Puer Argentei Anguis

Chapter 1

Our story takes place in the town of Little Whingy on a nice sunny early morning during the middle of the summer. We find ourselves on the street of private drive in front of house number four. Our morning starts off in the room of one Harry James Potter; well it was actually a cupboard. Young Harry is still asleep, that is until his cousin runs up and down before jumping on them yelling for him to wake up. Just the noise from his cousin running on the stairs is enough awaken Harry from his slumber. Vibrations on the stair way causing dust and spider webs to fall on Harry.

"Here comes another day." Harry mumbled to no one in particular.

"If you let me bite the fat onesss then you wouldn't have to worry about what the day will bring." A hissing voice answered back.

Harry looked over at his companion he had met about seven years ago, one of the two only reminders that what happened on his fourth birthday was not just a dream. The leather journal he had found with a snake on the front was just as magical as he thought it might be.

~Flash Back~

It had been a month after little Harry had met Lucius Malfoy. He had tried to go back to the park the next day but his cousin had gotten him in trouble and as such he had been confined to his cupboard with no food for the following week. His Uncle must have been really angry because not even the necklace that Mr. Malfoy had given him protected him from his Uncle's wrath.

After a few days of recovering, little Harry started to become curious about the journal. Late one night when his relatives had gone to sleep, he pulled out a small old cracked flash light that used to be his cousin's. He pulled out the black leather journal from the hiding spot he had put it in and stared at the snake of the front for a moment, the snake was silver and it had red eyes. He then proceeded to look for a way to open it. However, the tail of the snake seemed to be firmly latched onto the other end of the book.

"Hmm, how do you open this book?" Harry wondered aloud to himself. Then Harry remembered seeing his cousin Dudley watching this movie one time, well until Aunt Petunia freaked out and turned it off, where this man said 'open sesame' and the door opened. Since it had to be a magical book maybe that would work here? It wouldn't hurt to try. So Harry turned the book around and looked at the snake again.

"Open swesame." He said hesitantly and then waited, but nothing happened. Maybe he didn't say it right? But he was pretty sure that's what the man on the tele said. Maybe if he tried being polite it would open? After all it was a magical book and Aunt Petunia was always telling Dudley to be polite, not that it ever worked.

"Um, open swesame pwease?" But still nothing happened. "I gwess there must be some othwer way of opening it." It made Harry sad the he couldn't figure out how the book worked. He had hoped there would be some pictures or something in the book because he wasn't allowed to touch any of Dudley's books. Feeling discouraged for the night Harry put the book back in its hiding spot before putting his glasses on the shelf and lying back down. "When I go to that mwagical scool I hope I make lots of fwends that Dudley can't scare away." Harry said as he snuggled into the thin blanket that he had and fell asleep.

As Harry fell asleep, he didn't see the faint glow that surrounded him nor the responding glow from the hiding spot of the book before all became dark once again.

A few days later, little Harry was back to doing his chores. Much to his dismay, his Aunt Marge had decided to pay a surprise visit which means he got in trouble because the house wasn't up to her standards. Harry was cleaning the kitchen floor when Dudley came waddling in the room with a box of cookies. Dudley was eating the cookies in such a way that crumbs were getting everywhere.

"You missed a spwot fwreak." Dudley said as he made more of a mess while moving closer to Harry.

"Pwease Dwudwey," Harry pleaded. "pwease don't get me in twrouble again."

"Don't get you in twrouble huh," Dudley said with a rather mean grin on his face. "I'll show you twrouble." Dudley then dropped the box of cookies on the ground before making a pitiful face. He then started to cry loudly making tears fall down his face. This caused both Petunia and Marge to come rushing into the room.

"What happened my sweet little Duddykins?" Petunia said soothingly to Dudley while taking him into her arms.

"He twied to take my cwookies," Dudley said while still fake crying, he sniffled loudly before continuing. "And when I twold him no, he hit me." He continued crying and pathetically whimpering into his mother's shirt.

"I told you that boy was no good." Marge said loudly. "Should have dropped the damn ungrateful brat off at an orphanage the first time he started causing trouble." Marge glared at little Harry.

Harry shrank back and curled in on himself in fear, knowing that there was no way out of being punished. The last time he tried to tell Aunt Petunia that he did nothing wrong he got punished for being a liar. To make matters worse, Vernon Dursley walked in the door at that moment.

"What's all the racket, pet?" Vernon called as he walked into the kitchen making Harry let out an almost inaudible whimper that wasn't heard over the noise that Dudley was making.

"That wretched brat," Marge said with a sneer in Harry's direction. "Attacked our sweet little Duddykins." Her voice softened as she looked at Dudley. Vernon, who already looked slightly mad, most likely from a deal gone wrong, went purple with rage. He walked over to Harry and roughly grabbed him by his arm. Harry was scared of his uncle, the last time the man was this mad his backside ended up in strips. The beating he got then was mild compared to what normally happened. But Harry remembered something that made him go cold. The last time he had the necklace that Mr. Malfoy had given him. He wasn't wearing it because it was bath day and he didn't want it to get wet. He was going to put it back on but then Aunt Marge showed up and he hadn't a moment to stop at his room. The last thing Harry remembered before nothing but pain was Dudley shooting a grin at him from across his Aunt Petunia's shoulder.

Harry woke up to find himself in his cupboard and in a lot of pain, it was dark and the house was quiet. He whimpered as he shifted, his arm bent at an awkward angle. Even though he was hurt Harry managed to move himself enough to find the necklace that Mr. Malfoy gave to him. Holding it close, it gave him some comfort. Harry whimpered silently as his body protested any movement he made.

"It seemsss the fat one really did a number on you hatchling." A voice male hissed in the tiny room.

"Wwhose there?" Harry whispered back looking around as best he could in the dark.

"Ah, a speaker. You have nothing to fear little one, I will not hurt you." There was that voice again.

"Where are you? Where did you come from?" Harry whispered back.

"I have been watching you." The voice said. Harry thought back to a movie he had seen on the television before it was shut off by his Uncle. It was this movie about a girl who was forced to clean the house and was picked on by her family.

"Are you my farwy Gwadmwother….er well fwather?" Harry asked hesitantly.

Harry slowly put the necklace around his neck so he could reach for the flashlight with his good arm. As he grabbed the flashlight he felt something cold touch his leg and let out a little shriek. Harry froze, holding his breath as he listened to the house to see if his noise alerted anyone to his state of wakefulness.

After a few minutes of silence Harry dared to breathe again. He turned on the flash light and pointed down towards his legs, he didn't see anything there.

"Hussssh now little one, lessst you wisssh to bring the fat one back and I am defiantly not a fairy anything, dreadful creaturesss they are." The voice spoke again this time closer to his head. Harry looked up and saw a sliver snake with red eyes still as a statue. Harry put down the flashlight and hesitantly reached out to touch the snake, he felt cool metal under his fingertips.

"Wwas that you twalking to me?" Harry asked the metal snake. It did not reply, the snake stayed unmoving and Harry wanted so desperately to have someone there who wouldn't hurt him. "Pwease, pwease twalk to me." When the snake still didn't move Harry felt despair. "Pwease, Im sowy I call you a farwy." Harry sniffled.

"Don't cry little one, I never could ssstand crying children," the silver snake hissed. Harry looked in awe at the talking snake.

"Wow, you weally twalked!" Harry said excitedly.

"Husssh you'll wake the house," the snake said as it coiled itself around Harry's hand.

"Who are you?" Harry whispered to the snake as he moved the hand the snake coiled around closer to his chest.

"I am the guardian of the Dark Lord'sss journal," the snake hissed with pride.

"I've heard of the dark ward, Mr. Malfoy twold me about him," Harry whispered excitedly.

"Oh yesss, the long blond haired one. His brat wasss rather noisy. While I am thrilled that you are not like that, I'm sure when my massster returnsss he will not be pleasssed I wasss forgotten. What if a muggle had been the one to pick me up? Not that it wasss any better with thossse Malfoysss. None of them could ssspeak my language," the snakes rant was interrupted.

"Spweak your langwage?" Harry asked curiously.

"The Language of the sssnakesss or Parseltongue. You have the ability to speak it as well little one," the snake said.

"Weally?" Harry said in awe.

"Yes, It isss what makesss it ssso you underssstand me little one." The snake replied. "I am not sssupposed to let anyone read my Lord'sss journal, however, sssince there isss no one to teach you of your heritage and my knowledge isss limited to the knowledge of the journal I will let you read it."

"But I dwon't know how to wead." Harry replied.

"That, little one isss sssomething I can teach you. But for now, resssst you will need your sssstrength," the snake said.

"Ok," Harry replied as he became as comfortable as he could. "What do I cwall you dough?" He asked sleepily.

"I do not have a name, but you can name me in the morning. Now sssleep little one if you need me I will be there," the snake replied.

With that assurance Harry fell asleep. The snake watched over Harry for a while longer and noticed that at some point the child's magic and the magic of the pendent combined together to heal most of Harry's wounds. Feeling pleased with his decision to share the knowledge of his master with such an unusually strong child the snake returned back to the hidden compartment. There he reattached himself to the book.

~Flash Back End~

Over the years the snake, who was giving the name Silver, helped Harry to understand the things in the Dark Lord's Journal and filled in the blanks where he could. Harry couldn't wait till his eleventh birthday which was next month. Soon he would be able to go to Hogwarts and learn how to use his magic. While Silver knew a little, having been around witches and wizards, he didn't know enough to be able to teach Harry a lot.

Now all Harry had to do was survive his cousins eleventh birthday.

-TBC-