Disclaimer: Don't own HP but like to write about it.
AN: First line is an extract from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
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Lightning Strikes Twice
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Chapter One 'The Man at the Zoo'
"Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil?"
The hissing voice drifted to Harry in the reptile house as he stepped inside. He heard the shout next and saw Dudley waddle over to the glass tank with the boa constrictor and knock a smaller boy onto the ground.
Harry interfered before the glass could vanish and release the snake on an unsuspecting zoo.
"Is there a problem here?"
Dudley and Piers whirled around. They stared at him with varying degrees of surprise and fear as Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow. He didn't care if he scared them. They were bullies and Harry was completely justified ruining Dudley's birthday anyway.
Dudley closed his gaping mouth and shook his head.
"Really?" Harry said coldly. "Because I know I saw you punch this boy in the ribs and knock him to the floor."
They looked terrified as Harry pinned them with a stare he usually reserved for Death Eaters he was about to cause a lot of pain. "Maybe you should leave?"
Both fled.
Harry turned to the boy still on the ground and offered him a hand. "You alright?" he asked. "That looked like a bad fall."
Bright green eyes wide with shock stared up at him. The familiar lightning bolt scar on his forehead appeared as new as Harry remembered it at this age. Slowly, hesitantly, his ten-year-old self grasped his hand so Harry could help him to his feet.
"Thank you, sir," he murmured, eyes flickering over Harry's face.
Harry wanted to smile. Magic disguised his scar and changed the color of his eyes, and while he'd always had more than a passing resemblance to James Potter, his younger self hadn't seen any of those pictures yet.
But their shared looks didn't go unnoticed.
"It's no trouble," Harry turned to the snake watching them. "I heard you talking to him. What did he say?"
The boy looked embarrassed he was caught talking to a snake, nervous that Harry would think he was crazy, and confused why a stranger would act like it was something perfectly normal.
"Er... he didn't say anything."
Harry nodded, expecting this because the snake hadn't said anything to him the first time around either. Not until he'd set him loose on his cousin Dudley anyway. "He looks bored," it was the same thought he'd had this day in his own past.
His younger self looked at the snake. "I think so too."
It was at this moment Harry noticed Uncle Vernon marching over to them while Aunt Petunia consoled a frantic Dudley and Piers who kept waiving their arms and pointing at him.
When Uncle Vernon reached them his face was red and he had already started to shout.
"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN MY SON ON HIS BIRTHDAY, YOU-"
He cut off and stared.
People had gone silent as they watched the exchange. It was dark in the reptile house, but Harry knew the exact moment both Vernon and Petunia realized why he looked so familiar.
"Hello, Mr. Dursley," Harry's smile was sharp. "I hope you're treating Harry well?"
Petunia went white as a sheet.
Seeing the Dursley's horrified faces, an idea started to form in Harry's mind and he turned to his counterpart. "Want to see a trick?" he asked, ignoring the spluttering of his Uncle who was so angry he couldn't even speak.
Before anyone knew what was happening, the man with hazel eyes and untidy black hair and glasses turned to the boa constrictor's tank and waved a strange-looking stick he'd taken out of his back pocket.
One moment the glass was there - and the next it was gone.
Harry heard a surprised gasp from beside him and just like last time, people screamed and ran for the exits as the giant snake uncoiled itself and slithered onto the floor. Harry couldn't be sure (he wasn't a Parselmouth anymore) but he thought the snake might have said something to him while it slithered past him.
Tucking away his wand, Harry smiled at his counterpart. "See you later, Harry."
He then turned and left, but his parting words rang like a bell in the Dursleys and a young Harry Potter's ears.
—
Strange things often happened around ten-year-old Harry Potter. It was expected actually.
The Dursleys being suddenly nice to him was not.
Immediately after the incident at the zoo his Aunt and Uncle had given him Dudley's second bedroom, and no matter how much Dudley screamed or cried, Harry wasn't put back in his cupboard. Then, days later, he got a mysterious package delivered by a snowy-white owl that had swooped into the kitchen at breakfast and made his Aunt scream and Uncle Vernon turn red in the face.
The letter attached had been just as odd, but the warm feeling in Harry's chest when he read it stayed with him for weeks.
Dear Harry,
I'd like you to have these. Make sure to read them all (especially potions!) because they're very important.
The owl is named Hedwig and she's very smart. I'm giving her to you. She likes hunting so you don't have to worry about feeding her. She can also deliver letters, so if you want to write back just tell her to find me and she will.
Sincerely,
Marauder Prongs
P.S. If the Dursleys make a fuss, tell Hedwig to peck at them.
The Dursleys had indeed made a fuss, and Hedwig had pecked at Uncle's Vernon's head while Harry scooped up his package and ran to his room.
He was left alone after that.
The letters continued and Harry got a new package delivered by Hedwig each Tuesday - strange books, candy he'd never seen or heard before, and odd little things from a place called Zonko's Joke Shop; the last one came with a recommendation to use on the Dursleys.
Harry was confused at first (he'd never had mail before) but had sent a thank-you letter with his new owl. He got a letter the next day and everyday after, and Harry responded to each one, happy he had someone else to talk to.
Someone who told him about his parents.
He suspected they were from the man at the zoo, the one that looked like him. Harry never asked though, but there were enough hints that it was. His Aunt and Uncle refused to talk about him or Harry's letters, and they always looked afraid when Harry brought it up, like he would suddenly appear if they did.
He hadn't realized it at first, but Harry had never actually told the man his name, and it made him fill with hope.
'See you later, Harry.'
The Dursleys had always been his only family, but maybe - maybe there really was someone else.
It would be nice if there was.