Chapter 2

- Allan Gaunt -

Minerva Mcgonagall took another swig of sweet butter-beer as she watched the reconstruction of Diagon Alley from afar. There were Aurors everywhere, protecting the Alley as if there lives were depending on it. Only yesterday, they had declared that twenty two people were dead and thirty were severely injured in the massive raid. Two Aurors fell in battle, slain by one of the Death Eater lieutenants around. Bellatrix was the General but she did not manage to kill any Aurors the other day, fortunately. And it was because of one man.

The man that had fought off Bellatrix Lestrange as an equal had been on Minerva's mind for a long time after that day. Many questions arose, the first and foremost one was his identity, surely a wizard as powerful as he would have a famous name? Then again, Dumbledore had always told her that "the best Wizards usually live and die in silence" - is this what he had meant? Even though there lived great and powerful wizards, many of them just pass on in silence. "The world is a big, big place Minerva." Albus had told her.

He handled Bellatrix in a way she had never seen before, his spell-casting was also rather extraordinary from what she gathered in her semi-conscious state. Bellatrix had managed to not only defeat her, but Remus at the same time as well. She was Voldemort's best, and she had proved to Minerva why just the other day.

Her power was beyond anything she had ever imagined.

The Transfiguration Professor let out another tired sigh as took another swig of butter-beer. Honestly, once she had returned to Hogwarts, Pomona and the rest of the staff insisted that she go to Poppy. They weren't wrong of course, but she would have rather gone back to her comfortable, custom-transfigured bed.

Later on, she had reported to Albus the events of Diagon Alley. How she had met up with Pomona and Remus, followed by following her old student to finding Rose. Rose, she had looked so scared. Minerva was truly relieved that they had all gotten out of there alive. She'd have to go talk to the Potters later and offer her words to the young girl. It was truly a terrible, terrible day.

Albus was angry when he had heard about the attack. She didn't know why he insisted on feeling responsible for everything bad happening that involving Death Eaters. The Order were rather quiet these days and until the other day, so were the Death Eaters. Bellatrix would launch only two of three attacks a year, but before now, she had never attacked during the summer. It was an oversight on their part.

She told Albus of the mysterious man that had beaten away the dark woman. Albus then stopped but a slight twinkle entered his blue eyes, "Fascinating." He had said. She agreed of course and asked if he knew of anyone that fit the description. She had even showed him the memory in the pensieve. What he said was a bit enlightening to hear.

"He's powerful and very knowledgeable in the Dark Arts." He had said, smiling. "Oddly, he looks a bit like James Potter with green eyes. Funny, aren't they like those of Lily's? Maybe it's just my imagination."

Minerva agreed to that as well. Perhaps James had a cousin he never spoke of? Even so, she would have known anyways. James was never quiet about his family, he was quite proud of them.

"Minnie!" Her head shot up to the voice who spoke, it was another one of her students and friends with Remus Lupin.

"Black." He nodded, tiredly and sat down. "How is the reconstruction going?" She smiled.

"It's going well, we'll be done by nightfall." Bless magic, he thought. "But the Ministry reconstruction will also take a while.

"Ministry?" He frowned.

"Yeah, we were attacked too. Department of Magical Games and Sports blew up, and then Death Eaters were pouring out of the atrium floos. They were lead by Dolohov." He spat out the name, "He's a tough customer. Escaped after Chief Amelia stepped in and began fighting him."

Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was one of the most powerful known witches in England, hence her title.

"After that, they began their retreat. We caught a dozen of them or so but most of them were under the imperious. It's an uphill battle." Sirius sighed.

"I was so angry when I found out my...cousin...was here, so close to Rose." Sirius looked at her, "Thank you so much for looking out for my Goddaughter." Minerva waved him off.

"Of course," She stated, "But I ultimately failed. Remus and I were subdued quickly but then another man stepped in and drove her away."

"There was another?" Sirius asked. "Who?"

"I don't know." She admitted. "He was tall, an inch above you. Dark hair and green eyes, looks a lot like James...and perhaps he's what Harry will look like when he grows up." She giggled at the mention of the cute little baby Harry. "Do you know if James had a cousin he never spoke of?"

Sirius shook his head. "Nope. If he has one, he never mentioned it to me." But he was interested in this person who saved Rose.

"Then it's best to assume that this man has no Potter relations then." The mere idea in the first place was ludicrous.

Sirius sat and discussed other things, apparently, he was on his only break. After all, being Auror Captain was rather tough work and he had many other duties.

"How is Rose?" Minerva asked.

Sirius sighed, "Scared, tired and when I flooed over to Jame's place, she was asleep. Lily was so worried and James was angry, very angry. He hasn't been this pissed since he heard about Pettigrew and what happened twelve years ago." He replied.

"Rose has never been so close to death ever since that day. We were lucky that Remus got out relatively unharmed." Minerva agreed, having been there. Had Bellatrix been smarter, she would have killed Remus when he was down, and there was nothing she could have done to save him.

"He's feeling terrible though, angry at himself that he lost to easily." Sirius muttered. "Shouldn't bloody blame himself. Bella was always that damn good."

They sat around in a silence before Minerva sighed in despair. "Sirius, have you considered taking the Defense job?"

The question was so out of the blue that Sirius almost choked on his drink. "W-what? Minnie-" She glared, "I'm an Auror Captain. Sorry, is Dumbledore having trouble finding someone?"

She nodded, "Yes. He is considering hiring..." Her faces scrunched up in disgust. "Gilderoy Lockhart."

Sirius laughed loudly, "That idiot? He couldn't cast a levitating charm!" The Auror shook his head. "Albus really should come to the Ministry about this. I'm sure we can lend an Auror for a year." Minerva agreed.

Sirius was about to leave when Minerva's eyes caught the sight of another familiar person. Her eyes widened a bit, something Sirius caught before exiting. "Minnie?"

"Excuse me." Minerva waved at someone.

It was the dark haired man that she had been talking about. Sirius noticed that his former professor's face lit up, "Hello again."

Sirius took a close look at the man and truly was shocked to see his resemblance to James Potter. Except for the green eyes and the height difference (this man was slightly taller) - the two looked nearly identical.

"Hello." He responded politely, "I hope you have recovered well?"

"I have, thank you." She replied. "I never got the opportunity to thank you properly for saving my students and myself." He smiled and nodded.

"Anyone would have done the same. Rose was it? How are she and her friends?"

"Rose is quite shaken but otherwise, unharmed." Sirius spoke up, the man looked at him for a moment with a look of surprise but it was quickly gone. "Susan, Neville and Daphne are also sharing her sentiments. They will most likely be avoiding the Alley for a while until they calm down."

"That's terrible, this Alley is quite wonderful." The stranger replied.

"Sorry," Minerva spoke up. "We haven't properly introduced ourselves, Minerva Mcgonagall, I teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts." Her posture seemed to straighten, proud of her words.

"Sirius Black, Auror Captain. Pleasure."

The dark haired man paused for a moment before grinning, "Allan Gaunt, it's so very nice to meet you both." Minerva nodded as Sirius seemed to recognize his surname. He seemed to let it go after a second though.

"It's so nice to have a name to match with a face. Honestly, I've been thinking of your brave actions since yesterday." The man seemed to look sheepish for a moment.

"Sorry." He smiled. "I was just a bit confused. The attack happened so fast, I didn't realize what was going on. So I just fought back and kept fighting. After the battle, everything slowed down and I was very confused. It seemed so surreal, being in battle like that. And that woman, she was so very skilled, I nearly lost against her and I was panicked."

"But you matched her." Minerva replied, not knowing why he was apologizing. "You drove her away."

"I did." He admitted. "But her skills were truly great. I haven't met anyone who has casted half the amount of the dark curses she had." Allan said with a bit of hesitance. "I think I've seen posters of her around."

"Bellatrix Lestrange." Sirius spat. "A dangerous criminal. Her bounty is high, 555,000 galleons for her head." Harry seemed to consider that.

"Almost doesn't seem worth it. She is a lethal opponent." They all agreed. "Excuse me, I'm sorry for having to go so soon but I'm in a bit of a hurry. I'm kind of new here, just moved to London the other day and I need a job."

Minerva widened her eyes. Sirius saw her expression and smirked. "Say...Mr. Gaunt."

"Allan, I insist that you call me that. Mr. Gaunt makes me feel like an old man." Sirius chuckled, mumbling his agreement.

"Well then Allan, I think that you are in luck!" She grinned, "Hogwarts has been in need of a Defense Teacher." She saw the man widen his eyes.

"I've heard of that position. Rumor has it that it was already taken." Minerva snorted, muttering 'over my dead body'.

"I'm curious, why hasn't there been a consistent professor? Surely, this must be bad for students to have a new professor each year." He asked. Minerva sighed and explained the curse on the post.

Allan looked amused. "Curse? Well, that certainly sounds fascinating. Perhaps I should adopt a back up plan in case I become incapacitated by the end of the year. Why, I am interested. When can I meet you for a proper interview?"

"You must speak with the Headmaster." Minerva replied, "He conducts the interviews. He is a good, fair man. I'm sure you'll get the job." He smiled brightly.

"Excellent. I cannot thank you enough."

"It is the least I can do!" She replied heartily, "We are indebted to you."

He waved off the statement. "Nonsense, any good man would do the same. I have been raised accordingly." That last statement seemed a bit strained, but neither animagus noticed it.

"Please, excuse me but I have an important meeting with the Goblins in half an hour. I must see if the transfer from America came through, it is essential." He spoke smoothly. "Goodbye Minerva, Sirius. It was a pleasure."

"Same." They both replied. "And before you leave, thank you so much for what you've done for my Goddaughter, Rose."

The man nodded, "Again, any good man would have done the same. Well, I guess this is it! I don't want to anger any Goblins anytime soon." And with that, he exited the pub.

Minerva and Sirius looked to where he left and she grinned. Sirius however, looked a bit thoughtful.

"Black?"

"It's nothing...Gaunt...that name sounds familiar."

Godric's Hallow

"How is she?"

Lily Potter was pacing back in forth in the living room of her home, a looks of worry, fury and sadness etched on her otherwise beautiful face. "Scared, she has never been this close to death in recent memories...and it was Bellatrix of all people."

James had nearly frothed in anger when Dumbledore had told them of the situation, how Bellatrix managed to corner her daughter in Diagon Alley, surrounded by Fiendfyre. Had Remus been a second late, she would have been captured or worse, dead. He blamed himself for not overlooking her personally but he was careless, his mentor would have been disappointed. Moody never liked careless Aurors.

Rose had been quiet and subdued since yesterday. The entire affair was horrible, the only thing she really did were answer the owls her closest friends would send her. Apparently, they were not faring any better. Neville was traumatized whilst Daphne and Susan weren't allowed even near a window when their guardians had found out.

"I hope she gets better soon..." They were interrupted by the sound of fire erupting from their floo place, "James, Lily?" A voice had called out, it was Mcgonagall.

"Minnie! Can we help you?" Ignoring the ridiculous nickname, she replied. "Yes, may I come through?"

"Of course, of course! Come on in."

It was only a moment later when she appeared within their home. "James, Lily, how is Rose? I've been so worried about her." Her voice was lacking the usual stern edge it held.

"Scared, truly scared. It's never a good thing when someone young begins feeling their mortality at such a young age. Hell, when I was her age, I thought I was King of the bloody world!" Ignoring his wife's call for his language, he continued, "I hope she gets better soon, or we'll have to bring her to a mind healer. The ordeal must have been terrible. Moony has been out of commission since too."

"May I have a moment with her? I think I have something that can make her feel better. Maybe." They nodded.

"What do you have?" Minerva smiled.

"The man that saved her and her friends, including Remus and myself. I found him earlier today. He was a kind man, though new around these parts. He was looking for a job and well...I told him that Hogwarts had a free slot open. Defense is an important subject after all!" James and Lily visibly brightened.

"This man? Who is he?" Lily asked, "We must thank him. He saved out daughter!"

"Perhaps you will meet him one day." She replied, "But for now, I must speak with Rose." They nodded and let her through.

Knockturn Alley

"Is it ready?" One Harry James Potter looked at the mysterious clerk, "I paid nearly four thousand galleons for this, Price."

Chum "Price" Kenworth was a rather enigmatic figure, even amongst the tightly knitted community of Knockturn Alley. But Harry had known him from his past life, and he knew the business the man ran. False identities were essential if Harry wanted to move about in the open. He had chosen a name that was certainly explain a great deal of his powers, of course, it also granted him other things as well.

His name was sure to attract Tom Riddle's attention. Harry wanted the Dark Lord's attention off of the Girl-Who-Lived and on him, it would certainly change things. Not to mention, he wasn't even sure if this world's Tom Riddle had horcruxes. But he took no chances.

It seemed like his hero complex was at work again.

The Gaunt family was heir to Slytherin and in a way, he wanted to both interest and threaten Tom. He knew it wouldn't work for long, because he knew of the prophecy and Harry had no doubt, that Tom would always consider the child of prophecy as his greatest enemy. He hated it, but it was true.

"Yes, Mr. Gaunt. I believe I have your documents..." He looked into a cabinet, "Right here, all in order. Thank you for coming by." Harry nodded, grateful.

He about to leave when a sudden idea came to him. Harry turned around and dropped another thousand galleons on the desktop. "Yes?" Price asked, although he did look at the money greedily, there was certain to be a request.

"I need you to spread a rumor, Price." A sinister smirk came upon Harry's face, "Tell me, how often do you do business with Death Eaters?"

Hogwarts

Albus Dumbledore heard the green fires of his floo stir as a figure popped into his line of sight. If he remembered correctly, Minerva had set up an interview for this man for the Defense post, and then a mysterious feeling of intrigue sunk into him. This was the man that fought off Bellatrix Lestrange and saved the lives of Rose Potter, Neville Longbottom, Susan Bones, Remus Lupin and Hogwart's own Minerva Mcgonagall.

She had spoken highly of him, saying that he was rather new to the area. Of course, Albus was no fool and he had a feeling that the man had some sort of agenda. Powerful Wizards don't just pop on and off the radar, they usually either stayed in the spotlight or stayed off of it. There was a very thin line in between.

He took a mere second to take in the man's look, he exuded a sort of roguish persona. Like he expected, the man glowered with a ill-hidden power, well to Albus at least.

Another fascinating thing Albus remembered was the man's name. Allan Gaunt.

Gaunt - As in, the pureblooded Gaunts that eventually "died out". For many years now, Albus had only known of one surviving Gaunt, and only one.

But now there was a second. Just who was this man?

"Ah..." Albus spoke first, the man's face was devoid of nearly all emotion except curiousity. A good poker face, he thought. "You must be Mr. Gaunt, I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. Minerva has mentioned you with high praise!" He spoke jovially.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." He replied evenly and to the old man's eye, guardedly as well. "You are famous in England."

Ah, the old stating the obvious tactic. Albus smiled, "Minerva is a dear old friend of mine and I trust her judgement. But alas, I must first check your credentials amongst...other things."

Allan nodded, "I understand you've been having trouble filling up this post for more than a year." He said and then grinned, "I was hoping to rectify this. I graduated from an American school five years ago." He said smoothly, "Defense was always my best subject."

Albus nodded and handed him a sheet of paper, it was the curriculum. "I want you to take a look at this. It is sorted year by year."

It took Allan a full five minutes to look through it all before smiling. "I have no problems with this, but I feel that the Unforgivable Curses are better taught at a later stage. I feel that 14 year old children are too young and immature to truly understand the horrors of these curses. Also...I want to be able to teach the second years how to begin dueling and spell-casting."

Albus seemed to be deep thought before shrugging, "I have no problems with the change up and the Ministry shouldn't have one either." He spoke of the Ministry in a tight voice, it held mostly of a slight annoyance.

Allan nodded in understanding. "Is there anything else sir?"

"Yes, I'm afraid. You see, a Death Eater managed to infiltrate this school last year. I was careless," He said in a regretful tone, "I will not make the same mistake. I hope you do not take offense-"

"Not at all." The man was not offended in the slightest, and he quickly unveiled his left forearm. It had a mark but not a dark mark.

Albus narrowed his eyes in scrutiny, but only in interest. "Runes, Mr. Gaunt?"

He chuckled, "I find that they are quite useful. It's a funny story actually, involving a love potion among other things." Albus nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"Well, there is nothing dark about that." The old man replied. "Now, I must explain to you the system of Hogwarts."

It took nearly an hour for him to explain to the man how the school ran. Allan looked very interested during the entire thing and chuckled at the right moments.

Albus found him to be very engaging but was still weary of him. He played his role very well, very well. But underneath it all, he felt no malice at all.

"Thank you for coming tonight, Mr. Gaunt."

"And thank you for giving me this opportunity sir." The man smiled before taking his leave.

Albus looked at the man for a bit before going back to his other work.

He was definitely more than just a pawn. No, Albus thought, He's something far stronger.

September 1st - King's Cross

It had been many weeks ever since the incident, and now Rose stood with her family in front of the Hogwart's Express. Although it was supposed to be a happy occasion, the mood was not entirely matching it. Rose was far more subdued than before, her friends and family began to worry more and more about her. The fact was, they hadn't let her out of their sight for a long time, and even now, James and Lily were extremely hesitant about letting her go.

"I heard that clown Lockhart was gonna be the new Defense teacher. Hopefully, Minerva managed to get that Gaunt fellow to get the job." James muttered, "Poor Albus. Why didn't he ask me? I would have loved to teach children."

Lily scoffed, "I think spending another year with you and Severus living in the same castle would give him an unnecessary headache." She joked but inwardly, cringed at the thought of her old, fallen friend. "This enmity must stop one day, James."

"I know." He sighed, "Luckily, Rose takes after you and he doesn't...dislike her too much."

Lily nodded, relieved that Severus hadn't taken out his wrath on their daughter. Although he didn't show it, he showed time and again that he did care for Rose. He hated her father but decided to not blame the child for the father's sins.

She often wondered what would happen if Rose had been born a boy that looked like James but quickly shot down the thought, she didn't need to know.

Hopefully, Severus would retire before Harry would begin Hogwarts.

"James, I'm so worried about her." Lily said in a low tone, as she watched her daughter's friends approach her, "She's been through so much..."

"Yeah. But she's strong, just like her mother." He replied, "Has her mother's eye's too."

Lily smiled and kissed him on the temple, "Thank you."

(X)

"Rose!"

The young Potter girl watched as her friends came up to her. Some Gryffindors, some Ravenclaws, a few Slytherins and a healthy amount of Hufflepuffs. Rose was raised to be absolutely fair when it came to making friends, and that was probably the reason why she never made friends with the more extreme Gryffindors that believed in the hardcore stereotypes.

For example, she could have never been friends with Ron Weasley, as his belief that all Slytherins were slimeball and evil, it just wouldn't have been right. Sure, he was a decent enough person but his beliefs made being in his company quite unbearable. Not to mention, he was the reason why Hermione Granger had nearly died and was thoroughly traumatized by a troll. Halloween was a terrible affair last year, Rose had spent much of the year comforting the socially weak Hermione.

The girl wasn't her friend by any means but they weren't distant. Of course not, after all, they shared a room.

"Hey guys." She smiled weakly, "What's up?"

Her forced smile did not fool any of her real friends, but unfortunately, there were a lot of other...tactless individuals.

"Hey, are you alright? Lestrange is quite the mad one, I heard she'd alm-" Ron Weasley spoke from a distance, only to be smacked across the head by his younger sister, who just confirmed that she already had more tact than her older sibling.

"Ron, shut up." The youngest Weasley female spoke, if Rose remembered correctly, her name was Ginny, the only female Weasley in the family and probably a few decades.

Ron twitched, "Go-" But he was cut off again, this time by one of Rose's other friends.

Susan Bones had also been there to witness the terror of Bellatrix Lestrange. The woman had been haunting her nightmares for nearly three weeks ever since that night, but for some odd reason, she felt that it was more of a bittersweet moment. Why?

Because after the terrible part when Bellatrix raised chaos, a hero would always come to end it. This hero who had green eyes and dark hair. "Rose." She had said before embracing the smaller girl. "We're here."

Neville had been standing to the side as well, of the four, he was probably shaken the most. It was not the first time he had met the crazed woman and he doubted it would be the last. As a child, the woman had invaded his home and fought his parents right in the living room. He was on the side, crying his eyes out. This had happened when he was a very young child, and it had taken Frank and Alice months to calm him.

Daphne watched from the side, her father had taken to shielding her from the outside world ever since the encounter. Like her friends, she was absolutely shaken by the terror the Ex-Black had sown in them. Daphne would not be forgetting her for a very long time.

"Susan..." Rose spoke softly, "Nev, Daph..." They nodded, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. It was a solemn moment.

"The trains about to leave, let's find a compartment." And so they went, after bidding tearful goodbye to their parents.

Hogwarts

"Where's Lockhart?"

"I heard Lockhart was teaching here!"

"Who's that guy?"

Allan Gaunt watched, bored as the little second and third years were disappointed that one Gilderoy Lockhart was not teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Though he could see many of the older years looking relieved about the change up, they undoubtedly knew that anyone would have been better than that joker.

The hall was piling up and he smiled discreetly as Rose Potter and her friends entered the group, something he did well to hide in his emotions. The girl was him, except without red hair amongst other things. She was talented, he could see it in her steps, an ability Harry had gained over the years as an Ex-Auror.

Once hey saw him, the young Potter's face nearly broke out into the biggest smile. Her eyes, previously dull now lit up with a grace. Harry wondered if this was how Albus felt every time a young child looked at him like that.

Looked at him like a hero, a legendary hero.

The mere thought almost made him facepalm himself. He was Harry James Allan Potter after all, the Ex-Boy-Who-Lived.

"Mr. Gaunt." He looked to the side and smiled as Filius Flitwick introduced himself, "I'm Filius Flitwick and I teach charms here." He outstretched his small arms and he shook it jovially.

"A pleasure, Mr. Flitwick. I am Allan Gaunt, but you may call me Allan. New Defense teacher and hopefully, you're only one for a long time."

Filius's smile lit up, "I sure hope so, Defense is such an important topic and the standards have been falling for a long time."

"I'm quite competent, fortunately." Allan smiled, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr-"

"Please, I insist that you call me Filius. We are colleagues, after all."

"Of course, Filius."

And they watched at the children filed in, with the first firsties coming in last. The sorting has not changed in this dimension, they still used the famed sorting hat to choose houses. He briefly wondered how many secrets the hat held but sighed, knowing he would be too busy to even entertain the notion.

Allan watched as his old friends, Ginny and Luna, were sorted into their individual houses. Almost nothing had changed.

Almost.

Ginny Weasley, Harry had known her for a long time. Their romance was short and sweet but it ended there. They never had the family Molly had wanted.

So, Harry liked to say that he knew Ginny rather well. So when he observed her for any sign of possession, he saw none. She was clean, no Horcrux on her.

That was an unsettling thought. Did that mean Lucius had failed to sneak the Horcrux on her, or did he give it to someone else?

He would have to keep his eyes and ears open for sure. There was no way Allan would allow anyone to become petrified on his account.

"I would like to introduce...your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Allan Gaunt. He was kind enough to take the job after a formal interview with myself." There was a moderate amount of clapping but some looked disappointed that Lockhart hadn't come as rumored. Rose looked offended for him, not liking that people had the gall to be disappointed that he was there, but Allan only looked amused as if he didn't care at all.

"Now, now...I believe we have a feast to attend to!"

.

.

END

AN - Thank you for reading.