Spoilers Ahead: Read with Caution
Welcome back to my Harry Potter Re-read! It feels really good to say that. Welcome back. Now, last chapter we learned quite a bit about Harry's abysmal relatives, The Dursleys and now we learn more about Harry. On with the show!
Summary:
About 10 years have passed since Harry was left on the Dursley's doorstep in November (No I'm not going to stop bringing that up, it really bugs me), and ever since he was old enough to reach to reach the stove the Dursley's have treated him like their own personal house-elf. We learn much about their mistreatment of poor orphaned Harry including the fact that he lives in the cupboard under the stairs, the cupboard under the stairs. As far as we know no one has gone to check on Harry in those 10 years, make sure he's alright, that his living conditions are adequate, for all the wizarding world knows he could have died and no one would have been the wiser. Anyway, it's Dudley's birthday and Aunt Petunia gets Harry up to finish making breakfast. We get the first real glimpse of the Dursley house including the absolutely spotless kitchen and dining table covered in 37, 37 birthday presents for Dudley. Of course that's not enough for their little angel so Petunia and Vernon agree to get him 2 new presents when they're out that day. Then Harry's luck begins to change.
They were going to leave him with their dotty old neighbour Mrs. Figg (who we later learn is a squib) while they go out for the day to the zoo but she has broken her leg tripping over one of her cats and can't take him. So the Dursley's are forced to be nice to their nephew for the sake of public appearance for the day and take him to the zoo with them. Everything's going alright, until they reach the reptile house. Harry speaks to this immense Boa Constrictor and it tells him it had never been to Brazil so his accidental magic kicks in and he accidentally lets the snake out. They might not have known it was him except that Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss (Prat) said "Harry was talking to it, weren't you Harry?" So when they get home he;s locked in his cupboard for the forseeable future with no meals. As I'll expound on more in Chapter 3, he wasn't let out until the summer holidays started (Dudley's birthday is June 23rd, according to the Harry Potter Wiki at least)
Commentary:
As I mentioned, Harry lives in the cupboard under the stairs which is totally unacceptable and no one seems to have noticed that he's being mistreated at all. Not even the all powerful Albus Dumbledore. I find that kind of fishy actually, cause he placed Harry with his relative and never bothered to check on him at all? Anyway, this chapter centres on Harry's bouts of accidental magic, mainly the ones on Dudley's birthday at the zoo, he vanishes the glass on the Boa Constrictors tank and uses his Parseltongue abilities to speak to it. I know Parseltongue is vaunted for being the talent of dark wizards including The Dark Lord, and Salazar Slytherin himself but what does he do? he uses it to speak to a snake and find out it's never been to Brazil.
He uses his Parseltongue to make friends with a snake and sets him free, i think that might be something only Harry Potter might do. This Chapter is, all in all, very short and only touches on Harry's accidental magic as a plot point but I really I love the scene with the Boa Constrictor because, who else would talk to a snake, find out that it was bred in captivity but wanted to go to Brazil and set it free?
It earns him quite a bit of time in his cupboard as is specified and the end of the chapter and the beginning of chapter 3 but all in all I think it's a pretty cool bit of accidental magic, cooler maybe, that turning his teacher's wig blue or shrinking a horrible sweater or growing back his hair after a terrible haircut.
Next Chapter: The letters from No one :D That's definitely a fun chapter. See you next time! I'll try to post the next chapter or 2 soon either later today or tomorrow
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