Harry was nine years old, and he had just become a big brother…sort of. Brownie had come back from her wanderings several weeks ago to announce that she had found a suitable mate and laid eggs in the compost heap at Number Twenty. When asked why she didn't lay them in Number Four's compost heap, she said that it wasn't big enough. With her guidance, Harry and Dudley created a large, beautiful, warm compost heap at the end of the garden. Then, they snuck into the garden at Number Twenty to relocate all 14 eggs. Unfortunately, they were a little too excited at the prospect of baby snakes and neglected their stealth somewhat.
The occupants of Number Twelve had been in their conservatory, enjoying the sunshine, when they saw two young boys climb their garden fence and crawl toward their compost heap.
"Are those the neighbour boys from Number Four?", Marjorie asked her wife, as she watered the plants on the windowsill.
Looking up from her cross-stitch, Beth peered over her glasses at the scene unfolding in the garden. It was indeed the boys from Number Four, and they were digging through the compost for something.
"Found them!", the smaller one exclaimed, holding up what looked like an egg.
The taller boy then very gently put the egg in a picnic basket, in which there appeared to be a grass snake.
Very interesting…
Marjorie lifted their elderly dog to the window so that she could also watch.
Beth turned to her wife, "It must be something with the scouts. Perhaps they get a badge for this."
Marjorie nodded in agreement, "I've always liked the scouts."
Harry had collected the last egg when he heard a tapping on the window of Number Twelve. He turned to see two ladies and a dog watching him and Dudley. He waved awkwardly.
One of the ladies popped her head out of the conservatory door. "Would you bring some popcorn next time? We like the sweet type", the lady shouted in an American accent.
Baffled, Harry turned to Dudley, who shrugged.
"Sure!", he shouted back.
"Lovely – good luck with your badges!", the lady replied with a smile, waving her dog's paw.
"…Right, thanks!"
Harry and Dudley then very carefully climbed back over the fence and walked to Number Four.
"Muuuuum, how do you make sweet popcorn?"
Waiting for the eggs to hatch was very boring. Harry had been checking the compost heap twice a day so that he wouldn't miss anything. He and Dudley took turns singing and reading to the eggs, which brought a smile to Aunt Petunia's face.
After a few weeks, the day had arrived, and the babies were hatching! Harry and Dudley were sitting next to the compost heap with Brownie, Charybdis, and Bob. Dudley was somewhat impatient with how long it took for them to get free from their leathery eggs.
"If you help them, they will never grow strong", Brownie explained.
By the time the last egg hatched, Harry and Dudley were holding and conversing with several baby snakes. They were surprised that the snakes could talk at all, being only a few minutes old, but perhaps reading and singing to them had helped.
"What was it like being in an egg?", Harry asked the group.
"Warm, wet, quiet", one of the snakes answered. It had particularly vibrant yellow-white markings that looked like a gold necklace.
"What name do you want?", Dudley asked.
"Pretty", answered the one with the very bright markings.
"Strong", answered another, who was climbing Harry's arm.
"Pretty as well", answered a snakelet with dark colourations.
"Erm, those aren't really names - they're descriptions. Also, you can't have the same name.", Dudley was careful not to use his normal profanity around the babies.
"I will be Pretty Two then", the dark snakelet answered.
"But that's still not a name," Dudley replied.
"You asked them to choose their names. This is Pretty Two because she says so", Brownie replied patiently.
Bob then chimed in, "After all, you called yourself Awesome Spy Human".
Ah yes, Dudley thought, there was that…
"Okay, you're Pretty Two", he conceded.
Harry dragged Aunt Petunia out to look at the babies. She was quite impressed and told Brownie she should be proud of producing such an attractive clutch.
After about an hour of chatting, the snakelets grew restless.
"Must go now. Thank you, brothers", Strong hissed out, as he made his way to the gap between the fenceposts.
"Wait! Where are you going?", Dudley cried out.
"Leaving the nest. Need food, own shelter", Strong replied.
"But you can live here – there's plenty of crickets and things here", Dudley explained.
Brownie gently explained, "My clutch must leave. They are already independent. They are born ready for the world. Harry knows this – you too should know this."
Dudley, who had been holding a small snakelet called Ribbon to his chest, gently placed her on the ground. "Will you come visit?"
Ribbon peered up at him, "I like this place. I will be here often."
The snakelets said their goodbyes and wriggled under the fence, leaving Harry and Dudley feeling somewhat bereft.
Harry was quiet for a moment, then sadly murmured, "The books said they're independent from the start, but they're still vulnerable. They could get killed by foxes or cats or birds."
Charybdis, with the wisdom that came with having escaped a cage, replied, "Yes, but all things die. It is better to die after having been vulnerable and lived freely than to die safe but never having known freedom."
Later that day, Aunt Petunia got them both ice cream to cheer them up. Dudley was still a bit sad, but Harry, having been much more entrenched in the life of snakes, was quite alright
A few weeks later, Ribbon and Strong came to visit, and the rest of Dudley's sadness evaporated.
Marjorie and Beth were quite pleased to wake up one morning to find a Tupperware of sweet popcorn on their doorstep.
"Such nice boys…"