章节_11

jump.

”dudley! mr. dursley! e and look at this snake! you wont

believe what its doing!”

dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.

”out of the way, you,” he said, pung harry in the

ribs. caught by surprise, harry fell hard oe floor. what

ext happe no one saw hoened -- one sed,

piers and dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the ,

they had leapt back with howls of horror.

harry sat up ahe glass front of the boa strictors

tank had vahe great snake was ung itself rapidly,

slithering out onto the floor. pehout the reptile house

sd started runnis.

as the snake slid swiftly past him, harry could have sworn a low,

hissing voice said, ”brazil, here i e.... thanksss, amigo.”

the keeper of the reptile house was in shock.

”but the glass,” he kept sayihe glass go?”

the zoo direself made auunia a cup ,

sweet tea ologized over and ain. piers and

dudley ly gibber. as far as harry had seen, the snake

hadnt dohi snap playfully at their heels as it

passed, but by the time they were all bas car,

dudley was telli had en off his leg, while

piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. but worst

of all, for harry at least, iers g dowo say,

”harry was talking to it, werent you, harry?”

ued until piers was safely out of the house

bef on harry. he was so angry he could hardly speak. he

mao say, ”go -- cupboard -- stay -- no meals,” before he

collapsed into a d auunia had tet him a

large brandy.

harry lay in his dark uch later, wishing he had a

watch. he didnt know what time it was and he t be sure the

dursleys yet. until they were, he t risk sneaking

to the kite food.

hed lived with the dursleys almost teen miserable

years, as long as he ber, ever since hed been a baby

and his parents had died in that car crash. he t remember

being in the his parents had died. sometimes, when he

strained his mem hours in his cupboard, he came up

with a strange vision: a blinding flash ht and a burn-

ing pain ohis, he supposed, was the crash, though

he t imagihe green light . he t

remember his parents at all. his aunt and unever spoke about

them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. there were

no photographs of them in the house.

when he had been younger, harry had dreamed and dreamed of some

uion away, but it had never happened;

the dursleys were his only family. yet sometimes he thought (or maybe

hoped) that strahe street seemed to know him. very strange

straoo. a tiny man i had bowed

to him o shopping etunia aer

asking harry furiously if he khe maunia had rushed

them out of the shop without buying anything. a wild-looking old

woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him on a bus. a

bald man in a very lo had actually shaken his hand in

the street the other day and then ithout a word. the

weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to

vanish the sed harry tried to get a closer look.

at school, harry had no one. everybody k dudleys gang

hated that odd harry potter in his baggy old d broken

glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with dudleys gang.

chapter three

the letters from no one

the escape of the brazilian boa stried harry his

lo-ever puhe time he was allowed out of his

cupbain, the summer holidays had started and dudley had

already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote trol

airplane, and, first time out bike, kno old

mrs. figg as she crossed privet drive oches.

harry was glad school was over, but there was no esg

dudleys gang, who visited the hle day. piers, dennis,

mal, and gord