The ending for this chapter is a bit rushed, but I've tried to figure a way to work the next few chapters out without going completely off-plot. Nothing really satisfied me, so I'm doing my best to do what I can with what doesn't irritate the shit out of me.

Um, insert witty disclaimer here, I guess, and I'll try to update more frequently. Hopefully there won't be another month-long gap, but my Uni schedule is a bit chaotic at the moment. Shit, you didn't come here to read my ramblings. Enjoy the chapter (and leave feedback, pretty please)!

Chapter 6

"Harry, sweetie?" Lily asked as she knocked gently on the door and walked into Harry's room. The boy was asleep under a mound of comforters, and if she wasn't mistaken, there was a snake on the far end of the bed, apparently sleeping in one of the few patches of sunlight on the bed. "Harry," she said again, though this time a bit louder. "It's time to get up."

"Auntie?" Harry asked, stretching a bit before he sat up and looked around blearily. When he realized that he was in a new bed in the Potter Manor, and the recent events hadn't been a bizarre sort of nightmare, he turned a sleepy glare onto Lily. "Are you letting me go back to my family now?" he asked.

Lily's expression changed minutely, and for a brief second, it looked almost as though the woman was going to start crying. "We are your family, sweetheart," she said. "You need to get up and get ready for the rest of the day. Breakfast is going to be served in about an hour, and your tutor is going to be here shortly after that," she said.

"I want to go back with Auntie," Harry snapped, tossing a corner of his blanket on top of Kado to hide the snake and ignoring the irritated hiss he got in response.

"That's not an option anymore, Harry," Lily said, her tone a bit harder than before. "Your father and I both expect you to be cleaned up and in the dining room in time for breakfast," she said. "Your bathroom is behind the painting of the lion, and your wardrobe is behind the painting of the lion cubs. Just tap twice on either frame and it will open," she added, motioning at the aforementioned paintings, which were either side of the fireplace, before leaving the room.

"She noticed me while you were waking up, brat," Kado hissed irritably after the door had shut behind Lily. When he noticed the tired look on Harry's face, he wrapped himself around Harry's arm, watching the boy with an almost amused look on his face. "I am not a venomous snake," he said. "If you need motivation to get out of bed, I am not above biting you awake."

"Traitor," Harry hissed quietly, though he got out of bed and headed for the painting of the lion. He knocked twice and stepped away from the painting, not entirely sure what to expect.

Kado tightened his hold on Harry's arm as the painting swung open, and only loosened when Harry could no longer feel the tips of his fingers. "There is no reason to make your captors aggressive toward you," he said. "They have been kind enough so far, and if you become a burden to them, they will get rid of you without a moment's thought," he hissed quietly as Harry looked around the bathroom.

Just like the bedroom, the bathroom was enormous. The bathtub was almost as big as Harry's bed, and there was a separate shower. The toilet was behind another door, which was next to the sink. The floor was a black slate sort of tile, the walls were green, and there was a large plant between the shower and the bathtub. Behind the plant was a stained glass window depicting a lion on it's hind legs, roaring.

"How do you know they'll be so ready to get rid of me, especially after they went through all the trouble of kidnapping me in the first place?" Harry asked, genuinely curious. He took a few cautious steps into the bathroom, making sure nothing was poised to jump out at him, before heading to the bathtub and turning the faucets to start drawing a bath.

Kado moved off of Harry's arm, settling on the side of the tub while the boy looked around for towels. "My mother, as you would call her, was stolen from her home in a jungle in West Papua when she was pregnant, and my brood mates and I were sold to the highest bidders hours after we were born. The idiot who decided I would be an interesting addition to her collection did not appreciate the fact that I did not like her, and she sold me to the pet shop when she was bored with me," he said as Harry stripped down and slid into the tub, which was now nearly full with hot water.

Harry was silent for a long moment, not sure what to say. Finally, he looked over at Kado. "Then why are you so nice to me?" he asked.

"Because I find you a rather intriguing specimen of human," Kado hissed with what looked to be a smile. "I like to think it fate that you walked into that cursed pet shop," he added, moving a bit closer to Harry.

"Fate?" Harry asked.

"Or magic, perhaps," Kado suggested slyly.

"Like in the fairytales?" Harry asked.

The snake hissed a bit, sounding quite a bit like he was laughing. "You are a Speaker, and you seem to have adapted rather well to that fact, especially given that ," he said.

"Uncle said I should never look a gift horse in the mouth. I like you, so I'm not going to question why you're talking to me in a way that I can understand," Harry said.

Kado hesitated. "And you've never experienced anything else that your Aunt and Uncle would consider odd?" he asked.

"If I focus, I can fix Dudley's bruises, and I can sometimes disappear and reappear somewhere else," Harry said. "But that doesn't mean that there's an entire world of magic, does it?"

"Why couldn't it?" Kado asked.

"There was that odd little house elf creature that I've never seen before," Harry mused before reaching for a bottle of shampoo. He looked over at Kado. "I'm sorry if I get you wet," he said before starting to bathe himself.

Half an hour later, Harry walked out of the wardrobe wearing a pair of loose sweatpants and a white long-sleeve Henley shirt. Kado was draped around his neck, as he'd refused to leave Harry's side when Harry decided to face the Potters again.

"Are you ready for this?" Kado asked, butting his head lightly against Harry's chin.

"I suppose," Harry said before walking out of the room.

In the dining room, all three Potters were already sitting at the table, as well as someone that Harry had never seen before. There was a woman sitting in the seat that he'd taken for dinner the previous evening. She was a small, middle-aged woman who looked almost frail, with close-cropped brown hair and pale blue eyes. She was wearing charcoal grey robes and, despite the fact that everyone else was eating, she was only drinking a glass of water.

"Daddy, it's that freaky snake again!" Rose shrieked when Harry walked into the room, dropping the bagel she was eating and glaring at Harry. "Make him get rid of it!"

"He's mine," Harry said irritably, lifting a hand to shield Kado in case one of the Potters decided to try and attack the snake.

"Rose, be polite," Lily chided. "Harry brought his snake with him, and as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, he's more than welcome to keep it. Just the same as you with your cat, wherever it is at the moment," she said before looking over at Harry. "Have a seat, Harry," she said.

Harry hesitated briefly before doing as told, taking a seat a few chairs away from the woman. He piled his plate full of bacon and sausages, offering a few to Kado when the snake quietly asked to share. Despite his reluctance at being forced to stay with the Potters, Petunia had only cooked sausages on special occasions, like Yule, or Vernon's birthday.

"That's quite an interesting pet you've got, young man," the new woman said, looking over at Harry. "It's not often such a young wizard can handle a pet snake without getting bitten," she said.

Harry looked up at the woman, not saying anything. After a moment, he looked over at Lily, still not saying anything.

"Harry, this is Theresa Greene," Lily said. "She's agreed to be your tutor, and to fill you in on everything that you've missed while you were with my Muggle relatives," she said. "Theresa, this is my son, Harrison."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harrison," the woman said.

"I suppose," Harry replied before looking over at Lily. "You haven't earned the right to call me your son. Not when you kidnapped me from my home, where I was happy," he said coolly.

"You shouldn't be rude to mother," Rose said snottily.

Harry sent a glare at her. "You're just completely inconsequential either way," he snapped before turning back to his breakfast.

An odd glint came into Theresa's eyes as she looked Harry over. "How much do you know about the Wizarding World?" she asked.

"Nothing," Harry said as he quickly finished off his food.

"That makes my job just a bit harder," the woman said quietly. "We're going to have to start from the very beginning, then."

James scowled. "You and I have already discussed the particulars of this arrangement," he said. "Just keep that in mind when you're teaching the boy."

Harry glared at James, not saying anything.

"Mister Potter, your wife hired me to teach your son about our world. As much as you'd like to try and color the history of our world in your favor, my only instructions are to make sure he knows everything he needs to know to survive in our world," the woman said.

Harry looked over at the woman, completely surprised at the woman's statement. He found himself grinning over at her. "I'm ready to learn now, if you don't mind," he said.

She smirked over at him and put her glass of water on the table in front of her. "Excellent," she said. "Lead the way to your study room," she said.

When Harry hesitated for a moment, Lily cleared her throat quietly. "It's the room down the hall from your bedroom," she said.

Harry nodded slightly and stood up. "Is there going to be enough time for me to learn everything?" he asked.

Theresa chuckled quietly. "That all depends on how quickly you understand everything, I suppose. But you strike me as a smart enough young man, so I haven't given up hope just yet," she said as she and Harry walked out of the dining room.

…..

About ten minutes later, after Harry found his study room and made a few minor changes to the room - turning the walls pale green, and switching the furniture from red velvet to dark brown leather couches - he and Theresa settled into the large couch in front of the fireplace. The two of them watched Kado for a moment as he inspected the room, finally settling on an ottoman near the fireplace.

"As your mother said, my name is Theresa Elizabeth Greene," she said once she and Harry were a bit more comfortable in the room. "I work in the Law Enforcement division of the Ministry of Magic, but I've taken a leave of absence to teach you. And if you don't mind too much, I usually prefer to go by Beth."

"I'm Cody Harrison Donahue, but I go by Harry," Harry said.

Beth smiled slightly. "Good to know," she said. "Now, I understand that you grew up with Muggles."

Harry nodded. "With my Aunt and Uncle and Cousin, yeah," he said.

"So you know nothing about the magical world?"

Harry frowned. "Do fairy tales count?" he asked.

The older woman seemed to bite back a heavy sigh at that question. She shook her head, closing her eyes briefly. "Not even close," she said. "We're going to have to start from the very beginning, then. Make sure you listen carefully, as I don't like having to repeat myself," she said. "And we're going to start with the birth of humanity."

Harry nodded, fidgeting slightly before falling silent and listening to the woman as she regaled him with the evolution of Wizards and Witches throughout history.