Chp 48 of Less Wrong's HP fanfiction: Harry Potter & The Methods of Rationality.[link]
HarryPotter & TerryBoot.
Harry making theories during breakfast about sentient/self-awareness possibility of snakes & other animals caused by spell that enable us to talk to animals(like parselmouth to snake or poultrymoth to cows?) which make him avoid eating meat for the time being.
Unfortunately he realized that if such spell to talk to animals exists, there's the possibility that there is a spell to talk to plants, giving plants self-awareness(becoming sentient)
you know, you did a remarkable job on Harry's facial expression there. That said, "Just eat the students, said Hufflepuff. There's no doubt about whether they're sentient." That is all.
Terry: *please don't stab me please don't stab me pleasedon'tstabme*
...ahah! I've just realised /your/ work is where my mental picture of Harry comes from!
because lesser sentients aren't as much of consequence.
; D but that's how i read the title first,
it made me laugh. so i'm sharing. :3