Harry's new wand gave him the ability to create water and it was literally and metaphorically magical. So many times in his life, he had gone thirsty but never again. Harry was outside, this time he was supposed to be washing the windows. It was a rather dull chore, but it gave him the perfect opportunity to use his new wand.

Harry usually used the garden hose to rinse off the windows. Today he held the wand in the same hand as the hose. Instead of turning on the hose, Harry imagined a strong flow of water and the wand did it! He was so excited that it worked that he let out a grin. Worried that the Dursleys would see him, he tried to look bored. He directed his thoughts to do a stronger and then weaker flow of water. He could make it rush as strong as the hose and as weak as a fountain.

This wand was so useful that Harry wondered what else could the wand do. He had made it while thinking about a wizard who could create water, but that same book had a different wizard who could control the wind. Harry 'turned off' the water and then focused on a breeze to cool him down. When nothing happened, Harry figured that it must only work for water. Well, at least Harry was never going thirsty again.

Could Harry create a wand that does something other than make water?

All of the questions that were rushing through his head, Harry remembered something that he had heard about at school. He was hiding behind a trash bin so Dudley wouldn't find him. While hiding, he heard some older kids complain about science class. They were learning about something called the scientific method and they thought that it was boring. But it sounded useful to test something out. Harry was sure that it would be helpful for him.

Harry made a mental note to look it up the next time that he was at the library. Also, he should look up what wizards could do. If Harry was going to conduct experiments then he should have a notebook to keep track of the steps and results. Since he didn't have one, he would just have to try to memorize everything.

In his cupboard, Harry still had one more stick. He should try a different method for this one. Instead of spirals, Harry thought that he should do something more plain. He was going to leave the shaft of the wand smooth, but focus more effort on the handle. The handle was going to have two bead-like shapes at the top with an oval in between them and at the end of the handle, he would leave it flat. He would leave most of the handle plain because a wand was a tool. And tools usually had plain handles so they would be easier to use. Harry likes the look of spirals on the handle so maybe when he gets more practice, he will make fancier handles. Like a handle with vines or petals.

Finishing the windows, Harry headed into the house to cook dinner and maybe get a bite to eat if he was lucky. It was a roast so after cutting the vegetables, there was little for Harry to do. His efforts for the day earned him two slices of bread and a slice of cheese, before he was sent to his cupboard. Sitting in the cupboard, Harry thought that maybe he didn't mind it as much as he used to.

Shifting to the side, Harry grabbed the other stick. This was the incredibly flexible stick. Harry knew that this one would welcome being whittled. He didn't know why he thought that, but he was sure that it was true. Taking the bark off was even easier on this one. Bark removed, Harry began the whittling. While whittling, Harry added something to his plans. The wood was so soft and easy to cut into that Harry wanted to make the handle a different shape. The stick was a circle, but Harry wanted to cut into it to make a hexagonal shape. It might make it easier to hold the wand and it just felt right.

Harry thought about a magician while he whittled. The magician would be even greater than the water one. He would have the ability to control all of the elements, not just water. They would be someone who gets the world to listen to him. If he wanted the river to move, it would. If he wanted for the earth to shake or for the sky to have endless rain, it would. Most importantly, Harry could ask a tree to shelter him or for the wind to sweep him away from the Dursleys. It would be a powerful wand, but Harry would not ignore his first wand. That one had a special place in his heart. As he worked, Harry told the stick what it would be transformed into.

He whispered quietly, but urgently, "You're going to be perfect! Perfect to hold and while I hold you, I will be safe. You could help me be strong so I don't have to go to bed hungry. When I am strong, I won't be like the Dursleys, but I will help other people who are like me. You can shield me from danger and show me how magical this world can be. You'll be a friend. My first friend."

Harry's whispered words were a plea. A plea for the magic that the whittling tools would give it. A plea for Harry to finally have things work in his favor.

"Nothing anyone does will be able to separate us. You are my friend and because of that, you will go where I go."

Harry focused so much on his wishes that his magic reached out and poured itself into this wand. The wood had never been aware of anything before, but as the magic touched it, the wood learned many things. The wood learned that it was a wand and the wand learned that it was a magic wand that belonged to Harry. It would be his friend and protect the boy. After teaching the wand all it needed to know, Harry's magic came back to him. He was done carving and he could feel the warmth from his new wand already. It worked!

Harry had carved for so long that the Dursleys had all gone to sleep. Harry pointed his wand to the door and Harry thought about the door opening. With a quiet click, Harry knew he could leave. He opened the door and looked at the dark house. He was free! Harry walked over to the fridge and opened it up. He grabbed some slices of ham and cheese. Stuffing them in his mouth, he had never felt so satisfied. Going back to his cupboard, Harry took all of the wood shavings and threw them into the garden. The flower patch had woodchips covering the ground and so his wood shaving blended right in.

Now that Harry had free rein in the house, he wasn't too sure what to do. He fed himself, cleaned out the shaving, and brought the rest of the tools into the house. Maybe Harry should take some things to make his cupboard more comfortable. He thought about what he would like to have. Maybe a nicer pillow or clean sheets. He looked around the living room and thought about what else he wanted. It couldn't be too obvious because if anything went missing then the Dursleys would accuse him of thievery.

Seeing nothing interesting, he went into the kitchen. He grabbed a couple of granola bars and hid them away. If the Dursleys locked him up again then it would be nice to make sure that he wouldn't starve. He looked around for some bottles of water but the Dursleys only had soda pop. Deciding that something was better than nothing, he hid a few of the clear sodas away. Harry snuck into the bathroom and grabbed some washrags from under the sink. Harry now would be able to clean himself up a bit.

Harry sat on a kitchen stool and he ate a banana. He felt more powerful than he had ever in his life. Holding the wand did exactly what he wanted it to. He felt safe and protected. Harry thought about going up to the attic and looking at the box of woodwork. But the stairs creaked too much and there was too much risk of waking someone up.

Now that Harry had power, he could probably scare the Dursleys into treating him better. Harry had fun imagining how scared they would be but decided not to scare them. He could sneak around right now but if he threatened them then they would probably try to fight back or control him in different ways.

Lifting his wand, Harry wondered whether he could use it for chores. If Harry had power over the earth then he probably had power over metals and dirt. He waved his wand at the floors thinking about all of the dirt flying off the floor. After his swish, he looked closer at the floor. They were clean! It worked! Harry didn't have to worry about starving or working too hard at chores now. He would probably have to hide this from his relatives but he didn't care. Harry knew that he asked this wand for the power to be able to take him away from the Dursleys. So maybe he could use it to go to the library. The only problem was that it was too late to go to the library.

When the Dursleys went away for the weekend they usually locked Harry away instead of taking him with them. Harry didn't know how but he needed to convince them to leave for the weekend. It would probably be easier to trick Dudley into asking for a trip than Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon. Harry thought that maybe if he reminded Dudley about how much fun trips were, then he would ask his parents.

Then Harry realized that there was an opportunity coming up! Instead of Aunt Marge coming this weekend, he should trick Dudley into asking for them to visit her.

The next day, Harry was assigned to clean the floors. He had his wand already tucked under his shirt so when his Aunt walked away, Harry used it to clean the ground in front of him. He made sure that it was only a small clump so it didn't look too conspicuous. Harry just sat around and thought up ways to get Dudley to ask his parents about leaving this weekend.

Harry had an epiphany and waited for Dudley to walk past him. Harry soon heard Dudley's heavy steps coming down the stairs. Dudley walked by and kicked his bucket of water. The water covered the floor but because Harry hadn't used the water, it didn't dirty it too much.

"Ha! Now you have to clean it again." Dudley stuck his tongue at Harry and grinned.

"Oh no, guess I have to do it all again." Harry tried to look sad but he wasn't sure if he was convincing enough. "Cleaning the floors all over again sure is annoying. You're so lucky Dudley for not having to do this."

"That's right! Mum and Dad love me so much that I don't have to do any of that nasty work."

"That's right. You even get to go on so many of those nice trips to go anywhere. Even…the beach, like the one that is next to Aunt Marge's."

Dudley's face was scrunched in concentration. "Hey! That's a good idea. MUM! MUM!" Dudley went running to his mum.

Harry crept to the end of the hall to peek into the living room. Aunt Petunia was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine. She looked up when Dudley got closer, "Yes, my precious Dudders."

"Can we go to Aunt Marge's this weekend? I want to go to the beach!"

Aunt Petunia looked uncertain, "Well I can ask your father and we can see what we can do. Your Aunt already has plans to come down here so it might be tricky."

Dudley's face got a bit red and he stomped his foot, "MUM! But I want to go THIS weekend!"

She soothed him some more and Harry nearly cheered. Whenever Dudley starts whining like that then it is guaranteed that they will do what he wants. Harry will have the entire weekend to himself.