Harry Potter was quite content with his life with the Dursleys at 4 Privet Drive in Surrey with his Aunt Tuney, Uncle Vernie, and cousin Dudley. His aunt and uncle saw Harry as a second son, and they always ensured he had three warm meals daily, more-than-adequate clothing, and a comfortable bed to sleep on. To emphasize equality, he and Dudley shared a bunk and they alternated top-and-bottom every week.
Harry and Dudley were mere weeks apart in age, but even though they ate the same meals (and sometimes Harry could out-eat Dudley), Dudley looked at least two or three years older. He had several inches and at least forty pounds on the somewhat undersized Harry. Harry didn't care about the size differential as they both loved to tussle in the backyard as boys often do. Harry could surprisingly hold his own against his cousin but Dudley's sheer size was usually just too much for Harry to handle. Before dinner they would enter the house covered in dirt and leaves, sometimes with a rip in their pants or shirt and occasionally a small bruise, but nothing too serious. Petunia would stand behind the doorway, arms akimbo, and shake her head the the boys. "Tsk, tsk. That's the second pair of blue jeans you've ruined this month, Harry James Potter. But boys will be boys. Go wash up, and dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes." "Yes, Aunt Tuney," Harry would reply innocently.
Dudley and Harry truly loved each other and would never hurt each other for real, but there was definitely plenty of friendly competition and light-hearted teasing. Dudley loved to grab Harry around the waist, rub his knuckles briskly on Harry's messy hair, and yell, "Noogie, noogie, noogie!" Harry found this slightly annoying, but he couldn't help but laugh every time Dudley did this. Harry, in turn, enjoyed pranking Dudley back, namely by sticking whoopie cushions under Dudley's pillow or sticking hot peppers in his sandwiches. Dudley, for his part, took this in stride as well.
School had just gotten out for the summer, and Dudley and Harry were looking forward to three months of goofing off. They were both turning eleven this summer, so they would be eligible to attend Smeltings Academy in the fall, the same place Vernon went decades ago.
One day early in the summer, Dudley and Harry were in the family room playing Blades of Steel on their Nintendo Entertainment System. "Whooped ya good, Cuz," Dudley grinned at Harry. Harry smirked. "You won't be so lucky next time. Best two out of three?" "You're on, Harry!" As they were about to start another game of ice hockey, Aunt Petunia approached the boys. "So we have a couple of birthdays coming up – what would you boys like this year?" Harry and Dudley looked at each other excitedly, and shrieked, "Video games!" Aunt Petunia cocked an eyebrow at the boys, and with a small smirk she replied, "You have quite a few as it is. But if you're absolutely sure that's what you want, just run a few titles by me and I'll see what we can do. Nothing too graphic, I trust." "Yes, mum," said Dudley. "You got it, Aunt Tuney," said Harry.
A couple of hours later, Vernon came home from work. He was a fairly jolly fellow, but he was in an even more jovial mood than usual this time. He was humming the Smeltings school song as he entered the family room. He breathed out, and exclaimed to the boys, "Well boys, I've just made arrangements – I'll be having someone over in a few days to have you properly fitted for Smeltings this fall. Sharp outfits for sharp young minds." He puffed out his chest with pride. "Some of my fondest memories were at Smeltings. I played goalkeeper on the football team." Petunia gave Vernon a look. "You were the reserve goalkeeper, dear," she said. Vernon waved a hand at her rather dismissively. "Who's counting? Todd Bambridge only started over me because he was the son of the headmaster." "Todd Bambridge had to have been pretty good, he made the roster of the Wolverhampton Wanderers," Petunia replied. Vernon made a slight groaning sound, and turned his attention back to the boys. "Now Dudley, your birthday comes first, do you know what you'd like to do this year?" Dudley put his chubby fingers on his chin for a moment as if in deep thought, and looked at his parents. "I've been aching to see that new reptile garden in the zoo this year. Some of my mates have already been and they tell me it's terrific". "Very well then, Dudley," agreed Vernon. "Anything for my Duddy-kins," said Petunia. Dudley winced slightly, and Harry tried to stifle a laugh.
When Dudley woke up on his birthday, he saw his mother, father, and Harry beaming at him from the kitchen, along with a pile of gifts and cards neatly arranged on top of the table. "Happy birthday, son!" said Vernon with an almost-unnatural grin on his face. "Happy birthday, dear!" squeaked Petunia. "Happy birthday, Cuz!" said Harry. Dudley looked at the pile of cards and presents. "M-may I?" he stuttered, pointing to the pile on the table. "Help yourself, Dudley," said Petunia. "I hope you love them." Dudley tore open all the presents and cards in mere seconds – or at least it seemed to be that quick.
Dudley's lips rounded into a quiet "wow" as he stood and admired his new stockpile of goodies. A remote-controlled car, several new video games, a rugby ball, several boxes of sweets, and many cards with cash and cheques – just to name a few. Harry then handed Dudley a card, which he eagerly opened. Inside were a couple of coupons for free milkshakes at Milton's Soda Shop. "I know it's not much Dudley, but I'm never going to forget your birthday." Dudley held his hand up over his head, and Harry gave him a high-five. "That's really cool of you, Cuz. Thank you."
"Well, let's get dressed then boys," exclaimed Vernon. "We're off to get some breakfast and then to the zoo!" "Don't dilly-dally, you two," admonished Petunia. "The zoo opens at ten, so the sooner we head out, the better chance we'll get at finding a solid parking space." The boys practically flew to their rooms and hurriedly put on their clothes, brushed their teeth and combed their hair.
Harry and the Dursleys all stood outside in the driveway, and before anyone got in the car, Vernon went over the game plan with his family. "All right everyone – first, it's the Silver Spoon for breakfast, then off to the zoo and reptile garden, and then we should be home in time for cake and ice cream and grilled hamburgers. Petunia dear, you did phone all of Dudley's friends' parents about the cake and ice cream I take it?" "Yes Vernie, that was taken care of two weeks ago. I can't promise that all of his friends will be able to make it, but we should have a fair showing regardless." Vernon nodded in approval. "And for you boys – just one treat each at the zoo. We need you two to have at least a little bit of an appetite before Dudley's friends come over." The boys nodded their agreements. "All right then everyone – we're off!"
They headed over to the Silver Spoon for breakfast. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia ordered omelets and Dudley and Harry ordered waffles with bacon on the side. Dudley's even came with birthday sprinkles. When they finished their meals and Vernon paid the bill, he muttered something about how expensive the restaurant has gotten lately, but then looked at his watch. "Nine-twenty three," he said with a note of relief. "We're a few minutes ahead of schedule so we should have our choice of parking." They got into their car and went straight to the zoo.
They had reached the park with several minutes to go before it had opened, but some of the best spots had already been taken and a small line had already formed next to the entrance. "Would have been first if we weren't held up by that blasted train," muttered Vernon to himself. He continued but upped his mumbling to a clearer, more audible tone. "All right everyone, we're here. Let's get in line before the whole bloody county beats us to it." They got in line and thankfully, at the stroke of ten the gates opened and the short line was moving quickly. "That's more like it," thought Vernon to himself.
Harry and Dudley had gotten their fill of birds and bears and lions, when they finally saw a sign on the pathway: "Reptile Gardens – this way", with an arrow pointing at a forty-five degree angle. The boys could hardly contain their excitement when they saw the sign, and impatiently started making their way toward the complex. It was massive – almost the size of football pitch, and had all sorts of reptiles from all corners of the world. It had crocodiles from Egypt, monitor lizards from Southeast Asia, American alligators and Brazilian giant tortoises. It also prominently displayed many varieties of serpents, including a Burmese python wrapped around a tree branch behind a glass case. It didn't seem to be very active, so Dudley took his hand and was about to rap it on the glass, but Harry grabbed Dudley's wrist and shook his head, pointing to a sign that says "Please do not knock on the glass". Dudley threw Harry a quick indignant look, but Harry quietly said, "I just don't want either of us to get in any trouble."
Dudley decided to push his luck a bit. He rapped on the glass, ordering the snake to get up. "Come on, get up. Move!" A tall, ponytailed staff member in brown felt hat and khaki pants with a walkie-talkie clipped on her belt strode quickly toward the boys. "Let's move along boys," she admonished them with a patient-yet-stern expression on her face. "Maybe there's a chance our… literate guests may still see him today. He has some fantastic hiding spots when he gets scared, and that's a pity because he won't come out for several days."
Before she could finish her spiel, the protective glass suddenly vanished, and Solomon uncurled himself from the branch and plopped a couple of feet to the ground. As he was making his way outside the exhibit, Harry swore that the snake winked at him, and the snake quickly slithered his way into the exit corridor. The staff member's jaw dropped in disbelief and fumbled around trying to unclip her walkie talkie, with several gasps and shrieks emerging from the next room. She pushed a button, then device made a quick chirping sound, and she spoke into it, thusly: "Attention all staff in the Reptile Gardens. This is Barnes at exhibit Baker Charlie one-nine-one. We have a code twenty-two. I repeat, a code twenty-two!"
Harry and Dudley left the exhibit area both amused and shocked. Neither of them could explain what just happened, but the adrenaline was running rampant in their bodies. They had never caused – much less witness – the chaos that was unfolding. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were waiting outside on a bench the whole time, and were positively stunned when they saw dozens of people fleeing the reptile garden, but they couldn't help but notice how nonchalant Harry and Dudley were as they approached the park bench. "What on Earth happened in there?" asked Petunia. "I hope you boys didn't have anything to do with it," said Vernon, half-jokingly. "It was awesome," said Dudley. "We were in this room with a Burmese python, and -poof-, out of thin air, the protective glass literally disappeared, and this twenty foot long snake crawled out and gave all these people the heebie-jeebies." He and Harry high-fived each other. "Heebie jeebies," Vernon chuckled, but Petunia gave him a rather stern look and his schoolboy grin disappeared immediately.
"Well, I think we've had enough action here for one day," Petunia declared. "I think we'd better start making our way home before a rhino gets loose." The four of them made their way to the exit without further ado. When they got home, Petunia told Vernon, "It's nearly two o'clock. I need to run to the bakery to pick up Dudley's cake. Do you need anything for the hamburgers?" Vernon thought for a moment, and replied, "I don't think so, dear." She gave him a little peck on the forehead. "I'll be back shortly. Toodles, Vernie."
About an hour later, Petunia returned with a green and white two-tiered birthday cake with "Happy Birthday Dudley" decorated on it. Vernon greeted her with a chef's apron. "Getting the grill fired up. I have a half stone worth of hamburger, I wager that would be enough to feed everyone?" "That should be plenty," Petunia assured him. Shortly afterwards, Dudley's friends arrived one by one. A pretty good turnout, he thought. Eleven guests in total showed up, and it didn't take long for the cake, ice cream, and hamburger pile to all but disappear. After a couple of hours, the sun began to set, and Dudley's friends' parents arrived to pick them up and take them home. However, they got an additional, unexpected guest not long after the last of Dudley's friends left the party.
There was only a sliver of light left outside, and Dudley heard a sharp rapping at the door. It didn't sound friendly, rather, it sounded important. Maybe even urgent. "Dad," he called. "Could you get the door please? It sounds important and I don't think it's for me." Vernon hurried from the kitchen, his mouth stuffed with a piece of hamburger, and made his way toward the front door. He quickly swallowed that little bit of hamburger, used his hands to quickly brush any crumbs off his shirt, and opened the door. The figure before him was not one he expected. It was a rather tall, pallid man in a black trenchcoat. His hair was parted into black, oily locks. He had a serious expression on his face, so Vernon deduced that he was here for business and pleasure.
The stranger stuck out his hand. "Good evening, sir. My name is Severus Snape. This is 4 Privet Drive, is it not?" "It is," Vernon answered quickly, and offered his hand in return. "I'm Mr. Dursley. Can I help you?" "Possibly," replied Snape. "I'm looking for a Mister H. Potter. He lives here, I assume?" Vernon nodded. "He does. And what business do you have with Harry?" "My business here concerns an incident at the reptile garden earlier today." Vernon took a breath and rolled his eyes slightly, as if he knew one of the boys was indeed the guilty party. "I assure you, Mister Dursley, that your nephew is not – and will not be - in any sort of trouble. I just have a few questions for him." Vernon nodded briskly. "Very well. Please, come in, Mister... Snape, was it? Would you care for any refreshments while I fetch Harry?" "No thank you, sir. All I ask is about five minutes of Mister Potter's time. I do humbly request he and I be afforded some privacy. Again, I emphasize that Harry has done absolutely nothing wrong, and that you can consider these five minutes with Harry an… interview, of sorts."
Uncle Vernon's voice rang upstairs. "Harry… there is a gentleman downstairs that needs to see you. It's about what happened at the zoo today, he'd like to ask you a couple of questions." Harry's heart sank, but somehow, deep down, he knew he was responsible for that incident. But he did not know how to explain it. He hoped he wasn't going to be in trouble. With trepidation, he slowly emerged from his room and made his way down to the kitchen. He nearly jumped at the sight of the man waiting for him. Harry felt a simultaneous sensation of uneasiness, yet this man looked familiar for some reason.
To be continued...