Teaser for A Nundu for A Pet (Patreon)

"Don't go too far, boy." Uncle Vernon sneered; Harry didn't say anything; he nodded without much thought as he stretched out his limbs after being inside the car for too long. His arms felt a little sore, but nothing new.

"Don't worry, uncle. Even if I leave the state, I can always see you. You are very noticeable after all," Harry said with a smirk; his uncle's face turned red once again.

Unlike the other years, when his relatives would buy expensive gifts for Dudley for his birthday, this year it was different; his cousin had wanted to celebrate his birthday in the park, a little unusual for someone who stuffed his face with food like a pig, you wouldn't think he was one to want to walk in parks, but nonetheless, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon decided to fulfill the wish of their dear son, Harry rolled his eyes at the way they cuddle him as if he was made of glass, and one small push would shatter him.

At first, they had wanted to leave him in the house alone since, as his uncle loved to say, he was a freak.

' "You are not coming, freak, end of story!" His uncle shouted, his face turning red as he took a breather. Harry heard his aunt looking for a sweater for Dudley upstairs; from the sounds she was making, Harry wondered if she had started fighting someone upstairs.

While Harry usually had no problem being alone in the house, this time they wouldn't just go to a restaurant, to the shop, or the school, but they were going to the park. Harry wasn't sure what to expect, but he had watched TV in secret, and he had seen what the park looked like, beautiful and green, so he had decided to see it for himself.

"You know, uncle. I never talk back to you, god forbid, but if I was in your place, I wouldn't want to leave my house alone with a freak inside. Anything can happen-" Harry said, the last words with an evil smile. His uncle went pale, and for a moment, Harry thought his uncle might drop dead, but he wasn't that lucky.

"Petunia!" Uncle Vernon shouted as he walked over to the stairs that led to the second floor.

"What?" Her voice came from upstairs.

"We are taking the freak with us; he might burn the house down," Vernon said, giving Harry a nasty look. Harry barely reacted, but inside, he was celebrating; at least he could finally go somewhere outside this house that wasn't the school.

Harry was about to try and find his old sweater when his aunt came downstairs, holding two sweaters; she threw one of them at Harry, who grabbed it mid-air with confusion; he recognized the sweater; they had bought it for Dudley last year, but Harry had learned the hard way never to touch Dudley's clothes, his uncle would get very mad.

"What are you doing?" Vernon demanded, looking at Petunia angrily; his face had gone red again, and he was breathing heavily. Harry watched as she whispered something to his ear; he had a sudden look of realization as he looked back at Harry.

"You can wear it while we are in the park, but if I see you with it. I will lock you in the cupboard for a week." Harry barely listened to what he said as he tried the sweater. Obviously, it wasn't his size, but it was better than just wearing a simple shirt during autumn. '

Harry escaped his thoughts as he walked around the park, feeling the warmth of the sunlight caressing every corner of the park. The azure sky stretched above him. As he strolled along the winding pathways, the blades of grass swayed gracefully in perfect sync with the gentle breeze, their emerald hue reflecting dazzlingly against the sun's rays. Harry inhaled deeply, savoring the invigorating air that filled his lungs. He had never felt this good breathing air; it felt like he just took his real first breath.

For a brief moment, Harry wondered if he should remove his sneakers, but he thought not; it was autumn, and he didn't want to have cold feet.

Upon reaching a good spot in the park, his uncle and aunt started to celebrate Dudley's birthday; his uncle told Harry to bugger off.

Now, he found a good bench; everyone else around the park was wearing similar clothes to what his uncle and aunt were wearing, but Harry noticed one person wearing unusual clothes. Unlike everyone else, this one was wearing a big dark cloak, covering from head to toe, with a dark hat that coated his head. If he was trying to be discreet, then dressing up like Sherlock Holmes wouldn't help with that.

While Harry didn't think much of the man, he noticed that no one else was wearing similar clothes as him; he was the only one.

Harry escaped his thoughts when he heard a familiar sound. He looked at the ground near his feet, and just as he thought, a snake was moving just underneath the bench. He had beautiful red skin and cloudy green eyes. Harry's lips twitched upwards. He looked underneath the bench; the snake had stopped moving and instead focused on Harry.

"What are you doing here? Do you want to play?" Harry hissed right away, his words coming out like a snake hissing.

It had been two years since he found out he could talk to snakes. Sadly, when he tried the same trick on cats, hoping he could talk with them too, unfortunately, the cat meowed loudly before hissing at him, trying to scratch his face; Harry ran away and quickly realized that only snakes understood what he was saying.

Harry looked at the snake, expecting an answer, but the snake said nothing. Instead, she looked in the distance; as Harry followed her gaze, his eyes landed on the same mysterious cloaked man. This time, however, the man had positioned himself near a dense bush, blending into the surroundings. Intrigued, Harry observed as the stranger crouched down. The man abruptly scurried away in a rush as if fleeing from something or someone. To Harry's surprise, the man vanished into thin air, dissipating like smoke. Gasping audibly, Harry instinctively rose to his feet, unable to comprehend what had just transpired before his very eyes. He blinked repeatedly, hoping that it was a trick, but alas, the mysterious man had truly disappeared, leaving Harry in a state of bewilderment.

Harry knew his relatives called him a freak, but he never saw himself as one; he didn't even know what a freak was, but the way they would say it sounded like a bad word. But Harry had never seen anything wrong with himself besides talking to Snakes; he was sure that wasn't something someone should be able to do. He had once asked the teacher, and she had looked at him as if he had gone mad before murmuring something about him being a 'freak.' But he had never seen a man disappearing like that, and it seemed the others hadn't noticed since the other people were walking around casually.

Harry escaped his thoughts as he heard a faint noise, a cry for help. Harry ran forward as fast as his little legs could take him; despite being eight years old, he could run for a long time without getting tired.

Harry reached the place where the mysterious cloaked man had vanished into thin air, his heart pounding with anticipation. As he stepped forward, a peculiar tingling sensation enveloped his body, emanating from the very spot the enigmatic figure had vanished from moments before. It was as if the air itself had transformed, growing denser and perceptibly burdened with an unexplained weight. The atmosphere seemed charged with an otherworldly energy, causing Harry's senses to heighten, his every nerve on edge. But just as abruptly as it had arrived, the strange sensation slowly dissipated, leaving Harry surrounded by an eerie silence. Gradually, the air regained its normalcy.

Harry heard the sound again; his curiosity sparked as his ears picked up the faint noise. With a slight brow furrowing, he instinctively turned his gaze towards the nearest bush. He cautiously reached out and carefully pushed aside the small branches, revealing a hidden view. And there, amidst the rustling foliage, stood - a cat—a big one.

Harry had never seen a cat like this one; now that they looked at it from up close, it didn't even look like a cat; it was twice the size of a fully grown cat, was entirely covered in a dark-reddish fur, the strands of which glistened under the sunlight. Its arms and legs were thick and muscular, each ending in sharp black claws that glinted menacingly. Her tail was long and sinewy, with tufts of fur at the end. Its ears were also covered in fur, giving it a wild and feral appearance. With a unique face, her entire neck up until her jawline was covered in the dark-reddish mane that seemed to shine under the sun's light.

"Hey, good girl," Harry said sweetly, his voice filled with affection and curiosity as he carefully extended his hand toward the mysterious cat. The feline stood still, cautiously observing Harry's actions. But the instant his fingertips were mere inches away from the cat's smooth fur. A multitude of tiny ticks materialized, swarming the cat's body with alarming speed. Each tick was adorned with red pointy ends. Harry swiftly retracted his hand. With a menacing hiss, the once seemingly docile cat revealed a mouth full of teeth.

Harry knew better than to hiss back, and looking at the ticks, he knew they were dangerous and did more than pierce his skin a little.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you," Harry said softly, trying to appear small by crouching on his legs and pulling biscuits from his pocket; he grabbed one and placed it near the cat, but she didn't look interested in the biscuit. Instead, she was looking elsewhere; following her gaze, Harry saw she was eyeing a bird at the top of a nearby tree.

Ohh, Harry thought, knowing cats eat meat. He knew he could perhaps throw a rock at the bird, but Harry didn't want to kill the bird. Harry suddenly remembered that she might like milk.

Harry told the cat to stay put; as he stood up and walked away, he quickly stopped at the nearest market and bought some milk with money he had saved before returning to the same place.

As he expected, the strange cat was still there. Harry opened the milk bottle before pouring it inside a wide cup he had bought; the moment he placed it near the cat, the cat approached hesitantly. Harry backed away, not wanting to scare the beautiful cat.

She sniffed the milk before she started drinking. Harry couldn't help but smile, sitting on the ground, his knees against his chest as he looked at the cat drinking peacefully; her ticks slowly sank back into her skin before disappearing as if they were never there.

Harry found it strange; none of the other cats he had seen had ever done anything like that, but seeing the ticks disappear, he knew she wasn't wary of him anymore. His fingertips brushed against her velvety fur as he extended his arm, a delicate touch that elicited a momentary tenseness in the magnificent feline. However, the big cat soon eased into a state of tranquility, surrendering to the soothing sensation of his affectionate gestures.

Harry couldn't remember smiling this much before; petting this big cat brought him more joy than anything else.

"You are beautiful. Where are your parents?" The big cat looked at him with a sad face before she started drinking milk again.

"I know that feeling, my parents are gone too," Harry said sorrowfully, with a downcast look; the big cat looked up at him as if she could understand every word he said.

"I guess we are both alone," Harry said gravely, pulling his hand away from her; the big cat looked at him before walking up to him, nuzzling her head against his hand before purring.

"Do you want to stay with me?" Harry asked with growing excitement and hopeful eyes; the big cat looked at him, her golden eyes looking back at him, and nodded her little head; he didn't know how, but he was sure the big cat could understand him.

"Then you need a name," Harry said cheerfully before having a look as if he was thinking very hard about something.

"Itisa, do you like it?" Harry asked, looking down at her. The big cat licked his fingers. She liked the name.

What do you think about this first small teaser of this new story? Do you like the premise? Hedwig will be in this story, too; it wouldn't be the same without her. The story will come out after I complete any of my current stories that I'm still working on.

For Dudley's birthday, Harry and his relatives go to the park to celebrate; while exploring, Harry finds an injured little animal and decides to save him, not knowing it will change everything: Slight AU, OP Harry.

Let me know what you think about the teaser in the comments, and in which House should Harry be?