Greeting!
It's been a long time, huh? I'm deeply sorry about leaving this story for a year. A lot of tragedies happened and it pushed me to the point that I lost all motivation on writing (Farewell was the last thing I wrote). Having my imagination come back like a bullet made me lose my sanity, seeing that my own mind was planning new stories and none of them reminded me of Magic Shape. So this week I decided to re-read all the chapters that I wrote, scripts and ideas that I left in this book and fix them.
And, oh boy, I needed to fix a lot.
So here we are again, new and fixed chapters on the run. Even if I started my online-collage-classes, I'll try to do my best to get a hold of this story so please be more patient with me.
I intent to finish this book before beginning another one because, if I start the new projects, this one would be forgotten on the run. AND I DON'T WANT THAT lol
I'm sorry in advance, this chapter is short comparing to the rest of the others. Mistakes, grammatical or a constructive review are always welcome in Magic Shape.
Enjoy!
N/A: I remember saying, in the last chapter, that the next one was starting in 1987 and so on until reaching here. Welp, I changed my mind.
Chapter 7
Days of Weirdness
— - — -▲- — - —
"Tell me little ray, why the bloody hell are we here again?"
"Dudley," was the only thing Harry said, and then he entered the zoo behind the Dursleys, avoiding the people as much as he could.
"Damn, this sucks."
"I agree."
Both of them sighed annoyed, physically and emotionally tired. Not only had they been woken up one Saturday morning in the middle of their chess game by Petunia but Harry had been pushed by Piggey and hit in the head by an annoyed Warlus' newspaper for "burning" the bacon.
Yeah, right, Harry was a better cook than the housewife itself. And only being ten years old! Still Bill kept quiet about that, only frowning when they went back inside the cupboard.
That same day they had planned to review the latest class of Advanced Transfiguration locked in a room in Mrs. Figgs' house and her cats, far away from the Dursleys' scandal. But their productive day was ruined by knowing that said lady had fractured her leg and...
Well, here they were, in the reptile house watching a sleeping snake with two fat men knocking on the glass.
"It's asleep!" Harry snapped at his cousin, noticing Bill turning red.
"How boring..." Dudley commented and went with his parents elsewhere.
"Ah, finally!" Bill exclaimed on Harry's shoulder and then flew over his head. "Another yell and I would have shuffled the functions of every hole of his face!"
"It would be great if you did that, but you still haven't accumulated enough energy Bill. Last time you said that you ended up collapsing on my head with just one reanimated object."
"Hey, let's make it clear that I can lift heavier things now! Remember Dudley and the Piers' Pool!"
"Yes, but shortly after you complained about not being able to move. And let's not forget about what happened after Ripper-"
"It's because that blasty woman was attacking you like the crazy bitch she is. Entering the cupboard for no reason... she had it well deserved!"
"Still, you should take it easy"
"Okay, I'll be patient .. Hey look, the snake is looking at us!"
As he said, the snake had opened its eyes and was watching them with interest.
"It seems so ..." and noticing how the reptile lifted its head slowly he addressed to it. "§ Sorry about Dudley. He doesn't understand what it's like, lying there locked up night and day. Watching people put their ugly faces against the glass. §"
The snake raised its head until it reached Harry's, small and shiny. They were both looking at each other who didn't notice Bill's wide open eye.
Noticing the human's and the Entity's gaze, the snake nodded at them.
"§ Wait.. can you hear me? §" the boa nodded again, zigzagging its body in excitement. Finally a conversation!.
"§ Wow. I never talked to a snake before. §" Harry said to himself scratching behind his neck in shyness. "§ And you ... well, do you talk to people often? §"
This time he shook his head. "§ You come from Burma, aren't you? Bill always tells me about the different species in the world. Was it nice there? §"
The viper stared for a moment at Bill, and then pointed its tail at the small glass sign next to him.
"§ Raised in captivity? Oh, I'm so sorry.. I was raised in captivity too. Never knew my parents. Hopefully Bill was with me and keeps me company. I wish it could be the same in your case- §"
"Take off, freak! Let me see the snake!"
Everything had happened so fast. When Harry was pushed by a shouting Dudley and knocked him to the ground, the glass disappeared and the fat cousin flop down into the boa constrictor's cubicle with a shrill scream. Harry, taken by surprise, watched as the snake slipped out of his habitat and landed in front of him and Bill.
"§ Thanksss §" hissed in gratitude, nodding its head and then crawl across the floor, people running terrified of it.
Bill, seeing Dudley get up and with his clothes wet, he snapped his fingers and made the glass reappear, locked him in. Seeing that made him laugh wildly.
"Thank you Bill"
"You're welcome, kid! I was fed up with his tantrums. A little water wouldn't hurt him," and recognizing the faces of the Dursleys at the end of the hall, he approached Harry's, pointing at the exit "Oh well, fun time is over. How about we move on to the giraffe section? I want to see how long their necks are!"
Getting up quickly, they both ran out of the snake house, managing to save themselves from a future reprimand from Vernon. It's not as if they would know it.
As screams of horror echoed behind them, Bill decided to give Harry some money -not stolen ones- so that he could buy the chocolate ice cream he wanted, receiving a hug from the black-haired boy. They passed more calmly watching the gorillas and elephants, both discussing their origins, evolution and other things about magic ending up in a debate that, to Harry's annoyance, the immortal triangle won.
"Now that I remember! Harry, why didn't you tell me you were a Parseltongue?"
"A what?"
"A Parseltongue!" Bill said again excited. "A skill that wizards had centuries ago. Ah, I remember good ol' Salazar with his familar."
"Did he spoke to snakes too?"
"Little, medium, big snakes. For all shapes and sizes!" shouted cheerfully Bill. "But be careful, wizards consider it as a curse or something on these days. I don't understand why people don't take advantage of it."
"Seeing how you describe the wizardry world, it makes me wonder if it'll be worth it going to that school.."
"No kid, you have to go. You must learn to use magic with a wand. Hey, don't make that face at me! I trust that you can learn a lot from me. You could even kick their magical asses if you wanted! But we must have a low profile. You must pretend that you need their tutelage.."
"Like the golden rule? Always take your friends and enemies by surprise?"
"Exactly! Your wandless magic is impressive. And that's why we must keep that magic of yours a secret. Alright?"
"Alright Bill, if you said that being there is important then I will go" he said in frustration. "But we should get going. I feel like the Dursley might leave back to Privet Drive without us"
"Then what are we waiting for, kid!? Let's get out of here!"
When they arrived they had arrived just in time to see the Dursleys and a wet Dudley approach the car. Petunia and her son passed by Harry's side while Vernon gave him the suspicion, his face turning purple but in the end he did not say and did nothing because, despite wanting to beat him up, he had no proof that it was his fault.
The family soon left the zoo with the birthday boy sick on the next day.
Although the anecdote does not end here.
The start of summer vacation was a big surprise for Harry.
Had the time passed that quickly?
The explosion of a cauldron and Bill's mad laughter in a corner of the cupboard, protected by its magic, made Harry shake his head.
Yes, and having someone to hang out with made the days less tedious, he had to admit.
After the escape of the boa, Bill did not hesitate for a moment to teach Harry to control that change of languages. The entity exclaimed that that ability could be something unconscious, almost hereditary by Voldemort's magic to the disappointment of the young wizard.
However, Bill would not miss that opportunity to refine his tongue and they started by using a small animated stuffed snake and blindfolds.
While the practice didn't cost Harry much, the real challenge was the annoying bunch of idiots who were friends of Dudley, Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon, visiting the house and interrupting him.
It got to such a degree that a menacing black Bill throne his fingers and made a bunch of mad dogs go after them, stopping what had been the game: hunting Harry.
Being them now the prey.
Harry felt no remorse when Dudley returned with blood and bites on his skin, receiving Petunia's horrifying scream and an urgent arrival at the hospital, the remaining two magical beings returning to the cupboard to continue their Parsel practice.
By the time summer started Harry could use the tongue of snakes without relying on a real viper.
It was a great short-term achievement for him, and it was something that made Bill proud.
July arrived peacefully for them, deciding to at least try to create a potion based on Harry's theory which Bill, reading the possible results, didn't think twice to help him. But it was better said than done, the young wizard said to himself as he contemplated Bill's remains after another explosion, leaving six other cauldrons floating and stirring by themselves, waiting for the next addition to try.
"I think that's enough Bill," Harry suggested, rubbing his temples on the bed, seeing the mess of papers around him. "You've already destroyed fourteen cauldrons. We should go back and review the theory before randomly putting ingredients in and hoping for a miracle."
"Ugh .. You're right kid," the remains rejoined showing the triangle shape again, this one shaking his hat with a frown. "I never thought that making a new potion would cost too much work. Now I understand why the potion books have not been updated."
"Seeing this destruction, I can imagine why," he joked, picking up the black bow from the ground and offer it to Bill. "It is a lot of stress and with a lot of risks. But I'm sure we'll make it through one day."
"Oh, for a moment I thought I was listening to another me." Bill returned the mocking tone, adjusting the bow on his chest. "It's almost time for breakfast, do you still want me to not poison their food?"
"Bill."
"All right now, I get it, geez."
And with a nod, they both left the cupboard on their way to the kitchen where Dudley, with his annoying cane, and a weary Vernon were already at the table eating their food. Petunia, pale-faced with tremendous dark circles, lay in front of a large metal bucket staining what would be Harry's "new uniform" to Stonewall. The very unpleasant smell permeated the kitchen at a certain point that the boy took advantage of escaping with the excuse of bringing the mail.
On the carpet there were only three letters which Harry picked up and was about to go deliver them but something caught his attention. Curious, the boy looked at a postcard from Marge, a brown envelope that looked like some taxes and-
"Hey, that has your name," Bill said, hovering next to him and pointing a yellow envelope with green ink. "Wow, you have some stalkers out there Harry. They even know where you are sleeping."
"How weird," Harry whispered, inspecting the letter. "Look, Bill," he called, showing him the letter with his stamp on it. "Isn't this my invitation to go to Hogwarts?"
Bill focused his eye on the letter until it hit the purple wax seal, his pupil forming an exclamation point.
"Yeap! That's the symbol," Bill yelled cheerfully beside him, his eye back to normal. "Do you want paper and pencil to answer them?"
Before Harry spoke with an affirmation, his uncle's voice from the kitchen alerted them.
"Let's see that later. I must turn over the other letters first before the balloon that I call Uncle explodes."
"Of course, kid! Go ahead." He turned and took flight to the cupboard ready to organize breakfast today.
Well, he tried.
"Wait a minute ... the letter! Kid, you still have the letter! HARRY!"
But Bill couldn't make it on time.
As soon as Dudley took the letter and handed it to Vernon, the lives of the two magical beings changed in a ... peculiar way.
Harry's new room was somewhat difficult to clean by hand, Petunia Dursley's eyes never leaving the child's figure. But the young wizard was able to take advantage of Bill's distractions to hide some old toys that could be repaired.
However, when the second batch of letters arrived, the owner of the house did not hesitate for a second to destroy them. Harry could only watch as they were burned in the fireplace indifferently.
The owls, not having an answer, remained like a plague around the house that received the incredulous and confused looks of the neighbors. Especially when Petunia tried to scare them away by pouring water on them, ending up wetting the car and some unfortunate neighbor passing by.
While Harry might have had a better room and got rid of some of the heavy chores around the house, Harry couldn't escape the Dursleys' paranoia.
Until on the fifth day Bill had enough.
In the middle of the flight, three other owls were to deliver their letters when they noticed something shiny on one of the windows near Privet Drive. The light attracted them in some way that they did not hesitate to change their trajectory, approaching it until they entered an open window.
The three birds looked around confused when a triangulated form surprised them, making them drop the letters and fly outside. Bill yelled an apology at them and then visualizing the yellowish pieces of paper on the ground, his eye shinning in delight.
"Eureka, I have them!" Bill yelled holding them in one hand. Noticing the boy by the door, the entity wasted no time in appearing in front of him, giving him a good scare. "Harry look, I have the letters!"
Harry, looking in amazement at the envelopes in his friend's hand, quickly locked the door and went to his bed excitedly.
"Here you go," Bill put two envelopes in his hands as he opened the third. "Better read it now before other letters flood the house and your uncle comes up with something stupid."
And breaking the seal, Harry took two sets of scrolls. Grabbing the smallest first, he began to read softly.
—-—-—-—-—
Dear Mr. Potter:
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please ensure that the utmost attention is made to the list of requirements and agenda attached herewith.
We very much look forward to receiving you as part of the new generation of Hogwarts's heritage. Classes begin August 1st. We hope to see your owl before July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall.
Deputy Headmistress.
—-—-—-—-—
"Whoa, I didn't remember Albus Dumbledore being a boss of bosses," Bill said, reading the same letter Harry opened. "At least he didn't put his full name."
"Look at the list of things, Bill," Harry interrupted, showing him the second scroll. "A cauldron, a wand... Where the heck are we going to find all this in London?"
"Harry, wizards may be old-fashioned but not stupid. Every magical society has a place to hide. I know the place. Now, do you want, this time, paper and pencil to write to them?"
"Yes please," he begged. "Remind me to always listen to you in times of tension."
"Of course kid. I'll make sure you do."
Using notebook sheets to make an envelope and write his response, Harry soon found himself smiling as he saw a brown owl fly back to the school with Bill happily shining in the air.
The hard waiting was over. They would soon be out of this prison and going to Hogwarts!
They can't wait for it!
— - — - ϟ - — - —
"Eoi'ly c rucl, Aunvyl"