Author's Note:

A few things before we begin:

The story is AU for all 7 years. However, assume I'm sticking to canon unless the story says or implies otherwise. The story also features manipulative but ultimately good-natured Dumbledore, has some Weasley bashing.

"speech"

thoughts

~parseltongue~

It had been four years since Harry Potter appeared on the porch of the Dursley family. With grumbling and discontent, they had taken him in. Not to say that they had given him a loving life - oh no, they did not. Harry quickly had to learn to be polite, to be obedient, and to never complain. If one were to objectively describe his life, it was barely better than that of a slave. From dusk till dawn, he had to do chores as soon as he was old enough to walk and hold a sponge in his hands. Cooking, washing dishes, cleaning the toilet, cleaning the shower, washing the windows, vacuuming the floor, washing the floor, weeding the garden, and myriad other chores were dumped on him day by day.

On a warm spring day, he as usual awoke early in the morning in the cupboard under the stairs. It was dark, the air was stale, and his body was still sore, seemingly from the yard work he did the day before. However, something was different - his vision was now clear and the cupboard seemed brighter than it should be without the door open. He attempted to blink but found he couldn't. However, his eyes weren't dry. He tried to move his arms to rub his eyes but found he couldn't even feel them. His heart skipped a beat - his body didn't feel right at all. It was long and slim, longer than it should be, and there was no discernible difference between the torso and the neck or even legs, for that matter. His head was smaller, longer than it was tall or wide, and his eyes felt like they were on the sides of his head, not in the front. Unconsciously, his forked tongue flicked out of the mouth, and Harry got an influx of information. His aunt Petunia smelled of flowers and too-clean clothes, and she was coming from her and uncle Vernon's room upstairs. His uncle smelled of metal and sweat and was still snoring loudly. Dudley was still asleep, and he smelled of sweat and last night supper, as well as a stinky fart. Now that Harry noticed, the sounds appeared muted and less full than before. His tongue flicked out once more and he sensed aunt Petunia coming to the door of the cupboard.

Harry panicked - he felt weird, everything was foreign, and he didn't know what to do. Why was he in this strange body? He was now sure it wasn't his regular human body. As a matter of fact, an understanding dawned on him, and he realized with great horror that he was a snake.

"Wake up, boy!" his aunt rapped her knuckles on the door, an annoying sound, "Stop lazing about!"

"C-coming!" he replied hastily, and he could hear there was a hissing quality to his voice now. Panic took him - how would he explain it? Every time something 'freaky' happened to him, his relatives were very angry. He was afraid to even think of what they would do to him when they saw he was a snake.

"Now, boy..." Petunia impatiently opened the door and then was frozen in place at the sight. A one-and-a-half-meter long snake with grass-green scales and a black zig-zag pattern on the back as well as black diamond patterns on the sides lay on the bed instead of her much disliked human nephew. The slightly red lightning-bolt-shaped scar was on top of his head, easily visible on the black scales. His eyes now featured vertical slit pupils but remained their vibrant emerald color, looking at his aunt warily.

"I'm, um..." Harry spoke slowly, a surprisingly human voice coming out of the maw, "A s-snake?"

And then Petunia screamed, running away back upstairs, calling for her husband. Knowing it meant nothing but trouble, Harry slithered out of his cupboard with surprising ease and then stopped, his mind frantically working on a solution. It was obvious nothing good would come of this situation.

"VERNON!" Petunia screeched from upstairs, "That freak turned, turned into a snake!"

"What?" Harry's uncle replied with much bewilderment before his scent switched to enraged, "BOY! This is the last of your freakishness!" he bellowed as he stomped from the bedroom.

Harry knew what it meant - a thorough beating, being locked in the cupboard for an entire day, and being deprived of food all at once. He knew there was only one thing he could do - escape. With panicked haste, he slithered to the entrance as his uncle rushed down the stairs. Harry climbed up the door and wrapped around the handle, pushing it down and opening the entrance. He flopped back on the floor, nudged the door wide enough, and quickly slithered out, not bothering to close it behind him. He quickly disappeared in the neatly manicured bushes and slid along the street as quickly as he could, not heeding the shouts and yells coming from what the house he never truly considered home.

He didn't know how much time passed since his escape, but he felt thoroughly exhausted when he made his way into a local park, hoping to hide there for the time-being. Surprisingly for him, he didn't feel sweaty at all, but he did feel warmer than he should be. Which, after a moment of thought, became far less surprising - he was a snake, after all.

Now that he was away from his so-called relatives, he had time. He coiled underneath a tree in the more overgrown part of the park and thought. He wished he could close his eyes, but it was not to be. However, he could with surprising ease ignore his surroundings by making his vision blurry. He let out a snake sigh of relief - it felt good to be coiled like that.

Now, why was he a snake? He had no idea. He remembered going to sleep a human. He didn't have any dreams at all either that night. As far as he knew, he simply woke up a snake. He didn't know much about snakes - Dudley wasn't all that interested in reading period, and Harry didn't have any books of his own. But, from what he knew, and from what he heard other snakes talking - as rare as their appearance was in Privet Drive - he was an adder, a venomous snake. However, he had never seen a snake as large as himself before. Maybe because he was a freak, and he would remain a freak even as a snake.

He felt tired. Slowly but surely, he fell asleep under the shade of the tree.

As he became awake in the evening, thoroughly rested, he was face to face with a brown-and-black scaled snake, its round yellow eyes looking at him with interest. Startled, Harry bounced back and away from the snake, letting out a surprised yell.

~You're not a snake like us,~ the grass snake hissed, curiosity in its scent.

~I'm, uh... I'm Harry,~ Harry hissed back awkwardly, relaxing just a bit.

~Speaker!~ the snake seemed happy, ~You've talked to some of our less intelligent brethren.~

~You can understand me?~

~Of course we can, you're a Speaker,~ the snake replied as if the answer was obvious, ~You wouldn't be able to talk to us or understand us if you weren't.~

~Okay,~ Harry simply replied, accepting the fact. His stomach grumbled, ~Um, what's your name?~

~Sssisus,~ the snake made a slight nod with his head, ~You're hungry, hatchling,~ his tongue flicked, ~There's a tasty mouse nearby.~

~I, um, don't want a mouse, thanks,~ Harry politely rejected, although his body felt like it could go for a rodent, ~I, um... will get food... some other way?~

~A human closed shop nearby, a butchery,~ Sssisus explained, turning his head, ~I will lead you to it, you can steal from the human. You'll have to learn to survive, hatchling.~

Seeing no other option, Harry complied. His life was certainly going to become harder, at least until he figured out how to be a human again.

If it was possible at all.

As it turned out for Harry Potter, a human turned snake, it was impossible to get his original body back. Not that he wanted to - no doubt the police would find him then and bring him back to his insufferable relatives. The life as a snake was far easier. During the day, he lazed about in the sun or read books - he made it a habit to slither into the local library when no one was looking - and closer to the nighttime, he would slither into local shops to snatch something to eat. There were no relatives to deny him food or hit him anymore, for which he was very glad. However, he was almost caught once.

Harry slid into the shop as quietly as he could and made his way to the poultry section. Now that he was bigger, nearly two meters long, he could easily devour a whole chicken without having to awkwardly tear it apart with his body first. As he went up the counter and towards the tasty-looking chicken in the fridge, a human appeared out of the back room, holding a wicked-looking hatchet.

"Here you are, you slithering stealing bastard!" the mustached man bellowed, running up to the counter and swinging his tool with all his might.

Harry slithered out of the way in time as the hatchet embedded itself in the counter. He quickly flopped to the floor and dashed to the door, but the floor was tile, making it slippery.

"Oh no you don't!" the man swung the hatchet and threw it at Harry. He panicked, trying to slither faster but ended up rolling over in place, and then he wished to escape. To the great surprise of the butcher, the snake disappeared with a loud pop, "What in the blubbering hell was that?!"

Harry would blink in confusion if he still could - he was no longer in the butchery but under one of the bushes outside. Did he just teleport? Deciding to think of it later, he made his way to a different shop far away from the crazed butcher. He thought it would be for the best to not come back for some time.

Soon after, the legend of a snake-thief formed in Surrey. Not many believed it, but quite a few people saw the black-and-green adder slithering around after dark, and rumors spread. A party was formed to catch the snake and throw it out into the wild, but Harry evaded them all using the snake senses and his human intelligence. In fact, it was even fun to do - far better than Harry Hunting his fat whale of a cousin did to him, at least. Well, unless you count the butcher, but Harry hadn't visited him since that incident. Thankfully for him, the majority of the people were aware of a 1981 law that forbade people from harming snakes, so Harry was never really in danger as long as he didn't bite anyone. At one point, he was tempted to slither back into the Dursley household and give his relatives a bite each, but decided against it. If he were unlucky, his uncle would surely fall on him and squash him to death. However, he had nothing against pinching some things from the Dursleys once in a while which he hid or played with in what he deemed Harry's Lair - a small cave he dug under his favorite tree in the park. He reinforced the walls with a few bricks he swiped from a construction site nearby, and then it became quite a cozy place to be in during the most searing summer days.

He knew he wasn't just a regular snake - the majority of the snakes were dumb, speaking only of getting food, lying in the sun, or mating. Sssisus and Harry weren't like that - the former could give a regular human a run for their money when it came to intelligence, and Harry had been - and in some ways, still was - a human. The two formed a close friendship and helped each other out when it came to avoiding predators and getting food. Sssisus showed the young boy many different holes he could use to slither around undetected in various buildings. There was option of using the sewer as well, but it was much too smelly and gross for Harry. When winter came, Sssisus went to hibernate in one of the warmer hiding holes while Harry spent his time reading and learning, hiding from the cold in people's homes. He had found out that he was, unlike other snakes, warm-blooded, and he never needed to hibernate. And while he couldn't go to school, he was pretty good at math and could even write using his tail wrapped around a pen, he could draw reasonably well too. On Christmas, he drew a simple sketch of a snake biting Dudley in the butt and hid it under the Christmas tree in the Dursley household. He snickered and giggled when the entire family screamed and yelled and ran around the house in search of him, only for him to swiftly disappear without ever being noticed.

He knew he wasn't just a regular human turned snake either - strange things happened to him. Aside from that incident of teleportation, he never found any difficulty with locks, and predators avoided him like the plague. He could use the tip of his tail to conjure sparks to scare off anyone, too. Even more, he could summon and even hold things without using his tail or touching them at all - it was quite a neat replacement for his hands, even if it was somewhat imprecise. This mystery got an answer a few days before his birthday when an owl of all things dropped a letter on him while he was lazing in the sun.

~What is it, Harry?~ Sssisus asked him, eyeing the owl with suspicion as it perched on a nearby tree and watched the snakes with fascination.

~No one has ever written me letters before,~ the boy replied in puzzlement as his tail wrapped around it and turned it so that he could see the front of the envelope. It was made out of some sort of thick and heavy paper-like sheet that smelled of an animal.

Mr H. Potter

Harry's Lair

Little Whinging Park

Little Whinging

Surrey

Harry stared at it. A letter, addressed to him this way? How did they know where he was? How did they even know what his place was called? To his knowledge, only the Dursleys knew he was a snake, but they would never search for him. As a matter of fact, they'd be quite happy to never see Harry Potter the Freak ever again. Not only that, but they'd never use emerald-green ink to write letters either, and there was no stamp either. He turned the envelope around and saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. With much interest, Harry tore the envelope and fished a letter out of it with his tail. It read the following:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Harry stared at it stupidly for a moment. Something clicked together in his head - maybe this explained everything. Why he was a snake, why he could do things no other snakes or people around him could. He continued reading with even more curiosity than before.

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

That's a lot of titles, Harry thought, I think it means Grand Sorcerer. But what does Chf. Warlock mean? And Mugwump? What's International Confederation of Wizards?

He decided to continue reading, his curiosity at an all-time high now.

***
Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress
***

We await your owl by no later than 31 July? Harry thought, then shifted his eyes to the owl patiently waiting on the branch of the tree, Oh, so I need to send a letter back.

"I'll, uh, get some paper," he told the owl, which hooted at him in reply. He slithered into his lair and quickly found a stack of paper he once stole from an office as well as a pen, also from the same office. He set the paper on a flat piece of wood that acted as a table of sorts and began writing after turning on a battery-powered lamp.

Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,

He paused, thinking of what he could write that wouldn't sound awkward. It was the first time he received a letter and he had no idea how to properly reply to one. At least his writing was decent - it was a bit loopy but it was readable. If anything, he was happy with how different his writing looked, it definitely showed that he was a snake. He nibbled on the pen for a bit - without touching the fangs or spraying venom, of course - and then resumed.

Until today, I had no idea I was a wizard. I knew I was different - I turned into a snake when I was five. Then I could do strange things like make sparks go out of my tail or disappear in one place and appear in another or make predators go away or make things move without touching them. I thought maybe it was because I was a weird snake. But this letter explains it. I have many questions. But because I'm a snake, how will I go to school? I don't think this school is just for snakes like me or maybe other people who are animals too. I want to talk to someone about it so that they can answer my questions and I can ask questions too.

Harry thought for a moment - undoubtedly a Deputy Headmistress would want proof that he was, in fact, a snake. He turned to the corner of his lair where a Polaroid instant camera was lying wrapped in a plastic bag to protect it from moisture and dirt. He remembered how he snatched it from Dudley and then hid in the cupboard, snickering at his cries about his camera having disappeared. Not that Dudley could ever be a good photographer - the most he did with cameras was break them and then put them in the second bedroom along with all the other toys and gifts he had broken or never used over the years. Harry didn't consider this camera a stolen good - more like a rescued item instead.

Harry turned the camera on himself and then pressed the button. The flash blinded him for a moment before a photo was printed. He took a stick of glue and glued the photo to the paper, signing it underneath with Me.

***
Yours sincerely,
***

Harry thought for a moment before deciding on his own signature.

***
Harry Potter • •

Harry Potter

Big adder snake
***

Satisfied with the letter, he fetched a blank envelope - which he, like many other things, rescued from the Dursleys - and then put the letter inside. After putting the address, which consisted of just the name of the Deputy Headmistress, he sealed the envelope with the glue and looked at the owl. It hooted at him and then descended, snatched the letter from his loose grasp, and flew off.

~I think I'm going to school, Sssisus,~ Harry told his friend.

~Hogwarts is a good school,~ Sssisus nodded, ~I heard about it. All British wizards and witches study there. I know one of the Houses in it is that of a snake. You will probably be there.~

~I think so, yeah,~ Harry easily agreed. After all, if they were somehow sorted into different Houses, where else would he go than the House of the Snake?

Minerva McGonagall was sitting in her office at Hogwarts, finishing the required paperwork before the beginning of the school. She always got it done before August so that she could rest before the students came back or, in the case of first years, entered Hogwarts for the first time. An owl knocked on the glass in the window of her office, distracting her from her thoughts. She stood up from the comfortable armchair, walked up to the window, and opened it to accept the owl. To her surprise, it carried a muggle-looking letter - made of paper and not parchment. She fetched the letter, thanked the owl, and went back to her desk. She cut open the envelope with her magic and took the letter in her hands. She smiled a little as she saw whom it was from. She remembered Harry's parents well: James and Lily did well in their studies even if the former did a lot more mischief than reading himself. However, she blanched when she got to the part where Harry explained he was a snake. She went further, her face pale. When she got to the photo, a photo of a big green adder snake, it took all her will not to faint from shock.

Minerva swiftly stood up from her armchair and marched out of the room, the letter clenched in her grasp. Her steps echoed sharply along the empty halls of Hogwarts as she made her way to the office of the Headmaster. He barely chocked out the password and rode up the stairs. She flung the door open.

"Ah, Minerva..." Albus Dumbledore paused when he saw a distressed expression on her face. His own became more serious, "What is it?"

"It is Harry Potter," she firmly placed the letter in front of the Headmaster, "He is... he claims to be a snake."

The eyebrows of the famous Headmaster disappeared into his hairline. In silence, he picked up the letter and read it, his eyes widening considerably. He practically jumped out of his armchair and raced around his desk to the front.

"Come with me, Minerva," he said in a serious voice, and the Deputy Headmistress did as he ordered.

A few minutes later, the two apparated to the doorstep of Privet Drive, Number Four. Albus knocked on the door thee times and waited.

"Yes?" the door opened, revealing Petunia smiling her fake neighbourly smile. Her face turned into a snarl when she noticed just who was standing on her doorstep, "What do you want?"

"Good day, Mrs. Dursley," Albus started in that patient and grandfatherly voice of his, "Would you happen to know where Harry Potter is? Is he truly a snake?"

"I haven't seen him for years. Good riddance. Now get out," she snarled and attempted to smash the door into the Headmaster's face. However, some invisible force held it open.

"I'm terribly sorry, but we need to find out what happened," Albus replied calmly, "May we enter?"

Deciding it was better to let the two freaks in than for the neighbours to see them on her doorstep, Petunia relented. McGonagall and Dumbledore entered the house, and the door shut behind them.

"Who is it, Pet?" the voice of Vernon carried from the kitchen.

"Them, dear," Petunia marched in front of the wizard and witch, "They need to know where the boy is."

Minerva looked at her with disappointment and then turned her glare at Albus. No wonder Harry was missing - Dursleys would never accept a human-turned-snake. Of course, her warnings about them were ignored, and Harry was still left on their doorstep on that fateful night almost ten years ago. But of course everything needed to happen how Dumbledore wanted, no matter the protests. At least now Minerva had proof that they were truly unsuitable for the wizard such as Harry. Even if Minerva's own children turned into snakes, she would never abandon them.

"Now look here," Vernon started when he saw the two, his face already going red, "I don't want any freakishness in my house! The ungrateful brat had the audacity to turn himself into a snake and then escape punishment! We've not seen him and we don't want to see him."

"Mr. Dursley, do you know how or why Mr. Potter turned into a snake?" Minerva asked, her voice stern, her glare firmly on the big man.

"I already told you all I know, what more do you want?" he bit back, "The brat has not shown his face here for six years, and he better not. I won't tolerate a, a, a snake eating from our table."

Albus Dumbledore looked into his eyes and performed Legilimency on the muggle. In a second, he knew everything Vernon knew about Harry. Then he did the same to Petunia, and gathered a fuller picture. He committed Harry's new snake appearance to memory.

"Thank you, Mr. Dursley," Albus said with a smile, "In this case, we'll be off."

"You better," Vernon grumbled, "And don't you dare show up again! We don't care to take the boy back! Take him anywhere than back to us, you hear!"

Once the door was shut behind them, the two used their magic to transform their clothes into muggle suits. They were outdated, of course, but at least they were still suits and not the robes. Undoubtedly, muggles would find them much weirder and wouldn't hesitate to call the police on the pair of seemingly demented and senile old people.

"I told you not to bring Harry to them," Minerva glared at Albus, "I sincerely doubt they treated him well even before he became... a snake."

"Now, Minerva," he scolded softly, "I'm sure they would accept him eventually. But a great shock to see him turn into a snake certainly soured their mood. We shouldn't blame them for it."

A thin-lipped expression of anger remained on the face of the Deputy Headmistress but she decided against pressing the issue. At least Harry was away from them now.

"I hope you don't think of putting him back with them," she said, "There are many more families that would happily take him in regardless of his... problem."

"I agree that putting him back with the Dursleys won't be good," Albus nodded, knowing full well that the blood wards had been long gone before today. The spy in Mrs. Figg proved to be unreliable - she didn't notify him of Harry's disappearance. However, not all was lost. The only issue now was finding a family that would protect Harry while still remaining loyal to him. He couldn't afford to lose the boy, not when the future depended on the Boy-Who-Lived, "What families do you have in mind, Minerva?"

"Perhaps the Longbottoms," she said slowly, "I believe Harry is now more than self-sufficient, so Augusta won't have to struggle to manage both him and Neville. Their wards are strong, and they have enough land for Harry to explore while still being safe. Augusta would also be more tolerant of his appearance than families like the Weasleys."

The Weasleys were Light as far as one could remember, all of them Gryffindors. They hated Slytherins with a passion, and it certainly extended on the House's symbol - a snake.

"I don't think it is a good choice," Albus disagreed, "The boys need to grow up separately, I'm afraid. Putting them together would only put them in danger."

Minerva didn't like it but nodded - there was at least some truth to that. However, she quickly found that there wouldn't be many families willing to take in a snake as their son. Certainly not the majority of traditionally Gryffindor families, to her great shame. It simply hurt to think that Harry could end up without a loving family at all despite his fame. Now her statement about many families being willing to take him in seemed hollow, without any factual support.

Albus Dumbledore didn't yet know the solution either - Harry Potter was supposed to stay with his relatives, protected by the blood wards until he became seventeen. He knew the boy wouldn't experience a good life there, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make for the sake of defeating Voldemort for good. He even had to block the will of Potters in order for it to happen - otherwise, he would go to Sirius Black, who was, frankly, too hot-headed even before he, as unbelievable as it was, betrayed Potters. If not to him, then Harry would go to Longbottoms, which was certainly foolish - the fate of Alice and Frank proved it shortly after the end of the war. However, now he remembered a third choice - the Tonks family. Potters and Tonkses were on friendly terms in the past, often visiting each other before the war. Their home, to Albus' knowledge, wasn't warded as well as Longbottom Manor or any of the Black properties, but it would be a decent choice, especially if the Tonkses allowed him to cast his own wards over it.

"I believe the Tonkses would be willing to take Harry in," Albus voiced his thoughts.

"...Very well," Minerva nodded after a moment of thought, "Perhaps it is the best choice. Let us hope they will accept him, then."

In the next few minutes, they finally reached the park. They made their way to where the owl delivered Harry his Hogwarts letter and looked around.

"Mr. Potter?" Albus called. He heard a rustle in the grass and saw a snake peek out of it. Undoubtedly, it was Harry - the scar and the emerald eyes were unmistakable even with the change of body, "We've come to talk to you about Hogwarts."

"Oh," he said in a human voice, surprising both of them, "Um, hello."

"I'm Albus Dumbledore, and she's Minerva McGonagall," the Headmaster introduced the two before conjuring a chair for each as well as a perch for Harry. Hesitantly, the snake-boy climbed on top of it and coiled around it, his unblinking gaze on the wizard in front of him, "I'll admit we were surprised to receive your letter. We would never imagine that you would be a snake, Mr. Potter."

"I've been like this since I was five, sir," Harry replied politely and did his best imitation of shrugging, "So... can I go to Hogwarts?"

"Undoubtedly," Albus smiled at him, his eyes twinkling, "Your parents went to Hogwarts as well, and we would be glad to receive their son, snake or not."

"You knew my parents?" Harry's eyes widened, "I, um... My aunt didn't tell me anything about them. I tried to talk to her about them before but she only told me to shut up."

Minerva winced at his words then glared at Albus.

"Your parents were an accomplished pair of wizards, Mr. Potter," she decided to say, "James did rather well in Transfiguration, the class I teach, as well as in Potions and Charms. Lily excelled most in Charms and Potions, but they were evenly matched. Very bright students, both of them."

The next hour or so were spent with the three talking, and Harry hungrily absorbed every bit of information they could provide him about Hogwarts and especially his parents. He learned of their sacrifice to save him, and he would shed tears if he was capable of doing so. For the first time in his life, he learned that someone did truly love him, going so far as to give their own lives so that he may live. Silently, he promised himself not to let down his parents and to study hard so that their sacrifice was not in vain - it wouldn't be good for him to become a lazy bum just because his parents left him an inheritance that would allow him to be one. He also learned of the subjects taught at Hogwarts as well as of various places related to the Wizarding World in Britain.

"I have a question," he said, and Hogwarts supply list flew from his lair into his tail grip. Both wizards raised their brows at the display of magic, but Harry didn't notice it, "This list... I'm a snake, so I think some things won't work for me. Like robes or a hat."

"Arrangements can be made to fit you, don't worry Mr. Potter," Minerva said, "Madam Malkin is an expert when it comes to clothes, she will no doubt find a solution for anyone."

"Now, Harry, dear boy, there is something I need to talk to you about," Albus said softly, "How have you managed to survive all these years?"

"Oh, um, I just slithered around as I needed, sir," he replied shyly, "I, um... well, I slept in homes of strangers. You won't arrest me for it, right?"

"Of course not, Harry," Albus smiled at him in his grandfatherly way, "It is quite understandable with your situation. However, would you like a permanent home?"

"I'd love to!" he perked up before immediately drooping, "But who will take me in? I'm a snake."

"I know a certain family who would love to have a snake such as you," the Headmaster assured, "As a matter of fact, would you like to come see them now?"

"Yes! I'll just say goodbye to my friend," he slid off the perch and into the grass, ~Sssisus? They want me to live with a family! You're not mad, are you?~

~Of course not, Harry,~ the friendly snake assured him, ~It is time you return to your people. Visit me sometimes, will you?~

~Sure! It was good being here with you, Sssisus.~

~Likewise, Harry. Good luck with your new home!~

"Mom, it's the Headmaster, he wants to see you and dad," a girl with pink hair said as she looked into the kitchen of a modest house.

"Tell him I'm coming, Dora," Andromeda said as she stood up from the table, leaving her supper unfinished for the time-being. Ted Tonks, her husband, followed her, both of them wondering what Dumbledore wanted from them. As far as they knew, it wasn't their daughter that was in trouble - the school year had ended some time ago, after all.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Tonks," the Headmaster said. He was alone for the moment - Minerva decided she needed to have a drink after the whole ordeal. In his hands was a burlap sack, which appeared to be moving slightly, "May I?"

"Of course, Headmaster," Andromeda said, letting him in. The three made their way to the kitchen where they sat down. The family offered the Headmaster tea, which he gladly accepted.

"I'd like first to say that there is nothing to be afraid of," he began gently, "In the sack, there is a snake. But it's not a usual snake by any means."

"Alright," Andromeda eyed the sack warily, "May I ask what it has to do with us?"

"Well, without further ado..." Albus allowed a smirk to show on his face, "Come out, Harry."

Out of the sack, a big green and black adder snake slithered out and coiled itself on the chair, looking at Andromeda and then Ted with that unblinking gaze of his.

"Um... hi?" Harry offered with what he hoped was a friendly wave of his tail. The two Tonkses stared at him as silence fell on the room. Then Ted stood up, muttering curses under his breath, and got some firewhiskey out of a cupboard, as well as three shot glasses. Albus politely refused, but Andromeda and Ted both drank one.

"This is Harry Potter," Headmaster continued as if nothing unusual was going on, "Due to unknown circumstances, he turned into a snake when he was five. We hope to find him a suitable family to live with - he is far too young to be by himself, especially in his form."

"That's... unusual," Andromeda stuttered, "So, you're Harry Potter?"

"I am," the snake nodded, hope dying inside him. He didn't see how they would accept him now.

"Here," Andromeda managed to discern his defeated expression and decided to give him a cookie. Pleasantly surprised, he gladly took it and then swallowed it whole, "I can't believe you had to be on your own since you were five. Of course we'll accept you!"

Ted's face remained blank for a moment before he nodded hesitantly.

"You will?" Harry perked up, his body moving slightly to break the cookie in smaller parts, "Really?"

"Snake or not, you're the son of our friends," Andromeda explained, "It would be wrong not to take care of you," she turned to the Headmaster, "Now, what about the papers?"

"Of course, here," Albus nodded, pulling out a small stack of parchment from a pocket in his robes. Barely a minute later, Harry Potter was officially adopted by the Tonks family. He was excitedly bobbing up and down, a snake grin plastered on his face.

"So, mom, it's not about... me..." the daughter of the family slowed down when she reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes catching the glimpse of the snake. Harry once again drooped, not knowing what to do when Nymphadora stared at him. Then her hair turned an even deeper shade of pink, "Oh, he's so cute!"

If snakes could blush, Harry would be positively red from head to tail at that moment.

"Nymphadora, this is Harry Potter," Andromeda introduced her daughter to the snake-boy, "He somehow turned into a snake when he was give."

The young Tonks ignored the use of her much-hated name and just stared at the snake, who stared back at her. Her hair changed multiple colors before it settled on bright pink once more.

"Bloody hell," she barely whispered.

"Language, Nymphadora," Andromeda chided her, "He's a part of the family now. Can you believe he had to survive, all by himself, as a snake, for six years? Unbelievable. I hoped someone-" her gaze turned to Dumbledore "-would keep an eye on him. At least he's safe now."

Then Dora laughed, long and heartily. With a spring in her step, she went up to Harry and hugged him, the act throwing him completely out of the loop.

"Two of us weirdos now!" she exclaimed happily, "Welcome to the family, Harry!"

Harry melted into the hug, an honest smile on his face. Finally, after many years, he had a family. He won't have to slither around stealing food, he won't have to avoid people when looking for a place to sleep.

Finally, he had proper home.