Disclaimer: I, mysterious, possibly female, fanfiction author, do not own Harry Potter.
It was a normal day in the great hall. Well- as normal as is possible in a school full of adolescent wizards and witches. The Slytherins were currently sporting red and gold hair courtesy of James Potter, and the Gryffindors, minus Lily Potter, were snickering behind their hands.
Lily was waiting in anticipation. She knew that her brother, Albus, was finally fed up with James' antics. A Slytherin, Albus was usually fairly nice despite house stigma, and Lily knew people tended to overlook him. They thought him something of an oddity, with his penchant for smiling at the oddest times and his good-natured banter with Scorpius Malfoy.
Lily knew better.
Albus could be downright ruthless. With cunning hidden under a kind exterior, he was a foe to be reckoned with. James was about to face his brother's wrath.
Lily caught Albus' eye from across the hall. Despite his badly clashing hair, Albus looked smug. She raised a questioning eyebrow.
Albus smirked and mouthed back, "Wait and see."
His eyes then flicked to James expectantly. Lily gazed down the Gryffindor bench at her other brother, trying to guess if the distance was enough. She risked another look at Albus.
Definitely not. He looked murderous.
Lily shivered.
Snatching a roll from in front of her, Lily moved as far as she possibly could from James before settling down next to Carly Finnegan. Carly was nice enough, even if she had inherited her father's proclivity for pyrotechnics. Besides, Carly's wand wasn't out, and this wasn't potions or transfiguration, so Lily figured she was safe enough.
Almost as soon as Lily had reconnected with the bench, there was a bang. A shockwave rippled through the Gryffindor table, with the epicenter at James Potter. Lily, fortunately, was far enough away to avoid the affects, but James wasn't so lucky. He got the full blast of what was no doubt Albus' finest retaliation yet.
James' hair, previously black and fine, was now a writhing mass of green and silver snakes. His robes were now green, proclaiming in pink letters: SLYTHERIN RULES GRYFFINDOR DROOLS!
All the other Gryffindors near the center of the blast were also sporting snakes, but none had the complete makeover James did.
The Slytherins, forgetting their hair, snickered at the Gryffindors.
Albus threw a satisfied smirk at his glaring brother.
James shouted back, "You're on!"
Lily, realizing this meant yet another prank war, dropped her head into her hands.
Albus replied, "Let the best player win!"
The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws shared Lily's sentiments as a collective groan swept the hall.
Headmistress McGonagall fired a noisemaker above the hall. "Settle down please, lest my poor old eardrums burst."
Quiet was slowly reaffirmed as people came to terms with another month of ceaseless pranking.
Lily was about to grab another roll when a peculiar light filled the hall. Thinking it another prank, Lily looked at Albus and James, but they looked just as bewildered as she.
The great hall fell silent as the faint sounds of arguing could be heard.
"… Is all your fault!"
Emerging from the light were two figures. They were faded and misty, rather like ghost, but in full, if somewhat faded, color. As they became clearer, it was apparent they were both boys, in their teens, wearing robes. One, a blonde clad in Slytherin colors, was glaring at the other, a black-haired boy in Gryffindor robes.
"This is all your fault, Scarhead!"
"If you hadn't been an idiot, Ferret, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
The Slytherin scowled. "How was I to know that the ball of light would be dangerous?"
The black-haired teen put on a mocking tone. "Oh, I don't know, maybe COMMON SENSE!"
The blonde crossed his arms. "Oh, so you're an expert on the forbidden forest now?"
The Gryffindor replied scathingly, "No, but I do know enough not to go around touching random balls of light that could be portkeys!"
The Slytherin's mouth fell open. "You were the one who said we should go investigate-"
The Gryffindor interrupted him. "And then you had to drag me with you to Merlin knows where, and now we're stuck!"
They seemed to take no notice of the shocked hall around them, and continued to argue.
"Listen, Potter-"
Lily's eyes widened.
"No, you listen, Malfoy-"
He looked like he wanted to say more, but the blonde noticed their audience. He let out a panicked squeak.
"What now, Malfoy?"
It took a moment for the Gryffindor to realize what was going on, but when he did, his eyes widened, and he let out a shocked, "Bloody hell!"
Both boys considered the great hall for a moment before stepping closer together and drawing their wands.
Headmistress McGonagall, who before now had remained silent, said, "Who are you? How did you get here?"
Both teens glanced at each other before seemingly realizing how close they were and stepping away.
The black-haired teen gave McGonagall a sheepish smile. "We know we're supposed to be in detention with Hagrid, Professor, but Malfoy touched this portal thing and we ended up here."
Malfoy scowled.
McGonagall looked confused. "Who are you, young man?"
The Gryffindor looked bewildered. "Harry Potter, ma'am, and this is Draco Malfoy."
There was a stunned silence, before James and Scorpius both said, "Dad?"
Harry's head whipped toward James, while Draco looked toward Scorpius.
For a moment nobody said anything. Then Harry smacked a hand to his forehead. "Great. Just Great. We've gone to the future."
Draco let out a pitiful whimper.
Harry gave him a disdainful look before massaging his temples. "Why does this always happen to me? Stuck in the future with Malfoy. How do I get myself into these situations? Is the Potter line cursed and somebody forgot to tell me?"
He looked extremely exasperated.
Draco slid to the floor.
Scorpius continued to stare at his much younger father in disbelief.
Harry sighed.
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This was fun to write. I kept cackling at seemingly random times, much to the confusion of surrounding non-evil humans.
