Half an hour later, Cooper had taken a while getting his perfect birthday outfit together, the family was in the car and on the way to the zoo.

To Blaine this was already most awkward. To outsiders Cooper's constant babbling and his aunt's and uncle's occasional answers while Blaine remained silent would seem like a fun family trip but the tension radiating from Vernon was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.

Fortunately the drive was short and twenty minutes later they could escape the roomy car which had felt so suffocating.

As soon as the car had stopped, Cooper jumped out, running towards the entrance, aunt Petunia quickly following. Her laughter was bright as she watched her excited son.

Vernon gave Blaine one stern look more before they, too made their way over to the main gate.

Cooper rushed through the zoo, looking here and there, gushing over all the interesting animals. Blaine stayed behind most of the time, trying to not attract any attention and after some time he really came to enjoy the visit. He saw animals he had never laid eyes on and he loved it.

Even lunch couldn't reduce his happiness which seemed to annoy Vernon to no end.

After lunch Cooper dragged everyone over to the reptile house.

"Look at these amazing beings!" Cooper expelled as they reached the crocodiles and began to lecture his mother about them, his knowledge have based on Wikipedia, half of children's TV, as it seemed. Vernon listened intently to his son and so Blaine decided to make a quite exit and explore the house for himself.

The boy admired the spiders and lizards but the snakes finally caught his full attention. The way they quietly slithered fascinated him and their scales shone beautifully in the electric light. Finally he stopped at the cage of a boa examining her thoroughly. The snake's tongue darted out and he could hear a faint hiss.

"What are you staring at boy?" Blaine turned around, trying to make out who had said that so close to him, but he was totally alone in front of the cage. He shrugged in confusion, getting back to admiring the snake.

"And stupid, too. What I would do for a good chat!" Blaine heard another, this time much louder hiss followed by somebody speaking but as he turned around no one was in sight.

"Really? Why are humans that stupid? Down here you ignorant idiot. This beautiful slithery thing you've been ogling for the past five minutes!" The next hiss was so loud and so full of annoyance that Blaine could make out from where it had come this time. His eyes widened in shock as the stared at the snake and the snake stared back. It looked him directly in the eyes as if to say "finally!"

Blaine didn't understand. All he could do was look, as his brain tried to make sense of what had obviously just happened.

"Ah now you get it. Finally someone able to listen. You're the first human to seemingly understand me, to be frank. Quite a hot day isn't it?" The snake tilted its head and Blaine just nodded. He heard a snake speak. A snake talked to him. About the weather!

Blaine shook his head trying to regain his body and brain function and stammered out: "Yes. For this time of the year quite so... but... sh-shouldn't you be sort of used to hot weather?" When he was going bonkers he could do it politely.

The snake slithered a little, like it was uncomfortable before she admitted: "Actually I have never seen the land of my ancestors..." Its tail motioned to a sign explaining that it had been born in the zoo.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Blaine admitted sympathetically and adding as an afterthought: "I know it's terrible to not really know where you come from... or belong..."

The snake nodded before placing her head on the ground. Both, boy and snake looked pretty defeated. Blaine was desperately searching for something to say - it was his first chat with a nonhuman being and he didn't want to end it on such a depressing note - and had just started to ask the snake why they even could chat as he heard his uncle's voice behind his back.

"What the hell are you doing boy?" Vernon hissed angrily. Blaine turned alarmed looking at a very upset uncle.

"Have you gone absolutely mental now? Talking to thin air? Do you really have to cause us even more unpleasant problems? People might stare at you boy!"

"No-no... I... I just... the" Blaine cut himself off before he tried to explain to his uncle that he just had had a chat with a slithery reptile.

"Gosh this man really sounds like a prick." The snake hissed behind him and Blaine gasped waiting for his uncle to explode but nothing.

"He can't understand me. Chill out!" The snake remarked and Blaine sighed in relief.

"What boy? Lost your voice or your mind?" and as Blaine made no move as to answer Vernon continued: "Guess both." The man gave his nephew an once-over before leaning casually against the snake's cage.

"This human of yours is really stupid, isn't he? It says "Do not touch glass" on this sign." Blaine looked at the snake then at the sign it had referred to. It was right.

"You know I wouldn't be surprised though" Vernon said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Blaine with a look that made Blaine dug his head. "Sooner or later you'll turn out to be a lunatic and I have to deal with it like I do with all your crap."

Blaine felt his cheeks heat up. He couldn't place if it was out of embarrassment or anger. His uncle continued talking.

"Your father was one. A lunatic I mean. God I despised him. Most unpleasant person I've ever met..."

Blaine's head darted up. No one ever talked about his deceased parents. Ever.

"The moment I met him I knew that he'd only bring bad luck to all of us. And you're just like him. You look like him and you attract trouble like him."

Blaine shook his head feverishly. He didn't know much about his father but the picture he owned was so full of love, he wouldn't believe one bad thing said by Vernon about his father. As he focused again he saw his uncle smirking. He was playing with him, wanting him to snap so to get the satisfaction of punishing him.

"Though I didn't take your mother for someone to fall for such a bugger but she did and as she did, she lost the last bit of respect I had preserved for her."

Blaine clenched his fists willing himself to remain calm.

"He was substandard and he took your mother down with him until she was nothing but filth. Filth." He spit the word into Blaine's face and Blaine lost it.

"Do not talk like that about my parents!" He said. His uncle chuckled.

"Why wouldn't I boy? I speak my mind and I speak the truth. They were filth and now they are gone and thank fortune for that. And that leaves you alone boy. All alone."

"Stop it!" Blaine yelled, stepping towards his uncle.

Then several things happened at once: Blaine felt heat in his gut spreading through his body, he heard the snake hissing "Put this prick into his place!", and then his uncle letting out a surprised yelp as he lost his balance and fell backwards into the snake's cage.

The glass had disappeared and his uncle had landed next to the boa in a pile of water.

Blaine gasped in shock as the boa leaped out of its prison and began to make its way to the next exit. As it passed Blaine it stopped and rubbed its head against Blaine's knee.

"Thanks mate. Good job." It hissed, before it continued heading for the doors.

Dazed and confused Blaine looked around. His uncle was still lying in the cage but everyone else had moved. People were screaming, trying to get as far away from the snake on the loose as possible, while Petunia had pushed Cooper behind her, protectively. Zoo keepers were rushing to the cage to make sure Vernon were okay while others went after the snake.

Finally Blaine's knees gave in and he landed on the floor, not capable of understanding anything that was happening but sure that nothing would work out in his favour.