Chapter 2: Through the Eyes of a Child
Summary: The night Lily and James Potter died is well known. What no one suspected, or even imagined, was that their spirits remained with their son.
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own (or live in, magic rocks) the 'Potterverse' … I do not.
A/N: Special thanks to Zirconium1 who discovered that the inspiration for this story was in fact teacherbev's incomplete work titled 'A Father's Love'. Thank you for finding it for me, it was wonderful to be able to read it again. Teacherbev has a flair for details that borders on the insane, and I mean that as a complement.
A/N 2: Parseltongue will be in italics, to easily differentiate between it and human speech. Also, anyone who has either owned a snake, or done any sort of research on them knows that snakes do not have eyelids. They actually have clear scales over their eyes that turn milky when preparing to shed (and are a pain in the butt to remove if they don't come off in the shedding process, ball pythons are awesome pets, but have some of the patchiest sheds I've ever seen). Because of this fact, the snakes in my story will not blink, wink, or do anything else to denote having anatomically incorrect body parts, like they do in Canon. No offence J.K., just one of my lil' Canon nitpicks.
There could be no denying the terrible cruelty that the Dursley's inflicted upon the unwanted child in their home. The first few years marched on and his parents did all they could from within their son's mind to dampen the overt hatred of his own blood relations. They couldn't prevent his being put in the cupboard beneath the stairs to sleep, but they were able to give Harry love and acceptance for every degrading comment or derogatory slur. Lily would sing to him every night, seeming to brighten the gloom, and James would regale him with tales of his school days during the long hours in the cupboard. They taught him to read with Dudley's unwanted and forgotten books, and told him everything they knew about the wizarding world, sharing some images of their own memories within Harry's dreams.
Together, James and Lily explored Harry's mind, sorting through his scattered thoughts and memories, classifying and categorizing everything. After all, they knew the prophecy, and what it would mean for their son eventually. They hadn't yet told Harry the contents of the prophecy, just that there was one; they planned to do so when he turned eleven, before going to Hogwarts. They were being realistic about the likelihood of Dumbledore telling Harry about it. They also worked to prepare both themselves and him, for the day when he would need the esoteric branches of magic like Occlumency; and with their own shields backing his own, anyone attempting to break in to the mind of Harry Potter would be in for more than a nasty surprise.
Most worrying of all was their almost immediate discovery of the link to…something. It hung in a corner of Harry's mind, a malignant tumour that seemed to ooze malice but otherwise appeared to just be biding its time. Working together they erected the strongest barriers they could, meshing and interweaving them together and walling off the ominous connection completely.
Through their exploration, organization, and protection of Harry's mind they discovered they could create and build objects within his mind. They recreated their home in Godric's Hollow over many months as they last remembered it, adding a full size Quidditch Pitch and an overflowing flower garden. They placed all of Harry's memories in the library, ready for when he could achieve the level of meditation necessary to enter his own mindscape.
A side effect of organizing their son's mind occurred when they stopped being able to see everything Harry saw as if looking through his eyes. A little more exploration revealed a section of his mind that acted almost like a muggle cinema, a window to the outside hanging in the air. After Lily explained the concept of a cinema to her husband, they created one and connected it to Godric's Hollow, so they could see what he needed and wanted them to see and kept private what he wanted to keep private, like bathroom visits and, later on in life ... other things. For, as far as they knew, their situation was permanent.
~*oo*~
Time inevitably marched on, and Harry grew. Ignoring the Dursley's as much as possible, spending time in mental conversation with his parents. At the age of five he began Primary School with Dudley, even though he'd never had the luxury of attending nursery school – like Dudley - before primary school. The first time he came 'home' with better marks than Dudley, the only reward for his hard work was to be locked in his cupboard. James and Lily detested the fact that their son was forced to sleep in a space meant for muddy boots, but until Harry grew old enough to do something about it himself, they were powerless. They had realized just how little they could change within the Dursley household on Harry's first day of school. Harry had told his teacher, innocently, of the room he slept in, as if it were a normal thing to do. Her face had drained of colour and she had disappeared to the office during lunch. But the next day she seemed unaware of anything being amiss and when Harry repeated his living conditions she seemed to get a sudden headache. Lily had worked for St. Mungo's, the Wizarding Hospital, before Harry's birth and recognized the symptoms of a Memory Modification. There would be no help from the school, or apparently the magical world, for Harry.
Not for no reason was James Potter one of the ringleaders of the Marauders, however. After a moment of thought, he had a splendid idea. Then, with Lily's somewhat unwilling help, they enacted a plan to prevent further confinement from coming to Harry, especially over grades: False marks.
Following his fathers' lead, Harry snuck into his teachers' desk during recess and pilfered one of the blank progress reports, then headed to the library and the copy machine. After some practice Harry was able to forge his teachers' signature, and put down marks that wouldn't get him in trouble. When Vernon signed the fake form Harry forged his signature on the real one. Thus he was able to do well in school without risking the ire of the Dursleys.
It took Harry many weeks of constant effort, but with his parent's guidance, and the groundwork of an organized mind he was able to visualize the door behind closed eyes and step in to his mindscape for the first time at the age of seven. The reunion within his mind was one of tearful happiness. Unwilling as they were, his parents used this opportunity to explain everything that they could; showing him the blocked link, their theory as to why they were in his mind, about the war and Voldemort. They showed him the organization they'd done of his memories, and taught him how to put new memories directly into his 'library'. They also taught him to sense and harness his magical core, to make his 'accidental magic' not quite so accidental.
As soon as Harry started having bouts of accidental magic James and Lily helped him work through it so that it's either reversed before anyone notices, or easily explained. When Petunia cut all his hair off and it's back by morning, Harry was able to convince them that he would have attracted more attention to the Dursleys with the outlandish new style that with his normal shaggy locks, and he wasn't punished. When he ended up on the roof of the school kitchens they were able to guide him back through the accidental apparition, coaching him through the basics of strong desire and intent, to get him back on the ground with none the wiser.
When The Dursleys started leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's James and Lily didn't know whether to laugh at the irony of the Dursleys leaving Harry with the only magically aware person in the neighbourhood, or curse Dumbledore for introducing Harry to magic so sparingly; for Arabella Figg was a Squib and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. After a few visits of Mrs. Figg acting nothing but muggle however, they realized that she wasn't going to tell him anything, and their frustration with the old wizard grew. They tried to rationalize that the Headmaster was at least keeping an eye on Harry, but the rarity of his visits to Mrs. Figg's made this seem a half-hearted effort at best.
Lily then had her own brilliant idea, Harry offered to do the yard work for Mrs. Figg and was paid ten pounds for his efforts; he then went to the local mini-mart and purchased a disposable camera. When the Dursleys went out to dinner one night, leaving Harry to fend for himself, Harry took copious photos of his cupboard, Dudley's two rooms, and the guest room, showing that the Dursleys had the room to board him properly, and never had. The following day he went back to the mini-mart and had them developed; he now had proof of their neglect.
~*oo*~
It was Dudley's 11th birthday and Petunia was not happy. She hung up the phone in the hall and turned to Vernon with a sour expression on her face; apparently Mrs. Figg had broken her leg and couldn't watch Harry. After exasperatingly vapid suggestions from Petunia, extensive false blubbering from Dudley, and not-so-subtle threats from Vernon, Harry was on his way to the London Zoo for the first time. He was squished against the car door by Dudley's girth, in a comic attempt to make space for the small, rake like, rat faced Piers Polkiss. But Harry couldn't care less about the discomfort of the trip: the zoo was in London.
Harry and his parents had been planning to attempt another escape from the Dursleys this day, to sneak away from Mrs. Figg before they returned. Their first try had been when he was seven, a week after he had entered his mindscape the first time, he had gotten as far as the small park down the street, attempted to hail the Knight Bus without a wand, and failed. He didn't have enough control over his magic to summon the triple-decker transportation.
This unexpected trip to the zoo put them much closer to their goal of the Wizarding Pub; The Leakey Cauldron, and the entrance to Diagon Alley. They had tried on previous occasions after Harry gained sufficient control of his magic to escape Privet Drive, but Harry's waifish size and overlarge clothing had made him appear even younger than he was and drew the attention of unwanted eyes. Various police officers had already had their memories modified after stopping him and hearing of his abuse, and they didn't want the Magical world to realize what Harry was trying to do. Specifically they didn't want Dumbledore to realize it, as it was obvious he wanted Harry to stay with the Dursleys for some unfathomable reason.
Harry had the best morning he'd ever had outside his own head. After all, visiting his parents, who shared love and happy times with him, was far better than being around the hateful Dursleys. He got a lemon pop at the front gate, got to see a gorilla that could be related to Dudley, got to finish Dudley's ice cream when the gorilla in training threw a fit; demanding a bigger one, and he knew he was spending his last day with the Dursleys.
As they entered the reptile house Harry dropped back a few metres to avoid the Dursleys and Polkiss, an idea coming to him. Years ago when weeding Petunia's garden, Harry had found a garden snake and discovered his Parseltongue abilities. Befriending the reptile had lead to a curiosity about snakes and he had, before long, become something of an expert on the subject, even if he shared his knowledge with practically no one. Today was an opportunity to talk to the rare, foreign snakes the zoo housed, and perhaps, acquire a new friend. Glancing around the corner, Harry saw the Dursleys harassing the Brazilian Boa Constrictor, and ducked back around the corner before he was spotted.
The sign on the enclosure beside him read "Africa's Deadliest Snake." Harry smiled, this looked promising. Another sign identified the inhabitant as a female Black Mamba with a rather scary description: 'These snakes are large, alert, and aggressive in their personal defence - they are one of the most feared snakes on the African continent'. Harry peeked around the corner again, noting the Dursleys had only moved down two exhibits, and turned his attention to the case before him. Searching briefly, he located the scaly inhabitant, and blinked. This snake was not black, she was grey; a beautiful pearly iridescent grey, but grey nonetheless.
Shooting another look at the Dursleys, Harry leaned close to the glass and hissed, "Excuse me, Miss Mamba? I was wondering why you're called a Black Mamba when your scales are a lovely grey."
She seemed surprised at the question, cocking her head to the side as if appraising him. Finally she raised her head to Harry's eye level and opened her mouth wide, revealing an inky midnight black interior. Harry's eyebrows rose and he smiled. Glancing once more at his 'relations' he leaned close again, "Ah, well that explains it. You're quite beautiful, if I may say so."
She lowered her head to the side, looking demurely embarrassed. With one final peek at the Dursleys, Harry placed a hand against the glass and whispered to her, "Would you like to come live with me?"
Harry hadn't realized that snakes could look shocked but, after a moment, she composed herself and nodded. Harry turned his thoughts inwards, "How should I go about this?" he asked his parents.
"Concentrate on the glass," Lily instructed, "Focus on every detail. Now channel it through the hand on the glass and make it disappear. Harness your magic, and send it in to glass."
Harry followed her directions and, with encouragement, Vanished the glass of the enclosure. The Black Mamba eagerly slithered her way on to Harry's hand and then coiled herself inside one of his over-large pockets. Turning his attention back to the exhibit, concentration and desire to replace the glass paid off, though sweat dripped down his brow at the effort involved; but the pane of glass was back to normal. Stepping away from the display, he rounded the corner and slammed, or rather squished, into the rotund gut of Vernon Dursley. His uncle grabbed his upper arm in a vice-like grip and leaned in close, "If you don't keep up with us, boy, you'll be spending the trip home in the boot." He snarled as his grip tightened to bruising strength. The corpulent swine almost hurled Harry back several paces before thundering to the exit door of the reptile house.
Harry glanced around, obviously Vernon, he refused to call his relations by anything other than their names when he thought of them, had expected Harry to follow immediately after him. All three Dursleys and the Polkiss boy had already gone out the exit door. Seizing his opportunity, Harry turned and went back out the reptile house entrance and made his way to the main entrance of the zoo. As he passed the gates and headed down the path toward main London, his smile grew and his parents cheered, they were free.
~*oo*~
Ten minutes later, on a semi-hidden bench in St. James Park, Harry pulled his new friend from his pocket, and leaned back against the wooden backrest of the bench. Holding her up, he saw how truly beautiful she was. Almost a metre and a half with iridescent grey scales on her back and creamy yellow scales on her belly, coal grey eyes, and of course her jet black mouth and tongue. He smiled at her as she twined herself around his raised hands, making herself comfortable. Looking to Harry she hissed, "Thank you for releasing me from that prison. I know the humans there mean well, but I was not meant to be kept in a box. Besides which they kept stealing my eggs."
Harry blinked in surprise, "You've laid eggs? They must have a male there too then, should we go back and try to get him out too, or any of your babies?"
She shook her head from side to side in obvious negation, and took a look around their sheltered surroundings and the overhanging branches, "My last clutch of young have since grown and been taken to other such prisons, and the male was also from yet a different prison, and I was the only one of my breed there."
Harry nodded to her, thinking that she was right to call the zoo a prison from her perspective, and turned his thoughts inwards, "Well, I'm glad we got her out then, she shouldn't have to live like that. I only wish we could do the same for the other snakes and animals that are unhappy there."
"We know how you feel Harry, dear." Lily said, "But, unfortunately, we can't save everyone. This is important for you especially to know, sometimes there will be people, creatures, or animals that you cannot save or help, much as you would want to, and it won't be your fault should that happen, understand?"
Harry nodded, "I think so, thanks Mum, Dad." He sighed deeply, "So, what should we name her?"
"What do you think about Zuri?" James asked, "Its Swahili for beautiful, kind of a nod to her homeland."
Harry nodded again and turned his thoughts outward again, "Would you like me to call you Zuri, it means beautiful in Swahili?"
She thought for a moment then nodded, "I'd like that. What should I call you?"
Harry laughed, "Sorry, my name is Harry."
She cocked her head to the side, "And what of those within you, the ones you were speaking to a moment ago?"
Harry gaped at her, "How do you know about them?"
"Your eyes get vacant when you talk to them, easy enough to detect in this dappled lighting and your eyes flicker when a different one starts talking. Am I right in guessing there are only two of them?" She asked with an amused hiss.
Harry nodded dumbly, "Yes, they are my parents. They were killed when I was young and their spirits live inside me."
"That's good," she said nodding, "reptiles in general don't really have a family structure; once our young hatch they are on their own. But I have learned of human families by observing those that came to my prison. Human young need their parents, I am happy that you still have yours in some form."
Harry smiled broadly at her, "Zuri, I think this is the beginnings of a wonderful friendship." He said, remembering the line from an old movie he'd never seen, only ever heard through the door of the cupboard under the stairs, pleased to be able to not refer to it as 'his' any longer.
A/N: Reviews are appreciated and help to flesh out the story more; any constructive comments, requests, or critiques are welcome and encouraged. However, derogatory flames and comments along the lines of "you're writing/story sucks" are rude, childish, and betray the low I.Q. level of the commenter. If you don't enjoy the story there are over 455,980 other Harry Potter stories on this website alone, read one of them.
A/N 2: If you are wondering why I chose a black mamba for Harry to befriend, originally it was only because they are my favourite venomous snake (ball python being my favourite constrictor), however when researching whether or not the London Zoo even housed black mambas, I came upon this entry in the London Zoo wiki: 'In 2000 the Burmese python scene from the 2001 film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was filmed at the Zoo's Reptile House. In the film the inhabitant of the tank is a Burmese python, however in reality it is home to a black mamba. A plaque beside the enclosure commemorates the event.' So in honor of the enclosures original inhabitant, Harry's snake is a black mamba.
A/N 3: the ZSL London Zoo is only .9 miles or a 20 minute walk from Charring Cross Rd. where the Leakey Cauldron is, according to Google Maps. The route passes by St. James Park, a real park; I thought that was rather neat, Harry's dad's name being James and all.
4