Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Dursley house was quiet in the morning. The house itself settled and groaned sometimes, mostly the stairs. Light coming through the windows was gentle and calm; a thing that often wasn’t seen when people awoke. When footsteps were heard throughout the house that was when the whole demeanor changed and the house became something of a facade. The lights turned harsh and the floorboards creaked, the roof becoming heavy. Harry woke up one morning to Dudley running… mmm more like trampling down the stairs; the noise like a machine gun in Harry’s ears. It was Dudley’s birthday. Harry’s eyes blinked open as soon as the dust from the floorboards stopped falling. He sat up, being careful to not hit his head on the ceiling and fumbled for his glasses. It had been day four in the cupboard with little to no food, nor water and sometimes bathroom brakes if they remembered. 

Today they were going to let Harry out to cook Dudley’s breakfast, Aunt Petunia had told him that last night through the slot. Dudley’s birthday was the worst day out of the year that Harry had to live through. The day would get so bad Harry wished that Dudley or himself had never been born. Either would have been fine for him if he didn’t have to live through the day. 

Aunt Petunia would be coming to get him soon and make him work hard. He sat up, putting on his glasses and pushing his blankets off. He stayed still and waited until footsteps were heard and the latch was unlocked and he was grabbed by the shoulder of his oversized shirt and hauled out. Harry didn’t make a noise he just followed, his legs wobbly like a new born deer. He squinted, trying to adjust to the bright lights. 

His feet met the cold tile that was the kitchen and Aunt Petunia quickly let him go once she didn’t have to drag him anymore. Instantly she headed for the sink to wash the hand that she had touched Harry with. He simply stood still and watched her do so, hating it. He knew he was disgusting and didn’t surprise him, but he wished that she would just give him the instructions and then leave him alone. 

She turned around and grabbed a hand towel, drying them off while trying not to look Harry directly in the eye. His faded eye made the entire Dursley family uncomfortable and because of it little to no eye contact was ever made. He narrowed his gaze and waited for Aunt Petunia to be done. 

“Make eggs, bacon, sausage, orange juice and potatoes,” she said, briskly, putting the towel away. 

“Yes ma’am,” he answered, nodding his head. His voice sounded odd to him. He hadn’t talked in a while so his voice sounded scratchy and dehydrated. He wondered if they would let him drink water or eat some of the leftovers that Dudley wouldn’t eat. Except Dudley ate a lot so there wouldn’t be much left over. He quickly gave up on the idea of food and simply focused on the water. 

Harry got started on the meal and Aunt Petunia left the kitchen to go watch Dudley open presents. When she was gone Harry got out pans and ingredients and began to cook. It became a routine that he enjoyed; cooking. It was something that had rules and couldn’t really be messed up if you just did everything right. It was unpredictable like the way he often was treated. It all made sense and in the end you got something that looked and tasted nice. 

His ritual was interrupted because of the shouting he heard from Dudley. It was over something that Harry would have expected from someone spoiled like Dudley. It was simply because he didn’t have enough presents. Harry’s eyes narrowed, looking toward the passage that led to the living room. If there was one thing that Harry hated most of all it was how detached his cousin was from the life that Harry lived. 

The difference in discipline was like night and day when it came to the two boys. Harry didn’t get presents for his birthday, he didn’t get to eat three meals a day, he didn’t get hugs and kisses. The only reason that Harry knew something was wrong with the way that he was treated was because Dudley was treated so differently. If they both weren’t allowed to have a room and shared the cupboard Harry would believe that that was simply how children were treated and maybe things wouldn’t be so bad. But that wasn’t reality. Reality was Dudley got 36 presents and Harry forgot when his birthday was because it was so looked over. 

He shut out the screaming child and continued to make one the biggest meals that he had to make throughout the year. Dudley would also want a cake but he would get started on that later. He put everything into bowls and onto plates and then set the table. For a moment he stood back and looked at his handiwork and was simply happy that it was over. He shifted, despising the idea that the Dursleys would come in and ruin it all. They had a habit of doing that though, so he turned and went back to the pantry to begin on the cake. 

That day the Dursleys were going to go to the zoo. Dudley had been talking about it and flaunting over it for the last week or so. Harry wished that he would be able to go but he didn’t want to go with Dudley who would most likely block Harry’s entire view of every animal with his large silhouette. He convinced himself that it wouldn’t be worth it and continued on with his day. 

The Durlsey’s eventually joined him in the kitchen and avoided acknowledging his existence. Harry was fine with doing the same. Dudley ate… and ate… and ate. So did Uncle Vernon. Aunt Petunia wasn’t one for eating, giving her a small stature and a pale complexion. Harry noticed it all too well because sometimes when he saw himself on a reflective surface he thought that he looked too much like her. Not eating a lot must do that to you. 

After breakfast Aunt Petunia kissed Dudley’s head and told him to go get ready for the zoo. He pushed back his chair and jumped to his feet. His footsteps could be heard down the hall and up the stairs. Harry frowned. 

What he did notice was the whispers that were coming from the table. 

“No, no she can’t do it,” Aunt Petunia whispered. 

“Just send him over to her house,” he hissed. 

“No, she’s asleep for most of the day. We cannot have people believing that we don’t treat him right. Think of how that reflects on you. Just bring him and we’ll make sure he isn't any trouble.”

Uncle Vernon leaned back in his chair and sighed. He sounded angry and Harry tried to move in small motions so as to not draw any attention to himself. His Uncle often liked to take his anger out on Harry so he had learned how to avoid it sometimes. But this time it was no use because he could feel the eyes of his guardians on him. It took everything in him to not glance over. It was going well until he heard the scraping of his Uncle’s chair against the floor and he stood up. 

Harry faltered for a moment but continued on, hoping that it wasn’t noticed. 

“Boy,” his Uncle said, the sound ringing through the kitchen. 

Harry froze and slowly turned to look up at the tall man. He was glowering down at him. His hands began to shake, the eggs in his hand feeling too fragile to actually hold onto. 

“Y-yes sir?” he answered. Again his voice sounded extremely small. 

“Mrs. Figg has gotten injured and cannot look after you this morning.” He paused for a moment, thinking over what he was about to say and if he actually wanted to say it. “You will be coming to the zoo with us–but do not think that this trip is something you can mess around with. If I see you do anything, if I hear anything or if anything strange happens I will have you locked up in the cupboard for weeks, no food, no water and hopefully you just die.” 

Harry nodded. Hopefully you just die. The words echoed in his head. If anything happened Uncle Vernon didn’t care if he lived or died. In fact it sounded like he would like to kill Harry himself. The only problem with that was things happened to Harry that he often couldn’t explain. Things that he couldn’t control. If that happened on this outing then he would be dead. He shivered at the thought and didn’t move until Uncle Vernon turned and left the room to go watch TV. Aunt Petunia glanced at Harry and then left the room. 

He stood there for a moment and then set the eggs down on the counter and began to go on with his day cooking, trying to keep the impending doom from his mind. His hands shook the whole time and he glanced at the entrance every time he heard shifting from the lounge. 

Dudley came back downstairs and that was when everything began. Harry had finished getting the cake out of the oven and put it into the refrigerator to cool. He would most likely be decorating it before the night. Then they left the house, Harry following behind them. They put Dudley in the car and then realized that they had to bring Harry along too. For a moment they just stood there and then looked at each other in a type of disgust as if asking each other if they were really going to put this kid in their car. Harry shifted his weight from one foot to the other and clenched his hands at his sides. He didn’t want to be in that car anymore than they wanted him in there. 

Aunt Petunia pointed to the seat away from Dudley and then went to her own side, getting in. Harry hesitated but didn’t want to get in trouble for disobeying rules and quickly climbed in. He buckled himself up and held on tightly to the seatbelt. 

He hated being in cars. Ever since he found out that was how his parents had died he wondered if that was how he was going to go. 

They drove for about 10-15 minutes before they approached the zoo and found a parking spot. Uncle Vernon of course was frustrated that all the ear parking spots were taken and continued to curse under his breath, getting red in the face. Harry held onto the seatbelt tighter, hoping that his Uncle didn’t turn and hit him for the filled spots. He would find some way to blame it on Harry. 

Once they were parked and his Uncle had calmed down the family agreed to get out of the car. Dudley hoped out, a smile plastered on his face. It was at moments like this that Harry saw just a kid who was excited to do things and not that bully that tormented him. He saw a kid that he could have been friends with… It made him sad but he pushed the thought aside and got out of the car. 

He knew that he wasn’t supposed to walk beside the family but behind them so he waited for them to start walking before he followed. For a minute he was excited to go in. Dudley wasn’t the only one who truly wanted to go to the zoo and see the animals, Harry was also quite interested. The mural out on the side of the zoo walls depicted animals in bright colors, surrounded by tropical flowers. 

The animal that really stood out to Harry was the snack. It had bright green scales and was wrapped around a tree. It had bright yellow eyes and it almost seemed to be looking at him. He continued to look until the Dursleys came to a stop at the entrance where their tickets would be checked. 

They had to pay extra for Harry which did not go over well with Uncle Vernon who complained about the expense under his breath and the cards got stamped and they received bracelets to show that they were allowed to be inside. Harry got one and he looked at it in a bit of awe. He had never had one of those before, Dudley was always the one to be getting them and flaunting them in front of Harry. Now Dudley couldn’t hold this one over him. A small smile crept onto his face and he put his arm down, letting his sleeve cover it. 

Once they were inside they went to see what Dudley wanted to see. They saw the big lions that were walking around, the Elephants, penguins and polar bears. It was surprising how many interesting animals they had at the zoo. Harry stared at them all with a slightly ajar jaw. Sometimes he caught Aunt Petunia looking at him sadly but then she would quickly look away. She often looked at him like that and Harry wondered why. 

Then they came to the reptile enclosure. This was the part that Harry was most excited about. Ever since he had seen the snake on the wall he had been thinking about it the whole time. He decided that even if the Dursleys left early he would stay behind and watch the snakes and then catch up with them later; he was sure they wouldn’t notice. 

They walked into the humid room and instantly Harry knew he was going to like it. It was a long hallway filled with tiny glasses in enclosures that were filled with reptiles; mostly snakes. He stared at each one and each one stared back. It was odd, it was like the scaly creatures were only looking at him. Whenever he moved, the animal's head would follow him and they would just stare. A few people noticed and glanced at each other but moved along. 

Suddenly he heard shouting from his cousin. 

‘Where is it?!” he shouted. “It’s asleep! Wake it up dad!” 

Harry’s head whipped around to see what poor creature Dudley was abusing. 

People turned to look Dudley’s way and slowly Harry approached. There was a huge snake, the biggest one Harry had ever seen. It was coiled up and around things in the large terrarium and it was sleeping just like Dudley had shouted. Harry made his way to stand beside his cousin but a bit of a ways away, just to make it seem like he wasn’t associated with him. 

He stared at the snake and then something odd happened. Dudley whined that it wasn’t moving and uninteresting. He turned and went to a different enclosure. Harry was thankful that he left the poor snake alone and leaned against the railing to look at the snake. 

“Sorry about him,” he mumbled. “Blundering idiot, if you ask me. I think you’re plenty interesting.”

It twitched and Harry stiffened. He shut his mouth and clenched his jaw, feeling something odd happening. It was that same feeling he got before something bad happened that would be blamed on him. But he couldn’t move, all he could do was sit and stare. 

The snake moved slowly, its body twisting in odd ways but that all pointed towards him. It tilted its head and then turned, like it was scanning the crowd before its eye landed on Harry. And then it advanced. Harry’s brow furrowed. 

“Can you hear me?”

The snake's head bobbed up and down. Harry was shocked but a small smile spread across his face. He leaned closer. 

“That’s amazing,” he whispered. 

Harry was sure something great could have come from this interaction but all of the sudden he heard his cousins shouts again and suddenly he was being body slammed to the side. Dudley had rammed into him so hard that it sent him flying to the floor. He sat up, adjusting his glasses and glared at Dudley feeling furious about the whole thing. 

His thoughts started out slow; why did Dudley get to shove him around? Then they quickened; why do I let it happen, what did I ever do to him? And then they were racing; I baked his cake for him! I treat him like a king and he shoves me around! He’s just like Uncle Vernon, I hate him, I hate him, I-

Now it was confusing what happened but while Dudley had his face pressed up against the glass the glass suddenly disappeared and Dudley fell head first into the terrarium! It was a shock to Harry and his eyes widened, his shoulders stiffening. Dudley screamed and thrashed in the water but the snake didn’t take any mind of Dudley. It lifted its head and began to slither out of its cage. 

Once in front of Harry it did a sort of bow only a snake can down and then came closer. “Thankssss,” it hissed. 

Harry’s eyes widened and he couldn’t believe it. Was a snake really talking to him? “N-no problem, any time,” he stuttered back. 

The snake nodded, keeping its eyes fixed on Harry, once more and then left, making people scream and scramble away. Harry watched the snake leave and fled a pang of loss. That was the first creature that had spoken to him nicely in a long while and now it was just leaving. He hesitated but wanted to get up and follow it. He wished he had because right after the snake was out of sight the worst part of the whole thing came. 

Dudley stood up and reached out his hand to get out of the cage only to find a glass wall, separating him from the outside world. That was when his cousin began to scream. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon found him and began to scream too. Harry should have refrained from smiling and perhaps should have joined them, acting like he was truly scared for Dudley’s life but he didn’t. Instead a small smile creeped onto his face as he watched the scene from the floor. He wondered later that day why he couldn’t have kept it hidden because the worst person possible saw it.

Uncle Vernon looked down and got one look at the smile on Harry’s face and realized who had done this horrible action. And he was going to make Harry’s life hell. 

——————

Harry was dragged inside by his hair, right behind Dudley who was shivering and crying, held by a shivering and crying Aunt Petunia. She brought Dudley to the couch but Harry was dragged upstairs. He tried to climb the stairs as fast as Uncle Vernon did but he couldn’t keep up and that ended in banged up shins. At the top of the stairs he was dragged to a room. 

It was the spare bedroom that he was thrown into, onto the floor, his glasses knocked off his face. Everything became blurry and he looked around for his glasses but couldn’t see them. The room itself was dark; the blinds were closed. He felt around the carpet and was met with a dirty floor that hadn’t been cleaned in a while. They never used this room; only when Aunt Marge came to stay. For a moment Harry wondered why he was here and not in the cupboard but he would soon get his answer. 

All he could really see was the blurry figure of a tall, large man who was grabbing something from the closet. 

Suddenly his hair was being grabbed again and he was lifted to his knees. Harry scrambled and grabbed at the hand that held onto his roots so tightly but they didn’t let go, no matter how much Harry scratched. 

His Uncle's words were hot on his face and stifled the boy. “I know you did that boy,” he said, his voice shaking with rage. “You think I didn’t notice it? Well I did. And I told you what I would do if you decided to play tricks, didn’t I?!”

Harry tried not to cry so he simply nodded instead of speaking. Uncle Vernon shook him slightly and then threw him back onto the ground. Harry was shaking and still couldn’t see. He blinked and clenched his hands into fists, keeping his eyes on the figure that was pacing. 

Uncle Vernon’s breaths were labored and fast. “I’ll teach you?” He said under his breath. “I will teach you.”

After that it was all a blur really. Harry just remembered waking up in the cupboard, unable to open one eye and his body aching so badly he couldn’t move. His lip was split and he tasted blood in his mouth. His shirt was ripped in the shoulder… his knees were really bruised and his head ached. He had welts all over his body, it hurt to breathe. He still didn’t have his glasses.