Harry Potter and the Serpent's Nest

by Scott Tettamble

Harry lay in his cupboard, shivering in pain and fear as he tried to recovering from his latest beating at the hands of his uncle, Vernon Dursley. This one was by far the worst, as he could feel at least two of his ribs shifting in a way that they should not. As he finally settled into a position that did not hurt quite so badly, Harry took a shallow breath, trying not to make his broken ribs shift again.

As he settled into a restless sleep, a sickly green glow began to emanate from his body. A pair of sickening cracks, followed a pained moan, signified the healing of the ribs. Harry began to dream, and in his dream, Vernon was hurting him again. Harry just wanted to curl up and make it all go away, and in the real world, the green glow began once again. Harry's body began to twist and shrink in on itself.

After only a few seconds, a black Egyptian asp lay coiled where the little boy once was. In place of the U-shaped marking on the back of his head, there were a pair of lightning bolt shaped markings. The change forced the boy awake, and as he took in his surroundings, he flicked his tongue out.

So much information! Harry could almost see the scents around him, and he could see much more clearly in the darkened cupboard. Deciding that he very much liked these changes, he lay back down, and went back to sleep. This time his sleep was much more restful.

Harry's awakening the next morning involved the usual banging on the the door, and stomping on the stairs by his relatives. He knew that he would be smirking if the snake were capable of it. Harry was very aware of the concept of payback, and he intended to collect a bit of it.

Slithering out of the cupboard, Harry crawled across his aunt's shoes and reveled in the sound of her piercing shriek. As he reared up, he hissed with laughter as she fainted dead away. The thundering footsteps of his uncle and cousin alerted him to their presence in the kitchen.

A plan began to form in the back of Harry's mind. It was a plan that became more appealing, the more he thought about it. As Vernon entered the kitchen, and saw the bloody great snake, he froze. He turned even paler than he already was when the snake began crawling toward him. Harry coiled up Vernon's leg, across his fat belly, and eventually settled around Vernon's neck. Gesturing with his tail, he directed Vernon to the glass door that opened onto the back yard. Not wishing to upset the creature into striking his face, Vernon opened the door as gently and quietly as he could.

Harry slithered off the fat man and out the door as swiftly as he could, ignoring the sigh of relief from Vernon. The loud thump was harder to ignore, and Harry turned to see that his uncle had joined his aunt in a fainting spell. Hissing in laughter, Harry slithered through the grass to the gap in the privacy fence. Once he was through it, he exulted in his freedom.

Freedom! That word rang a clarion call in his mind, and it was the sweetest of music to him.

Harry began making his way to the park, luxuriating in the feel of the grass on his scales. The sunlight both warmed and energized him, and gave him a bit of extra sway in his slither.

After a while, Harry began to realize that he was hungry. Having no intention of ever setting foot inside the Dursley home ever again, he set off toward the highway, knowing he would eventually find what he needed.

It had been two months since Harry had left the Dursley's house, and found his way into London. He had learned to survive in the wild, but much preferred civilization. Food was much easier to get, and with his shape-shifting ability, finding shelter was ridiculously easy. It was also quite easy to get into department stores to steal the things he needed.

Harry now had clothes, food, a small shack on the roof of a tall building for shelter with it's own gas powered generator for power, and he had even begun building his own little library. The books were mostly to do with crafting and building, electrical wiring, and even one book that he was currently reading about runes. Harry had wondered at his fortune when he saw an older boy wearing robes drop the book out of his bag without noticing. Snatching it up, Harry immediately decided to add it to his collection. Finally getting around to reading it, he realized it was some sort of text book. No longer having to worry about Vernon and Dudley beating him for getting good grades, Harry began to study in earnest.

Within a week, Harry realized something else. Those runes could do things! Devouring the lessons in the book, Harry began to improve his living space. The generator now no longer needed fuel, and ran quietly. His shack was heated much more to Harry's liking, and was much sturdier. Harry's hammock was also much more comfortable.

It was with a grin on his face that Harry decided on his next project. He would need to learn how to sew and embroider, in order to make clothes that could make the change with him when he became a cobra. He was getting tired of always having to hide his clothes somewhere, and chance losing them.

It was with great surprise that upon waking the next morning, there was a large tawny owl perched on the chimney next to his shack. It held what appeared to be a letter in its beak, and dropped it when it saw him, flying away with strong wing flaps.

Picking up the letter, he saw that it was addressed to him.

Harry Potter

Serpent's Nest

Roof of the Leaky Cauldron

Charing Cross Road

London

Hissing in shock, Harry nearly dropped the letter. Someone knew he was up here! Getting a hold on himself, he opened the letter, albeit with trembling hands.

Hogwart's school of witchcraft and wizardry? Hmm. This would actually explain a lot, he thought with a bit of irony. Reading the rest of the letter, he realized that he had been living over the entrance to a magical community, and did not even know it. Shaking his head as he smiled, Harry stuffed the letter in his pocket, and climbed the fire escape down to street level.

Upon entering the Leaky Cauldron, his eyes darted across the room. Exits, shadowy places to transform, and any who might do him harm. All were seen and cataloged in case of need as he walked toward the back of the pub. There was a family there ahead of him, with a pretty brunette daughter whose hair was just as wild as his. Her front teeth were slightly bucked, but that did not detract from the overall package, in Harry's opinion.

Noticing the boy, Eric Granger turned to face him with a gentle smile.

"Hello, young man. Going to pick up your school supplies, as well?"

Harry nodded, unsure of what to say. He had learned to be wary of strangers, no matter how friendly they seemed. These people seemed alright, but still...

"We're just taking our daughter, Hermione, to get hers," Dana Granger said gently, noticing how the boy tensed up. "Would you and your parents like to join us?"

Harry could feel himself tense up even further, readying himself to run if one of them made a grab for him.

"I'm on my own. My parents are dead."

Dana blinked in surprise, and gave a glance to her husband. He gamely took the lead in the conversation.

"Well, young man, my name is Eric Granger, and this is my wife Dana, and our daughter Hermione. What's your name?"

"Harry Potter."

Hermione shyly stuck her hand out, which took Harry completely off guard.

"Nice to meet you, Harry Potter."

Seeing that noone else was making a move toward him, Harry shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you too."

Introductions done with, Eric turned and tapped the brick that the barkeep had told him to, and stood in utter shock as the bricks retracted into the wall, forming an arch that opened onto what seemed to be a busy marketplace. Seeing his chance to get past the Grangers, Harry bolted through, leaving the Grangers behind.

As they watched the boy run away, Eric shook his head.

"Like a frightened animal. Someone has hurt that boy."

Dana gasped.

"Do you really think so?"

Eric nodded thoughtfully.

"I do," he said firmly. "The moment he saw us, he was marking everything in the area. Exits, potential threats, hiding places, everything. That boy's survival instincts are in high gear, and I feel a great deal of pity for whomever is foolish enough to corner him."

Hermione sighed. She had heard enough.

"Mum? Daddy? Can you take care of my list? I'm going to find Harry."

"Wrong, darling," snapped Dana, who took Hermione's hand. "We are going to find him. Eric?"

The man rolled his eyes with a grin.

"Orders received, mum. Shall we meet in an hour at that ice cream shop?"

Getting nods from both his girls, Eric disappeared into the crowd.

Dana shivered involuntarily as she watched him go.

"Hermione, I've been married to your father for fifteen years, and it still unnerves me when he vanishes like that. Sometimes I wonder if he doesn't have his own magic, and just doesn't realize it."

Hermione could not help looking smug as she and her mother went off in search of Harry. She not only knew how her father did that, she knew how to do it herself. Her father was simply better at it than she was, especially considering that he did it without thinking about it. It was not magic, but it was pretty handy.

Harry, for his part, made Gringott's bank his first stop. He needed to change the few pound notes he had into the money that these wizards used. He was not certain if he would be able to afford all of his books today, but he would get what he could and come back later with more money.

Upon entering, he froze. The creatures at the teller windows were not human, and looked dangerous. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the closest one.

"Excuse me? Who do I speak to about changing money?"

Griphook looked up from his paperwork to snarl at the human child who was bothering him, and nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight. It gave him quite a turn to see what looked like a young James Potter standing before him, looking at him with Lily Potter's eyes. Taking a moment to clear his throat and calm himself, he spoke to the boy gently.

"I can help you, human. What is your name?"

"Harry Potter, sir."

With a sigh, Griphook got up from his chair, and said "Very well, Mr. Potter. Follow me please."

Leading Harry into an office where a wizened old goblin sat writing something Harry could not see over the desk, Griphook announced Harry to the old goblin.

"Account manager Rubik, may I present to you one Harry James Potter."

Harry nearly gave himself whiplash turning to stare in horror at Griphook. He had not given the goblin his middle name!

Rubik snarled, but not at Harry.

"Thank you, Griphook. Now get out, and stop scaring my client, you idiot!"

Griphook paled, and bolted from the office as if his feet were on fire. Rubik turned his gaze to Harry, who looked ready to follow Griphook out the door.

"I apologize, Mister Potter. Griphook is still young yet, and has much to learn. You may relax. No goblin will ever harm you. For one, we never harm children. For two, your parents were good friends to our people. Finally, I have been the Potter account manager for close to a century. I'm not in the habit of doing ill by one of my wealthiest clients. Please, have a seat."

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, Harry learned more about his parents than in all the rest of his life combined. He also learned that he had a godfather who had been imprisoned without a trial. This alone incensed Harry like nothing else, and he resolved to do something about it as soon as he could.

A newly cut key for his vault, followed by a quick trip to it to fill his money pouch, and Harry was on his way out to finish his shopping. Naturally, his first stop was Ollivander's for his wand.

This, of course, was where he ran into Hermione and her mother.

Hermione's relief at finding him was palpable, and she ran up to him, hugging him at full strength. The feel of arms around him was so alien to him, and so unexpected, that Harry panicked. In his panic, his only desire was to get somewhere safe. There was a sound of a car backfiring, and a sensation of being squeezed through a tube, and then Harry was free.

He was free, and standing in his shack.

Only the presence of the money bag in his clenched fist and the school letter in his pocket gave him proof that what he had gone through that day was not a bizarre dream. He looked over the back of the pub, down into what he now knew was Diagon Alley. He would go back tomorrow, he decided. Preferably when there were not people intent on grabbing him.

The next day was blessedly free of frizzy haired, grabby girls, and Harry finished his shopping fairly quickly. Ollivander made him uneasy, and the old man in the sparkly purple robes that kept following him everywhere was starting to annoy him. Harry stopped off at Eylop's Owl Emporium, using the glass window as a mirror. Sure enough, the old man was still following him. Stepping into the store, Harry strode purposefully over to the shopkeeper.

"Excuse me? Do you know who that old man in the purple robes is?"

"I certainly do," the woman gushed. "That there's Albus Dumbledore, that is! Greatest wizard of our age. I haven't seen the man since I graduated Hogwart's!"

Quirking an eyebrow, Harry drawled "I see. Thank you." Inside, he was hissing in irritation. The sound of flapping wings, and a weight settling on his shoulder, distracted him from his grumbling. Looking up, he saw feathers the color of fresh snow, and a pair of orange eyes. His smile was both genuine, and unavoidable.

"Hello there. Would you like to be my owl?"

"Well! I've never seen Hedwig take to someone like that," the shopkeeper said. "She usually bites people that get to close, that one does. Looks like she was waiting for you."

Turning to the woman, Harry bought Hedwig, a sack of owl treats, and a cage that Hedwig could open from the inside when necessary. The owl stayed on his shoulder the whole time, nuzzling him affectionately every so often.

Harry carried his purchases out of the Owl Emporium, and nearly choked when he saw the old man standing there waiting for him. Looking up at Hedwig, he asked quietly "Can you find me?"

At Hedwig's nod, Harry gave her his command.

"Fly."

Once Hedwig was in the air, the old man spoke.

"Hello, young Harry. You've had everyone quite worried. Your family is most concerned."

Concentrating on the feeling from the day before, Harry only spoke one word before he vanished with a crack of displaced air.

"Liar."

Harry reappeared in his shack, and began stuffing everything he valued into the expanded space trunk he had bought earlier that day. Naturally, his books were the first thing to go in, followed by his rune carving kit, and his school supplies. He was surprised to see that nearly everything he owned fit into the trunk. The only things he planned on leaving behind were the generator, and the shack itself. Even his hammock was in the trunk. The sound of flapping wings alerted him that Hedwig had found him. He dragged his trunk outside to greet his new friend.

Naturally, that was when everything decided to go straight to hell.

Opening the door with a grin for his feathered friend, Harry found the sunlight blocked by purple robes. A vice-like grip took his shoulder, and the tube-squeezing feeling took him. They reappeared in front of a strange gate bracketed by statues of pigs with wings. The voice of Albus Dumbledore welcomed him to Hogwart's school of witchcraft and wizardry, but Harry was too livid to hear it. Yanking his shoulder loose from the old man's grip, Harry lashed out with his fist with as much force as he could put into it, which was quite a bit more than one would expect.

As it turns out, spending a couple of months hauling things up and down a fire escape ladder was pretty good for building muscle. Muscle that was used to drive a ten year old's fist straight into an old wizard's testicles. The old man was so distracted by the pain, he nearly missed what the boy hissed at him.

"Don't you ever touch me again, you old fraud! I know about my parents. I know about my godfather. I know where I was supposed to go when my parents died. You stay away from me, or I will kill you!"

With a crack, Harry disapparated, leaving Dumbledore to try and stand without hurting himself any further.