Chapter 2
"Back again, Harry Potter?" The familiar voice echoed in his head. All the young wizard could do was stare owlishly at what appears to be a... snake? Now that he can think more clearly, the voice did sound different. It was hissing.
Red eyes peered with curiosity and suspicion at the boy, making him shiver. From what, he doesn't know. It could be fear, it could be rage. It could be cold, it could be relief. Regardless, Harry slumped to the ground with a dull hit in his backside. He's safe from the Dursley and that's all that matters to him. Just then it occurred to him that snakes can't just know his name, unless they heard of the Boy Who Lived too. Which would be a bit awkward.
"Umm... Hi?" He tried to greet it, remembering how the snake from the zoo could understand him. For a split second the animal didn't move, as if petrified. Next moment, with a speed he didn't know was possible for a creature with no arms and legs, the snake lurched forward and enveloped his leg, up, up, up until they were face to face. It opened his mouth, fangs out in sight. Was he going to die? He thought without fear. Maybe it would be better. Maybe he'll finally be able to rest peacefully. And maybe... Maybe he could see his parents too. An angry hiss snapped him out of his dark thoughts, his green eyes meeting the red of the serpent. Now that it was closer, Harry could see that its long body is white and with no spots. "Pretty." He gasped, not realising he said it outloud.
"I appreciate your opinion of my... physical body. However, there's much more important matters to attend to." The snake replied, his gaze fixed on Harry's own eyes. "How are you here? What happened to your face?" he - the young wizard had the feeling it was a male - hissed at him. He sounded angry. Curious.
"I... I don't know." The raven admitted. "I just wished I could be somewhere safe." Talking about this wasn't as hard as he thought it would, although it could be because he was talking to a snake. "Where are we?" He looked around him, his broken glasses not bothering him in the slightest.
"Unimportant. We won't be here for long." The snake paused, pensive, before moving more comfortably in the boys thin shoulders. "Tell me what you felt before we met." His voice was demanding.
"I felt like... Like I was in a very dizzy tube, getting more and more tight." Harry explained, his eyes closed while trying to remember that moment. Then, as if shocked, his eyes suddenly opened, fear reflected on them. "Oh no, Uncle Vernon will be so pissed if I don't come back soon."
"And why, pray tell me, would your uncle be mad at you?" the other hissed angrily, his body tightening around him.
"Cause he doesn't like it when I use magic. And who else's going to do the chores? Aunt Petunia never liked doing them. I don't think she even knows how to clean..." The raven rambled lost in thoughts. A giggle escaped from his dry lips, imagining her aunt sweaty and dirty from the dust and the dirt from the garden, her long hands getting all bloody while losing her precious nails.
"What are you laughing at?" Came the sibilant voice of his new friend.
"I just imagined my aunt doing one of my chores. It's funny." He replied nonchalantly, still giggling from time to time.
What an odd boy, thought Lord Voldemort. He seemed... different, from the last time we met. Twisting his scaly body around the boy's shoulders, the Dark Lord started to plan his next move. Things were changing, and fast.
"Since you don't seem to like them, why don't you leave them?" He questioned. Surely, The Boy Who Lived has many wizards to take him in if he doesn't feel safe in his current location. He also mentioned an Aunt and an Uncle, and since the Potter's were practically all dead, that leaves only one option. Those were the muggle relatives of the boy, related to Lily Evans.
"I can't. I asked Dumbledore - he's the Headmaster of my school - and he said I can't. I have to stay with my family and that they care for me." Complained the youngster, his face clearly showing his disagreement. "And I can't use magic outside of school."
"Not with your wand, hatchling." Voldemort corrected. "You can learn to use wandless magic. No one else needs to know you used magic. It's only fair when other magical kids can use their wands in their magical house and their magical family."
"I actually never thought of that. Ron's lucky! - That's my first friend. I wonder if Hermione knows about this? - She's my other friend." He wondered while explaining who those two people he just mentioned are.
"Friends who haven't bothered to tell you about it, if I am understanding this correctly," the snake hissed softly in the boy's ears. "That doesn't sound like a friend to me."
"I don't know how friends work..." came the raven's hesitant voice "How can you be sure? Do your friends tell you everything? Wait, do snakes have friends?" Harry fired question after question. Without an adult's presence, he didn't bother on holding his curiosity back.
"I assure you, hatchling, friends always tell you the truth.If they don't, they aren't your friends, and for that they're punished."
"That sounds weird. I've never seen anything like that." His body was starting to shake, his hands holding his legs closer against his chest to retain as much heat as possible. "You said we wouldn't be here for long..."
"You need only to move." The snake pointed out. Then, he continued, "And for your information, punishment isn't given for the public to see. That would be humiliation."
"Uh." Was all Harry could utter before falling silent, getting up from the ground and starting to walk in a random direction.