re-edited 2015, see first chapter for notes
Chapter 13: Snakes
Harry's unexpected holiday didn't last forever. In fact, it ended much sooner than he'd thought it would.
He, Alex, and a few other children were playing cops and robbers. Katie was playing too, but pretending to be a unicorn (she was helping out the good guys, she said). All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Harry saw, near Katie's feet, a poisonous snake. She had disturbed it, and it was angry. It started to bite her!
"Stop!" Harry yelled.
The snake glared at him.
"Go away," Harry said.
It went away, sulkily.
This whole exchange was giving Harry a bad feeling. Something like this had happened in his second year, and now it had happened again. Why was he so unlucky?
On cue, everyone began to back away, leaving only Alex, looking nervous, and Katie confused.
Everyone had heard the stories of the boy who could speak to snakes. It had been passed down for years, like ghost stories—and now, here he was again!
Before Harry could try to explain, he was alone on the lawn with his friends. He sighed. Now what would happen?
What happened was that, before he knew it, he found himself in his own room. Which might have been nice, except it was a horrible, drab room, and it was also the one Tom Riddle had stayed in. Someone, Harry thought, must be playing a very strange joke on him. Maybe it was Voldemort's spirit haunting the walls of the orphanage or something.
Looking around, he shivered. On second thought... it was probably just a coincidence.
.
.
.