Author's Note: I don't own Harry Potter. That's all, enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Woes of Teaching

The Great Hall was buzzing. Who was the new teacher? How did he know about the opening so quickly? Why was Professor McGonagall glaring angrily at him? Why on earth did he look like James Potter? Only one thing was for certain: Professor Wilkins had quit after Sirius Black had super glued him to his chair.

A commotion in the entrance hall took all the students eyes off of Harry. Two boys stood in the doorway, identical evil grins plastering their faces. One was a tall handsome devil with shoulder-length locks of silky black hair and dancing grey eyes. The other was slightly shorter, with wild black hair that stuck up at every angle, glasses, and hazel eyes that any girl would love. Between them was another boy, who would have resembled the taller boy if he hadn't been covered in make-up.

"Hear ye, hear ye! We now present Slytherin royalty, Princess Regina!" Sirius announced to gales of laughter as the boys shoved poor Regulus forward. He tripped over the long pink dress and fell flat on his face. More laughter filled the Hall. Harry was appalled by the display. McGonagall stood, her nostrils flaring.

"Black, Potter, my office NOW!" she roared. The Hall quieted down as McGonagall marched over to the no longer smiling teens. Harry quickly followed. As McGonagall herded the two troublemakers out, Harry knelt beside Regulus. He helped him up and began to remove the make-up.

"Does that happen a lot?" he asked. Regulus nodded sullenly. Harry transfigured the dress back into his black school robes. "If it happens again, let me know. I won't tolerate that. It is immature and stupid. Don't let them bully you."

Regulus eyed Harry suspiciously, but in the end he nodded and walked away to the Slytherin table. Harry noticed he sat beside Snape. The two immediately began talking. Harry hoped they weren't planning to retaliate. Harry watched them a little longer before going back to the high table. He may have forgiven Snape for everything he'd done, but it was hard to see him in the Great Hall as though he knew nothing of what that particular student would end up doing.


"Did you see how kind that new professor was to Regulus?" Lily asked once the Hall had settled back down to eat.

"That's because he doesn't know him yet. He'll regret helping that snob later." Savannah said stuffing a Chocolate Frog in her mouth.

"You do know that's disgusting, don't you?" Mary stated spinning spaghetti onto her fork.

"Why do you think Black likes her?" lily smirked. Savannah's jaw dropped in mock offense.

"He thinks I'm pretty and smart…" Savannah began.

"And you were the only one willing to sleep with him." Alice finished. All the girls squealed as Savannah smacked Alice on the arm.

"What, it's the truth." She said from behind her Charms book.

"Just because it's the truth, doesn't mean we all want to hear it." Peter grumbled as he sat beside her.

"Sorry Pete, I tell it like it is." Alice said setting her book down. "Hi Remus,"

Remus smiled as he sat across from Peter beside Mary. "Where are James and Sirius?" he asked grabbing some chocolate pudding.

"Ask Princess Regina," Savannah giggled.

"They went through with it huh?" Peter asked reaching for the chicken wings.

"Which means they're in McGonagall's office," Remus said stabbing a piece of steak off a plate.

"You really should be more careful what you say around those two." Peter said biting into the chicken. Remus blushed.

"They shouldn't take me so seriously. They should no by now how sarcastic I am." He said calmly. The girls giggled.

"So you're the mastermind." Mary said kissing his cheek. "And all this time we thought it was James."

"You've caught me. The most innocent member is used for his sarcastic comments." Remus said. Everyone laughed.

"Who's that?" Peter asked suddenly. He was looking up at the high table.

"Oh, that's the new Defense teacher." Mary said.

"You know, to replace the one you chased off." Lily said sternly.

"Correction, you mean the one Sirius and Peter chased off." Remus said taking a bite a steak.

"You mean James wasn't involved?" Lily asked shocked. Remus shook his head.

"He was on Head duty with you when they did it." Remus said looking her in the eye. Lily blushed. Mary and Savannah exchanged a significant glance.

"Hello comrades, why didn't you join your brothers in arms?" Sirius asked. Squeezing in between Alice and Savannah.

"Because detention doesn't fit in my schedule this week," Remus said deadpan. The girls giggled.

"Ah, well, I suppose that doesn't matter. I still got to make a fool out of Regulus." Sirius said satisfied.

"And he makes a pretty little girl." James said sneaking in between Mary and Lily. "Are you sure he's not your sister?"

"Pretty sure," Sirius answered.

"Hey James, I didn't know your dad taught." Frank said sitting between Sirius and Alice.

"He doesn't," James said confused.

"Oh, then what's he doing here?" Frank asked pointing at the High Table. Sirius's jaw dropped.

"How come you never told me you had a twin?" he asked in mock hurt.

"I don't." James mumbled. He looked at Lily. "Who is that?" he demanded. Lily shrugged.

"We assume he's the new Defense professor." She explained.

"I'm going to Charms," James said abruptly standing and leaving the table and disappearing out into the Hall.

"Come on," Sirius said rolling his eyes, glancing once at the lunch he wouldn't get to eat. Remus grabbed his bag and followed promptly, while Peter to one more bite and waddled after them. Soon they were out of sight. Frank looked uncomfortable.

"I feel like I should have kept my mouth shut." He said.


Harry paced around his new classroom restlessly, waiting for the bell to ring. He was feeling very nostalgic at the moment. He remembered when the room had been plastered with portraits of Gilderoy Lockhart, possibly his most incompetent teacher. It was in this very room he found out the truth behind Lockhart's books and where he and Ron had to force him to help save Ginny. He could still hear the meow of many kittens and see lurid pink all over the walls from when Umbridge had tried to brainwash them. Hermione had plotted her downfall, when they had led her to the centaurs and Grawp. He saw the Dark Detectors covering the walls when the false Moody taught. Harry had learned the truth of Barty Crouch Jr. in this room too. He saw the grotesque pictures that Snape had hung up when he was professor, how all the window were shut and drapes drawn, as if they were in a dark cave. By far, Harry's favorite memories of the classroom were when the grindylow in the tank sat against a wall in a nearly empty room. Remus Lupin was his favorite teacher and he missed him terribly, especially when teddy came to visit.

Teddy looked so like his father that it had been harder on Harry than he had originally thought to take care of him. The older he got, the more he resembled the Remus Harry knew and had come to care about. From Teddy's love of chocolate, to his high grades and crooked smile, Harry was reminded of the friend he had lost.

Now he had to save that friend. Now he had to see him in the flesh as a rambunctious teenager. Now he had to pretend he didn't know Remus at all, let alone James, Sirius, and Peter. This was going to be more difficult than he had imagined. Why hadn't he listened to Hermione and planned this out?

The bell rang, making Harry jump. Harry quickly dashed out of the classroom down to the third floor where the Charms classroom was. Harry gripped his wand in his pocket, hoping he wouldn't have to curse a student to get the book back. The corridors were slowly filling and making it difficult to navigate. Luckily, Harry knew the school's hidden passageways well enough to avoid the worst of the halls.

On the third floor, Harry saw that Charms had gotten out late and that the seventh years were just coming out. The Hufflepuffs were drifting idly in one direction and the Gryffindors in the other. Harry saw three of the Marauders hovering by the doorway chattering mindlessly about something or other. Where was Remus? Better yet, where was the book?

Soon the crowd thinned and the book appeared out of thin air right in front of the charms door. Remus then came out, still talking to Flitwick about something when he stepped on the book. He looked down curiously and picked it up. Harry rushed forward. He grabbed the book from Remus's hand.

"Thank you Mr. Lupin for finding that for me." He said before he dashed away back to the seventh floor. Remus stared after him, his hand still up as if holding an invisible book. He blinked when James tapped his shoulder.

"What was that about?" James asked. Remus shrugged.

"What was the book?" Sirius inquired. "Obviously it was important to Mr. Look-a-Like."

"How the Dark Lord Fell, that's what it was called." Remus said. James frowned.

"No one knows how to get rid of Moldy Shorts." He said.

"Maybe that teacher does." Peter said.

"We need to get it back and find out." Sirius said.

"No, we need to leave it alone." Remus protested. Everyone looked to James.

"I agree with Remus, but I think we need to keep a close eye on that teacher. " James said. None of his friends looked pleased.

"Why didn't he wait for us to come to class anyway? We have his class next." Peter said as they went upstairs.

"Who knows, he probably didn't want us to open it." Sirius said, "You didn't happen to see the author did you?"

"I think it said Hermione Granger, whoever that is." Remus replied.

"Like that famous potioneer?" Peter asked.

"Possibly, who knows? I've never heard of her." Remus answered. "We'll talk about this after class. We can't risk the new teacher overhearing us."

He pushed the door to the Defense classroom open. The four boys walked in. They were nearly last and the only seats open were right in front of the teacher's desk. Grumbling, the boys sat in the empty spots.

"I guess we'll find out if he can teach." Sirius whispered.

"Nice of you boys to join us, I was beginning to think you'd forgotten you had a class." A voice said causing the Marauders to jump. Professor Potter had appeared suddenly on his desk. The class whispered excitedly. None of the others had made such an appearance. James immediately knew what it was, but that's not what caught his attention. Up close, this man really did resemble James. His hair, jet black as James's, stuck up at all the same angles as his, he wore glasses, and he was around James' height. The only differences between the two of them were the teacher's bright green eyes and the thin lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. James stared a moment longer. There was something familiar about him, not just in his likeness to James, but his eyes reminded him of someone….

The teacher hopped off his desk and pulled out a roll sheet. He looked at it a moment, then set it down. He smiled at the class.

"I think we'll give you a bit of a break from sitting down. I want to get to know you, so we're going to play a little game." The professor said jovially. The class looked at each other, confusion on every face, though some were a bit disgusted.

"I would like all of you to stand up." The class remained frozen in their seats. Harry frowned at his class. He was going to have to encourage them.

"Maybe I wasn't making myself clear. I said, stand up!" Harry flicked his wand and the chairs and desks vanished. Bags crashed to the floor as well as many students. Eventually they were all standing. Many were grumbling, though the Marauders had cracked some smiles. Maybe this teacher wasn't so bad.

"We are going to stand in a circle; I trust you all know what that looks like without my help?" Harry asked. The students' hurriedly formed a circle before he could magic them into their spots. Harry flashed an innocent smile.

"Now, we are going to learn a bit about ourselves. I have a fabric ball here," Harry picked up a squishy ball from his desk and held it up. "When you catch the ball, I want you to say your name, your favorite class, and your chosen career. Once we've gone around once, we'll see how well we've listened. You will get points for your House if you can remember what everyone's favorite class and chosen career is. If you can't, we'll start over, understand?"

The class nodded. Harry smiled. He was trying for a little House unity since the war was only starting to get bad. These students had no idea what was going to happen in the near future.

"Okay, I'll start. I'm Professor Potter, and when I was a student, my favorite class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and hence I became an auror when I graduated."

James found this far too much of a coincidence. Potter? Similar appearance? Was he family? Professor Potter tossed the ball and Lily caught it.

"I'm Lily Evans, my favorite class is Charms and I want to open my own shop in Diagon Alley." She said shyly. James hadn't known that. Maybe he could help her along and she would finally date him.

Harry was thinking along the same lines. No one had ever said that was his mother's ambition. Had she never told anyone before? It seemed unlikely. Maybe it was just never important enough to bring up with the war.

Lily tossed the ball and Savannah caught it. She smiled slyly. "I'm Savannah White. My favorite class is Charms and I want to be a Healer."

Harry had known this, but Sirius had not. He looked appraisingly at her. James smirked. She had always been fixing his toys for him. Apparently he had very sick toys. Savannah passed the ball to Sirius.

"I know you all know this, but I'm the amazing Sirius Black and my favorite class is Defense Against the Dark Arts and I wish to become an auror." He grinned and tossed the ball to a blonde Slytherin. Harry had a feeling Sirius had wanted to do something dangerous like that.

"I'm Kathleen Morningside. My favorite class is Charms and I want to train Horklumps." The blonde girl said passing the ball to a Slytherin boy that looked familiar to Harry, but he couldn't figure out why. The boy glowered.

"I'm Rodolphus Lestrange. My favorite class is Transfiguration and I want to be a Law Enforcement Officer." He tossed the ball to Snape. Harry highly doubted what Lestrange had said. He was just answering the question. Snape looked a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm Severus Snape, my favorite class is Potions and I hope to teach it when Slughorn retires." He said quietly tossing the ball to Peter. Harry stared a moment. Snape had wanted to teach? Why did he seem to loath it then? Because Dumbledore had him under an oath?

"I'm Peter Pettigrew, my favorite class is Care of Magical Creatures and I'd like to take over my father's business." He tossed the ball to Remus. Harry had no idea Peter's father had a business. He wondered what it was. He dropped the thought as Remus spoke. He was very curious to Remus's ambitions.

"I'm Remus Lupin, my favorite class is Defense Against the Dark Arts and I too would like to teach one day." Harry smiled. Somehow that seemed just right for him. At least he got his wish before he died. Remus tossed the ball to a girl Harry didn't know in Gryffindor. She had tan hair much like Remus's.

"I'm Mary McDonald and my favorite class is Astronomy and I'd like to be an Astronomer." She answered. Harry nodded as she tossed the ball to Alice.

"I'm Alice Marks and my favorite class is Defense Against the Dark Arts and I would like to be an Auror." She tossed the ball to Frank. Harry smiled. Neville's parents' and his had known each other very well.

"I'm Frank Longbottom and too like Defense and wish to become an auror." He tossed the ball to a hard faced Slytherin girl.

"I'm Matilda Reynolds. My favorite class is Charms and I want to make designer robes." She tossed the ball to a rather ugly Slytherin boy.

"I'm David Parkinson. My favorite class is Arithmancy and I wish to work at Gringotts." He tossed the ball to another Slytherin boy.

"I'm Theodore Nott and my favorite class is Ancient Runes. I want to be a Curse Breaker." He passed the ball to a dark haired Slytherin girl.

"I'm Perenelle Townsend, my favorite class is Potions and I want to open my own apothecary." She tossed the ball to a freckle faced Gryffindor girl.

"I'm Georgia Cummins and my favorite class is History of Magic, and I want to travel the world and write a collection of myths from around the world." She tossed the ball to James.

"I'm James Potter, my favorite class is Transfiguration and I would like to be an auror." He tossed the ball to a rather short Slytherin girl.

"I'm Martha Patterson and my favorite class is Herbology. I want to raise Snargaluff trees." She tossed the ball to another Slytherin girl with rosy cheeks.

"I'm Patricia Warts and my favorite class is Care of Magical Creatures. I want to work in the Department for Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures." She tossed the ball to the last person, a tall, black Slytherin boy.

"I'm Dylan Zabini and my favorite class is Defense Against the Dark Arts. I want to be a werewolf wrangler." He tossed the ball back to Harry. Harry looked at Dylan a moment before he looked at the ball. Sirius had his fists clenched and James and Peter were holding one of his arms each. Remus pretended that he hadn't heard Dylan.

"Okay, let's see how well you remember." Harry finally said tossing the ball to James. "Who remembers James's favorite class and chosen career?"

Georgia raised her hand. Harry nodded to her.

"He wants to be an auror and his favorite class is Transfiguration." She answered promptly.

"Very good, now it's your turn." Harry said. Peter raised his hand.

"Georgia wants to write a collection of stories from around the world and her favorite class is History of Magic."

"Good, next?" Harry was impressed that the students seemed to be listening. Theodore raised his hand.

"Pettigrew wants to take over his father's business and his favorite class is Care of Magical Creatures."

Rodolphus raised his hand.

"Nott wants to be a Curse Breaker and his favorite class is Ancient runes."

Perenelle raised her hand.

"Lestrange wants to be a Law Enforcement officer and his favorite class is Transfiguration."

"Perenelle wants to open an apothecary and her favorite class is Potions."

"Patricia wants to work in the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures department in the Ministry and her favorite class is Care of Magical Creatures."

Soon the class had recited it all. Harry was very impressed. He took the ball and placed it on the desk.

"Now we're going to have fun. My family plays tons of games; one of my favorites is This or That. I know it sounds lame, but I do have a point for these games. Everyone move to the sides of the room for a moment."

The class moved aside. Harry drew a line down the middle of the room with his wand. The class started whispering.

"Okay, the way we play this, is I will ask what you prefer and you will stand on the corresponding side. Got it? Okay, first question: Would you rather skip Christmas, or your birthday?"

Christmas appeared on the left side of the line and birthday appeared on the right. The Marauders quickly stood on birthday. Frank and Alice followed as well as Lily and Snape. The rest went to Christmas.

"Next, would you rather have an attractive, blonde but dumb spouse or an ugly, ginger and intelligent spouse?"

Most of the Slytherins went to where the floor now said blonde, but Snape stayed on ginger. All the girls and Gryffindors went with ginger, but Sirius, thinking he'd be funny went to the blonde side, as did Savannah.

"Would you rather talk like a pirate the rest of your life or a farmer?"

The marauders were the first to the pirate side along with Lestrange, Nott and Lily. The rest went to the farmer side. Harry was having a good time with this.

"Would you rather meet Elvis or Merlin?"

Nearly everyone went to the Merlin side. Only Lily and Remus had chosen Elvis. They smiled and high-fived each other. They were obviously the only people who listened to Muggle music here.

"Would you rather hang out with Celestina Warbeck or the Minister of Magic?"

Apparently the Minister now was much more popular than Fudge had been because everyone chose him over the aging singer. Harry laughed and went on.

"Would you rather sell like onions or have "Copacabana" playing in your head forever?"

Harry wasn't sure if they'd know the muggle song, but it appeared to be better than smelling like onions because no chose the onion side.

"Would you rather dress up as a Nazi or a Death Eater?"

The class seemed indecisive. Lily and the Marauders immediately picked Nazis. Frank and the other Gryffindors hesitated a moment before following their lead. The Slytherins didn't seem to want to pick. Eventually, it split down the middle; Lestrange, Nott, Zabini, Warts, and Patterson chose the Death eater side. The other five Slytherins chose the Nazi side. Harry couldn't help but notice that Snape was one of them.

"These next few are going to get harder. Would you rather hide or fight for your safety?"

The Gryffindors went to the fight side, but the Slytherins went to the hide.

"Would you rather use an Unforgivable Curse to save yourself or allow yourself to be cursed?"

The class hesitated. Most of the Slytherins went to the use side. The Gryffindors seemed torn. Finally, James moved to the use side. His friends exchanged surprised glances, but shrugged and followed. Lily bit her lip, but went to the allow side. Savannah, Frank and Alice followed the Marauders. Snape paused, but chose the use side in the end. Only Lily seemed to not want to use an Unforgivable.

"Tell me Miss Evans, why would you choose not to use an Unforgivable Curse to protect yourself?" Harry asked.

"They're illegal, regardless of whether they can be used as protection. I would rather be in St. Mungo's than Azkaban." Lily replied. Harry nodded.

"A wise choice. Mr. Potter, why did you choose to use one?" Harry asked.

"I would use one only to protect my family. If I go down, I want to take as many attackers as I can with me. I'm not as important than they would be." James answered. Harry was very impressed. His parents answered just as they had died. James protecting Lily and Harry, Lily not lifting a wand to stop Voldemort. He was very proud of these teenagers.

"What about you Mr. Black?"

"Dark Wizards aren't going to go easy on me, why should I go easy on them? I'm not saying I would start whipping them out right away, more of a last resort." Sirius replied. Harry nodded. Yes, that sounded very like Sirius.

"Last question: Would you rather kill your friend or betray them to the enemy?"

The class stood motionless. No one knew what to do. James and Remus almost moved as one as they went to the kill side. Lily and the other Gryffindor girls went there too. The Slytherins went to betray, except for Snape. Every Gryffindor went to kill, though Peter went with a lot of hesitation.

"Mr. Lestrange, why did you choose betray?" Harry asked. Lestrange shrugged.

"They'd live longer, wouldn't they? Maybe even get a chance to bargain for their life." He answered lazily. Harry frowned but didn't question him. What he said was true, it was just the way he said it.

"Mr. Lupin, you were awfully quick to come over here, why?"

"Better to kill them than allow them to be tortured." Remus answered. "That I think is far worse than death."

Harry smiled slightly. Yes, Remus was right; death was a much better option.

"Mr. Snape, why did you choose kill?"

Snape hesitated. "You can't excuse betrayal, no matter how hard you try. You pay for it every day and the one you betrayed can remind you every day. If you kill them, at least you know you were protecting them and yourself from something far worse than temporary separation." He answered. Harry was impressed. He glanced at Lily who looked embarrassed. It seemed both were suffering from his betrayal.

"Very true, Ms. Patterson, why did you choose betrayal?"

"If you have a reason to betray or kill them, they must have done something wrong to put them in this situation, Why not make them suffer before you finish it?" she replied sourly. Harry raised an eyebrow, but let it go unchallenged.

"I'm sure you all noticed that you are all very similar in some ways, but different in others. Yes, Gryffindors would rather fight whereas Slytherins would rather hide. Yet, you nearly all agreed to meet Merlin or spend time with the Minister. Are you really as different as black and white?"

Harry flicked his wand and the chairs returned to their places. The students sat down. Harry marched up to his desk and sat on the edge. He looked everyone of the teenagers in the eye.

"Voldemort wants you to believe so. He wants you to think that if you are pureblood you must be better than a muggleborn. He wants you to believe that half-bloods are unnatural and that muggles are merely animals like unicorns. These are all lies. Just now you played two games where you saw that all of you had ambitions and dreams, similar interests and ideas. That is far more important than whether you are magical or not."

The class watched him silently. He stood and began to pace. The room was silent. Sirius and James exchanged a glance. Remus stared at Harry as though he were the only one in the room. Peter looked at his hands. Savannah whispered something to Lily who hushed her. Mary was staring dully at a spot on the wall behind Harry.

"This was an exercise to see how you all think. Dark Wizards will find your weaknesses, whether it be your family or what you are willing to do in a dangerous situation. They will even use your daily routine to use you. I am supposed to prepare you for this. That is why we will be starting with the Unforgivable curses in the next class period."

The bell rang as Professor Potter finished. The class gathered their things and left. The Marauders went outside to their favorite beech tree. They plopped down in the grass.

"Well, I've decided that Professor Potter is another nutter." Sirius said finally to break the silence.

"He may be a nutter, but he had a very valid point. We were all very similar to each other with some of those choices." Remus pointed out.

"Yes, but he needn't have acted like we were little kids." Peter said.

"Here, here," Sirius agreed.

"So what, you had fun, didn't you?" Remus asked. "You learned something, right?"

"I don't like him." James mumbled. The other three looked at him curiously. The only person he had ever disliked was Snape and for good reason.

"Why not?" Sirius asked sincerely.

"Gee, he looks exactly like me, his last name is Potter, he was an auror, and there is something freakily familiar about him." James complained.

"You know what, when he took the book from me, he called me by my name. I've never seen him before, how would he know who I was?" Remus asked.

"No clue, are you sure he didn't work with your dad at one point or something?" Sirius asked.

"No, I knew everyone my dad has ever worked for and with. I would recognize him." Remus insisted. Sirius shrugged.

"Did you see the way he looked at some of us?" James asked. The others shook their heads. "He seemed to like us a lot, but he seemed to loath Snape and Lestrange."

"I'm not seeing an issue here." Sirius said.

"He hardly knows us, yet before we ever answered his questions, he seemed to know what we were going to say. When the ball landed in Savannah's hand, he nodded like he knew she wanted to be a Healer already, but when Peter caught the ball, he seemed shocked that he wanted to take over his dad's shop." James explained.

"You are way too over observant." Sirius commented dryly.

"No, he may have a point." Remus cut in. "It would go along with him knowing my name already."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to all watch him in the next class period." Peter suggested.


Their next Defense Against the Dark Arts class wasn't until Friday. Even through this set back, the boys watched the new Professor closely. He ate meals with Dumbledore and McGonagall, he talked amiably with Hagrid, he punished misbehaving students, read the newspaper, he even chased off Peeves with a funny little spell that shot gum up his left nostril. They couldn't find anything strange about him.

By Friday afternoon, only James seemed to remember Professor Potter. The others had long given in that he was an ordinary person. James tried to bring it up again on the way to DADA.

"What do you want us to say, that he's a Martian?" Remus sighed wearily. It was close to the full moon.

"No, I just want you guys to see that there is something off about him." James said.

"Prongs, we've already agreed that he's an odd one, but we haven't seen anything else out of place about him. Nothing definite," Sirius said opening the classroom door. James glowered at his friends as he entered the classroom. As it had been on Wednesday, the desks had been moved to the sides. Their classmates were milling around talking casually. The four boys joined the other Gryffindors.

"Any sign of Potter?" Sirius asked them, kissing Savannah on the cheek.

"Nope, just his classroom, unless you mean my obnoxious cousin, in which case, I think you found him." Savannah replied. James stuck out his tongue but didn't respond. Frank had his arms around Alice's waste and they were talking about the latest Death Eater attack with Mary and Lily. Lily spotted the Marauders and came over to them.

"So, I hear that you are the only Marauder without a girlfriend, James. Lost your touch, have you?" she asked. James raised an eyebrow.

"No, I've still got it and I'm not the only one. Peter doesn't have a girlfriend either." He replied.

"Sorry Prongs, I'm with Georgia actually." Peter said blushing red. James stared dumbfounded.

"Wow, maybe I have lost my touch." He said.

"If you ever had it." Lily giggled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked.

"You only ever asked me out. How do we know that you had a touch if you only ever went for the one you couldn't have?" Lily commented.

"Because one day you would give in," James shrugged. "Or so I had thought." He mumbled. Lily looked at him.

"How do you know I won't?" she asked. James looked at her hopefully.

"Alright class, set your things aside. We'll be answering a few questions and then get on to the main lesson." Professor Potter called coming into the classroom. Lily left to put her things up. James looked at his feet cursing Potter. He was one of those teachers with horrible timing.

"Let's get started. The Unforgivable Curses…who can name one of them?" Professor potter whipped around and set his bag on the desk eyeing the students. Tentative hands lifted into the air.

"Mr. Longbottom?"

"I heard my uncle talking about the Imperius Curse." Frank answered. Professor Potter nodded.

"That is a troublesome curse. Can anyone explain why?" Professor Potter glanced around the room. "Mr. Pettigrew?"

"The Imperious Curse allows the caster to control every thought and action of the one the curse is placed on. In other words, they are like a puppeteer and a puppet." Peter said confidently. Professor Potter looked surprised but impressed.

"Yes, very good." He seemed to answer stiffly. James stored that in his new Potter file section of his memory. "The Imperious Curse cannot easily be traced because those who cast it are usually not seen by those whom the curse. Along similar lines, those who are guilty of any crimes can say they were under the Curse and there is no way to see if it is true or not. The only side effect of the Curse is memory loss and that can be feigned."

"Can anyone name another Unforgivable Curse?" Professor Potter looked amongst the Slytherins, but they refused to raise their hands. He roved back over the Gryffindors. Harry was surprised to see that Sirius was tentatively raising his hand. "Mr. Black?"

"There's the Cruciatus Curse." He replied quietly. Professor Potter smiled sympathetically.

"Yes, I'm sure you know that one quite well, which is a shame." He responded. Sirius looked at his teacher curiously. "Can anyone tell me what this curse does?"

"It's unimaginable pain." Mary MacDonald answered in a quivering voice. Professor Potter nodded.

"I hope none of you have to feel its affects. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy." He lectured. "I have had this curse used on me a handful of times. Each time by a Death Eater, though the first time I'd felt it, Lord Voldemort was the one performing it."

The class erupted into wondering whispers. The Slytherins were shocked. Gryffindors seemed vaguely impressed.

"Do you think he's actually met Voldemort face to face?" Sirius asked James.

"It wouldn't surprise me." Remus said from between them.

"It wouldn't?" James asked.

"He's an auror; he's bound to come across him at least once. Even Auror Moody has fought Voldemort." Remus explained.

"How do they survive the encounter? Generally you won't live to tell the tale?" Sirius said.

"Search me," Remus replied.

"Yes, I've fought him on several occasions. You could say we aren't friends. He rather despises me." Professor Potter paused. "Anyhow, it could possibly be the worst of the three curses if I didn't have a grudge against the last one. Can anyone name it?"

Professor Potter looked around the classroom. No hands were in the air. Then, vey slowly, Snape lifted his. Unsurprised, Harry pointed to him.

"Mr. Snape?"

"Avada Kedavra," he whispered. Professor Potter seemed to place a steely gaze on Snape…as if he despised the boy before him.

"And what does it do, Mr. Snape?" Professor Potter asked. James had never seen such dislike between student and professor. He hated Snape too, but Potter's was unprecedented.

"It's…the Killing Curse, sir." Snape answered.

"Correct, "Professor Potter smiled brightly. James and Remus exchanged confused looks. Snape looked caught off guard. Maybe he really was a nutter like Sirius had said.

"The Killing Curse, no one has ever survived it, but who's to say it'll stay that way forever? After all, it was said that you could never domesticate a phoenix, but that was disproved." Professor Potter moved on. "There are several reasons for these three curses to be named unforgivable. First, they are used negatively on another human being. Second, they cause irreversible harm to another. Third, there are no countercurses."

He paused to allow this to sink in. "The use of any one of these curses is a guaranteed spot in Azkaban. No ifs, ands or buts. The Ministry does not tolerate the use of these curses under any circumstances."

"Then why are they letting Death Eaters get away with it?" Rodolphus shouted. He had a wicked grin plastered to his face. Harry came down from his desk and walked straight over to Lestrange. Rodolphus took a step back.

"Mr. Lestrange, have you ever tried to catch water coming from a spout?' Professor Potter asked. Rodolphus nodded reluctantly.

"And have you noticed that you only catch part of the water?" Professor Potter continued. Rodolphus didn't respond.

"Catching Death eaters is like catching water. Only a few are dumb enough to get caught. They do not want to go to prison so they will do anything to get away. That is why they only take the best at the auror academy. Aurors must instill fear in Dark Wizards. Whether a Death eater would admit it or not, they fear us. They don't want to meet us in battle. We know spells that most could never imagine and for good reason. We have the element of surprise, but they have their own darker tricks. When you have caught a Death Eater and lived to tell the tale, you let me know. Until then…"

Professor Potter went back to the front of the group. The class was in awe. Even the future Death eaters could safely say he was kind of scary and impressive.

"For today's lesson, each of you are going to attempt to throw off the Imperious Curse."

There was a general gasp from the students. They were looking worried. Was it legal to put the curse on students? Did Dumbledore know?

"Professor, the curse is illegal!" Lily Evans reminded him.

"Yes, Miss Evans, but I believe, and Professor Dumbledore quite agrees, that the only way to protect yourselves is to have the curse placed upon you. If you can throw it off, you can't be controlled. Who would like to go first?"

James raised his hand. As much as he disliked this teacher, he was ready to prove himself to a real auror that he could handle the job. Professor Potter grinned,

"Mr. Potter, you seem eager. If you would all clear a large space in the middle of the room for James here, we can begin."

It had barely registered with James that his teacher had used first name before Professor Potter was shouting "Imperio!" James felt his mind go blissfully blank. He felt a small smile spread on his face. This wasn't so bad.

Jump came Professor Potter's voice. James felt he's knees bend. He was just about to jump when another voice answered the teachers.

Why? It was his voice, James' voice.

Jump.

I don't want to. I'll look like an idiot in front of Lily. James felt his eyes turn toward the pretty redhead. Lily was biting her lip and looking extremely worried.

Jump NOW.

No, what would Lily say if I listened?

Suddenly, James was very aware of his surroundings. His classmates were laughing. Sirius and Peter were trying not to, but failing miserably. Remus was biting his lip trying to hide his amusement. That all paled compared to the pain he felt flooding his knees and palms. They were throbbing dully from his attempt at both jumping and not jumping simultaneously. Now he was in a heap on the floor with very sore limbs. He almost forgot about them when he saw Lily's worried expression. She obviously didn't approve of this lesson.

"Very good, James, very good," Professor Potter said happily. "Upsy daisy," He helped James to his feet. "Did anybody watch his face?"

Lily raised her hand. Savannah, Mary and Alice giggled heartily. James took this as a good sign. Maybe Lily's feelings were changing toward him.

"Yes Miss Evans?" Professor Potter said.

"Erm, generally with an Imperious Curse, their eyes glaze over and they are all devoid of expression. In…Potter's case, he looked rather defiant and his eyes…" here she paused uncertainly. "His eyes were moving around, looking for something familiar at a guess."

"Very good, let's give Mr. Potter a hand and a break. You will be very difficult to control. Who would like to go next?" Professor Potter asked as the applause died down. James went over to his friends. No one moved. Sirius stepped toward the center.

"Thanks you Mr. Black. Now, watch his face and see if he's similar to James. Are you ready Sirius?"

Sirius smiled sweetly. "Sirius Black is always ready." He answered cockily making several girls giggle. Professor Potter rolled his eyes knowingly (?).

"Imperio!" Sirius allowed the spell to wash over him. It was very peaceful, like the time the Sorting Hat had shouted "Gryffindor!" instead of Slytherin. He felt all his worries wiped away. Though all his thoughts had been wiped away, one leaked through. Don't fight it off right away.

Skip came Potter's voice. Sirius did as he was told, knowing full well he could've thrown it off like James.

Hop like a frog Potter commanded. Sirius, laughing inside, did so, looking utterly ridiculous. Suddenly the curse lifted and he stumbled forward. Unlike with James, no one was laughing. Sirius knew perfectly well why. Professor Potter looked furious. Sirius stood gingerly.

"Do you think this is funny, Mr. Black?" he asked. Sirius knew he was in trouble since the teacher had switched to surnames.

"I was just having a little fun." Sirius insisted half-heartedly.

"And what if I had given you this?" Professor Potter pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket. "and told you to plunge it into your best friend's chest?"

The class was dead silent. Several people glanced at James. James was watching Sirius. Sirius had gone very pale. He couldn't take his eyes off the little knife.

"What if I told you to kidnap your little brother and torture him for information?" Harry asked again. Sirius was starting to sweat. He may have found Regulus annoying and a coward, but he would never hurt him.

"What if I told you to murder Ted and Andromeda in front of their little girl, just so I can get cheap amusement?" Professor Potter asked. That was going too far. Sirius snapped.

"All right I get it! I won't pull a stunt like that again!" he shouted. You could taunt him about James and Regulus, but Dora was another thing,. She was only five and she wouldn't understand what had happened. It was bad enough that she had treated him like a prisoner the previous year because he had gotten suspended and that was the only place he could go.

Angry with himself and the professor, Sirius grabbed his things and stormed out. No one else moved. Professor Potter looked grave.

"I hope you all have learned a valuable lesson. Death eaters don't listen to humor. Their idea of fun is tormenting muggles, killing muggleborns for sport, setting giants, vampires and untamed werewolves on the innocent, just for a laugh. Don't allow yourself to attract attention and put you and your family in danger. Think and be safe. I'll see you Monday."

The bell rang and the students hurried away. Harry sighed. He hadn't meant to make Sirius angry. He just wanted him to understand the gravity of the war. Sirius had been reckless even when Harry had known him. Harry finally knew the reason, but he could try to make some sort of impression on him. He knew it couldn't be time altering, but anything was something. Then a brilliant idea struck him. He knew how to help.