Okay, I forgot to do a disclaimer on the prologue so, here it is. I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER!!!! JK ROWLING DOES!!! Besides, if I owned Harry Potter, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Hedwig, Fred, Colin, and all else who died (besides Voldemort) wouldn't have died...

Yeah, so here it is. Enjoy.

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Chapter One- Of Birthdays and Pythons

Ten year old Hollis Potter had known since day one that she was different. Maybe it had something to do with her ability to manipulate the elements- mainly fire- to her will. Maybe it was her ability to 'see' the color of people's souls, sense emotions, or hear people's thoughts in her head. Maybe it was her knack of making strange things happen when she was angry or scared, like the time she had turned the teacher's wig blue when she was embarrassed.

Whatever it was, it made Hollis different and that annoyed her to no end.

She sighed heavily in her head- she had learned very early on that it was not wise to wake the Dursley's so early. She was well aware that it was early but how early it was she didn't know. It was better if she just waited until her Aunt Petunia came down to 'wake' her.

Hollis had actually been awake for little over an hour. She had grown so accustomed to waking early that she sometimes woke very early of her own free will, something that boggled her mind. This internal alarm clock of hers had been triggered prematurely most likely because of the dream she had been having. It had been a good if not interesting dream. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. And a giant.

Hollis smiled briefly as she brought one of her thin arms out from underneath her head. She cupped her hand and almost instantly, a small multicolored flame formed in her hand. She watched it flicker for a minute before she curled her hand into a fist and extinguished the flame.

She loved doing that- something was just so fascinating about the flames themselves- even though it was one of the things that made her different from the other kids. She had once believed that other children could do that. Hollis barely held back a snort. Judging by how badly Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had reacted about the Fire Incident when she was five, she finally figured out that not many people could do that.

Oh yes, she was aware that she was one in a million in the worst possible way in the worst possible spot.

Feeling slightly dejected and very agitated, Hollis pulled out her sketchbook from underneath a very old moldy brown jumper. After pushing a couple spiders off the cover she opened it up to a particular page that had been dog-eared. It was a half drawn picture of the giant on the motorbike. She had been having that particular dream for months now and had felt compelled to draw it. She hoped she would finish it soon.

Her sketchbook was not actually a sketchbook. It was an unlined diary and Hollis had found it in the trash, unused. She had jumped at the chance and took it. The book was filled to the bursting of pictures of everything from her dreams to the spiders in her cupboard. She had grown to be quite the artist and most of the pictures she drew were very life like. She loved to draw. It was a release in many ways and after ten years of living in an environment where her own relatives neglected her, a release is what she needed. Drawing- books as well- had a calming effect on her, just as food, presents, and the Television were for Dudley, her fat cousin.

Hollis gripped her sketchbook tighter in a bid to hold in her laughter as she thought of Dudley. His mother always said Dudley looked like a baby angel. Hollis always thought Dudley looked like a pig that stood upright and had hair.

There wasn't much to finish in the picture. Other than shading in some areas, the sketch was complete.

Hollis managed to locate a very small pencil stub underneath a couple of library books. Hollis made a mental note to return those as soon as she could. She shaded a few areas of the giant's face and clothing. Much of the man was muted and blurred. She couldn't really remember what he looked like exactly but Hollis thought she had done well considering.

She heard the Dursley's move around above her head. With a few more pencil strokes, Hollis closed the sketchbook with a disdainful look on her face. She knew exactly what day it was and how she hated it. Don't get her wrong, she was a very kind person with a sarcastic sense of humor a mile wide but she hated this particular day and for good reason.

Aunt Petunia bustled down the stairs first. She came to a stop right outside of Hollis' cupboard. Hollis braced herself for the first sound of the day, always piercing, always shrill.

"Up! Get up! Are you up?!" Aunt Petunia said sharply. Hollis winced despite herself. Her aunt had a very highly pitched voice. Even through the door, Hollis could see the sickening carnation pink that was Aunt Petunia's aura. It was flecked with red and midnight blue, a sure sign that she was very stressed.

"Yes," Hollis replied dutifully as she pulled on her clothes quickly.

"Hurry up! You need to cook breakfast for Dudley's birthday," Aunt Petunia hissed unpleasantly. Hollis repressed the urge to sigh. Dudley's birthday was a sacred event in the Dursley household. They spoiled Dudley even more than usual and this usually caused problems for Hollis. Dudley loved to torment Hollis and bragging to her about how many presents he got was a surefire way of getting Hollis's blood boiling. It wasn't her fault that her parents had died in a car crash and that she ended up with the Dursley's.

Hollis finished dressing- she wore a very ancient looking pink and yellow striped turtle neck, a denim overall dress about two sizes two big for her over the shirt, and a pair of knee high socks. This outfit made her look younger than she really was but it was the nicest thing she owned and she knew that Aunt Petunia would throw a fit if, God Forbid, Hollis wore a pair of jeans- again, two sizes two large- and an old sweatshirt.

Hollis walked into the kitchen, the smell of cooking bacon wafting throughout the house. Hollis found her aunt fussing over a pan of bacon. When she realized Hollis was in the room, she pushed Hollis over to the stove.

"Finish the bacon and try not to burn anything. I want everything to be perfect, for my Dudley's special day!" Aunt Petunia growled as she whisked off to put the finishing touches on Dudley's very immense stack of presents. Uncle Vernon lumbered in not a moment later, carrying a newspaper. His aura was a much calmer shade of gray, showing his boring if not slightly good tempered mood, flecked with bright orange. He was displeased with something, or rather, someone.

He sat down at the table, took one good look at Hollis and barked, "Comb your hair!"

Ah. That was what he was displeased with.

It was Uncle Vernon's way of saying 'Good Morning' to Hollis. Hollis's hair was extremely messy and it was a source of constant annoyance to him. She couldn't help it. Her hair would stick up at the oddest angles and no matter what she did to it, it would remain stubbornly messy.

Finally, Dudley managed to make an appearance just as Hollis was setting down the plates of bacon and eggs. It was rather difficult. Most of the table was obscured by thirty some odd presents for Dudley. Dudley's aura was the same as ever. Shades of silver and light gray mixed with blue sparkled merrily in front of Hollis's eyes. He was happy obviously.

Hollis sat down with the rest of the family as Dudley started counting his presents. This was one of the two reasons Hollis couldn't stand Dudley's birthday. He would always throw a fit whenever he didn't get as many presents as he wanted.

Dudley was a very fat boy who was more brawn than brains. He had a thick head that was topped in equally thick blonde hair. He had watery blue eyes that keenly resembled Uncle Vernon's eyes. He hated all exercise, unless it had something to do with punching Hollis. He was a bully if there ever was one and Hollis often found herself reading Dudley's emotions just to see if he was planning to torture her. He hated anyone that didn't go along with him but that event was very rare. No one liked to mess with Dudley, save Hollis.

Uncle Vernon was very large- his son had inherited many of his attributes- and beefy, with a thick dark mustache. He had very little neck and hated anything and everything that seemed slightly out of the ordinary. He was a practical man but he had quite a temper. He was stern with everyone around him- including his beloved son and wife at times- and was downright hostile towards Hollis sometimes.

Aunt Petunia was the complete opposite of her husband. She was whipcord thin and resembled a horse more than anything. She had a neck that was twice the normal length and was always pursing her lips. Her blonde hair was cut in a bob and she rarely did anything to it. She wore no makeup, except to lavish dinner parties. She loved to gossip and spy on people and often did that when she was alone. She wasn't as hostile to Hollis as Uncle Vernon was, but you could tell that she wasn't fond of her. She loved to dote on Dudley and often treated him like a little princeling.

Hollis looked nothing like the family. She was very thin and small and Hollis thought that her size had something to do with living in a dark cupboard. She had thick, wavy, short-ish dark black hair that was perpetually messy and bright green eyes. She wore oval shaped glasses that were far too big for her and were always sliding down her nose. They were held together by a lot of Scotch tape. Her skin was completely unblemished save for a thin lightning bolt shaped scar on her forehead and a smattering of freckles on her nose.

This scar was a source of questioning for Hollis. Aunt Petunia had told her that she had gotten it in the car crash that killed her parents but Hollis felt that she had gotten her scar from a different source.

Dudley had finished counting his presents and he didn't look happy. Hollis opened up her mind very briefly and was met with angry vibes coming off of Dudley. His aura was changing from its normal silvery gray tones to a fierce red. Hollis began to eat very fast.

"There's thirty six; that's two less than last year," Dudley commented angrily.

"Sweetums, you haven't counted the one from Auntie Marge. It's under the table next to the big one from Mummy and Daddy," Aunt Petunia simpered.

"Fine then, thirty-seven!" Dudley exclaimed going very red with anger. Hollis started inhaling her bacon faster than ever and she tensed up. She didn't want Dudley to waste her bacon if he turned the table over. And besides, she may have been able to avoid Dudley's wrath before- Hollis was very fast, contrary to her starved and weak appearance- but she wasn't sure how fast she could move out of the way if Dudley turned the table over.

Aunt Petunia could scent a Dudley Tantrum almost as well as she could spot a speck of dirt on the pristine linoleum floor. She recovered very quickly. "And we'll get you two new presents when we go out today, popkin. How does that sound?" Aunt Petunia said.

Dudley's face twisted in concentration. "So, I'll have thirty… thirty…" he said, not quite figuring out the simple addition problem. Hollis kept her eyes on her plate. She couldn't quite trust herself to look at him.

"Thirty-nine, sweetums," Aunt Petunia said lovingly. Appeased, Dudley sat down and alternated between opening his presents and eating his breakfast. After Dudley had just finished pulling the paper off a brand new computer, three new computer games, and a racing bike- this present confused Hollis to no end seeing how Dudley hated exercise unless it involved Hollis Hunting, a game of his own invention but not very good at due to Hollis's speed-, the phone rang and Aunt Petunia bustled off to go answer it. She appeared a moment later looking like she swallowed a lemon and was sprayed in the face by a skunk.

"Bad news, Vernon. Mrs. Figg's broken her leg and she can't take her," Aunt Petunia said sounding like a petulant child while jerking her head in Hollis's general direction.

Hollis's heart leapt within her chest. The other reason why she hated Dudley's birthday was because every year, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would take Dudley and a friend to a place to celebrate his birthday. The places consisted of burger joints, adventure parks, the movies… the list was extensive. However, instead of bringing Hollis along with them, they left her with the crazy cat loving old neighbor, Mrs. Figg. Hollis didn't like it there. There were too many cats and Mrs. Figg spent too much time talking about cats and showing her pictures of her cats. If Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, that could mean that they would take her with them!

But then again, it was highly unlikely.

"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.

"Don't be silly Vernon, she hates the girl."

Hollis paid no mind to how her aunt and uncle were referring to her. It happened far too often for her to grow indignant about it now.

"What about your friend… uh…. Yvonne?"

"She's on vacation in Majorca!"

"You could just leave me here," Hollis supplied. If she couldn't go with them, the second best thing would be to leave her at Number Four.

"And come back to find the house in shambles? Absolutely not!" Uncle Vernon said vehemently. Aunt Petunia nodded darkly but distractedly.

"We could bring her with us I suppose, and leave her in the car…" Aunt Petunia said after a long silence.

"That car's new, I don't want it destroyed."

Dudley began to cry and Hollis found herself very, very exasperated. Dudley hadn't cried in years but if there was anything that would make his mother and father bend over backwards and spit nickels for their son, it was his tears. Aunt Petunia immediately went over to Dudley and wrapped her arms around her immense son.

"Oh, Diddykins, don't cry!" she cried.

"I don't want h-her t-to c-come! She a-always r-r-ruins e-e-everything!" Dudley sobbed. Hollis caught him sneering at her when his mother wasn't looking and she didn't have to open her mind again to see that Dudley's aura was pulsating devious purple. She tried to keep herself calm, but was failing miserably at it. Why did Dudley get to her like that?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and everyone went silent.

"Good Lord! They're here!"

Somehow, after a few minutes that felt like a long while, Hollis found herself in the back seat of the Dursley's car with Dudley and his friend Piers Polkiss, speeding towards the London Zoo.

She hoped that her strangeness wouldn't mess this up.

***

For the first time in her life, Hollis found herself enjoying Dudley's birthday. The cheap lemon ice pop she had gotten by pure luck hadn't been half bad, the Zoo was amazing and Dudley and Piers hadn't beaten her up yet. She even got to finish Dudley's ice cream at lunch!

It was a perfect day and Hollis hoped that it would never end.

However, you could never have too much of a good thing.

When they entered the Reptile House, Dudley and Piers rushed off to find the biggest snake in the place leaving Hollis behind with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Not wanting to be stuck with her horrid relatives, Hollis walked after them at a much more sedated pace. She found them staring at the largest Burmese Python- it was the only Python- she had ever seen. They were wearing expectant looks on their faces. But the Python didn't budge.

Dudley rapped on the glass hard while yelling, "Move!" Hollis glared at him. She knew what it was like to be yelled at while enjoying a nice sleep. It wasn't pleasant. She had half a mind to tell Dudley that, but he desisted from trying to annoy the snake after a couple minutes.

"This is boring," Dudley said with a whine and he and Piers stalked off. Hollis pulled a face. How would he feel if children of all ages ogled at him all day long? She would be a little bored and listless herself.

"You must get that all the time," Hollis murmured. The snake opened his eyes and stared at her. Then it winked.

Hollis's eyes widened and her glasses slid down her nose. "Can you hear me?" she asked in an awed voice.

The snake rose till he was level with her eyes. The snake nodded.

"I've never talked to a snake before. Do you… do you talk to people often?" Hollis asked. The snake shook his head no. Hollis felt the sudden urge to giggle. How weird was this? She was talking to a snake and the snake was answering back.

"You're from Brazil, aren't you? Do you miss home? Do you miss your family?" Hollis asked. The snake jerked his tail towards the sign next to his enclosure. The sign read, 'Born in Captivity'. Hollis stared at the Python sadly.

"I see. That's the same with me. I never knew my parents either," Hollis said. Suddenly, a voice, a voice that she had no desire to hear, cried out, "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT THIS SNAKE IS DOING!"

Piers and Dudley rushed back to the Python's enclosure and Dudley shoved Hollis roughly aside. She hit the floor hard and her breath left her lungs. She propped herself up and stared angrily at the two.

Then the strangest thing happened.

The glass holding the snake inside disappeared.

Dudley and Piers flew back in fright as the Python slithered onto the cold stone floor next to Hollis.

"Brazil, here I come… Thankssss amiga," the snake hissed to her. Hollis smiled lopsidedly in sudden fearful giddiness.

"Any time," she replied.

The snake slithered away, sending the place into an uproar. Hollis looked again. The glass was there. But how had it disappeared in the first place? Hollis didn't have time to dwell on that. They were evacuated from the Reptile House moments later.

Luckily, everyone was unharmed and the only thing the snake had actually done was snap at people's heels, his own version of a joke. But Piers and Dudley were swearing that the snake had tried to take their heads off. The Zoo manager had apologized profusely to them and made Aunt Petunia tea.

"But the glass, where did the glass go?" he kept asking. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon stared at Hollis and Hollis felt herself go red in the face. They had left moments later.

When Piers and Dudley had finally calmed down enough to string coherent words together, Piers spoke the words that put the icing on the cake of doom for Hollis.

"You were talking to the snake weren't you Hollis?"

Hollis really hated being different.

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