Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 4: Fried tomatoes

Harry woke with a start and opened his eyes, blinking against a bright light. He closed them quickly again. It was too bright.

Something had woken him up, he realized—a loud noise. Then he heard Hagrid's booming voice, except he was clearly trying to whisper.

"How's Harry doin'?"

"He's sleeping," Madam Pomfrey hissed.

Harry grimaced. Not anymore, he thought.

"Hiya, Hagrid," Harry sat up and groggily called out to his big friend. Then he tried to look around the room to see if he was waking anyone up, but he could barely open his eyes against the bright light.

And he remembered. He hadn't seen anything since his encounter with the Basilisk, well, not much anyway. Just bright lights and shadows.

Today. Today we'll get it sorted out. Madam Pomfrey will talk to the healers at St. Mungo's and find someone who knows what to do.

He swung his legs out of bed and felt around with his feet for his slippers. Not finding them, he located his wand and muttered the slipper spell.

He tried to open his eyes again and decided just to keep them closed.

Hagrid's steps shook the floor as he approached Harry and he heard him settle into the bed next to his.

"How you doin', Harry?" Hagrid asked. "Why you got yer eyes closed?"

"It's too bright in here to open them," Harry stated, turning toward Hagrid. It occurred to him that he must be "looking" right at Hagrid's belly, so he angled his head up a bit to line up with Hagrid's face.

"Oh, yeah. I heard you got venom in yer eyes," Hagrid said. "But wait, does this mean you can see again? You can see the sunlight comin' through the windows?"

"Naw," Harry made a calming motion with his hands. "It was like this yesterday, too. I can see some lights and really bright lights hurt, but I can't see anything except the light. People kept lumos-ing their wands in my face yesterday... "

Talking about his lack of vision made his stomach seize up, so he cast around for another subject, "So, you were released!"

"Yeah," Hagrid said. "I bloody hate that place."

"Wizard prison?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Sucks the life right out of you... "

Harry could hear Hagrid rubbing his big hands together as he said this as if to warm them.

"So, why'd yer kill the Basilisk fer? Couldn't you have spared his life? Harry?" Hagrid moaned. "The poor creature."

"Hagrid, the monster was trying to eat me!"

"Well, yes," Hagrid acknowledged. "So, you goin' down to breakfast?"

Harry's stomach rumbled in response. He had heard Madam Pomfrey swishing around in her robes and guessed that she was close by.

"Madam Pomfrey, may I go down to breakfast?" he asked.

Her clipped footsteps approached him and he turned his face toward her but kept his eyes closed.

"Yes, Harry. We'll be going to St. Mungo's at 7:50 am. I set up an appointment. Hagrid can take you down to the great hall for breakfast, then you need to be back here so that we can floo from the fireplace at 7:45 am."

"What time is it now?"

"It's 6:25 am on Monday, you slept through Sunday," she said. "Your clothes are cleaned and folded at the end of your bed. You were missing a sock, so I duplicated the one you had. I'll put up the curtain again," she paused murmuring and Harry tried opening his eyes to see if the curtain helped.