Chapter 2

The scorching sun bore down on Harry's back as he worked in the garden. He'd decided long ago to take off his shirt as it had become uncomfortable working in it but he also took it off in hopes to cool off a little. Alas, it didn't work. It only allowed the sun more direct contact with the skin of his back. What didn't help any was the incessant itching he had felt from in between his shoulder blades all morning.

Bending over to yank another weed, Harry felt the itching go from uncomfortable to almost painful. Wincing, he rested his forearms on the ground for a little break to allow his back some time to relax. 'What is happening to me?' The throbbing in his back died down enough to where Harry could continue working. He did not want to have to deal with Uncle Vernon should he not have the list of chores done before the big tub of lard got home.

Throughout the whole day Harry worked through the pain in his back and ignored his confusion about what was going on. He was used to it, right? There was only a month left before he was finally able to go back to Hogwarts and he hadn't heard from his friends all summer. They were ignoring him, and Harry had no idea why. Did they finally get together and just haven't had time to owl him? That must be it. Ron and Hermione wouldn't forget his birthday, they had always sent presents and food to him. They were just too busy this year.

Harry made his way back downstairs after cleaning up Dudley's room. (And after that, Harry was sure he would have whole new nightmares to worry about.) He found Aunt Petunia in the kitchen, getting snacks ready for when Dudley and Uncle Vernon returned.

"Aunt Petunia, I've finished with Dudley's room. Is there anything else?" Harry asked in a monotonic voice, hoping he was done for the day.

"Yes, go clean the bathroom upstairs and then take a quick shower. We are having guests over and we don't need them smelling your disgusting freakishness," Aunt Petunia positively snapped at him, probably upset that he was almost done for the day. "After your shower stay out of our hair, we don't need you messing this up for us, boy," she hurriedly gave him his instructions for the night as he had turned to leave.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia. You won't even know I exist," Harry replied back with his standard answer, already heading up the stairs to take his shower. Harry opened the bathroom door and quickly set to work cleaning the floor and shower so that he could have more time to shower afterwords.

Stretching, Harry pulled off the rest of his clothes and started the water, making sure the stream of water was hot and ready for him. He set his glasses down on the counter before ducking under the water and grabbing the bar of soap. Harry scrubbed himself as hard as he could, trying to get off the feeling of dirt and sweat clinging to him. As the soap ran over a spot on his back pain shot down his spine, followed by a feeling of numbness. "What the hell?" Harry gasped out. The soap clattered to the floor of the shower as Harry groped at his back in a vain attempt to discover what that feeling was, only to feel the pain again when he brushed something leathery on his shoulder blade.

Stumbling out of the shower, Harry made to grab for his glasses before realizing he could see where his glasses were resting on the counter. Perfectly. The light glinted off of the lenses! Glinted!

"What the hell?" Harry didn't have any other response at this point. He slowly turned to see the reflection of his back in the mirror. What he saw made him gasp. "What the hell?"

Two long slits ran down the length of his back, starting at his shoulder blades before curving in towards his spine and finally fanning out so that each line curved gently around his hips. They were a deep forest green color and were just wide enough to fit two fingers.

"No, no no no no no! This can't be happening! What is this? Oh, no-"

"BOY! Get out of that shower and into your room! NOW!" Uncle Vernon's roar startled Harry out of his thoughts. He quickly pulled on his clothes and grabbed his glasses before rushing to his room, if you could even call it that. I'll deal with this later.

The next morning Harry woke up with a start. Bloody nightmares, I hate bugs. He could even still feel the insects crawling all over him, and he shuddered. But the feeling wouldn't go away. Harry scratched at his shirt before pulling it over his head and scratching his stomach, but what he saw there made him cringe for a whole other reason. I have scales. I have scales like a bloody snake!

Carefully he traced the small black scales with a finger. They were so small and soft that it almost looked like part of his skin had just turned black. And thank Merlin it's only part of my skin. I don't think I would've lived long enough to make it to Hogwarts if I had turned as black as night from head to toe. The little scales ran from his collar bone down to his hips in an intricate pattern of swirls and slashes. They also covered his forearms and calves in the same patterns. Could I say I got a tattoo? Or I'll just cover them up with long sleeves, no one has to know.

And Harry did just that. He pushed anything abnormal to the back of his mind and tried to pretend that nothing was wrong. The Dursleys had no idea anything freaky was happening to him (well, more freaky than what they normally think), and he was able to quietly do his chores and try to forget any new thing that had popped into his life recently. For example, he tried to forget how he now needed to duck when rushing down the stairs in order to avoid hitting his head when before there was five inches between the top of his head and the ceiling. But eventually Harry would need to stop forgetting, because he would never be able to ignore what was to come for Harry's birthday tomorrow.

Hello All! Thank you LIGHTNSHADOWS for the review already! Wow! Sorry about the format of the first chapter, I'm new to the site and I guess I did something wrong! Thank you for all who support this and let's hope this goes well :) (I haven't really planned out this story, I just couldn't sleep one night and decided to start writing, so wish me luck and if you have any ideas you think would fit this story then please review!)

-Haylee