Trip to the Zoo
6 Years Later
Harry was 10, now. School was his favorite part of the day for all the six years, and Hermione was still his friend. As he went to his seat, his teacher said they were going to the zoo! Harry had never been to the zoo, and, based on the other kids' reactions, they hadn't been, either. Hermione was one of the only students who acted like this wasn't a big deal.
"Harry, are you excited?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah." replied Harry, "I've never been to the zoo."
"Oh!" Hermione said, "Alright."
Before they knew it, they were there. Some parents were there, too. They had volunteered to chaperone. Luckily for Harry, he got grouped with Hermione and her parents. Unluckily for Harry, his group also had Dudley. The area their group got assigned to first was the reptile enclosure. In that enclosure, there was a snake. A snake who, currently, was taking a nap on a particularly warm rock. Dudley was hitting the glass, telling the "stupid thing" to do something. Eventually, Dudley got bored and went to a different reptile.
Harry walked by the snake's enclosure, and what he heard shocked him.
$Yet another child not appreciating me for my beauty.$ the snake said, rolling its eyes.
$Do people do that to you a lot?$ Harry said, only half-expecting an answer.
$A Speaker? I thought they were a myth!$
Harry's eyes widened. How was this snake talking to him? And what was this about him being a "Speaker"?
$What do you mean 'Speaker'... What's your name?$ Harry said.
$Silly boy, a Speaker is a human that can talk to us. My name is Sasha$ Sasha said.
$Sasha, the sign next to your cage says you come from South America. What was it like?$ Harry asked.
$Unfortunately, life in captivity is all I've ever known$ Sasha said.
$I'm guessing you didn't see your parents much? You'd be like me, then$ Harry said, sadly.
$I wouldn't have seen them much anyway. What happened to yours?$ Sasha said.
$I don't know too much, but I know they died years ago$ Harry answered, weakly.
$My condolences$ Sasha solemnly said.
It was around then that Dudley noticed Sasha and Harry's conversation. He pushed Harry out to the ground and tried to talk to the snake, too. Hermione, who had been looking at chameleons, heard this and helped Harry up. Hermione and Harry silently agreed that Dudley deserved... something. They didn't know what to do, but their magical cores, which they obviously didn't know about, agreed too. What they did know happened, was that the glass boundary into Sasha's enclosure disappeared. Dudley fell in and Sasha escaped. By the time Dudley understood what happened, the glass was back, and he was trapped. Harry and Hermione, shook at this apparent divine intervention, called for Hermione's parents. Said parents were confused at the scenario, but didn't ask. Soon enough, the trip ended, with Dudley barely getting out of the cage before they had to get back.
Both Harry and Hermione went to sleep slightly happier than they did the night before.