Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 121: Evil eye

For a moment, Harry really wished that he could see Mei flying on a broom—with their mermaid tail fluttering in the wind. He imagined that the setting sun would reflect off their iridescent scales in a rainbow of hues.

The image in his head was so vivid though, and coupled with the sound of their laughter as it carried over the expanse of the lake, he realized that it was enough. He didn't need to see to have an indelible image etched in his memory. The crisp air that grew colder the closer they got to the water accompanied by the murky odors, the droplets of water that landed on his hands and face, the way the sounds bounced off of the granite faces circling the lake, the echo of bird cries as they answered each other, the buzz of flying insects, the cooling warmth of the sun as it slid toward the horizon, and everything that he knew about Mei completed the memory.

He tucked the memory away and lay against his broom handle so he could catch up with them.

oO0OooO0OooO0OooO0Oo

"Oi. That was fun. I wasn't as worried about falling off since we were over water—and also it was nice that it was just us... no one to stare at the fish on a broom."

"They should totally put the Quidditch pitch over the lake—then if people fall, they'd at least land in water."

"Well, landing water from great heights can be as dangerous as landing on the earth—it depends on how you enter the water and what is below the surface."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that. And I suppose you'd need to know how to swim. It would be bloody tragic to survive the fall, but then drown."

Harry and Mei were gliding back toward the shore after flying over the surface of the Mont Blanc lake for what seemed like hours. The sun had set and they decided to head back to the dorm.

"Have you had swimming lessons yet, Harry?" Mei asked.

"Not yet, but I think we're going swimming tomorrow with Ms. Midgeon."

"That's good—you need to learn how to swim. Aminah, too. Do you know if she's okay? I saw her walking with Godric toward the office earlier today—she looked scared... like she'd received bad news."

"No. Godric got her from our lesson... but he didn't say why..."

"Oh, I hope she's okay."

"Yeah, me, too."

"Oi! You probably didn't see that my old muggle wheelchair is gone and now I'm using a levitating chair like Besel's. Figora even modified it with more water features so that it helps me stay hydrated. It is so much more comfortable! I don't have to sit down in it—I can kind of be floating upright and not have to bend my tail in such a weird way."

"That's great—did it hurt to sit in the wheelchair?"

"Yeah, I had to sit at a weird angle so that I wasn't crushing my fins. It was really uncomfortable. It really made me cranky. The new chair is so much better. When I'm walking around I can be standing so that I'm not staring at everyone's bums, but I can change it to a seated position for when we're at a table. It's really nice. You'll see... er... well, you know. You'll notice."

"You can say see... it's like you said that you'd be walking. Same thing, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. Well, we're near enough to the shore now. How about you grab my broom and I jump off into the water?" Mei asked.

"All right, I can do that," Harry said, edging closer to Mei and stretching out his hand. They guided his hand the broom handle and he held on while they slipped into the water with a splash that sent water into his face.