If Only... (Harry Potter Next Generation)

Arguments

"What were you thinking!?" Dumbledore yelled at James that night. "We have no idea what could change because of what you've done!" James just cowered in front of the headmaster. He couldn't even hear what he was saying, there was an incessant ringing in his ears that had started after his name had been called. Every other sound after that had been an added buzz. He knew what he had done was wrong and honestly wasn't sure why he had done it, but it was done now, and they would just have to deal with whatever consequences came with his mistake.

"Actually sir, we do." Albus said. "Cedric Diggory was supposed to be the Hogwarts champion. Voldemort killed him because he was... 'a spare'." James flinched. Albus had already gone through this once and it had destroyed his relationship with his dad.

What kind of brother am I? James thought. He couldn't help being disgusted with himself. This was all his fault, Albus, Lily, Rose, Teddy, even Scorpius: they were all here because of him.
"Not long ago, I changed that." Albus continued. "Scorpius and I... we made it so he never died and it destroyed the future... I guess one person's life really does matter." He whispered the last part so quietly no one heard.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it right now." Dumbledore said, surprising everyone. "We will just have to wait, perhaps something will arise in which we can take advantage of-"

"You mean you expect us to just sit here and watch our future fall apart?!" Scorpius exclaimed. "So not only do we have to wait until you find some spell you don't even know exists, but now, if you do ever find it the only one of us that will be able to carry on with their lives in the future is me!" Scorpius' face was bright red, a big difference from his normal, pale complexion. "This isn't fair!" He said nothing more, and stormed out the room. Everyone stared at the door where he had disappeared, then Albus sighed and followed his friend.

"I'm sorry I upset Mr Malfoy." Dumbledore said, "but what I said is true. There is nothing we can do right now. What's done is done." He turned to James and said gravely, "we will just have to hope you don't meet the same end as Mr Diggory did."

***

The next day, James was- thankfully- pulled out out of History of Magic for photographs. His Aunt Fleur seemed quite excited, though it was hard to tell. Her English was really bad so James just smiled and nodded along while she spoke.

Harry was the last to arrive and Bagman spotted Harry almost as soon as he entered. He jumped up and bounded forward, towards him.

"Ah, here he is! Champion number four! In you come, Harry, in you come...nothing to worry about, it's just the wand weighing ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment-"

"Wand weighing?" Harry repeated nervously. James held back a laugh, though he didn't blame Harry for being nervous. It freaked him out too when Bagman told him.

"We have to check that your wands are fully functional, no problems, you know, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead," said Bagman. "The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, gesturing toward the Skeeter, who was stood in the corner. James glared at her but she didn't notice, she was staring fixedly at Harry, unable to see anyone else in the room but him. "She's doing a small piece on the tournament for the Daily Prophet...."

"Maybe not that small, Ludo," said Rita Skeeter, her eyes on Harry. "I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry before we start?" she said to Bagman, but still gazing fixedly at Harry. "The youngest champion, you know...to add a bit of color?"

Bagman agreed immediately and James watched his father sadly as he followed the vile woman out of the small room.

Thankfully the interview didn't last very long, just until Dumbledore came and practically dragged them out of the broom cupboard.

The Weighing of the Wands went smoothly, and when it was time for photos the only thing James could think was what he looked like. None of the future kids could see what each other looked like with the glamour and when he looked in the mirror all he saw was... him. Just ordinary James Potter, Harry and Ginny Potter's son, Albus and Lily's big brother. Just James. The only person who had ever seen him as more than Just James, was gone. And it was all his fault.

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