A Familiar's Intuition

As I mentioned in my previous author's note, this is the rewrite to A Familiar's Intuition. It was my first Harry Potter story, and while I'm proud of it for that, it needed a lot of changes, more detail, and many plotholes to be fixed. For those who liked it, don't worry, the basic plot won't be changed.

Harry will still be timid and wary in this, and be very affected by the abuse the Dursleys have given him, but he will be a little stronger and cry less in this rewrite. He will still have panic attacks and nightmares, but he'll try to get over them faster so he can be as much there for Hercules(the boa constrictor for those who are new to this story) as Hercules is there for him, and play a much more active role in his own story. Also, I plan to work more on character development and really build more around the world I have created, as well as tie up a few loose ends, get rid of scenes I don't like, fix the format for some chapters and change a few things around so things make more sense.

Oddly enough, my favorite Harry Potter scene is The Vanishing Glass. And I had an idea. What if the boa constrictor had had a nagging feeling that something was wrong with Harry and gone to Privet Drive to rescue him? What if the snake had been Harry's familiar? What if they had traveled until Harry got his letter? What if the boa constrictor had gone with Harry to Hogwarts? What if Dumbledore was not the saint that he liked everyone to think he was? And what if Voldemort and his Death Eaters were not the monsters the Wizarding World thought they were?

Yes, that's probably too many what if questions for one author's note.

There will be slash in this story, in the form of an already established Voldemort/Severus pairing. There will be nothing M rated(No sex scenes) I'm thinking of either pairing Harry with either Luna or Pansy, depending on who works best and Draco with Hermione much later in the story as there is NO way I'm starting romance while they're only 11. Right now, the main focus will be the friendship between Harry and Hercules(the boa constrictor).

The Dursleys will be more abusive in my story than in canon, just as a warning. I will not be overly descriptive of the abuse, but if you think I need to change the rating, let me know.

This author's note has gone on a little too long. On with the show! Please remember to review! And I do not own Harry Potter, that belongs to the genius of J.K Rowling.

Boa Constrictor POV:

"Brazil, here I come! Thanksss, Amigo!" I hissed to the tiny, dark haired child that had freed me. I wished I could have stayed and talked to him longer, but I had to get out before the zookeepers came back and stuffed me in that cramped, boring cage.

Somehow, I got out of the zoo without being noticed or caught. I'd like to think it was my snake stealth, but considering I'm a ten foot boa constrictor, it was probably luck. Once I had hidden myself in a set of bushes a distance away from the zoo that was big enough to hide, I thought back to my encounter with the strange little human who could speak my language. I had heard about Speakers before, but I had never talked to one. I was grateful I had gotten the chance to, especially with one as sweet, curious, and kindhearted as this young one. No one had ever cared for me like that before. Not the snakes in the other cages or the annoying people that tapped on my enclosure while I was trying to sleep, and certainly not the zookeepers. And not only had this hatchling cared, he had seemed to understand.

With that realization, dread overcame me. For some inexplicable reason, I felt like something was wrong with that little hatchling, and that he needed my help.

I went over the encounter with him in my head. Something had set off this feeling, and I needed to figure out exactly what before I decided upon my next move. I went through every detail in my mind. Now that I thought through it fully without the excitement of finally being heard by someone or the adrenaline over the chance to get out of the zoo, I remembered how tiny the boy had been. Not just tiny, but nearly skeletal, like he had not eaten well in weeks. And those green eyes he had, they were haunted like those of the snakes that had been dragged from their former home and taken to the prison known as the zoo. He was so unlike the other children, seeming nervous and even scared when he looked to the people he was clearly with to make sure they weren't watching when he talked to me. I also noticed that he seemed to have a slight limp when he walked, and when I had passed him, I had gotten a faint scent I had remembered from my many meals, though I hadn't paid it much attention at the time in my hurry to get out.

A shudder ran through me as I figured out what exactly the scent had been.

Blood.

Had he gotten hurt when that pig boy had pushed him down? Anger filled me as I remembered that moment; my new friend being pushed to the ground and me in my cage unable to help him. I wished I had been able to do more than snap at the heels of those…beasts…as I fled, but I knew I had to get out quickly. Most of my focus had been both on making sure my friend got up okay, and on getting out, but I briefly remembered something, something horrifying.

The adults with him and the pig boy had smiled when that little hatchling, my little hatchling, was knocked to the floor. Any other parent whose child had fallen in the reptile house had quickly run to help the little one up and coo to them, but not the huge human male and the sticklike human female. They had seemed to enjoy my hatchling's pain!

And that's when it hit me completely. They were hurting him, and probably starving him as well from the condition I had seen him in. And likely, he was still in danger! I had to help him! But how? I didn't know where he had gone. I needed to find him, but without any information, how could I?

Suddenly, I felt a strange pull coming over me, something I had been feeling since I had left, but now it was even stronger. It silently urged me in a certain direction and somehow, I didn't know why, I knew I could find the hatchling if I followed it, and trusting my instincts, I followed it. It took me three settings of the sun to follow the strange invisible line to its source, traveling through the night and hunting and sleeping during the day, before reaching a white human house with squares of glass on it and strange plants outside on the third evening, similar to many human houses near it, but I knew it was the one because the pull had increased exponentially. I knew the little hatchling was here, and somehow, I also knew he was hurt. Not sure how to get in, I hid behind a large, prickly bush and peeked through one of the squares of glass, hoping I could see my hatchling and also find a way to get in. The sight that met my eyes was horrifying.

The huge human male was looming over my clearly frightened hatchling, screaming something I couldn't understand. Suddenly, he struck the tiny boy across the face hard, sending him falling to the ground. My hatchling curled into a ball, trying to protect his head. I hissed angrily and wanted to get through to protect him, but the glass and the knowledge that the large human would call the others before I could finish killing him and I would likely not win that fight and not be able to get my hatchling out of there, or worse, get us both killed, kept me from going in there and slowly crushing the monster to death. I certainly didn't want to, but I had to wait.

The hulking human grabbed my hatchling by the collar and threw him into a tiny room, shutting and latching the door. It was two horrible, anxiety filled hours before the evil man had lumbered up the things the humans called "stairs" and I finally determined it was safe to go rescue my amigo.

I couldn't budge the square of glass I was at, so I checked the others. One was open, just a crack, but enough that I could push my nose through and shove it open enough to get in. Silently, careful not to attract the attention of the bad humans, I slithered through the rooms until I found the room my new friend had been thrown into. It took me a few minutes of staring at the latch before I could figure out how to get it open. Biting down on the cold, foul tasting metal and tugging, I finally managed to pull it loose and the door came open slightly. The already strong pull increased tenfold, and I wanted, needed, to get to my hatchling, now.

I heard a tiny, heartbreaking whimper as I pushed the door open enough to get my body through and saw my hatchling curled into a ball with arms protecting his head. He was covered in bruises and looked even worse than he did when I first saw him. "Please, uncle, don't hurt me…" he whispered. I knew enough human language from the zoo to interpret what he said and my heart broke even more.

I approached carefully so I wouldn't scare him even more despite the desire of the pull to get me to him as fast as possible and spoke in the gentlest voice I could, trying to soothe his terror. "No, Amigo. It's me. I'm going to get you out of here."

And there you have it, the first chapter of the rewrite! It's not all that different from the original except for more detail and getting more into the boa constrictor's thought process, but I think it's at least a little better than before. Other chapters will change more as I feel is needed to make this story better and flesh it out more, and I really want to make this story much better than it was. I hope you all have enjoyed.