Harry stepped out into the blinding sunlight, flinching as it made contact with his eyes.( He never liked the sun, and just because he was in the Wizarding World didn't mean that was going to change. ) His eyes adjusted and he looked out upon the Alley and its inhabitants, watching the small and large families scurry around calling out to friends of lugging large nags of school supplies down the cobblestone streets. He immediately spotted Hagrid but held back until the giant spotted him, hoping to achieve some sort of silence.

As he waited he allowed his mind to wander somewhat. He thought back to the Apothecary and the stern man he had met there, Professor Severus Snape. He seemed like a smart man, much less batty than what he had picked up from older students' conversations. They seemed to think he was strict, snarky, and a 'git'. Harry had thought he was intelligent rather than bumbling, a resource that was always better to have than stupidity.

Hagrid caught up with him rather quickly, dispelling his thoughts, and they made their way into the magical pet store.

Harry stepped inside and immediately he felt a sort of warmth come over him as he headed deeper into the store, watching the cats chase the loose mice, the owls preen, as he headed deeper into the store, watching the cats chase the loose mice, the owls preen, and the toads croak rhythmically. He found the horrible messiness of the place rather soothing, quite unlike the sterile hell that he's forced to reside in.

Harry passed cages slowly, peering with leisure. He passed toads that were blue with pink spots and orange eyelashes, cats with scrunched up faces and human-like eyes, and owls that either watches him curiously or the white mice hungrily.

None of them caught his interest, however. He walked up to the shop owner and asked quietly, "Do you have any other pets in here, sir?"

The old man brightened and pointed over to the corner, warning him about expensive prices. Harry was only partly worried about that, thanks to the large mound of gold that was locked tightly away in Gringotts.

He stepped over in the secluded area and immediatly heard a quiet, whispering voice, "Sssstupid humansss. Alwaysss tapping on the glasss! I ought to- ooh! A sssmall one! He better not tap the glasss!"

Harry's eyes flew around for the voice. The way the voice spoke, it was snake-like, that much he knew. Immediatly his eyes snapped to the glass cages lining the walls. He scanned through them until he stopped at a slightly battered one. Inside was the most beautiful snake he had ever seen. Its black and rainbow scales enraptured him to no end, flashing as if they were stars. He stepped up cautiously, aware of the 'Poisonous' sticker on the side,

"Hello?" he whispered, almost afraid to be answered. He jumped slightly when the snake lunged at the glass, trying to scare him away, he guessed, but he didn't back away. He didn't even blink.

The snake regarded him for a moment beofre hissing, "Foolisssh boy! Doesssn't he know that I'm poisonousss?" Harry became indignant! He wasn't that stupid!

"Hey! I take ofensssse to that! I admit! I could be sssmarter, but I'm not a fool!"

The snake froze and twisted its head, "You're a ssspeaker?" Harry shifted,

"A ssspeaker? I'm sssory, I don't know what that isss."

The snake rolled its eyes, "You can ssspeak to sssnakes. Itsss not very cccommon! I've only come accrossss one other like yooou."

Harry was intrigued, "Who wasss it?" The snake regarded him for a moment before coming to a decision. Its tongue flicked out from its mouth, "Sssseverus Sssnape." Harry gasped quietly, but then nodded. Snape seemed like the kind of man that would be able to talk to snakes. He shook his head slightly, vowing to look back on that later. He looked back at the snake. It was pretty, and he needed a pet. It also seemed rather nice. He proposed the offer,

"I need a pettt, for ssschool, if you would like to ccome. It'sss up to you, of ccourssse." He held his breath, hoping to God that the serpentine beauty wouldn't say no, and almost shouted with joy when it flicked its tongue again (Harry was sure that meant it smiled) and nodded, but he kept his mask in place. His forever look of pleasant flippancy. He did, however, allow a small smile to flicker on his face.

"You'll need to get me out, you know. Don't worry, I won't bite you." Harry nodded and slid his arm inside the tank and giggled silently as the snake made its way up his arm and around his neck. For a moment he thought about how easy it would be for it to simply bite his neck and kill him but the thought left his head abruptly as its tongue flicked across his skin, electing another laugh.

He was going to ask the snake what to call it when a firm hand grasped his shoulder.