Harry Potter: I Am Big D

Chapter 17.

Just before noon, Dudley made his way back to number 4 Privet Drive.

"Oh my goodness, sweetheart! Why are you back so late?" Petunia exclaimed as soon as she saw him. "We need to hurry!" She quickly urged him to change his clothes.

In a flurry, they hopped into Vernon's shiny new car, and the whole family zoomed off to the zoo.

The Dursleys lived quite a bit away from the zoo, so even with the car, it would take them at least an hour and a half to get there.

On the way, Harry was buzzing with excitement; he couldn't wait to visit the zoo! It had been almost a year since their last outing.

Since it was a sunny weekend, the zoo was packed with families enjoying a day out.

At the entrance, it was a sea of people. Before they could even catch a glimpse of any animals, they had to navigate through the crowd. Once inside, Vernon treated everyone to ice cream; Dudley chose the fanciest chocolate flavor, while Harry got the cheapest lemon one.

Dudley quickly swapped his ice cream for Harry's, claiming he didn't want chocolate, even though everyone knew it was his favorite. Petunia just watched, a bit helplessly, as she blocked Vernon from saying anything. It reminded her of the times she and Lily would bicker as kids, though even the closest sisters can drift apart over time.

They had heard there would be peacocks in the aviary, but after waiting for what felt like ages, they didn't see a single feather. Instead, they spotted a sleepy white-headed eagle lounging among the leaves. "Look, it really does look silly!" Harry chuckled, pointing at the owl. Owls are usually night owls, so it was a bit odd to see one snoozing during the day.

Dudley suddenly had a thought: "Hey, Harry, would you ever want to keep an owl?"

"What a joke!" Harry laughed, shaking his head. "I'd much rather have a homing pigeon!"

When they reached the mammal area, the lions and tigers were a bit of a letdown; they were all sprawled out, yawning and barely moving. Dudley joked that he could kick them around like soccer balls if he wanted to.

But then something caught Dudley's attention—a gorilla scratching its head behind the glass. The gorilla seemed to think Dudley was one of its pals and kept gesturing as if to say, "How did you get out? Come help me!"

Dudley looked pretty strong, even more so than the average gorilla, and he couldn't help but mimic the gorilla's gestures, which made Harry burst into laughter. Dudley's birthday was always the highlight of Harry's year, even more than his own birthday, since Dudley was the only one who remembered it and gave him gifts.

Since they hadn't had lunch yet, Vernon was feeling pretty hungry, so they grabbed a quick bite in the park. Vernon went for a hot dog and soda, Petunia had some fries, and Dudley and Harry both enjoyed hamburgers. Next up was the reptile house, which was chilly and dim, filled with all sorts of reptiles. There were big spiders, giant centipedes, and cold-blooded creatures like lizards and snakes.

Dudley wasn't a fan of this place; he preferred the fluffier animals over the cold, slippery reptiles. Even the gorilla outside seemed more appealing. But Harry was fascinated by the reptile house, occasionally peering at a large wolf spider showing off its fangs and leaning against the glass to watch a chameleon that looked even dazed than the owl.

The snakes were the main attraction in the reptile house, and Harry was particularly drawn to them. He leaned in front of the biggest brown python and quietly said, "Hey, buddy." To anyone else, it might have looked like he was talking to himself, but Dudley knew they were having a little chat.

Young Harry didn't realize how special this was; he thought everyone could do it. But it was a unique gift he had.

Suddenly, Dudley heard a cheerful notification in his ears: "Witnessing Snake Tongue: Obtained LV0 Magical Creature Language." He whistled in delight, a big smile spreading across his face.

This was why Dudley made sure to visit the zoo—not just because Harry had a task to complete. 

It was a rare opportunity to gain a witnessing reward; counting this time, Dudley had only received it twice before, the last being the LV5 ability called 'Iron Mountain Lean.' Now he had another LV0 Magical Animal Language.

Magical creature Language, as Dudley understood it, was a way to communicate with magical creatures. Whether it was LV0 or not didn't matter; all skills start somewhere. At least it was now in his ability bar, which meant he could level it up with experience points.

But he couldn't help but wish for something a bit more magical... Magical creature Language was nice, but could it really count?

Just then, a high-pitched scream echoed through the exhibit; the glass in front of the giant python had vanished! The python quickly uncoiled and slithered out onto the floor.

Panic erupted as people scrambled to get away, fearing they might get caught by the creature. The reptile house was in total chaos.

As the giant python slithered past Harry, it paused, turned its head, and even gave Harry a nod, flicking its forked tongue and hissing as if to say goodbye. It felt like a farewell from a friend rather than a snake.

Then, before the staff could arrive, it twisted its body and weaved through the crowd, disappearing into the exhibit, a stark contrast to its earlier lazy state.

In the end, it was unclear if the park staff managed to catch that giant python, but soon after, a man claiming to be the park manager came over to apologize to everyone.

Dudley had quite the thrilling yet safe birthday adventure!

Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.