A/N: I promise not to include many A/N's throughout this story. If you want to ask me about my others feel free to PM me and we can talk at length about them if you wish. This is just something I wanted to write for fun. I have only this chapter and half the next so expect a sporadic update schedule. That being said, enjoy the story, I enjoy writing it. Sometimes it's all I can think about and if anybody who reads this has ever felt the same way, embrace it, write it down, share it, and improve. The only way is forward.

The pairing is Harry/Daphne as I found her character easier to work with and I quite like her fandom, even if I am going to go against it at times. There will be no bashing of any kind as I find it degrades a great number of stories. Disliking a character is one thing, making them evil is another, but to degrade them and reduce their intelligence purely out of spite is something I can never agree with. Other than that, this is an AU fic, I will break the world as I see fit for this is fanfic and I am God.

Beta requested, whether required... I'll leave that up to you guys.

Rant over. Enjoy the story. Read and Review as always.

A History of Magic

To the current Headmaster/Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,

My name is Harry James Potter and I am writing to apply for the current open position of History of Magic professor as advertised in the daily prophet. I apologize for the late arrival of my letter due to my being out of the country at the moment. Hopefully by the time this letter arrives to you I should be in England if not Scotland.

I have been absent from England for fifteen years and in that time I have experienced many aspects of magic throughout the world. Not only this, but I have also been allowed to visit many prestigious libraries. In these places many of the greatest minds have tutored me in the field of history. A full list of references, signed in blood, is available on request.

Disregarding any formality I would like to emphasize my strong desire to teach many future generations of witches and wizards to avoid the mistakes of the past and carve a better future for themselves and others. I choose Hogwarts purely on a longing to return to my former school once more as an older and wiser soul.

Regards

Harry James Potter

Head of House Potter and House Black.

Minerva McGonagall stared at the piece of parchment in her hands for what seemed like an eternity. This was not her first time reading it, in fact the letter had arrived days ago, yet she could not believe the words scratched onto it. Harry Potter had returned to England, after fifteen years without a word he had come home, and to teach!

She had finally gotten around to replacing Cuthbert Binns after fifteen years of renovations to the facilities and curriculum of Hogwarts. It was not that she had anything personal against the man, truthfully he was a genius who was very good at what he did, but his lack of personality and limited memory as a ghost made him a poor teacher. Cuthbert didn't seem to mind the news that he was going to be replaced. In fact, he didn't have any reaction at all, preferring to simply nod and float through the nearest wall to whoever knows where.

But she should have known that despite the funding allocated towards finding a History of Magic professor, Binns' history had all but eradicated any interest in the subject throughout England. With only a month left till the beginning of term she would have to take Olympia up on her offer of borrowing one of her seventh years for teaching experience, at least so that she would have more time to find someone qualified.

But then Harry's letter had come through her window just as she was drafting her request. After dropping her tea in shock she had halted her plea for help and immediately began to write to him for his references hoping it was not too good to be true. That had been two weeks ago, and now, with only two weeks until term, he was coming here, to her office.

A knock on her door startled her out of her mental rant. Looking at the clock she knew it could not be the man who was centre focus in her mind and so instead chose to simply say 'come in' curious about what could require her attention.

"Is something the matter Filius?" She asked the half goblin Charms teacher as he poked his head inside before coming into the room completely.

"Not at all Minerva, I was just wondering if you would like me to greet you new applicant for you when he arrives." Professor Flitwick replied standing in front of her desk. McGonagall shook her head.

"No, that won't be necessary. He knows the way already."

Flitwick nodded but remained where he was causing McGonagall to raise a manicured eyebrow.

"It's just," Flitwick answered the unasked question. "Myself and Pomona were wondering why it is you're being so secretive about this man. It's not like you at all Minerva and in fact, if he is to be teaching here in two weeks time, what's the harm in letting us know?"

Minerva nodded as she listed to her diminutive colleague. If it were up to her she would happily tell her trusted friend everything. After all, he himself was just as fond of Harry as she was. Pomona had very little interaction with the boy in his six years at Hogwarts due to him not being in her house and his penchant for skipping Herbology on a semi regular basis, but herself and Filius had known Harry throughout his time as a student, and even before as a baby, they had watched him grow to become a man, a leader and a victor of war. Though they had had nearly a thousand students pass through their halls in their tenure as Professors, Harry Potter would always have a place in their hearts.

And yet, he had asked for her to remain mute on the subject of his arrival, and loathe though she was to do it, she would have to remove Filius from her office soon as Harry was due to arrive shortly. While there was no chance of the two men running into each other in the halls, due to Harry knowing the secret passages more than anyone, there was no way to avoid each other on the stairs to her office. So she settled for the truth.

"As much as I would like to tell you Filius, the applicant has asked to keep his anonymity until his employment is secure. Though having seen his references and knowing of his character as a past student, this interview is merely a formality. The board have no say in this as they gave me carte blanch to appoint any History of Magic professor I see fit." The stodgy old men were happy to let her do all the work while they merely signed the papers and took the credit. Sometimes she wondered how Albus got anything done around here in his time.

The board of directors had taken a laid back approach to the renovation of Hogwarts, part and parcel due to Lucius Malfoy no longer being their head. That, in combination with a Headmaster, or Headmistress, who wasn't preoccupied with being Britain's representative in the ICW and the chief warlock in the Wizengamot, meant that they didn't have to do much work to see that things improved. A viewpoint they quickly got behind and encouraged her to maintain.

And with gusto she did. From dueling clubs run by a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher she no longer had to search yearly for, to academic debates, to elective subjects and clubs for enchanting, alchemy and more. The number of disused classrooms had been shortened by half in the last five years due to number of witch and wizard children hitting an all time high and it didn't look like this year would be the end of that. What was once thirty to fifty students a year was now a hundred. The age old enchantments in the castle meant that the dorm rooms had expanded to accommodate the new load. Prefect positions were now a critical function of the school and the head boy and head girl position had become a true honor. Minerva couldn't be happier. It was all she had dreamed about when she first started as a professor.

Snapping herself out her thoughts once more, Minerva couldn't help but wonder when she had become so nostalgic. "I would love to tell you Filius, but I'm honor bound not to."

"And I am very grateful for your help Headmistress but you can rest easy knowing it will not be necessary any longer." A voice sounded from behind Flitwick just as the smaller man opened his mouth to reply. The air behind the man rippled as he turned around to see Harry Potter standing with a smile on his face.

Filius Flitwick would later recount the tale to friends, students, and, in old age, any who would listen, about how he drew his wand faster than he ever had before and fired a stunner at the man who had saved the world. He would tell those who listened about how he didn't regret what he did; instead he regretted who he had fired the spell at. Of course, this would only happen after he realized who was in front of him.

The red bolt of magic, intended to render a person unconscious for a period of time dependant on the difference between the power of the caster and the innate resistance of the recipient, sailed towards Harry at a speed that an ordinary person would not be able to witness, but the three magic casters in the room had seen feats far beyond ordinary men and were themselves, extraordinary in many ways. And so they saw as the bolt seemingly splashed against a golden film that seemed to cover Harry's entire body before fading from existence. The film, which both could identify as a shield, rippled across Harry's body before settling and disappearing.

"Now professor" Harry said, snapping his fingers summoning the man's wand to his hand. "I understand the reaction, but you will only be getting this back once you've accepted to reality of the situation before you."

"How did you get in here?" McGonagall asked, taking advantage of the stunned silence of her colleague and Harry's patience for the man to calm down.

"Through the door. I was behind our dear Charms professor here." Harry answered waving the Professor's wand and conjuring a chair for him to sit down in. "I was simply waiting for him to conduct his business but I wasn't so keen on creating strife between you two so I revealed myself."

"You mean to tell me you walked into the most secure castle in Britain and one of the most secure rooms in the world, through the front door." McGonagall asked with a raised eyebrow. "Forgive me Mr. Potter but I find that hard to believe given the wards surrounding this office door alone."

"They were there." Harry nodded. "Felt them. But I have means of avoiding detection. And your sensory wards only detect identity, based on a long memory of previous visitors and a connection to the Hogwarts registry, and intent. I only needed to avoid the first. The second would render the defensive wards inert."

Minerva shook her head. Harry Potter had re-entered Hogwarts exactly as he had left.

"Harry Potter." Flitwick whispered finally coming to his senses. "Harry!" He snapped completely out of his reverie. "You're back. Goodness gracious my boy where have you been?"

Completely forgetting about his wand. Flitwick grabbed the chair in front of McGonagall's desk and brought it so that he could see both occupants of the room.

"I was travelling." Harry explained slowly. "It was both the most difficult, and the easiest decision I'd ever made. The night of Ron and Hermione's wedding I stared at them as they smiled and danced and I came to a realization that they had each other. Ginny didn't want anything to do with me after things fell apart and though people would miss me. The people who truly needed me no longer did. So I left. At first to Rome, then to Paris, then to Spain anywhere I wanted to go I went and when I couldn't think of where to go next, I threw a dart at a map and went there."

"But for fifteen years? And without a word?" McGonagall asked incredulously. "What could possibly cause you to go off grid like that?"

"Because at twenty years old I knew nothing of the world, nothing of life outside of war, and nothing about what I could be as a wizard. And it was never my intention to stop communication with the world." A haunted look overcame Harry's face for a brief moment. "There was a complication; I couldn't risk people's safety by involving them even slightly. Fortunately, that problem is now gone and having seen the world and learned much more than I ever intended, I came back."

"To teach?" McGonagall asked.

"To teach." Harry affirmed. "In my fifth year I had a taste of it and I find that to this day it is still something that fills me with a great sense of joy. Had I not been a soldier in war, I most certainly would have been a teacher."

"But why the secrecy?" Flitwick asked "And my wand if you please." He added with a hint of warning.

"Of course Professor," Harry sheepishly handed the man his wand back before answering. "The secrecy was for one reason and one reason only. I have been gone longer than I have even known my longest friends. For fifteen years they have gotten used to life without me and I hope that it didn't take them long to realize I may not come back. It would be cruel of me to just drop into their lives as if nothing had ever happened. Cruel to assume that I was still their friend."

Though McGonagall could easily tell him of how every year Ron and Hermione Weasely took time from their anniversary to remember their lost friend, or how Hagrid went to the Centaurs every so often simply to ask how he was. She instead chose to let him simply see for himself when the others found out he had returned. Instead she chose to get down to business, knowing that in the year they would have together, they could catch up.

Taking Harry's contract from her desk she placed it on top for him to read. "This is the standard first year contract for a Hogwarts professor. It basically states that your salary is ten thousand Galleons a year and will be paid in installments to whichever Gringotts account you provide…" She trailed off for a moment.

"Don't worry; the Goblins are more than happy to do business with me now." Harry addressed the issue of his previous break in.

"Right. Regardless the rest of the contract dictates the rules and regulations of being a professor. You are entitled to 20 days a year of sick and or personal leave. Professor and Student relations are forbidden regardless of the age of consent, and you are required to attend the monthly staff meetings. There is also a booklet included detailing the conduct required in common situations but of course you are always welcome in my office should you need assistance."

"And mine" Flitwick added even as Harry snapped his fingers once more, summoning the contract off the desk to him.

There was silence in the room as Harry observed his contract. A silence which lasted for nearly five minutes before McGonagall spoke. "You will have to have a lesson plan for at least the first semester before the start of term. While this is the contractual deadline, I would like to review your plan so please allocate time for review and changes as well."

Nodding as she spoke Harry snapped his fingers also taking the ink dipped quill from her desk and using it to sign the contract. As soon as his sloppy signature was finished the contract flashed before rolling up and duplicating itself. A copy, presumably the original, vanished to who knows where while the remaining copy was left on his lap.

"The History of Magic Classroom remains on the first floor to this day however Cuthbert's old office is found on the fourth floor. You may feel free to decorate both of them to your liking however I must insist that the classroom be tasteful and anything that students shouldn't see be kept to the personal areas of your office. Beyond that, welcome back to Hogwarts Professor Potter."

"Thank you Professor McGonagall." Harry stood and bowed, the chair he was sitting on vanishing as he did so. "If it's not too much of a bother I'd like to begin. The sooner I get my office into shape the sooner I can get some rest after all I have only been home for a few days and am quite tired."

"Of course." McGonagall relented. "I shall be here until the beginning of term." She added as he moved to the door. "And Harry…" She called just as he was about to close it.

"Yes Professor?" Harry asked, poking his head back into the room.

"Welcome back." She smiled.

"Thank you Professor." Harry nodded before leaving the room.

"Well so much for a quiet year." Flitwick remarked as they heard the stairs begin to descend indicating Harry was too far away to hear.

"Whatever do you mean Filius?" McGonagall asked her colleague with narrowed eyes.

"Tell me Minerva, have you ever known Harry Potter to have a quiet year at Hogwarts?"

"No." McGonagall remarked, smiling once more. "No I have not."

"You have no idea." Harry muttered to himself as he finally began to descend the stairs from the headmistress' office. Admittedly, he shouldn't have been able to hear that conversation. Solid oak doors and a sizeable distance do make effective sound barriers after all. But he had long since come to terms with his capabilities. The air around him shimmered before he disappeared entirely once more.

The journey from the headmistress' office to his new office on the fourth floor took no time at all. As he journeyed from the office to the grand staircase and from there to his office he found not a single soul making his invisibility useless. But nonetheless he remained so until he walked through the door to his office.

The offices of the professors were the few rooms that Harry had never visited in his six years at Hogwarts. So he didn't really know if he was surprised that he found a glorified study with a door that he could only assume led to his bedroom. The room was barren, most likely the result of occupying a dead man for so many years. But Harry could see the potential.

"Nippy" He called out to the vast emptiness of the room.

He turned to the sound of a pop behind him to find his young house elf bowing low to the ground. "Hello Master Harry, how can Nippy be of service?"

Harry smiled and knelt before his faithful assistant, for that was what she was to him, he refused to call her a servant much like he refused to call Kreacher in his last years of life. "Nippy, would you be as kind as to bring my trunk from Grimmauld Place, the black one please?" He asked kindly.

Nippy nodded before disappearing, quickly reappearing with the trunk Harry requested. A black trunk with seven locks, much like the one he had seen in his fourth year. "Here you are Master Harry." Nippy bowed once more. "Would you like anything else?"

"No thank you Nippy. If you wouldn't mind, I would like if you could clean Grimmauld Place as best you can. However," He added his voice turning stern for the first time, "If you encounter anything dangerous, come to me before anything else."

"Yes sir." Nippy nodded happily before vanishing once more.

Harry sighed. He knew his friends would hound him as soon as they heard he was back. Fortunately, he had until the start of term before that would happen. While McGonagall would probably share the news with the rest of the staff, neither she nor the others would like the attention of the media this close to the start of term. Fortunately, there was a mandate preventing press from Hogwarts grounds except during events such as Quidditch finals and Tri-Wizard tournaments. Though he doubted the latter would ever be held again given what happened during an attempted revival. He did hear of a ball or two happening over the last fifteen years though so perhaps at Yule.

So much to do so little time. Lesson plans, renovating his office and his classroom. And let's not forget fortify the ancient wards to keep out what was coming. Like he said, so much for a quiet year.