Silver Snake
1. A friend like no other
Disclaimer): All credit for characters, properties, and things from the Harry Potter universe goes to J.K Rowling.
Inspired by JustBored21's Silver King
Italics = thought
"Italics in quotes" = parseltongue
Harry awoke to a loud rapping noise at his door. His head shot up, banging against the tilted roof of the broom cupboard. Holding back a curse, he rubbed his forehead.
"Yes?"
"Get up! Get up!" came Aunt Petunia's shrill voice. "It's Duddykins birthday, so make breakfast quick!"
Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry replied, obediently.
After getting out, and making a short stop at the bathroom, he proceeded into the kitchen, where he immediately went to the stove. After making a generous amount of eggs and ham for the Dursleys, and serving it on their plates, he sat down and ate. Dudley waddled in, bumping Harry before sitting in his seat, his enormous body dropping down on both ends of the chair. No one checked to make sure if Harry was ok, before immediately fussing over Dudley.
"How many presents this year, Daddy?" asked Dudley.
"36," Vernon replied. "I made sure that they were big ones."
"That's one less than last year!" Dudley exclaimed.
As Dudley started to cry over the number of presents he got, Harry quickly finished up with his breakfast before making the table, and cleaning and loading the dishes. Soon, the Dursleys were ready to go to the zoo to celebrate Dudley's birthday. Unfortunately, for the Dursleys, and fortunately for Harry, they hadn't been able to find a sitter, so Harry was forced to come along.
"I don't want any funny business boy," Uncle Vernon snarled. "Or it's the belt for you."
Harry nodded, and they got into the car. As they went throughout the zoo, Harry felt bad for these caged animals, as he could relate to them. Then he remembered that they could lie around all day, unlike him. It seemed that Dudley's favorite exhibit was the reptile one, and for once, Harry agreed with him. They stopped near a glass box containing a snake. The signs next to it told Harry that it was a male boa constrictor from Brazil.
"It won't do anything!" Dudley complained.
Yeah, maybe that's because it's asleep.
Vernon knocked on the glass loudly with his fat finger. When the snake didn't budge, Dudley imitated him, instead using his entire hand. After getting bored, the Dursley family moved on, but Harry didn't.
"Yeah they can be a bit much can't they," Harry said.
He wasn't sure why he was speaking to a snake, but it was rather comforting, even if it could never understand him. But suddenly, the snake rose, nodding its head.
"Woah! Can you understand me?"
Again, the snake nodded its head. Harry was convinced he was hallucinating this. 11 years with the Dursleys could do something to a person.
"Do you miss your family?" Harry asked.
The snake pointed its head toward the signs next to its cage. At the very bottom there was a sign that read: "BRED IN CAPTIVITY."
"Oh, I see. I didn't know my parents either."
Suddenly something the size of a freight train rammed into Harry, slamming him to the ground. As Harry got up, wincing, he saw Dudley slamming his massive hands and face against the glass.
"Look Daddy," Dudley cried out. "It's moving!"
Harry looked at Dudley with pure hatred. Suddenly Dudley pitched forward through the space where the glass had been a moment ago, and into the snake's habitat. Harry watched with amazement, as Dudley cowered before the might of the thick, albeit 2 foot long snake. It slowly slithered out of the habitat, ignoring Dudley. It slithered near Harry, who was still on the ground. It reached his ear, and Harry closed his eyes, sure that it would curl around his throat, constricting him like it's name suggests.
"I'll see you soon, speaker."
Shocked, Harry just watched as the snake disappeared, scattering everyone in its path. His attention turned back to Dudley, who was now struggling to get out, as the glass had somehow appeared back in its place. Harry smiled at this, which he instantly realized was a mistake, as Uncle Vernon was looking at him.
Harry nursed his wounds. Uncle Vernon had beaten him pretty badly with the belt, and Harry was sure he only stopped because he got tired. As he tended to all the cuts and bruises, his eyelids began to droop, and he fell asleep. Many hours later, he awoke to a scratching at the door. He wasn't sure what it was, but he assumed it was probably some small animal, like a rodent. He tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but the animal was incessant. Groaning quietly, he opened the door, ready to trap the rat. Instead, he came face to face with the huge, 2 foot boa constrictor that he had seen earlier at the zoo. He stood frozen for a bit, before coming to his wits. He immediately jumped on the bed, grabbing the lampshade next to him for defense.
"Calm down, calm down. If I was going to kill you I would have done it there at the zoo.
"What is going on!" Harry exclaimed. "How can I understand you, and how can you understand me!"
"You're a speaker," the snake said simply, in a matter-of-fact tone.
The snake pushed the door closed.
"Just listen to what I have to say."
The snake started climbing up the bed. Harry was about to hit it with the lampshade, but realized that no matter what he did, he would probably die anyway. And if the snake wanted to kill him, he would have done it earlier. More than anything, he wanted to get to the bottom of this. He sat down next to the snake.
"Ok listen carefully, because I'm sleepy and I won't explain it twice. Parseltongue is the magic language of the snakes. It's what all snakes can speak and understand, even though we can also understand English. For some reason, you can understand it. You're a parselmouth Harry. Snakes call human parselmouths, speakers. We snakes consider speakers one of us, and will aid you. However, I feel a stronger connection to you. So I want to be your pet, of sorts."
Harry's mind whirled as he took a minute to take it in. So he understood a magic language of snakes? He highly doubted it, but if it was a choice between being magic or being a head case, he knew which one he would pick.
"So I speak snake, and you wanna be my pet?"
"A very simplified version, but yeah."
At first, the idea of having a snake as a pet seemed absurd to Harry, but as he thought about it, he felt a strong attachment to the snake.
"I also feel a strong connection to you, and I would love to have you as my pet."
"Excellent. I would love to chat and get to know more about you, but I have traveled quite a far distance, and I am very tired, so I think I'll sleep now."
Harry, who had been exhausted by the day's events, and the day's beating, shared this sentiment. As he got into bed, the snake snuggled in with him. He opened his mouth to complain, but it died in his throat as he saw how cute it was. Harry fell asleep that night thinking about the new world of snakes he had been introduced to.
Harry peeled his eyes open. He was convinced that the events of last night had been a dream, but all this flew out the window when he saw the 2 foot boa constrictor sleeping next to him. The snake wriggled about. Harry found it weird that snakes couldn't close their eyes, even while sleeping, but he knew they could close their retinas. Finally, the snake awoke, and looked right at Harry.
"Morning, Sunshine," Harry said.
"Morning."
"So, we were supposed to get to know each other. My name is Harry Potter, what's yours?"
"Again. I was BRED IN CAPTIVITY!"
"Ok, Ok. Geez, sorry. I guess I'll have to give you a name. Hmmm… you like Shadow?"
"Shadow… I like it."
Harry smiled. This time, when he talked, he concentrated on hearing the parseltongue, until he could hear both the hissing and the English.
"So," he said. "I'm 10, turning 11 in a week. I'm the son of James and Lily Potter, but they died in a car crash. So I have to live with my abusive aunt and uncle, and my brat cousin. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley Dursley."
"Abusive! Well we have to do something about that."
"What do you mean?"
"Harry, you have a 2 foot boa constrictor, I'm sure you can threaten them."
"My god! You're right!"
"Of course I am."
Harry smiled evilly.
"We're going to have so much fun."
"Right well I am Shadow, the son of someone and someone else. I'm a male 10 year old 2 foot boa constrictor. We turn adults at 4, but we live until 30-40."
"Wait so you're over twice the adult age! Doesn't that make you a senior citizen?"
"Excuse me, but I'm in the prime of my life. Besides, I've never grown like other snakes."
"Whatever."
"I smell something strong in you Harry."
"You smell something strong in me?"
"Yeah."
"Are you saying I stink?."
"Kinda. Anyways, your aunt should be coming now. I'll hide in your hoodie sleeve and you can give them a nasty surprise."
Right then, Aunt Petunia knocked on the door.
"Harry! Get up, make breakfast!"
"Yes Aunt Petunia."
Harry looked at the bruises he got from last night. They had already almost healed. It wasn't new for him, but rather what the Dursley's called, 'another example of his freakishness.' He went to the bathroom before opening the door, and going to the kitchen. He got himself a glass of milk, and sat down at the table to drink.
"What the hell do you think you're doing boy?" yelled Uncle Vernon, coming into the kitchen.
Harry ignored him, instead choosing to calmly sip his fresh cold milk.
"Answer me BOY!" Vernon roared.
It was quite entertaining to watch Uncle Vernon's face slowly go from pale to red, then dark red, purple, and dark purple. A huge vein started throbbing in his forehead. Then, as Uncle Vernon's face reached shades not thought humanly possible, Harry finished his milk. Vernon, having had enough of it, started to undo his belt. It was at this moment that he decided to reveal his trump card.
"It's time to come out."
Shadow slithered out of Harry's hoodie sleeve. He was light gray, with beautiful dark brown and black patterns adorning him. He was about as long as Harry's arm. Uncle Vernon froze, just like Harry had last night. Harry wasn't sure if Vernon remembered it from yesterday, but facing a 2 foot snake would scare anyone just the same. Vernon let out a high-pitched scream.
"Don't move, or he will kill you," Harry warned.
A few seconds later, Aunt Petunia and Dudley ran into the kitchen, after hearing the scream. They froze, shocked, as they saw the snake on Harry's arm. Dudley's small pig-like eyes narrowed in recognition as he stared at the snake.
"Don't move a muscle, or he dies. You may think boa constrictors kill through suffocation," Harry said, reciting what Shadow had told him. "But humans can go 4-6 minutes without oxygen. When a constrictor squeezes its prey, it throws off the circulatory system's finely tuned plumbing. Arterial pressure goes way down, venous pressure goes way up, and blood vessels close. The heart can't stand the pressure, and if done perfectly, victims pass out after a second, with death soon after. Boas can sense their victims heartbeats, so they know when to stop squeezing."
Harry smiled evilly at them.
"So, why don't we all go sit down in the living room and have a talk."
They all nodded, and sat down at the sofas in the living room.
"So here's how it's going to work. I run the house now. I make the rules. I'll start by taking Dudley's second bedroom, the better one."
Dudley opened his mouth to complain, but Shadow opened his mouth at the same time, showing off his impressive teeth. Dudley shut up immediately.
"You all will do what I want, when I want. Otherwise, you shut up and leave me alone. You bother me, and you will die. Got it?"
They all nodded, still shocked. Harry again smirked that evil smirk of his, before moving all of his stuff, which was just his toothbrush, out of his cupboard, into Dudley's room.
"Oh my god! Shadow that went so well! Thank you so much. You have no idea how much they've hurt me!"
Shadow smiled sadly, flicking his tongue out.
"We still have a lot more payback to give them, but for now, just enjoy."
As time went on, Shadow and Harry grew closer, going from master and pet, to friends, to best friends. They celebrated Harry's birthday properly for the first time, terrorizing the Dursleys whenever possible. One day, when Harry was collecting the mail, he saw a letter for him. His eyebrows shot up, not only because he never got mail, but also because it was incredibly specific. It read: "To Harry Potter Number 4 Privet Drive 2nd bedroom." Inside was an invitation and introduction letter to 'Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.' He was amazed, and shared it with Shadow.
"Wow!" Shadow exclaimed. "We knew that you knew the magic snake language, but to think you're actually a damn freaking wizard!"
"I know! This is freaking crazy. I'm going to learn magic!"
Harry read through the letter slowly.
"It says that since I'm new to the wizarding world, a staff member will come to explain things in further detail," Harry read.
"Makes sense, cause we don't know shit."
"Wait a minute. It says you can only bring a cat, owl, or toad. I'll have to ask the person that. Ain't no way in hell I'm going without you."
Shadow smiled, or at at least as close to a smile as a snake could make. Snakes couldn't physically cry, but Shadow would have if he could.
"Thanks…that's really touching Harry."
"Of course Shadow, anything for you."
A.N: Hey guys, thanks so much for reading my first ever fanfiction. Please Follow/Favorite, Share, and Review, it means a lot to me.
At the time I'm posting this, I should have already posted the next 3 chapters, so go check them out. I'm not sure how I want this story to go, but im leaning toward a Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore Bashing, with more if I feel like it. Lemme know how I can do better, because again its my first fic.
Thanks for reading!