. Harry, Hermione, and Ron, of course, were given the option to skip their final year and become Aurors, but Hermione was determined to get all seven years of schooling. Ron was willing to go back to Hogwarts to be with her, and Harry certainly wasn't about to abandon his friends.

"Who do you think is going to the DADA teacher this year?" Ron asked. The golden trio were sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express.

"I don't know. But Ginny told me her friends saw a stranger on the platform just as the train was leaving. According to them, he looks a lot like Harry!" Hermione said. "But then again, he could also be our Transfiguration teacher, since Professor McGonagall is now headmistress."

"Well I guess we'll find out when we reach Hogwarts." Harry said, putting an end to the conversation. No point in spending energy thinking about something that will be reveled to them in time, he thought.

"We better change into our robes. I imagine we're going to be there shortly." Hermione left the compartment to go change leaving the boys. She rejoined them after they had all changed and once again, the compartment was silent.

Soon the trained pulled up into Hogsmeade station, and the three quickly left the train. They found Ginny, and the four of them entered a carriage. All four of them could see the Thestrals, and the reason for seeing them brought them despair. The four of them remembered the battle that had taken place here a summer ago and the loved ones they had lost. Memories of destruction and injury seeped into their minds, and they remembered the ruins of the school after the horrible event had taken place. If Hogwarts were a muggle school, it wouldn't have been repaired in time for the new school year.

The four of them tried to keep the conversation light despite the dark memories that lurked in their minds. When the carriages pulled up to the castle, they exited and entered the great hall. They took their seats at their houses table, except first years weren't sorted. They went to the house table that they were sorted into the year before, and once everyone was seated, Headmistress McGonagall clapped her hands and food appeared before the students. "Guys, look," Hermione said, looking at the table in which the professors sat at. They looked at the table and saw that one chair was empty. "Maybe he or she is running late?" Ron said in between bites. "Maybe," Harry said before turning back to his food. They didn't mention their teachers throughout the rest of the feast.

Once everyone was done eating and the dessert disappeared, Headmistress McGonagall stood up and the hall quickly went silent. She cleared her throat before saying "This year, we have some new faces on our staff. For Transfiguration, we have Professor Grubbly-Plank. Some of you may remember her from when she filled in for Care of Magical Creatures. It seems that our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is running late-" Just then the doors to the Great Hall burst open and there stood a teenager. He had messy black hair, just as Ginny's friends described. He wasn't wearing a robe or anything like a teacher should. Instead, he was wearing a blue shirt with a black jacket and jeans. Harry could see that the Professor was also wearing sneakers, and thought that the strangers entire outfit was out of place at Hogwarts.

"Sorry I'm late McGonagall. I missed the train and when I got here I ran into some trouble down by the forest" He had an American accent which the students thought was odd. "It's alright Professor. I just hope this doesn't turn into a habit of yours." McGonagall said. "It won't, believe me." The stranger said. He sat down in the only chair left as McGonagall said, "Students, this is your new professor for Defense against the Dark Arts, Professor Jackson."

The stranger, Professor Jackson, smiled and gave a little wave. "Everyone could learn a thing or two from him," McGonagall said. Somebody from Gryffindor shouted "Except for Harry Potter!" This was met with some shouts of agreement and cheering before Headmistress McGonagall held up her hand to silence them. "Even Potter could pick up on something." Several people glanced at Harry. "Professor Jackson will also be the Head of the Gryffindor house. I hope the students in Gryffindor will advise him if he asks for help." With that, McGonagall sent them off to bed.

On the way to the Gryffindor common room, Ron said "I highly doubt that he could teach us anything. He's our age!"

"Remember what Headmistress McGonagall said Ron. Even Harry could learn something," Hermione recalled. "I don't know about you two, but I trust McGonagall, so if she says we can learn something from Professor Jackson, then we can learn something from him."

Harry shrugged before saying "Balderdash." to enter their common room. The three stepped into the Gryffindor common room, still discussing their new professor.

"I'm going to go to bed, and you two should too," Hermione said as she started her climb to the girls' dormitory. "Don't worry we will," said Ron. The two boys headed up to their own sleeping corridors, and after getting ready, quickly fell asleep.

The next morning Harry woke up to find that all the other boys were getting ready. He pulled himself out of bed and began his morning routine. Once he and Ron were dressed, they exited the Gryffindor tower and sat down next to Hermione and Ginny in the Great Hall. The four were talking and eating while Professor Jackson was handing out schedules. Eventually the new professor came up to them and asked "Are you four Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger?" He looked at the names on the schedules as he said each one.

"That's us," Ginny said. Professor Jackson smiled and handed out the schedules. "Are you all in the same year?" He asked. "No, Ginny here is a sixth year while the three of us," Ron motioned to him, Hermione, and Harry, "Are seventh years." "Well, I look forward to having you in my class this year." Before any of them could say anything in response, the professor had already left to finish handing out schedules. The four watched in silence as he left. Ginny was the first to turn away from the professor and towards Harry. "He could almost be your twin!" Ginny said, shocked. "Yeah, if I had a perfect tan and muscles like him," Harry said. The four found that when he was talking to them, they could see that he's muscular and has sea green eyes.

"Guys, we have to leave or else we'll be late to class!" Hermione said as she quickly stood up. Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed off to Potions with Hufflepuff while Ginny went to Care of Magical Creatures. After a very dull lesson from Professor Slughorn about Alihotsy Draught, the golden trio made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin. When they entered the classroom, they noticed that the Professor was not there. Harry and Ron sat down at a table while Hermione sat with Neville one table behind the boys.

Soon class started, but the Professor still hadn't arrived to class yet. Talking broke out among the students, and five minutes later, the Professor came rushing in. The class immediately stopped talking and stared at the professor. "Sorry," He told the class. "I got lost on the way here." Some students began to whisper when he said this. A professor getting lost on the way to his own classroom? It was unheard of! "Anyway," He said, drawing the attention of the class back to him. "I understand that you just came out of a war, and are probably still recovering. Maybe not physically, but emotionally. Because a guy named Voldemort -" Several students flinched at his name - "came and killed a lot of people. And you knew those people. They may have been someone you loved or cared for. They could have been your best friend, your girlfriend or boyfriend, or a family member. You could have watched them die. They could have been in your arms when they died. And that's traumatizing. I bet some of you have thought to yourself that if you did something different, if you had only sacrificed yourself for them, they could still be here, alive. Your mind starts racing, thinking of all the ways you went wrong. This is the time when you're at your weakest. When your mind is at its weakest. But you think to yourself that you were strong for so long because Voldemort and his group of Death Eaters were out there, so now that they're gone, you can be weak. You can mourn the dead. You can feel sadness. Now that Voldemort's gone, there's no more huge threat. Instead of training yourself, you're consumed in sorrow and despair. You're slowly learning to move on. To accept that their death was not in vain, and that they choose this path, knowing the risk. They accepted that there's a chance that they could die. But I'm telling you right now, you can't afford to be weak. There's a time and place for everything. Sure, sometimes we need to take a time out and think about those who sacrificed themselves, but they should give us strength. Think about them, those brave souls, and remember them. They should give us the courage to keep going, relentless to the end. Make sure that their sacrifice is not in vain. That they give their life so you could live yours, so live yours. But right now, we need to be training, becoming the best fighter that we can. Because who knows? Maybe there's more coming. Maybe there's a dark witch or wizard, out there right now, who's plotting and scheming away, learning from Voldemort's mistakes, becoming even more powerful than he ever was."

The class sat in silence at his words. They had never thought about that. They had always assumed that Voldemort was the major threat and there wouldn't be any more fighting anytime soon. To think that they could have another war anytime soon was horrifying, and if they stayed in this condition, they may not win. In fact, their odds of winning a war would decrease drastically from the last war, and even back then, the odds were against them. When Professor Jackson was talking about war, his eyes seemed shattered, like he couldn't undo the things he saw and did. Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes?" "Well Professor -" She started. "Just Percy please." "What?" "I would like everyone to just call me Percy instead of Professor." Hermione pressed her lips together, almost in a disapproving way, before continuing. "Well Percy, you talk as if you've been through a war. I don't mean to be rude but I have never seen you in my life and you sound as if you were quite involved. If you were in the war against Voldemort then I would imagine that I would have seen you." Percy smiled, but his eyes held sorrow and sadness. "You're right, Hermione, I didn't fight against Voldemort. But I'm the veteran of two wars, so I think it's safe to say I know what I'm talking about." This left the class speechless. "Two wars?" Harry asked astonished. Percy nodded. Draco sneered and said "Please, I doubt that you went through one war much less two. I bet you're just saying that. We've would've heard in the news if there were a war going on, much less two! You're not a veteran, you're a wannabe who -" He was cut off when Percy removed his shirt. The class gasped when they saw scars all over his torso and arms. Percy held his shirt close to his arm, hiding the SPQR tattoo. "Do you think I gave myself these scars?" Percy said quietly. Draco was at a loss for words. Percy put his shirt back on and called on Hermione, who's hand was back in the air.

"Professor, I mean, Percy, what type of spells are you going to be teaching us?" "Oh, I'm not going to be teaching you spells." The class exchanged looks of confusion. "Then what will you be teaching us?" Hermione asked. "That, Hermione, is a discussion we'll have on another day." With that, the professor left the classroom. The clock chimed and the students headed for their next period. But Professor Jackson's speech stayed with them all throughout the rest of the day.

Hey, this is Nala, and I know that this chapter was really crappy, but I'm going to give writing a try. Please tell me where I can improve! (Yes, I know I wrote said a whole bunch of times but I'm working on it) If a lot of people hate it then I won't continue it. This is just like a tester to see if anyone likes it.