𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞 | h. granger

i | the vanishing glass

She didn't mind. She had Harry, who was more family to her than her parents or brother.

"Thirty-six." Vernon Dursley beamed at his son. "Counted them myself."

"Here comes the tantrum," Dakota muttered.

"Thirty-six?!" Dudley roared. "But last year— LAST YEAR I HAD THIRTY-SEVEN!"

"You could try being grateful for once, Dudley," Dakota grumbled.

"SHUT UP, DAKOTA!"

"Prat." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well, some of them are quite a bit bigger than last year's," Vernon said.

"I DON'T CARE HOW BIG THEY ARE!"

"Now, now, now, this is what we're going to do," Petunia said, kneeling down in front of Dudley. "When we go out, we're going to buy you two new presents. How's that, pumpkin?"

Dudley smiled, satisfied. He took his seat at the breakfast table and sent his twin sister a smug look. "Ya hear that, Dakota? I get thirty-eight presents. And how many have you got?" He looked over and counted the smaller pile next to his. "Oh, sad. You've only got five."

"I couldn't care less about birthday gifts, Dudley," Dakota said as she helped herself to a plate of pancakes. Her birthday was the one day a year when her parents would allow her to eat as much as she pleased. She snuck a few pancakes to Harry when no one was looking, and he stuffed them into his pockets for later.

After breakfast, the Dursleys and Harry got ready for their departure to the zoo. Dudley and Dakota were each allowed to invite one friend to come along. Dudley had picked his best friend, Piers Polkiss. He was a member of his gang that would hold kids' arms behind their backs while Dudley used them as a punching bag.

Dakota didn't have many friends at school. She usually stuck with Harry and a couple other low-profile students. Since Harry was already invited to come along with them, she decided to invite Aliyah Coleman, a black girl with voluminous curls whom she and her cousin both enjoyed spending time with.

"Fair warning, Dudley's being a bit of a prick this morning," Dakota whispered to her as they piled into the van.

"When is he not?" Aliyah chuckled quietly.

When Vernon was done threatening Harry to make sure he didn't try any "funny business", they pulled out of the driveway and were on their way to the zoo.

They spent the morning walking around and looking at the animals. During lunch, Dudley threw another tantrum over his dessert not having enough ice cream. As they walked to the reptile house after their meal, Dakota and Aliyah walked a little ways behind the others so that they could mock him without fear of being reprimanded.

Everything seemed to be going well. That was, until the snake incident.

"Make him move!" Dudley demanded as they stood around the glass and watched a python sleep.

Vernon banged on the glass. "Move!"

Dudley pounded on the glass when the snake didn't budge. "MOVE!"

"He's asleep!" Harry snapped at him. Dakota mimicked her brother's scrunched-up angry face, and Aliyah burst out laughing.

"He's boring," Dudley declared before walking away.

"Ugh, finally, some peace," Dakota said. She rested her arms on the railing surrounding the glass. She smiled a little as she watched the snake sleep. "You know, he's kinda cute."

"You wouldn't be saying that if he was roaming free, Kody," Aliyah said matter-of-factly. "But, yeah. From behind the glass, I guess he is a little cute. He looks so peaceful."

"I'm sorry about my idiot brother, Mr. Snake," Dakota apologized to the python.

"He doesn't understand what it's like," Harry added, sighing. "Lying there day after day. Watching people press their ugly faces in on you."

The snake raised his head. The three children gasped when it winked at Harry.

"You saw that too, right?" Aliyah asked, grabbing onto Dakota's arm. "He just winked!"

"Can you hear me?" Harry asked the snake in awe. He nodded, and the three kids exclaimed again. "It's just. . .I've never talked to a snake before. Do you. . .I mean. . .Do you talk to people often?" The snake shook his head. "You're from Burma, aren't you? Was it nice there? Do you miss your family?"

The snake gestured over to a sign on the wall, which read, Bred in captivity.

"Oh, you poor thing." Aliyah pouted softly.

"That's me as well," Harry said to the snake. "I never knew my parents, either."

"Mummy, Dad, come here!" Dudley shouted. He pushed Harry aside as he ran up to the glass cage. Like a domino effect, Harry bumped Dakota, who fell into Aliyah, and the three stumbled down to the floor. "You won't believe what this snake is doing!"

Harry and Dakota both glared at Dudley as he climbed up the railing and pressed his hands against the glass to get a better look. All of a sudden, the glass vanished, and he fell in.

The two cousins exchanged a look, and neither of them could help themselves from laughing a little. Aliyah covered her mouth with her hand, the crinkles by her eyes giving away the fact that she was smiling.

The snake slithered out of the cage. He nodded at the three kids and hissed thankfully at Harry. The reptile house filled with screams as he slithered away.

Dakota looked back to her brother. She sighed and stood up, deciding she'd be the bigger person and help him out. But when she held out her hand to him, the glass had magically returned.

Panic washed across Dudley's face. He pounded on the glass. "Dakota, do something!" he cried. "Mum! Mummy! Mum, help me!"

Petunia screamed. "My darling boy! How did you get in there?! Dakota, how did this happen?!"

"He fell in!" Dakota truthfully answered, raising her hands in surrender as she backed away from her mum. "I don't know how it happened, honest!"

But Vernon seemed to know exactly how it happened. He glared at Harry, and Dakota knew that her cousin was in for a world of hell when they returned home.

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( author's note ! )

you guys have no idea how excited i am about this story. i got the first six chapters written in 2 days, and i'm planning on writing more today. it'll definitely help with keeping updates more consistent whenever i get busy

but what do you guys think so far? i absolutely love comments, so please don't be a silent reader! it's super motivating for me, so let me know your thoughts!