"Of Superpowers and Secrets at the Zoo"
"Then which one do you think we should try first?" asked Harry, standing next to his brother in the backyard. His eyes shone with curiosity, though there was also a hint of doubt.
"Mmm…" Percy brought a hand to his chin, striking a thoughtful pose as if he were solving a very serious mystery. He looked around carefully until his gaze landed on a ball abandoned on the grass.
"What if we try moving things with our minds? All the weird stuff happening to us could be because of that secret power," Percy said, clearly pleased with his own idea.
"Move things with our minds?" Harry frowned, turning his head toward the ball Percy was staring at so intently.
…
Sally had just finished writing. She felt a slight ache in her shoulders from her posture, so she stretched with a sigh, gently massaging them. Her eyes drifted forward and then she saw it: Percy and Harry were walking in circles around the ball, hands stretched toward it, as if they were in the middle of some strange tribal ritual.
"What are you doing?" asked Sally, with a mix of surprise and resignation.
"Don't distract us, Mom! We're trying to awaken superpowers," Percy answered with complete seriousness, without taking his eyes off the ball.
"Is that so?" Sally smiled, used to these daily antics as if they were just part of the routine. "Well, I'm going to the store to get some things for dinner… maybe I'll even stop for some ice cream. Of course, if you're too busy awakening powers, maybe you don't want to come with me."
Immediately, both boys turned toward her as if what they were doing no longer mattered in the slightest. In less than a second, they were glued to her side.
"I want chocolate!" Harry said enthusiastically.
"Me too!" added Percy, just as quickly.
Sally looked at them with amusement, tenderness in her eyes. "Lucky for you, I love chocolate too. What do you say we buy a big tub and then rent a superhero movie?"
"Yes!" both of them shouted in unison, throwing their arms up as if they had just won a battle.
A little later, Sally helped them into their jackets and the three of them left the house hand in hand—just as Aunt Marge was returning from the hospital with the Dursleys. Marge's head was wrapped in bandages, and the whole family glared at them with disgust, as if they were a plague. But neither Sally nor the boys paid them any mind: Percy and Harry were too excited about ice cream and movie night, while Sally, smiling, felt happy just watching them.
—
"My little wizard has grown so much since the last time I saw him…"
Harry's eyes snapped open at the sound of that voice. He looked around and realized he was no longer in his room but in a dark forest. The trees swayed softly in the wind, and the sense of loneliness made him shiver.
"H-hello?" he called cautiously, his voice trembling just a little.
No one answered. The whisper of the wind grew louder, and the trees seemed to shake more violently.
"Is anyone there?" Harry insisted.
A black mist began to slide across the ground, slowly spreading until it covered everything.
"It's still too soon for you to learn to control it… You must wait, my little one," whispered the same voice, echoing around him.
Harry spun in every direction, searching for where it came from, but the forest was filling more and more with that oppressive fog. His breathing quickened.
"Harry, wake up!"
He opened his eyes suddenly, startled, and saw Percy's face peeking down from the top bunk.
Harry let out a breath of relief, realizing it had only been a nightmare.
"Did you have a bad dream too?" asked Percy, trying to sound calm, though the same fear was plain in his eyes. "Do you want to go sleep with Mom?" he added, disguising the fact that he wanted to as well. After all, he always tried to act like the older brother.
Harry nodded silently. Both of them grabbed their pillows and walked together to Sally's room.
—
"Wake up, sleepyheads."
Sally's voice pulled them out of their deep sleep, accompanied by a gentle tap on the bed. The two boys were sprawled across her arms, where they had appeared the night before looking for comfort. Sally had welcomed them without a word, simply making space for them.
"Come on, if you don't wake up we'll be late for the zoo," she repeated with a smile.
Harry and Percy got up half-asleep, their hair a mess and their eyes barely open. They shuffled forward like two little zombies, rubbing their faces as they bumped into each other.
Sally watched them fondly. "Come on, go brush your teeth. Breakfast is ready. Or did you forget we're going to the zoo today?"
At that, the boys nodded automatically and headed toward the bathroom… though the peace didn't last long. In just a few minutes, their voices were already echoing loudly.
"Dummy, that's my toothbrush!"
"Oh, sorry, I lost mine."
"And why are you using mine?! That's disgusting!"
"I didn't use it! I just grabbed it out of habit…"
"Then why did you drop it in the toilet?!"
"It slipped…"
"Then pick it up!"
"What for? You're going to use it anyway."
"I am not! And if you leave it there the bathroom's going to get clogged again!"
"Well, I'm not sticking my hand in there."
"It's your fault, you dropped it!"
"I told you it slipped!"
From the kitchen, Sally listened to the argument, took a deep breath, and decided to walk to the dining room instead—choosing not to find out whatever disaster was about to happen.
—
"Woaa, that's a giant turtle!" exclaimed Harry, his eyes wide with wonder. He pressed his nose against the terrarium glass, fascinated as he watched the enormous turtles calmly chewing on green leaves, as if nothing in the world could disturb them.
"Harry, look at this."
Percy called from a few steps ahead, pointing eagerly toward a glass enclosure. Inside, a dark-scaled lizard lay motionless, its gaze fixed on nothing.
"It looks like some kind of dragon," he said, a spark of excitement in his voice.
"You're right… it only needs wings," murmured Harry, moving closer to the glass, marveling at every detail of its scales and the shape of its tail.
Sally walked behind them, her bag slung over her shoulder. Her eyes went back and forth between the two boys, making sure neither strayed too far.
"Let's go see the snakes! I wonder if there'll be a venomous one," Percy said, changing interests in an instant and dashing down the hall. Harry hurried after him, almost tripping over his own feet.
The two pressed themselves against the glass of a massive anaconda coiled up like a living mountain. The snake, with its thick, gleaming body, looked like it could easily measure more than both boys put together.
"Do you think it could swallow us whole?" Percy asked with genuine curiosity.
"I don't know… maybe," replied Harry, intrigued as he stared at it.
As if it had heard his words, the anaconda slowly stirred. Its head lifted, and its yellowish eyes fixed on the boys… but most of all, on Harry. The child tilted his head with a strange fascination, unable to look away.
"I'm already bored of reptiles. I want to see the sea animals!" Percy suddenly announced, changing his interest as easily as before.
Harry lingered for a moment longer in front of the glass. He stared at the snake, and before leaving, raised his hand in a shy little wave. To his surprise, the snake lowered and lifted its head slowly, as if it understood. Harry's eyes widened for a second, but then he quickly ran off after Percy.
…
"Look, Harry!" Percy shouted from a corridor that led to a huge tank. He had gotten a bucket of fish food and dumped it all at once into the water. Dozens of brightly colored fish darted forward at the same time, stirring up a whirlpool of bubbles and ripples that swirled across the surface.
"Idiot! You have to give it to them little by little… now you don't have any left," Harry scolded, still holding his own full bucket. Patiently, he threw in small portions, watching as the fish swam up calmly, almost in order, to eat.
"It feels like I control the water!" Percy said excitedly, stretching out his hand toward the waves caused by the feeding fish. He leaned too far forward and, in a split second, slipped. His body lurched ahead, about to fall into the water, when a strong hand caught him by the back of his clothes.
Percy hung there, his nose just inches from touching the water. A firm pull lifted him back and set him safely on the walkway.
Harry dropped his bucket and ran toward him. Sally, who was nearby buying another bucket of food for Percy, also rushed over.
"Th-thanks," Percy muttered, still adjusting his clothes, looking at the person who had saved him.
It was an elderly man with a kind face, wrinkles forming into a gentle smile. Beside him stood a gray-haired woman—probably his wife—who also looked at Percy and Harry with affection.
"It was nothing," the man said casually. "But you should be more careful. Our kind can see certain things that muggles can't… and it would draw too much attention."
With those words, he turned with his wife, and together they slowly walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
"Percy, are you alright?" Sally asked, bending toward her son in concern.
"Yes, Mom. Nothing happened… it's not like the fish could eat me," Percy replied with a nervous grin.
"Fish?" Sally raised an eyebrow, glancing toward the tank. But there was nothing there, only clear, empty water. She immediately remembered the old man's words, and without asking further, kept her doubts to herself.
Harry, for his part, relaxed once he saw Percy was fine. He knelt beside his brother at the edge of the tank, and the two began chatting excitedly, as if they really were watching bright, colorful fish swim before them.