Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Harry Potter woke up to the sound of banging on his door and the shrill voice of his Aunt Petunia.

"Wake up! Wake up, NOW!" She yelled before storming away.

He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and fumbling for his glasses. He yawned as he looked around the mostly empty room. The Dursleys hadn't given him any furniture. No bed, no dresser, no hangers for his closet. Not that he needed them, he barely had any clothes anyway. He was just standing up when the door suddenly flew open. There stood Dudley, all dressed up and hair combed as he sneered at Harry.

"Come on, Potter. We're going to the zoo. You should fit right in with the exhibits." He guffawed loudly at his own joke before clomping downstairs.

Harry sighed slightly as he got dressed in Dudley's old clothes. He'd better get downstairs and make breakfast before Uncle Vernon started yelling. Once he started, Harry would no doubt get a beating for disobeying. It didn't make it any better that today was Dudley's birthday. Harry was sure they would be looking for any reason to punish him. He quickly made his way down into the kitchen, watching as Petunia fawned over the birthday boy. She turned and glanced at him with a disgusted look.

"Start cooking breakfast already! And don't burn anything!" She demanded.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia." Harry replied in a completely neutral tone.

Anything more or less would be seen as an insult or backtalk and, of course, would lead to a beating. He had gotten very good at keeping his replies short, sweet, and exactly what they wanted to hear.

"Hurry up! Bring my coffee, boy!" Uncle Vernon demanded as Petunia was leading Dudley over to the mountain of presents in the corner.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon." Harry replied again, quickly bringing over the pitcher and pouring it carefully into a cup.

"How many are there?!" Dudley asked shrilly, though not nearly as shrill as his mother Petunia.

Harry tried not to cringe, paying attention to the job at hand. There was a brief back and forth between the spoiled brat and his enabling parents as Harry went back into the kitchen, getting plates of food ready for everyone. Breakfast went by as normal. Harry went and sat on the stairs until they were finished, trying to stop the rumbling in his stomach. Finally, it came time to go to the zoo. Harry was slightly surprised that they were letting him come too, but he figured it was because they didn't want to leave him alone in their house. Vernon stopped him before he could get in the car.

"I'm warning you, boy... Any funny business and you won't get any food for a month. Understand?" He whispered vehemently.

"Yes, sir." Harry replied with a simple nod.

He couldn't tell if Uncle Vernon was happy with that response, but he didn't say anything else, simply getting in the driver's seat as Harry climbed in the back with Dudley.

The trip to the zoo was uneventful. They wandered around, looking at different exhibits as Dudley demanded. Eventually they went into the reptile house and came across a large python curled up on a log. They watched for a minute, but the snake didn't do anything.

"Make him move!" Dudley whined.

Uncle Vernon leaned forward and tapped on the glass. Nothing happened. Dudley then banged on it loudly.

"MOVE!" He shouted. Still nothing. "This is boring..." Dudley sighed, walking away from the exhibit.

Vernon and Petunia trailed behind, but Harry hung back for a moment.

"Sorry about that... He just doesn't understand." Harry spoke to the snake softly. "He doesn't know what it's like to have ugly people stuffing their faces at you day after day."

To his surprise, the snake started to move and... did it just wink at him? No, he must be imagining it.

"Can... can you hear me?" He asked in disbelief.

The snake surprised him once again as it nodded, raising itself up slightly. This was incredible!

"I guess you don't get many people talking to you?" Harry asked.

The snake shook its head.

"You're from Burma, aren't you? Is it nice there? Do you miss your family?" Harry didn't know why he was asking all these questions.

Maybe because he was lonely... He didn't have anyone else to talk to. The snake looked towards the edge of the exhibit and Harry followed its gaze. He frowned slightly as he saw a sign that read "Bred in Captivity".

"I'm sorry... I know how you feel. I never knew my parents, either." Harry replied, looking back at the snake.

He was suddenly shoved out of the way by Dudley, apparently excited that the snake was finally doing something. Harry grunted as he landed on the floor, glaring up at Dudley, pressing his face up to the glass like an oversized pig. Harry briefly wondered what would happen if that glass would disappear... He felt that familiar sensation again. That electricity coursing through his veins and in the air around him. His eyes widened as the glass suddenly DID disappear, causing Dudley to fall face first into the small pond in the exhibit. He coughed and spluttered as the snake slithered out, curling over towards Harry.

"Thankssss." It hissed at him before making its way towards the exit.

Harry heard more hissing, as well as people screaming and running. He was actually smiling and laughing. That is... Until he saw the look on Uncle Vernon's face. He knew that look all too well. He was in deep trouble.

Honestly, he was surprised his punishment was so tame. He expected to receive a beating or worse... But Uncle Vernon had just locked him back in the cupboard under the stairs. He had been locked in here for three weeks, no food, no water, and no chance to go to the bathroom. He could feel his body shutting down. He knew he was going to die soon. And his so-called 'family' didn't care one bit. Harry wasn't sure if suffering for this long was worse than being strangled to death or drowned... but it was certainly better than being beaten to a bloody pulp. He heaved out a wheezing sigh, shuddering with one final breath before his body shut down entirely.

The golden sand in the hourglass faded to black, freezing in place. A moment passed before it turned itself over, black fading to gold as the sand began spilling again.

Harry Potter woke up to the sound of banging on his door and the shrill voice of his Aunt Petunia.

"Wake up! Wake up, NOW!" She yelled before storming away.

Harry sat up slowly, putting his glasses on and looking around the room. He barely even noticed as Dudley barged in and jeered at him again. This was the day of the zoo trip... He had gone back by a few days before, but never weeks! This was when Harry finally realized he could use this to his advantage. Whenever it seemed like he died, he always woke up sometime before the actual incident that killed him. He could do whatever he wanted! It didn't matter if he got caught, because if the Dursleys tried to kill him... He would just wake up again.

He wasn't entirely sure if he should be happy about this. Every time he died, he felt like he was losing a piece of himself... a piece of his sanity. He still didn't understand how this was happening, but he was determined to find out. And he could start doing other things, too. Like eating proper meals and going outside. Maybe there was a bright side to this... He hurried downstairs, going through the same routine again. Making breakfast. Watching Dudley complain about presents. The trip to the zoo. Except this time, he didn't make the glass case for the snake exhibit disappear. And just like that, he avoided death.

It was time to start living his new life... by dying over, and over, and over again.