There are a few majorish changes from canon in this fic, the first of which being that Harry (and Dudley) are both 8 instead of turning 11. The second is that Newt Scamander is present and apparently young, though that will be explained in a future chapter. The final change is that the Dursleys are rather more awful than in canon, though of course in canon they were not great. Nothing will be graphic, though mentions of the abuse (and possible minimal swearing later) are what made me give this fic a T rating. Also, I have taken quite a few liberties on the abilities of the magical creatures featured in the fic, so some may have non-canonical talents.
AN: Thanks to those who let me know it posted weird. Hopefully this is better!
HPHP
Shortly thereafter, Harry found himself once again at the zoo's little restaurant. Pickett was once again in Newt's pocket, safely hiding from view. Harry was enjoying a knickerbocker glory for the first time in his life, having requested one when Newt offered him whatever he would like from their menu. Dudley had had the ice cream treat earlier during lunch, and thrown a fit when the first didn't have enough cream. Harry had been dismayed, but not surprised, when Uncle Vernon had gone to buy a new one for Dudley and just thrown the first one in the trash instead of giving it to the younger boy.
When they had found a table with a booth in the back of the restaurant along the wall, Newt had again taken out the stick and waved it around for a second before showing it to Harry. "This is a wand. Each wand is as unique as the wizard or witch that it chooses to wield it. They have a wood outer layer, as you can see, and typically have some part of a magical beast as their interior, from a unicorn tail hair to a phoenix feather or a dragon scale. Underage wizards such as yourself cannot get a wand until they are ready for formal schooling.
"Now," Newt added, giving a wave of his hand to encompass their table, "for the most part, magic isn't to be used when surrounded by muggles – that is, people without magic. Because we are here, and having to talk about magic, I made sure no one was looking and then did a little charm that will make muggles ignore us. They won't hear what we're talking about and walk right by without seeing us. Sometimes magic like that is needed to keep the wizarding world secret. Make sure that you never tell muggles about magic, Harry," Newt added firmly.
"I won't, sir! But, um, Mr. Newt, how did you know I wasn't a muggle?"
"Ah lad, please just call me Newt! And it was rather an easy thing to determine, actually. I heard you hissing at the snake, and sure, kids will do that sometimes when they see snakes, but when it started to hiss back I knew you were a parselmouth. A parselmouth is someone who speaks parseltongue, which is basically a magical language allowing you to speak with snakes and, according to some legends, various other reptiles."
"Newt, what do you mean hissing? I was just talking to it," Harry asked after licking a bit of cream from his spoon.
"Talking? No, lad, it sounded like hissing to me. Do you mean to say that to you it sounded just like English, like we are talking right now?" Newt asked excitedly. He reached back in to his pocket and pulled out the notebook and quill he had been using earlier. Harry thought fondly of the quill that he now had in his own pocket, Newt having let him keep it. Newt did the same flick of his wrists from before to straighten out the two objects (Harry reminded himself that he needed to ask Newt how that worked, as the thought of a snap bracelet that looked like a feather was very intriguing), then opened the notebook (skipping past the page that was now largely a black circle from earlier) and began to write notes. Harry was amused to note that the learning in their conversation seemed to be going both ways, with both Newt and Harry apparently teaching the other new things.
"Yes," Harry confirmed. "Though there was maybe a sound of hissing, just a bit? Like background noise through a window, almost. Oh! And he would kinda string out his letter 's's, right, almost like someone snoring."
"Like this?" Newt asked, then did a little hiss. Harry was highly amused to tell Newt that what, to him apparently just sounded like a drawn-out letter 's', sounded just like the words 'my cabbages' to Harry. If anything, Newt's excitement grew. "That means that others can speak parseltongue as well! I – they – would just need a teacher. What about this, what am I saying?" Newt questioned eagerly, giving another hiss.
Harry couldn't hide his grimace of disgust as he looked down at his ice cream. "'Juicy rat'," he translated.
"Ah," said Newt, also taking a glance at the boy's remaining ice cream. "Maybe we can do some more translating later, when no one is eating."
"I would like that, thanks," said Harry. "This is my first ice cream, I'd rather not spoil it."
"Ah," said Newt, apparently remembering something unpleasant and calming down a bit more. "That actually brings to mind another topic of conversation, but it can wait until you're finished. Hmm, what else, what else?"
"Newt, did you always know about magic?"
"I did, actually! My mother and father were both magical, as were my grandparents. That makes me something called 'pureblood,' namely that I have four magical grandparents. Some people really care about one's magical background, which I think is rather silly, myself. They seem to believe that having magical ancestors will make you more magically inclined, when there isn't actually any proof to that. Some people are born with magic to non-magical parents, which we call muggleborns, and some are born to parents where one parent is a muggle and another is a witch or wizard and we call those people half-bloods. You, Harry, are actually also considered a half-blood because, even though both of your parents were magical, your mother was a muggleborn. Basically this boils down to you having less than four magical grandparents and more than zero. Anyway, one's magical potential is just an amount you are born with, like the color of your eyes, or how long your beak is." So saying Newt bopped Harry on the nose and smiled at the surprised look he received for it.
"My mother actually raised hippogriffs, rather majestic creatures that are half eagle and half horse. They're large enough to ride on both the ground and when they fly, and I've done both plenty of times! She's rather who I inherited my love of animals from and why I'm a magizoologist, a magical zoologist."
"Oh, is that why you live at the zoo?" Harry asked, finishing the last bite of his ice cream. "I've been wondering all day."
Newt's eyebrows rose. "I don't live here," he said, looking around as if to check.
"Oh, do you live at another zoo then and you're just visiting?"
"No, I live in a house in the country, actually. Why do you think I live in a zoo?"
"Well, if you're not staying here why do you have a suitcase? It looks just like the one Uncle Vernon used when he went to stay with Aunt Marge last year when she broke her leg."
"Oh!" Newt chuckled. "This isn't a suitcase! Percy told me I should upgrade the outside so it wouldn't stand out as much, but I'm afraid I've been putting it off. This is a case where I keep my creatures, actually." Upon seeing Harry's skeptical look, he continued, "Really, I promise! And no, they're not just bugs or the size of Pickett. I've actually got creatures as large as our table here inside. Can you guess how?"
Harry, whose eyes had grown wide enough that he spared a thought about them falling out, could only say, "Magic?"
"Yes, precisely!" Newt exclaimed. "It has a charm—or really, quite a few charms actually—on it that make it bigger on the inside. When these latches are undone you can climb right down into it, no matter your size. Inside is actually about half the size of this zoo, maybe a little more. Some of my creatures are staying at home with Percy, but I have a few in my case here with me that need more specialized help. I'm doing a bit of travelling right now, actually, to visit my brother, so my case needed to come with me."
"Oh?" asked Harry, who couldn't imagine every wanting to visit Dudley.
"Yes, Theseus," Newt added. "He's actually just about to retire from the DMLE, or the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the magical police men. I've been here a few days already and will just be staying for about a week more."
"Oh," Harry said again, though this time much sadder. He was really liking chatting with someone who didn't immediately think he was an awful person and would be sad to see Newt go. He tried to rally and asked Newt, "So if you're staying around here why did you bring your suitcase to the zoo?"
"When I travel I always check out the local zoos, just to make sure that no magical animals were accidently acquired. Some look very similar to their non-magical counterparts. Take the boomslang snakes, for example. Boomslangs have a brownish-black coloring, while magical boomslangs are more of a purple-black. It's a subtle enough difference that muggles will likely just explain it as being unique. However, a magical boomslang will grow to be a bit larger and their venom will make a person hallucinate that their bodies are changing around on them, which actually led to the discovery that their skin can be used in a few different physically altering potions.
"It's actually not always necessary for a magical creature to be removed from a muggle zoo," Newt continued, "but I bring my case with me just in case I need to."
"But if they're magic and muggles aren't s'posed to know about magic, why could they stay?"
"Well, like I mentioned about the boomslangs, some magical creatures look so much like their muggle counterparts that it's unlikely anyone would really notice. The boomslangs would most likely be fine to stay in a muggle zoo as they are very unlikely to be biting anyone. So, if they blend in alright, are being treated fine, and shouldn't cause too much trouble, sometimes I'll just leave them where they are. I do always try to rehabilitate any magical creatures I happen across and release them back in the wild when I can, but it's not always possible. Sometimes they're too hurt, or were born in captivity of some sort and just don't know how to survive by themselves, so in that case it would just be a zoo caring for them or me caring for them myself."
Harry nodded, thinking that rather made sense.
"Now, I think we need to have a little chat," said Newt. He looked more serious than before, his focus now entirely on Harry. He took a deep breath and continued, "Harry, earlier Pickett confirmed something for me. I've been around magical creatures for a long time – longer than you might think! – and have a rather keen sense for sensing magical energy. Something about your scar was putting me on alert, as it were, and Pickett confirmed that it had a rather dark presence. Now, don't fear! I am fairly sure that I'll be able to help, and if not me directly a friend of mine will be able to for sure."
"What do you mean, presence? And how would you help?" asked Harry, hands clutching on to the loose fabric at the knees of Dudley's large castoffs.
"Sometimes magic can leave a mark. Most times it doesn't, like in the case of the people ignoring us here; when we leave, I will take the spell down, and no one will be able to tell that magic happened here within the day. But again, sometimes magic does leave a mark. I don't know exactly what happened to give you that scar, but I'm certain it wasn't a car accident like your aunt told you. Wizards and witches actually rarely use cars, and even if they did our magic would actually protect us against almost all car accidents. Besides, no car accident by itself would leave a magical mark. No, it almost seems like residue from a curse, and not just the kind where people shout naughty words." Newt was clearly trying to cheer Harry up so Harry gave a small smile, but it wasn't much better than a lift of corner of his mouth.
"So, I would like to examine the scar. Would you like that?" Newt hadn't even finished the question before Harry was doing an impression of a bobblehead. "Oh, good! Well, I don't think here is the best place for it. We don't know what may happen when the curse is released and besides, it is best to avoid magic around muggles as much as possible. So, Harry, where do you think your family has wondered off to?"
"What?" Harry asked, growing alarmed. "Why do you need them?"
"Well, I can't exactly take you without permission," Newt said, his eyes sharply watching Harry.
"I'm sure you can, they won't mind," Harry stated, trying to stay calm. He was gripping his shorts so tightly under the table that his knuckles were white.
"I'm sorry, lad, but I really can't just take you away without their knowledge," Newt repeated.
"But what about the darkness?" Harry cried. He realized that he had shouted and quickly looked at the other customers. None had so much as twitched.
"We'll just have to talk to your aunt and uncle and get them to agree."
"No, they can't know!" exclaimed Harry. "Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon won't even let me say the word 'magic,' let along be magic! They'll kick me out!" Harry's breath began to come quickly and he began to panic.
"Shhh, lad, shhh, it's alright," Newt said, quickly going around to sit in the booth besides Harry. He put his arm around the boy and Harry buried his head in the man's chest, switching his grip to the man's coat and holding onto the blue material as tightly as he could. "Harry, look at me lad, it's alright."
It took Harry a few minutes before Harry felt he could, but when he looked up Newt was calmly looking back at him.
"Harry, if you could choose, would you like to go back to your Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon?"
The young boy didn't know what to say. Of course he didn't want to go back to Privet Drive where he was beaten and locked up and hardly given enough to eat. On the other hand, they had always told him that living with them was much better than an orphanage. Being sent to an orphanage was a frequent threat and Uncle Vernon said the only reason he hadn't been sent to one yet was because of the goodness of their hearts. Unsure, all Harry could say was, "I don't wanna go to an orphanage."
"Oh, lad, no!" The older man pulled Harry back in to a quick, tight hug. "I meant go with them or come and live with me."
For the second time that day Harry's eyes felt like they were going to fall right out of his head. "Stay with you? Really?" Harry said excitedly.
Newt blinked hard, gave a little cough, and cleared his throat before saying, "Well, yes, I thought so? Well, I said 'me' but it would also be with my husband Percy and about 200 creatures. Oh, and it would be in America, that's where we live."
Harry blinked in surprise at finding out the Percy that Newt had mentioned was apparently his husband and again at the number of creatures, but truthfully didn't care about either. Newt was asking if Harry wanted to live with him! Him, Harry!
"Oh, yes, YES, please can I come with you?" Harry began to almost vibrate he was so excited.
"I would like that very much. We will need to do just a couple of things to make it official, but I will try as hard as I can to make it work, okay?"
Harry could tell that Newt was sincere, but the man's answer still scared him.
"Do you think that I won't be allowed?" Harry asked.
Newt shifted a bit, looking a tad uncomfortable, though sincere. "Lad, no matter what we'll get that presence taken care of, alright? And I am almost completely sure that you won't have to live with your aunt and uncle again. Now, let's see if we can go find them quick, just to let them know that I have you, and we'll be off."
Having gotten his hopes up that he would never have to see his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, or cousin Dudley again, Harry was sad to see that that would not be true but agreed to look for them. However, the duo searched through the zoo and found no sign of the Dursleys or Piers. Having exhausted all exhibits, gift shops, food stalls, and show locations, Harry suggested checking the parking lot to see if the car was still there before they started another loop of the zoo. It was a good thing that Harry had suggested it, for the spot was now occupied by a different vehicle.
The Dursleys had left him at the zoo.
Where before the thought of being abandoned somewhere left Harry shivering in fear, the small boy was now practically quivering in excitement. "This is where the car was parked, I'm sure! Dudley threw that candy wrapper on the ground when we got here this morning! They left me here, so now I can go with you!"
"Yes, lad, you are certainly coming with me," Newt said, glaring at the old car for a moment before turning to the boy. He held out his hand for Harry, who quickly grabbed on to it with a grin. "Now, we just need to find a spot where no one will see us and then it's time for you to meet my older brother, Theseus."
"Why do we need to find a hidden spot, Newt?" asked Harry as he looked around. He wanted to skip, but Uncle Vernon had said that it wasn't something boys did. Because of this, he was trying his best to stop the extra movement, but he just couldn't help it, which resulted in odd bouncing steps and wiggling hips.
"We're going to do something called apparating, a magical way of traveling from one spot to another in just a second. And because it's magic, we can't let muggles see, right?"
"Right!" echoed Harry, still bouncing. "How about by those little trees?" Harry pointed to an out of the way spot.
"Perfect, my lad!" Newt said. As the two made their way over, he added, "Now, we will be doing something called side-along apparating, basically meaning that I am taking you along by my side. Apparating isn't the most comfortable way to travel, but it is very fast. It feels rather like you get sucked into a straw, and for those that are less experienced there is quite a loud noise made both where they leave and where they appear. I have been apparating for quite some time now and have trained as hard as I could to make it quiet to not disturb my creatures, so you won't really need to worry about a noise from me. Alright, you need to hold on tight," Newt said, giving Harry's hand a squeeze as he checked to make sure no one could see them, "and off we go!"
And, with barely a sound, the man, boy, and case of magical creatures were no longer in Surrey.
HPHP
AN:
I hope you enjoyed chapter 2! I have no set updating schedule, but hope that chapter 3 will appear soon. I crosspost this story on AO3 under the author name madnessandmystery if you prefer that site. I did forget to post the challenge from chapter 1 on FF, so here goes: Tell me which part of Barns Courtney's song "Glitter and Gold" you think fits best in Harry's life/ this fic and lave your name in a comment. I have a few minor OCs that need naming coming up.
What is your favorite magical creature? Let me know in a review and leave a name for it (can be your human name or otherwise) and it may be popping up in Newt's case soon! Those that participate in the challenge above, feel free to participate again (just leave a different name).