Harry Potter Volume 1

At the House of Reptiles

'YOU ARE GROUNDED!' Harry heard Uncle Vernon shout at him. He could hear nothing else. But who'd believe if he said he spoke with a snake?

Two hours ago, he have been warned by Uncle Vernon that 'If you do anything weird, you are very very dead,' in that raspy breath of his. Now he says I am grounded. It is only slightly better than being dead, I think. Harry mused in his mind. But didn't say that aloud though.

It started out normally, with him being bullied all the way to the zoo by Dudley. A pain of course. Normally they'd leave him with Mrs. Figg, a old woman in their street who'd bore him to death with all her cats and pictures of cats. It's better than that. Out, enjoying for once, he had thought when he heard Aunt Petunia saying to Uncle Vernon that Mrs. Figg fell Ill and can't take care of him. They were forced to bring him to zoo. Wierd things happened when Harry came with them. And that's why Uncle Vernon warned him. Now he somehow messed it all up.

The zoo was big, with cages full of all kinds of animals from rare rats to big lions. They saw all of them. Dudley, as stupid as he was, tried to speak to them, saying hi, sneering at them, screaming at them. Neither he nor the animals were pleased. He remained silent but the rats bit his fingers when he tried to poke at them through the cage holes, the monkeys showed their large teeth and the lions growled. Dudley didn't bother. He laughed as he ran from one cage to another, tossing him around as usual.

Then they came to the Reptile House. There were all kinds of snakes there. Harry read the names as he passed by: King Cobra, Krait, Hydrophis (some sea snake, the board beside the aquarium said), and so on. Harry then came upon a snake which seemed very bored, which wound itself to the large tree branch in the cage, head dipped down, its forked tongue in and out of its mouth lazily.

Harry stood looking at it when it lifted its head up and looked at him. Both of them looked at each other for some time when the Boa Constrictor (the board said it was from Brazil) opened its mouth. 'What are you looking at, boy? Go gawk at me and get lost, I don't care.'

Harry's jaw fell to the floor. He slowly picked it up and stuttered a weak 'What?' after confirming that none were watching him. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were at the King Cobra with Mr and Mrs Polkiss while Dudley and Piers Polkiss were busy shouting at the Baby Anaconda at the far end of the House. Other visitors didn't mind too.

The snake perked up more, its eyes fixed at him. Harry saw his own green eyes reflected in the Boa's eyes. 'You . . . You can understand me?' Harry heard the surprise in its raspy voice.

He was surprised too. Scratch that, he was shocked. How? But Harry said slowly, 'I . . . Yes. It seems I could understand you.'

'And I can understand yours! I don't know how but I can!' At least the snake sounded happy.

But Harry's head swam. How? Was his only thought. Instead, he replied, 'Don't you feel all bored in there? How was Brazil?'

The snake only rapped at the bottom of the glass with its tail. Bred in captivity, the small board said. 'Oh,' Harry said.

'You don't really seem to be happy with that fat pig pushing you around isn't it?'

'I don't know why he's always like that,' Harry muttered, suppressing a chuckle at Dudley being called a 'Fat pig' by a fat snake. But he decided not to point that out to the snake. He enjoyed it. Nobody is seeing me. Not even Dudley. Usually, Dudley would always look forward to bully him. He turned around and saw Piers laughing at something Dudley said, both of them at the Hydrophis which was hissing at them through the aquarium glass. Some stupid joke.

'Oh people are always like that. Look at me. I am up here all day with you people gawking at me. All I want to be free. All you want is to be free. In a way we are not different, you and I.' The snake said.

Harry just looked at the snake. So am I pathetic than a snake? That's when he felt a big hand clutch his shoulder. The hand dragged him back so quickly that fell on the ground, hard. He looked up as Dudley glowered over him. 'Were you talking to the snake?' He said, his piggy eyes narrowed.

Harry just glared back at him when Piers dragged Dudley to the Boa Constrictor and soon, they were gawking at it. All he felt was anger. He didn't even get up. He just glared at them both. That's when everything went wrong. The glass suddenly vanished. The Boa uncoiled itself from the branch and slithered out of the cage, its mouth slightly brushing at Dudley's feet. He screamed and Piers screamed. Then everyone screamed and scrambled out of the snake's way. It slithered on the floor, slowly came to his side and whispered, 'Thanks. I am free. Or at least I'll be, soon. Goodbye, boy!' And slithered out of the room. And that's when everyone moved again.

The House caretaker apologized to Aunt Petunia a thousandth time as he offered her a hot cup of tea which she took, her hands trembling. Piers and Dudley gibbered and told things like 'It ried to bite me!' Or 'It tried to crush me!' While Uncle Vernon looked like he'd stab him with a knife.

After Piers and his parents went away pretty shaken, Harry found himself being screamed at, by Uncle Vernon all the way back to home. if you could call a cupboard that. Aunt Petunia only said, 'Don't come out . . . No meals . . . ' as he locked himself up in the cupboard under the stairs.

What happened? How can I speak to a snake? How did that glass disappear? And there's that dream. He couldn't forget the officer's cunning face and the prisoner's smirk. What's happening?

Harry fell asleep after a long time just thinking about what happened in the zoo and gazing at the ceiling.