An Unexpected Conversation

The first thing Harry noticed when he awoke was the smell. He couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was, but it was strong and acrid. From somewhere close by, he could hear the sound of a crackling fire and the faint murmur of running water. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and opened his eyes, looking around blearily. His vision was foggy, however it was clear from one glance that this wasn't his cupboard. He sat up straight and fumbled around for his glasses, his groggy mind trying to figure out what was going on. As he went to brush a loose hair out of his face, he stopped and patted the area around his eyes. He was already wearing his glasses.

He climbed to his feet and looked around, his brain finally starting to catch up with his body. Somehow, he wasn't in his cupboard and his glasses had suddenly stopped working. From what little he could make out, he realised that he was in a small chamber. He could feel cold stone beneath his bare feet and the walls looked like they were made from the same material as the floor. To his left, he could just about see the fireplace he'd heard and there was a dark shape to his right that looked like it could be a desk.

'Where am I?' Harry wondered.

"Somewhere you shouldn't be," said a voice.

Harry jumped and turned. Stood in front of the fireplace there was a man, who he was sure hadn't been there a second ago. Unlike everything else in this strange place, the man could be seen with perfect clarity. He was broad and muscular, though this physique was mostly hidden by a set of ornate red and gold robes. He wore a pair of intricate leather boots, matching gloves and three belts, all of which had golden buckles. From his neck, waist and wrists hung many golden charms bearing various symbols. Although Harry could see the man clearly, for some reason he couldn't quite make out his face. No matter how far he craned his neck, he could not look higher than the collar of the man's robes.

"At least, not yet. The time is not right," the man continued. His voice was a low rumble and sounded perfect for barking commands at people, but at the moment he seemed confused. Harry didn't know what was going on or who this man was, but he knew that he didn't like it. He took a cautious step backwards, away from both the man and the fire.

"You are frightened," the man noted, in a tone that was almost amused, "Good. You will need that fear before long, but this moment has come too soon. You have not yet formed your connection."

Harry had no idea what any of that meant, nor did he want to. He tried to take another step back, but he was alarmed to discover that he no longer had any control over his limbs. He struggled, or tried to, but his body refused to move even an inch.

"Peace," said the man, raising a gloved palm, "I am not what you should fear."

He began to walk slowly forwards with his hand outstretched, until he was stood not a foot in front of Harry. Again, Harry tried to look up into the man's eyes, but again he failed to.

"You must leave this place for now, Warrior," said the man, bringing his hand down towards Harry's forehead, "And awaken."

The moment his hand touched Harry's scar, the whole world went black.

o0o0o0o

Harry shot up so fast that he nearly hit his head on the ceiling. He gasped for breath and looked around, searching frantically with his hands for the light switch. The lightbulb flickered to life and illuminated Harry's cupboard.

He rubbed his temple with one hand, trying to ease the throbbing headache that had appeared there. Harry sighed and fell back onto his mattress, covering his face with his hands.

He was no stranger to weird dreams; he'd had them for as long as he could remember, but none of them had ever been this intense before. This one had been strange even by Harry's standards. He had no idea where that place was or who the stranger had been, although he couldn't shake the odd feeling of familiarity he'd gotten when facing him. It wasn't like he'd met him before and couldn't remember where, he had no idea who he was, he just felt like he could trust him for some reason.

Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap.

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden rapping on his door.

"Boy? Are you up yet?" called his Aunt Petunia from the other side.

Harry groaned an sat up again, stretching his neck and arms. The mystery of the man in gold would have to wait it seemed.

"What was that?" came the shrill voice again.

"I said, 'nearly'," grumbled Harry, grabbing his glasses and reaching for his clothes.

"Well, hurry up!" snapped his Aunt, "I want you outside helping Vernon get the presents in before Dudders wakes up."

While he listened to his Aunt's retreating footsteps, Harry dressed himself in a grey t-shirt and a pair of worn jeans, then wrapped a tattered belt twice around his middle. He grabbed a pair of Uncle Vernon's baby blue socks and some battered trainers, then stepped out of his cupboard and headed for the kitchen.

Once he entered, he made his way over to the table and sat down, pulling on his socks and shoes. There was a large pile of Dudley's presents stacked nearby, which Harry guessed to be about half of them. His aunt was over by the cooker, busy preparing four portions of breakfast food; one each for her and Vernon, two for Dudley and whatever was left over for Harry.

She looked at him and said, "Comb your hair."

"Good morning to you, too," Harry replied, his mood still foul after the rude awakening.

"I'll have none of that tone today, Boy," she snapped, "This is Dudley's special day and you will treat it as such."

'No comments to be made about Prince Pig. Got it,' Harry nodded silently.

He left the kitchen through the back door and went into the garage, where he found his Uncle bending over another pile around equal size to the one inside.

"Don't stand there gawking," greeted his Uncle, standing up with an armful of presents, "Get moving, there's a lot to shift here."

Harry grabbed a large box which rattled when moved and began piling smaller presents on top of it. He picked it up cautiously, just as his Uncle returned for another load.

"Weather?" said Harry.

"Sunny," replied Vernon, "Good for a day out."

"News?"

"Nothing you'd be interested in, now get going."

They continued to ferry presents until the kitchen table was completely hidden by the wrapped boxes. Dudley came charging in a few seconds later. The kitchen rang with the booming call of, "Happy Birthday, son!" and the shrill cry of, "Happy Birthday, my sweetums!"

Vernon and Petunia gave Harry a stern look when he remained silent. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and said in a low monotone, "Happy Birthday, Dudley."

Dudley wasn't listening. He was too preoccupied with counting his presents to notice something as insignificant as Harry's voice. His face fell into a frown when he finished.

"Thirty-six," he said, "That's two less than last year."

'Actually, you got thirty-nine last year, so really it's three less' remembered Harry, 'But I don't think you need to know that.'

"No sweetie, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see," Petunia pointed out a small present hidden underneath the big box Harry had hauled in earlier.

"Okay then, thirty-seven, that's still not as many," Dudley's voice was shaking and his face was starting to colour. Harry, who could see a tantrum brewing behind those piggy little eyes, manoeuvred himself so that the table was between him and his cousin.

"And," continued Aunt Petunia, sensing the danger, "We'll buy you two more presents while we're out today. How's that sound?"

Dudley stopped brewing and frowned, obviously trying to do the maths, "So, I'll have thirty- thirty-"

"Thirty-nine," supplied Petunia.

"That's- is that more than last year?"

"Yes sweetie."

'No, it isn't,' thought Harry, 'But let's not tell your little angel that.'

"Oh, okay," said Dudley, reaching for his first present. He actually looked disappointed that he didn't have a reason to start screaming.

Vernon and Petunia made Harry watch Dudley open his presents for the rest of the morning, but he got a larger plate of bacon and eggs for it, so he didn't really mind. Say what you will about his Aunt's parenting skills, but she could make a mighty fine breakfast.

By the time Dudley had finished, there was a clear pile of favourites, which included; his new cine-camera, a racing bike, sixteen new video games, a video recorder and a new computer. Right next to this was a smaller pile of things that would be put in his second bedroom and never heard from again. This pile mostly consisted of books, board games and a new rucksack.

It wasn't until Piers showed up later on and everyone headed outside towards the car, that the moment Harry had been waiting for finally arrived.

"Mum," said Dudley, pointing at Harry, "What's he still doing here?"

Petunia stopped and looked between the two boys. It seemed like she'd been hoping Dudley wouldn't notice his cousin. "Well, we can't leave him here, can we," she said delicately, "So, we're going to have to take him with us, I'm afraid."

"But, I thought he was going to the cat lady's house again," said Dudley.

"No, he can't this time sweetums," she said softly, "Mrs Figg isn't able to take him off our hands this time."

Harry didn't even care that they were talking about him like some animal they had been forced to take care of, the look on Dudley's face was priceless. It was obvious that he understood his dilemma. He couldn't get his parents to leave Harry behind without breaking down in a tantrum, but if he did that then Piers would see him acting like a mummy's boy and pretty soon everyone at school would know.

"But, he- he's not meant to be-" he blubbered, pointing at Harry.

Harry sidled past him while he babbled, sitting himself down in the back seat with a grin. This day just kept getting better and better.

After much moaning from Dudley and soothing words from Petunia, everyone finally piled into the car. The two adults sat in the front and the boys went in the back, with Harry ending up on the far left. Every time they went round a corner, Dudley and Piers would lean into the side, so as to crush Harry against the door. Meanwhile, Vernon complained non-stop to Petunia about various topics, while she simply listened and nodded at the appropriate times.

Once they arrived at the zoo, Vernon and Petunia went to a stand near the entrance, where they bought Dudley and Piers huge chocolate ice creams and got Harry a cheap lemon ice lolly as an afterthought. The boys themselves made a show of eating them slowly, trying to rub it in. Harry ignored them, all four of them. As far as he was concerned, it didn't matter that Dudley was eleven today; this was Harry's day and he intended to make the most of it. He had ice cream and he was at the zoo, there was no way his cousin could ruin this for him.

He followed all of his Uncle's rules, making sure to lag far enough behind that he could peer into the enclosures without getting in the way. He spent most of the morning looking at various animals and noting the similarities they had with Dudley. After they'd seen most of the animals outside, they stopped for lunch at the zoo restaurant. The food there wasn't bad, even if Dudley and Piers stole most of what was on Harry's plate.

When afternoon came, they went to the reptile house. The building had small enclosures covered by lit glass dotted along the walls. Harry thought this was the best bit yet. It wasn't just because of the lizards and snakes which crawled and slithered in their cases; Harry just felt comfortable inside the cool, dark building with its low ceiling.

Dudley quickly found the biggest snake in the place. It was enormous, long enough that it could have easily wrapped itself twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it. However, much to Dudley's displeasure, it seemed to be asleep.

"Make it move," he demanded of his father, pressing his nose against the glass.

Uncle Vernon stepped up and rapped smartly on the glass. The snake stayed where it was.

"Move!" shouted Dudley, smacking the glass with his palm repeatedly.

The snake didn't respond.

"You're boring," he whined, before running off to look for Piers and his mother. His father trailed along behind him.

Harry stepped up to the glass and looked down at the brown coils sadly. He hadn't really noticed before, but these tiny cases where the reptiles were kept seemed awfully familiar. Cramped and simple, with stupid people constantly drumming their fingers on the glass, telling you to do this or do that. He felt a wave of sympathy for the creature in front of him, for all of the creatures there.

"I suppose I'm not the only one with a cupboard," said Harry, "At least I only have the Dursleys to worry about. You have to deal with everyone, day after day, looking in on you, shouting at you."

The snake stirred. Slowly, it began to uncoil and raised its head until it was eye-level with Harry. It looked him right in the eye and winked.

Harry stared, wondering if he was imagining things. He took a quick look around to make sure nobody else was watching, then looked back to the snake.

"C- can you hear me?" he gasped.

The snake nodded.

Not once in the following conversation did it ever occur to Harry that perhaps he may have gone mad. Maybe deep down some part of him knew that he wasn't crazy or maybe he just felt some sort of strange kinship with the reptile, but for whatever reason, he continued to talk and the snake spoke back.

"I guess you must get that a lot then," Harry jerked his head towards where Vernon and Dudley had run off.

The snake nodded and raised its eyes to the ceiling.

Harry grinned at it, not at all finding it strange that a snake would roll its eyes. "I know," he said, "They're all so stupid, thinking they know everything, that they're better than you."

The snake gave another nod and leaned in with interest.

"Where did you- that is, do have a home somewhere? From before all this," he gestured at their surroundings.

The snake bowed its head and jabbed its tail at the sign next to the glass. Harry looked down at it and read.

Boa Constrictor, Brazil

"Was it nice there?" asked Harry.

The constrictor shook its head and pointed at the sign again. Harry looked back and read the smaller line of text underneath.

This specimen was bred in captivity.

Something about the words 'bred in captivity' made Harry's heart twist painfully. He gulped and said, "I- I'm sorry. So, you've never actually been to Brazil."

The snake shook its head.

"But, do you still think of it as home?" Harry asked.

The boa constrictor made an odd movement that Harry thought resembled a shrug.

"I think I understand," he said, "You've been here your whole life, you've never known anything else, but you still feel like you don't belong. You just know that there's something out there for you, somewhere you can actually call home. You can't explain why. You just do."

The snake nodded vigorously. Apparently, it knew exactly what he was talking about.

"It's like that for me too," said Harry, "I lost my parents a long time ago. I've never known life without the Dursleys, but it still feels wrong."

The two of them, boy and reptile, stayed there in silence for a moment, until Harry said, "Do you ever-"

"Dudley! Dudley come quick! Look at what this snake is doing!"

Harry turned at the sound of Piers yelling and saw Dudley's hulking form shambling towards him.

"Out of the way Potter," he said, punching Harry in the chest.

Harry fell backwards from the force of the blow and landed hard on the concrete floor. He looked up at Dudley pressing his face against the glass and felt hot anger flow through him. His entire being seemed to vibrate with rage, not unlike when he'd reacted to Dudley threatening that girl yesterday, however this was much stronger than before.

Without any prior warning, the glass in front of the snake vanished and Dudley toppled forwards into the enclosure with a frightened yell.

Suddenly, the entire room was filled with terrified screams. Harry looked around and saw that the glass had disappeared from every case in the building. Long, scaly creatures were climbing or sliding out of their now open windows and making their slow way towards freedom. One of the zoo staff was fruitlessly trying to restore order as people ran around in their panic.

Harry turned back to the Boa Constrictor's case and found the snake itself not far from his face. He stared into the creatures eyes, knowing it wouldn't hurt him.

"Thanks friend," said the snake in a low hiss.

Harry blinked in surprise and smiled, still feeling the buzz of whatever had just happened. "Anytime," he managed to gasp out.

The snake gave him a tilt of its head and then slithered off down the room to join its fellows outside, playfully biting at people's ankles as it went.

"Friend," whispered Harry after its retreating form.

He could hear something strange behind him, a sort of wet slapping sound. He turned and saw Dudley, dripping wet from the water in the enclosure. He was still inside the case, smacking against the newly reformed glass pane from the inside.

"Dudley!"

Harry looked towards the shout and saw Vernon and Petunia, both wearing horrified expressions as they beheld their son trapped like an animal. Petunia ran up and began to bang on the glass, babbling hysterically as she did so. Dudley's nose was pressed up against the inner face and it looked like he was crying. Vernon turned on the spot, looking for somebody to yell at, and nearly jumped out of his skin when a python slithered past about an inch away from his feet.

Harry couldn't help himself, he just started laughing. He laughed and he laughed. He laughed while the people around him gibbered and screamed. He laughed at the zoo keeper's startled face when he saw Dudley. He laughed when they found Piers curled up in a dark corner.

He had just about got a handle on his giggles when Aunt Petunia was led away by the director and a group of men arrived to break Dudley free. The entire staff was baffled by the whole event, as were the visitors. Harry overheard at least three accounts of people who claimed to have been attacked by venomous snakes or lizards, though as far as he was aware, nobody had even gotten a scratch on them.

They didn't leave for a while, mainly because Uncle Vernon was busy shouting his lungs off at the people that worked there. Petunia was very quiet and sat stewing over a cup of strong tea, while Dudley, wrapped in about five towels, babbled on with Piers about how the Constrictor had nearly torn his leg off.

The two boys continued going on about it all the way home from the zoo, but Harry stayed very quiet. He just sat in the back seat and stared out of the window, not moving an inch. Now that the laughter had abated, his head was clear enough for him to start digesting his thoughts. Every time something strange like this happened, he couldn't help but wonder; what if the Dursleys weren't crazy? What if he really was responsible for what was happening? He always got a strange feeling right before it happened, but he'd never felt anything like this before. It had been far more than just a tiny spark in the back of his mind, it had been like his entire body was thrumming with some unexplainable power. He'd also never seen two occurrences happen this close together before, but he had no clue what that meant.

It was once they were almost at Piers house that Harry stirred. He'd heard his name mentioned by someone in conversation up front.

"It's true," said Piers, "Harry was talking to that snake, the big one you and Dudley found, Mr Dursley. Right before the glass vanished, it was."

Harry clenched his teeth and prayed that nobody would believe the boy, even though he knew his luck was never that good. He continued looking studiously out of the window as if no-one but him existed. His Uncle's warning ringing through his ears. Even after they got back to Privet Drive, Harry waited to be the last one to enter the house, falling into his customary tactic of trying to be invisible.

They'd only just stepped through the door when Vernon briskly told Petunia to take Dudley into the kitchen and make him a cup of hot chocolate. Harry moved as fast as he could towards his cupboard, but was halted by a sharp pain in the back of his head. He had barely registered that Vernon had hold of him by his hair, before he was thrown through the open door and into the living room.

He staggered in a landing and rubbed the back of his neck, turning to see Vernon bearing down on him with a fire in his eyes. He stepped backwards and nearly tripped over the couch behind him.

Vernon's eyes bore into him like drills and his face was burning red. Harry had never seen his Uncle give that look before. Not to anybody.

"What. Was. That?" he spat.

Harry didn't answer, not sure what he was supposed to say.

"Well!" Vernon snapped impatiently.

"I- I'm not-" stammered Harry, "I don't-"

"Don't," warned Vernon, raising one finger to Harry's face threateningly, "Don't you dare say you don't know. Don't even dare. I've been good to you, boy, better than I had any right to be, because I hoped that you'd be different, that all those strange little things about you were just coincidences or some natural process you people go through when you're young. It seems I was wrong."

Harry was getting very confused and Vernon's face was now an ugly shade of purple.

"We both heard what that Polkiss boy said," Vernon continued, "You were talking to that snake."

Harry shook his head.

"DON'T LIE!" thundered Vernon, "So what was it then? Hmm? Did you decide to have a bit of fun and lock Dudley in with that thing? I heard you at the zoo, laughing like you'd won the bloody lottery."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" shouted Harry.

Harry was fully aware that he was currently stomping on ice so thin it nearly wasn't there at all, but he didn't care. He was fed up of this pompous old man blaming him for everything out of his control. The majority of his mind was feebly begging him to back down, but the tiny part that wasn't was roaring at him to continue.

"I've no idea what you're going on about," Harry said, taking a step forward himself, "I was talking to the snake. It wasn't like it was talking back. It's not my fault that your stupid, fat pig of a son went and got himself-"

SMACK.

Harry fell back onto the coach and gasped in pain. He gingerly raised a hand to his cheek and winced at the pain when they connected. He twisted and saw his Uncle's hand still raised after the stinging backhand he'd just delivered to his nephew.

Harry was stunned. He had no idea how to respond. Even Vernon looked shocked at his actions, his eyes bulging. The big man lowered his hand and said in a level voice, "Go to your cupboard."

Harry didn't move, still dazed from the blow.

"NOW!" shouted Vernon.

Harry scrambled for the door, still cupping his face in one hand. As he opened the door, his Uncle called back to him.

"Boy!"

Harry turned slowly and saw his Uncle staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"Don't ever speak that way about my son again," Vernon said, his eyes holding a promise. A promise that Harry would receive far worse than this if he ever did.

Harry swallowed the lump that was stuck in his throat and nodded, then sprinted for his cupboard across the hall. He slammed the door and pulled the bolt closed.

He fell back against his pillows and stared at the ceiling. His uncle had never hit him before. Perhaps he'd been a bit rougher than necessary sometimes, but he had never actually raised a hand against him. Harry had experienced many beatings worse than this one at the hands of Dudley, but this time was different. His Uncle could be many things; angry, calm, even loving with his wife and son, but Harry had never thought that he could be so violent.

He raised a palm to the red mark that was sure to be forming on his cheek. The worst part was that Harry had no idea what he had done to deserve this. Normally, when something odd happened, he would be asked if he knew anything about it, he would say no and his Aunt and Uncle would lock him in the cupboard. This time, it had sounded like Vernon knew that Harry was behind what happened at the zoo and was convinced that Harry knew it too.

'He said "your people",' remembered Harry, 'Like he knew something about me. Like we weren't the same.'

It was completely absurd. Harry wasn't special, he was just a normal boy. No, he wasn't even that, he was the boy in the cupboard. He didn't have special powers or a guardian angel, because there was no such thing. The Dursleys had always made it clear to him that there was a big difference between stories and reality, no amount of bedtime fantasy books could ever change that. There was no logical way that Harry could be connected to any of the things that happened around him.

Then again, what happened right before wasn't exactly normal. It was strange how it only occurred to Harry now that talking to a snake was not something most people did when they went to the zoo. It went a long way to explaining why Vernon thought he was involved, but didn't help him at all in understanding his Uncle's explosive reaction.

So, Harry Potter wondered, not for the first time in his life, 'What if it's true? What if the Dursleys are right about me? What if I am different?'

What if?