This story will contain in the future the following:

- M/M Slash

- Out of Character references

- Alternative Universe situations

Harry carefully limped up the dirt track path that lead to his new and once old home, Hogwarts, from the Apparation point just outside the main gates with his walking stick making scratching noises as it hit the stony dirt. He peered up at the strong and beautiful castle and took a deep breath to control his increasing heart rate. It had been so long since he had seen the castle, namely eight years after the final battle and trained as an auror before taking up the position of Dark Arts teacher at Durmstrang Academy.

Igor had been extremely nervous when Harry had applied, and anything Harry wanted he got from the senile dark wizard but Harry wasn't worried about that. He loved teaching at that school, the boys were very receptive to his teaching methods and he had certainly learnt a thing or two with dark secrets finding their way into Harry's midst. Durmstrang wasn't a large school, certainly not as grand or as vast as Hogwarts but he had felt at ease and at home there after the war.

Harry had chosen the path of an auror directly after the final battle and was welcomed with open arms into the Ministry's dark wizard catching division but there was something about it all that Harry found unfulfilling. The final straw was when Harry's reaction time wasn't fast enough and he caught the tail end of a vicious hex that cut through his calf muscle and had never really healed properly due to the dark magic behind it leaving Harry with a limp and constant aching. Not only that, but when he realized that he and Ginny weren't going to last, he decided that he needed to get away and the last place he knew she'd want to visit was Durmstrang.

Harry was drawn from his thoughts as he stood in the entrance way of the empty school and looked towards the many staircases that lead to the man different parts of the castle. Turning to the left he looked into the vast Great Hall and he had flash backs of his time there with Ron and Hermione when they were planning to foil evil plots against the school. A sad smile graced his lips as he remembered the fond memories, but these were soon replaced with utter sorrow as he remembered the state it was left in after the war and the dead were lying in rows. Taking another deep breath, he was startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he spun round with his hand on his wand holster only to stop when he saw the familiar face of Minerva McGonagall, late Gryffindor head of house and recent appointment of headmistress.

"My apologies, Harry. I should have announced myself." She said warmly and Harry chuckled trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Old habits die hard I'm afraid Professor." He said kindly and leaned on his walking stick as they stood there.

"Please, Harry, it's Minerva among the staff, which is why you are here is it not?" She asked hopefully and Harry nodded.

"Yes, Minerva, I have accepted." He was surprised when she clasped her hands together excitedly and put an arm on his shoulder to walk him in the direction of the staircases.

"Oh, this pleases me immensely, and the children will learn so much from you. Shall we discuss terms in my office?"

Harry knew it really wasn't a question and he followed her to her office, once occupied by the late Albus Dumbledore and he shivered when he walked in. He was soon realizing that there were going to be many memories cropping up whilst he was here in the castle, and he hoped that this didn't mean the return of his nightmares. He idly wondered to himself why exactly he had decided to accept the offer that made him come back to Hogwarts, well, there was one reason but Harry refused to acknowledge it. Harry made his way over to the seat in front of the large oak desk and looked above Minerva to see Dumbledore looking very smug and his eyes twinkling madly.

"My dear boy, such a joy to see you again. You are well?"

Harry had to smile, deceit from his former headmaster forgotten and he raised an eyebrow as he responded.

"I see that damn twinkle hasn't disappeared, headmaster. I am well, if not more tired than when I was a student." He finished by nodding his head and the portrait nodded and smiled at his young ex-student.

"Try working with him, Harry." Minerva joked and suddenly the mood Harry had arrived with had lightened slightly.

Perhaps this won't be as bad as I thought, he decided and got into deep conversation with Minerva about class schedules and extra curricular activities. Turns out the last Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher was a former Gryffindor, Dean Thomas but had left when the students became too much and he left to further his studies in a Muggle University. He had taken the role of Gryffindor's head of house and the Quidditch coach, which Harry only too happily agreed to take over.

"Right, now as you know the students will be arriving within the week so I would recommend getting straight into planning your lessons out for all the years." She paused and Harry nodded but narrowed his eyes when he realized she was going to continue.

"And… I don't wish to sound insensitive, but just remember that this is Defense of the Dark Arts and not teaching them the Dark Arts."

She was obviously referring to the fact that for the past six years Harry had been teaching dark magic for his Durmstrang boys and he nodded his understanding and reassured her that his intentions were purely defense. Whilst they were on this topic however, Harry did mention the idea of having a dueling club, much like what they had when he was in his second year when the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Minerva said that he would have to provide a detailed report and description of why and how the club would go about for the purposes of appeasing the Board of Directors and Harry agreed to this and said that she would have it in the next couple of days.

Something that he'd learnt from his time at Durmstrang was studiousness with not all class content handed to him that he was familiar with, this allowed him to become rather a fast learner and Hermione had been extremely happy with this development. Probably one of his only friends that had actually visited him when he was working at the school as she wasn't afraid of the shady atmosphere; that, and the fact that her fiancé, Victor Krum was also teaching there so she had even more reason to visit.

This was another development that had caused a storm within the Weasley household as Ron and Hermione were supposed to dating but shortly after the war, Hermione realized that he just wasn't the right fit for her, much like Ginny wasn't for Harry and she broke it off to pursue her Bulgarian pen pal. Molly Weasley had been heartbroken and news reports on both Harry and Hermione had broken out, even with rumors that they had 'shacked up' together as Rita Skeeter had mentioned.

Victor and Harry became very close friends whilst they both taught at Durmstrang and he had taught Harry a great deal on his broomstick although he didn't really ride it as often now due to his injury, but he could still ride for short bursts. Victor was the Physical Education Professor and took control of flying lessons, sword wielding and general physical education and as Harry sat in front of Minerva nutting out the details of his employment he idly wondered if there was a chance of adopting the same physical education programme at Hogwarts.

"That appears to be it for now, Harry. Shall I show you to your private quarters?" She asked finally satisfied that all duties were now taken care of by the new Professor.

Harry nodded and fondly farewelled Albus who's eyes only twinkled more in the time he had been sitting across from him and it made him uneasy. Harry promised that he would come back and talk to the old man, he knew ways of extracting information more easily and less obviously now and then walked out into the corridor.

Harry was pleased to find his chambers were just down the corridor from his classroom and that he was on the third floor, which meant less walking for him and he was grateful for this consideration by the headmistress. They came to a portrait with a greying blonde haired male that had a python curled around his wiry frame as he had his back turned to the pair standing in the corridor door.

Minerva cleared her throat and Harry was surprised when the man turned round and Harry bowed his head to the man.

"Salazaar Slytherin, it is an honour."

Harry had read much about the one of four founders of Hogwarts when he was at Durmstrang oddly enough and he was even more surprised that it be him to guard a Gryffindor's private rooms. Although, if Harry was honest with himself, he and the sorting hat both knew it was Slytherin that he had been destined to be placed in.

"Ah, the infamous Harry Potter. We meet at last." Salazaar also bowed his head and Minerva looked on with interest.

"Salazaar, you are ordered to protect the private rooms of Harry Potter. You will listen to his commands and honor changes in passwords."

"Yes, Headmistress." He replied silkily, not taking his eyes of Harry.

The man didn't intimidate Harry, although he was a little unnerved by the likeness he sensed from them both. Their eyes, for a start were eerily similar in colour and seemed to penetrate straight through him. The portrait swung open and Harry walked in with Minerva as she showed him around. The living area was quite large and had a massive fire to the right of where he was standing, a red and gold rug in an oval shape on the floor in front of the fire and a plush red leather couch facing the fire. Straight ahead there was a study area that had a bookcase to the right of it that was currently empty and the desk was made from a dark wood. The floors were also wooden, and to the left of where he was standing were two doors.

"Your bedroom is through the far door, and bathroom through the other. Is everything to your liking, Harry?" She asked nervously.

Harry had cringed when he'd first walked in at the Gryffindor colours that screamed out at him, he supposed that he'd have a go at changing the décor later once he was all settled.

"It is fine, Minerva. Thank you." He turned to her and smiled before walking in further.

"Very good. Meal times are the same as they were before, so I shall see you in a couple of hours at dinner." They nodded and she went back through the portrait.

Harry walked through the far door into the bedroom and screwed his nose up as the Gryffindor theme spread through into the duvet and pillowcases. He idly wondered if this was her way of trying to make him feel at home, in an odd way it did but mostly it reminded him of the old days and he was a more mature and wiser man since then.

The changes included the loss of his glasses to an eye correction potion he had found one day whilst reading in the Durmstrang library, when he was at school he was lanky and under nourished but now he sported abs and toned muscles in his arms and thighs. He had grown a little taller as he aged but was still short compared to his friends and associates and his hair was now shorter and styled in a Muggle way.

The bedroom was a generous size as well as the living area and was able to comfortably fit a queen sized four poster bed, drawers and a wardrobe, as well as a full length mirror to his left. Above the drawers to his right there was a window high up that let the light in and he noted that it opened, so with the flick of his hand the window opened and the fresh air poured into the room.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Harry gathered his belongings from his trunk and deposited them in the drawers and wardrobe and unpacked his other suitcase that had textbooks and pieces of paper on lesson plans that he had proposed for the year. This was going to make his task all the more easier as all he had to do was do the opposite of what he taught the students at Durmstrang, and there were only a few more tweaks and he could present this to Minerva for approval. He looked back down at the suitcase and his bottles of firewhiskey caught his eye and he smirked, at least they survived the journey, he thought happily and placed them on the empty spots on his bookcase.

He turned to the portrait above the fireplace and found Salazaar standing there with his python stroking the head that came to rest over his shoulder and he wondered if the man had been standing there the whole time.

"Password?" The man asked.

Harry thought about this for a second and thought about something that he could use, then it hit him that Salazaar was a Parseltongue just like himself and he smirked.

"If you don't mind, Haassobdian." Harry replied and earned a raised eyebrow from the portrait. The password translating to 'obsidian' in English.

"The rumors are true then, you are the other speaker."

"I am. Now, I request that I, and only I, am allowed entrance to these quarters. The password will stick for now and you are only to accept it in Parseltongue."

"Yes, sir." The man bowed his head and Harry flopped down onto the couch to rest his aching calf.

The two of them talked for a while and Harry found that what he had read at Durmstrang had been correct and Salazaar was able to enlighten Harry more on the Chamber of Secrets, which he found fascinating. Harry also found out that Salazaar had another painting, other than the two that were in Harry's quarters that he liked to escape to and told Harry that there was a special room off to the side where he would work and there were plenty of dark magic books that Harry might have been interested in.

"I appreciate the insight." Harry said to the portrait and then looked over to the clock above the door to find it was half an hour before dinner.

He rubbed his face and sighed as he realized he was going to have to face the music and greet the rest of the staff. He knew that there had been some changes in staffing, Minerva was the main one as headmistress, Luna Lovegood took over Divination and Astronomy and much to Harry's dismay, Cormac McLaggen had taken the post of Flying instructor, and Draco Malfoy had taken over Transfiguration from the headmistress.

Harry slowly stood, not really feeling up to having to explain himself to everyone but thought he'd better as he knew that Minerva would have his head for not showing up. He limped over to his bed where his cane was leaning against the side and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He knew the cane made him look weak but he never really went anywhere without it unless his calf was behaving, which it certainly wasn't on this day. For the hundredth time that day, he sighed with the cane at his side and slowly made his way down to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Harry Potter." A familiar voice echoed off the stone walls from behind him and he turned to find Draco Malfoy walking confidently up to him from a flight of stairs.

They were standing at the main entrance of the stairs and stood looking at each other for a second before Harry responded by holding his hand out for the boy to shake.

"Draco Malfoy." He replied and inclined his head in respect.

He was looked over by Draco and the boy had an emotionless face, which turned into a smirk as he shook Harry's hand.

"Seems you're all grown up." He teased and Harry immediately felt the tension in his shoulders melt away and he smirked back at Draco.

"Apparently the same can be said for you. How have you been?" Harry asked politely as they turned to head towards the Great Hall that was at the bottom on the steps.

Harry was glad that their old rivalry had disappeared but he knew deep down that their unspoken loyalty to one another during the tail end of the war had counted for something and it was clear that they had put aside their differences. They stepped through the doors to the Great Hall and made their way towards the head table where the rest of the staff were already sitting although he noted that there were three seats spare. There was a spot two down from the headmistress between Flitwick and Luna, which when they got closer Draco patted Harry on the shoulder and told him they should catch up, which left two seats on the other side of the headmistress at the very end on the table.

After waving hello to the other staff who were overjoyed to see Harry joining them, Harry sat at the next available seat next to Cormac who smiled at him and tried to join him in conversation after shaking his hand. Harry inwardly cringed and suddenly regretted his decision to eat in the hall for dinner seeing as he was going to be sitting next to this sleaze. His ears pricked up however, when the immature colleague mentioned a name he hadn't heard in years.

"… Snape, he's not much to talk to. He even snapped at me the other day for smiling at him. Seems he hasn't changed, but you have Harry…" he zoned out again and nodded his head at all the right times.

Dinner dragged on and Harry made a point of making a quick exit. Snape hadn't shown himself for dinner and he was a little upset that he could get away with it when he knew that Minerva wouldn't have been happy with him if he didn't show. He suddenly had had enough and pushed his chair back and wrapped a hand around his cane as he helped himself up much to the surprise of Cormac who looked up at him in concern.

"Would you like some company there, Harry?" He asked hopefully.

"No, thank you although the offer is tempting. I am retiring for the night; it has been a tiring day. I bid you farewell." Harry replied as politely as he could and started off down between two tables towards the entrance.

Minerva had seen this little interaction between Harry and Cormac and she had to admit she was extremely proud of her Gryffindor, he had matured greatly and even though he wore the aftermath of his life, she knew that inviting him back to the castle to teach was the right choice. She didn't bother to ask why Albus had been so determined to get Harry back because even though he was safely bound to the confines of his portrait, he was still as meddling as ever. She watched as Harry limped off down between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables and felt immense sorrow for him, as still, life was giving him a hard time.

Once Harry was back in the safety of his quarters he grabbed the book he was currently reading and the open bottle of firewhiskey and made himself comfortable on the couch for the remainder of the night. He resolved that he would get the final versions of his lesson plans done and start the request for the dueling club as well. There was also the issue of announcing his arrival to the dungeon master who was oddly absent at dinner that night, but he thought better than to go out of his way with the man.

Not sure if I should continue... Thoughts?