Harry Potter: Return From Future

When Harry and Hermione stepped outside the Great Hall, a significant number of students had already gathered in a circle.

Clearly, no one wanted to miss out on this 'fun'. In the center of the crowd, on one side, stood Draco Malfoy with his two 'lackeys,' Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle backing him from behind. On the other side, facing Draco and his group, stood Ron Weasley. The red-haired Weasley was visibly agitated. He was putting in a lot of effort to lunge toward Draco, and he had been stopped only because Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were holding him tightly.

"And there's a picture, Weasley!" Harry heard Malfoy's voice as he cut across the gathered students in order to enter inside the circle. Malfoy was flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house — if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"

Ron got even more angry at this blatant insult to his mother, and it took a considerable effort from Dean and Seamus to hold Ron back.

Harry had no desire to participate in this fiasco, and he had arrived here only to act as a mook spectator. But Draco had other plans. He had spotted Harry arriving, and the two incidents that had occurred in the past two were constantly on Draco's mind. And the most important of all those incidents had been when Harry had frightened Draco by punching on the table of the Slytherin house. This had been a big embarrassment for Draco, and he could not wait for a chance to get his revenge.

Draco also remembered the punch which Harry had 'gifted' him on the last day of the previous Hogwarts' year as a reminder of Hermione's nose breaking punch.

"And look who else we have here!" Draco said haughtily as he took a few steps to come much closer to Harry.

"Say, Potter," he sneered with a typical Malfoy sneer. "What are you going to do, defend your friend?"

"Or better talk some sense into him!"

He looked around at the gathered students to get more attention as he continued, "I must admit that your punches are quite powerful."

"But," he added in a mocking whisper, "if you ever go to the Burrow, you must control your anger."

"If you punch that hard on the walls of the Burrow, the entire house will collapse," Malfoy added with a mocking chuckle.

Few other students, mostly from the Slytherin house, let out a bout of laughter.

Harry raised his eyebrows in amusement, and he smiled.

"Draco," he said with a mild chuckle, "I wonder if your face is as strong as the walls of the Burrow."

"Could it bear the burnt of my punches?" He questioned.

"I believe," Harry said as he leaned in towards Draco, "you would not have forgotten the punches you received from me and Hermione last year."

"Or do you need some help in refreshing your memories?" Harry asked.

No matter how hard Draco tried to act bravely, with Harry looming over him, he felt the fear creeping inside his heart, and he subconsciously took two steps backward.

Harry was about to further mock Draco for stepping back in fear, when from the corner of his eyes, he spotted Alastor Moody approaching down the staircase.

Harry felt that 'fate' certainly wanted to turn Draco into a bouncing ferret.

And thus, to help 'fate', Harry turned around to walk away. With his extremely sharp senses, he felt Draco pulling out his wand in anger and then next moment a spell left his wand.

Harry tilted his head slightly and the spell missed and passed close to his face.

"OH! You don't laddie"

Harry heard Alastor's roar and next moment when Harry turned around, Draco had already been replaced by a white ferret.

Harry was too amused was by the whole situation.

Moody turned to look at Harry — at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head.

"Did he get you?" Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly.

"No," said Harry, "missed."

"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.

Harry did not react as he knew Moody was not speaking to him but to Crabbe.

Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. After all, Moody's rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head.

Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons.

"I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again — it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do. …"

The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly.

Harry could not hold back any longer and burst into a fit of laugher. Malfoy as a bouncing ferret had been among his favourite memories in his past life and watching it again was certainly entertaining.

Following Harry's laughter, many other students too burst in laughter.

"Never — do — that — again —" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again.

"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice.

Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher.

"What — what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret's progress through the air.

"Teaching," said Moody.

"Teach — Moody, is that a student?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms.

Professor McGonagall transfigured Draco back to his original form and then 'lectured' Moody about rules of Hogwarts on using detention and docking off points as punishment.

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