AN: New chapter up, let me know how you guys like it!

Also, stats show that there are a lot of new readers, so... Welcome! I hope you enjoy the story and what I've planned.

This chapter has the infamous Boa Constrictor scene in it, and I'm really excited to see how you guys react to the twist that I've plotted, it's not much but yeah...

"What do you mean no?" Harry asked as his mother gave him the same answer she'd given him all the times he'd asked her before.

"I mean that you can't take Viscenya to a party that she isn't invited to," Lily said as she massaged her temples.

"But I'll die of boredom there mum! See my side of the argument too!" Harry pleaded with her.

"You won't die of boredom Harry; nobody has ever died of boredom. And I would know what boredom is, I had to sit through your aunt Petunia's graduation ceremony." She informed him.

"Well this is her son's graduation from an idiot to a year older version of that idiot, consider it the same thing" Harry reasoned.

"Harry, grandma and grandpa called for it. They'll be there for some of the time and they wanted you to be there. You know how they are." Lily explained, finally pulling out the big guns. "Besides I don't think Marlene would forgive me if made her daughter go through that kind of torture."

"A-ha! So you do agree that it's bad." Harry exclaimed triumphantly.

"I never said it wasn't. All I'm saying is that you have to go, and maybe you can try to enjoy yourself." She said with a pointed look.

Seeing that the battle was lost, Harry turned away with resignation. They were fighting over whether it was necessary for Harry to go to Dudley's eleventh birthday party or not. While Harry vehemently argued that it wasn't, Lily said that no matter how unpleasant the ordeal was, he'd have to go through it. The argument didn't go as planned for Harry.

Seeing Harry so let down, Lily decided to make amends and called out, "Fine, you can have Viscenya over tomorrow!"

Harry didn't turn around but yelled out an okay anyway. Lily still felt a bit bad for forcing a dreary day on her son. She wouldn't have felt so had she seen the wide, face-splitting smile that had taken over Harry's features, as he tried to keep the skip out of his step.

"This Knickerbocker Glory isn't good, I want another one," complained Dudley.

That was all he needed to say before Vernon Dursley, a large man with a walrus moustache who also happened to be his father and a scary person when angry, yelled at the attendant at the stall to make a better one. The first ice-cream was promptly thrown in the dustbin by a bony, horse-like lady who happened to be Dudley's mother; Petunia Dursley.

Harry just looked on in amusement.

He hadn't spent a lot of time with Dudley, but that isn't to say that they hadn't seen each other at all. They met up at least thrice a year, more often than that if their grandparents felt a bit frisky. Despite this, Harry could say that he knew his cousin's temperament well. Well enough to know what could trigger Dudley's bouts of anger (although it didn't take a genius to figure that out. It was simple, make one thing go against him, and he'll lose it).

Armed with this knowledge, Harry just had to wait for things to go wrong, and then simply relax and watch as the events unfolded. Right now, Dudley's fuming countenance was very amusing to Harry. Even after being placated with a new ice-cream, one with enough toppings and fudge, Dudley's bad mood didn't dissipate entirely. That added on to the already sour mood that Dudley was carrying since before the excursion had started. Apparently, he hadn't gotten enough gifts for his birthday.

Once the entire thing with the ice-cream was done with, they went on with the trip.

The various animals of the Zoo were fun to watch, the birds especially (Harry had seen a couple of parrots that were trained to speak a few words; he had the time of his life trying to hold a conversation with them.)

If Harry was being completely honest, he was having a pretty good time here. The Dursley's gave him a wide berth. They had put on their façade in front of Harry's grandparents and tried to engage him in conversation without seeming hostile. But now, without them here, they barely spared him a look, for that Harry was grateful. Dudley's friend Piers also chose to stick with him, occasionally sending sneers and directing jabs at Harry.

Harry didn't mind it, he had met Malfoy once; he was prepared for anything. It was a shame that Viscenya wasn't there with him, had she met Piers in real life, she'd have so much more material for her insults aimed at Malfoy.

Once they were done with the amphibians in the Zoo (apparently, they were going all around the establishment, Dudley would have complained about the walking, but before they even set foot in one of the sub-camps his parents would buy him a snack; that kept him going), they went to visit the reptile centre. That one made Harry nervous.

He had a secret that he hadn't told a lot of people, only two people in the world knew about it, him and Viscenya. If it had been his way he would've not told her either, but the circumstances of that time made it impossible for him to get away with it without an explanation.

He was scared of this… 'power', so much so that he hadn't told anyone, except for his best friend. Even his parents didn't know. He thought about telling uncle Sirius, just to test how his parents would take it. His uncle and father were very similar in temperament, so if uncle Sirius reacted in a certain way to something, Harry was sure that his father would do the same as well. But he didn't realize exactly how much courage it would take to admit that one simple fact.

(Not so 'simple' really, but yeah)

Eventually, he didn't go through with it. He felt bad for keeping this piece of information from his parents but it wasn't as if it was eating him alive. He only wanted to tell them in the first place, so that he'd have nothing to hide.

So he decided that he'd let the situation reveal itself. If he ever came across a snake while his parents were with him, he'd do nothing to hide this abnormality. That's how he would let them know. Despite all the talk of him being a thorough Gryffindor, he felt very scared at the prospect of directly telling the secret to his parents.

Whenever the situation would arise, he's let the cat out of the bag, till then, only Viscenya would know and he was happy with that.

He drifted towards the cage that held a long winding snake, which looked thoroughly bored with existence. He didn't say anything but just looked on, observing its scales and features when Dudley came along.

Thud, thud, thud

Dudley's fat fingers jabbed at the glass wanting to wake the snake up, or get it to do anything that would amuse him.

The snake didn't humour the birthday boy. Harry winced slightly in annoyance as Dudley incessantly yelled and called on the snake for attention.

"Make it move!" Dudley's demanded of his father when he was done trying to vie for the snake's attention.

Mr Dursley rapped his knuckles on the window briefly, as if the snake would adhere to social convention and appreciate the fact that Mr Dursley acted like a gentleman.

Needless, to say it didn't. The snake barely even moved a centimetre, before Dudley declared that it was a waste of time, and moved on. Being a single child had led Dudley to believe that people would always be there for him when called upon; the snake didn't fit that mould, and that made Dudley angry.

Once Dudley, his father and his friend was gone, Harry looked around a bit before he engaged the snake in a conversation.

"Sorry about that" Harry said sympathetically to the snake.

The snake raised his head in a manner that said, "I get that all the time"

A beat passed before the snake recoiled a bit and hissed, "You are human, yet you speak my tongue, how?"

The snake's eyes were narrowed slits, evidence of the fact that it was wary of Harry.

"I don't know either, I've been able to all my life" Harry hissed back with a shrug.

When the snake didn't add anything, Harry knew that it would take more time than usual to get the being to like him. Most garden snakes that he'd find would always be overjoyed that there was a speaker amongst them. Harry put it down to the fact that since the snakes lived in the magical world, they weren't alien to the concept of wizards talking to creatures like themselves. But for a snake that has been in the muggle world since its birth, Harry realized that it must be difficult for the Being to just comprehend it all.

"Where are you from?" he prodded.

The snake still wasn't trusting of Harry but, it jabbed its tail towards a sign to the side of the glass cage.

'Boa Constrictor, Brazil'

Harry himself had never been to Brazil but Viscenya had, and he'd heard wonderful things about the place from her, "That's nice, Have you ever been there?" he asked.

The snake again jabbed its tail towards the sign and Harry read on:

'The specimen was bred in the zoo.'

"So, you've never been there," Harry said with a tinge of sadness lacing his words. He truly felt bad for the snake. Somehow the being picked up on this and softened a bit towards Harry.

Just as it shook its head in conformation a loud voice yelled, "DUDLEY! MR DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"

Harry whipped around to see Dudley's friend Piers look around in shock. Harry's mind became a whirlwind of thoughts.

Did Piers see him talk to the snake or did he just see the snake move?

Did anyone else see him?

And in that confusion he barely noticed Dudley wobble towards them at the fastest pace that he could.

"Move away, you!"Dudley said as he unceremoniously shoved Harry in the stomach, which led him to fall on the floor.

Dudley pressed his abnormally large face on the glass, his nose stuck to the cage and he looked quite like an idiot. But Harry noticed none of that.

Whatever version of burning hot rage a ten-year-old could feel, Harry felt it as he looked up at Dudley from his position on the floor. He had taken Dudley's sneers and jabs throughout the day, but this was the last straw.

Oh, how he wished that Dudley would fall into the very cage he was peering into.

The glass that held the Constrictor promptly vanished.

Dudley and his friend Piers fell headfirst into the cage.

Chaos ensued.

Without any regard to the flailing boys in the cage, the snake slithered out of the confines and landed on the floor. Mr and Mrs Dursley who had been screaming as it is, now screamed louder as the snake moved past them. Their yells were joined in by the other people who were visiting the Reptile house at that moment. Children and adults alike tried to gain a higher vantage point to escape the snake's wrath. They lifted their legs off the floor the best they could while also screaming bloody murder.

The employees of the Zoo weren't fairing any better, while they weren't screaming, they seemed to have gone into a shock as they scrambled to calm the people down and to get the appropriate personnel to capture the snake.

Harry was still lying on the floor. He lifted himself on his elbows as the snake neared his body. Unlike before, the snake seemed much more open to Harry now. How could it not, after all, Harry had freed him for what might have been a lifetime of captivity.

It slithered towards Harry and bowed its head.

Harry just looked on bewildered beyond belief.

'Thanks, amigo, Brazil here I come' was the last thing Harry heard from the snake as it slithered past his body that was still in shock.

And then he chanced a look towards his cousin. The zoo employees had managed to get Dudley's top half out of the pit. They were now struggling to get his legs out of the cage.

His eyes moved to the right just a bit when his gaze was met with the heated glare of his uncle's. A weight dropped in his stomach.

"Lily, stop laughing."

The snickers didn't subside. James looked at his wife with pursed lips trying to reign in his laughter. "Lils, please. I beg you."

Lily just covered her mouth with a fist trying to keep herself from bursting out loud in raucous laughter, which she was partly successful in. But her slowly reddening face and the shaking of her shoulders were evidence enough that she was far from taking this seriously.

"He set a snake on his cousin, your nephew!" James said with force, willing his wife to take this seriously. How he wished the roles were reversed and that it wasn't him who was supposed to be the responsible one. But making the mistake of thinking that Lily Potter would be responsible when it came to her sister was on James. He should've known that his wife, who had given up long ago on making amends with her sister would under no circumstances think that the fact that her son had set a snake on his cousin, her nephew, was something to be taken seriously.

At that Lily dropped all pretences and let out full-blown laughs. So much so that at one point no sound emanated from her at all. She gripped the table in front of her for support with one hand as the other clutched at her stomach.

Harry, who was nervous beyond belief before, now felt slightly more at ease. He even cracked a smile at his mother's behaviour.

Just then, his younger brother came into Harry's room, obviously wanting to hear what the hubbub was all about. Even before Harry had come home, the news of what had happened had reached James and Lily.

James had sent one of the young Aurors to tail Harry while he was out with the muggles. He couldn't just leave Harry alone under the 'care' of his extended 'family' while Pettigrew was still at large. It was fairly easy for James to convince the young Auror to do his bidding. For one, James Potter was well on his way to becoming the Head of the Auror Department, besides he was much too popular with or without his upcoming promotion for people to refuse him. For another, it was the Boy-Who-Lived he was talking about. Not that James liked to pull that fact to get people to do something for him, but if it meant ensuring his son's safety, then why not? At the slightest mention of Harry, the youngling was practically salivating at the chance to go out and do the fieldwork.

"Did you really make Dudley fall into a cage?"Fleamont asked with barely hidden fascination, there was no doubt that he admired his older brother. But every so often Harry would do something that would add fuel to the fire that was Fleamont's awe of him.

(From behind the room, Lily's laughter turned several decibels louder at that)

But Harry was quick to explain himself, "W- Well, I didn't make him fall into the cage," he said hastily, hazarding a glance at his father, "Nor did I set the snake on him."

"All I did was made the glass that held the cage together vanish. That's it! I swear." Harry said with his arms up in surrender.

"Although I wanted to set the snake on Dudley, I didn't. He pushed me out of the way and then I got mad, and then I wished that he'd fall into the cage and then he did because the glass had vanished!" he explained further, quite out of breath.

"Oh," Fleamont said dejectedly and visibly deflated, "Well, that's not cool at all."

James who had earlier been the only person who wanted to treat this conversation seriously, now found himself nodding along to what his youngest son had said, "Yep, Harry you could have done better."

Lily wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, as she sobered up a bit.

"While I agree with James in that setting a snake would have been 'cooler'; I also understand why you didn't do it. After all, it's not as if you can talk to snakes or anything." She said offhandedly.

Harry sucked in a sharp breath at that. It was now or never, this was the chance he had been waiting for. While he had to admit this made it difficult for him to reveal the secret more naturally, it was still a gateway and he would take what he got.

"…well," Harry began, "there might have been a way for me to set the snake on him."

James screwed his eyes in confusion as he looked at Harry, "What do you mean?"

Harry rubbed his hands over his face, trying to summon the courage that his parents had in droves, which he hoped they had passed on to him.

He forced himself not to cry as he screwed his eyes shut and started to explain this nasty predicament.

"Uh, well you see… eh… I- I have f- found that… I can – oh Merlin"

He couldn't do it; he couldn't say it out loud.

Lily, who earlier found it difficult to keep a straight face, was now more serious than ever. "What is it, love? You know you can tell us anything, right?"

Harry nodded briefly at that, not taking in the words. Man, this would've been way easier if Viscenya had been here. Knowing that there was someone who didn't judge him for this 'gift' would have made this easier. Heck, even if she didn't know, her presence in itself would have given him something else to focus on, except for his parents' reactions.

As Harry took his time, James and Lily shared a worried look.

A couple of moments of tense silence passed, even eight-year-old Fleamont kept quiet, while he didn't understand the severity of the situation, he realized that it must've been something really serious for both his parents to be this worried about it.

Harry took one deep breath, "I can talk to snakes."

James slipped from his seat on the chair.

Fleamont smiled widely and whispered, "Cool"

And Lily muttered a lowly, "fuck"

Endnote: eh, it's shorter than most chapters, but I for one really enjoyed writing this. Also, idk if you've noticed but the Lily in this story is a bit different than the Lily in canon or in other fanfics. Her relationship with Petunia, for one, is obviously very strained and for once Lily does not seem in the mood to improve it.

For another, Lily is not completely averse to a good old prank or two in this storyline. I hope that works for you guys :)

Of course, reviews and constructive criticism is welcome! Make sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think

till next time:)