Harry James Potter-Evans

Chapter 4

A/N What do you know, I actually met a deadline! How odd... Picture doesn't belong to me, full credit to gredandforge on deviantart!

The Evans family, as Petunia, Dudley, and Harry were now known, had been very happy for many years. Perhaps they didn't have all the luxuries they might have had with another paycheck coming in, but exchanging luxury for safety was quite a simple decision in Petunia's opinion. She should have known, however, that their peaceful lives would not continue forever. The break in the peace came rather abruptly, although not altogether unexpectedly. It arrived one very warm day in the summer of 1991, on July 31st. Before that, however, something else decidedly odd had occurred.

~July 5th, 1991~

Petunia always tried to do something special for both of the boys' birthdays, as they were close enough to warrant a joint celebration. This year, she had taken them to the London Zoo. Though she preferred to stick near the big cats and other animals with fur, eventually she was forced to go to the reptile area. She decided, however, that it would be prudent to simply wait outside the building itself while the boys explored. Dudley was particularly excited, and immediately dragged Harry with him in an attempt to locate the largest snake in the cool, damp building. Harry, however, needed no prompting, as he had always had a strange fascination with the creatures (he had never, however, encountered one, as Petunia abhorred the "slimy slithering serpents"). Both of the excited newly- or almost-eleven-year-olds swiftly zeroed in on a large boa constrictor that seemed to be able to wrap itself at least thrice around Aunt Petunia's rather old car. At the moment, however, it appeared to be sleeping. Dudley raised his hand to tap on the glass, as if knocking, but Harry stopped him, pointing to a sign prohibiting the process.

After a few more seconds spent staring at the great snake, Harry tried to whisper something to Dudley about how beautiful the reptile was, but instead what came out of his mouth was a strangled kind of hiss. Harry seemed unaware of this, but both Dudley and the snake noticed immediately, though admittedly for different reasons. The snake raised his head slowly and uttered a greeting:

"Hello, young Speaker. I must thank you for not tapping on the glass to get my attention, I much prefer this, and it doesn't cause me a headache."

Harry, rather understandably, was shocked when he heard the boa speak. His eyes widened comically as he turned to Dudley, question clear in his expression. Dudley merely looked back, just as shocked, conveying to Harry that no, the snake was not speaking English, but that he was speaking Snake. Turning back to the enclosure, Harry stuttered out a reply.

"H-h-hi. I'm sorry people t-tap on your glass, that sounds v-very, uh... annoying." At the constrictor's nod of agreement, Harry continued with more confidence, "I apologize if I'm being rude, it's just, I've never spoken to a snake before. Do you talk to people often?"

The snake let out a hissing sound that seemed to be laughter. "No, young Speaker, I do not often encounter others with your talent. You are, in fact, the first I have encountered in my life. I had thought you a myth, to be perfectly honest, yet here you stand."

Harry, suddenly realizing his lack of manners and realizing how horrified his mother would be, promptly introduced himself. "I am very sorry, I have forgotten my manners. My name is Harry, Harry Evans, and this is my brother, Dudley. Might I inquire as to your name?" There, thought Harry, just like Mum taught us.

"Hello, young Harry, Dudley. My name is Lúcio. Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

~Present~

As if speaking to a snake (and having it speak back) was definitely high on Harry's "Weirdest Life Experiences" list, what came next was even more bizarre. The rest of the month had passed normally, if quickly, as Harry eagerly awaited his eleventh birthday. He was more than ready to be starting at a new school this year, even if it was Stonewall High. Both his and Dudley's uniforms were hand-dyed by Petunia, but due to her skills learned over the years they neither smelled nor looked particularly unappealing. On the day of Harry's birthday, he awoke to Dudley jumping onto his bed while screaming birthday greetings, as was their tradition. A grin spread wide on Harry's face, he quickly got out of bed and down the stairs before even getting dressed. Another tradition was awaiting him on the table: one handmade gift from Dudley and one small cake with a candle on it from Petunia. After giving his mother a hug, Harry quickly sat down and ripped into the package from Dudley. Inside was a roughly-whittled, smaller version of the snake they had met at the zoo. Grin still firmly in place, Harry was still thanking both of his family members profusely when he heard the mail fall from the slot. Needing to work off some of his energy, he hopped up and offered to get the mail.

Upon arriving at the front door, he saw an interesting assortment of envelopes. There was the usual electric bill for the month, a letter from an old friend of Petunia's who was visiting Majorca, and a rather thick, parchment type envelope addressed to Harry Potter, the Small Bedroom, Evans Household, London, England. While getting a letter was nothing new to Harry (he did belong to several libraries after all), the specific listing of his and Dudley's shared bedroom both confused and worried him. He flipped the letter over, noticing the red wax seal with a coat of arms containing a lion, badger, serpent, and eagle surrounding a large "H". Deciding that whatever it was, his mum would definitely be able to deal with it, Harry rapidly returned to the kitchen.

"Mum, this weird letter came. Do you know who could have sent it? Is it safe to open, d'you reckon?" Upon seeing her younger son's confused face, Petunia moved closer and held out her hand for the mail. When she felt the weight of the letter in question, her face drained of all color, her lips pursed, and she began shaking slightly while glancing around in every direction. Obviously concerned as to what could have upset his mother so, Dudley also moved closer and investigated the offending envelope, exchanging confused glances with Harry before turning to their mother once more.

"Mum? What's wrong? Who sent the letter?" Inquired Dudley as Harry helped Petunia to sit down and fetched her a cup of tea. Seemingly shaken from her reverie, she turned her gaze upon Harry and said weakly,

"Hogwarts."

This, of course, did little to clear the mud-thick level of confusion surrounding the letter. When questioned further, and with a thrice refilled cup of tea in hand, Petunia began to explain to her boys about what she had left out when telling Harry about his birth-mother and Dudley about his aunt. Most of the things were innocuous at the beginning, if a bit disturbing. This Snape character seemed like a horrible sort, if you asked them. The surprise came when Petunia uttered the words she'd hoped to never have to say again, the words that had cost her a family, but gained her another. Followed by those words she'd hoped would never be needed, but that would be deemed false before they were needed.

"My sister was a witch." Turning to Harry and taking a deep breath, she dove into the deep end of the pool, no lifeguard in sight. "And you, Harry, are a wizard."

Ta-da! Kind of short, and a cliff-hanger, I know. But it's here, so I'll take it. Anyways, that's all. Have a great day/night/whatever, and Happy Holidays if you celebrate any. If not, Happy Winter!