SNAKE

1 | the zoo

"Get up, get up! Now!"

Harry and Cora woke up to the awful screams from their aunt Petunia and loud banging on the door of their room, if you could even call it that. They slept in the small cupboard under the stairs, being kept there like a pile of old clothes, sharing the same bed, which was getting less and less comfortable as they grew. "Morning", both said at the same time.

The twins had a good relationship, getting along fine and sharing the same irritation towards their aunt, uncle and cousin. Growing up as they did, Harry was humble, loyal, kind and even brave. He would protect his sister and shoot snarky or sarcastic comments to his relatives while doing so, which sometimes earned him more chores to do or even beatings, depending on uncle Vernon's mood.

Cora, on the other hand, was not like Harry. Yes, she was also humble, but she wasn't nearly as kind as her brother. Cora didn't talk too much and was extremely intelligent and calculating, taking time to think about her words and actions in order for the situation to benefit her. Nonetheless, that didn't save her from receiving unfair or unnecessary punishments, just because uncle Vernon felt like it. Unlike Harry, she didn't just feel a strong dislike towards her relatives: she hated them, loathed them, eagerly wated for the day when she could finally leave that hell hole (or get revenge). Years of physical and mental abuse turned her into a cold girl.

Sitting up, the twins heard loud footsteps coming down the stairs. Dust started falling on them due to their cousin Dudley jumping on the stairs. "Wake up, cousins! We're going to the zoo!" Cora and Harry rolled their eyes. Stupid Dudley, Cora thought.

As the twins got out of the cupboard, Dudley pushed them and kicked their door to close it. Harry helped Cora up as she sighed, trying to calm herself. Both went into the kitchen and Petunia stopped fussing over Dudley, looking at them with disgust and annoyance. "Why don't you just cook breakfast and try not to burn anything?"

"Yes, aunt Petunia", replied Harry, grabbing the pan in the stove to cook breakfast while Cora started to clean the grease and crumbs on the kitchen counters.

"I want everything to be perfect for my Dudley's special day" said Petunia while covering Dudley's eyes and walking him towards his presents.

Dudley's eyes were uncovered and Petunia asked, "aren't they wonderful, darling?" He looked at them before turning to his father and asking in a demanding way, "how many are there?"

"36, I counted them myself", replied uncle Vernon. Just say thank you, ungrateful pig, thought Cora.

"36?! But last year, last year I had 37!", Dudley yelled in a high pitch and Harry widened his eyes at his cousin's outburst while Cora rolled her eyes, thankfully seen by no one because that would have earned her a slap or worse.

"Y-yeah, but some of them are quite a bit bigger than last year", uncle Vernon tried to reason.

"I don't care how big they are!", yelled Dudley once again but aunt Petunia stopped his tantrum by saying "oh, no, no, no. This is what we're going to do, is that when we go out we're going to buy you two new presents. How is that, pumpkin?" Harry and Cora glared at their cousin in annoyance.

~

Aunt Petunia and Dudley got in the car and before Harry and Cora could get in too, the door was slammed shut by uncle Vernon. He pointed the car key in his chubby hand towards the twins and said "I'm warning you now. Any funny business, any at all, and you won't have any meals for a week." He looked them up and down and, without waiting for a reply, said "Get in."

~

The zoo was quite boring for Cora, but she was glad to be out of the house for at least a few hours, as was Harry. The group of five went into the reptile house next and stopped to watch a large snake. Cora was quite fascinated by it, loving the smooth skin and the big size and length of the body.

"Make it move", Dudley said demandingly, startling Cora and Harry a bit with his irritating voice.

"Move", uncle Vernon lightly knocked the glass. Dudley repeated his father's actions but louder and knocking harder on the glass.

"He's asleep!", Harry came to the snake's rescue while Dudley sighed while saying "He's boring", and left with his parents to look at some other animal.

Cora looked directly at the snake and apologized for her cousin. "Sorry about him, he doesn't understand what it's like, laying there day after day watching people press their ugly faces in on you..."

And she did understand. So did Harry. That's how they felt almost every day.

Suddenly, the snake lifted its head and sort of winked. Cora's eyes widened and Harry's mouth dropped. "Can you hear us?", asked Harry.

The snake nodded and lifted its head even higher. "It's just... we've never talked to a snake before", Harry continued.

Cora had though, one day when she was 7 or 8 years old. She was in the garden cutting the bushes when a small snake appeared next to her feet. "Please don't bite me", she said mostly to herself because obviously a snake couldn't understand her. The snake raised its head and replied, "I will not." Cora thought she was hallucinating but still asked, "can you understand what I'm saying?" The snake nodded, replied with a simple "yes" and slithered away, leaving Cora amazed. Next thing that happened was the feeling of a strong push that made her fall to the floor and a kick to the stomach. Cora looked up in pain to see uncle Vernon standing next to her and saying, "Freak".

She snapped out of her daze and asked the snake, "Do you... I mean, do you talk to people often?" The snake shook its head no. "You're from Brazil aren't you? Was it nice there? Do you miss your family?", Harry asked. Seriously, Harry? Out of all the things you could ask a snake that can understand us you go for those questions?, Cora thought.

The snake turned its head to the sign on the wall which read 'Bred in captivity'. "I see", continued Harry, "but that's us as well. We never knew our parents either."

Just as Cora was about to ask the snake something more interesting, their cousin saw the large snake had lifted its head and yelled, "Mommy! Dad! Come here, you won't believe what the snake is doing!", while pushing Harry and Cora out of the way, making them fall on their butts.

Dudley pushed his hands and chubby face on the glass as Harry and Cora glared hardly at him. The glass suddenly disappeared and Dudley fell into the water of the large snake's exhibit. Harry's eyes widened in surprise and amusement and looked over to her twin, who was smirking. As soon as they looked at each other they bursted out laughing.

The snake took advantage of the missing glass and slithered out of its exhibit, heading towards Harry and Cora. The twins stopped their laughter and looked expectingly at the snake, who stopped right in front of them and raised its head once more, hissing "Thanksss."

"Anytime", replied Cora with a smile as Harry sat in shock. The snake then slithered away, scaring people and creating chaos in its way, the twins' eyes never leaving its figure until they heard aunt Petunia's scream as Dudley was banging the glass, now very much there, asking for help.

Cora smirked at Harry and they both smiled widely at the scene in front of them. Both smiles disappeared as soon as they saw uncle Vernon looking straight at them with a lot of anger. Harry even gulped. Oh, crap.

~

The door to 4 Privet Drive opened and a worried Petunia entered the house with a shaking Dudley covered in a thick blanket like he was a baby. Behind them, Vernon pushed both twins hardly into the house and shut the door.

He then grabbed both Harry and Cora by the hair and asked, "What happened?"

"I swear, we don't know!", replied Harry and Vernon grunted not liking the answer. "One minute the glass was there and then it was gone."

"It was like magic!", Cora said. Vernon slapped her hard, pushed the twins into the cupboard and slammed the door shot, locking it. He then whispered harshly, "There is no such thing as magic", saying the last word with disgust.

~