Chereads / Harry Potter:blood legacy / Chapter 3 - ch-3

Chapter 3 - ch-3

"— A... A... you're not going to bite me, are you?" blurted out the first question that came to the boy's mind. The snake raised its head and looked at him carefully before shaking its head as if to say, "No, I won't bite you."

"Oh," was all Harry could manage to say, and any further response was interrupted by the loud sounds coming from the television. Harry knew the Dursleys sometimes liked to turn up the volume to tease him with the fact that he could hear the programs but wasn't allowed to watch them.

Harry noticed the snake shaking its head from side to side, and he got the feeling it didn't like all the noise. Harry didn't know what came over him at that moment, but he placed the baby snake on his lap and gently covered the parts of its head where he thought its ears might be. To his relief, it didn't bite him; instead, it calmed down.

"— Thank you," came a young voice that sounded as if it belonged to a five-year-old child.

"— Huh? Who's speaking?"

"— It's me," the voice said again. Harry looked around, confused, trying to figure out if someone else was in the cupboard with him. "— Down here," the voice continued. Harry blinked and looked down, only to see the snake staring back at him. "— Hi," it waved its tail.

"— I think I hit my head too hard," he muttered.

"— What's your name?" Harry whispered to the beautiful black snake once he'd recovered, trying to speak softly so Uncle Vernon and the other Dursleys wouldn't hear him.

"— I don't have a name yet," came the reply, and Harry thought it sounded like a boy's voice. "— What's yours?"

"— My name is Harry. My full name is Harry Potter."

"— Why are you speaking so quietly?" the snake asked curiously.

"— Because I'll get in trouble if I'm too loud. Uncle will get angry if I make noise."

"— Oh... should I be quiet too?"

"— Yes, please," Harry nodded, happy that it seemed to understand him. "— How did you end up here?"

"— I don't remember," admitted the snake. "— I just remember being moved and then waking up here."

"— But you're just a baby, aren't you? How come you can already talk?" Harry asked, confused.

"— I don't know," the snake seemed to shake its head uncertainly. "— I just want to, and I can. And I'm hungry," it added plaintively.

"— Oh. But I don't have any food here," Harry admitted quietly. "— If you want something to eat, we'll have to wait. Then I'll sneak into the kitchen and bring you some food."

"— Sneak? Will you steal a lot?"

"— Just a little," the boy said, a bit embarrassed. "— Now shh, you need to stay quiet," he whispered, relieved when the snake nodded as if saying, "Okay." That brought a smile to Harry's face. He finally had someone who listened to him, even if it was a snake.

The next day was a school day, which meant Harry had to leave the house. Luckily, he'd managed to hide his new friend from the Dursleys. He couldn't imagine what they'd do if they found the snake. In fact, if they did, they'd likely kill it and then punish him. When Harry left for school, he took the baby snake with him. He wasn't about to leave it at home, where Aunt Petunia might find it.

The Dursleys mostly avoided Harry's cupboard unless they wanted to shove him in or drag him out, but they also stored other things there, so they occasionally went in. The last thing Harry wanted was to come back and find a dead snake on his bed. His new little friend was smart enough to hide under his uniform, wrapping itself around Harry's right arm, though it sometimes changed positions.

For example, in the car, when Dudley sat on Harry's right, the snake moved from his right arm to his left. The sensation was strange but amusing, and Harry managed to suppress any reaction—or at least limit it.

During break at school, Harry went to the library to learn more about snakes, like what they ate. He discovered that many snakes were venomous, while others killed their prey by wrapping around and squeezing them to death. He'd heard before that some big snakes could eat cows and deer, but he'd thought they just tore them apart. Apparently, snakes could open their mouths wide enough to swallow large prey whole without chewing. Reading this, Harry couldn't help but wonder how big his snake might grow. That is, if it stayed with him. But why would it stay in the cupboard when it could slither away to freedom?

A week later, Harry was pleasantly surprised that his snake friend was still with him. They'd even settled on a name: "Jet." It was a simple name, but Harry liked it, and so did the snake.

Harry loved spending time with Jet whenever he could. He enjoyed talking to him. He'd never really had long conversations with anyone before, and Jet genuinely seemed to enjoy listening to him. Jet also liked explaining things. He didn't understand how, but he just knew certain things. For instance, he told Harry that they were actually speaking Parseltongue, the snake language, which was a rare magical ability. This was yet another thing that surprised Harry. Apparently, magic was real.

"— But magic can't exist."

"— Then how are you talking to me?" Jet countered logically.

Harry realized he couldn't come up with an answer, though he thought magic wasn't the only possible explanation for his ability to hear snakes talk. Maybe the Dursleys had hit him so hard that his mind was damaged and he'd gone mad. But if he had to choose between madness and magic, Harry would much rather believe the latter.

"— Boy!" Uncle Vernon roared as Harry fell to the floor, dropping the tray of tea and cakes. The tea soaked into the carpet, and the cakes were ruined. Aunt Petunia wailed loudly about the damage to her "perfect" carpet. The two adults either didn't notice that Dudley had tripped Harry or simply didn't care.

"— I'm so sorry!" Harry managed to say before his uncle grabbed him by the collar of his oversized shirt and hauled him to his feet.

"— You dropped my food and ruined the carpet!" Vernon bellowed, towering over him.

"— But it wasn't my fault!" Harry tried to protest.

"— Then whose fault was it?!"

Harry was about to answer but quickly shut his mouth, remembering that it was better not to blame Dudley. That would only make things worse for him. "— That's what I thought!" When Harry didn't respond, Vernon continued, "— I'll teach you..." The man abruptly fell silent when he heard hissing. "— What the devil is that?" he muttered, only to get his answer a second later. A small black snake with emerald-green eyes poked its head out from Harry's collar and tried to bite the man, who barely managed to pull his hand away in time.

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