I do not own Harry Potter. Please read the author's note at the bottom, I'd put it here, but I don't want to make you wait any longer. Here's the next chapter...
Harry only spent one night in the hospital wing, but he was already sick of the place. On Saturday morning Madame Burchard said he was free to go, and Harry couldn't get out of there fast enough. The halls were deserted, for which Harry was grateful. He didn't fancy running into anyone he knew. That would be awkward, especially considering he still looked like himself. Normally he was glad he looked so much like his father, but here it would definitely be a problem. Harry planned on changing his appearance as soon as possible. It would probably be a good idea to change his name too. It was too much to hope that no one would notice the resemblance between James and himself.
Harry still couldn't believe it. James and Lily, his parents, were alive. They were still so young and carefree with absolutely no idea what their future held or who they'd be leaving behind. It was only 1977. In one year his parents would graduate, in two years they would be married, in three years he would be born, and in four years they would be dead. Four short years. That's all they had left, and they didn't even know it. Harry was determined to make the best of the time he had with them, and he held on to his only hope: In exactly 31 years and 364 days he would step through a door and find himself the opportunity to know his parents, and though they wouldn't know who he was, they would have the opportunity to know him too.
Harry longed to get to know them, but it would be hard, possibly the hardest thing he had ever had to do. How could he relate to his parents when they were little more than half his age and had no idea who he was? Would they even seem like his parents or would they just be a couple of average teenagers in his class? Harry wasn't sure if he was ready to face them, but he was grateful for the chance.
The castle was pretty much the same, so Harry had no trouble finding his new quarters behind the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. The door swung open at his touch, and Harry got a first look of his bedroom. It was nicely furnished. The double bed looked warm and comforting, and Harry couldn't wait to sleep in it. There was a fireplace in the south wall, and a couple of squashy armchairs facing it. The south east corner opened up into a breakfast nook. There was a small table with three chairs. The only light was coming in through the windows on the east wall, which had a nice view of the lake. There was a door on Harry's left, which he assumed led to a bathroom. One odd thing Harry noticed was the color scheme. Whoever decorated the room was careful not to favor just one house. The sheets on the bed were white, and the comforter was a coppery brown color. The bed frame was a beautiful mahogany that was echoed in the floorboards. The armchairs were brown. The stone walls were a nice sandy color. It was completely house neutral, and Harry loved it. The only house colors Harry saw were by the fireplace where the house banners on hung either side of the fireplace. All in all, Harry could see himself being comfortable here.
Harry walked over to the wardrobe that was next to the bed. He opened it to reveal multiple sets of plain black robes for teaching. Dumbledore must have picked up a few things for him; he would have to remember to thank him later. He opened a drawer in the bottom and saw a few sets of pajamas as well. In the mirror next to the wardrobe, Harry studied his face. He looked old, and tired. He was only 29, but he could see some grey hair mixed in with the jet black. It was a product of a very stressful life. No one knew stress like Harry Potter. He had more than his fair share of stress as a teenager, but being an auror was no walk in the park. Considering all that and factoring in James, Albus, and Lily, it was amazing his hair wasn't completely white. At least he wasn't wrinkly. He sighed and glanced at his hair again. It was now or never. He pointed his wand at his head and slowly his hair faded from black to a light sandy brown. He decided to give himself a little beard and mustache too. Now when he looked in the mirror, he almost couldn't recognize himself. It was strange, and for the first time Harry realized how absolutely alone he was. No one would miss him. Ginny wasn't born yet, Ron and Hermione were just figments of the imagination. His own three beautiful children weren't here to put their tiny arms around him and tell him they loved him. They didn't exist. Harry Potter didn't exist.
...
Harry surveyed the group of students in front of him. It was Monday morning, and Harry's first class was with the third year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. They were all staring at him, and Harry self-consciously ran a hand through his newly dyed hair. "Hello everyone," he said, "My name is Professor Clay, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher."
The students didn't say anything. They all just stared at him with wide eyes as if expecting him to grow a beak and start quacking. "Well, what are you all waiting for?" Harry asked, "Get your wands out! You're here to learn, aren't you?"
There was a flurry of movement as the students snapped out of their stupor and started digging in their bags for their wands. As they all straightened up again, one Ravenclaw raised his hand. Harry said, "Yes, Mr...?"
"Ackerley," the boy said, "Robert Ackerley. What happened to Professor Hadley?"
"Professor Dumbledore told me that he explained the situation at dinner last week," Harry said.
Robert spoke up again, "He only said that Hadley quit. He didn't say why. It's only the second week of school. Why would he quit already?"
Harry considered the question. "Let's just say he decided to leave for his health."
"But..."
"Enough questions," Harry interrupted, "Let's get started. Everyone on your feet!"
Harry had decided to take a leaf out of Remus' book; he found a boggart in the Room of Requirement for the third year students to practice on. They did well for their first time, and Harry was quite proud. He was careful not to step in the way, though. The students didn't need to come face to face with a dementor just yet. The third years left, and the rest of the day went just as Harry planned. Then it came time for the seventh year NEWT students, and his parents were on the class list.
It was 2:30, and Harry was waiting impatiently for the seventh years to show up. Not surprisingly, the first to get there were a couple of Ravenclaws. They sat down in the front, eager to learn like always. Couldn't they be a little less stereotypical? Over the next few minutes, three more Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs, and two Slytherins filtered in. The door opened again, and Harry looked up, sure that it would be one of his parents. Instead, he saw Snape slink in and find his seat. It was as if he went to extra trouble to remain unnoticed. Not even his house members glanced at him as he passed. He sat down in the second row farthest from the door. He looked like he was trying to blend in to the wall behind him.
Harry was too busy watching Snape to notice the door open yet again. Snape did, though. His whole face brightened, and he looked like all his dreams had come true. Harry turned to find the source of this dramatic change in character and his heart stopped. It was her. Lily Evans, his mother. She was just as beautiful as everyone said. Her dark red hair fell in gentle waves to the middle of her back, and her bright green eyes seemed to glow with life and kindness. Those were his eyes. He didn't realize he was staring until he caught Snape glaring at him as if to say, "Back off, you creep, she's mine."
Harry cleared his throat. "Good afternoon everyone, I am Professor Clay. This year we will be focusing on practical defense. I will teach you the skills you need to best survive in the outside world. So far..."
Harry was interrupted by the door opening once more. Then three men he never thought he'd see again walked into the room: Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs.
Harry was frozen for just a second then he snapped out of it. "You're late, boys," he said.
Remus hurried to his seat but paused in front of Harry to say, "Sorry, sir."
"Yes, we're so sorry, sir," Sirius said, taking a ridiculous bow.
"We didn't mean to disrupt the class, oh high and mighty Professor," James added.
"Sit down, gentlemen," Harry said calmly, "You can't intimidate me with your childish antics. You can't get me to quit by turning me pink. There's nothing you can do to me that will make me leave, so you better get used to treating me with respect. I was under the impression that you were here to learn, and seeing as that is my job, it would be to your advantage to shut up and sit down." James and Sirius stopped smiling and quickly sat down next to Remus. "20 points from Gryffindor for your tardiness. Stop smirking, Mr. Snape, or I'll take points from Slytherin too," Harry snapped. Snape's face immediately returned to its customary glower.
"As I was saying, so far you have all been sheltered inside these walls. Do you think this will work in the real world?" Harry looked right at James and Sirius. "You all need to learn to grow up. Soon you will be graduating, getting jobs, and starting families, and you need to know what's out there and how to protect yourself and the people you care about.
"Today we will be splitting up into partners for a dueling tournament. I want to see what you've got. Now, just a couple of ground rules before we start. No one may cast any spell for which they do not know the counter-spell, and this should go without saying, but no dark magic. Stick to minor hexes and jinxes. We don't want anyone to get hurt. You may pick your own partners. Go." Everyone stood up and hurried to get paired with a friend.
"Now separate into two lines facing your partner." There was a flurry of movement as they obeyed his orders. James and Sirius were paired up each looking eager to prove his superiority, Remus was paired with a Ravenclaw, and Lily was with one of her friends, Mary, Harry thought. He was about to start the duels when he was approached by Snape.
"There's and odd number, sir," Snape muttered. Harry looked, and sure enough, there were fifteen students.
"You can duel me, Mr. Snape," he said.
Harry then addressed the whole room, "Your ultimate goal is to get your opponents wand. If you have been disarmed, please sit back down. Winners, return your partners' wands and wait for the end of this round. You may begin."
It was complete madness, but Harry focused all his attention on Snape. He knew exactly what spell Snape was going to use. He could see it in his eyes, and he was practically shouting it in his head, so it was no surprise to hear him say, "Relashio!"
Harry blocked the spell with a flick of his wand and sent it careening back toward Snape who was knocked to the ground. Harry took great pleasure in seeing Snape fall on his ass. He might have been responsible for keeping Harry alive for seventeen years, but he was still a git. "Close your mouth and close your mind, Snape!" Harry sneered, "You of all people should know this!"
Snape looked at him weirdly then got up and started attacking Harry with a newfound speed and ferocity, reminding Harry of the older Snape. Harry wasn't trying to win, though. He just put up a shield whenever Snape cast a spell so he was free to look around at the other duels. He was astonished by some of the talent he saw.
His mother was amazing. Her hair whipped around her head in a flaming halo as she cast spell after spell at her friend. Mary had just about given up. She was concentrating all her energy into holding her shield, but Harry could see it starting to falter. Lily let out a shout of triumph as Mary's wand came soaring towards her, and Harry smiled, momentarily forgetting about Snape.
Snape took advantage of his distraction and was able to get a well-aimed disarming spell past Harry's defenses. Harry felt his wand leave his hand and turned his attention back to Snape who was standing triumphantly with two wands in his hand.
"That's more like it, Mr. Snape," Harry said appreciatively, holding his hand out for his wand, "You're ready for the next round." Snape just gave his wand back and went back to his seat.
Only two duels were left at this point. Two Slytherins and James and Sirius. As Harry watched, the Slytherins duel ended and then it was only his father and godfather left. James cast a tickling hex which Sirius dodged and returned with a leg locker curse. James quickly put up a shield and fired back. This went on for another couple of minutes until James finally managed to get Sirius with a stunner. Then he walked over to Sirius and took his wand. The Gryffindors burst into applause and James took a little bow.
"Yes, yes, that was very impressive, Mr. Potter," Harry said, "Now if you would kindly wake up Mr. Black so we can start the next round."
After two more rounds, there were only two students left. By some twist of fate, they were James and Snape. "Alright, gentlemen, ready your wands." James and Snape glared at each other. "Begin!"
Their styles couldn't have been more different. James boldly went for flashy and powerful spells, but Snape seemed content to deflect them with perfect shields. Harry guessed that he was trying to tire James out, and Harry had to admit it was a good strategy. James couldn't keep up the theatrics for long. Sure enough after five minutes, James was slowing down. Snape saw this too, and he began throwing his own spells at James. James' face was lit up by all of Severus' spells, and for the first time, Harry saw him looking worried. James made one last attempt to stun Snape, but Snape was too quick. Before the words were even out of his mouth, Snape cast a disarming spell that hit him right in the chest. James' wand flew into the air, and Snape caught it, victorious.
Harry started clapping, and soon the rest of the class joined in. Snape looked distinctly uncomfortable with all the attention. He stood in awkwardly in the middle of the classroom with his shoulders hunched. "Very good, Mr. Snape!" Harry said, "20 points for Slyth..."
"Diffindo!"
Snape's sleeve tore and a spattering of blood fell to the floor. Harry whipped around. James was standing there with Sirius' wand in his hand looking very smug. "Mr. Po...!"
"Petrificus Totalus!" Snape shouted. James dropped to the ground, stiff as a board.
"That is enough!" Harry shouted. He flicked his wand at James who quickly scrambled to his feet. "Detention Mr. Potter," Harry said, "and you, Mr. Snape."
A/N: Hi everybody. I am soooooo sorry for the ridiculously long wait. All I can say is that this semester really kicked my butt. I know that's a poor excuse, and I feel like there really can't be an excuse for not updating in so long. I would just like to apologize, and I hope that this chapter makes up for it a little. I would also like everyone to know that I will not ever abandon this story. I hate it when authors do that. I will definitely try to update regularly, but I can't really make any promises that you would believe. I already have half of the next chapter written, so that will be up within two weeks. Thank you to the readers who stuck with me, and a special thanks to Alice2Epic who reviewed my story today and made me feel guilty.
