Humanity
He believes the snake when it tells him that he is something other than human. He has no real reason, after all, to be particularly attached to his humanity, not with his experiences with other members of the species. He supposes he should question this revelation, coming from a snake of all creatures, but some part of him knows that it is not lying. It wouldn’t, not to him. So for now, he accepts the creature’s words; his humanity or lack thereof has never really been of great importance to him. He has always known that he is different, after all.
But he is curious about these other humans, the ones with the ‘strange powers’. So he asks the snake about them.
“Annoying and arrogant creaturessss, they are,” The snake hisses with palpable disdain. “Always waving around their little ssticksss and making the other humansss forget thingsss. They have a particular prejudice againssst my noble race.” Here J has the distinct impression that the snake would be scrunching up its nose in disgust. It adopts a slightly thoughtful pose then continues. “They are alwaysss killing each other for ssstupid reassons. Much like the other humansss do. ”
The larger snake nods in agreement with its companion’s words.
J takes a moment to consider the fact that a snake just nodded, which was a distinctly human gesture. He wonders if his strangeness is affecting the creatures even now, barely minutes after being in his presence. He’s never really been in the presence of any animals long enough to see if his presence affected them in any discernable way. And even if he had, it was not as if he could’ve talked to them. He is strangely certain that, for now at least, this peculiar talent of his is restricted to snakes. He’s been strangely certain of quite a number of things lately, now that he thinks about it. He briefly wonders if that should worry him. Then he turns his attention back to the snake’s words.
If it is to be believed then there are humans running amok out there with powers. The sticks the snake mentioned sound suspiciously like wands, which while somewhat laughable at first becomes concerning when he considers that he has been talking to a snake and that these humans are apparently capable of erasing people’s memories. That last part frightens him the most. He knows that his mind is a blank before a certain age. There are no vague feelings or images or emotions tied to anything before he woke up one day with the Dursleys. It’s not natural, not for him, a child who has been literally unable to forget anything. He remembers every word he has read, every insult ever hurled at him, every cut and bruise inflicted upon him, and every fearful glance that Horse thinks that he doesn’t notice. So to have forgotten something so very thoroughly absolutely reeks of tampering. And here this creature tells him of beings capable of such a thing. Which implies that at some point he has had some sort of contact with them, and that they did something to him. Perhaps they were the ones to leave him with his captors? Or at the very least the reason for him being left with them.
He knows that his parents are dead. He is uncertain of how exactly they died. He knows that Horse’s claim of a car crash are false, as are Walrus’ claims of drunkenness. Their vindictive glee at telling J,who they undoubtedly believed to be a child as emotionally vulnerable as he was physically vulnerable, such falsehoods was not faked. (It was amazing that he could evoke such emotions in others simply by existing. He decides that they do not deserve the emotional investment required for him to truly hate them. So he settles for disgust and disdain. Even though he is aware that emotions do not possess any gustatory qualities, it still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.)
Perhaps it was these humans who had killed his parents. The only question was why they had left him alive. Perhaps his parents had broken some great law of their people, and now he was being punished for their sins. He had read about such things, sins of the father visited upon the sons. It was something that belonged in a much more archaic society, but plausible considering that they were a subspecies of humans capable of utilizing some sort of energy using sticks. (He refused to think of them as wands.) But this was all of course mere conjecture at this point. He did not really have enough information to come up with anything solid.
And all these thoughts take less than a minute in their frantic rush across his mind, as he gazes back into the slitted eyes of the smaller of the two snakes.
“So are they dangerousss, thesse humansss with ssticksss?” He asks the snake.
The snake ponders this, as if finally questioning why exactly it feels so amenable to answering this strange child’s questions. Then it nods to itself. (Another strangely human gesture).
“No more ssso than any other human when given a weapon of great power. They would like to think that they are ssso much greater than those without their power. But they are mortal, jussst as all humansss are. Sssome are jussst as cunning as they are inssidiouss, and sshould be dealt with accordingly. Othersss are foolisssh but mosstly harmless creaturesss. A few believe themssselvess to be godsss. One sssuch being wreaked great havoc upon their world not too many wintersss ago, according to the rumoursss among my kind. He wasss ssupossedly one of their Speakersss.”
“He wasss,” Interjects the larger snake, “The Lady sssaid ssso. Lasst of hisss line.”
“Ah,” replies J. The smaller snake is beginning to look impatient. He decides not to push his luck, what little of it there is.“So what was it that you were looking for? It sounded important.”
“It is.” Replies the smaller snake.
“Yesss, it is, it is,” Continues the larger snake. “Very important. Sssomebody lossst it and now we have to find it.” In a less enthusiastic tone, it adds “But we can’t be telling you what it is. Nope. Lawsss you ssee. Becaussse we’re snakesss. And you aren’t?” This last bit is said as the snake sends a questioning look at its smaller companion.
“Yesss. He isss mosst definitely not a sssnake.” It confirms.
“Sssoo? What doesss that make him? Tell me tell me tellmetellme!” The larger snake demands. J finds that it is, in fact, possible for a snake to look demented.
“I do not know. I have already indicated sssuch, you cretin. I am a sssnake, not an encyclopedia. I have never encountered sssomething like him before.”
J wonders how a snake knows what an encyclopedia is. He decides not to question it, for now.
“But he is certainly interesssting,” The small snake continued. “Perhapss we may visssit again once we have found what we ssseek.”
This seemed to make the larger snake happy. He thinks it makes him happy as well, because there’s a little ball of warmth growing inside him at the thought of being able to talk to these creatures again.
“I would like that.”