Chapter 2: As You Wish

Harry was in deep meditation in the middle of a field of flowers. The distraction of the wind and swaying blossoms would have made other people sneeze but Harry was determined to get through this session. Harry progressed about two years into his "pre-Hogwarts" training that Peter arranged. Harry's latent magical abilities were bring refined by an elderly martial arts master (whom Peter also saved the life of once and now owes him) and becoming stronger day by day. Harry trained in three distinct ways. As a martial artist so that in Peter's words "Harry Hunting refers to you giving what for instead of getting the reverse". As an auramancer, this at its essence was simply a fancy way of saying a person who sensed and channeled the energy of living beings. It greatly helps out in his martial arts training but it is also a strong foundation for divination, occulmancy, and wandless magic. And finally Harry also trained as a scholar, simply to get an academic heads up on his peers at Hogwarts. A very ugly, gnarled looking old man approached Harry.

"Hey, teacher." Harry said without opening his eyes. He knew that Peter was there too, as Scabbers.

"Harry you did good. Most people would be sneezing like crazy trying to meditate in this field. Now you must learn to control your power."

"Why do you think that?" Harry asked still not opening his eyes.

"I don't know, maybe the floating off the ground bit has the poor man freaked out." Peter chimed in suddenly, now as a man. Harry opened his eyes and he was indeed floating some distance off the ground. He immediately hit the ground when he realized what was going on. The old man glared at Peter. "What? You said he needed control." Peter said. He then held out his arm and pulled Harry up.

"What's for dinner guys?" Harry asked brushing his pants off from dandelion blossoms.

"Vegetable stew." Peter replied. The old man snorted.

"Only because that's the only thing you know how to make."

"Don't start Talford, I'm doing my best here too." Peter said almost starting into one of his trademark whine/rants, but Harry pre-empted it.

"Stew sounds good, and maybe I'll make some boiled ham tomorrow okay?" Harry said gently. Peter just nodded his homely face. The three wizards walked through the field and eventually into a rather large treehouse which was a hidden monastery run by the old man, Master Talford an accomplished wizard and martial artist. No trading cards to his name yet, but Talford preferred to keep his accomplishments quiet, like training young wizards as warrior mages. Harry trained for at least four years and was grateful to be stronger than he ever was at Privet Drive. Talford even devised a way to keep the wizard folk from thinking that Harry was missing from the house by putting a talisman with a strand of Harry's hair and placing it in the area so magically the proper authorities think Harry was still in the area, even though he was nowhere in Little Whinging. Peter never said how he saved Talford's life but it was a sensitive subject with both men that neither spoke about. Talford trained up Harry as a warrior without a single question, which Peter was grateful for.

"So in a few years I'm going to Hogwarts right?" Harry said as he put away the dinner dishes later that night. Peter sighed.

"Yeah, all this training is just to make the experience into a bearable one. I had a hard time when I was in school and I hope you have a better time there than I did." Peter got up and started toweling dry the dishes Harry was washing.

"I don't see what the big fuss is about, I'm just Harry." Harry said as he was scouring a pot...a little bit too hard.

"We talked about this before. You are the most notable wizard in existence..."

"Being raised by my parent's betrayer who happens to be a total fugitive." That grease on the pot was not getting off. Peter flinched sharply and weren't those spoons still too wet? He started to dry them off. Harry and Peter's relationship was based on total honesty and he told the whole story about the day he set Sirius Black up to go to Azkaban and how Harry's parents had died. Namely, Peter gave away their location to the dread Dark Lord and he murdered them.

They never talk about it much, Peter knew he sliced up Harry's heart but Harry never yelled about it to him. As a matter of fact they regained their closeness and few months later Harry was laughing again with his friend Scabbers like nothing happened.

It may have been an implied, unspoken forgiveness, but Peter Pettigrew wasn't going to push the issue.

Back in the little kitchen in the magical treehouse Peter managed to sidestep the thorny subject again. "It's your birthday tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Those S.O.S pads need to be sharper in Harry's opinion.

"Well, since you did all your chores and kept up with your training I thought if Master Talford had nothing for you to do tomorrow I'll take you to London and we can see a movie together." Peter said as he blew air on the same dry spoon.

"If it's The Princess Bride, you got yourself a deal." Harry noticed he didn't put any soap in the sink to wash. He was just scraping the grease with water. Soon Talford hobbled in.

"Land's sake's lads! You're wizards, it's shouldn't take more than a few seconds to clean up." Peter and Harry started and realized they were working on the same pot and spoon for about a good fifteen minutes.

"W-w-we like being thorough." Peter said lamely.

"Obviously." Was the old man's flat response.

The next day with the blessings of the master, Harry and Peter were sightseeing around downtown London, magically disguised, of course. Peter had the illusion of Talford on him and was hobbling like an old man. Harry, for his part, had the illusion that he looked like a younger version of Peter, all chubby, blue eyes and sandy hair. Truth be told, Harry was really cute looking dressed like that. No one knew the Boy-Who-Lived and his fugitive companion were taking a stroll downtown. Hand in hand the two were looking at the clothes and toys in the shops that they couldn't afford, watching all the other families enjoy themselves. It was an experience that neither two would forget since they rarely had a chance to enjoy life and be like "the normal folk." Now, as much as Peter wanted to take Harry to Diagon Alley, he didn't want to risk exposure yet until they absolutely needed to such as getting Harry's Hogwarts supplies. So, the two just did a manly frolic in muggle London and watched The Princess Bride at the movie house...and got a rude surprise in the process. During the first scene with Buttercup and Westley, Harry noticed some very obnoxious, loud eating in front of him. It was Dudley, Vernon, Petunia and all of Dudley's school chums directly in the row in front of them! Harry jabbed Peter and he almost yelped but managed to hold his tongue. Harry mouthed the word "Dursley" and Peter's mouth neatly dropped open from surprise. He managed to put up a silence charm and soon the two were talking freely.

"How could we possibly miss seeing them come in the movie theater? The concessions alone would be enough to fill a medium sized barge, and that's just for Dudley!" Harry said getting shrill.

"Calm down, Harry. Why not concentrate on how they're feeling and see if they suspect anything?" Peter suggested. Harry nodded and fell back on his auramancer training. He meditated and blocked out the other people in the theater in his mind and simply focused on the people in front of him. He saw that the aura the Dursleys gave off was peaceful, the feelings Harry was empathic to were that Dudley and Vernon were bored out of their skulls, and Petunia wanted to see a lot more of Cary Elwes. All perfectly normal.

"Well?" Peter asked.

"They sure don't think about me." Harry grunted. "What did I miss?"

"Oh, Buttercup's getting married off to Humperdinck. You want me to do something to them? I can do it real quick, no one has to know." Peter said.

"Wait on it, I'll think of something." Harry said getting back to the movie. By the time they reached the part where Westley and Buttercup were kissing in the end of the movie Harry noticed that Vernon was snoring, Dudley was making rude noises and Petunia was nearly plastered on the movie screen looking really intent. "I got it." He told Peter about what he wanted to do to them.

"Harry, you are a perfect Marauder at times."

"Don't ever mention that name again." Harry said coldly as the song "Storybook Love" came on the credits scroll.

"Whyever for? I think Harry's a nice name." Peter said. Harry resisted the urge to smack him hard. As they made their way up the rows and got to the lobby they saw Dudley go into bathrooms. Harry nodded to Peter and Peter followed Dudley in. The next thing that happened Dudley came out with his friends.

"Ready dudikins?" Petunia cooed.

"All set, mum," Dudley said...in a girl's voice.

"Eh, something wrong, boy?" Vernon asked.

"Umm, I don't know...ack! My voice!" Dudley almost shrieked.

"Boy, you're not turning queer on me? I told you we shouldn't have taken the boy to a poofy show." Vernon turned to Petunia.

"It's not a poofy show just cause it doesn't have exposed breasts hanging out all over the place! Duddy's just got a cold that's all." Petunia replied shrilly. They were causing a scene.

"Dudley's a girl!" Piers started to jeer.

"I am not!" Dudley yelled in a girlish high-pitch. Harry and Peter shook hands and left the theater.

"How long?"

"Rest of the day." Peter said as they walked out into the overcast afternoon. He threw his arm around Harry's shoulder. "Harry."

"Yeah."

"Happy Birthday, lad."