Selix lay curled in his cage at the zoo trying to ignore all the tapping and yelling coming from his window. He wished people would stop doing that. After all, he was sure they wouldn't like it if people made noise outside their windows just to see if they'd look out.

His belly was full and he felt quite sleepy so he laid his head into his coils and tried to block out the noise.

'This is bo-ring!' A voice came from outside his window.

Good. Maybe they'd go away then.

He felt a tingling in his scales and he peeped out at his window from a space in his coils. He blinked in surprise as he saw the small boy standing in front of his window, watching politely instead of acting like an animal. The boy with the scar on his forehead. The Last Parseltongue.

He blinked in surprise before raising his head to look more closely. He flicked his tongue out but it did no good. He couldn't smell a thing. The boy looked surprised and a little nervous so Selix did the only thing he could think of doing: he winked at him.

The boy looked around to see if anyone else has seen the wink before he winked back.

Selix would have smiled if he could, but he couldn't, so he motioned to the other tourists and gave his best exasperated look.

"I know. It must be really annoying," the boy replied in parseltongue.

Selix tried to bob his head in the way he had seen other humans do, but he couldn't quite get the movement right and made himself slightly dizzy.

The boy politely inquired about Selix' family and homeland, and Selix was about to reply when a boy with a face that reminded Selix of his supper began yelling. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"

Selix recoiled at the sudden noise and watched as a rush of people came over to look in his window.

To his horror, he saw the Last Parseltongue shoved aside and even punched by a rotund boy as the others clamored to look at Selix.

He narrowed his eyes at the boy, wishing with all his heart that he could bite him.

Suddenly the glass disappeared and Selix had his chance. He lunged at the crowd and was amused as they ran away squealing. The fat boy and his rat-faced friend were at the back of the crowd and Selix couldn't help but snap at their feet as they screamed.

He turned to look at the Last Parseltongue and winked at him again. "Brazil, here I come...

Thanksss, amigo."

Selix turned to look at the open door that led to the rest of the zoo. He was free at last.