"No child should be beaten"
"Yes, well, it's not exactly like I can stop them, now can I?"
"You know as well as I do that that's not what I meant. Look, you're obviously not like them, I mean, can any of them speak to snakes?"
"And you know as well as I do that we've had this discussion before. I'm only ten. They're bigger than me, there are three of them, and you're not poisonous. There's nothing I can do, no matter how different I am." hissed a small boy, huddled in a cupboard under the stairs in Number Four, Privet Drive.
"Venomous." The little serpent coiled around the boys neck hissed back lazily.
"Come again?"
"Venomous, Harry. Snakes are venomous. Not poisonous."
"Well neither one does me any good, does it Euryale?"
Crossing his arms, the boy leaned back against the wall of what constituted his bedroom. Ever since he could remember, Harry Potter had lived with his relatives, if he could even call them that. And every day was the same routine. At seven in the morning, his Aunt Petunia would rap on the door to his cupboard. This was his cue to get up and make breakfast before his Uncle Vernon or his cousin Dudley made their way to the kitchen. He would then eat his own meager portion while his whale-like uncle and cousin devoured everything else. Vernon would then leave for work, and provided it was the summer time, Dudley would go out and see Piers Polkiss, or another of his friends. Harry was then left to do his chores and then return to his cupboard. During the summer it was roughly the same, only with Dudley going to school, and Harry swiping his schoolbooks at night.
Harry's only companion throughout this routine was Euryale. Harry had found Euryale a year or so beforehand while tending his Aunt's garden. He had been pulling weeds one afternoon when he heard a voice complaining about all the shade being uprooted. Looking down he had seen the small grass snake, and after apologizing, and taken it inside to his cupboard.
A sharp, quick tapping at the door announced that it was time for Harry to begin cooking breakfast. Letting Euryale slither up his arm and coil around his neck, Harry walked out and into the kitchen.
"Boy, you know you're to have breakfast finished before the rest of us get down here." Vernon stated, leveling Harry with a look that spoke of pain later.
"Especially today of all days!" Petunia continued, moving over to Dudley, who sat at the table in front of a small mountain of gifts. "I won't have you ruining my Ickle Duddykins special day"
"Yes Aunt Petunia. Sorry Uncle Vernon" Harry said quickly, moving over to start on the bacon and eggs.
"Mummy, there are only thirty-six presents here, that's two less than last year!" Dudley suddenly exclaimed, looking up from his presents.
Tuning out the conversation going on behind him, Harry lost himself in his thoughts.
'Right, Dudley's birthday. How could I forget, he's been reminding me about how he's going to the zoo for the past week?'
The doorbell rang, jerking Harry from his thoughts. He knew somebody else would get it though. They would never risk a neighbor seeing Harry if they could help it. Finishing breakfast, Harry set the plates on the table and excused himself before his Aunt Petunia could get back with whom he assumed to be Piers.
"Boy!" Uncle Vernon began dangerously. "What is that ridiculous jewelry you have around your neck?"
Cursing under his breath, Harry made a break for it. Unfortunately, Vernon Dursley moved surprisingly fast for a man so unreasonably large. Grabbing Harry by the collar he pulled Euryale off of Harry's neck, throwing him into the kitchen counter in the process. Realizing Euryale for what he was, Vernon shifted so he was holding the snake by the head, clamping the mouth shut, and rounded on Harry, who was still picking himself up off the floor.
"You think this is funny? Do you think it's bloody well amusing to bring filthy animals into this house? WELL? ANSWER ME BOY!" Vernon bellowed the final part at Harry. Harry for his part was just standing there, stark white and silent. He had hit his back on the corner of the counter and was fairly certain he had bruised something. Upon standing he had seen his whale of an uncle holding his only real friend and waving him around like a shoelace.
"Not answering, hm? Well, we'll just have to teach you some respect, boy." He spat the last word and stalked back towards Harry, shoving him roughly out of the way again. And for the second time in so many minutes, Harry found himself picking his self off of the floor and clutching at his side. Only this time, a far worse sight awaited him.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Ay, whatcha doin' down there?"
Harry cracked one eye enough to see that he was outside. Opening them both properly he took in his surroundings. He was lying under some plastic structure in the local park. The strange rubber mulch the place was lined with explained the ache in his back and neck. Judging by how high the sun was, it was probably around mid-day or some such. Looking back down he closed his eyes and let a quiet hiss escape his lips, "I'm sorry Euryale"
"What wuzzat? Didn' quite catch that. Why're ya sleepin' under some ol' bench in the park, anyway? You run away from home or somethin'?"
A dark shadow passed across Harry's face. "Will you just go away? I don't know you…"
A gasp. "You were speakin' parseltongue before?"
"Parseltongue? What are you talking about, the snakespeak?" Harry hissed in response. He didn't know this girl. He didn't trust this girl. Nobody he had ever met had been kind to him, why would this girl be any different?
Sighing in frustration, the girl sat back on her heels. "You know, its really hard to understand you when you keep hissin' at me like that. S'kinda creepy too. Anyway, names Tonks if you decide you wanna speak English again."
Sitting up properly, Harry took his first proper look at this girl. She seemed to be about his height, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She had a slightly heart shaped face and hazel eyes, but the most significant feature about her was her hair. It was short, spiky, and vivid electric blue. Observing the girl observing him, Harry blew out a sigh and decided she wasn't an immediate threat.
"T-tonks? What kind of name is that?" He asked softly. He wasn't prepared for the reaction he got though. At his question, Tonks fell over backwards, groaning something about stupid names.
"S'not my real name, er, my firs' name anyway. Firs' names Nymphadora, but don' call me that unless you wanna get kicked in the bits, got it Harry?" Tonks said, sitting back up and leveling Harry with an amused mock glare.
"…How do you know my name?"
Tonks turned an interesting shade of red that Harry had only before seen on Uncle Vernon's face when he had accidentally spilled hot sauce in the chili back at Number Four. "Oh, um, I, that is I mean…"
"NYMPHADORA MIRANDA TONKS! What have I told you about wandering off on your own?" A tall was heading in their direction, and she seemed to be making Tonks uncomfortable. She was tall, that was obvious. She was dressed in elegant blue and silver robes and her long brown hair was pulled up in a tight bun as if she had been about to go somewhere important.
"MUM!" Tonks whined. "You know I don't like it when you call me by my first naaaaaame. And besides, I was only gone ten minutes, plus, if I hadn'a come to the park, I never woulda found Harry here!
"Oh? And who is this Harry?" She looked down from her daughter to the boy half hidden under the bench. He appeared to be about Nymphadora's age, but if that were the case he was severely under weight. Looking the boy over she saw he was wearing a pair of jeans at least four sizes too big for him, and a shirt that was ripped near the collar and stained dark on the back left side. He was also clutching what appeared to be the two halves of a dead snake. Sweeping her eyes farther up to his face, she let out a gasp of her own. "Merlin's bits."
Tonks giggled at her mother's language. "Told ya Mum. What should we do about him, I don't think he knows about ma-"
"Nymmy! If he doesn't know, it's not our place to tell him." Turning to face Harry she continued, "Harry? My name is Andromeda Tonks, I'm Nymphadora's mother. Harry, why are you under a bench?"
"Why do you care?" He hissed softly, still clutching Euryale's remains as if letting go of them would symbolize his own death as well.
"…Harry, can you speak English? I can't understand you when you speak Parseltongue like that." At his confused look she continued, "Snake language. We call it Parseltongue."
"Mum, I know he speaks English, he talked to me!" Tonks interrupted her mother. "He asked what kind of name Tonks was!"
"Parseltongue?" Both sets of eyes snapped to Harry, who continued, though it was more like he was talking to himself. "I didn't know it had a name. Euryale always just said I could understand. He said I was different…"
The Tonks women shared a look at this. Finally the elder of the two broke the silence.
"Euryale, Harry? Was that your snake?" And this was the final straw, it would appear; for Harry broke down in front of the two, startling them as he had seemed fine only moments before. Tonks moved over to comfort the crying boy while her mother watched and made her decision. Getting down on her knees she leaned over to get Harry's attention.
"Harry? Harry, if you'd like we live right around the corner. You're more than welcome to stay at our house for a while if you need." Harry looked up at her with still watery eyes and let out a faint hiss.
"Thank you."
O0o0o0o0o0o0o
Arriving at the Tonks home, Harry was caught off guard. The Dursleys were obsessed with keeping up appearances. Their lawn was green, their cars were shiny, and their house was spotless. This was all he had ever seen, and all he had ever known. So walking into the Tonks household, with its moderate clutter and lived in appearance was both startling and refreshing. The television had dust on the screen, the couch appeared to have been sat on more than once since its purchase, and the ceiling fan was spinning despite nobody being home.
Walking into the house, the three sat on the couch, where Andromeda turned to face Harry once again.
"Harry, if you'd like, we could bury your snake in the morning."
"Euryale."
"I'm sorry? I didn't catch that."
"Euryale. His name…was Euryale. And I…I'd like that."
The rest of the evening passed without much fanfare, the three ate a rather large dinner Andromeda cooked, and the younger of the two went off to bed, Tonks to her room and Harry to the guest room he had been given.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o
The next morning Harry woke with a start. For the first time he could remember, he had woken up to the smell of…bacon? Wandering out from the guest room he had been given, he made his way down the stairs and towards the smell. Entering the kitchen, he found both Tonks women sitting at the table, the younger of the two putting away eggs at a rate that would have made Dudley nauseous.
Noticing him in the doorway, Andromeda smiled and waved him over to the table. As he sat down she chuckled softly. "Good morning! I wasn't sure if you were going to make it down before Nymmy finished off all the eggs. And the bacon. And-oh bugger, is that really the time? Nymmy, I've got to run to work, fill Harry in as much as we discussed, but No More, understood young lady?" She finished leveling a stern gaze on her daughter, who to her credit was still doing a remarkable impression of an auburn-haired Dudley. Seeing her daughter nod, Andromeda walked out the back door.
Harry looked at Tonks. Tonks looked back. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Harry finally broke the silence.
"So, are you going to explain why your hair isn't the same color as it was yesterday, or should I start guessing?"
Blushing around her eggs, Tonks swallowed before replying. "Welllll, technically I'm not supposed to tell you this much, buuuuut I'm a witch."
"A witch." Harry repeated dryly.
"Yep, and you're a wizard." Tonks chirped cheerfully. "You see, magic, well, it exists. I don't suppose those – hey Harry?"
"Yes?"
"What happened to your side? Your shirts all stained up and you've been holding it since we found you yesterday."
"Its nothing, I bumped into a corner" Harry replied, suddenly finding a particular tile on the floor fascinating.
"Still can't understand the hissing, you know. But I don't think you were telling the truth, whatever it was. Here, let me see." And before Harry could stop her she had pulled up the side of his shirt exposing a long, half healed cut in his side. "Harry, your relatives didn't do that did they?"
A dark look crossed Harry's face at the mention of the Dursleys. He'd rather not even think about them. His side would heal, hell; it was already most of the way there. But there was no bringing back Euryale.
"They did, didn't they? Oh Harry, why don't you tell someone? Go to the police, go to Dumbledore!"
"Dumbledore?"
"Oh, right, I was explainin'! Well anyway, the short version is magic exists, I'm a witch, you're a wizard, and you're famous." Tonks finished smiling at him, allowing herself to be distracted from his injury. For his part Harry just stared before shaking his head and hissing to himself.
"Long story too short Tonks. What's the long version?"
"Hmm, well, this version could take a while, what say we sit on the couch or somethin', I'm full of eggs." Tonks stated, glaring at her eggs as if it were their fault she had eaten so much.
Once the two were situated on the couch, Tonks resumed her story. "Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, you bein' famous. Well, didn' ya ever wonder what happened to your parents?"
Harry scowled. "The Dursleys told me they were killed in a car crash."
Tonks for her part was doing a rather admirable impression of a goldfish. "A car crash? Not even bloody close. Harry, they were murdered."
"Murdered? By who?"
"Well see, there used to be this really bad dark wizard. Got it into 'is 'ead that wizards were superior to muggles. Non-magic folk" she explained at Harry's expression. "He gathered up a lot o' followers, an' for a while people were worried he was gonna take over."
At this point Harry interrupted. "Wait a minute, if everyone was so worried about this guy taking over, why weren't they fighting him?"
"Well, it's not that simple. Like I said, he had lots o' followers, but he also had a lot of the dark creatures on his side, you know: manticores, giants, minotaurs, you know what those are right?" At his nod she continued. "People were scared, Harry. They were scared to even say this guy's name, still are actually." She finished looking thoughtful.
"So what was it?" Harry asked after a moment.
"What was what?"
"The name of the bastard that killed my parents." Harry hissed, switching from parseltongue to English halfway through.
"And I thought the hissing was weird on its own…" Tonks mumbled. She sighed before continuing, "I'm only gonna say it once, got it? I don' like sayin' it any more than anyone else does. 'Is name was Voldemort. And Harry, he was a parselmouth too. Most people consider it dark."
Harry's eyes narrowed to slits. "So being able to speak to my best friend makes me dark?"
Tonks' eyes widened and she backpedaled immediately. "Harry, no, that's not what I meant at all! I'm, I'm sorry about your friend." She finished, eyes downcast and hair a dark plain brown.
Harry softened at this. "I'm sorry Tonks; I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just, I'll heal, ya know? But those, those muggles killed my first friend. Euryale is…was, my only friend."
Pulling Harry into a hug, Tonks could only whisper one thing to try and soothe the devastated boy. "You have me…"
AN: So yeah, this was the first chapter of the first book in what I was going to call the S-Series. Not so much anymore. Now, I'm taking it in a completely different direction. I hope you enjoy it.