Durmstrang was the complete opposite of Hogwarts. Whereas Hogwarts produced Aurors, Durmstrang produced most of the death eaters that were hunted. Igor Karkaroff was a known, albeit ex, death eater himself and yet he was the headmaster of the school. He was hesitant in letting James Potter join his school for the simple fact that Albus Dumbledore knew of it's record with the dark arts. Why would the old man let one of his own leave only to be sent into darkness? But after careful review of Potter's case he found out that the boy was a perfect candidate. So he gladly granted him admission.
James fit in automatically at Durmstrang. His anger was not frowned upon. In fact, it was encouraged. His new Professors encouraged him to lash out at his former school. They told him that it would be good for his soul if he got all the anger out. So he did. He also felt a new found hate for his former friends. His views drastically changed and he began to regret ever attending a poor school such as Hogwarts. He even made friends right off the bat.
The students were not sorted into houses and there was no century long rivalries going on. The students were sorted by how much magical skill they had. The lower your magical skill level, the more classes you had to take. And the higher your level, the less classes you had to take. But this could change. The lower students could get better if they applied themselves and the higher students could get worse if they grew lazy.
James was tested and placed in the highest category there was. He was found out to posses a unique amount of magical skill. He also had a thirst for knowledge. The Professors couldn't figure out why his marks at Hogwarts were so low when the boy was now the top student in the school. And the lessons were not as easy as the ones at Hogwarts. But they knew that his anger was apart of it so they left him be.
The classes were also slightly different. Charms was the same except the teacher was a tall, thin women with a pretty face and a likeable personality. Potions was slightly different. They had to learn all the Latin names for their ingredients and had to search for most of them in a nearby forest. Their potions, if received top marks, would be sold at the nearby village and the student would receive the profit. Transfiguration was more interesting Instead of learning how to turn a animal into a goblet, they learned how to use Transfiguration to protect themselves. Now the most different of all classes was Defense Against the Dark Arts. There wasn't much defense being taught compared to the dark arts. They learned the proper way of saying and producing all of the unforgivable curses. They practiced this on rodents that were caught by the groundskeeper, Tomack the Grizzly. None of the students got into trouble for using the curses since Durmstrang had special permission from the International Wizarding Council to teach the students about the dark arts. There was no History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures or Divination. Instead History of the Dark Arts and Arithmancy was offered. The students only attended their classes in the mornings. Afternoons were spent either on studying or Quidditch.
The months flew by for James. He excelled in everything but his favorite subject was Defense Against the Dark Arts. He had always been good at it. Professor Morell even had him helping with the lessons and tutoring the lower skilled students. He was actually beginning to feel alive once again. His two best friends were Hugo Krum and Tobias Flint, they were in his skill level. They soon became known as The Sneaks since they were always sneaking out of their dorms to practice Quidditch or to raid the kitchens. They even pranked a few people but not many. Most of their time was spent studying, practicing Quidditch, or tutoring whoever they were asked to.
All three had girlfriends, which is surprising since James had made a silent pact to himself never to love anyone again. Hugo was dating a large, stout girl with midnight black hair and grey eyes, Torra Caman was her name. Tobias was dating a small, petite girl with golden blonde hair and light blue eyes, Serenity Bagman was her name. And finally James was dating a curvy girl with mouse brown hair and brown eyes to match. She was a quiet girl who enjoyed being around her boyfriend and his friends. Her name was Morgana Grimm. All three girls, and there wasn't many, were in the same skill level as the boys.