A Familiar's Intuition

Hi everyone! Hope you like this new chapter! Not too much has changed except more detail, hopefully more realism in the interaction between Harry and Hercules(I hope), more description into the familiar bond and how it feels to both of them, and a few new details added.

Explanations And Escape

"No, Amigo. It's me. I'm going to get you out of here."

At the gentle, familiar voice, Harry looked up and started to cautiously uncurl himself. There was only one person, well, not so much a person, who had ever called him "amigo." Pushing on his glasses, he saw the outline of a very large snake close to the now open cupboard door. "How did you….What? Why?" Harry stammered. What was going on? And how did he understand what a snake was saying? Was he dreaming? Or worse, going insane. "How are you here? You…You told me you were going to Brazil. Is this even real? I'm dreaming, aren't I?" He pinched himself, then closed his eyes, but the snake was still there when he opened them, and also giving him a bit of a strange look. "Am I losing my mind? I'm going stark raving mad aren't I? I have to be! This can't be real! A snake wouldn't come to save me! Not even a person would…" Harry didn't even realize he was shaking a bit and scooting back into the wall of his cupboard.

Seeing that he had inadvertently sent the child into a panic, the boa constrictor came closer and tried his best to soothe him. "Hey, amigo…Amigo, listen to me. This is real, and you ARE NOT losing your mind. I know it sounds crazy, but you're a snake speaker. You can speak the language of our kind. And I am here to rescue you. I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out, but I realized you were being hurt and that you needed help. I can get you out of here and away from these people, but I need you to trust me."

The soothing voice did have the effect of calming Harry and he looked up at the snake. The boa constrictor's eyes were kind, and though he still thought he was dreaming, he wanted so badly for this to be true, for someone to care about him, to have a friend for once…to know that the strange feeling he had had today of someone coming to him was real. He felt the pull he had felt all day become even stronger as he looked into the snake's eyes, and wanted to touch him, but still afraid this was a dream, he resisted, not wanting everything to disappear as he feared it would. He decided to play along as long as this dream lasted. "How did you get here? And why did you come to save me?" he asked softly.

"How I got here….It's a little confusing." the boa constrictor admitted. "When I figured out what was wrong, I wanted to come find you, but I had no idea where…until I felt this weird pull. Something told me I could find you if I followed it and I've learned to trust my instincts, so I listened." The young boy was quiet, taking in all this and connecting to the strange feelings he had felt all day, and the snake continued. "And I came because you are my friend. You listened and cared and freed me. I want to do the same for you. Please, come with me. We can go to Brazil together."

Harry unconsciously moved closer to the snake at this. He was still scared this wasn't real and that he would wake up in his cupboard, completely alone and broken-hearted from hoping for something he couldn't get, but another feeling deep inside him was telling him that this was real and he wanted that feeling so badly to be true, to be able to get away from the Dursleys, to have a friend for the first time in his life. "Thank you." he whispered softly and reached to touch the snake as the strange pull was silently instructing him to do, hoping beyond hope that his new friend wouldn't disappear as he softly placed his hand on the snake's back.

The boa constrictor's skin felt like soft leather, real, warm, alive. But before Harry could even dwell on this, a bright flash of light came from both of them, filling the room and nearly blinding them both. He felt a sudden connection, and a sudden and sharp but thankfully very brief bolt of pain as something seemed to unsnap inside of him. Harry was terrified at first, but then a warm comforting feeling flowed through him as a warm, gentle presence entered his mind, instantly calming the child. A soft wave of emotions that weren't his came to him, confusion, and some worry, but then happiness and comfort as it seemed the presence had been touched by the same feeling. The flash slowly dissipated, and despite the strange events and Harry's injuries and fears, he felt truly happy for the first time in a long time, like a puzzle piece he hadn't even known was missing had fallen into place. He knew for certain now that this truly was real, as strange as it seemed.

The two looked at each other, and both somehow knew without words that the other was having the same feelings. The strong pull that had been drawing them together like magnets had become a strong but quiet connection to one another in both mind and soul. Though the experience had seemed to last long moments, the truth was that it had all been completed in a few seconds.

Harry was the first to find words. "What was that?"

"I-I don't know." the boa constrictor admitted. "I don't know what that was or how it happened, but I feel like it was supposed to happen. But I don't even know how I know that."

Harry nodded, understanding as he felt the exact same way, but he knew they had more important things to worry about. "We-We'd better get out of here and we've got to be really quiet. If my uncle wakes up…" He shuddered a little and left the sentence unfinished.

"I won't let him hurt you if he does. How bad are you hurt? Can you walk?" the boa constrictor asked, looking at his injuries worriedly.

Harry nodded. "Yes, I'll be all right. It wasn't as bad this time." The last sentence was barely audible, but the snake still heard it and looked worried, but nodded. Harry got up, wincing in pain, though trying to hide it, and stumbled and nearly fell as he aggravated a painful spot on his right leg.

The snake saw this and reared up, gently placing his head and neck between Harry's left arm and chest, supporting him and letting the child lean on him, able to tell that he was in pain. "Easy there. I've got you."

"Thanks." Harry whispered gratefully. The two sneaked silently through the rooms, Harry grabbing one of Dudley's old bags and the two making a slight detour to the kitchens where Harry stole some apples, bread, a little leftover meat, a few slices of cheese and some various other food items that he didn't think the Dursleys would miss. He thought about trying to steal some money, but didn't think he could get to it in time and was also worried the Dursleys would call the police if they noticed money was missing and have him arrested. He did slip a Swiss Army knife of Vernon's that was lying out on the coffee table into the bag, knowing he'd need it, stole the first aid kit from the bathroom, and as the two traveled to the door, silently grabbed some maps from the shelf by the entryway.

Thankfully, the two made it out without incident and headed down Privet Drive as quickly as they could with Harry's injuries. "There's a forest near the park. We should be able to get there before sunrise and there's a cave we can hide in during the day." Harry told his snake friend. He had found the cave while running from Dudley one day and hidden there until his cousin and his gang had gotten bored and went home. He knew it was in a safe and hidden spot. True to his word, the two made it there without being noticed just before sunrise.

Later, having treated his wounds(with the snake fussing over him a bit) and having eaten a little and giving most of the meat he had stolen to the boa constrictor, the two rested, the snake with its coils gently wrapped around Harry, the closeness comforting to both friends. Harry suddenly remembered something important he had forgotten to ask. "Do you have a name?"

"I do." the snake said with a nod. "The zookeepers named me Hercules, which is kind of a weird name, but at least it's better than the name one of the cobras got."

"What was it?" Harry asked curiously, feeling safe enough around the snake to ask questions.

Hercules made a strange hissing sound, and Harry jumped a bit before realizing the snake was laughing. "His name…was Sir Hiss." he said through his laughter.

Harry started laughing too, trying to keep quiet since he didn't want anyone to hear them. "That is awful. Poor snake."

Once the two had calmed down, Hercules asked, "What's your name? I know most humans have them."

"I'm Harry." the young boy told him.

"Well, Harry, we'd better sleep soon. It's a long way to Brazil, I think, and we probably should get going once it gets dark." Hercules said. Harry nodded and both were quick to fall asleep, neither knowing their new adventure together would not quite be what they had planned.

Hope you all liked it! Please let me know what you think, as well as what you think I should change for future chapters and what I should leave the same or avoid doing! I hope this will please both the new readers and old fans of the story!