Nearly ten years passed since the night Minerva McGonagall took Harry away from Privet Drive, and so much had changed since. She sold her tiny house in Hogsmeade, opting to live in the countryside where she had grown up to raise Harry out of the limelight of the magical world. Her home showed many signs of its magical inhabitants. Moving pictures lined the walls, harry's first steps, Minervas wedding to Elphinstone, Harry's first quidditch match, him being hugged and kissed by Minnie and Phin, Harry and Minnie at Phins gravestone, and many other fantastical moments. The home had no doubt of magic in the air.

Harry Potter was there, asleep in his room still, but not for long. A shrill whistle of a kettle filled the house a moment later, stirring Harry from his sleep. It was accompanied shortly by clattering of glassware as Minnie made her morning tea. He rolled over and smiled to himself, remembering faintly a dream about a flying motorcycle and had the faint idea he'd had that same dream before.

Harry slowly got up, looking quickly for his socks and a fresh shirt and a quick brush through his dark hair before heading down to breakfast.

He grabbed his favorite tea cup for his tea, the one with a crack down the side that perfectly matched his own scar, a lightning bolt that raced across his forehead. He remembered the first time Minerva told him how he got that scar, from an evil wizard called Voldemort the night his parents died.

From then on Harry always had questions. Sometimes about his parents, or Voldemort, or magic, or all sorts of things. And Minerva always had answers. When she didn't, there was always a book.

That was the first rule with Minnie, it never hurts to learn something new, so ask questions.

"We've got to do something with that hair of yours" Minerva said, looking up at Harry over her Daily Prophet.

Harry reached up and ran his hand though his hair, though he had just combed it he could already tell it was sticking up at all angles. He laughed to himself as he grabbed his eggs and bacon breakfast that was already prepared for him.

"You've been invited to your cousins birthday today, if you wanted to go" she said, "I think its at the zoo this year."

The two of them snickered to themselves. Dudley was his spoiled cousin raised by, as Minerva called them, 'horrible muggles'. But a zoo, that would be interesting.

"We will have to dress like them or else horribly stand out" he said trying his best not to laugh.

"Yes, well we wouldn't want to be…"

"Improper" they finished together in haughty British accents, mocking his aunt and uncle with Minnie pinching her face and Harry blowing out his cheeks and putting his finger curled under his nose like a mustache.

After a moment laughing together Minnie pulled herself together. "well then we ought to get dressed then, hop to it" she shooed him off to his room, as she headed to hers.

Half an hour later, Harry and Minerva stood looking at eachother in the den, her in sensible shoes and capris and him in shorts and a light shirt. She grabbed her wand and her purse and transported them to the zoo where they were to meet the Dursleys for Dudleys birthday.

It was a very sunny Saturday, and the zoo was crowded with families. Dudley and his friend Piers mostly ignored Harry. As did his Uncle Vernon, which harry was grateful for, he felt like his uncle never had anything nice to say. His Aunt Petunia spent much of the day having pleasant conversation with Minerva and sometimes Harry who had stayed behind with them.

After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark inside, and had slightly less crowds than the rest of the zoo so far. Dudley and Piers ran off with Vernon to find the biggest and most venomous snakes, and Harry right behind them.

At a large brown boa Dudley stopped and pressed his face against the thick glass.

"make it move!" he whined to his father

Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass and still the snake ignored them until he was rapping on the glass with his knuckles almost shaking the glass barrier. The snake seemed dead with disinterest, and shortly after they moved on with a sigh.

Harry stayed behind though. He put his hand on the glass and the snake perked itself up. Harry swore the snake and him made eye contact. "I'm sorry about that" Harry told the snake, "they are always like that".

The snake seemed to shrug as if it had shoulders saying "I get this all the time"

"it must be annoying" he continued as if the snake were understanding him, "where are you from?"

The snake looked over to its info panel, gesturing to Harry

BOA CONSTRICTOR, BRAZIL

BRED IN CAPTIVITY

"oh." said Harry before he was pushed down and out of the way by Piers

"DUDLEY! DUDLEY COME LOOK! YOU WONT BELIEVE WHAT THE SNAKE IS DOING!" Piers shouted and now Dudley and Uncle Vernon were there standing over him peering through the glass before he had his glasses back on his face. And then one second, they were pressing their faces up against the glass, and the next the glass was gone and both boys were falling into the snake habitat.

Impossibly quickly, the boa constrictor unwound itself and sprang from its cage, the zoo goers already running and screaming.

Harry swore in all the commotion he heard a "thanksssss" before he lost sigh of the massive snake. The Reptile House was empty in a flash, even Harry ran out after that. Aunt Petunia already had her stringy arms around Dudley, and was crying. Minerva simply grabbed Harrys hand and they all rushed out of the zoo.