The Secrets in His Eyes

The Zoo

Hey guys! I know what you're probably thinking...

"What!? She's actually posting more than one chapter in a month!?"

That's right! I feel really bad about how long it took me to update last time, so I'm done procrastinating and I'm posting ANOTHER chapter. (WOOT) ENJOY!!!!

The group of witches and wizards entered the newest memory in the same place they always did, the cupboard under the stairs. They sat in silence for a moment, watching the younger Harry sleeping peacefully on his cot. These were the only times that they saw Harry look truly peaceful.
That peace didn't last long, however, because seconds later a large thumping sound could be heard from above. Dudley was stomping on the stairs to wake the raven haired boy up. Dust fell from the ceiling of the tiny cupboard as the little boy sat up and yawned.
"Wake up Harry! I want breakfast!" The bigger boy's fowl manners no longer came as a shock to the group of observers. They had sat through eleven years worth of shouted insults and selfish demands. They were used to it.
The group followed the younger version of Harry into the kitchen and watched as he cooked breakfast.
"I miss food!" Ron whined as he watched Vernon devour an entire plate of bacon and eggs. Sirius and the twins nodded in agreement. They sat around watching the Dursleys eat, bored out of their minds. Everyone expected this to be just another day, full of anger and abuse. That is, until Vernon started talking.
"So, as we all know, today is Dudley's birthday." The older Harry perked up immediately.
"How old am I when this happens? I've lost track." He asked Draco, who was sitting next to him on the floor. (They were definitely snuggling, no matter how much they denied it.)
"Almost eleven. Why?" The blond boy replied. A huge grin broke out on Harry's face.
"You'll see." He chuckled before turning back to Vernon, who was still talking.
"Today, we're going to the zoo. Unfortunately, the neighbors are out of town, so you..." He said, pointing at the scar-headed boy sitting across from him, "have to go. But let me tell you now boy, if you cause any kind of trouble on Dudley's big day you won't eat for a week! Do you understand?"
"Yes, Uncle Vernon." he replied, but the boy was grinning.
Everyone was shocked. The Dursleys had never allowed Harry to go anywhere with them. They often left him with their elderly neighbor instead, who talked of nothing but her nine cats and smelled like prunes. He was finally going to get to have some fun!
After Dudley opened his thirty-six presents (he kept complaining about it not being enough) the four of them piled into the family's car. They stopped to pick up two of Dudley's friends on the way to the zoo. The three boys spent the rest of the ride trying to see how many times they could pinch Harry without him fighting back. (Which was a lot, considering Harry knew better than to pick a fight with Dudley.) The dark haired boy's smile never left his face, though. He was too excited about going to the zoo for the first time.
When they finally got to the zoo, Dudley and his friends immediately dragged the group off to the predators. They spent several hours looking at lions, tigers, bears, and tons of other giant, dangerous animals. The small, soon to be wizard could hardly contain his excitement. He had only seen the creatures on the rare occasions that the Dursleys let him watch TV. The witches and wizards watching couldn't help but smile as they watched the boy's eyes grow wide in amazement. Sirius was especially happy to see the boy looking that happy.
The family spent all day walking from animal to animal, until finally, about half an hour before closing time, they got to the reptile house. Dudley was being an absolute prat, running around and banging on all of the glass cases, trying to get the animals to move. His favorite one to bother was the giant python that was curled up in the back of its enclosure.
"Mummy! Dad! Make it move! Why won't it move!?" He whined as he hit the glass again.
"What an awful boy!" Ginny exclaimed. The others could only nod in agreement.
After a while, Dudley got bored and ran off to torment the other animals. Harry, however, stayed.
"Sorry about him." Harry sighed. "He doesn't understand what it's like, lying there day after day, watching people press their ugly faces in on you." He stood watching the snake for a moment, before noticing something odd. The snake had lifted its head and winked at him! The little boy's eyes widened as he asked, "Can you hear me?" Then the snake did something even more unbelievable, it nodded yes!
Luna gasped loudly at the sight. Fred (or was it George?) nearly fell backwards in shock. They were all astounded. The snake was replying to him! Sure, they knew that The Boy Who Lived was a parsletongue, but they had never really seen it happen. The one time he had done it in public, they had been too far away to see. Amazed, they turned back to the conversation between boy and snake.
"Its just," Harry was saying, "I've never talked to a snake before. Do you- Do you talk to people often?" The snake shook its head. "You're from Burma aren't you?" The boy continued. "Was it nice there? Do you miss your family?" Turning its head, the snake pointed out a small sign at the bottom of its enclosure.
Bred in Captivity
"I see." Harry sighed. "That's me as well. I never knew my parents either." The small boy was about to say something else when a shout came from behind him.
Mummy! Dad! Come here! You'll never believe what this snake is doing!" Dudley ran up to the cage, pushing Harry to the ground, and pressed himself against the glass. Harry, still on the ground, was giving Dudley a glare that would make Professor Snape proud. Older Harry was also on the ground, only, he was there because he was giggling like a mad man.
"What the hell are you laughing at mate?" Ron asked. They were all staring at Harry in confusion.
"J-just *giggle* w-wait!" Harry laughed. Sure enough, something did happen. Suddenly, the glass disappeared, sending Dudley tumbling into the snake enclosure. The younger Harry's face lit up in a smile, as he watched his cousin screaming. The snake slowly slithered out of his cage and onto the ground. By now, all of the witches and wizards were cracking up at the sight. It became even funnier when the glass reappeared, trapping Dudley inside.
Their laughing was interrupted when the snake slithered up to the young boy and said, "Thanksssssssss"
Harry gasped and repliead, "Anytime" With that the snake slithered away and the memory ended.
Back in the room in between memories the group was frozen in shock.
"Did anyone else hear that snake talk?" Blaise asked. Luna, who was clutching his arm in shock, simply nodded. Everyone else did the same, their eyes wide.
"I think I have an explanation for that." Hermione stated. "We're in Harry's memories, right?" They all nodded. "So maybe we're just hearing what he heard. No one here is a parsletongue, but we were hearing it how Harry heard it. The group nodded in agreement.

Then the next memory began.