...Winding Path...

By Zetta
Summary: James Potter's had a rough year, and when he decided he needs a break from being an Auror, Albus Dumbledore comes up with an interesting proposition....
Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Sybil Trelawney, Taura Sinastra, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, and more!
Rating: PG-13
The train ride (which is more the setting for a sirius Sirius and James conversation than anything) and a glimpse at what sort of teacher Professor Potter might end up being... (It's a mostly James-ish chapter, but that's okay, 'cuz he's the wounded hero, right? :o)

Chapter Two

The four took the Floo to Platform 9 and 3/4, then split up to help students get on the train.

Lily stepped out to help the Muggle-borns, and Taura directed them around from the inside.

James had thrown on his black cape with the Auror emblem on it, and he and Sirius offered assurances to worried parents. They were a lot less worried when they realized he was to be teaching that year, and no, Dumbledore had not been so worried that he called in Aurors to guard the train.

Sirius glared at nearly every Slytherin who walked by. "It's a good thing you're not a teacher," James observed.

Sirius snorted. "I'd make a fabulous teacher, and you know it, Potter."

"If you say so," James said, giving him a look that indicated that he did not believe that.

Sirius missed it, staring at someone behind James. James turned.

"Isn't that Lucius Malfoy?" Sirius murmured, all humor gone from his voice.

James nodded slightly, stiffly. It was rumored that Malfoy had been one of the ones that had attacked his family. "What's he doing here?"

Sirius shrugged, but the answer came when a stunningly pretty blonde girl sauntered over to him wearing Slytherin colors.

"Narcissa Pontellier," Sirius said coldly. "Luci's betrothed. I believe she's a seventh year. Slytherin."

"No surprise there," James observed. "Would he even look at a woman who wasn't a cold-blooded snake like he is?"

Sirius snorted. "I don't suppose you'd consider giving her a detention of cleaning up something wretched? Bat shit perhaps? Without magic?"

James smiled faintly. "I have no desire to spend any more time with her than necessary. As tempting as it may be, it would not be wise, as I've promised to be fair to all of the students."

"Hrm. Here comes Evans. Must be about time to round them up. She's gotten to be a rather pretty thing, hasn't she?"

James gave Sirius a patient look. "Come up for Christmas. I'll put in a good word for you."

Sirius suddenly looked uncertain, and looked away.

"What is it?" James asked, frowning. "Spit it out."

Sirius hesitated. "Actually... Well, I was thinking of getting a place up there, in Hogsmeade. So, ya' know, I might already be up here for Christmas."

James stared. "Why?"

Sirius still avoided looking directly at him, and shrugged. "Why not?"

"For starters, it's too far from the Ministry for you to Apparate or ride a broom every day, so you'd have to Floo. You hate the Floo."

Sirius shrugged. "I miss Hogwarts. I could deal."

James scowled. "Padfoot-"

"I'm worried about you," Sirius said gruffly, looking embarrassed. He stared at the platform they were standing on. "I'm not trying to overreact or make things worse, but Jim, I've known you all my life, and I've never seen you like this. And to be frank, I don't think you should be off on your own."

A little embarrassed too, James avoided eye contact as well, looking over the crowd of students. "I think Albus would say something if I started to get bad," James said uncomfortably. "And certainly Arabella would. The woman doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut on a normal day, much less when it's important." He crossed his arms, looking the other way. "I think the worst of it's over."

Sirius didn't seem to be entirely convinced, and James thought he caught a bit of hurt in his voice when he spoke next. "It was just a thought." Sirius said, shrugging.

They looked at each other.

James studied him very carefully. "Of course, if you did rent a place up here, we might be able to convince Moony and Wormtail to come a-visiting. Not to mention, Taura seems quite interested in you."

Sirius relaxed and grinned. "There is that," he agreed. "All right, old chap. I'll do it. But only because you're insisting so much, and I don't want to see you bawling if I don't."

The train whistle blew and James made a grand gesture towards the steps to the compartment they'd already selected. "Shall we?"

Sirius gave him a grin and led the way. "You know, mate, perhaps it's just me, but you're looking better already."

"It must be your charming personality," James said with a grin in response. And then, to let Sirius know how much he appreciated what he was going to do without further embarrassing them, he clapped him on the back. "So, what's striking your fancy today, muggles or the stars?"

Sirius laughed and glanced out the window at the two women who were making their way towards the train, and smirked. "Oh, I'd say I'm good for either one."

James laughed too.

*..:..*..:..*..:..*..:..*..:..*

Lily flipped through the pages of the Dark Arts book James had highlighted. "They're going to be very busy," she observed, not at all offended by that idea.

Taura wasn't either. "After the last two years, they need to be."

"Why, were the last ones as bad as McKinley, back in sixth year?" Sirius asked. He had been a Death Eater, and had nearly killed thirty people during one of his Gryffindor/Ravenclaw sessions.

"Worse," Lily said with a small frown. "At least with McKinley we learned never to drink potions that smell like dirty socks. One of the students told me that all they did last year was count the number of times the teacher said 'duh'."

"So first thing tomorrow, you go in and say 'duh'." Sirius decided.

"There'd be a revolt." Taura said with a smirk.

James sat back, stretching his legs out in front of him. "I'm trying to figure out how to do it, actually."

"Do what?" Taura asked, giving him a sexy grin. "I'm sure I could help..."

"Introduce myself and all that."

Lily laughed at that. "I wouldn't worry too much," she said with a grin. "I don't think they've forgotten you."

"We're infamous," Sirius agreed cheerily.

Taura grinned. "I don't think you realize how much truth there is in that statement. I can't think of many girls who were in your year that weren't falling over one of you boys, and damn near every male was jealous over your standing on the Quidditch Pitch."

Sirius looked at Lily, grinning. "Were you one of the young ladies in question?"

She grinned back, shaking her head. "Not for either of you. For your friend, Lupin."

James smirked and held out his hand.

Sirius sighed and fished out a galleon. "We knew you liked someone," he explained. "We just bet on who."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I should probably yell at you."

"Don't waste your time," James advised. "It won't help."

"Which is why I won't bother." Lily sighed.

"Now," Sirius said with a grin. "How should Jim greet them? I'm thinking a nice explosion should do the trick."

Wisely, the other three ignored him, and the two women teamed up to try and help James.

*..:..*..:..*..:..*..:..*..:..*

There were no surprises on the rest of the trip, nor were there any at the Sorting Ceremony, which took place at Hogwarts later that night.

The meal was, as always, fantastic, and the staff waited around for the students to finish up their meal.

Once that was done, Sirius took his leave, exchanging a long (but very manly) embrace with James, and telling him that he'd be up soon to look for a place in Hogsmeade.

After that, the teachers all dispersed to their own rooms, scattered throughout the castle.

James, much to his shock upon waking in the morning, slept easily.

He was too nervous to bother with a big breakfast, so he slipped down to the kitchens to visit with the house-elves and get something small. While there, he got an idea and also requested enough pastries for his students in time for next week's classes.

After that was taken care of, he returned to his classroom and pulled his invisibility cloak on, and sat down to wait for his students to arrive.

Within five minutes of class time, all but two were there. The two that were missing were the Prefects though, and James knew that their tardiness was excused because they were handing out schedules.

He did not reveal himself, even after the start of class came.

The students quickly grew restless, and he watched as several began chatting about the latest gossip, a few talked about him, and a few of the boys chatted about how attractive some of their professors were.

He did not reveal himself until a fight looked about ready to break out between a Gryffindor boy and a Slytherin.

When he drew back the hood, several people gasped, drawing attention to him.

He didn't look up as he slipped the rest of the way out of it and began neatly folding it. "Mr. Weasley and Mr. Goyle. Take your seats."

The two immediately sat down, though they still glared at each other.

He picked up the student list and marked the two tardies, then looked up over his class. "Good morning."

Bill Weasley grinned at him. "Morning, Jim. I mean, professor."

James shrugged. "So long as Professor McGonagall doesn't hear you, you may call me James, if you prefer. But when she's around, or any of the others, it's Professor Potter."

"Cool," said one boy.

"P. P. for short, right sir?" said another with a grin.

James ignored him. "So. Someone want to tell me what class we're in?"

They looked at each other nervously, wondering, perhaps, why he needed to ask them that. "Ah, Defense Against the Dark Arts, sir," said one student.

James nodded and looked back at the rest of the class. "Right, Defense Against the Dark Arts. DADA to those of you who are too lazy to say it out. There are several aspects of Dark Arts that are important enough to be discussed. From what I've heard, you studied basic curses, and basic Dark creatures, and then spent two years with poor teachers. Hopefully, I won't be your third." Several students nodded in agreement. James slid off the desk and began pacing. "Something which teachers always seemed to neglect to explain to me...what, exactly, are the Dark Arts? Anyone?"

"Magic used for evil?" a girl offered.

"To hurt people?" said another.

"Creatures that hurt people," said a Slytherin.

James nodded a little. "True... But, what kind of creatures? What kind of magic?"

"Anything that's not human." said one Slytherin.

"The Unforgivable Curses." a Gryffindor boy quietly suggested.

"Curses that strictly cause people pain." a girl decided.

"Be more specific," James demanded. "The Unforgivable, yes, and we'll go over those more later. But what are the Dark Arts? Give me some examples." He waved his wand at the chalkboard, and a piece of chalk rose up and began writing, in his handwriting, "The Unforgivable Curses".

"Like, the creatures and stuff?" a girl asked uncertainly.

James nodded. "Like, the creatures and stuff," he said patiently.

"Kappas," said a boy.

"Dragons."

"Um... Chimaeras!"

"Ghouls."

"Giants."

"Gnomes."

"Goblins,"

"Stop looking from the book," James scolded with a small grin. He waved his wand, and all the books shut.

"Lethifolds!" a boy exclaimed after a long moment.

A silence fell.

"Anything else?" James asked patiently.

No one raised their hand or called out.

James waved his wand at the board again, and with a bright white flash, a list of more magical beasts appeared.

"How about some more curses? Anything aside from those three?"

The students began listing them, some of which James thought were rather far from the Dark list, but he continued to let the chalk list them until the students ran out.

James waved his wand again, and the chalk drew a line down the center of the board. "What are some other magical beasts that are not considered Dark?"

"Fairies and mermaids."

"Flobberworms!"

The class giggled at that. They were the farthest things from dangerous that anyone could imagine.

"Puffskeins."

"Snidgets," said a Quidditch player.

"Ramoras."

"Porlocks,"

"Horklumps."

The chalk settled back onto its little ledge as the class fell quiet, apparently out of ideas.

Again, James waved his wand and added to the list. "I'll assume you can figure out a few good curses, right? Waddiwasi? Wingardium Leviosa? Now, what is the difference between these two lists?"

A Slytherin boy rolled his eyes and explained to the rest of the class with exaggerated impatience. "Those are dangerous, those aren't."

James nodded slightly. "So, anyone who uses those curses, or uses those beasts, they're Dark, right?"

Most students nodded. James shook his head. "Wrong. In 1939, the Dark Wizard Gridelwald was rising. The Aurors were sent out to fight against him and his army. They failed time and time again because the curses that were available to them were not strong enough to be of any use. A good ol' tickling curse doesn't do much good for an Auror who is trying to dodge the Killing Curse, correct?" A few nervous giggles. James sat down on the edge of his desk again. "After Professor Dumbledore defeated him using legal curses, the Aurors had a conference, and decided that they needed to be able to fight the same as the bad guys. So, the International Wizarding Conference of 1942 offered Light Wizards the ability to use Dark curses-under controlled circumstances. In other words, people serving the Light side- Aurors, Unspeakables, certain members of the Ministry, they're all allowed to use them."

"Are you?" a student asked quickly, then looked to regret it. The other students looked nervous- the Potter family had been well known throughout Britain, and everyone had heard the gory details of their deaths, and likely, how he had been the first to find them.

James shrugged his shoulders, a little uncomfortable. "As a former Auror, I have the ability to use the Killing Curse and the Imperius Curse should the need arise- however, the use is very, very restricted, and should the occasion arise, I would likely be taken into Ministry custody for a week or so while their ascertained the entire story, my side of it, and witnesses versions." He shifted a bit. "As to the magical creatures... You said that any that are dangerous are considered Dark. But some are allowed to live in our society, aren't they? What's the difference between one that is, and one that isn't?"

"One will try to eat or kill you, the other will ignore you," a Slytherin sneered. "It's not hard to figure out, really."

"Well, what about the ones that aren't clear?" James asked. "Werewolves are only dangerous one night a month, and then, only if they don't take care of themselves. A sphinx? I had quite a pleasant conversation with one about three months ago, and never once did it threaten me. Witches and wizards can be more dangerous than most of those beasts, don't you think?"

"No," a Slytherin protested. "We wizards are only dangerous when we are being threatened."

Not true, James though, thinking of all of the death he had seen lately, but did not say such a thing out loud. "Dragons have been found, in some studies, to be safe so long as you avoid their eggs. Werewolves are only dangerous when in their beast form. Sphinxes? I just told you about them. Lobalugs? They only attack when they're in danger. We can be a vicious society, and I will do no more than ask you to look at what's making headlines in the Daily Prophet to figure out what I mean by that."

Though James had a feeling that there were several Slytherins in the class that still would not agree. He stood up. "Since it's the first day, I'll not ask you to stay for the entire period. However, you will have homework due one week from today. Write me an essay, either about what qualifies as Dark Magic, and who can use said magic, or about magical creatures, and what makes a creature Dark or not. We'll be focusing more on defining Dark Magic in the next few class periods. That about wraps it up. Dismissed. Have a nice day."

*..:..*..:..*..:..*..:..*..:..*

His next class was much the same, so it was a fairly easy morning for him. He did not have another class before lunch, so he relaxed and waited around until time to go to the Great Hall.

It was to his surprise that he found himself hoping that Lily Evans would be there. It was not a pleasant surprise, either. The last thing he wanted at the moment was to grow attached to anyone, much less a professor at Hogwarts!

He forced himself to think of her as nothing more than an acquaintance. She wasn't even close enough to be considered a friend, he reminded himself, even if they had spent several hours talking.

Of course, upon arriving at lunch, he realized he shouldn't have bothered worrying about it. Ms. Evans had decided to dine with her friends up in one of the two towers.

It was not a happy moment when he realized how disappointed he was.

Thanks to my reviewers! (Hope I didn't miss anyone!)
Nicole: (Nice name!) Glad you're enjoying the story. Yes, Lily is the Muggle-Studies teacher. Hope you'll enjoy the rest!
Little Rogue: Glad you think it'd be interesting to see Sybil in a romance, and glad you're enjoying. Thanks for the review, and I'll try to update regularly!
Jemi Fal: So glad to see you're enjoying this one too- I really appreciate that you've been such a wonderful reviewer to me!
Scarlett*eyes: Glad you liked the bookstore dancing. :o) I had it all pictured out and was giggling myself when I wrote that line. :o) And very glad you liked Sirius. I like him too. :o)
chickensoup3: lol, straight to the point! Glad you think it's so cool!
Ameve: Glad you like the long chapters. I'm not a the stories where the chaps are two paragraphs long either! Glad you're liking the story!
crimsonthread: Thank you for such a long review! :o) I'm glad you like Arabella- she's been one of my fav. characters to write. Glad you liked the beginning of it- I had one vote that it wasn't the greatest, and now you've tied it up saying that it was okay. :o) Thanks! I'd love to read your fic with them as profs. I checked for it, but nothing was up! I think it's an amusing way to write about them, because so many other fics are about them as students- and this way, it just makes it a bit more interesting, because we haven't had much of a look at the non-Hogwarts world in the HP books. :o) Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and will continue to enjoy the rest!
Quack Quack 88: Glad you liked it thus far. :o) I don't know that Sybil ever was a real deep character, but she's got to have more to her than being just a psycho freak like she is in the book. :o)
Got Harry: Perfectly? I doubt that, but thank you anyway!
Manatees 'R' Us: Glad you're liking this one, too! And especially liking that you liked Sybil and Arabella.

Extra Thanks to Vanilla Blood, my brand new Beta! :o) Thanks!

Next Chapter: Sybil has a dream, several teachers go to Hogsmeade and see Sirius, and Lily gets pissed off at Sirius!

Wanna read more by me? (PLEASE!) Check out my fic Late One Night (http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1125632), which is Minerva McGonagall's perspective of the night Sirius told Mr. Snape about the Whomping Willow...