Harry learns a bit and Petunia has a breakdown

Parseltongue is a language so wouldn't it make sense there are different versions of Parseltongue along with different dialects? I like making things complicated.
I took some Parseltongue vowels and consonants and kinda reworked them with Phonics to come up with my version of Parseltongue. The species of snake is called "Natrix Helvetica" The pronunciation is in the end notes
Who else likes a breakdown due to religion? Not shitting on Christianity here but you can't deny that Petunia would definitely be one of "those" religious people.
Anywho, Italicized is Parseltongue

"Wizards? You mean magic is real?" Harry asked, his eyes wide in awe.

The snake did a sort of chuckle in which it was just nodding its head while making short hissing sounds before answering,

"Of course magic is real. How else would you be talking to me?"

Harry lowered himself to the ground, bringing his knees up to his chest, and curled his arms around his legs. He always said that he could do magic, he knew it was the only explanation about him and now that he had it confirmed, he wanted to cry.

"My- my aunt always said magic wasn't real, but I could do a bunch of things like grow my hair back and make things move without trying," Harry whispered, his voice trembling as he fought back tears. For so long, he thought of himself as a freak because no one else could explain anything he could do as his aunt's denials were the only thing he had.

The snake tilted its head sideways as it assessed Harry for a couple of minutes before speaking.

"Your guardian is most likely not magical then."

Frowning, Harry stared at the snake in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You taste like magic, and if your guardian has denied your magic, then it must be because they don't have it." The snake curled its body up, waiting while Harry processed this information.

Slowly, Harry nodded his head. He still didn't understand much, but it made sense in an odd sort of way he guessed. Maybe his aunt denied magic because she didn't have it. Moving to sit cross-legged, he got himself comfortable. He might as well try to learn all he could…even if it was from a random garden snake.

"I taste like magic? What does magic taste like?" he wondered.

The snake slithered its way toward Harry, its tongue coming out every few seconds, and Harry had to try and contain his laughter as he felt the tongue make brief contact with his skin before the snake slithered onto a nearby rock and curled back up, its head resting while it looked at Harry.

"Magic tastes different for everyone, but you taste like firewood, pine, and apples."

"Can you tell me more about magic?" Harry questioned.

As the snake shook its head, Harry bowed his head, but before the rush of disappointment could fill his body, the snake continued.

"I'm a snake, young speaker; I know not of your magic. I can, however, teach you more Parseltongue if you wish."

Harry's eyes widened comically as his face was broken up by the widest grin he'd ever given.

"Would you really? That would be cool!" Harry cried out, his voice full of excitement.

The snake shook its head in what looked like exasperation, but since it hadn't left, Harry figured it wasn't too put-out by his enthusiasm.

"Very well, the first thing you should know is that there are different kinds of Parseltongue for different species."

"How do you know which to speak?" Harry wondered.

"I learn through taste."

Recognition registered with Harry when he remembered how the snake flung its tongue out. Stunned, he nodded his head, showing his understanding. The snake flicked its tongue out again before speaking.

"Very well. What we speak now is known as "Ssa-str-ssii-ssk Hhii-ssl-ssve-sst-ssii-ssk-Ssa."

Confused, Harry simply stared at the snake. One minute he could understand what it was saying, and then all he could hear consisted of a lot of s sounds, but it sounded jumbled up with random letters. He didn't understand what the snake said; it was like he was talking in a completely different language.

"What does that mean?"

"It's the species of snake I am," the snake replied.

Harry frowned, his eyebrows tightening together. "But—I didn't understand what you said."

The snake sighed, and Harry felt bad. He was making things difficult, but he really didn't understand. "You will understand as soon as I can move on to teach you. No more interruptions young one."

While Harry was outside, Petunia was in her kitchen, wondering where Harry was. Surely that little boy could hear her calling his name. It was almost 7 p.m., and he hadn't started on the dinner yet. Vernon was due home in an hour, and she was still busy preparing the desert. Leaving the kitchen, she made her way towards the backdoor, ready to drag that insolent little boy inside, when she stopped in her tracks. There outside for everyone to see was her nephew, and he was... talking to a snake?! For a moment, all she could do was stare, and then, as quick as a flash, she went outside, grabbed the boy by his ear, and dragged him inside.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" She screamed in his face, her fingers still locked tightly on Harry's ear.

"Ow!" Harry cried out, and his small hands came up to try and pry her off his ear, but she merely tightened her hold. "It hurts; please let me go!" Harry struggled to free himself from his aunt's grasp, but she began to drag him to his cupboard, and her mutters and his cries for help were the only things that filled the otherwise empty house.

"I thought I was done with this evilness when your mother left," Petunia muttered angrily. "I was supposed to be done with it, but no, you just had to inherit that disgusting talent your mother had."

Surprised that his mum could speak to snakes as well, Harry momentarily forgot about the pain in his ear.

"Wait, what do you mean my mum could speak to snakes?" He demanded his aunt tell him more but was met with a stony silence as his aunt pursed her lips tightly.

Aunt Petunia quickly shoved him inside his cupboard the moment they reached the end of the hallway and then locked him in. "You get no dinner tonight, and don't you ever speak to another slimy snake again, do you hear me, boy!?" She screamed at him before making her way back into the kitchen. She leaned herself against the sink as she felt bile making its way out of her. After she emptied her guts into the kitchen sink, she stumbled into the living room and sat down in her armchair as she tried to get her breathing under control. She could still remember the first time she ever witnessed her sister talking to a snake. It was the day she vowed she would never believe another word about how innocent her little sister was. Not when she finally figured out the dark truth.

*FLASHBACK* January 30th, 1967, Petunia's POV

'I can't believe we had to come to the zoo of all places for her birthday. The stinky, smelly zoo', I thought as we walked up to the front gate. I could smell the poop as it practically attacked my nose.

"Why couldn't we just go to a nice restaurant?" I asked again, wrinkling my nose as if that could make the horrid smell go away.

"Because it's your sister's birthday, and she gets to decide what she wants to do, Petunia. I will not hear another word of this from you." Sighing, I knew better than to push my mother on this. Lily gets everything she wants; she could do no wrong, and she was their perfect baby angel. With her stupid red hair and stupid green eyes, she could get whatever she wanted with a single smile—a cheeky little grin—and adults melted at the sight of her. She was nothing more than a freak, like one of those people who pretend to see the future so they can swindle money from us normal folk. Even better, one of those people who has been institutionalized by their family. It baffled me how our parents didn't notice, how everyone didn't notice how out of the ordinary she was—it just didn't make sense!

There was a time when that cheeky grin could make me giggle for hours. I loved to brush her long red hair and practice my braids. When she looked up at me with those big green eyes, it used to make me happy, but now it makes me sick. We had finally gotten inside, and the first thing Lily wanted was to see the snakes in the reptile exhibit. There she went, bouncing all around—such a naughty and misbehaved little girl! I'll never understand her fascination with these strange, slimy, cold-blooded creatures. Everyone knew they were evil—even the Bible said so. If they weren't evil, why would Satan transform into a snake? "And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him," I murmured to myself as I watched my sister wave to everyone who passed her by, and I watched as they all waved back, smiles on their faces, as Lily pretended to be the innocent little girl she wasn't.

Maybe this is proof that my sister was a freak. I'm sure a lot of people at that strange school were obsessed with evil things. That thought cheered me quite a bit; no matter how precious she was in the eyes of our parents, I knew what she really was.

Once we got to our destination, we all split up, but I decided to stay with Lily after seeing a man stare at her for far too long. There was more than one kind of freak in the world. Shaking my head, I remained by her side—the clueless girl she was, too caught up in her own world to notice what was going on around her. She'd be snatched up quickly if I weren't here, but despite my intense dislike, Lily was still my little sister. My annoying, freaky little sister, but it was still my responsibility to keep her safe. I still wasn't sure if that was something I had come to hate, but I did have some resentment; it wasn't like she appreciated any of my efforts. I scowled as I remembered when we were both normal. When we were simply Petunia and Lily, two sisters who were as close as twins, and as I watched Lily bounce her way through the exhibit, I longed to return to those times.

Sighing, I shook my head. This was by far the most boring trip I had ever been on; all the snakes were sleeping or not paying any attention to the people beyond the glass. Snorting, I thought maybe Lily and Snakes had more in common than I realized. Clueless, the lot of them. It took a while before I noticed the slight hissing beside me. Surrounded by snakes, it never crossed my mind that I shouldn't have been able to hear them due to the glass. When I turned my head, I realized the hissing was so audible because it was coming from Lily's mouth. For a full minute, I watched as she conversed with the snakes in the display, both in shock and disgust at what I was seeing. First, she had to go and become a witch, but now she could talk with the most disgusting creatures on the planet!?

"Just what are you doing Lily?" I questioned, my voice coming out in a short hiss.

Lily turned to face me, a confused expression on her face. "I'm talking to the snakes P," she said, tilting her head to the side. "Didn't you hear me?" She wondered lightly, and I couldn't stop the look of utter disgust that crossed my face.

"I didn't understand a bloody word you were saying!" I whispered-yelled at her.

No one should be able to talk to snakes or any animal, but then again, magic wasn't supposed to exist. "I should have known you were learning all sorts of evil things at that school," I huffed, my arms crossed.

"But P," she said, a hurt look appearing on her face.

"I didn't learn this at Hogwarts. I've always been able to speak to snakes." Her clarification mortified me. I truly did not recognize her anymore. The entire time? Even before Hogwarts?

"You disgust me," I muttered, but she heard me well enough. "I knew you being a witch was a sign you were evil."

"A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them." I repeated last week's bible verse at her before she could protest my words.

"I'm not evil, Petunia," she whispered before turning back to the snake. She started to murmur in that weird language again, seemingly ignoring my presence now.

After a while of watching her, I simply turned and walked away from her; I couldn't be around her freakish ways anymore. This was far too much for me to handle; no sister of mine would be able to do that. I know it.

*END FLASHBACK*

Petunia remembered that day with full clarity as if she were transported back to that very minute when she left her alone. Petunia didn't utter a single word to Lily for the rest of the day. She just remembered that horrible hissing noise that left her sister's mouth. It was ingrained in her mind to the point where she had nightmares about Lily setting a giant snake on her. Petunia knew then, deep in her heart, that her sister was evil and that magic was evil and wrong. It no longer mattered what anyone said, Petunia knew the truth. She should have known her freak son would inherit her freak abilities. Not for the last time since Petunia took on that boy, she thought about leaving him at an orphanage. The thought was tempting for her, more so than it should have been, but the thought was there all the same.

By the time Vernon returned home, Petunia was a bundle of nerves as she sat on the couch, nursing a cigarette. Her normally perfectly styled hair was a mess; wisps and strands of hair framed her face, and her clothes were rumpled on her body.

"Kitten?" Vernon cautiously approached his wife, whose body was hunched over as she murmured to herself.

"He can do it too." Petunia croaked out.

"What do you mean, pet?"

Looking up at her husband through tear-filled eyes, Petunia whispered, "He can speak to snakes just like she did." Vernon's eyes widened in fear as he glanced down the hallway at the cupboard, which was tightly shut.

"Are you sure?" His words were laced with a fear he hadn't felt since meeting Lily and her cursed husband. He would forever curse the day Petunia introduced him to her sister. He had nightmares for days afterward—demons, the lot of them—he was sure of it.

"Of course I'm sure! I saw him out there talking to a snake, just like she did that one time at the zoo. I saw it with my own eyes, Vernon. He's just as evil." Unexpectedly, Petunia broke out in choked sobs, her mascara running down her face.

"I thought I didn't have to worry about this anymore when I finally left, but now I'm stuck with it all over again. Why must God punish me this way? Why punish our family by forcing us to be in the same presence as them?" The last word was said with such venom that it startled Vernon.

He was so shocked at her words that he could only watch as she proceeded to recite the Lord's Prayer on a loop.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come; your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Vernon spent the rest of the night trying to comfort his wife as she rocked herself back and forth on the armchair in the living room. He had Dudley order them pizza since his wife was clearly in no shape to do any cooking that night. Soon, it was Dudley's bedtime, and while he slept, Vernon stayed with his wife the entire time. She recited the Lord's Prayer until 3 a.m.; the moment she fell asleep, she was carried to their bedroom.

Harry, on the other hand, stayed in his cupboard the entire night. For once, he was not concerned with food being withheld. He was concentrated on finding a way back into the garden tomorrow; he knew there was no way his aunt was going to allow him back outside anytime soon. Of all the things he's done over the years, she has never reacted in the silent way she did tonight. He heard her sobbing from the living room until he too fell asleep. The next morning, it took him a while before he remembered what had happened the day before. Needless to say, Harry was scared, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel like a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

Now Harry knew two things about his mother.

'My mother was a Parselmouth... She could speak to snakes too.'

A small, tentative smile broke out on his face at the new information. It was another connection he learned he shared with his mum. It was more than just her eyes; she left more of a legacy with Harry than he knew. Slowly, the thought of all the things Harry didn't know about his mum made its way into his thoughts, and he started to cry. He had green eyes because of his mom. He was a Parselmouth because his mom was a Parselmouth. Nothing about that was freaky, Harry thought. "I wasn't a freak; I couldn't be," he muttered to himself as he wiped his face clean of tears. Harry was magic, and his mom was magic. He had proof of it now.

Not for the first time in his life, Harry wondered why he never knew these things about his mom. He knew his aunt knew; how could she not? After all, she was the one who told him that he had his mother's eyes, so surely she knew about Harry being a Parselmouth. As much as he wanted to know why his aunt was so terrified that he could speak to snakes, he knew he was never going to get an answer to his question, and if her behavior was any indication, if he asked, there would be a harsh punishment for him or another breakdown for her.

Throughout the week, his aunt stayed in her room. She didn't come out for any reason other than to use the bathroom. The first time they saw each other after he was caught, she screamed and began to recite the Lord's Prayer all over again. After that, Uncle Vernon believed that having Harry outside would help, but as far as Harry knew, it didn't stop his aunt from staying in her room. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Harry was practically free to do whatever he wanted as long as he continued to cook. He didn't eat much because his uncle blamed him for his aunt's current behavior, but it worked out in the end. He was able to sneak cans of food out of the kitchen without his aunt there to look over his shoulder. Many of the cans wouldn't expire for a couple of years, and Harry was glad his aunt had a breakdown.

The best part of it all was that he got to spend more time talking to the garden snake, and sometimes the snake would bring him apples or oranges from the neighbor's yards. The snake had complained about the skinniness of Harry's body on more than one occasion, and since then, the snake has made sure Harry has a continuous supply of them. Harry found that the fruits were more filling than anything his aunt and uncle let him eat or what he snuck out of the kitchen. Part of him thought it was because the food was provided by someone who truly wished for him to get healthy. Harry had never been taken care of in that way; it was sad that it came from a snake, but it truly did make the most sense.

The only bad thing was that his uncle wouldn't allow him to go into the backyard by himself; he had to stay in the front yard, which made it harder to talk to the snake. It was decided after the neighbors started to look at Harry weirdly for seemingly talking to himself that the snake would perch itself on his shoulders. It freaked people out to see Harry so comfortable with a snake on his shoulders, but then again, the neighbors always thought Harry was odd. The only neighbor who seemed to be okay with it was Mrs. Figg, the old lady across the street, who would sometimes babysit Harry when his aunt was tired of looking at him. The first time she saw him with the snake on his shoulders, she merely gave him a knowing smile and continued watering her flowers. Harry noted that Mrs. Figg was like that, never surprised by his actions or what she was told.

Anyway, Mrs. Figg and the neighbors aside, Harry enjoyed himself for the first time in a very long time, and he was enjoying every minute of it. He wished that his aunt would continue to stay in her room for the rest of the summer. Even though he knew it was rude to think like that, he also knew that the moment she was better, she wouldn't let him set foot outside by himself.

So he focused on his lessons with the snake instead of worrying about what would happen once his aunt got better. He learned that for every species of snake, there were variations of Parseltongue, and like human languages, there were different dialects. Sometimes, if he said one word, it would mean another thing to a different snake.

"It's the same thing as pheromones," the snake explained. "I won't react to the pheromones of another species of snake because I won't understand them."

"How do you learn then?" Harry questioned. If snakes learn from pheromones, doesn't that mean they also learn the different kinds from pheromones?

"Through our tongues," the snake flicked his tongue out from its perch on his shoulders. "We touch our tongues and taste the language."

Harry grimaced at that. "You guys have to kiss?"

Confused, the snake tilted its head to the side and asked, "What is a kiss?" Harry blushed at that question and ducked his head so that his hair was covering his face.

"No-nothing!" He exclaimed, embarrassed. It was easy to forget he was talking to a snake, which didn't know anything about humans other than the fact that it thought humans who couldn't speak Parseltongue were weak.

"Harry Potter!" Harry whipped his head toward his house when he heard his aunt scream his name.

"I suppose our time has come to an end."

The snake slithered its way off his shoulders and down to its favorite rock before Harry could bid it goodbye. Harry sighed and trudged his way to the house, wary of what his aunt was going to do to him. The week of peace was nice while it lasted; if only his aunt would have another breakdown. Maybe if he spoke Parseltongue around the house?

I quite liked the idea of the snake feeding Harry. It's sweet. I tried to keep it scientifically accurate with the pheromones and stuff since that's how snakes tend to share bodily information. Just had to do a lil tweak here n there. I know Parseltongue in canon is shared through bloodlines/genetics and that sort of thing but it's still a magical ability so I can come up with some weird shit lol. Gotta love AUs huh?
We'll get into Lily's background soon, don't worry!
TILL NEXT TIME!

Pronunciation

Ssa-str-ssii-ssk
(Sa-Str-She-Sik)

Hhii-ssl-ssve-sst-ssii-ssk-Ssa.
(He-Sil-Sive-Sit-She-Sik-Sa)