Harry and Alice Potter and the Sorcerer's stone

by Natural-Territory

Also known as The Earlier Drafts Story. In an earlier draft of SS, the Potters lived on an island in the ocean, while the Grangers lived nearby. When the house is destroyed, Mr. Granger rows out and retrieves Harry and (this is where MY plot twist comes in) Harry's twin sister, Alice. The two children are taken to the Dursleys, and that's where our story begins…

2. A Trip to the Zoo

Chapter Two: A Trip to the Zoo

Though no evidence in the forth home on Privet Drive implied that three children lived in the home instead of just one, Harry James and Alice Lily potter remained. While the walls were covered with pictures of a fat blond boy, occasionally with a walrus-sized father or horse-faced mother, the two Potter twins, taken from that island almost nine years ago, still lived in the house.

Harry and Alice had grown into rather extraordinary children – and not just because of all the extraordinary things that seemed to happen to them. They both liked to read, and they enjoyed school even though their aunt and uncle told the teachers that they were horrible trouble makers and their cousin threatened anyone who tried to be their friend. Thankfully, most of the teachers didn't listen to their aunt and uncle, but the fact remained that most children were afraid of Dudley and his 'gang', and so the Potter twins had no one but each other. However, they knew they were lucky to have even that, and tried to count their blessings.

Harry had very messy black hair and Alice had long, thick, frizzy red hair. Both children had long thin legs with knobbly knees, and, more importantly, the same scars on their foreheads.

On the right side of Alice's forehead and the left side of Harry's were lightning–bolt shaped scars, supposedly received when their parents died. When the siblings had asked their Aunt Petunia why they didn't have parents, she had snapped that they died in a car crash ("Where you got those horrible scars!") and told them not to ask questions.

For the most part, the Potter twins tried to stick to themselves and just get through the day, but sometimes they couldn't help but cause a little trouble to their hateful aunt, rude cousin, and anger–filled uncle. For example, just last month they had added a generous amount of laxatives to the Dursley's food.

That was why they had spent the last few weeks in their cupboard apart from school. However, it had been worth it.

"Up! Get up, you ungrateful brats! Right now!" Came Aunt Petunia's voice through the cupboard door. A loud pounding followed, and Harry and Alice Potter jerked awake.

Harry, who lay right beside the door, sat up and groggily pulled on clothes that were far too big for him – hand-me-downs from their cousin, Dudley – then placed his glasses on his nose and sighed. Alice peeled herself off of the wall and grabbed the nearest ugly dress (a 'gift' from their aunt), quickly re–adjusting the piece of paper taped on the wall there.

It was a reminder. Like I mentioned before, the twins tried to count their blessings. The paper looked like this:

Good Things:

–Food almost every day

–A warm place to sleep

–School

-Water

–Books

–Being outside

–When the Dursleys leave

–Not being sick

–Each other

The twins looked over this every day to remind themselves that even though their lives weren't perfect, they still weren't horrible. And the truth was, the cupboard under the stairs was the warmest place in the house during winter, which was the only good thing the twins could find about their living space.

It may sound hard to believe, but the twins really did sleep in this tiny closet. Ever since Albus Dumbledore had left them on the Dursley's doorstep ten years ago (not that they knew about Albus Dumbledore or that they had been left on the doorstep at all), this had been their room. Petunia and Vernon never made it a secret that they detested their niece and nephew, and privately the twins thought that the Dursleys only accepted them into the house because they wanted someone to clean.

Alice glanced as the tiny clock they had stolen from Dudley and repaired. It read 6:00am.

"Why is she getting us up so early?" the red haired girl moaned to her brother. "It's summer!"

"Don't you remember what day it is?" asked Harry sarcastically, pulling on his ripped and filthy sneakers. He put on a high voice, "Its Precious Duddykins' birthday!"

Harry and Alice both rolled their eyes. Every year, their Aunt woke them up even earlier than usual to make breakfast for their fat cousin's birthday. Dudley was very spoiled and rarely went without something he wanted, so naturally on his birthday he got dozens of presents, most of which he broke within a week. Harry and Alice had never received a single present – unless you counted broken pencils, old socks, chipped tea cups, coat hangers, and the like, which they were sometimes given by their relatives on birthdays and Christmas, if they got anything at all.

One their birthday, the twins usually tried to get a present for each other. Of course the Dursley's didn't give them spending money, but if you tried hard enough, you could find something quite nice. On their tenth birthday, Harry got Alice an old silk pillow their neighbour had been throwing out, and Alice found Harry three slightly melted army men at the park. They may not sound like very good gifts, but the fact that the twins had searched high and low all day for these things made them quite special.

There was also the fact that they had barely a dozen possessions each – including clothes.

"ARE YOU UP YET?" demanded Aunt Petunia, banging on the twin's door. The children jumped.

"Nearly," Alice replied, trying to finger-comb her matted hair. She was sure that if the Dursleys gave them a decent amount of time in the bathroom their hair wouldn't look so mad.

"Well move!" Petunia said gruffly. "You'd better be in the kitchen and cooking in three minutes, or else! Everything has to be perfect for Dudley's special day!"

Alice and Harry both rolled their eyes, but Alice said, "We're getting ready, Aunt Petunia!"

Alice was still pulling on her shoes when she heard banging on the stairs. Dudley was awake.

As usual, he stopped right above the area when he knew the twin's bed was and began to jump up and down.

"Come on, get up!" he yelled obnoxiously. "We're going to the zoo!"

Harry glared at the ceiling as their cousin cackled and ran down the steps. The twins stood, brushing spiders and dust off of them and opening the door.

They barely dodged Dudley as he went to push the twins, causing him to stumble into the wall. Before he could do more than glare, Harry and Alice shot off, laughing, into the kitchen. Their aunt glared at them as they entered, only to burst into happy squeals when Dudley followed. While Harry and Alice began cooking the bacon, Petunia fussed over Dudley. Uncle Vernon soon entered, and barked, "Do something with that ratty hair, boy." Instead of 'good morning', like a polite person might say.

About once a week, Uncle Vernon would bark that Alice 'must get that nasty hair cut right away!' and for Harry to 'do something with that horrible mop!'. The Dursleys never spent more than the very minimum amount of money on the twins, like the forty pounds they had reluctantly shelled out for Harry's glasses – the cheapest pair that was a prescription. So, their aunt always cut their hair. Every time, Petunia would cut her niece's hair just below her ears, ragged and uneven, then make her some lopsided bangs to 'cover that awful scar'. She would do the same with Harry, only his would be even shorter. The first few times, the twins couldn't sleep. They couldn't stop worrying about how much more they would be picked on in school if they walked in with those haircuts.

And then the most amazing thing happened. Actually, it happened each time Petunia cut either of the twin's hair.

It would grow back. Simple as that; by the next morning, their hair would be the same length as before, if not longer. Harry and Alice, personally, thought it was an emotion–fuelled superpower, like the people who can suddenly lift cars off of their children. They hated their haircuts so much that their bodies worked overtime until it was back to normal.

While Dudley counted his presents, Harry and Alice thought with excitement about the day ahead. They couldn't wait to go to the zoo; they rarely got out of the house, except for school and sometimes to go to the store with their Aunt.

Harry and Alice had always been thankful that they looked so different from their relatives. While the twins had the same face shape, eyebrows, lips, nose, and eyes, not to mention their scars, of course, the Dursleys were completely different. Aunt Petunia was a skinny woman, with a horse–like face, perfectly shaped hair, and a long neck. Dudley and Uncle Vernon were both huge, with pink skin, hardly any neck, and small, watery eyes. Vernon had a thick handlebar moustache and brown hair, while Dudley had smooth blond hair that lay perfectly on his fat head. Aunt Petunia said Dudley was like a little angel. Harry and Alice said Dudley was like a pig with a wig.

As Harry and Alice laid the plates on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room, Dudley finished counting his presents.

"Thirty six." He said, looking at Vernon and Petunia with his eyes narrowed. "That's two less than last year."

Uh oh, Harry and Alice thought together. They began eating quickly, sensing danger.

"Darling, you haven't counted Aunt Marge's present, see? It's over there under that big one from mummy and daddy."

"All right, thirty–seven then." Dudley said, beginning to go red. Harry and Alice began to eat even faster, lest Dudley flip the table over. Again.

Petunia obviously saw trouble coming as well, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out. How's that sweetums? Two more presents. That's all right, isn't it?"

Dudley began to think; never an easy task for him. Finally, he said, "So I'll have thirty…thirty…um…"

"Thirty–nine, sweetums." Aunt Petunia filled in.

"Oh! All right then!" Dudley said happily, and began to open a present.

Uncle Vernon chuckled.

"Little tyke wants to get his money's worth, just like his father! Atta boy, son!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.

Soon, Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss arrived. He was a scrawny thing with a rat–like face; his job in Dudley's gang was to hold people's arms while Dudley hit them. It was Harry's and Alice's greatest ambition in life to give him a good kick.

Half an hour later, they were all in the Dursley's car on the way to the zoo. Just minutes ago, the twin's uncle had taken them aside and threatened them…

"I'm warning you now, brats." He said, holding the twins to the wall with one meaty hand each. "Any funny business, anything at all, and you'll be in that cupboard until Christmas. Understood?"

"We're not going to do anything!" Harry protested, not sure if he should be afraid or angry.

"Honestly!" Alice added

But Uncle Vernon, surprisingly, didn't believe them.

The car ride in the backseat with Dudley and Piers was horrible. They were both loud and annoying and loved to pinch and shove the twins. While they drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. It was one of his favorite things to do. He liked to complain about the council, the twins, the bank, the twins, bills, the twins, neighbors, and the twins. Today, his topic was motorcycles.

"…Speeding along, weaving in and out like that, so inconsiderate," he grumbled while Petunia nodded firmly.

"I had a dream about a motorcycle last night!" Alice exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Agreed Harry "Me too! It was flying!"

"Right!"

Uncle Vernon slammed on the breaks, nearly hitting the car in front of them.

"MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" he roared at Harry and Alice. Dudley and Piers snickered.

"We know that! It was only a dream!" Harry protested. But both of them still wished they hadn't said anything; the Dursleys hated anything out–of–the–ordinary.

Soon, they were at the zoo, and Harry and Alice was having the time of their lives. The Dursleys had bought them a cheap ice pop each at the entrance when the attendant spotted them, and they loved being out of the house. After wandering around for a while, they made it inside to the reptile house. It was cool inside, and Harry and Alice relaxed for a moment, reading the plaques and admiring the animals.

"Come on, move!" Dudley's loud voice brought Harry and Alice out of their peaceful conversation about bearded lizards. He was beside the twins now, with Piers of course, which made sense because Harry and Alice had been standing in front of the biggest snake in the place.

Dudley rapped on the glass and yelled again. Harry and Alice sighed.

Why can't he just leave it alone? Alice wondered.

He always has to be bothering something, Harry thought

It was bad enough when he was terrible with his cousins – he didn't even know the snake.

"Dad, make it move!" Dudley wined in his father's direction.

Uncle Vernon wandered over and tapped on the glass. The snake didn't move. Dudley banged on it with his fist.

"Leave him, Dudley." Harry said, turning to his cousin and glaring. He ignored both of them, deemed the snake boring, and he and Piers wandered off.

"Sorry about that. Our cousin can be a real ass," Alice said to the snake. The snake blinked sleepily and raised its head. It nodded.

Harry and Alice gaped. They exchanged a look. They didn't know snakes could nod. The twins glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. They hadn't. So the Potters turned back to the snake.

"You can understand us?" Harry asked slowly. The snake hissed and nodded again. It glanced at Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then shook its head, as if to say 'I get that all the time'.

"I bet." Harry and Alice together,

"It must be horrible." Harry said.

The snake nodded vigorously.

"I've never talked to a snake before…" said Alice, leaning closer to the glass. "Do you talk to people often?"

The snake shook its head.

"You're from Brazil, right?" Harry asked, nodding towards the plaque in front of the snake's cage. It nodded again. "Was it nice there? Do you miss your family?"

The snake jabbed its tail at the sign.

"Oh…" Harry said. There was a line of text at the bottom she hadn't read: THIS SPECIMEN WAS BRED AT THE ZOO.

"Us too." Alice said. "We don't remember our parents at all–"

Suddenly, Piers appeared behind her. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! DUDLEY! COME LOOK AT THE SNAKE! QUICK!"

Harry and Alice cried out as they were suddenly pushed hard onto the ground. Alice winced at her bleeding knee and ripped tights, and Harry rubbed his bottom gingerly. Dudley shouted for his mother and father to come see what the snake was doing. Harry and Alice were so mad they were shaking. The twins were sick of Dudley pushing them around!

Dudley's chubby face was pressed against the glass cage, as was Piers', sneering at the snake, and then something unexpected happened.

The glass vanished.

It was that simple: one minute the glass was there, and then it was gone. Dudley and Piers both fell head over heels into the pool inside the snake cage. They screamed bloody murder as the snake seemed to glare right at them, then slithered out onto the floor.

Harry and Alice stared with wide eyes as the snake stopped before them.

"Brazzzzzzzzil here I come. Thankssssss, amigo." It hissed.

"A–anytime!" Harry and Alice said nervously, grinning. The snake slithered for the exit, hissing at people's feet and snapping playfully at their ankles. There was a sudden stampede for the exits as everyone tried to escape from the snake. Meanwhile, Dudley and Piers began to scream and yell yet again, drawing the twin's attention back to them, only to see that the glass was back in place, and the two bullies were still on the other side. Petunia and Vernon ran forward, banging on the glass and yelling for Dudley, but Harry and Alice couldn't help but laugh.

When they glanced back at her aunt and uncle, however, she saw Vernon glaring at them, and realized laughing had been a very big mistake indeed.

After many apologies by the zoo manger and the reptile keeper, they were finally in the car. Piers was soon back at home, Dudley was in a blanket given to them by the zoo, shivering and looking like he was probably scarred for life, and Vernon and Petunia were exchanging grim looks.

When they pulled into Number Four, Petunia and Dudley rushed in, followed by Vernon and the Potters. Harry and Alice knew that something very bad was about to happen, and they were right.

Vernon cornered them against the wall by their cupboard.

"What. Did. You. Do." He growled at them.

"Nothing!" Harry cried.

"Really!" added Alice, as their uncle continued to turn a dangerous shade of red that was bordering on purple.

"One minute the glass was there, and then–"

"It was just gone! Like magic!"

Now Vernon was properly purple. He grabbed each twin by the arm and shoved them into their cupboard, slamming it and locking it behind them only to open the small grate and peer in to snarl.

"There's no such thing as magic!"