Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 46: Apologies

Just admitting out loud to a group of, well, not strangers exactly, but new acquaintances that he wanted to trust the Center took a toll and Harry broke out in a sweat that prickled under his arms. He tensed for a second waiting for the backlash from his peers. When nothing happened he hurriedly passed the staff to Gemma, remembering at the last second that he was supposed to say what he was doing so Aminah would know, "I'm passing the staff to Gemma," he added in a rush.

He admonished himself for opening up so easily. There was something about this place and Healer Jordan.

Archimedea—who names their child Archimedea?—wixen—no wonder she goes by Jordan—I thought Jordan was her first name—like Healer Andy, he thought.

He felt really good about the Center and that's why he was inclined to trust it. But trusting was scary and even more so was saying so. Out loud. To people. People who had violent outbursts.

Why did I do it?

The bells tinkled as Gemma took the talking stick from Harry's hand and then stopped. Harry imagined she held the stick between her knees as she signed.

"I'm Gemma Boot and I'm glad to be here and to be making new friends who don't shut me out because I can't hear and who don't cringe and turn away because of my scars."

Her magical voice said all these things without emotion, but Harry knew that there was emotion behind the words. He wondered if he would have turned away from her scars if he'd been able to see them or shut her out because she couldn't hear if he had met her before he was in the same boat. His first impulse was to deny that he would have been so cruel, but then he had to admit to himself that he didn't know.

I wouldn't do it knowingly, he acknowledged, but what about unconsciously? I might not have even noticed her.

But then he reminded himself that he did tend to notice the kids on the fringe because that's where he usually was. Though sometimes he was so caught up in his own stuff that he didn't notice what was going on in other people's lives.

Gah. This talking about feelings stuff is worse than venturing into the Forbidden Forest.

Harry's skin felt clammy.

"I'm passing the talking stick to Aminah," Gemma continued.

The bells rang gently as it was passed.

"Thank you," Aminah said.

Harry leaned forward in an effort to hear her.

"I'm Aminah Khan. I'm going to try to ... trust the Center... and this process," she said quietly. "I'm passing the stick to Mei."

The bells rang quietly. They were silent for a second, then they rang gently again. "Mei, would you please take the talking stick from Aminah," Healer Jordan pressed.

The gentle tinkle of the bells became violent as if they were being shaken hard. Harry sat back and heard Aminah's feet shift on the rocky terrain.

"Mei, you can do this. It'll be okay," Healer Jordan encouraged.

Mei let out a big sigh and then gulped in a breath.

"You know that I'm Mei Lee. Obviously, I don't want to be here. I don't want to have a fishtail. I don't like this body that I'm in. I can't live in the ocean and I can only live a half-life on the land—using a stupid muggle wheelchair because my Jiāorén magic clashes with my witch magic. I didn't ask for any of this!"

She was shouting by the end of it. Her pain was palpable—it emanated in waves that crashed against the small group. Harry recoiled. He felt his staff in his pocket respond to it as if he were being stung by a stinging hex. He grabbed his thigh and cried out. Aminah shrieked and next to him he heard another explosion and Tony fell off his tree stump, careening into Harry.