Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Title: The Poet's Wish

Author: ReadingRed

Beta: DukeBrymin

Chapter Two: The Watcher

Harry slept in a closet. He had ever since he could remember. There was not a lot of space to move around; in fact the cupboard could barely fit the small bed that was stuffed inside. Needless to say there was not room to hide. Besides, the Watcher who was watching Harry and who had heard him read his poem was not really there at all, he was watching the boy through a portal from a place very far away.

"Sleep tight, little Harry, for tomorrow will bring great changes to your life," the Watcher said. "I am not God, and I cannot bring your mummy back to life, but I will send you someone very special," the Watcher promised before closing the portal and starting on the task he had just set before himself.

Harry slept on, none the wiser to the Watcher's plans. The child dreamt of a Guardian Angel coming to rescue him from the clutches of his monstrous relatives. The guardian took Harry to a magical land where they lived in a wonderful house and Harry was loved. He dreamt of being allowed food on a regular basis, and of having kind words directed at him. Harry's dream was abruptly ended by the sound of heavy pounding feet on the stairs above his bed. Harry moaned at the loss of his perfect dream because, although it might not have seemed like much to some, for Harry that was a life he never expected to live. It was one he wasn't sure he even deserved.

"Boy! Boy, wake uuuuupppppp!" a young voice Harry recognized as his cousin's yelled through the door in a sing-song tone. His cruel cousin took great pleasure in tormenting him but there was nothing Harry could do about it; any retaliation on his part would bring the wrath of his uncle. Harry still had bruises from the last time that had happened. He quickly rose from his bed and donned the same shirt he had worn the day before. Harry was only allowed to do his wash once a week and he had already run out of clean clothes.

"Coming" Harry answered to his cousin's wake-up call. Pushing open the door to his cupboard and heading to the kitchen Harry thought back on his dream. He knew that it would never happen. He would stay in this same house serving his relatives every whim until they threw him out at age eighteen. Harry knew this to be true because his uncle told him nearly every day.

Harry knew what to do once he reached the kitchen;he was to start making breakfast. Taking food orders from his aunt, cousin, and uncle, Harry started on his work. Today it was eggy bread for all. They were going easy on him, usually he had to prepare three different meals and have them all done at the same time so the Dursleys could eat together as a family. Harry loved the days when they all wanted the same thing. The only time he was allowed to eat breakfast was when he finished the others' meals quickly enough for him to make his own and be done eating with enough time to get ready for school. Smiling to himself, and with the knowledge that he would eat today, Harry got the bread and eggs ready and lost himself in the chore.

Meanwhile, another Harry some distance in the future was having a morning quite out of the ordinary, even for him. And that was saying something.

Harry Potter was confused to say the least. One moment he had been speaking with the Headmaster's portrait at Hogwarts and the next he was in a white room. Thinking he had been kidnapped somehow by leftover Death Eaters who were too dumb to realize that their lord was gone he started devising a plan.

There was no way to tell where he was as there were no windows or even a door. Looking around the room, Harry saw that there wasn't a normal light source. Instead the walls themselves seemed to glow. It might even be comforting, the soft light that came through, if he weren't under the impression that he had just been kidnapped and was about to be murdered. Before Harry could think much more on his predicament, a being,for lack of a better word, appeared in the room. The thing hadn't faded into form and his arrival brought no sound as was normal with apparition. He was simply there.

"Hello, friend," Itsaid. The man-shaped figure wore a white robe that stretched to Its feet. The hood completely obscured Its face so, Harry theorized, it was possible that the figure was human, but something inside told Harry that that wasn't true. Whatever this being was, it wasn't human. It was something more.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded to know. The being didn't even flinch; It kept Its body stock still. The being's mannerisms somehow came off as comforting rather than creepy; like the odd glowing walls, it was almost comforting, like the smile of a friend who is happy to see you.

"I am called many things, by many different mouths: Watcher, Changer, Helper. It is your choice; you may call me whatever you wish."

"Fine, Watcher, where am I? How did you bring me here? Why am I here?"

"You, Harry Potter, are in a different place. That is all I can say. I brought you here with my power. You are here to change your life." The Watcher had managed to answer every question without giving Harry any information; it infuriated him but with his Auror training Harry kept his calm.

"How am I to change my life?" Deciding to ask another question Harry thought it best to build upon the answer given by the Watcher. Somehow, without seeing the Watcher's face, Harry knew that the being was smiling.

"If you so choose you will be sent to the past to take your younger self from the life of horror he would live and raise him as your son. He has asked for a Guardian Angel and I want to send him you. If you deny this opportunity I will return you to your own time and your younger self will lead the exact life you have." Pausing to give Harry a moment to think the Watcher then asked another question. "What do you choose?"