It was Dudley's birthday tomorrow.

Harry wasn't excited to see Mrs Figg again, having to spend the day with her and her cats was tradition when Dudley and his gang went wherever Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon took them. Harry had at one point minded, but learned that family time was meant for family, and he wasn't ever freinds with Dudley so he understood the decision. He just wished that he didn't have to spend the day with Mrs Figg, and instead do his chores or if they'd allow it, just outside at the park the entire day.

Uncle Vernon said it wasn't normal to send children to the park all day, and that was that. Nevermind his aunt would send him out during the day if he got his chorelist done or if she brought her lady friends over. Harry stopped questioning the different set rules of his uncle and aunt, and just learned to apply one or both depending on the time.

Just as Harry was laying down for the night, he looked at the spiderweb that had started to form in the corner, closest to where the stairs met the ground floor. Harry started his meditation for the night, just fifteen minutes or so, he doesn't want to stay up too late, and had the thought of his own birthday, in a months time, and knew he didn't get the fabulous birthday his cousin would get.

It was a good day of rest, his family would let him take a tiny list of chores and give him a sweet after dinner. It wasn't as fancy as Dudley's entire day, but Harry was told often enough how he was an unexpected and unwanted burden on their family. It wasn't his fault, and it wasn't theirs, it was his parents for going and getting dead while they had a son they should've been taking care of. Much less in the car with them, Harry finished his meditation and reached up to rub his scar.

'When I die, I'm going to make sure no one is depending on me, that I've delivered on all my debts, whether its old age or an accident, I'll never leave someone behind like they did.'

"Wake up, boy! I want to have Dudley's breakfast done early, so get up!" Petunia had woken up early if she was up before he was, Harry thought as he changed out of his oversized tshirt that served as his pajamas. He knew it would be a long day and figured there was no delaying the inevitable. With a stretch as he exited his room, he went to his aunt in the kitchen.

"First is the flatcakes, go get the batter started, and there better be no chunks! I want my Dudkin's birthday to be perfect, which means you will do as you're told today perfectly. And if I hear any complaint from Mrs Figg you'll be in your room until school starts!" As she turned to lay out the bacon, she turned her glare towards the pan instead of the boy. Without seeing the look, Harry went to start the flatcakes, and heard Uncle Vernon start down the stairs.

"Hm. You're awake, good. You know how it goes today, you'll be nice and quiet until you are delivered to Mrs Figg, and you will be on your best behavior there. Understood?" Uncle Vernon was in his "day off" outfit, which Harry never understood why you needed a particular outfit for a day at home, but Vernon did leave the house on those days, so maybe it was a matter of convenience. Nodding, and starting to whisk the batter, he missed the shared look between husband and wife. One that spoke of silent worry, as if the boy himself was a threat, when nothing could've been giving that impression.

Afterall, who knows what's possible with magic.

*Ring..Ring..Ring"

Vernon was left to the job of trying to cheer up Dudley, the boy so upset with his lesser count of presents. Harry had thought thirty-six was a lot, but Dudley apparently kept track of the number each year, and it was less then last year, so his parents must love him less this year. At least, that was his excuse he was telling his father as Petunia went to answer the phone.

Harry knew Dudley was spoiled, but thought it was natural. His aunt and uncle were forced to share affection with him, so they wanted to show more of their affection to Dudley to make sure he knew they loved him, but it definitely went to Dudley's head. Dudley often bullied other kids and would chase Harry around at recess, until Harry had started going to his school library at lunch this last year.

Harry didn't mind, he actually was really fast from running from Dudley and his mates. You wouldn't guess it looking at his tiny frame, but when the motivation is to get away from the punches that come after, he got fast enough to outrun the four boys in the yard. He even was running through the playground and the other kids on it for a couple months until he found out a few kids sit in the library instead, and started going there. It had nothing to do with the fact he had somehow ended on the top of the school kitchens the day before. Nothing at all.

"Vernon! Figg said she can't take the boy, she broke her leg doing her yardwork, probably tripped over one of her bloody cats." She had meant to say the last bit to just Vernon, but Harry couldn't help but giggle at his aunt's words.

Glaring at the boy until he felt properly chastised, she tried having another whispered conversation with Vernon. "What about your sister? She can watch the boy." "No, she hates the boy, plus you remember the time with Ripper." "Well then what should we do Vernon? Bring him with us?!"

This time it wasn't Harry that interrupted, but Dudley. He started with his comical fake sobs, at least it always sounded fake to Harry, before he whined out, "But I don't want him to come. It's my birthday and I don't want the freak to come with us. It's not fair!"

Harry didn't like the fact freak had seemed to stick, he got over the fact his nickname at home was boy, but whenever the strange things happened, his aunt and uncle would call him freak for the rest of the night, and Dudley did whatever his parents showed him. Harry tried to explain it couldn't have been him, that there wasn't any logical explanation, even if it was him. He had thought maybe he had jumped so hard and he was so light that the wind picked him up and that was how he ended up on the roof, but even he knew how crazy that sounded. No matter how baggy Dudley's clothes were, he was always pulled down by gravity. He had fallen over more then enough times to know it was impossible, but so was every other idea he could come up with.

"...ice cream and those three presents, it'll be a good day Duders, mommy promises." Glaring at Harry, as if the circumstances were his fault, she pushed Dudley out so he would go get dressed for his day. Vernon turned to Harry with his face slightly flushed, showing his dislike of the situation as well. "You heard us boy, you're coming with us to the zoo, and you will be on your best behavior the entire time, or else. I swear if you ruin Dudley's birthday, or do anything to make it less, you will be punished. Am I understood?!"

Harry had given accustomed nod, used to being quiet when at home, when his uncle started glaring at him for doing so.

"Respond out loud, I want you to say yourself you will do nothing bad today." "I understand uncle, I will do nothing bad and won't ruin Dudley's birthday in any way." Vernon had stood, going to the living room to wait for his wife and son, while sending one last glare at the boy, this one saying how much he didn't trust the boy's words.

Harry was good, he knew he was.

The snake was so pretty.

It was a giant of a thing, it looked like he could measure his height out twice in its length and still have leftover snake, and it had a shiny emerald skin. It reminded Harry of his eyes, the same ones he couldn't take away from the beauty, as his cousin and his friend went to a display with something with dragon in the name.

'Duh, dragons don't exist, I don't get why'd you get excited over something trying to be something else.' Harry's thoughts had spread while staring at the snake, but one that stood out was his thoughts on the captive animals, and if they felt happier in their containment and lives then he in his.

"It's a silly thing to compare, the animals get what they want to be happy, food, safety, what else could an animal want?" Harry had spoken to himself, but it seemed his words carried, and went through the thick glass infront of him, as the snake, which was just sleeping through Dudley's banging on the window, looked directly at him with what could only be described as a snake glare.

Harry thought he was shocked by that, but what happened next almost made him collapse on the floor. "Hm, what would a youngling know about being a creature born in captivity, to know nothing but the cage it was born into, hmm?"

The snake... was Talking! Harry had seen a lot of weird stuff, but this time he was pretty sure he was just hallucinating. Snakes don't talk! But he figured it was rude to not answer a question asked of him, even if the voice was coming from his mind. "I wasn't born in a cage, but I am held captive by the life I was born in none the less. I am held at arms length by my family, because they aren't my family, but cannot leave, so I do understand." Harry watched the python relax its glare into a curious look, and Harry was questioning how his mind knew one snake look from another.

"Interesting, you call your captivity the lack of family, of support. Your freedom comes not from the options ahead, but the past that binds you. Look at my plaque, read it aloud." Harry did so, and read "Boa Constrictor. Found in Brazil, this specimen was bred in the zoo."

"I will never know anything but this cage that pretends to be anything but, while you could run away right now if you wanted, yet you stay. What I'd do if I could get through this glass, I truly cannot imagine. Because the only world I know is the one around me, a fake, while you get to stand there in the real one." The snake had started moving around irritated at the subject, shuffling its incredible length throughout it's enclosure.

"Begone child, you know nothing of what manner of creature you are, to get to stand on the other side of the glass, to speak to myself, you know nothing so you are nothing. Certainly not worth speaking to." As Harry went to respond to the incredibly rude snake, about to get into a very one sided argument, another young man wanted the snake's attention, now it was awake.

"Woah!! Move freak, I wanna see!" As Dudley pushed Harry aside not too carefully, Harry fell to the concrete floor of the reptile room. Piers and Dudley had leaned against the glass staring at the quite active python, Harry had just about had enough, and had spent enough time in the backseat being pinched and poked by the two. Even so, that didn't explain what happened next.

One moment they're leaning on the glass, the next they both backed away as fast you could and still call it slow. Harry looked a bit closer and saw what made them do so, the glass of the enclosure had disappeared! Still on the floor nearby, he got an excellent view of the giant constrictor leaving it's captivity for what apparently was the first time.

"Hm, maybe you do know something, but based on your face I'm guess you didn't mean to do what you did. No matter, thanks kid." The snake gave Harry a wink! As it slithered out, several people screamed at seeing the snake outside it's enclosure, including Dudley and Pierce. As Vernon finally worked his way to them from the crowd, he saw the missing glass, no shards or anything pointing to it breaking, and his freak nephew on the floor next to said missing window.

He knew he should've just given the boy to Marge for the day.

Hello!

Y'all are making me a happy camper, all the follows this is getting :)

I'll probably add this to the first chappie, but this will be a rewrite up to summer after third year, very much a first fic, but little about Harry's acting or decisions can change the events of those years. While we could sit and talk about how 4th year could be included in that, we all love a good, different from canon fourth year and I strive to impress.

Next chapter, well I'm guessing more than one of you showed up to see that summary, and I plan to deliver.

Til next time,

TRHPRP