Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 138: Fleur-de-lis

Gemma suggested that Harry shower and change clothes before he went to dinner at the Flamel's—teasing him by making the sign for stinky (waving her hand in front of his nose so that he could feel the air move on his face). His face warmed at the suggestion, but he laughed. It had been an eventful day and he didn't need to stick his nose under his armpit to know that Gemma was simply stating the truth.

In his wardrobe, he found that his nice pair of trousers and a dress shirt that he'd bought when he went shopping with Hermione and her dad had been laundered. He decided that it wouldn't hurt to also wear his school robes even though he hadn't been wearing them all summer because they were warm and a little harder to manage with his staff—one more thing to get caught up as he was trying to get around.

When he was out of the shower, he tried to get his hair to behave, much to Gemma's amusement. She snatched the comb out of his hand, pulled his desk chair over so she could stand on it, and tried to help him by dragging the tines across his scalp and patting his hair into place. She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him this way and that. She finally gave up and tousled his hair in frustration until it was its usual mop of unruly hair.

"It's all right, Gemma. Everyone always gives up on my hair. It has a mind of its own."

He grinned at her and caught her hands as she made the sign for laughing.

The door to the dormitory opened and Harry turned toward it, listening. He heard Aminah's staff.

"All right, Aminah? Did you get an owl?"

"Yeah," she said as she walked over to Harry's area, tapped with her staff until it came in contact with the bed and she sat down with a heavy sigh.

"What did your mum say?" Harry asked, sitting down next to her.

Gemma hopped down from the chair and pulled it so close that their knees were touching allowing her to reach them both to sign under their outstretched hands.

"Just that it seemed like they might have had a lead and were closing in on finding my dad and maybe even the monster who is controlling him, but then all the Aurors were called off the case to go chase that Sirius Black."

"Oh," Harry said as a weight settled in his gut. "Merlin's beard. I'm sorry, Aminah."

Gemma responded to Aminah, too, her hands moving through the signs slowly so that Aminah could follow. Harry's hands hovered over theirs and he could tell that Gemma had echoed his sentiments.

"Thanks, Gemma. Yeah, I know. It's just hard to wait. I'm just so worried about my dad. What if something... happens to him and I never get a chance to tell him that I know he didn't do it? What if..." Aminah lowered her chin to her chest and her hands to her lap.

Gemma's hands had followed Aminah's for a bit, but then hovered in the air hesitating. Harry held his hands over Gemma's wanting to help, but not knowing what to do. Then Gemma was pulling Harry's arm across Aminah's back as she hopped into the bed and threw her thin arms around both of them. The sudden movement made Harry lurch against Aminah as he lost his balance, then struggled to regain it. He rubbed his head where it had been struck by Gemma's elbow. But a sniffle from Aminah brought his focus back and he patted Aminah's back awkwardly while she heaved with sobs. Sympathetic tears pricked at his eyes.

Harry summoned a handkerchief from his staff and followed Aminah's arm from her shoulder to her hand that was covering her face. He pressed the soft cloth against her wet cheek. She took it and blew her nose and wiped her tears.

"Thanks, Gemma, Harry. You're good friends."

Gemma tapped his wrist where he'd wear a watch if he had one and he suddently remembered.