Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Hermione X Self Insert)

Chapter 3 - The Vanishing Glass

Summer 1991

Harry and Dayton, now 10 years old, woke to knocking. Dayton raised his head to see the light had turned on outside their shared cupboard under the stairs at the Dursley residence.

Dayton's parents were out of town on a business trip for the second half of the summer, and Dayton was staying with Harry and the Dursleys, Harry's adopted family.

Now it's true that the Dursleys treated Harry horribly, and Dayton was no exception. However, Sean and Shannon didn't know this, as the family was always nice to them so as to not rouse any suspicion.

The knocking persisted. "Up. Get up." A feminine voice ordered from the other side of the door. The voice belonged to Petunia Dursley.

The two boys sat up and donned their glasses. Harry's were silver-rimmed and had tape on the bridge due to prior damage.

A large, tubby boy suddenly came running down the stairs above the closet. He was Harry's first cousin, Dudley Dursley. He stopped halfway down and went back, jumping on the staircase.

"Wake up, cousin, Dayton!" He exclaimed from his place on the stairs. "We're going to the zoo!"

Harry looked up, Dudley's jumping causing dust to fall in Dayton's blond hair. Dudley laughed and ran down the stairs for the kitchen. Dayton tried to come out of the closet, but was pushed back in by Dudley. Petunia, meanwhile, was in the kitchen where Dudley had gone. Her husband and Harry's uncle, Vernon, was reading the newspaper.

Dudley had a special reason to be happy: today was his birthday.

"Oh, here he comes, the birthday boy!" Petunia said, embracing Dudley.

"Happy birthday, son." Vernon added in a hearty voice.

It was then that Dayton and Harry walked into the kitchen, Harry dressed in outgrown clothes.

Petunia looked at the two boys unpleasantly. "Why don't you two just cook the breakfast, and try not to burn anything."

Harry sighed. "Yes, Aunt Petunia."

They immediately went to work, Harry working on the bacon while Dayton got the eggs ready.

"Hurry up!" Vernon ordered from his recliner. "Cahill! Bring my coffee, boy!"

Dayton rolled his eyes. "Yes, Vernon." He muttered.

Petunia led Dudley to the family room, where a vast amount of presents lay. Dudley stared, and his mouth hung wide open in shock.

"Aren't they wonderful, darling?" Petunia asked her son.

"How many are there?" He inquired in response.

Dayton rolled his eyes. Of course that would be the first question he'd ask, he thought.

"Thirty-six. Counted 'em myself." Vernon replied.

"Thirty-six!?" Dudley exclaimed, stunned. "But last year I had thirty-seven!"

"Yes, well, some of them are quite a bit bigger than last year." Vernon tried to reason with Dudley.

"I don't care how big they are!" Dudley shot back.

Petunia tried to calm him down. "Oh, now, now, now. This is what we're going to do, is that when we go out, we're going to buy you two new presents! How's that, pumpkin?"

"This will be a lovely day at the zoo, I'm really looking forward to it!" Petunia said.

Later on in the morning, Dayton, Harry and the Dursleys were packing their things in the car for an outing. Harry and Dayton went to get in, but Vernon stopped them.

"I'm warning you now, boys." He seethed. "Any funny business, any at all, and you won't have any meals for a week. Especially you, Dayton. You may be a 'friend' of Potter's, but that doesn't mean the rules are bent for you. Get in."

It was packed at the London Zoo, and the family was in the reptile house, looking at a Boa constrictor, which fascinated Dayton.

"Make it move." Dudley whispered.

Vernon tapped the glass of the cage, ordering the snake to move. When nothing happened, Dudley tapped the glass much harder, causing Vernon to wince nervously.

"Move!" Dudley bellowed, but the same result occurred.

"He's asleep!" Harry observed.

"He's boring." Dudley answered. He and his parents went to another enclosure, leaving the two young boys alone with the snake.

"Sorry about him." Dayton said to the snake. "He doesn't understand what it's like, lying there day after day, having people press their ugly faces in on you."

The snake lifted its head and stared at the two boys.

"Can you... hear us?" Harry asked, and the snake nodded. "It's just... we've never talked to a snake before. Do you... talk to people often?"

The snake shook its head. "You're from Burma, aren't you?" Dayton asked. "Was it nice there, do you miss your family?"

The snake turned its head in the direction of a sign which said 'Bred in Captivity'. "I see." Harry responded. "That's me as well. I never knew my parents, either."

The now awake snake had piqued Dudley's interest, and he pushed Dayton and Harry out of the way to get a closer look.

"Mummy, Dad, come here! You won't believe what this snake is doing!" He alerted his parents.

Dudley put his hand on the glass wall. With his back turned, Harry glared at him, and Dayton clenched his fists.

Suddenly, the glass disappeared and Dudley lost his balance and fell head first into the snake enclosure, spluttering in a pool of water.

Dayton gave Harry a look, desperately trying to hold back his laughter. "Did we just...?"

Oh, they did just.

Harry shook his head in disbelief as to how that even happened.

"Wow," Dayton continued. "How is that even theoretically possible?"

The snake, meanwhile, had made its way out of the exhibit. It stopped in front of the two boys, and both could have sworn that they heard, "Thankssss," coming from the snake.

Dayton gave a nod. "Anytime."

The snake slithered off to the exit, towards freedom, causing panic amongst the other families present.

Dudley had got up to get out, but by this time the glass had been replaced back over the enclosure. The overweight boy was trapped.

"Mum, Mummy!" Dudley cried, pounding on the glass in a panic trying to alert his mother.

It worked. Petunia had noticed and she let out a shrill scream and ran over to the enclosure. "My darling boy! How did you get in there?!" She shouted through tears.

Dayton and Harry couldn't help but snicker. Vernon noticed and glared down at them. The boys' grins disappeared, knowing that they were in huge trouble.