A Familiar's Intution

Talks, Travels, and A Mysterious Letter

I'm sorry it's been so long since I last updated. The truth was, I was very disappointed with the old A Familiar's Intuition and got writer's block on my last chapter, so the story went on hiatus for a very long time. I no longer liked how many freaking plotholes I had or how I characterized Harry. A few days ago, I reread my rewrite and it gave me inspiration, so I continued this chapter. It began to take on a life of its own, and it will be different from the original, with major changes, including Harry's personality, which will be more wary and less emotional around people he doesn't know, while he'll be able to show more of his true self around the people he trusts. And though the Malfoys will still play a major role and be the good guys along with the other Death Eaters, Tom will still be good, and he and Severus will be together, Harry's place of living will change. Though he will be friends with Draco, he won't be living with the Malfoys.

This new chapter is much different than the old chapter three, and this difference will change the entire course A Familiar's Intuition will take. I went into more depth on Hercules' character, backstory, and personality, went into more detail on the familiar bond, made Harry more honest with his familiar and stronger and more independent, went into much more detail on their travels, and the reaction to the letter will be much different.

I'm not sure how long it will be between updates. This story has become something entirely new and while ideas are popping into my head now, I have the tendency to run into dry spells and writer's block. I will try to get chapters out as quickly as I can, but I don't want to disappoint people by guaranteeing regular updates and not being able to follow through. I want to do my best to give you guys a good story.

I'm sorry for making you wait for so long. I'd like to thank you guys for all your support with this story, and I hope you enjoy the coming changes.

...

Harry woke up a little disoriented around late afternoon. Where was he? Though somewhat damp and cold, this place was certainly not his cupboard. Then memories of last night came back to him, so strange that he once again wondered if they were real. Hercules, the snake from the zoo, coming to rescue him, getting him out of the horror that had been his home life. The comforting feeling of friendship and knowing someone had actually cared about him. The white light and the strange but comforting feeling of what seemed to be some sort of weird mystical bond between them. The gentle support of Hercules helping him walk. Running to the cave and being able to eat and treat his wounds for once. Hercules fussing over him and laughing with him, not at him. It felt so real and yet so unreal at the same time. Could his life ever be this good?

Harry looked around for Hercules and his heart sunk when he realized the snake wasn't in the cave. Where was Hercules? Had he left? Had this all been a vivid, wonderful dream and Harry had just sleepwalked into the cave? Granted, that was crazy, but slightly less crazy than a snake coming to rescue him! Or what if it had happened, but Hercules had realized how much of a freak Harry was and left him like everyone else had done? He didn't deserve Hercules, after all. Freaks didn't deserve to have friends. Freaks don't get to be loved. Wrapped up in his thoughts and fears, Harry didn't realize he was shaking slightly, hyperventilating, and repeating under his breath the mantra the Dursleys had literally beat into him under his breath. "You're a freak. Freaks will never have friends. Freaks will never be loved."

Only a soft, familiar voice managed to break him out of his thoughts. "Harry?"

…..

Outside the cave, Hercules had hunted down and killed a rabbit for him and his new friend to share for breakfast and was heading back to their temporary home when he was overwhelmed by a sea of emotions that weren't his own. Panic. Doubt. Self loathing. Fear. Though again he couldn't explain it, he knew at once they were from Harry. Extremely worried, he dropped his kill at the entrance and slithered into the cave. "Harry?" he called out.

No response.

Getting even more worried, he moved deeper and saw Harry at the back of the cave, staring into space, shaking, and mumbling something under his breath. The young boy didn't even seem to notice his presence. Hercules went over to him and gently coiled around him, nudging him to snap him out of whatever state he was in. "Harry? You okay?"

The soft touch seemed to calm his hatchling and he stopped mumbling, relaxing into the comfort of the coils and the bond, his eyes finally meeting those of the concerned snake. "Hercules." he said softly. "You're here." The last two words were barely audible, but the boa constrictor caught them anyway.

"Of course I am." Hercules looked into Harry's eyes. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Harry said and averted his eyes, thinking Hercules would think he was not just a freak but weak if he revealed what was wrong.

Hercules sighed. "Want to tell me something with a little more truth to it?" Harry fidgeted a little. "Harry, I know something's really bothering you. I could feel it all the way outside and you were pretty much catatonic when I came in. Please, tell me what's wrong. I want to help you, but I can't if you shut me out."

Harry looked at the ground as he replied. "When-When I woke up this morning and you weren't there, I-I thought this was a dream or that you left because…." Harry stopped himself at this point.

"Because?" Hercules pressed gently, not wanting to upset Harry but feeling that he did need to let something out. Harry murmured something inaudible. "I didn't catch…"

"Because I'm a freak!" Harry blurted out, startling them both. He then flinched and kept his eyes on the ground as he was scared to see Hercules's expression, and started to slide away, but Hercules gently wrapped his tail around the tiny boy's waist and pulled him back, careful not to hurt him. Harry instinctively flinched, but then relaxed a little into the comforting "hug."

"Harry…hey, look at me. It's okay. You are NOT a freak." Hercules comforted him. Harry looked at him for a brief moment, then looked at the ground again and Hercules could tell that he wasn't really believing it. There was silence for a long few minutes before Harry spoke again.

"Sometimes-Sometimes I do things. Freakish things. Sometimes they happen if I'm angry or scared or I want something bad enough…I can't control them or make them go away. I don't even know how I did them, I just know that I did them."

"Do you mean like how you opened my cage without even touching the glass?" Hercules asked gently as his mind began putting pieces together.

Harry nodded. "I-I wanted to help you…You looked so sad, but I didn't know what to do and I was trying to think of something and then Dudley knocked me down…startled me…there was like a popping feeling in my head, then the glass was gone. Not broken, just gone." He looked down, ashamed, and his small body was shaking, expecting harsh words or even a blow.

Hercules gently nuzzled him and pulled him closer, mentally cursing Harry's relatives when Harry flinched. "Don't worry, Harry. It's okay. I don't care if you can do things that ordinary humans can't. You're still my friend, the only real friend I've ever had." the snake said softly. He took a deep breath, knowing it was his turn to put his own heart and secrets on the line to make Harry understand that he was not alone. "And you don't have to ever fear I'll judge you. I'm not exactly normal either."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked softly.

"I…Well, it's hard to explain, but I have this power. I could tell if humans or the other reptiles in my area were lying or telling the truth and I can feel intent and occasionally even their emotions if they were strong enough. Sometimes it was just a matter of observation, but sometimes…it was like something told me, like some sort of instinct or intuition. I can't even comprehend why, but I've been like that since I was born. It took me all my five years to learn how exactly to use it and when. A lot of the other snakes thought I was annoying for analyzing their stories, so I had to learn when to reveal things and when to keep my mouth shut. It's...still a work in progress." Hercules let out a soft chuckle at this.

"I think it's a cool power." Harry said softly.

"And your powers are great too, regardless of what those monsters said." Hercules told them.

"But I do really weird things...and I can't control them..."

"Maybe once you get older or practice more with them, you will be able to. Granted, I don't exactly know how to train you in them since I don't know how they work or even how this bond thing between us works, but I'll help out however I can, and maybe we'll learn more on our journey. Maybe Brazil will have the answers we're looking for. And no matter what, I'll be there for you, okay? You're my friend and I care about you, and that's never going to change."

Harry hugged him, feeling a weight lift off his chest. "Thank you. For everything."

"You're welcome. Now are you hungry? I went hunting, and I brought a rabbit back for you." The snake gently uncoiled himself from Harry before going to the front of the cave and dragging the rabbit back to Harry. "Granted I don't know what humans eat, but I hope this works."

Harry had never seen such a proud look on a snake's face before, so even though the squished, bloody dead rabbit was kind of gross to look at, he couldn't help but smile at his friend. "It will. Thank you."

...

Harry managed to build a fire and cleaned and cooked the rabbit, thankful that he knew how to do this thanks to Uncle Vernon hunting occasionally and making him clean his catches. He knew it would save his life out here in the wild. Hercules stayed by his side the whole time, the snake extremely interested in the entire process from the building and creation of the fire to why humans needed to cook their meat and why the skin needed to be taken off when it was "the best part." Harry answered the questions as best he possibly could and Hercules listened intently and gave him his full attention, yet never judged Harry when he didn't know something. Harry liked being with the snake more and more. They found they both shared an inquisitive nature with a sharp desire to learn and would both get excited when the other told them a new fact they didn't know. Harry found out he could ask questions and say whatever he wanted and it would never get Hercules mad, and Hercules discovered that even when he went off on a long ramble, Harry wouldn't get annoyed or call him a know-it-all. It was wonderful to be able to freely talk and laugh with someone for the first time in their lives. As they ate and waited for the sun to go down, they painted castles in the sky of what they both wanted when they got to Brazil. Hercules dreamed of lush forests with ample prey and lots of sunshine, as well as lots of other snakes to teach him things he didn't know, and Harry simply wanted a safe place to call home and to have friends and a family as well as places to explore and new things to learn.

After the sun went down, the two headed out, ready to start their new adventure in Brazil and achieve their dreams.

…..

Hogwarts(Two Weeks Later)

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, sucking on a lemon drop. Everything was going to plan. The Dursleys had treated Harry Potter exactly the way he expected. He would be coming to Hogwarts a broken child, malleable, the perfect pawn. He would see Albus Dumbledore as his hero, his savior, his mentor. Albus Dumbledore would have his perfect weapon in his fight against Voldemort. But what he didn't know was that the letter heading on its way to Harry Potter had recently had an address change, or that Harry now had someone in his corner that wouldn't take the child being harmed in any way. Someone who would help Harry grow stronger in a way Dumbledore would never want him to be.

You know what they say about the best laid plans.

...

Harry smiled as he stepped out of the latest cave they had used for shelter. The last two weeks had been the best of his life. Some humans would consider his new life hard or primitive, but for the now almost eleven year old boy, they had given him a freedom he had never had with the Dursleys. He could eat as much as he wanted and at any time wanted, he could rest any time he needed to, and most importantly of all, he had his best friend by his side, and regardless of whatever hardship the wilderness threw at them as they headed towards the coast, they could get through it together.

Due to finding out that Harry's poor vision was a little worse in the dark, the two had switched to traveling during the day, unless they were too close to a populated place, in which case Hercules would guide Harry as they made it through by night.

Their bond had grown much stronger throughout their journey, both their friendship and the strange mystical bond that tied them together. They could almost always tell what the other was feeling now, and a new emotional power developed. It was Hercules who first discovered it one night when Harry had a nightmare that had woken him up, trembling, gasping, and in a cold sweat. Hercules had coiled around him, whispering soothing nonsense and nuzzling him. The snake's desire to comfort his amigo had been so strong that the bond had responded, and sent what felt like waves of warm comfort from Hercules to Harry, quickly working to calm the frightened boy and allow him to relax against his friend's scales and fall back to sleep with no nightmares for the rest of the night. From then on, Hercules always used this technique to soothe Harry any time he had a nightmare or flashback.

And Harry found out how to do it as well the day Hercules had started shedding his skin and the old skin had gotten caught over his eyes, making the snake try frantically to get it off in a slight panic. Harry had rushed to his aid, but the constrictor's constant wriggling had made the task nearly impossible until Harry remembered the bond. He had taken a deep breath, concentrated, and managed to send waves of comfort to Hercules, making the snake relax and lie sprawled out on Harry's lap, allowing Harry to gently clean off the stubborn piece of skin allowing the snake to see again. Hercules had been rather embarrassed by his panicky behavior, but felt better when Harry admitted he would get just as nervous if he didn't have his glasses.

The two also discovered that the connection that had allowed Hercules to find Harry in the first place could still be used. They had fun experimenting with this part of their bond, one finding a spot to hide while the other used the bond to find them. They knew it would be useful if they ever got separated or if one was in danger when they were apart.

And there was some danger on their journey. Once they were traveling along a cliffside, Hercules leading, when suddenly the ground had crumbled under Hercules, causing him to fall. Harry had screamed, and seeing his amigo in danger, he felt power surge inside him, and suddenly Hercules had stopped falling in mid air, hovering above the ground at least fifty feet below him. The power had pulled Hercules back up towards Harry, right into his arms. Then the ground under the two had started trembling again, and Harry's power reacted again. The two found themselves on the safe ground on the other side of the cliff, and Harry collapsed in exhaustion and fell unconscious, which scared Hercules even more than falling had. Harry had woken a few hours later in a panic, relieved to find a safe and extremely worried boa constrictor cuddling up to him. It was at this moment that he stopped hating and fearing his own power.

And it wasn't the only time Harry's strange power had saved them from danger. The last incident had happened only a few days ago. A hunter in the woods had come extremely close to discovering their cave hiding spot, but once again, Harry's power had reacted when he heard the footsteps and somehow the hunter had looked right at them without seeing them. The hunter left soon after and Harry had been tired for a few hours afterward.

Harry decided to try to see if he could get his power to work on command, though it still eluded him. He couldn't figure out how to grasp it when the situation was not stressful or life threatening. Hercules tried to offer suggestions, but he didn't know any more than Harry about the power, so very little progress was made. It was frustrating, but the two still held out hope that answers could be found. And some were, but it also led to more questions.

The two had met some other snakes a few times, all tiny grass snakes or small vipers with most of them being the ones to approach Harry and ask if he was a Speaker. They treated both Harry and Hercules with respect and were happy to share what information they knew. No one knew how exactly to help Harry control his powers(and one viper had thought Hercules had gotten ahold of a rat that had eaten fermented berries when Hercules told the viper about them), but they were able to find out a few important things. A grass snake had spoken to another Speaker a few weeks back, and had seen him vanish before her eyes with a loud crack sound, which sounded a lot like what Harry had done on the cliffs and another viper had told them that a Speaker could indeed bond with a reptile in the way Hercules and Harry had, and that it would always happen to a Speaker. Like the grass snake, he knew most Speakers had strange powers, but did not know how they worked and advised Harry to try to find another Speaker or a three headed snake called a Runespoor to teach him. The snakes also gave practical advice like where to find fresh water, where prey was most easily found, and most importantly, how to avoid predators, and Harry had thanked them for their advice by doing small things to help the snakes out, like transporting them elsewhere or helping build a nest, or Hercules would help them find prey, which is what he was actually doing right now.

As Harry was waiting for Hercules to get back, he heard a soft hoot and looked up to see a brown owl flying close. He blinked in confusion as it dropped a letter in front of him, then flew into a nearby tree. He carefully picked up the envelope and his heart nearly stopped when he read what was on it.

H.J Potter

The Cave In The Woods

"Hercules!" he called in a panic. "I think we've got a problem!"

Thankfully, Hercules was hunting close by and was able to hear him immediately. The snake came rushing back. "What is it? What's wrong?!"

"This is!" Harry told him frantically, holding out the envelope to show him.

"Harry, you forgot I can't read."

Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Sorry. I just had an owl drop this envelope in front of me and it's got my name and The Cave In The Woods as an address. I think someone found us!" he said in a rush. "I don't know whether to open it or not. I don't know who sent it or how they found us or why there's a letter addressed to a freaking cave in the woods. This is way too creepy..."

Hercules was just as worried but tried to stay calm for Harry's sake. "Calm down. Maybe...Maybe it's the speaker that snake saw. Maybe she told him about us. Let's just open it and see what's going on before we panic."

Harry nodded and took another deep breath to try to settle his anxiety before very cautiously opening the letter, which was two pages of parchment. He read it aloud to Hercules.

Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore

(Order Of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer., Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

The next page was a list of strange books and supplies. Harry looked to Hercules. "I've... apparently been accepted to a school of witchcraft and wizardry..."

"I have no idea what either of those are."

"They...practice magic and spells."

"I still have no idea what you're talking about." Hercules admitted.

"It's a little bit hard to explain and I thought it was all fake or sleight of hand, but magic is supposed to be some sort of...mystical power..."

Both Harry and Hercules looked at each other in shock.

Harry plopped on the ground. Hercules crawled into his lap and he hugged the snake tight. "I think I'm a wizard, Hercules..."

...

As you can tell, something much different is coming. Someone else will come to help Harry through the Wizarding World, either Minerva or Severus, but probably both. While not as terrified as in the original, and with knowing and understanding he has powers and with Hercules helping him being less frightened of them, Harry will need more support to help him understand what he truly is and what it entails.

Teaser: The two now have answers to what Harry is, but now what do they do about it? Can they trust the people of this mysterious wizarding school when Harry's lost most of his faith in humanity? And can a runaway boy and an escaped snake find a place where they can belong together?

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I'm opening a poll. What house do you guys think Harry should be in?