Harry Potter and the Expectations of the Future

By

Ironhidensh

The Goblet spat fire, and the slip of paper flew out. Almost as if he was on autopilot, Albus Dumbledore reached out his hand to collect the floating scrap. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he brought the slip of paper up to eye level and read the name. The entire Great Hall was completely silent. Everyone waiting to hear what the headmaster said next. The three champions had been chosen, and there shouldn't be any more activity from the Goblet. Albus seemed to almost deflate as his shoulders slumped in resignation. "Harry Potter" he called out the name with little excitement. He looked up and over to Gryffindor table, locking eyes with young Harry Potter. It seemed the lad was shell shocked. His eyes were wide, and his jaw hung down toward his chest. It was clear looking at him that he had no clue what was going on. Albus was all too afraid that he himself just might.

"Harry Potter," he called again. The boy still had not gotten up. "Come along now, Mr. Potter, into the antechamber." With a not to subtle nudge from Hermione Granger, Harry finally stood up, and started to walk toward Albus. Harry was obviously terrified.

"Professor, please! I didn't… you've got to…" Harry was quickly approaching a strong panic. He gulped and took a deep breath, looking Albus directly in his eyes. "I didn't do this. I don't want this. Please, just let me…" Whatever he was about to ask was forever lost, as the boy was suddenly enveloped in a bright golden light. It was so bright, Albus was forced to look away, stumbling backwards a few steps. As he did, he quickly noticed two other students enveloped in light at the Slytherin table, and one at the Ravenclaw table. He didn't have time to see who else was affected, or under attack, as the Hall immediately broke out into utter chaos.

Students started to move away from the affected, and Hermione and Ron Weasley were screaming Harry's name. The other teachers started to come around from the staff table to help. Albus stood up and pulled his wand, preparing to help Harry, as he was closest. A strong wind seemed to run through the Hall, blowing papers and napkins around. Albus heard a hum and felt a great wave of pure magic wash over him. The ancient mage forced himself to look at the brightly glowing Harry. The golden glow seemed to coalesce on the young boys infamous beauty mark. The cursed scar on Harry's forehead suddenly burst open, with a spray of black, tar like goo. There was a scream that was not in Harry's voice, and a green fog seemed to escape and dissipate. Albus's heart soared. Could it be? He thought, did Tom just leave Harry forever? At that moment, the four lights went out, and the students within collapsed. Once again, all sound in the Great Hall came to a sudden and crashing halt, the students freezing in place so quickly, one would almost think that a blanket petrification charm had been cast.

"What in Merlin's name is going on, Albus?" The small but powerful form of Filius Flitwick, the professor of Charms, said as he stepped to the side of Albus. He had his wand out and looked ready for battle.

"Did you feel the power of that magical wave? I've never felt such power before, not even from Hogwarts itself!" Pomona Sprout declared as she joined the other two. "Who were the other three glowing students?"

By this time, Albus was kneeling at the side of Harry Potter. The boy appeared to be breathing just fine and did not look injured, just asleep. Flitwick hurried past him to check on his affected Ravenclaw student, and he saw Severus Snape already at the Slytherin table, checking on his two students. Madam Pomphrey, the med witch of Hogwarts, joined him and began to direct diagnostic spells at Harry with her wand. "He looks to be just fine, Albus, but his Magical Core has greatly expanded."

"Check his scar on his forehead. Is it still full of dark magic?"

"Well of course it is! It always has been," she waved her wand at Harry's head. "Great Morgana! It's gone, the dark magic is gone!" She looked up at Albus in wide eyed wonder. "What does this mean?"

"I'm not sure, Poppy, but I aim to find out. Are there any other issues facing Mr. Potter?" He asked.

Poppy regarded the results of her diagnostic scans. "No. It appears he had a dip in his magical core levels, but he is very rapidly recharging."

"Excellent. Yet still confusing." He looked toward the Slytherin table, "Severus, who was affected in your house?"

A head full of greasy, dark hair, badly in need of a wash, lifted, revealing the perpetually angry face of Severus Snape. "Draco Malfoy and Daphne Greengrass. I can find no injuries on Miss Greengrass, but Mr. Malfoy looks to have hit his head. He is not bleeding, though, so I don't' think it's serious."

"Good, good. Filius? Your student?"

"Astoria Greengrass appears to be in fine health, Albus. Do you have any idea what is going on?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid. Curious. Both of the Greengrass sisters…" Albus stroked his beard, deep in thought.

Finally, one of the students found his voice. "I bet this is all Malfoy's doing! That snake is always trying to attack Harry!" Ron Weasley belted out his accusation. Next to him on either side, Hermione and Neville Longbottom hid their faces in their hands. "Greengrass probably helped him." Merlin love the kid, he actually looked to be proud of his wildly inaccurate conclusion.

"Which Greengrass?" Ron's brother Fred, or was it George, Weasley asked him.

Ron stared at him blankly. "What?"

"Which Greengrass? There are two of them."

"Oh, the Slytherin one." George, or was it Fred, just shook his head at him.

Snape, along with the rest of Slytherin house, glared at Ron. "That will be 20 points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley. Try and contain that brain of yours from more wrong turns."

"What!? You can't… OUCH! Bloody hell, Hermione, that was my foot!"

"I'm trying to keep it out of your mouth! Sit down and shut up, Ron!" Hermione looked quite annoyed. She turned back to Albus. "What can we do to help Harry?"

"At the moment, Miss Granger, nothing. Mr. Potter appears uninjured, and we just need to wait for him to wake up." Madam Pomphrey answered for Dumbledore. She made her way over to the Slytherin table to check on the two students there. "Step back for a moment, Severus, give me some room to work." She waved her wand over Draco Malfoy first. "Hhmm, just a simple bump to the head here…" She cast a healing charm, reducing the slight bump that was beginning to form. "He will be fine and should wake up in a moment. He has a similar drop in core magic as Mr. Potter, but he too is rapidly recharging." Moving on to Daphne Greengrass, she began casting the same diagnostic charms. Before the results came in, the girl started to wake up.

"Ugh, what happened?" Daphne asked, sounding particularly groggy.

"You have had a bit of a magical incident, my dear, and fainted."

Daphne's eyes snapped open, and she looked a bit alarmed. "Fainted? How, and is the baby okay?" Her words came out rather loudly and carried quite well.

All sound in the Great Hall came to a halt.

Poppy's eyes widened in shock, then dropped to Daphne's stomach. She immediately cast another diagnostic on her. As she did, she noticed that the girl's belly had grown a bit large for the clothing she was wearing. "Merlin! How did this… How have you hidden…" With obvious effort, the Medi witch brought herself under control, erected a privacy ward around the two of them, and with a deceptively calm voice, she addressed the frightened young woman. "The baby is fine dear. A perfectly healthy four months along. May I ask why you did not come to me before now?"

"Madam Pomphrey? What are you doing here?" Daphne looked around. "Actually, why am I at Hogwarts? We were… oh fuck." She put a hand over her eyes and started to mutter curses. Madam Pomphrey simply looked on, feeling quite lost.

Meanwhile, as the entire student body, who had refused to leave of course, broke their silence and started to whisper among themselves.

"Did she ask about a baby?"

"The Ice Queen let someone touch her?"

"I heard she has put half the Slytherin boys in the hospital wing at least once."

"Who do you think the lucky bastard is?"

"I'd give my parents who vault just to see her out of her robes."

"What if she was assaulted?"

"That's gross, Ernie, how dare you say a thing like that?"

"C'mon Hannah, if you were a bloke, you would…" *SMACK*

"I bet it was Malfoy, bastard gets everything he wants."

"Stop thinking about it, Ron, never in a million years!"

"Will she get to stay in school?"

"Isn't she only 14? Is it safe for her to have a baby?"

"SCILENCE!" Dumbledore's voice thundered across the Hall. "You will all respect the privacy of Miss Greengrass and cease this heartless speculation. Any medical issues are her business, and hers alone. If I hear any of you have harassed her, I will be most displeased, and you will face your consequences with Professor Snape!" That last bit shut everyone up, as the Professor in question was currently standing by the young witch in question, glaring at the student body.

Then, as if the night wasn't exciting enough, a thump came from the Slytherin table as Madam Pomphrey fainted dead away, and her privacy ward vanished. Daphne stood up, and stormed over to the Ravenclaw table, shoving Flitwick aside, reached her sister's side, and started to shake the unconscious girl. "TORI! WAKE UP!" She bellowed, "What the hell have you and your idiot husband done now?" She looked quite enraged. Astoria Greengrass began to wake up, and as she did, Daphne pulled out her own wand, and with a wave, she pushed all the students around them away. Then she raised her own privacy ward and began to well at her obviously confused sister.

"Well, I never!" Exclaimed Flitwick as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Albus, what in Rowena's name is going on here?"

Albus had made his way over to Poppy and was checking on her. "I do not know, Filius. Severus, do you know what Poppy and Miss Greengrass were speaking of?"

"No, I did not deem it prudent to listen in after the silly girl's confession." He looked up at Albus with a dangerous gleam in his eye. "I will be most displeased with the worthless boy who has ruined her future."

"Later, Severus, we shall deal with this later. Please try and assist Mr. Malfoy to consciousness." Dumbledore said as he assisted the waking Poppy to her feat. Snape cast a waking charm at Draco, then nudged him with his foot. Draco began to stir. At the same moment, Dumbledore heard a groan, and looked behind him to see Professor McGonagall and Hermione Granger helping Harry Potter to his feet.

Harry shook his head to clear it, then looked around. "What the fuck?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Mr. Potter, you will not use such foulness in my presence!" Minerva glared at the boy.

"Harry! Language!" Scolded Hermione.

Harry blinked and looked back and forth between the two of them. "Aunt Minnie?" he said, looking at Minerva, "Why am I at Hogwarts?" Minerva blushed at the little-known nickname James Potter and Sirius Black used to use for her. "And Hermione? What's wrong, you and Neville are supposed to be in Hawaii? Why are you back already?"

Hermione looked incredibly confused. "Why would I be in Hawaii with Neville?"

"Well, it's a very popular vacation spot. I assume that is why you choose it for your honeymoon there." Hermione's eyes popped open, and her jaw dropped. For once, she had been rendered completely speechless. Harry took a good look at her. "Wait, why do you look so… small? My god, you look like your…" Harry's face went white, and he sat down on the bench behind him rather hard. "Oh shit. Oh, fucking Merlin and Morgana, what did we fucking do?"

At that moment, Draco Malfoy, who after waking, had sat up and took a good look around suddenly broke out in hysterical laughter. Once again, the Hall fell silent. Malfoy kept on laughing. After a few moments, and a non to gently slap on the back of his head by Snape, Malfoy stopped laughing, stood up, and glared at Harry. "Salazar's tits, Potter, what part of 'don't touch this' do you not understand?" He said with quite a bit of heat, and a yell by the end.

"The hell was that thing? Why did you and Tori have it in your fucking house!" Harry yelled right back at him.

"We said, it's a work project. You've been around long enough to know we take our work home! It's a bonding thing!"

"Can't you two bond in the bedroom like a normal couple?"

"Please keep your and Daph's private life out of this! Some of us have other hobbies!"

"And look where your hobby got us! Do you realize where and when we are? Do you?"

"Yes, I do. I'm not an idiot Gryffindor like others I could name."

"This is all your fault, Malfoy!"

"You fucking touched it! That's your fault! For fuck's sake this is worse than that mess you caused in Madrid!"

"Hey, fuck you! That was your fault, and we agreed not to talk about it again!"

Draco suddenly grinned. "Yes, we did, but if you don't admit this mess is your fault, I'm telling Daphne!"

Harry Gasped in betrayal, "What the Hell, Draco? You want to play that way? Fine. I'll tell Astoria about Texas!" Malfoy's face when even paler.

"Well played, Harry." The two then grinned at each other.

The school remained in shocked silence, as the two well known school rivals bantered back and forth like the best of old friends.

Ron Weasley broke it with a pointing finger and happy exclamation. "See? I told you Malfoy did it!"