Beth Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒟𝓊𝓇𝓈𝓁𝑒𝓎𝓈

It had been 10 years since Harry and Beatrice had been left in front of the Dursleys house. The two of them were now both 10, almost 11. Harry had grown tall, and he had messy black hair that was always sticking up, green eyes, and was rather skinny for his age. He also had a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, wore glasses, and had ghostly pale skin. Beatrice looked similar to him, although she had copper-brown hair that cascaded to her waist. Her hair wasn't unruly like her brother's. Instead, it was neat and wavy. She did however have the same striking green eyes as her brother. 

It was a June morning and the sun rose above Privet Drive, highlighting the brass number 4 on the door. Beatrice was lying facedown on her bed, with Harry lying next to her. The twins lived in the closet underneath the stairs, where there was only room for a twin-sized bed and some shelving. 

The siblings were abruptly woken up by the sound of their Aunt Petunia screeching from the other side of the door.

"Up! Get up! Now!"

The screeching gradually faded as Petunia retreated to the kitchen. Beatrice was the first one out of bed. She ran a brush through her hair, put on socks and slippers, and then quietly slipped out of the tiny closet. She entered the kitchen.

"Morning Aunt Petunia!"

Her aunt gave her a nod of acknowledgment. Her aunt and uncle had always favored her over Harry. Of course, they still hit her and forced her to do household chores, but Petunia enjoyed having another girl in the house and Vernon grudgingly agreed that Beatrice was more tolerable than Harry. Also, Beatrice always got new, expensive clothing. This was mostly because Petunia was a strong believer in, "keeping up appearances." Harry said that it was because Dudley's clothing was too big for Beatrice. 

Harry stepped into the kitchen a little after his sister, and sighed at the sight of the presents on the dining table. Of course, how could he have forgotten? It was Dudley's birthday.  Uncle Vernon glared at him from behind his daily newspaper and Aunt Petunia was nowhere in sight. His sister was at the stove, frying bacon. 

"It's the pig's birthday," his sister muttered to him.

"Of course it is," Harry whispered back, "Reckon we'll be left home alone this time?"

"I hope we are, but Aunt Petunia will probably drag us along."

Harry nodded, then busied himself grabbing plates for breakfast. Half an hour later, they were all sitting around the table, eating. When they were all finished, Harry and Beatrice cleared the plates and washed the dishes. 

"Dinky Duddydums, we're going to the zoo today. Your friend Piers is coming with us."

At the mention of this, Beatrice stiffened. Harry saw it and frowned. "Just try to avoid him Beth." Beatrice nodded. Beatrice hated Piers with a passion. He always tried to flirt with her and he called her Elizabeth, even though Beatrice's middle name was just Beth.

After everyone in the Dursley's house was fully dressed and Piers had arrived, everybody piled into Vernon's car and they began the drive to the zoo. 

When they arrived, Dudley and Piers were bought large ice cream sundaes at the entrance and Harry and Beatrice were bought cheap lemon ice pops. They meandered through the zoo, watching the various animals, then went to lunch at the zoo's restaurant. After lunch, the group went to the Reptile House. Inside, it was cool and dark, with dim lighting on the walls.

Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can — but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.

"Make it move," he whined at his father. 

Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. 

"Do it again," Dudley ordered. 

Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. 

"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. 

Harry and Beatrice moved in front of the tank and looked at the snake. Beatrice wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Beatrice. It winked. the twins stared. Beatrice looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. Harry looked back at the snake and winked, too. The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave the twins a look that said quite plainly:

"I get that all the time." 

"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, not sure if the snake could hear him.

"It must be really annoying," Beatrice added. 

The snake nodded vigorously.

"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked. 

The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. 

Harry peered at it. 

Boa Constrictor, Brazil.

"Was it nice there?" The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. 

"Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?" Beatrice asked.

As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both twins jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. "Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. He shoved Beatrice as well. She fell into Piers, gagging when he caught her. She wrenched herself from his grip then went to Harry to see if he was alright. He had been shoved down onto the concrete floor.

Harry and Beatrice sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly past him, Beth could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigos." The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. "But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"

The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as the twins had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all backing Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for the twins at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry and Elizabeth were talking to it, weren't you?" 

A/N: So for the rest of the book I'm going to call Beatrice Beth because that's what she goes by. So Beatrice = Beth. Thanks for reading!

<3 - Elizabeth