The Letter

Harry was surprised to discover that he could actually talk to snakes.

This was not like talking to cats and dogs, where he could give them verbal commands for simple interactions or get them to perform a few actions. He could genuinely communicate with snakes through language. They understood what he said, and he understood what they said. It was quite extraordinary.

He had almost finished sorting through the fragments of Neil's memories and knowledge from the Aegean World. There was plenty of miscellaneous material, most of it too fragmented to form anything coherent.

This was probably because Neil's soul had been shattered too badly-Harry had already accepted that someone from another world had crossed over into his head, tried to fight him for control of his body, and failed.

Although most of the material was too fragmented and disjointed for Harry to use, there was still plenty that proved useful. He had already used it to improve his standing at home considerably. Of course, he would not let anyone know that he had mastered magic.

For one thing, his aunt and uncle hated any topic connected to magic. Harry did not want a direct confrontation with them, especially now that he was living quite comfortably.

For another, he had watched plenty of television shows and films in which people with special abilities ended up being hauled away by special government departments and sliced up for research. Harry certainly did not want to be dragged onto an operating table, have glaring lights shone on him, and then have someone in a white coat cut open his stomach to see whether he was different from ordinary people.

Although he had mastered plenty of strange little spells, Harry was absolutely certain that none of them allowed him to understand what other animals were saying.

It had happened earlier that day.

It was just before the summer holidays at the end of primary school. In a few more months, Harry and Dudley would be secondary school students.

As it was Dudley's birthday, the Dursley family had gone to the zoo with Harry and one of Dudley's good friends. When they passed through the reptile house at the end of their visit, both Harry and Dudley took an interest in an enormous Brazilian boa constrictor.

While trying to tease the lazy Brazilian boa into moving, Harry discovered that he could understand what it said, and that it clearly understood him as well.

The Brazilian boa kept telling Harry, "I want to get out. I want to get out."

Harry had looked at the tough, reinforced glass. He had at least a few dozen ways to break it without a sound, and afterward, no one would ever discover that he had anything to do with it. Although the magical power he had accumulated over the years was still insufficient for whatever spells he wanted to cast, he had become very adept at a few little tricks.

But why would he let a huge boa constrictor loose?

What if it decided to make a meal of him?

Harry thought his skinny little body would be just enough for one meal for that enormous snake. Dudley was much safer by comparison. With his bulk, even the giant boa in front of them probably could not swallow him in one go.

Back home, Harry was still thinking about the Brazilian boa at the zoo, so much so that when Dudley came to invite him to play the latest Nintendo game, he declined. Normally, he would have gone over eagerly, thrashed his older cousin in the game, and then laughed at the indignant look on his face.

Although Dudley was obese, he was very athletic. Apart from sports such as running and football, where a lighter build offered an advantage, Harry was no match for him at anything. What Harry found particularly hard to accept was that he could not even beat Dudley at basketball.

An agile fat boy beneath the basket-that described Dudley perfectly!

When it came to video games, however, Harry could utterly trounce Dudley, no matter what kind of game they played.

Although Dudley's arms and legs were powerful, his fingers did not seem nimble enough, at least when handling a controller. Harry's fingers, on the other hand, were nimble enough to play the piano. In fact, he had taken piano lessons for a while, but he had not made much progress and had given up.

Aunt Petunia's call to dinner interrupted Harry's thoughts about the Brazilian boa as he lay on his bed. He got up and tied his hair back again, smoothing out the mess he had made by lying down.

Yes, Harry had long hair that reached his waist.

It was one of Harry's particularly mischievous pleasures, something he used to fool people.

Before he turned six, Harry had been a very cute little boy, but cute was all he had been. After he turned six, however, his appearance had changed dramatically!

The lines of Harry's features had begun to soften. His eyes grew larger, his chin became more pointed, his nose turned up, his mouth grew smaller, and his skin became fairer. Most incredible of all, his emerald-green eyes slowly turned light brown.

All these changes had taken place in the single year between his sixth and seventh birthdays. If someone compared a photograph of Harry before he was six with one taken after he turned seven, hardly anyone would have imagined that the children in the two photographs were the same person.

It was so extraordinary that Harry had once wondered whether it had something to do with learning Neil's magic.

Then, one day, Aunt Petunia casually remarked, "Harry, you look very much like your mother did as a child, except for your eyes." Only then did Harry learn, to his surprise, that he had come to look very much like his mother as a child.

Unfortunately, Aunt Petunia did not have a single photograph of either his mother or his father in the house, so Harry had no way to judge just how closely he resembled his mother.