Chapter 2: The Oruwin's Nest
Part I: Dudley POV
When Dudley woke up the next morning it felt like he was covered in a thick blanket and then his mother started shrieking bloody murder. He turned around onto his back and felt the blanket move with him. Odd he thought as he shifted on the bed. The blanket was warm enough but it also felt oddly smooth and heavier than he was used to. The more conscious he became, the more he wanted to fall right back to sleep as his mother's shrieking filtered into his ears like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Groaning rather loudly, Dudley sat up as much as he could with the added weight on his still sleep-addled form and rubbed his eyes. He resisted the urge to curse at his mother when her ridiculous noises turned into actual words, most of which had the word brute or beast situated somewhere in her small horrid sentences.
"Get off him you vile creature!" Petunia screamed out just as the world around him came into focus.
Looking down slowly he finally understood why his mother was making such a fuss so early in the morning. Apparently at some point in the middle of the night Harry had turned into a rather large boa constrictor. He was using Dudley as a pillow and bed with his head contently resting on Dudley's chest while the rest of him lazily curled up on his stomach with his tail drooping to the side and landing on the bed by his legs. Admittedly Dudley could see how she'd be worried Harry was trying to kill him and would probably think so too if he were in her position but all he saw was the other boy trying to protect him the only way he knew how.
How on earth is he still sleeping? Dudley thought as he got a hand out from under the snake and poked him in between his eyes.
The giant snake laying on him scrunched up his face and flashed his fangs, which was a very non-snake thing to do. Contrary to what most thought, Dudley wasn't an idiot and always knew that Harry didn't eat nearly enough because of his parents rules. He also knew that if they had a choice of raising Harry as a human or something else that they were going to choose the other form so that he really "didn't exist", as they so enjoyed reminding the boys. So he figured that if his parents were more than likely going to force his cousin to live his life in this new form then the least he could do is try to sneak him the correct food and be able to read his body language.
He had started researching the day after Harry bit him and had every intention of telling him all he had learned about snakes when he got home that day only to find Harry's door had odd pieces of metal attached to it. The normal knob had been taken down and replaced with a knob that had a keypad above it.
Upon questioning the odd change his father had told him that "If that thing wants to act like a beast, then he'll be treated like one! You'd better not mess with it either or you'll regret it and there will be no more hissing out of you! I'll treat you just like I treat that thing if you do! I won't have a damned traitor living in my house!"
To this day Dudley had never been sure if he wasn't supposed to mess with the new knob or if his father had meant he could no longer be friends with Harry. His childish mind had accepted quicker than he'd now like to admit that he reasoned it meant both and took Vernon's words to heart, especially when he had mentioned their special language. Regrettably, he began treating his former friend just like his father did while his mother just watched from the sidelines with small noises of encouragement when Vernon was around.
Over the years other shiny new attachments adorned Harry's door and eventually called it home while others were removed when Vernon saw fit. When they were eight Vernon installed a peephole so he could check on Harry and make sure he was still a "disgusting reptilian worm" when he thought he heard too much movement coming from inside the small room. Only for it to be removed a month later when one of his father's business friends commented on the oddity of it at dinner.
Then at nine there was the addition of the invisible door lock that didn't have a traditional knob which replaced the previous keypad handle after Vernon broke it in a fit of rage when he forgot the code. With the new addition he installed a new keypad that came with a remote control he kept on him at all times. Which was the exact same one that had lasted for the past three years.
Dudley was actually surprised when he didn't hear the little keypad smacking against his father's hip in the cabin as it had become a constant presence throughout the years but then his mother was still yelling at a still sleeping Harry and overwhelming his ears of anything else going on.
He debated on poking Harry once more or trying to talk him awake instead and decided on the latter, figuring he'd rather not get bit so early in the morning even if it was an accident.
"Harry? You need to wake up. You're scaring mum."
"Good." Came the rather smug reply from the snake who seemed much more awake than Dudley had thought.
"How long have you been awake exactly?"
"Not sure, thought if I faked it a bit more then she'd shut up. Plus I didn't smell Vernon around so I figured I could get away with it until you woke up."
Minutes passed and Dudley sat up in bed only for Harry to follow him as much as he could as a snake. He glanced around the room and saw his mother packing her bag back up, glaring at him while she did. Vernon came back in and scowled at them. Mumbled under his breath that they were ingrates and mimicked Petunia.
Harry sent out a small hiss at them when either got close and would rub his head against Dudley's chest right after. With each hiss he sent their way they would flinch more than the last so that it became an odd sort of dance with the three of them. Dudley ignored his parents and focused on Harry's odd display of affection instead. All of the books he had read and internet searches he had done had given him three answers for the behavior.
"You're either sick, starting to shed or you're being territorial. Either way it'sss adorable." His words caught in his throat when he thought Harry would be offended and think he didn't want to be friends or wanted him dead. "Not that I want you to be sick! Just that you rubbing your nose against me as a snake looksss cute." Dudley said hastily trying to salvage the meaning of his words.
He knew that they had things to work on, certain things Dudley couldn't do around him without making Harry flinch or flee in terror, and that he would have to learn all of them before Harry felt completely comfortable but this was nice and it was a start.
Dudley watched with an awkward smile as Harry lifted himself up and tilted his head in an inquisitive manner and flicked his tongue out.
"How do you know that?"
A blush formed across Dudley's cheeks when he realized what he had gotten himself into. He immediately realized Harry never knew about all of the research he had put in to understand snakes better. Even now he often asked for at least one snake book for his birthday or Christmas, not that he ever got them but he still tried. There were two things that they were never allowed to do in the Dursley household: mention anything about magic, and say that snakes of any kind were good.
"I um… I used to look up all kindsss of things about snakesss so I could know when you were upset in thisss form. I still do actually when I'm at school. I used to ask for snake booksss for my birthday or Christmasss thinking that they'd give them to me. They never did though so I had to do all my research at school. The face rubbing thing is one of the first thingsss I learned. That and the kind of snake you turn, turned now I guess, into."
The snake stilled in Dudley's lap, he really wished they had better facial expressions so he could tell what his cousin was thinking. Knowing that he couldn't actually see into his cousin's head he turned his attention to his parents instead. His mother had a thin smile on her face that looked more like a grimace. He was so used to her looking at Harry like that that he never imagined she'd look at him the same way. Nevermind the fact that they have no idea what it meant to be a wizard or what's expected of them anymore.
His father just looked purely disgusted and so red faced he looked like he was going to explode at any second. He kept turning around to look at them from the door and would scowl only to have Petunia look pointedly at him. Her hair was unmade and lightly touched her shoulders while she wrung her hands in her light blue flowered dress like she was afraid if she did anything else she might break.
"You! Make that thing change back immediately and get dressed or we're leaving without you!" Vernon shouted at them from the door with his hand on the knob.
Dudley rolled his eyes and fought back the urge to yell at the man that Harry was a person, not a thing. He didn't because he knew it would get him nowhere and probably in even more trouble later on. So instead he trudged to the small bathroom with his cousin slithering at his heels. Thankfully his and Harry's clothes were already in the bathroom when they got there. Probably mum's doing. He thought before he saw Harry change back to human. His pajamas, like all of his clothes, were Dudley's from two years ago and made him look like a small doll trapped inside of a pillowcase. Harry didn't seem to notice him watching, or didn't care, as he turned around and took off his shirt only to put on an equally large t-shirt and sweater.
Dudley fought back the urge to gasp as Harry's back was momentarily exposed and he saw all of the bruises and scarred slices that adorned it. It was no wonder why he wore two layers all the time. Anyone with half a brain could tell Harry was starving and given everything that had happened during the last few hours it made him wonder why no adults had ever commented on it. He turned his back to the other boy and got dressed himself as Harry started removing his pajama bottoms. By the time he was done Harry was perched on the toilet like a bird and staring at him, the odd bright green around the edges of his eyes seemed even brighter than normal for some reason.
They left the small bathroom and were greeted with his parents yelling at some long haired man with a rather large nose. Dudley thought he looked like his old math teacher Mr. Wilder who wasn't one of his favorites, then again he didn't really like any of them. The man was glaring at his parents and his father seemed to be squirming under his gaze. If Dudley had seen this a couple days ago then he would have come to the defence of his parents, but now he only wished to encourage his father's fear, especially since he knew what was going to happen to him after this strange man left. Upon closer inspection he saw that the man had a small box wrapped in dark green wrapping paper in his hands.
"I see that you haven't changed much Tunie."
"Don't call me that you disgusting sewer rat! Why on earth would they send you of all people to come get them anyway?!"
His mum shouted at the newcomer. He swore her face was getting redder than his dad's at this point. Dudley felt something pull on his shirt behind him and took a second to realize it was Harry. He could feel Harry shaking slightly through his shirt and thought that if clothing could talk his would be screaming in pain with how tight Harry was holding onto him through it. He was probably worried mum would turn on him soon like she always did. The stranger seemed to take notice of Harry as well, glancing at them both momentarily before he turned his attention back to his mother.
"The headmaster thought that I would be a better fit to collect the children given our…. past."
Dudley watched as Petunia's face somehow got even redder than his father's at that. She huffed and glared at him once more only to promptly turn around and went to sit on hers and his dad's bed. Dudley thought she looked like a five year old child that just got told they wouldn't be able to get the toy they wanted, or him last Christmas now that he thought about it. He really should apologize to Harry for literally everything that's happened in his life so far. It's funny how one moment in your life could change your entire look on what you've done and how utterly wrong you've been. His father on the other hand decided that his wife had given up on kicking the strange man out to quickly and decided to make himself look bigger.
"He looksss like a strange mix between a pig and a bird like that." Harry whispered from behind him.
Dudley let out a small laugh and shook his head in agreement as his father puffed up in front of the man and shouted at him to leave. He imagined his father with a pig's tail coming out of his pants and bouncing in the air as he waved his arms around in frustration. The intruder seemed to completely ignore his father's display and turned to them once more with shocked wide eyes as Harry spoke. The spontaneous rip that came from his father's pants seconds later made both he and Harry practically jump out of their skins. Dudley watched in horror as the pig tail he had just imagined in his head made its way out of his father's jeans just like he thought it would. He felt the absence of Harry's hand soon after and didn't need to turn around to know he had turned into a snake and was probably hiding in a corner somewhere.
Dudley ignored his mother's horrid screeching on the bed and the stranger's shocked expression in favor of finding his cousin after his father took notice of his new appendage. There were only so many places his cousin could hide in the small shack and figured he'd be in the bathroom since it was the only other room with a door. Sure enough, after Dudley trudged into the other room and closed the door he quickly spotted a small green snake curled up defensively between the tub and the toilet. The garden snake that was currently his cousin was hissing rather valiantly at him as he sat down on the cold tile floor and waited for him to calm down.
He knew Harry had a habit of thinking more like a snake than a boy at any given point in the day and that it got worse when he was frightened. So grabbing him right now wasn't an option unless he wanted to get bit. He scooted himself against the door and leaned on it to hopefully show that Harry wasn't in any danger and closed his eyes. The noise from the adults in the other room filtered through the closed door and tuned into it even though it was nearly impossible to hear anything over his mother's crowing.
"How dare you do that to my husband! Change him back immediately and leave! You have absolutely no business being around us!"
"I assure you I wouldn't have come if it were any other children but the fact that Harry and Dudley are both wizards made me curious. Not to mention the fact that you somehow failed to inform us that Harry is somehow a maledictus like his mother even though it is impossible and that your own son is apparently a parselmouth which as you know is an extremely rare trait. Regardless of these two facts I am only here to bring them shopping for their school supplies. After which they will be returned to you and expected to be on the train to Hogwarts come the first of September as you are already aware. As far as your husband's new appendage is concerned I'm sure a doctor would be able to remove it quite easily enough but I can't help wondering why you'd want it removed in the first place. I would have thought he would look even more appealing to you that way since he seems even more piggish now than when you first met."
Dudley had been so intent on listening past the door that he hadn't realized Harry had made his way onto his lap until he changed from his current garden snake form to a rather large bush viper and flicked his tongue out. Deciding to give the snake his full attention and ignore the conversation outside Dudley saw that Harry had changed the color of his scales from a vibrant green to an ashy black that gleamed blue under the lights.
"You know the fact that you can turn into a snake is just plain rude but the fact that you can apparently turn into any of them is just cruel. It makes for a perfectly good alibi when you decide to kill us all one day you know"
"I know. I've thought about it before on occasion actually."
"Jesus, Harry!"
"What? You're the one that brought it up! I thought we were being honest!"
"Well yeah but maybe don't admit to wanting to kill usss all when there are adultsss in the other room!"
"Why not? It'sss not like they can understand me."
"I don't know, maybe because it'sss a tad wrong? Just a thought."
"Fine."
"Good."
By the time Harry changed and they went back out to the others Dudley's parents were gone. The man explained that they had decided to go back home and that they would be returned to their house after shopping. He also informed them that his name was Severus Snape and that he was a teacher at Hogwarts.
"Do you have any questions for me before we leave?"
The boys glanced at each other quickly before asking rapid fire questions at the same time.
"What's a parselmouth?"
"What's a maledictus?"
"What class do you teach?"
"Did you know my mother?"
"What's in the box?"
"What are we supposed to call you?"
The man looked stunned once all of their questions had been asked and they were waiting anxiously for a reply. He went on to explain that a parselmouth is a person who can talk to snakes and that it was an extremely rare trait to have. While a maledictus was normally a witch cursed to turn into an animal and that they would eventually be forced to live their lives as their animal form instead of their human one. Dudley gulped at that and imagined Harry stuck as a giant Burmese python or a small rattlesnake.
"But I don't want to live the rest of my life as a snake! I mean don't really enjoy being human but that's because Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon are mean! They make me talk in English all the time even though they know I hate it!" Harry shouted.
"There is a cure for it Harry. I made a batch of it for your mother before…"
"You knew my mother?" Harry interrupted loudly.
"Yes. We were best friends when we were growing up. She was a maledictus like you but her form was an owl instead of a snake. As far as your questions go Mr. Dursley, I teach Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts and the box is a present for Harry seeing as it is his birthday. As far as what you can call me I suppose you should get used to calling me Professor Snape for the upcoming school year."