Chapter Text
“Is that a rat?” Harry pointed towards the brown rodent in Ron’s pocket. “Yeah, that's Scabbers. Been in my family for ages.” He held the rat out towards Harry.
“Do you mind if I have him?” Ron shrugged his shoulders and handed him Scabbers.
Harry examined the rat closely, then within seconds, it looked as if he had unhinged his jaw, his pupils pointed and predatory, as he swallowed the rat whole.
Ron looked at him with wide eyes, and on the verge of spilling the contents of his stomach. “S-SPIT H-HIM OUT!” He managed to stammer.
Harry reluctantly spat out the rat. It was just a rat he didn’t understand what the big deal was.
He handed back the rat, the rat now drenched in saliva. Ron flinched away. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” He yelled as the rat in his hand tried to claw out of his hands, and away from the person who’d tried to eat him.
Harry had little chance to respond as Ron rushed out of the compartment. “What a strange guy…” Harry thought aloud.
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“Have you seen a toad?” Harry looked over at the now opened door. “Neville here has lost his.”
Harry nodded. The once glum boy, behind the girl, lit up. “Where did you see him? If I lost him my gran would kill me!” Ah…
“I ate it.” Both of the students' eyes went wide with shock. The girl's eyebrows furrowed. “That’s not funny to joke about!” The boy behind her looked as if he was going to cry.
“Come on Neville, we’ll find someone more useful.” She dragged the boy down the train.
Harry was starting to get the feeling that he wasn’t supposed to eat pests. But it was normal wasn’t it?
That’s what the snakes in the garden told him to do. They ate a lot of pests, spiders, toads, mice, birds, rats, rabbits, and cats. Most of the snakes in the garden were too small to eat cats and rabbits, however he read that larger snakes could eat basically anything. Anything that could fit in their mouths really.
And so he did the same. After all, he was starving.
The snakes told him to go for the easiest prey first, that’s how he started. He went for the spiders in his cupboard. And he’d never felt so full, they were a bit bland, and he hated how their legs tickled his tounge. However, food was food.
After a while he started finding mice, he had difficulty swallowing them whole like he did with the spiders. However, he managed. They were boney, but definitely more filling than the spiders. The snakes had congratulated him, when he told them of his first successful attempt at devouring the mouse.
He’d noticed some changes once he’d started talking to the snakes. He began to smell things with his tongue, his jaw seemed to almost dislocate itself when he was eating.
But it didn’t bother him, in fact he thought was rather brilliant. He loved snakes, so why wouldn’t he want to look and act like one?
The snakes were his only friends anyways, so when they encouraged him to grow big and strong by eating something bigger. He didn’t mind, Miss Figs wouldn’t notice a few cats missing right? They were pests after all. He’d catch those cats fighting with the snakes all the time. They’d even go after the snake's clutches!
So his snake friends were rather grateful, after he got rid of them. And they were quite filling. They were his first large prey, so consuming them was quite a challenge.
And when the owls started coming, well that was like a buffet. He’d never felt that full in his life. Although he didn’t like the texture of the feathers.
And now sitting in the compartment, he can’t wait to try even more food. There are so many magical creatures he has yet to try. And if what he read was true, there are many species of magical snakes! So all in all, he was rather excited to go to Hogwarts.