Memory's Prisoner

Chapter 5: A Talking Snake

"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.

Both versions of Harry perked up at that, and present Harry got on his feet, bouncing with excitement.

"Harry, what's so important about this memory," asked Ron. The atmosphere of the whole room was melancholic from all the bad memories and seeing Harry so joyful created a spark of hope.

Harry ignored Ron as he watched Dudley's mouth fall open in horror.

"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this.

"We could phone Marge," Vernon suggested.

"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."

"Oh, as if you don't," Malfoy scoffed next to Harry.

Harry looked at him peculiarly to which he responded with a shrug before once again focusing on the memory.

"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully.

Petunia looked like she'd just swallowed a lemon. "And come back to the house in ruins?" she snarled.

"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening. Dudley began crying - or screaming rather as it had been years since he actually cried.

"Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.

"I... don't... want... him... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp- spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.

The observers cringe in disgust at the child's actions, pitying Harry for having to deal with him so long.

Just then the doorbell rang, and a moment later, Pier Polkiss, a scrawny boy that looked like a rat, walked in with his mother. Half an hour later, Harry was happily sitting in the back of the Dursley's car on his way to the zoo for the first time.

"I'm warning you," Vernon said pulling Harry aside when they got to the zoo, "I'm warning you now, boy - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas.

"He wouldn't!" Lavender gasped.

"He'd try. They would need me to do something before then but I'd be in there for a long time."

"I'm not going to do anything," Harry said feebly, knowing Vernon wouldn't believe him.

It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with people. Harry hung back as Dudley and Piers ran around harassing the animals. After lunch, they went to the reptile house. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the building; it could have wrapped its body body twice around Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can. Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glittering brown coils.

"Make it move," he whine to his father. Vernon tapped the glass, but the snake didn't budge.

"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. Dudley had gotten bored and went to find some other beast to harass.

Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. It suddenly opened its beady eyes and slowly raised its head until it eyes were on level with Harry's. It winked.

"Did - did the snake just wink at you?"

"Shhhh, watch," Harry said excitedly.

Memory Harry appeared to be having a conversation with the snake.

"Where do you come from anyway?" Harry asked.

The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.

Boa Constrictor, Brazil. "Was it nice there?"

The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see - so you've never seen Brazil?"

As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump.

"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"

Dudley came waddling over as fast as he could, shoving Harry out of the way in the process. Caught by surprise, harry fell hard on the concrete floor. Piers and Dudley leaned up against the glass before jumping back with howls of horror. The glass had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People were screaming and running for the exits.

As the snake slid past memory Harry, he and all of the observers heard a low hissing voice, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo."

"You guys heard that, too, right," Fred asked quietly.

"The snake spoke to us," George whispered into the silence.

"That's what parseltongue sounds like to me. You guys can hear it because these are my memories."

The zoo keeper had finally calmed Petunia down, and Piers had gone home right after he said, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"

Vernon's purple face loomed over Harry. He looked like an enraged grape about to burst. He managed to yell, "GO - CUPBOARD - STAY - NO MEALS," before collapsing into a chair.