Harry's wand was even more capable than Harry thought it was going to be! Harry knew that his first wand was awesome but his second was a HUGE leap in abilities. Harry pulled out his notebook, he was going to write down a few thoughts before the Dursleys came home. While it was awesome that his current wand was so much more capable than the first, Harry didn't know why. Knowing WHY it was so much better was just as important as the fact that he could do it. Harry knew that his thoughts guided the abilities of his creations but he hadn't been able to establish the boundaries or criteria. Harry didn't know when he carved the first wand that it was magic so he was just thinking about what he had read in the library but the second wand was much more intentional. Maybe intentionally guiding his thoughts was more powerful than daydreaming and wishing.
Of course, Harry couldn't remember exactly what he was thinking so maybe Harry accidentally limited the first wand's abilities?
Harry's brain started to hurt while thinking about it and he just came up with more questions than answers. Harry wanted to know if his intentional thinking was more powerful than daydreaming and the only way to know that is by doing both so Harry opened a new page in his notebook. His cat would be the perfect test. So far Harry has been intentionally thinking of a cat and cat-like behaviors while focusing on how his cat would be a nice companion to just sit and relax with. So maybe the next cat would be created while just thinking about cats. He wrote down the title of each project and on the next line, he wrote down the goal to test if intentional thoughts created different outcomes compared to daydreaming.
Another thing that Harry wanted to test was how much appearance compared to imagination mattered. Harry noticed that when he made the bird, he wasn't skilled enough to make the feather details. However, that didn't matter. When the bird came to life, the feather details and wings appeared anyway. It was exactly how he imagined it! His rough carving came to life and seemed to shake off the extra wood to shape itself. So Harry wondered how detailed it would need to be before it would come to life.
Harry was contemplating the possibilities of magic when a thought came to Harry. His sticks and the drawing! The sticks would be perfect for a snake! In response to the thought, his wand warmed with approval. They were long and thick enough to whittle it down to a snake. Harry could do one stick that was very detailed. He could try to carve individual scales and another one that has the shape of the snake but not all of the individual scales. He opened more pages to write down the two snake projects.
The tip of his pencil just finished writing it down when Harry heard a car approach closely. He hid his belongings and listened closely to see if it was the Dursleys.
"Mummy! I want cake now! I'm hungry"
Ah yes, that was definitely Dudley. The door was thrown open and the thud of the door caused Harry to startle a bit. It sounded like Dudley waddled to the kitchen with Aunt Petunia walking right behind me.
"BOY! Come get the bags." Uncle Vernon shouted as soon as he got past the threshold.
Harry heard the bolt unlock and Uncle Vernon went to go sit on the couch. Harry rushed out and grabbed the bags. There were two very heavy bags and Harry knew that it was almost impossible for him to carry them up the stairs without scratching the walls. He sighed and readied himself for punishment when his wand, which was tucked in his trousers' waistband, heated up. Harry felt like smacking himself! Of course! He concentrated on the idea of the bags being as light as air. It took a few seconds before it kicked in. When he reached for the bag, this time it was as easy as grabbing his backpack. Harry pretended to struggle with carrying them and took a few breaks. Harry hadn't been sure that his wand would work without him holding it in his hand, but clearly, it touching his skin was enough. Harry would definitely write it down in his notebook to study further!
Uncle Vernon was blatantly staring with pleasure. After getting the second bag, Uncle Vernon moved closer to look at the walls. When he didn't see a single scratch, he scowled and turned to Harry.
"You took too long, useless boy! My Dudley would have been able to do it much better."
Harry nearly rolled his eyes at the thought of Dudley being able to lift the bags all the way upstairs. Dudley was in no shape to do something so physical.
It seems that Uncle Vernon was too tired to do anything other than yell because he stayed seated on the couch. It was the usual nonsense so Harry just stood there. Uncle Vernon only stopped when interrupted by Aunt Petunia, "
"Vernon, I need the boy in the kitchen."
Harry was told to do menial tasks like peeling the potatoes, dicing onions, and stirring as necessary. However, Harry's mind was occupied with whittling. Harry knew that carving a snake would be fun but he knew that the tricky part would be the shape of the scales and the eyes. Those are small details that require Harry to hold his knives at just the right angle. One thing that Harry also wanted to work on was how to appropriately sharpen his knives. Harry still didn't feel confident doing it. He had read that sharpening it the wrong way can lead to messing up the blade long term.
Harry peeked out the window that was over the sink. It was a bit cloudy but it didn't look like it was going to rain. Harry figured that it wasn't that likely that he was going to be sent outside to do yard work. They usually reserved it for days that were really hot or rainy; today was neither. The weather brought another thought to the forefront of his mind. It was the end of August and Harry would start school in another few weeks.
With school came more freedom. Usually, Harry dreaded it because it was a tease to see the other kids all have friends and fun, but this time was different. He could go where he wanted and he had friends! He had his wand, his bird, and soon many others. To make sure that Harry made the most of the school year, Harry knew he needed a plan.
While Harry was scheming, he finished off making dinner. Aunt Petunia shoved two slices of bread at him and directed him back to his cupboard. Sitting there in the dark, Harry couldn't help but smile. Nothing is as it was and soon the Dursleys would see that.