CHAPTER 3: A DIFFERENT PATH

Harry woke up the next morning at 5AM, the usual time one had to wake up at when working for the Aurors. Like every morning, he was grateful that he didn't need a lot of sleep. He knew he would be very grumpy if it wasn't the case. With a yawn, Harry raised and went to the bathroom.

Harry did his usual routine which was to go to the toilet, do his things, then take a shower and, finally, dress. That morning, Harry didn't put on his crimson Auror robes but instead put on muggle clothes: a pair of dark blue jeans and a long-sleeves shirt. The last thing he did was to begin to write a short letter.

Dear Headmistress McGonagall,

It has come to my attention that Remus is planning to retire from the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor after the school year. I am interested in applying for the post for the next school year. If it is agreeable, I would like to meet today at your offices, this afternoon preferably. Do you mind sending me a letter indicating the times you are available to meet?

With Regards,

Harry J. Potter.

Harry read the letter a few times to be sure it was alright. It felt a bit too formal, especially because of the friendship he had with the Headmistress but he figured that it would do the job. With that, he packed his three pairs of Auror robes together and walked down toward the dining room.

Once he arrived, Harry dropped his packed-up robes, the letter he had written and six knuts on the table before sitting on one of the chairs. A black coffee appeared in front of him. "Thank you, Winky." said Harry tiredly as he began to sip.

"It is I's pleasure, Harry." said Winky from the kitchen.

Exactly five minutes later, an owl arrived with an early edition of that day's Daily Prophet. The owl flew one lap around the room before it landed on the table in front of Harry.

"Hello, my feathery friend." said Harry gently to the owl. The owl gave him a hoot and extended its leg. "Do you mind sending a letter to Hogwarts for me?" he asked. "I have the necessary knuts." he added to the owl. The owl seemed to consider a moment before it gave a positive hoot. Harry smiled and put six knuts in the owl's little bag. The Daily Prophet authorised people to use their owls to send correspondence as long as they paid the price, which was three knuts, the same as a copy of the Prophet. Harry gave the letter to the owl and looked as it extended its wings and flew away toward Scotland.

Sitting back, he took the paper and began to read. Harry had once hated the Daily Prophet with passion because of all it had written against him during his teenage years. He had, for a long time, completely refused to read it, calling it utter garbage. It wasn't until the Prophet had been completely revamped that Harry finally subscribed to the paper again.

After the war, Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt cleaned the Ministry from top to bottom and put many new reforms and laws into action. Some of those reforms were about the relationship between the Ministry of Magic and the medias, which he took care of after the trials of the majority of the Death Eaters came and went. One of his first acts as Minister was to put on laws that stopped the Ministry or any future Minister from influencing the medias. It gave those medias some protection from the Ministry. Kingsley then sold the Ministry's controlling shares in the Prophet, freeing the paper from its influence. The shares were passed around until the majority of them were bought by the combined duo of Justin Flinch-Fletchey and Hannah Abbott (now Longbottom). Since Justin and Hannah had taken control of the Prophet, the paper had been nothing but truthful, compounded by the new policy of always sharing its evidences and sources. (Excluding those asking for anonymity.)

Since then, Harry had reluctantly agreed to subscribe to the Prophet again and was pleasantly surprised the first time he laid eyes on the revamped paper. Today, the only thing shared between the Daily Prophet of the 1990s and the Daily Prophet of 2006 was its name.

As he read the paper, Harry heard quiet footsteps climbing down the stairs. Looking at his watch, he noticed that it already was past 6AM.

Rose entered the dining room, looking more tired than usual. It then hit Harry that it had probably been a bad idea to stop the story right after talking about Hermione's "betrayal". Rose probably had a hard time falling asleep and most likely did not have a restful night. No surprise she looked tired.

"Good morning Rose." said Harry.

"Hi." mumbled Rose as she fell on one of the chairs. A bowl of cereals appeared in front of her and she began to eat.

"Rose..." said Harry with a frown. "You forgot to thank Winky."

"Thanks." she mumbled rapidly. Harry sighed, feeling bad. Rose was always energetic during the mornings but today... Harry hoped that spending time with Luna would help raise her morale back.

Harry continued to read the paper, which had many articles written on the previous day's celebrations. Like every Halloween since the buyout of the Prophet, there was an article on what happened that night. Thankfully, it didn't forget the sacrifice of his parents and what the Potter family had lost but the article was still mostly centred on him. Harry wasn't sure if they continued to do so to celebrate his survival or because Justin and Hannah wanted to mess with him.

Finally, just as Rose was finishing her breakfast, Harry dropped the paper. Looking at his watch for a second time, he saw that there was about fifteen minutes left before he had to show to work. He decided to get to the Ministry earlier so that he could quit his job earlier which would allow him to come home just in time to bring Rose to school himself, something he hadn't done in quite some time.

"You won't have to leave to school as early today." said Harry to his daughter. When he saw that he had caught on her interest, he added. "I'm going to the Ministry early to quit my job. I should be back in time to lead you to school myself." he said with a smile.

Rose squealed and jumped in her father's arms, her tiredness having all but dissipated. Harry laughed. Rose had always hated that her father was an Auror. While she knew that it was a dangerous job (she just didn't understand how dangerous it was), she had mostly loathed the fact that her father was an Auror because it kept him from her.

"It's over?" she asked. "You'll be there all day?"

"Until I find something else, yes." answered Harry with a smile.

Rose jumped back and said "What are you waiting for? Go!"

Harry laughed and grabbed his packed-up robes as he walked toward the living room where the fireplace was located. "See you in an hour. Don't forget, Winky will be watching you." he said to her. He didn't completely trust Rose's mischievous side.

When Rose nodded, Harry flooed away.

Harry arrived at the Ministry of Magic tripping out of the fireplace. Ignoring the usual snickers of the few in the Atrium, he went toward the lifts. Entering one, he pressed the button of Level 2 where the offices of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Auror Office were located.

"Arriving early today?" said a familiar voice behind him. Harry jumped.

"Tonks! Bloody hell..." he said, a hand on his heart. Tonks laughed.

"You're too distracted, Harry. You didn't even notice me when you entered the lift." she tsked with amusement. "How will that reflect on me, your mentor and partner?" she asked dramatically.

"Shove it, Nymphadora." he shot back with a grin.

"Don't call me Nymphadora!" she hissed, her hair turning red. Harry only laughed. He had always loved calling Tonks by her first name. He wasn't doing so often but, sometimes, he enjoyed getting a rise out of her. It was a habit he had developed during Auror training when she was still capable of kicking his arse regularly.

"How's Teddy?" he asked once he had stopped laughing.

"He's fine and happy. He does miss us during the day but he has his friends from the Potter Academy with him."

"Hermione Potter's Academy of Magic." corrected Harry almost automatically.

Tonks gave him a sad smile. "Let's make a deal." she said. "I will call the school by it's true name if you stop calling me Nymphadora."

"Fine." said Harry with a roll of the eyes.

"How about Rose? How is my goddaughter?" she asked.

Harry sighed. "I began telling her mine and Hermione's story yesterday night." he answered. Harry saw Tonks wince. She knew the whole story and understood that it would not be easy for either of them.

"I wish you good luck." she said after a few moments.

"Thanks." said Harry.

"Level Two: Department of Magical Law Enforcement." said the voice of the lifts.

"By the way," said Tonks, sounding more cheerful. "Why aren't you dressed? This won't go well on your record, you know?"

Harry grinned. "That's because I don't care about my record." Then, with a wink, he left a confused Tonks behind as he began walking toward Gawain Robards' office.

Harry arrived at the office and took a deep breath. Gawain Robards was not someone Harry liked. Originally an Auror during the 80s and 90s, Robards had become the Head of the Auror Office after Rufus Scrimgeour became Minister in the summer of 1996. While temporarily deposed from the Auror Headship during Voldemort's reign, the man had stayed an Auror working for the Ministry. When Kingsley became Minister, Robarts was reinstated, quickly followed by a promotion to Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Robards had always trained the Auror recruits hard but had, most often than not, gone out of his way to treat Harry even more harshly. Harry had never complained, simply because he had become used to being treated that way after six years as Severus Snape's student. It also helped that Harry wanted to prove himself and be the best Auror possible, something that would only be possible with a hard training.

That harsh treatment had paid off and Harry quickly became one of the best and most efficient Aurors of the Department. Robards had stopped being on his case after his graduation from the Academy and even showed him a bit of respect but the relationship between boss and employee remained forever cold.

Harry took one last deep breath before he knocked. "Enter." he heard and Harry followed.

"Potter! Why aren't you wearing your robes?"

"That's the thing, boss. I'm quitting." said Harry, getting straight to the point.

Robards looked startled for a few seconds. "Excuse me? I think I misheard. I'm pretty sure I heard you say that you were quitting your job." said the Head of the DMLE almost mockingly.

"You didn't mishear, Robards, you know that."

Robards' face looked thunderous. "Fine!" he spat. "If that's what little Harry Potter want then fine! Leave and never come back!" he yelled. Harry rolled his eyes at his former boss and left the office.

Harry went to the room where his office was located. (Each room had six open-ended offices for three pairs of Auror partners. Three pairs of Aurors formed one Auror Unit.). He was not surprised to see that Tonks and Ron were the only ones present.

"Hi Harry." greeted Ron. "You're here earlier than usual." he commented.

"Get dressed now Harry." said Tonks. "Our shift begins in fifteen minutes."

"About that..." started Harry with a sheepish smile. "I just quit."

Both Ron and Tonks froze. "What?" they asked.

"I quit. While I like the job, I am missing a lot of time with Rose and it's not something I'm willing to do anymore." he said as he began to pack his things.

"Good for you, Harry." said Ron. Tonks nodded approvingly.

"I understand." she said. "If it wasn't for Remus, I would probably had done the same. Being an Auror is a great but it can suck when you are a parent."

Ron nodded as well. "I might end up doing the same. Susan was never the same after that accident in Cambridge last year." he said. "She's trying to hide it but I can see her worry every morning when I leave for work." he sighed. "She's worried that something might happen to me."

Harry nodded absently. Ron Weasley and Susan Bones' relationship had been a surprise to anyone who knew them. He remembered how shocked Hermione had been at hearing the news. Ron and Susan had never been friends at Hogwarts, both spending time in their own social circles so they had barely interacted. It was only when Harry and Ron joined the Auror Academy after the end of the war that they became friends with Susan, who had also joined.

The two friends started feeling attraction toward the other when both became partners. To everyone's surprise (except Harry, who had seen it coming.), Ron and Susan started dating within a year of becoming Aurors. Their relationship grew steadily as the two Aurors became one of the best duos in the Department. A year and a half ago, Ron and Susan announced their engagement, this time to nobody's surprise.

Unfortunately, a raid gone wrong in Cambridge last year had resulted in Susan spending two weeks in St-Mungo. She had lost her left leg in the accident and was given a magical prosthetic leg. She was forced to retire because of her injuries.

For a time, Susan had felt insecure about herself until Ron managed to make her understand that having a prosthetic leg did not make her ugly and that even if she was, he would still love her just the same. It was a happy couple that had married only a few short months ago.

Something that surprised a lot of people was that Ron had agreed to take Susan's last name once they got married. While he would always be a proud Weasley, he knew how much the Bones Family meant for the last of them and Ron didn't mind changing his last name if it meant that the Bones would survive. Like he had said, there were more than enough Weasleys to continue the name.

From what Ron had confided to him, Susan still had nightmares about the raid from time to time so Harry wasn't surprised to learn that Susan didn't like having her husband working as an Auror.

"What are you going to do next?" asked Tonks to Harry, bringing him back to reality.

"I heard that Remus is planning to retire at the end of the current school year. I'm planning to talk to Minerva about taking the post this afternoon." he answered.

"Professor Potter." said Ron thoughtfully. "It doesn't sound bad."

"Remus will be delighted." said Tonks. "He feared that someone incompetent would take over and ruin his students' schooling."

"What make you think Harry is competent?" asked Ron.

"Oi!" said Harry. Ron and Tonks laughed. He rolled his eyes.

"Do you realise that Harry is rolling his eyes a lot? Hermione has rubbed off him too much." whispered Ron not so quietly to Tonks.

"Oh, I'm sure she found many different ways to rub off Harry." added Tonks with a grin.

Harry rolled his eyes again.

"See! He did it again!" said Ron before he burst out laughing. He was quickly joined by Tonks.

"Damn it." muttered Harry with amusement. "Well, if you children don't need me anymore, I'll go back home. Rose is waiting for me." he said.

"Sure." said Tonks. "See you later, Professor Potter!"

"Yes. See you soon, Professor!"

"Yes, yes." said Harry. "See you later Nymphadora, Mr. Susan Bones." said Harry mischievously. He laughed when both turned red. Ron's nickname was nothing new. It had become somewhat of a running gag in the Department ever since Ron and Susan's wedding where the official had proclaimed them has "Mr. And Mrs. Susan Bones.". And Tonks... well, does it really need an explanation?

Whistling happily, Harry walked back toward the lifts. Ten minutes later, he had left the Ministry of Magic.

Harry flooed back in the cottage and crashed in front of Rose. Rose giggled.

"Yeah, yeah. You can laugh about your poor, old father." he grumbled.

"So? What happened?" asked Rose with excitement.

"From today onwards, I am no longer an Auror!" he proclaimed. Rose squealed and jumped in her father's arms.

"So, my Flower, are you ready to go to school?" Harry asked, dropping Rose back on the ground.

"Yes!" she said.

"Did you brush your teeth?" asked Harry, knowing how often she "forgot". Rose's blush and her refusal to meet his eyes was all the answer he needed. He chuckled. "Go brush them." he said. Rose ran out of the room.

While Rose was brushing his teeth, Harry sat down on a loveseat. Winky then popped in front of him, a letter in hand.

"A letter arrived from Missus Minnie!" announced the elf.

"Thank you, Winky." said Harry with a laugh. With a flick of the wand, he unsealed the short letter.

Dear Harry,

How many times will I have to tell you not to call me Professor, young man? You are no longer a student of Hogwarts, thank Merlin, so you do not need to address me like this.

As for the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts, the opening is still available. I had already received two other applications and none were as interesting or as knowledgeable as you. I set up an appointment at two this afternoon. Remus will take part in the meeting. He is delighted that you are interested in succeeding him.

Minerva.

Harry chuckled. Of course, Minerva would chastise him for his formal approach. With the meeting set for this afternoon, he just had to bring Rose to school and he would have the remaining time free. Now wasn't that a crazy thought.

Quick footsteps interrupted his thinking. Rose burst in the room, crying "I'm done!"

"Come here." he said. When Rose stood in front of him, he said "Open your mouth."

Some might think it would be weird for a father to smell his daughter's breath. The reality was that Harry didn't really trust Rose when it was time for her to brush her teeth. He had realized a few months earlier that Rose would sometimes — often — pretend to brush her teeth simply because she didn't want to do so. That was a big no-no for Harry so he had begun to check. He had caught her many times the first week he began to check as it would still smell like whatever she had last eaten.

Reassured when he smelled fresh mint, he said "Smile." and Rose smiled, showing all of her teeth, which were clean. Harry smiled back and Rose relaxed. "Well, time to go." Harry said, rising on his feet. He took his daughter's hand and walked inside the fireplace, taking a pinch of floo powder on the way.

"Hermione Potter Academy!" said Harry, throwing the powder on the ground and flooing them away.

Harry arrived at Hogwarts thirty minutes before his appointment. He had spent the time since taking Rose to school working on various paperwork he had previously laid aside. Now, he had more than enough time to do everything he needed.

He had also received a letter from the Minister, which he had answered promptly. Kingsley had asked the reason why he had quit as Robards had been too angry to be coherent. Harry had sent him a reply and continued his work.

He had been interrupted at 1PM when Winky appeared, telling him that his appointment was in an hour. He had been shocked. He hadn't realized how quickly time had gone by. Harry had decided to leave right away, taking the opportunity to eat at the Three Broomsticks.

Harry had been greeted by Madam Rosmerta. Even with his heart belonging completely to Hermione, Harry had to admit that the owner of the pub was still rather good looking, even in her sixties.

Harry had only been interrupted twice by fans and well-wishers while eating, a new record! Hermione would probably had made fun of him had she heard his thoughts. After filling his stomach with a good BLT sandwich and a bowl of hot soup, Harry began walking toward the castle. He could have flooed but Harry wanted to walk.

Arriving at the grate, he sent a patronus to an old friend. Ten minutes later, Harry saw someone approach. Someone very easily distinguishable.

"Harry!" greeted Rubeus Hagrid. "Haven't seen you in a long time!"

"Hello Hagrid!" said Harry with a wave.

Hagrid unlocked the grates and let him inside the wards. The two friends walked together as Hagrid let Harry to the entrance of the castle. "So," said the half-giant. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Ministry?"

"I quit the Auror Office, Hagrid." said Harry with a smile. "I have an appointment with Minerva. I'm looking to replace Remus after he retires."

Hagrid grinned. "Always knew you would be a good teacher, with everyone you taught in the D.A."

"Thanks." said Harry.

"And, I reckon little Rosie is rather happy to have her father more often home, isn't she?" said Hagrid with a knowing smile.

"You can bet she is." laughed Harry.

Harry and Hagrid continued to talk until they arrived at the castle. "Well," said Hagrid. "There you are. I reckon you don't need someone to show you the way to the Headmistress' office. You probably know the castle better than I do after all your — uh — 'exploring' you, Ron and Hermione did."

"You're probably right." said Harry with a grin. "Thanks, Hagrid."

"No problem, Harry. Always a pleasure to see you. Don't forget to visit me. And bring little Rosie with you next time."

"Of course. Goodbye, Hagrid."

"See you soon, Harry." said Hagrid before he turned back and returned toward his hut.

Harry took the quickest way toward the Headmistress' office. He remembered the layout of the castle rather well. On the way, he met many students, most of which looked at him with awe in their eyes. Harry chuckled. For a long time, he had been embarrassed by his fame but after the defeat of Voldemort, Harry had just learned to accept it. He was still somewhat uncomfortable with it but it was a far cry of how he felt in his teenage years.

Harry arrived in front of the gargoyle... and realized he didn't know the password. "Of course, I don't." he thought. Minerva had expected him to arrive by the floo so she hadn't told him the password in her reply.

"Ah, there you are!" said a familiar voice behind him. Harry turned around and found the Defence Professor walking toward him.

"Remus!" greeted Harry.

"Harry." said Remus warmly. "How are you? How is Rose?"

"She's fine, mostly." answered Harry.

"Mostly? What do you mean?" asked Remus with concern.

"I told her how Hermione and I first met yesterday." said Harry with a sigh. "She knows about Hermione rejecting her parents' offer to have me join their family. She was heartbroken."

Remus sighed and put a hand on Harry's shoulders in a comforting way. "Yeah." he whispered. "I can understand why it could be hard."

"We aren't even at the hardest part of the story yet." said Harry with a sigh. "It's just going to get harder to tell once we get to the end."

"You'll get through it." said Remus confidently. Removing his arm from his honorary nephew's shoulders, he asked "Apart from that, how is she?"

"She's fine." answered Harry truthfully. "She has some good friends; she has a great relationship with her teacher Luna and she's at the top of her class. Thank God Rose takes after her mother in that aspect."

Remus chuckled. "That's not the only thing she takes after Hermione. When she will be older, Rose will be a true heartbreaker."

Harry groaned. "Great. Like I want to worry about boys trying to date my daughter."

"At least I have it easy with Teddy. He's a boy so I shouldn't have to worry about other boys." Then, Remus suddenly chuckled. "Like Tonks once told me, with Teddy we only have to worry about one penis. With Rose, you'll have to watch out for all penises.

"Oh Merlin!" wailed Harry, covering his eyes as if he was about to cry. "I really didn't need to hear that!"

"Professor Lupin, Mr. Potter. I would appreciate if you didn't talk about penises in front of my office." said a woman's voice behind them. Harry and Remus jumped and turned around. Minerva McGonagall was staring at them sternly. Too worried about his upcoming job interview, Harry missed the amusement in her eyes.

"Right." said Remus, clearing his throat. "We're ready."

Minerva nodded. "Follow me." she said. She used the same tone of voice as when Harry first met her when he was eleven.

The Headmistress opened the entrance to her office and led her two former students inside. She conjured two chairs in front of her desk as she sat in hers. Harry and Remus sat down.

"Relax, Harry." said Minerva with a smile. She had been amused when she had seen Harry's face. He had the same face as when she had found him and Hermione walking in the corridors at night in their first year. "I'm not about to give you detention." she said.

Harry relaxed. "Why did you look at me like you were about to give me one, then?" whined Harry. Remus and Minerva laughed.

"You're so easy, Harry." said Remus.

"Oh, shove it, you." said Harry, elbowing him in the ribs.

"So, I think we can all agree that this meeting is more of a formality than anything else." said the Headmistress.

Remus nodded. "I really can't see anyone better to take over the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts." He was about to say more but he was interrupted.

"You are becoming a teacher, Harry, my boy?" said the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. The figure inside looked very happy. Harry nodded. "Excellent!" he said with a clap of the hands. "I'm sure you will be one of the best Defence teachers in this century! No offence, Remus."

"None taken." replied the werewolf.

"I didn't know you were awake..." started Minerva but, like Remus, she was interrupted.

"Potter? A teacher? This place is really going down the drain." said the portrait of Severus Snape.

"Of course, he's awake too." sighed Harry. "Hello Albus, Severus." He was amused to see the difference in reactions at using their first names. Dumbledore beamed while Snape glared at him.

"Harry/Potter." they replied on opposing tones of voices.

"Now, if we can go back to our discussion." said Minerva, glaring at the two portraits as if trying to say 'Stay still!'. Snape glared back while Dumbledore pretended to become a famous statue. Harry had to refrain from laughing. He loved Dumbledore's portrait because it allowed him to see how the Headmaster would have been had he been care-free. He was not disappointed. "If you become a Professor here..." Minerva started but she was interrupted. Again.

"Are you telling me," said a new voice. "That the godson of my worthless great-grandnephew is now a Professor?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake..." said Harry, pinching his nose.

"Not now, Phineas!" yelled Minerva to the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black.

"Maybe doing the interview in this office was a bad idea." said Remus, chuckling.

"Probably." agreed Harry.

"From now on, no portraits are to talk during Mr. Potter's interview unless it is urgent or I command so. Understood?"

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" yelled the care-free Dumbledore, doing a military salute. Other portraits acknowledged the order.

Harry and Remus snorted. Minerva turned around with a last sigh and said "Anyway. Where were we?"