14 Foods of Magic

Dudley's POV:

Today is the day of departure and I currently have butterflies crawling in my stomach.

Third Person POV

These past weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions for the Dursley family because their only son will soon be leaving the nest they raised him in since childhood. They were happy and at the same time sad because even though their hatchling finally found a dream to pursue, they felt like he was growing too fast and would be different when he came home again. They were also scared of what the training would do to him.

After the night he talked to them about why they had decided to decorate the house for his farewell party,they found out why he did not know by asking him. They had been surprised that his teacher had not told him about the full length of the trip but then again, there had been no training for the past few weeks.

When they called the teacher about why there had been no training for the last few weeks, he simply informed them that he wanted his charge's mind to be free of all mental alignment that may slow down the trainingthereby making their journey longer. He also informed them that they would not see their son for a long time and also, that was his way for making their son spend time his last moments with them before they left.

They quickly got out of their funk when they realized that they would not see their son for a long while. First, Vernon called his office to request a few weeks off much to the surprise and elation of some of his co-workers. When his boss asked him why, he said

"My son is going on a long trek that will take at least three years to complete. So, I wanted to spend the time has left with him before he goes."

His boss asks, "Why would he be gone for such a long time"

Vernon replies "My boy has found what he wanted to do but the people who wanted to teach him had in their contract that, if the recipient has a goal or dream that has been stated with conviction and with clear meaning, the mentor they have can decide on whether they go on a trip with the student or not depending on how much the student has impressed him or her." Vernon finishes his reply.

"Well good luck to him and yes you can have your vacation. Don't forget to fill out the paperwork."

"Thank you boss, I really appreciate it" Vernon speaks in a heavy tone

"Sure" the boss says with a surprised tone "and you are welcome. See you at work in a few weeks" *call ends* and with that, Vernon went to the computer to look for places that the entire family can go to for bonding experience.

As for Petunia, she decided that the best thing to do was to pass on her trade to her son and begrudgingly her nephew. So on the next day, she called Dudley and Harry to the kitchen to show off some of the tricks that she learned of when she was studying about cooking. When the boys arrive at the kitchen, Petunia faces Dudley and says

"Son, do you know why you and your cousin have been called to the kitchen?"

Dudley shakes his head while rubbing his arms around his neck "No ma."

"What about you fre *ahem* boy?"

"No Aunt Petunia" Harry replies

"I am going to teach you about the tricks of cooking, I found out when I was learning how to cook."

"Woah Ma, is that not like family secrets you carry to the grave or something like that." Dudley spoke with surprise covering his voice . Harry and Petunia look at his face with weird expressions like he have spoken in some weird language. They shake their head as if agreeing on something about their relative.

After a while, Petunia answers, "No son, I don't know where you get some of your ideas from but, a teacher showing you tricks he or she picked up is a means of acknowledging their students on the accomplishment of completing a task or a goal. I know that even though you don't come to the kitchen during lessons anymore, you still practice the techniques I thought you. I am just showing you how to apply it better and where to go next."

Harry smirks at Dudley with a knowing expressing on his face. "Shut up Harry" Dudley grumbles. "What, I did not even say anything" Harry says with a smile. Dudley begins but he is cut of by Petunia.

"Alright, enough" Petunia says grabbing their attention. "I have spent years developing and enhancing these abilities. Know that it will not be easy learning them. What I'm giving you today is a crash course on what to expect going in. Son, your training will be continued when you come back from your trip."

"Yes Ma," Dudley replies

"Allright, let's begin. The I first trick I learned was that, to cook you must use your emotions to express how you want the consumer to feel when they are eating it. But keep in mind, your emotions should not tell the consumer how to feel but support how the feelings that are already there when they are eating your food." Petunia pauses to breath. Then she continues

"This is where reputation comes in. When a consumer eats your food, they eat it with some form of expectation on how the food is going to be or taste like. Your food will either surprise them due to the taste and enhance the feeling of surprise along with any happy emotions they have when they are eating or they feel like the food they eat taste bad and stop at one bite. This is also the point where most chefs fail on because either they tell their consumers how to feel when they are eating the food or their food tastes like something you should not exist."

"You both as budding chefs must find your own balance with the food you make. Finding that balance will show how good of a chef you are and whether your food will control your consumers mind when they are eating."

"The second trick is how to paint with your food. This is where the chef's imagination is tested. With this trick, you show how you present your food to the one eating it. When the consumer eats your food, what do they see? What do you want them to see? Are the consumers feeling as they see? These are the sort of questions you ask at this stage."

"Where most chefs fail at this stage is once again their imagination. Some of the questions asked at this is, where have you been? What did you see? Can you immerse the consumer in your painting without losing them in the process? In fact, most chefs ignore this stage because of how dangerous it is."

"You must promise me that you will not cook food for anyone using this process without my permission." Petunia says sternly

"Yes Ma" "Yes Aunt" Harry and Dudley responded.

"The hidden question you ask with this trick is, how does your ingredients help support the picture you are painting? Though most if not all chefs know the importance of ingredients, some do not know when and how to use certain ingredients to paint the picture they want."

"An example of that is, when a consumer is eating fish, do you show them the life of a fish and how beautiful the sea is or do you show them the feelings of the fish when they are caught and are starving for air to breath in."

"Do you now understand why most chefs do not use this stage when cooking?" Petunia asks

Dudley and Harry nod and think of the food the lady in front of them made them and how they were always filled with warmth when they were eating them. They finally could see that the lady in front of them care for them as she always cooks with their best interests in mind.

"The final stage is the so called the f...s of m...c" Petunia grumbled quietly

"Ma, we can't hears hear you" Dudley spoke

"I said, the final stage is called the food of magic. *Sigh*, nobody I know has reached this stage yet but most believe at this stage, a chef could make one's body experience growth and change. A rumor has it that a chef at this stage could heal and improve someone's body depending on what ingredients, feelings, and picture they are using. It is also said that it could even cure someone on the verge of death and make them lively."

As Dudley and Harry imagine how food of that caliber would taste like, they heard, "Alright kids, get out of here. I'm going to cook dinner now."

"Ok mum" "Ok Aunt Petunia" Dudley and Harry reply as they walk out the kitchen still pondering on the information that was just given to them.