Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 109: Nox profunda

As Harry read through his schedule on Tuesday, he learned that it was pretty similar to his Monday schedule—except that he had just an hour with Godric for working with his staff and there was an hour added in to work with Besel in the herb garden. He was nervous about the time slotted in the afternoon with Professor Lupin.

Harry tried to catch Mei before she went to breakfast, but she had already left when he emerged from the toilet. He did a Reveleo memento charm just to make sure she wasn't just hiding from him—lurking under the surface of the water—hoping that he'd go away. She wasn't at breakfast either.

"Have any of you seen Mei?" Harry asked his roommates at breakfast. Gemma tapped "no," on his arm.

"No, she wasn't in the room last night when I went to bed," Tony responded.

"Actually, I haven't seen her since she was helping you during your nightmare," Arig said.

"You know, she didn't attend Council, either," Aminah mentioned. "I'm worried about her."

"I'm going to go ask Healer Jordan," Harry said as he pushed away from the table, leaving his hardly touched eggs and sausage on his plate. He shook out his staff and walked swiftly through the dining hall.

His imagination went to Mei hurt in the ocean somewhere. She could literally be anywhere... there were sharks and killer whales... submarines or fishing nets... and who knows what other magical creatures lurked in the depths of the ocean. He'd found out nearly three years ago that dragons, trolls, and goblins were real, what about the muggle myths featuring sea creatures such as the Kraken, the Loch Ness, and that giant squid from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

There were probably things he'd never heard of before, too. Like that creature that Professor Lupin had in a glass jar in his office. He didn't even know what it was—but it lived in water and had nails that were sharp enough that it sounded like they'd eventually make their way through the glass—given enough time. He shuddered at the thought and wondered if such creatures could emerge from Mei's tank while they were all asleep in the dormitory.

He shook his head trying to dislodge the thought and reminded himself that when all the wards had closed their dormitory was flooded—the Egress in Mei's tank was protected, too. Anything that so much as stuck a tentacle across the Egress would probably be zapped just like the bug in his shirt collar had been.

Harry tapped lightly on Healer Jordan's door and waited as he heard her footsteps approaching from the other side. He was pretty sure they were hers.

"Oh, good morning, Harry, what can I do for you?" Healer Jordan greeted him.

"I'm worried about Mei. None of us have seen her since yesterday. Do you know if she's okay?" Harry asked in a rush.

"Oh, come in, Harry," Healer Jordan said and there was a quality to her voice that made his heart jump into this throat. She offered him her arm and Harry felt compelled to explain as she led him to the familiar chair by her desk.

"It's just that she said something to me yesterday that I didn't understand and ... well, I still don't understand it... and then she got angry and left... and I haven't seen her since," Harry said. "Well, you know what I mean."

Healer Jordan had settled into the chair next to him, rather than behind her desk.

Harry sat on the edge of his chair, with his hands on his knees, leaning forward and listening carefully. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end and his fingertips felt tingly.

"Harry, Mei is taking some time to be with family—Mei is okay—but needed some time to figure some things out," Healer Jordan said.

He felt the air leave his body—he hadn't realized that he'd been holding his breath until he let it go.