Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

A/N: Thanks soooooooo much to ginnypotter7491, HPlover73180, Guest, and daniellover1 for reviewing the previous chapter! Here's the next one, I hope you like it :)

James and Lily sat side by side holding hands one day, as they watched their son's life play out from that particular morning.

"Up! Get Up! Now!" James growled at how Petunia arose their son. Lily felt the familiar sensation of her teeth clenching in anger whenever she heard her sister or brother-in-law woke Harry up in such a harsh manner. Or made him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs (which was every night as that was his designated room). Or treated him in any such harsh manner, (so basically every minute of every hour of every day).

"Up!" Petunia shrieked once again. "Are you up yet?" She questioned shrilly half a second later.

"Nearly," Harry replied from inside the cupboard.

Lily couldn't help the broad smile tugging at her lips. The same one that she always felt at the sound of her son's voice.

"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."

Harry groaned and Lily narrowed her eyes.

"What did you say?" Petunia snapped.

"Nothing, nothing ..."

Harry pushed himself out of bed and picked a spider off one of of a pair of socks before placing them both on his feet.

Harry dressed and entered the kitchen.

James rolled his eyes at the enormous pile of presents Dudley had received for his birthday.

"Comb your hair!" Vernon barked entering the room while Harry flipped the bacon.

"Lose some weight!" James retorted angrily though obviously, Vernon could not hear him.

Harry found some tiny spots that weren't filled with one of Dudley's birthday presents and set the plates of eggs and bacon down there. Nearby, Dudley was counting his presents. "Thirty-six," he exclaimed with a pointed look at his parents. "That's two less than last year."

James stroked Lily's long red hair softly, causing them both to miss the next few remarks.

Lily forced a smile.

"Aw, come on my little flower," James joked in an attempt to cheer her up, "at least Harry didn't turn out to be a fat brat. At least he's not the spoiled rotten son of a walrus."

"Yeah," said Lily, "instead he's the sweet and brave little orphan who doesn't even know that he has magical abilities, and doesn't even know how the parents who love him more than anything died."

"That's true my little flower," Lily loved the fact that he tried to remain optimistic, "but at least he's sweet and brave."

"And he's-"

"How about this sweetheart. Instead of just naming our son's attributes, why don't we continue watching and see how he's doing."

Lily nodded. "You're right. I'm being silly," she smiled. "And anyway, what good is it going to do being sad about it from way up here."

"Exactly."

Lily pressed her lips against his fleetingly before returning to the scene.

They had missed part of the conversation, but it was pretty evident what was happening.

"I . . . don't . . . want . . . him . . . t-t-to come!" Dudley wailed fraudulently from within his mother's tight embrace. "He always sp-spoils everything!" Lily did not miss the nasty grin he shot Harry through an opening in Petunia's arms.

The doorbell rang. "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" Dudley's best friend (and - James punched the air at Lily's mention of it - partner for hitting Harry).

Piers and Dudley would be taking a trip to the zoo in honor of Dudley's birthday. As the Dursleys had been unable to make other arrangements, Harry was permitted to go too.

Lily felt her eyes welling up with tears. This would be the first time in the entire ten years that he lived with them that the Dursleys were permitting Harry to come along to do something fun.

Right before they left, Vernon pulled Harry aside. "I'm warning you," he stuck his face right in Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."

Lilt winced. She hated the fact that Harry's only living relatives didn't even bother to address him by name.

"I'm not going to do anything, honestly." The look Harry gave them was so innocent and sincere. Lily hoped nothing would happen. But Harry couldn't possibly control it if he had a sudden outburst of accidental magic. Petunia knew about Harry being a wizard. She knew that nothing that happened was ever his fault. Yet she continued to blame and punish him whenever episodes of accidental magic occurred.

James and Lily watched as he entered the car with Dudley and Piers whose rat-like face sneered at him.

"Honestly, why can't there be just one kind person in his life?" Lily grumbled. James didn't bother responding.

From the driver's seat, Vernon was rambling on and on about motorcycles and the maniacs who rode them.

James bowed his head silently and Lily knew he was thinking of Sirius.

Lily had started thinking about him too. Where was Sirius all these years? Why was it not him, but Petunia and Vernon who had been given the task of raising Harry? Why didn't her little boy get to at least meet his godfather if he couldn't know his parents?

Harry's face perked up from the car. "I had a dream about a motorcycle, it was flying."

James sighed and Lily winced in anticipation of Vernon's response. They both knew of his strong aversion towards anything remotely supernatural.

"MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"

"I wouldn't bet on that Dursley," James said raising an eyebrow. Lily laughed.

"If only Padfoot and I had went through with that plan we had hatched the first time I met your sister and her husband to fill their entire house with dragon dung." James shook his head as if reprimanding himself.

Lily laughed. "If only," she agreed lightheartedly.

They must have missed the rest of the conversation and car ride because before they knew it, Vernon's car was pulling into the zoo parking lot, and the Dursleys, Harry, and Piers joined the many families bustling around the zoo on that bright sunny Sunday morning.

Vernon and Petunia bought Dudley and Piers each a large chocolate ice cream at the cart at the entrance and when the kind looking lady working there (finally, a smiling face)asked Harry what he would like they ordered him a cheap lemon ice pop which he seemed to enjoy.

Lily smiled as she saw what fun Harry seemed to be having. He appeared to be entertained by the many animal exhibits. He always kept at safe distance from the others which James deemed to be a "very wise move."

They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley threw a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory did not have enough ice cream on top, Vernon bought him another one and Harry was permitted to finish the first.

After lunch they entered the reptile house.

Dudley quickly located and approached the largest snake there.

It was fast asleep.

"Looks like Sirius before noon on a Sunday doesn't it?" James whispered in Lily's ear. She giggles. Then felt a pang of nostalgia. She missed their friend.

"I miss him too," said James as though reading her thoughts, "more than you can possibly imagine."

Dudley seemed annoyed with the snake. "Make it move," he commanded his father.

Vernon tapped lightly on the glass. The snake did not move. He rapped it a little more forcefully with his knuckles. The snake retained its state of deep slumber.

"This is boring," Dudley wined.

Harry looked intensely into the tank.

Harry looked around then turned back to the snake. He winked at the creature. That was odd.

Lily looked at James, puzzled. He shrugged. "No idea what that was about."

"Do you think someone else up here might know?"

James shook his head. "This is something about Harry's actual life, not just about what we see or hear from up here."

"That's too bad."

Her husband nodded.

"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" Piers's shout drew their attention back to the reptile house.

Dudley came waddling towards them at top speed.

James laughed at the sight of that, "this kid really needs to lose some weight."

"Out of the way, you," he cast Harry aside. Harry fell hard onto the concrete floor.

"And gain some manners," he added darkly.

Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass tank.

Suddenly they leapt back with cries of fear. Harry's eyes widened and he gasped audibly. The glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.

"Wow." Lily exclaimed. "That's some powerful accidental magic."

The snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor.

People throughout the reptile house let out shrieks and darted towards the exit.

"That was cool!" James beamed.

"Yes, but one of those innocent muggles could have gotten hurt," Lily countered, feeling a tad guilty for pronouncing in awe that Harry's magic was already proving to be very strong.

James shrugged, "I suppose that would be rather awful."

The zoo director himself made petunia a cup of calming tea apologizing repeatedly.

Lily was pretty sure the snake had not actually done any harm to Piers or Dudley besides giving them a tremendous scare, but by the time they had all piled back into the car, Dudley was relating to the others how it had nearly bitten his leg off, and Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.

Of course the whole situation would just have to turn on Harry, and so Piers managed to calm down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you Harry?"

The result of that was one that James and Lily were more than unhappy with.

Once Piers had been picked up by his mother, Vernon rounded on Harry. "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals," he spluttered in fury. He collapsed into a chair, and Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.

Harry returned to his dark, cramped cupboard, where he lay for the hours to come, until the Dursleys were all fast asleep and he snuck into the kitchen for some food.

"Ridiculous!" Lily shouted.

James nodded his agreement.

"It's ridiculous how he's forced to live in that little cupboard. How he has to sneak out to feed himself, otherwise he gets no meals."

"Totally ridiculous," James agreed, "just wait until he gets to Hogwarts. Those are going to be seven amazing years. I can feel it."

So they took two and gave none again. All of them; Vernon, Petunia, Dudley and Piers. They all took whatever they wanted. Dudley having thirty-six birthday presents and being able to complain about that and getting away with it, while Harry has barely ever gotten a qualifying birthday present in the ten years he's lived with them. Vernon and Petunia got to shut him up in that cupboard with no meals. They got to treat him as a burden and express their "superiority." And Piers got to go have a fun day at the zoo and ruin Harry's whole day by telling Vernon that Harry was "talking" to the snake. I guess all I can say is that I'm glad it's already Dudley's eleventh birthday; Harry is a little over a month younger so his birthday is almost here. He should find out about the fabulous magical world to which he belongs soon enough. I can hardly wait.

A/N: Thank you so mcuh for reading! Please please please please please please please don't forget to leave a review :) :) :)