A/N: There is animal speak in this chapter, so as it goes I'll have a running list of the animal languages so that they can be identified. I'll also come up with actual names for said languages, so if any of you want to give suggestions I'm all ears. Also, letting y'all know now, I don't have a beta reader. If you catch any mistakes or think I could make this better, let me know?

Thank you to the 50 people who followed, 17 who favorited, and thank you Gurgaraneth for your review.

LANGUAGES:

-Parseltongue (I would hope you know this is snakes)

-Feline Language

Chapter 2

Harry hissed in pain, watching pink water pour off of him to form a puddle in the dirt below. It was disconcerting to watch his own blood wash away as if it had never been inside his body in the first place. He bit his lips and dug his nails into the piece of fence that he was bent over for support.

He should have known that visiting Hermione in his condition was a bad idea, but she was hardly ever in town. It had only taken one look for the bushy haired girl to notice that something was wrong with him. She had Harry's shirt off and had him bent over the fence before he could even think to protest.

"You wouldn't be in pain if you would just leave that awful family!" Hermione huffed out after noticing the way he tensed up.

Harry couldn't help but smile at the voice his female friend had used. She was angry, which was terrifying on it's own, but love and worry softened the harshness in her voice. He had been friends with Hermione as long as he could remember, and she was the only person to worry about him to this extent.

"I'm the one who messed up, Mione. This is my own fault."

When Hermione pressed a cloth against his back just a little too hard, Harry had no doubt that it might have been on purpose.

"It's not your fault that Vernon Dursley is a piece of scum that's all too happy to whip anyone he thinks is a freak. You're not a slave Harry, and he has no right to treat you like one! You should be living in the capital where wizards like us are accepted and taught to control our powers instead of rejecting them!"

Hermione was hardly ever wrong, but Harry knew she was wrong about the Dursleys. She didn't interact with them like he did, she didn't know them the way he did. They werent scum, they were actually a very benevolent family. The Dursleys took Harry in when his parents abandoned him on their doorstep at just two years old. They let him sleep in their shed, let him wear their son's old clothes, and fed him the leftovers from their meals. They didn't have to do any of that, and all they asked in return was that he do all the chores in the mansion. They only punished him when he used accidental magic, or when he messed up one of his chores. He had burned breakfast that morning, effectively wasting a resource as precious as food, and in his panic his magic had fixed the meal right in front of Vernon. The display of magic made the fat man angrier than burnt food had.

"They don't treat me like a slave, they just want things done right. Not to mention magic is a little freaky."

That was where Harry messed up. He should have kept his mouth shut. Hermione was nice, but she had quite the temper when someone insulted her. The kingdom had talked about her altercation with Lord Malfoy's son for months after the prat called her a mudblood.

"So we're freaks then? ?" The words were hissed and he could imagine the way her eyes narrowed.

"That's not what I- Ah!"

Hermione's hands pressed down hard enough to pull a yelp from Harry's cracked lips.

"You said exactly what you meant, Harry. I just wish you wouldn't listen to what that family says about us. You're just like me, but your magic is stronger. That makes it dangerous. You need to be around people who can help you control it, before someone gets hurt!"

"No one is going to get hurt, Mione."

The girl huffed and stormed away, muttering something about ointment to help with the pain. Harry had half a mind to shout that she couldn't use anything magical on him, but he held his tongue. It would do him no good to make her angrier.

She's right you know.

Harry sighed and shifted his head to the right, whimpering at the way it pulled on one of his lash marks. He smiled at the orange tabby that sat on the post next to him. The kneazle was a welcome sight, the puffy tail and flat face almost immediately cheering him up.

"What's new? Good to see ya, Crookshanks."

This was why Hermione couldn't understand Harry. She didn't know how much of a freak he was. The only other wizard who could talk to animals, exclusively snakes at that, was powerful enough that no one would dare torment him. The king was safe from ridicule, but if anyone found out about Harry's ability... He couldn't even imagine what the normal people might do to him. Dudley's lessons about witch hunts still haunted Harry to this day, keeping him up with nightmares.

You should stop being stubborn and listen to my human. She's much smarter than you are.

If it hadn't been an insult Harry would have chuckled. Until meeting Crookshanks he hadn't known it was possible for an animal's voice to be filled with pride. Especially a feline.

"I don't need to be told Crookshanks, but hearing it makes me feel so much better." His voice dripped with sarcasm that he hoped the feline picked up on.

"You're talking to Crookshanks again?"

Harry practically jumped out of his skin when Hermione spoke. She was already behind him again and he hadn't noticed.

"Meowing at him doesn't actually work, Harry. I wish he could understand me. Then maybe he'd be less of a pain."

"Put the ointment on so I can leave already." Harry rushed out, cutting off anything else she had to say.

"Oh no you don't. This needs to sit on your skin for awhile, so you're staying here. I'll be the one getting what the Dursleys need from town. So, get in the house. Now."

I realise this is a little slow, and extremely boring after the last chapter, but I promise it picks up. Please forgive me if Harry and Hermione are out of character, but in my story they've lived lives different to the ones they've lived in the books.