Happy Days

Chapter 5 –

Nathan nodded to himself as he examined the recipe. He'd leafed through the small book of recipes that his mum had placed in the kitchen cupboard. He had decided that today, he was going to do something special. Like a dessert. With chocolate.

He was in an exceptionally good mood. His mum had joined him, watching him practice his magical training, he knew that she'd been troubled, but at the end of the week, she'd approved. So, he had decided to do something nice for her. He'd been sneaky about it and tried to make sure she hadn't noticed as he wasn't sure how she'd react. He didn't want to give her the feeling that he was deliberately keeping more secrets from her.

When she had given him a knowing smile when he gave her his customary goodbye hug, he realized that she had noticed, and she hadn't seemed to care. She trusted him.

Thus, Nathan was in a great mood, which led to the dessert. He didn't have all the ingredients for his chosen treat, however.

Opening one of the drawers in the living area cabinet, he extracted a small pouch. 'Pocket money', was the label on the pouch.

He rarely used the money. Having never really needed it. But he did save up for the sake of having an extra stack of cash, for whenever he did need it.

It was the smart thing to do. It was something he'd never done in his previous life, he'd spend most of his pocket money on things like subscriptions to online video games. He could admit, it was a stupid decision, but he'd learned from it.

Now, though he wanted to do something special. Just once. For his mum.

So, he took the pouch and left The Abode for the market district.

Arriving at the market, Nathan smiled as he made his way past the various stalls. He very much liked it here, with the hustle and bustle of various people.

The town market was filled with traders selling their wares, goods, and produce. They were shouting the prices, trying to attract customers.

The air was filled with the aroma of various fresh herbs, vegetables, and juicy fruits. On the other side, were pre-baked confectioneries, desserts, chocolates, and sweets. Everything here smelled heavenly, and the taste was almost on the tip of Nathan's tongue.

Nathan decided to head over to the vegetable and meat section first, as he planned to cook English Shephard's pie for his mum.

"Hello, we have fresh produce that arrived just a few hours ago, how may I help you today" The vendor greeted Nathan.

"Uhm, hi. I'd like to purchase one and a half pounds of ground beef please, also I'd like to buy half a pound of mixed vegetables, all the common sort, like carrots, corns etc." Nathan listed off.

"Yes sir, please wait a minute, I'll prepare the necessary bags of the produce." Saying this the vendor, selected the succulent meat and took it off to freshly grind it in his machine.

Once the necessary purchases for the day were made, Nathan had a wide smile plastered on his face.

He happily skipped back on the trail, up the cliff towards his home.

oOOOOOOOOOo

Once he arrived at The Abode, he closed the front door of his home, and sat down on the chair in the living room, panting softly as the trek up the cliff, was more difficult with all the purchased goods that he carried with him.

Trying to focus on the coming task, Nathan started preparing himself and his mum a nice dinner. With lots of vegetables. His mum had explained to him that he should get balanced meals, and that included both meat and vegetables. Plus, he knew he'd need it to stay healthy and in optimum shape, in order to be able to face everything the Universe would throw at him, so he'd endure the vegetables too.

Having never been a picky eater, Nathan would eat anything as long as it was healthy and tasted acceptable to his palate. So, if Mum told him to eat vegetables, he'd eat vegetables.

After he finished preparing his meal and he felt quite nice about the job, Nathan started making his special dessert.

When the dessert was in the oven, his thoughts started to wander towards procrastination for the future, as he was wont to do every now and then.

"Hello Nathan," Jolene said, suddenly in his kitchen. He jumped slightly, not having heard her arrive while thinking about the vast possibilities ahead of him.

"Hi Mum!" he greeted back, giving her a hug.

She looked at the oven. "What are you cooking?"

"Dessert!" Nathan said, grinning. He looked at the timer, startled, and yanked the oven open. Grabbing the oven mitts, he lifted the tray out.

"Chocolate Fondant," Mum said, seeing the creations. "That is quite a difficult dessert to make" She remarked. Let me see!"

"Mum! you'll have to wait, for I have prepared the entire dinner for the both of us, dessert comes last." Swiping the delicious treat away from her, for the time being.

Once she had freshened up, having returned from the town committee meeting, he guided her to the dining table where he'd already set the table with the food he'd cooked for her. He eyed it, not sure if he had gotten it right.

"May I?" Mum asked, taking a seat at the table.

Nathan smiled. "Sure, help yourself," he said, glad to have someone else do the honors.

Procuring a small fork, Jolene opened her mouth and took a small bite from the shepherd's pie first. To Nathan's joy, her face showed wonder having gotten it perfectly. He felt extremely giddy, having followed the recipe extremely tediously.

He and his mum indulged in the delicacy to their heart's content and Nathan waited for her to try the dessert. To his disappointment, the chocolaty substance that was supposed to flow from the cake, did not ooze out.

"It is a difficult recipe to get right, Nathan," his mum told him, before taking some of the pastry and tasting it. "The taste is exactly right. Had you taken it out of the oven a minute and a half earlier, it would have been perfect."

Nathan smiled faintly and tried some himself. It tasted great.

"There is a reason why a dessert chef is different from a regular chef," Mum said, recognizing his disappointment. "Desserts are hard; sometimes a minute or two can make a large difference. The taste of the fondant was exactly right, that in itself is an achievement."

"Do you think so?" Nathan asked, having already finished the first fondant and starting on a second. He opened it up. It was set, too. He shrugged and started in on it. He loved eating chocolate, alas he couldn't have it every day, lest he becomes fat and all the exercise be good for nothing.

"I know so," Mum said with a grin. "There are professional chefs that struggle with this dish. As I said, just a minute and a half less cooking time and they would have been perfect."

Nathan nodded. "Thanks, Mum."

She smiled back. "You're welcome, Nathan."

They were silent for a few minutes as Nathan finished his dessert. "Can I ask where you got the recipe?" she finally asked.

Nathan frowned slightly. "It was on the book of recipes inside your shelf, mum." He got up, grabbed the book, and showed her the page.

Mum smiled faintly. "This is a very difficult recipe to follow, and for you to have performed so well, in preparing the food, you have a talent in cooking. I may have to get you to cook more around here, to further that talented little noggin of yours." She pinched his cheeks.

Nathan looked excited again, and Mum was glad for it. She liked it when he was excited. "I keep trying new things mum, I love cooking as well, I'd be happy to help you in the kitchen as well."

"Really?" Mum asked, surprised. She had noticed that Nathan followed a varied schedule, almost as if he was gathering skills for some unknown circumstance, but she hadn't been keeping close enough tabs on him to notice "That is very good of you," she told him.

Nathan leaned in close. "I like the desserts the best, though. Especially chocolate," he whispered.

Mum smiled widely, and leaned back. "I do, too," she said, laughing softly.

They then had their meal, silently enjoying each other's company for the evening.

oOOOOOOOOOo

Once his mum had started helping in his magical training, his skills had jumped leaps and bounds. He'd become capable enough of producing floating balls of light, as bright as any incandescent bulbs in his home. One thing he'd noticed was that the electronics in his home had no adverse effects in close proximity to magic, but that could very well be because the amount of magic around his home was low, for now. He would have to check once again when he gets adequate wards installed around the property, he mused.

Time was slowly passing by for the mother-son duo. Practicing magic, studying the fundamental laws of the universe, and enjoying their little slice of heaven. The ticket to opportunities for Nathan Frye was slowly approaching, with his upcoming tenth birthday. He'd be one more year closer to being able to attend Hogwarts. Over time, his paranoia had slightly waned and had been replaced with excitement, for it was every child's dream to attend Hogwarts, and for Nathan, the time for it to become a reality was slowly approaching. He was elated, not only with his admittedly exceptional progress with magic. It was a product of his diligence that was fueled heavily by his initial substantial paranoia.

He could do the basic charms that are supposed to be taught in Hogwarts' first-year curriculum like the levitation charm, and the color-changing charm. He could produce light, create a slow draft of wind, and light objects on fire. Though he still has trouble making the fire hot, as his subconscious fear of causing wanton damage, holds him back, that far too, though, is slowly subsiding.

Reality, was slowly becoming a product of his will and intent. He had reached the understanding that the only limits on a wizard are essentially those placed by the wizard himself. Admittedly, consciously letting go of one's understanding of reality is easier said than done, especially for people embroiled in the scientific explanation of most phenomena of the universe.

But he was slowly, getting there. He was slowly teaching himself that the rules of the scientific universe become guidelines for those that are immersed in the mysteries of magic.

Not that he was abandoning the scientific principles mind you. He was merely learning that the laws and theories of the scientific world, change when a new undefinable, highly unquantifiable variable like magic is introduced.

That is why he was still focusing on his scientific studies, and his mum had decided to bring home more books on the recent developments in Computer technology for Nathan to peruse. Once, she'd learned that Nathan wanted to learn and gain knowledge, of all the various kinds there are, she'd wholeheartedly taken the opportunity to support his endeavors as she did previously. The difference now, was that she was more in tune with his needs and was able to provide for them as soon as it became a necessity.

And thus time, slowly passed by for the inhabitants of the little home atop the hill, of the Southeast side of the Norfolk village. Little did they know that their hopes and dreams were fast approaching, for on the morning of 21st of June, 1988, an old woman, who was feline in her eccentricities, and liked to wear a tall pointy hat, alongside halfmoon spectacles, was handed a letter addressed to Nathan Alferian Frye, of The Abode atop the hill, Southeastern peak, Norfolk Village, and with that dream, the doors to the wider magical community, filled with excitement, wonder, magic, and fantasy were soon about to become a larger part of the reality for the youngest member of the family that happily lived in the cozy home.