Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 149: Ahura Mazda's eternal flame

"Healer Jordan! You're all right!" Harry's legs started to tremble and he realized that he'd been more scared than he let on.

She groaned. "I'm not sure if all right is the correct phrase. Can't someone do something about that light? I can't see a thing."

"It's the null thingy," Septima explained. "None of us can see... it is too bright."

"Ah, well okay, then. I guess we get to experience things from Harry's perspective for a bit. I take it we haven't heard from anyone yet? Criminy. Why is it so cold? Is this ice? How long have I been out?"

"Not long. Quarter of an hour at most," Septima said. "You fell in the pool. Mei saved you."

"Thank you, Mei. I guess that explains why I'm so wet."

"Yeah, as soon as we took the null thing out of the water, everything iced over. Mei is able to use their magic under the cloak... you're both under it right now. And Mei broke through the ice," explained Harry.

The cloak stretched under Harry's hands as Healer Jordan reached up to verify that it was there. Nio was still clinging to Harry's wrist, but he was worried about the little snake. "Would you be warmer in my pocket?" Harry whispered in Parseltongue, as he used his knee to pin down the cloak and slid his hand into his trouser pocket. Nio didn't answer, but slipped into the pocket and nestled into a tight ball. Harry cradled him in his hand, thankful for the bit of warmth in his pocket.

"Do you think you're recovered enough to open up the Egress again, Healer Jordan?" Mei asked.

"Harry thought that Mei should travel out through the Egress and get help from outside the Center. We were thinking that maybe his cloak could contain the null vessel... but we're not sure and since it is the only thing really protecting us from the nulling effects, it would be safer if we weren't all trapped here," Septima explained.

"Spot on. I think you're right that the cloak might be able to contain it. It certainly shields us, but yes, if something were to happen to it... that could be disastrous. Let me see if I can open the Egress. I actually feel better than I have since we got sucked into that cave."

Harry could feel Healer Jordan sitting up under the cloak and heard her muttering the drying charm, presumably on her clothes.

"Oh, that's much better!" she sighed.

"Could you dry me off, too?" Harry asked, through chattering teeth. His T-shirt, balled up on the ground next to his knees, had turned into a lump of ice, the trouser-leg that was dunked in the pool was stiff, and his toes were numb but it was his torso, exposed as it was to the frigid air in the cavern, that burned with cold the most.

"Yeah, just a sec. Let's get the Egress open for Mei and the eel, then we can use the cloak as a shield from the null for you and Septima, too. The sooner we can get some help from outside the Center, the better."

"Harry, Septima, Healer Jordan. I'll find the quickest way to send help. See you soon," Mei said, and then there was a plunk as they disappeared through the Egress in the pool and a final zap of electricity through the air as the eel vanished with them.

The invisibility cloak was moving now, being pulled out from under Harry as Healer Jordan stood up.

"Come on, you two. Let's get you warmed up and then we'll try using the cloak on the null thing," Healer Jordan said as she edged slowly around the side of the pool.

Harry found his cane though his fingers were so numb that he wasn't sure if he was actually holding it. His T-shirt had frozen to the ground and he was afraid he'd cut his fingertips trying to pry it off. He grunted with the effort of trying to dislodge it.