House: Slytherin
Class: DADA
Category: Drabble
Word Count: 692
Prompt(s): [Location] Zoo
Warnings/Disclaimers: Canon Divergence, Major Canon Speculation
Harry wasn't overly fond of the Zoo. Not after what had happened two summers ago. He supposed he should have been thankful because, really, that's what had helped him get to Hogwarts if one thought about it hard enough (which Harry definitely had). Even still, he couldn't help but be drawn to the London Zoo in the early summer after his second year. He found himself wandering silently through the halls, looking for the reptiles. Now that he'd discovered he was a Parselmouth, he wanted to see just how many creatures he could really talk to.
Could he talk to all reptiles? Or was it a more specific kind of ability? He was about to find out, he supposed, walking towards a crocodile exhibit. They were considered reptiles; he'd read that in the tour brochure he'd snatched on his way in.
"Hi," he said, feeling ridiculous.
Other kids were also calling to the creature, so at least he didn't look crazy. The crocodile opened its mouth and let out a hissing sound. Harry closed his eyes, concentrating. Nothing. Maybe crocodiles weren't close enough to snakes. So he moved on.
He scanned the brochure again. Next stop? Turtles. He walked through the halls again, wondering if he looked weird. Harry was here alone, looking a bit younger than he actually was, with lopsided glasses and a peculiar scar on his forehead. He supposed that might make him appear strange, but no one spared him a glance. Which, honestly, he preferred. He was so used to getting gawked at in the Wizarding World. It was nice to be invisible for a while.
"Hello there," he tried, reaching the snapping turtle enclosure.
The turtles blinked at him slowly. Little eyes closing and opening. One snapped their mouth open. Harry kept his eyes open and concentrated specifically on that one creature. Nothing. He huffed in frustration. The same thing happened with the Komodo dragon, geckos, and even the lizards - which he felt was the closest thing one could get to a snake while still remaining a separate being. Finally, he trudged over to the snake enclosures.
He couldn't bring himself to go to them right away. What if he wasn't able to talk to anything at all? What if he'd been separated from the skill entirely after his fight with the Basilisk? He flipped the brochure over twice in his hands, only pretending to read the text. Burmese Python, it read. Harry didn't bother reading the description beneath that. The breath he sucked in next was shaky as he hesitantly approached a Python.
"Hi," he whispered.
There were more people around now, and he didn't want to appear as though he was insane. He frowned slightly when the snake just looked up at him blankly. It looked away, staring at other passersby. He took back every instance of hate he'd shown towards his ability in the past. Harry had actually started enjoying the rare skill he had. Even if he wasn't using it so often, just knowing that he could if he wanted to was something. And now he had lost it?
"Are you talking to me," the snake hissed curiously after a few moments.
Thank Merlin, he thought. It would have been half amusing, half devastating he reckoned if he'd completely lost the ability to speak Parseltongue. Luckily for him, however, that was not the case. Harry was instantly relieved to hear the snake's voice.
"Yes," said Harry.
The snake seemed surprised that Harry understood it. Harry had to admit that he was a little surprised himself. After the way things had gone for him earlier in the day he'd been half-convinced he was no longer a Parselmouth. He was, admittedly, happy he still was. Harry decided to quit while he was ahead and walked away from the snake's enclosure. It hissed something after him, but he didn't pay much attention. Instead he moved happily through the rest of the zoo, gazing at the other animals and enjoying the rest of the zoo. At the end of the day even though he couldn't talk to all reptiles, he was happy he was still a Parselmouth.