Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 133: Rigging

The next morning, Harry groaned as the alarm bells invaded his sleep and punctured his dreams.

"Gah. Monday, already... " he grumbled to himself as he tried to drag his aching limbs out of bed. He had a moment of dread as he realized that his time at the Center was nearing the end and he'd have to return to Privet Drive soon.

Too soon.

But I'll see Little Friend again. It's been 21 suns since I left him at Privet Drive. That means 12 more to go.

He stretched and winced—his arm was sore and he wondered if rubbing essence of dittany on it after his shower would help.

He muttered the slipper spell (sending a silent thanks to Neville for teaching him the charm) and sighed in relief as his feet were enveloped in the soft wooly slippers and padded over to the panel by the door to silence the alarm.

After he was showered and dressed, Harry ran his fingers over his schedule for the day at his desk. Though he was still slow, he was able to read the braille without having to get out his reader. It was nice to just pick up something and read it without a huge production of pulling out tools. He looked forward to the day when he could read quickly.

Harry Potter's schedule

Monday 19 July, 1993

7 am Breakfast

8 am Flexibility and balance with Ms. Midgeon in the O&M room

10 am Session with Besel and Lieutenant James Holman aboard the HMS Eden via the Mont Blanc Egress

11 am Navigating with your staff with Mr. Burbage in the O&M room

12 pm Lunch

2 pm Braille with Madam Flamel in the Library

4 pm Defense with Professor Remus Lupin in the O&M room

6 pm Dinner

7 pm Visit with the Flamels in their quarters

Of course, it helped that the schedule was familiar and every day was nearly the same. He had begun to recognize the patterns. He did stumble a bit over the Lieutenant's name and the name of the ship. It had been a long time since he'd had a session with the magically painted memory of the blind muggle adventurer from the 1800s.

Something about visiting Lieutenant Holman was niggling at him. He ran his fingers over his name again and again and then finally he realized what it was. Traveling into the painting used the same kind of magic that had nearly trapped Gemma in that dank tomb in Aminah's book. He had to be pulled into that painting, just like the portal into the book. He felt the hair rise on the back of his neck as he remembered how he'd been sucked into Tom Riddle's diary.

Are all these things connected? Are they made the same way? Is it dark magic?

He'd be able to talk to Besel about it. She'd listen.

Maybe if I show up a little early?

He could hear Gemma starting to wake up and picked up his schedule to put in his staff when his fingers brushed against another piece of parchment on his desk. It was a thick letter sealed in an envelope.

Was this delivered during the night?

He found the flap and broke the wax seal and pulled the parchment out. Running his fingers over it, he could tell that someone had written on it with thick ink. He pulled out his anagnóstis and was surprised to hear Oliver Wood's voice... which he almost didn't recognize because he sounded like he had a terrible head cold or was delivering an emotional speech to the team after a devastating loss. He skimmed down to the end of the page to confirm that it was indeed Oliver who'd written him the letter.