Make a Wish (fanfic)

Make A Wish is a Harry Potter fic written by Rorschach's Blot.

After the events of Order of the Phoenix, Harry decides that he doesn't particularly want to simply go off and die in a final confrontation with Voldemort, at least not without having a chance to see a bit of the world first. What follows is a vacation that spans the summer (and a good part of the fic), and takes Harry, under the alias "Mr. Black", through several countries, adventures, and more than a few dead Death Eaters.

Along the way he leaves behind a growing legend about "Mr. Black" -- who he is, what he does, and why -- that quickly reaches mythic proportions.

It has a sequel, The Hunt For Harry Potter, by the same author. Additionally, it has inspired a number of other writers to create their own "Mr. Black" stories, or just make Shout-Outs to him.

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 * Action Survivor: Harry.  Along the course of his vacation he picks up enough skills, equipment and spells to actually be Mr. Black,
 * Ancient Tradition: The benevolent conspiracy of precognitive shopkeepers descended from Cassandra who equip and assist Harry throughout his journey.
 * The Atoner: Based on a few comments of Harry's that are overheard and misinterpreted (such as promising "I won't fail you again!" to the ghosts at Dachau), the myth surrounding Mr. Black mutates to include the idea that he's a former dark wizard who is atoning for his sins by fighting for the Light.
 * Becoming the Mask: In the final chapters of the story, Harry realizes he has changed too much and cannot go back to being "just Harry".
 * Catch Phrase: When asked for more details on who he is, Mr. Black will invariably reply: "I'm just a guy on vacation."
 * Coming of Age Story: This is a Harry Potter fic, so that's to be expected.
 * Contrived Coincidence: This happens a lot. However, it's implied that a lot of them are contrived by the shopkeepers.
 * Cool Airship: The Professor and Henchgirl's zeppelin.
 * Cool Bike: The motorcycle Harry wins, and which is later enchanted and bound to a pooka.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Starting with the Professor and Henchgirl (who called themselves those names before ever meeting him), everyone who works for Mr. Black by the end of the story becomes known solely by their job title.
 * Haunted Technology: The Professor and Henchgirl bind a pooka -- a kind of faerie spirit horse -- to Harry's motorcycle.
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick: Henchgirl, to the Professor. In fact, the only reason she got the title of "Hench" is because the Professor won a coin-toss.
 * Invisibility Cloak: In an Omake, Henchgirl gives Harry a potion that is supposed to make him turn invisible, but didn't work on his skeleton. When he asked what he was supposed to do until it wore off, she suggested pointing at people while staring at his watch.
 * Mad Scientist: The Professor, a rare non-malicious version.
 * Magitek: A lot of the Professor's devices.
 * Mistaken for Badass: There are so many accidental deaths around "Mr. Black" that pretty much the entire magical community is convinced that he's some sort of super-wizard. In point of fact, it's all just a string of coincidences, up until Harry learns of the murder of a muggleborn girl and her family in Germany.
 * Mundane Utility: Harry disables a trio of powerful vampires by hitting them with a tanning spell.
 * When he gets back to Hogwarts, the new Defense teacher uses this incident as the inspiration for an entire lesson on using "harmless" spells in combat.
 * Offhand Backhand: The interpretation by witnesses when Harry unknowingly decapitates a vampire leader by flicking a chain whip back over his shoulder.
 * Rouge Angles of Satin: As one of the earliest works by Rorschach's Blot, it is liberally sprinkled with word choice errors, including a consistent misuse of "then" for "than".
 * Shout-Out: The SEP Field.
 * Harry's guidebook can be seen as another shout-out to HHGttG.
 * Shrouded in Myth: What happens to Mr. Black.  Between overheard comments of his which are interpreted in the wrong context, all the deaths in his wake, and perfectly logical conclusions based on faulty premises, the Wizarding World -- particularly its governments -- come to believe that Mr. Black is an immortal superwizard who is the only survivor of Atlantis, and possibly the Incarnation of Death itself.
 * Sinister Scythe: The alternate form of the sword Harry acquires on his travels.
 * Teleporter Accident: Happens several times to incautious Death Eaters.  Like the time a group portkeyed to right in front of "Mr. Black" -- who happened to be looking out from 20th-floor balcony.  Or the time they portkeyed ahead of him so as to ambush him -- right onto the tracks of the train he was on.  Or into a vending machine from which he had just bought a soda.  Most of these happen because they outsource their portkeys to a vendor whom they are unaware hates Voldemort and his forces.
 * Took a Level in Badass:, by the end of the story.
 * Weirdness Censor: Mr. Black has a bracelet that makes it difficult for people to focus on the details of his person, explicitly called an SEP Field.
 * White Stallion: The pooka bound to Harry's motorcycle can manifest itself as a translucent white stallion. Sometimes it does so in place of the bike as it's being ridden.
 * Wrench Wench: Henchgirl has this as one of her "hats".