Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 60: Gemma's ire

Stepping back into the hallway outside the dining hall, Harry was pleasantly surprised by the aroma of steak and kidney pudding. His stomach rumbled in response.

"Potter!" Mei's gravely voice greeted him and he heard her wheels moving across the floor.

"Hi, Mei. Were you okay in that storm?"

"Oh, yeah. I had to dump all those stupid necklaces—they were so heavy! And then I just swam back here and I've been waiting for you all for at least an hour. Why'd it take you so long to come back? I thought you'd come back right away."

"We stayed in a shelter until the storm died down—then Healer Jordan created an Egress so we could come back here... I guess she couldn't do it while the storm was going... she said it was too risky with all the electricity in the air."

"Yeah, I dumped them. And no, I don't care that they thought I was some sort of deity," Mei said.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Oh, Gemma's just going off about how I was disrespecting the natives by dumping the 'offerings'," Mei groused.

Gemma stomped her foot in frustration and Harry reached out for her. Her hands were in motion and she whacked him with her wrist.

"Oh, ow," Harry said stepping back.

"Gemma, they aren't even real! They are some old muggle's memory from 1827, for Merlin's sake! Get over it!" Mei shouted.

Gemma's feet stomped again and Harry could hear Gemma's hands slapping against her body as she signed.

"I AM NOT MAMI WATA!" Mei shrieked as she sped away leaving Harry standing by Gemma.

The conversations in the hallway had all stopped. Harry felt his cheeks get hot at the thought of everyone staring at them.

Maybe they are watching Mei storm out of here and don't even notice me and Gemma.

He could almost feel the heat coming off of Gemma. He waited a second before reaching out tentatively again. Gemma was still signing—to herself, apparently, and her whole body was trembling. She pushed Harry's hand away, shutting him out.

"What did I do?" he hissed.

She took his hand and he resisted the urge to pull it out of her grasp—to shut her out in turn.

She was still shaking violently as she wrote in his palm, "ITMAKESMESOMAD!"

He had to really focus to figure out what she was saying, even though he knew that she was really mad.

"What was it? Was it more than the necklaces?" Harry asked.

He felt like he was missing something.

"K-I-D-S" space "A-D-O-R-E-D" space "H-E-R" space "W-O-R-S-H-I-P-P-E-D" space "S-H-E" space "T-O-S-S-E-D" space "I-T" space "A-W-A-Y" space "L-I-K-E" space "T-R-A-S-H," Gemma's trembling grew less as she wrote and he felt a tear drop onto his palm.

He didn't really understand why Gemma was so upset, but he didn't like her crying. He awkwardly grasped her hand in an attempt to comfort her. He was holding his staff in his other hand, and tried to lean it against his shoulder while he reached for her shoulder to pat it, but started to fall, so he caught it instead.

"Hey, what's going on?" Aminah had come over.

"Gemma's really upset by something that Mei did on the island."