Dante is around 30, this is after DMC 4, (so after 3, 1, anime, 2 and 4) but long before 5, he's kind of alone for the most part other than Morrison coming around for jobs. And I'm sorry about the rewrite and major changes, I just kind of lost sense in what I was previously writing. And for later reference, Nero and Kyrie have met Nico by this point. I know that officially, sources say Dante ages because he is closer to his humanity, and he sells his weapons for easy money. I'm going to take writer's liberties here, since this is fan fiction after all, and say that after puberty half devils age just as slowly as devils, especially if their devil parent/grandpa is powerful (like Sparda), and he keeps his Devil Arms.

Nightfall had come over Capulet City, dark thundering clouds brought with them heavy rain which soaked you through to the bone and a sense that you should not be outside after dark. Yet, an old man stood outside a building which looked as if it had seen a few rebuilds over the years. A flash of lightning illuminated the street briefly, shadows dancing in the corners of the old man's eyes as he observed the building in front of him. Two stories, brick, large gothic windows with curtains drawn, dirty steps leading up to two large double doors under a flat stone awning. On top of that awning, lay a neon red sign which cast an eerie red glow over the street, reflecting on the rain on the ground, making it seem as if the water was actually blood the further you got. This was where the old man was headed. He crossed the street, casting a spell to ensure none of the dirty street water soaked into his baby blue robes. He knocked purposefully on the door, hoping the young man he was looking for was inside. The door creaked open, and a cold icy blue eye shadowed by white locks peeked at him. The figure moved away from the door and opened it up, revealing a young man in a black long sleeve and red leather pants tucked into calf high black leather boots.

He wasn't very happy either. In fact. He looked rather irritated. The young man stepped away from the door and swaggered over to an old carved wood desk and sat down in the wooden chair behind it. A black rotary dial phone sat to the left side of the desk, and a picture frame on the right side, papers scattered across the surface and a fountain pen set aside. A set of stairs was off to the left side, the gothic swirls in the railing design did not spread to the loft rails, which were just plain iron wrapped around. The desk sat on a raised platform, which encompassed from right behind the bottom of the stairs to the other side of the room. Under the loft behind the young man was a set of shelves, on which a plant and numerous books sat. Underneath the stairwell sat a modern stereo system, and a few swords of rather dubious origin and two guns sat a ways beside the shelves. A few pictures were pinned to a dark green board on the column before the bar area. Some sort of large creature was pinned above the bar, a door behind it and a few classic diner bar chairs sat around the front of the bar. An antique jukebox sat beside the entrance to behind the bar. A sign without the figure of a woman matching the one outside sat above the door. To the left side just before the stairs was an alcove just by a window. A black leather couch sat underneath beside a round wood table, a tall plant and a few mounted shelves full of books. Still on the left side was a square area with an L shaped black leather couch, a wood television stand and a television on top of it, and a coffee table between the couch and the television. To the right, a pool table, and a wall filled with trophies and weapons which looked just as horrifying as the creature and the weapons behind the young man.

The old man cleared his throat. "Excuse my arriving at such a late hour. My name is Albus Dumbledore, I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, located within the United Kingdom. I believe you are Anthony Redgrave, infamous mercenary?" Dumbledore began the conversation.

The younger man huffed. "Call me Tony. What brings a wand waver here? And so far from the Scotts?" Tony asked.

"Ah, I must fill the Defense Against the Dark Arts position before the ministry pushes a rather awful woman into the position. However I have run my resources dry, and so found you through some inquiries into who in America is most specialized in Dark Magic. It seems only those who know the dark can effectively teach to defend against it." Dumbledore explained, grandfatherly persona turned up to the nines.

Anthony Redgrave, a name the young man used when he was a teenager, it's been more than a decade since he'd even heard the name. He knew wand wavers were behind the times but not that much. Dante smirked, maybe he could have some fun with this. "Well. What would this contract entail? Pay? Extra gigs? Restrictions? Time frame?" He asked, nonchalantly waving his hand.

"3500 galleons per month, free board and meals. There are 7 years, 4 houses. Houses are paired for classes up until year six and seven, then they are mixed due to drops in numbers for the most part in each class. Extra assignments will be at your discretion, but only on weekends unless an emergency. The first term is September to December, the second term is from January to June. Though examinations are at the end of June so you would really only need to supervise study classes and examination rooms. You must provide a textbook for your class as well. Unless you wish to use the Ministry mandated book this year?" Dumbledore asked, handing over the text.

Dante took one look at it and tossed it towards Ifrit to burn in. "That load of trash? Hah. No, if I teach there will have to be two books. One of actual defensive magic and the other on my specialization. This was published last year, 'The Modern Compendium of Defense'. Two Hogwarts graduates wrote it actually. It's detailed, efficient, holds diagrams and pictures of the spells, tips on wandless magic, occlumency, and neutral definitions of all types of magic. This one is called Entia ad Inferos, written by the staff of the branches of Devil May Cry. A collective piece. It is published here in America, but not advertised. I'll write you off a sealed letter with the business sigil, they'll get you the appropriate number of copies of each depending on your school registry, or you can get a contract with me to print my book there. But to do that you'd have to go through the Ministry for both, and you know how that will go. So I'll bring them with me and hand them out in class." Dante stated.

"You will take the job?" Dumbledore asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah. I have nothing better to do. I'll call up my agent and employees, have a set up for when I'm out. Ah, is there a gym and pool at your school. A place to duel and exercise?" Dante asked.

"Yes, it is unused however. I can arrange for the appropriate updates." Dumbledore agreed quickly.

"So, am I taking airplanes or am I using magical transportation?" Dante asked.

"Ah, international floo. I will arrange for your trip from MACUSA to the Ministry of Magic, then from the Ministry to Hogwarts. You will need to be at the school in one week, so you will need to be at MACUSA in New York by 8 in the morning your time to meet the settling schedule and staff meeting for 4 in the afternoon our time." Dumbledore assured.

"Great, let's sign the contract and be on our merry ways. I'll be there for 7:30."


He ended up having to get a magically expanded case to carry everything he was bringing. One with a bar area, a training yard warded with every specialty ward and his own so he could trash the place to his heart's content, a bedroom and a weapons room. Most of his shop was in the small case, blood locked and warded with some nasty demonic spells if anyone unauthorized tried to get into it. He had his ID pinned to his red coat, one of his less terrifying ones seeing as it was relatively new and plain, with buckles going across his chest. His guns in their holsters and Rebellion in the guitar case that acted as her case slung over his shoulder, he took the floor from a magical bar in Vegas to MACUSA, checked in, and was ushered through to his international time at 8 on the dot. He was greeted by stares from the British wizards as he dusted ash off his hair and coat before walking over towards check in. "Name?"

"Anthony Dante Redgrave."

"Purpose?"

"I'm the new DADA prof at Hogwarts."

The woman's head shot up. Rather, everyone in the area turned to him. Then her eyes shot back down to her list. "4:00pm arrival, Anthony Dante Redgrave, authorized. Next destination, Hogwarts Headmaster's office. Please step to the left set of fireplaces. And good luck." She shakily read out, the auror stationed nearby nodded and he walked over to the floo.

A few seconds later and he was standing in Dumbledore's office. "Anthony Redgrave yes? Good, I am Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration professor. Please follow me to the staff room, the meeting is about to begin. Afterwards, you will be shown to your rooms by myself or Fillius Flitwick, Charms Professor." McGonagall greeted stiffly, a woman dressed in green tartan robes and a rather stern demeanor.

He nodded, following her with some cautious looks at the paintings in the halls. Note to self, do not speak of anything of importance where prying eyes and ears may observe. They eventually arrived at the staff room, the staircases moved, and they entered to see the entire staff of Hogwarts seated around a table. Name plates sat in front of each seat, but it appeared his spot was taken by a hideous pink toad. "Hmm, seems my seat has been taken?" He mused, eyes turning to the Headmaster.

"This is my seat. I am the Defense professor." The toad insisted.

"Tell that to my contract. And the fact the tag says Anthony Redgrave. Unless, you unfortunately have the same name as I do?" He argued.

She glared at him, not really all that effective, he's seen scarier and uglier, and vacated the seat. He took it, and another chair was produced beside him. "And what has you so late?" The toad hissed.

"I just arrived from America." He blandly pointed out, she flushed but shut up.

"Ah yes, please welcome our two new staff members this year. Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Anthony Dante Redgrave. And Hogwarts High Inquisitor, Delores Umbridge. She is here to ensure the school is running to it's optimum potential."

...

...

...

"Really? That title couldn't be any more pretentious. And call me Tony, Anthony is too formal." He sighed, leaning back in his seat, cases off to the opposite side of Umbridge.

Said toad puffed up. She was about to croak? Nope, Pomona Sprout to the rescue. "If I may ask, are you Albino? How old are you? What is your profession?" She asked him.

He blinked. "Yeah, I'm albino. I'm currently 30, 31 October 17th. As for my work, most call me a mercenary, the actual title is a Devil Hunter. I own Devil May Cry." He waved off.

Some recognition. "Devil May Cry? I thought that business was run by a young man in Fortuna?" Fillius Flitwick, a rather hilariously tiny man, inquired.

"No. My nephew runs a branch." Dante corrected.

"Nephew, you have a nephew at the age of 30?" Minerva was taken back.

"Well, my older twin lost his virginity at 14. He just didn't expect he left behind a piece of himself in the hooker he lost it to." Dante chuckled.

Silence. "Oh my." Sprout managed, he laughed.

"How long have you been in the business?" Sprout asked.

"Ah, it's a family one, so...about 15 years now. I managed to land some contracts when I was 15, almost 16." He counted off, no need to let them know he was an orphan.

"Where does your brother work?" Snape asked, Dante winced.

"He's currently MIA, has been for a few years now." Dante muttered.

"That is enough interrogation for now. Let's talk about Delores' roll hmm?"


When he was finally in his private rooms, he breathed a sigh of relief. The DADA classroom was just down the hall, so he went and set up the room first. Warding the room like he did his trunk and locking it up tight, then warding his personal rooms and unpacking. School started in two weeks, so he decided to pick the outfit he'd wear early. The one he wore in Vie de Marli was still in good condition, fit just right, and was just frayed enough on the coat that he looked more dangerous than usual. He put that on a hanger in the closet and put the last touch, the picture of the entire DMC group, on his bedside table. The picture of his mother was in the classroom, if she could see him he hoped she was proud. He started mapping out his lesson plans. First off, Umbridge wasn't present for the school's best interest, but for her own interest, and by extension the minister's interest. Those two were corrupt and there was no denying as such.

Second, the toad was probably going to try and hogtie every teacher at every turn, weakening Hogwarts curriculum until every bit of information that could make sure a wizard or witch was useful, was gone. He needed to set up some kind of illegal book trade, because these kids and even the teachers were behind the rest of the world at every turn. Well, it wasn't illegal if he brought the book with him and taught stuff out of it now was it? That was much better, seeing as no one but him was actually seeing the book, it was just stuff he'd read and studied of course. He sighed, noting down the official curriculum and what was on the exams. He'd asked for the last five years worth of every year's final exams in every subject, the official reason is so he knew what was appropriate to teach at each age level. The real reason is so he could cover all the boring and weak shit really early on, and go from there onto the fun and advanced stuff like wandless magic and silent magic, runic magic, magic circles, old rituals, hidden magic and the recent developments and discoveries.

The useful stuff.

It took some time, but eventually he had every class planned out, and if he was to accomplish it all the kids were going to need supplementary notes, homework every night, and a hard work ethic. He knew he might be going overboard, but at least those kids would be prepared for absolutely anything by the time he left. In every grade. He moved forward with ease towards his shower, then his bed, clean and comfy it wasn't too hard to fall asleep.

The next day brought its own challenges. Namely from Umbridge. He had brought his teaching materials to the day's staff meeting, everyone had. He was currently making the supplementary note packages, and would send them off to get copied enough for each student with a few extras. He raised an eyebrow at Umbridge's shriek. "What?" He growled, eyes not leaving the paper his fountain pen was scrawling across as he drew an unlabeled diagram of a werewolf. Text boxes for filling in notes present, and some notes he himself was writing down at the side in a neat and easy to read cursive scrawl.

"What do you think you are teaching the children! They won't ever need any of this!" Umbridge shrieked, throwing down the package she'd been given.

"Better to be over prepared than under prepared. Over prepared means an easy fight. Under prepared could mean death." He blankly pointed out, cold eyes taking his papers back as he finished the section he was working on.

"This is a tight schedule Anthony, do you think the children will be able to get it done? Maybe you should tone it down a bit." Dumbledore asked.

"Nah, look, as long as they get through the first three months no problems they'll be set for OWLs and NEWTs. Standard curriculum fits into that time frame rather easily with some breaks and work periods. Depending on how fast the kids get through it we can move on to more useful topics. Besides, I have a bunch of fun days planned, physical days. It won't all just be new day after new day with new topics of theory. Those days are marked quite clearly actually. It just makes more sense in calendar form, which I have yet to get seven calendars just for the sake of lesson plans. Or one of those giant desk ones. I ordered a few of those, they should be here soon enough. And what I'm doing right now greatly cuts down on note taking. These are supplementary notes. They are filled with activities, unlabeled diagrams, fill in the blank sections and more. Which opens up more time for more notes or practical lessons. And in some cases, might actually enable some more kids to pass thanks to all areas of learning styles being addressed rather than just one or two of them." Dante explained.

They stared at him blankly, he just kept working. Eventually they all started reviewing other things like Quidditch season, the house cup, Filch's ever growing contraband list. He took that before anyone else could and skimmed it. He hummed. "So, basically everything you don't like since the kids take joy in it, you ban it, then you wonder why they are always so miserable? Some of these are just toys man. Someone like you shouldn't be anywhere near kids. And you, old man, indulge the old grouch? Fuck, you or Minnie there go through this shit and decide if the kids really need colour changing scarfs, The Quibbler, Butterbeer and...Tarantulas banned? Oh, is this gob-stones, wizards chess, and oh! Exploding Snap. You know, all the things the kids do to relieve some stress. All because you can't handle them laughing and a little bit of mess? Selfish asshole, kids will be kids." Dante growled, throwing the offending list towards McGonagall.

She glared at him. "Those games are disruptive and messy. The children are here to learn, not have fun." Umbridge beat her to words.

She suddenly found Rebellion embedded in her chair near her head. "And without stress relief, student stress will skyrocket. Large amounts of stress is not good for the health of anyone, especially children. It causes what is called burnouts. AKA, a collapse." Dante snapped, taking his sword back with a stretch of his hand.

The sword floated over to his hand in a calm straight line and he placed it back beside him. The skull's eye flashed red briefly. The rest of the meeting past after a few hours. By that point in time he'd finished the first year part A and part B package. And there were six more to go. Yay. He took all of his papers back to his room and packaged up the first year notes, copying them with a printer he'd gotten from Japan a while back. Magical grade, so it couldn't be broken by magic. He sent the printed copy off to the book company to be copied as is and sent back to him. He'd had things like pens and binders added to the supply list, so every student better have them. Taking a break, he stopped in the kitchen to get some coffee and a snack before heading back up to his rooms to start the second package. By the time a house elf was sent to get him for dinner he'd finished the second package and made a copy. He locked the first two master copies into his personal trunk, where he was also keeping the book copies for the time being, and headed down with the stuff for the third package.

He replaced the ink cartridge of his fountain pen halfway through, catching the interest of the wizards. They were so antiquated using quills, fountain pens were so much easier to deal with. And write with. Oh, and there was never wasted ink by the pens he got, so in short. Fountain pens were superior to quills in every way. Plus, you didn't have to trim the quill feathers and tips. He kept writing until he was finally forced to eat, even then writing or drawing in between bites. If he was doing this, as much as he hated it, he might as well stick it to the assholes. If that meant putting some effort in? Well, devils are known for doing things so situations may work in their favor were they not? Manipulate one situation to come out on top for another.


A day counted down, then another, then another. Until finally the first had arrived. The students wouldn't arrive until the evening, but he was welcome to prepare in the meantime. Students started classes the day after the next, so they had a rest day and prep day, a day to settle in and such. He had already decorated his room and put his trunk filled with all the school shit in his office. His plan for the day was to finally set up his calendar and each student package. He already had a name on each package, and a name tag on each book. One book cabinet for each type of book. When the books were finally out of his office, he would put his personal books and trinkets in the warded cabinets.

Taking a bit of time to laugh to himself, he turned to his Devil Arms. For once, Agni and Rudra were silent. Nevan was humming with anticipation, her strings playing a little tune only loud enough for the demonic entities in the room to hear. Cerberus was sleeping, lazy dog. The others were in various states, mostly conversing. The classroom was decidedly horrifying. The gym and pool were actually on the same floor as the DADA room, the doors had just been hidden for whatever reason. They'd been filly updated and were now functional, which meant physical lessons were easy to manage.

He moved through shelving the books when a knock came from his office door. He slid his books closer to him and gave assent to enter. It was the Toad. "Redgrave, what exactly are you doing?" She asked.

"The books I ordered had to come from the States, the last shipment arrived today. I'll be handing them out personally for each class. Rooms looks a lot different doesn't it? The auditorium style should enable the students to see the board better instead of those benches hmm? I've got it all handled." He clipped out with a smirk, locking the cabinet containing Entia ad Inferos and moving to the boxes of the Modern Compendium.

She watched him place the books in neat rows in the shelves and lock the cabinets again. Each sorted by year and with a name. The house sorting didn't matter, he'd just done it alphabetically. "One of those books is banned from Britain!" Umbridge screeched.

"Nope. I've got a permit to teach out of the book. School fees took care of that and the price of the book. You know, I own one of the original copies? Found it in an old mansion belonging to the Lowell family. The last to Lowell family members are friends of mine, well...Patty's more my ward...sort of. It's complicated." He chuckled, the picture of Patty's birthday party after her mother got better was pinned on the wall.

The girl had never been happier.

Umbridge just stared. "And why, exactly, are those books here in the first place?" Umbridge bit out.

"Well, the Compendium is one of the best and most updated books, seeing as it was published last year. It's a big book but useful if you bother to read through it. As for Entia ad Inferos, I am a Devil Hunter first and foremost. If the kids can handle a demon a lesser threat like a magical creature or a fellow wizard is nothing. But that cabinet won't be opened until somewhere around March. They have to prove to me they can handle what will be taught to them, and handle it wisely, before I give any of the books out. Unlike the Compendium, those books will remain in the classroom. One, so you can't destroy them. Two, so those I deem too weak or of ill intentions can't take a peek in what they should not. I started learning what's in that book, though not necessarily from that book, younger than a first year is. And quite frankly, I'm done talking with you while I'm doing last minute checks to ensure everything is as it should be." The devil hunter explained, smug, before quite literally dragging Umbridge to the classroom door and kicking her out.

He heard her screech as she landed on her disgustingly fat tush. He stayed in his classroom arranging things, namely his blank seating plans, on the board. He had asked Dumbledore to arrange a time for each class to visit his room the next day so he could enforce it at the start of class. Said old man said starting at 11:00, students would filter into his classroom according to the time assigned to their year. The chairs at the large work benches on raised rows were all neatly tucked in. Posters and weapons were done up correctly. And the year's outcomes for each class were written out on the whiteboard (he'd installed it after sneezing from the chalk one too many times), the kids would get their intro the next day.

Sighing, he waited until a bell tolled through the castle. The train was due to arrive in twenty minutes, which meant Hagrid was due down at the station now. The half giant had already hooked the thestrals onto the carriages and arranged the boats that afternoon, and Dante had volunteered to ensure every student got off the train. He'd heard the Hogwarts Express was a brilliant scarlet. He really went just to test the claims. He dressed as he planned to for the day, he didn't care if the kids saw him sooner, he was quite eye catching after all. And the suspense of not knowing who he was many just make the reveal all the better. Grinning, he met up with Hagrid and they made their way down to Hogsmeade.

He split from the Half Giant to catch the train. The train lived up to the claims. Even under the darkened sky the brilliant bright red of the train was hard to miss. Very hard to miss. It came to a slow in the station, the back of the train ending closest to the entrance of the station. Dante found a comfy spot against the station wall to lean against, and watched while Hagrid began calling for first years. So far, none of the kids had paid him any attention. But one kid caught his. Un-awakened demonic blood, kept from awakening by some grotesque soul shard. A horcrux. And he could bet the old man knew, but hadn't told the child of the simple ways to remove said Horcrux from his person. The scar, vivid green eyes, messy black hair and round glasses gave it away. This was the infamous boy-who-lived. Just for noticing him, he'd assign the kid the best spot in the classroom. The top right corner had the most space and the best view of the board. He'd tested it, perfect angle all around.

He was dragged along by a bushy haired girl and a complaining loud red head. Further behind him, a blonde teen with mercury grey eyes stepped off the train flanked by two lackeys he clearly wasn't happy with having. His pale eyes trailed after Potter before moving forward. Then his eyes caught sight of Dante. The man grinned back at him and the teen scurried along, the two brutes following after him. So that teen, if in the same year as Potter, would get the second best seat right beside Potter. The third and fourth were just in front of those seats, still on the right. He was now filling seats by way of who spotted him, how fun. The third was a dark skinned boy with short messy black hair, dark eyes turned a curious glint before moving on. The last, and fourth, was a pale skinned, medium brown haired teen with light brown eyes.

The fifth was actually a girl, short, blonde, with a dreamy expression on her face. Lost in a sea of thoughts as she moved along. Her eyes were trained on other things, Fae Sight? He'd test his theory later. A few others saw him. A red haired pair of twins, and a blonde girl with eyes almost as pale a blue as his own. Other than that, no one noticed. Pity, maybe because human eyes couldn't see so well in the dark? He trailed the first years to make sure Hagrid didn't drop any of them in the water, and cast some stabilizing spells on the boats because they were ridiculously rickety. Why not just use a bigger, singular boat? He'd got up to the boathouse and do some carpentry later. He knew there was a curtain of ivy under a natural bridge of sorts over the water made of weathered stone, it was high enough for a boat with a cover to go under. If Hagrid only had to duck. He could get exact measurements later and all that jazz.

He sped up to the castle through the trees, unnoticed by all but McGonagall as he slowed when he broke through the treeline. Jogging up to her. "Ah, Anthony. The students are all on their way up?" Minerva asked.

"Yep, and all the first years are accounted for. I cast a stabilizing spell on the boats, they shouldn't go tipping over tonight unless the kiddies do something stupid." He gave her with a smirk, she nodded and he headed inside after ensuring his clothes were still spotless with a quick check over by Minerva. He fixed his hair a bit, then took his seat up at the Head Table.

It wasn't too long before students began to filter in from the carriages, filling the four long tables of the Great Hall. The first years came in last, he dozed through a horribly boring sorting, and finally Dumbledore began his opening speech. After some words of insanity food appeared on the table and he was able to eat at last. Time passed slowly, eventually the meal was replaced with sweets. He found the ice cream and strawberries, and enjoyed a sundae. Not as good as Freddy's, but he could manage. He also picked at some treacle tart and some other sweets just to try them. Some of them he hadn't had before. He preferred the ice cream really, and had some more. "My my, you enjoy your ice cream Anthony." Filius laughed.

"Mmm. I go for one at the local diner every week or so. A treat to end the week. Capulet never really gets cold days, being in the middle of a desert and all." Dante pointed out.

"Deserts, can they really kill you in a few days?" Sinestra asked.

"Yeah, heat stroke. The snakes and scorpions. Wild dogs. Dehydration. Lots of dangers. Lots of potential to be lethal." Dante pointed out, they all shut up.

Finally, dinner ended, and Dumbledore got up to do the start of the year announcements. Dante silenced the Toad when he noticed she was about to interrupt Dumbledore halfway through. He then stuck her to her chair when she tried to get up. "Ah, and a warm welcome to our newest staff. High Inquisitor Delores Umbridge, and DADA Professor Anthony Redgrave. Professor Redgrave has requested each year visit his office to arrange seating plans, and so he may explain what the year will look like to everyone. The times are already posted on the notice board of each Common Room. Quidditch tryouts..." Dumbledore continued on for a while.

Only once Dumbledore had finished with his announcements, including Dante's request and where they could find the posted times, did Dante let Umbridge up and her voice back. She gave a long winded shit speech that he left halfway through with a 'I hear your BS every day, need I listen to it now to?', and vanished down the hallway in a sweep of sharp red and a glinting sword at his back.