Harry Potter and The Whispers of A Serpent

Chapter 1

Hunger clawed in his belly violently, roaring like a wounded dog. They had not fed him the entire day, had not allowed him to walk out of his 'room' or breathe the fresh air. And it was not even his fault.

At school the previous day, he had somehow ended up on the top of the roof. He was running from Dudley's gang when suddenly the world around him twisted and he found himself on the top of the roof. He did not know how that happened and could only surmise that the wind had taken him up. He was not the healthiest boy, skinniest and weakest in his class. The wind doing that did not seem like the most outlandish thing. It certainly would not be the first time something unusual happened to him.

His stomach twisted painfully, breaking him out of his thought process. He looked out through the narrow slits on the door, hoping he'd find someone on the other side. Total darkness greeted him. It was night time and the house had probably gone to bed. He could have snuck out and grabbed a bite had the door not been locked from the outside.

Something brushed against his leg, something cold and smooth. Not his roommate the spider.

As fast as his hungry body could he turned the lights on, throwing the blanket off his legs. Emerald eyes met crimson and the boy stiffened.

The thing that had brushed against his leg was long and slim, its scales white as snow and eyes red as blood. A snake. A bloody snake had slithered into his room.

"Do not be frightened" the snake hissed, speaking in perfect English. No, the snake was not speaking. The creature's mouth had not moved when the words were spoken. But the boy could hear the animal like he would hear any normal human.

"I will not hurt you. Rather I am here to help you out" the snake went on.

"Help me how?" the boy couldn't help but ask. He could have sworn the snake smiled. Could snakes smile?

"How about we start by feeding you."

No sooner had the snake spoken, than the boy heard a soft click and then a thud. The door to his 'room' slowly opened, much to the shock of the boy.

"How did you do that?"

"Magic!"

"Magic isn't real."

"Yet the door opened. And you are speaking to a snake."

The boy watched the snake slither out the door and after a moment's hesitation, the boy followed.

Dizziness hit him like a truck and he would have fallen over had it not been for the wall he leaned against. Hunger clawed at him like a wild animal and his legs wobbled from weakness. Still, he made his way to the kitchen in the dark, the path as familiar to him as the back of his hand. The snake was waiting for him in front of the open fridge, the smell of last night's dinner making his head swirl.

Carefulness be damned!

The boy ran to the fridge, tripping but not falling as he did so. Roasted Chicken, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, roasted parsnips, and so much more. The family had a Sunday roast for dinner, he had smelt it from his room. Below the hunger, another emotion had laid dormant, and the more the boy ate the more that feeling bubbled up.

Hate, he hated his aunt and uncle for starving him. He hated his cousin for putting him in this situation. He hated them all for the things they'd done to him.

The light in the kitchen flickered to life and the boy stiffened.

"YOU DARE STEAL FROM US YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!"

The boy turned slowly to find his uncle standing at the door, his obese face purple with rage. The boy could imagine what the man would do to him for this, the beatings he would receive, the days he'd have to spend in his cupboard.