Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 38: Speaking with Gemma

As Harry neared the dining hall, he wondered if the big doors would be open or closed. It had seemed like Healer Jordan had used magic to open them earlier, but he hadn't heard her say a spell. Was there a panel like in the O&M room that was charmed to open and close the doors—kind of like a muggle elevator?

He imagined he could ask his staff to locate things like that if he knew what to ask it.

He reached the doors and his staff informed him that he'd reached his destination. He felt the area with his staff and discovered that the doors were open.

That's a relief. I'll have to ask Healer Jordan about them later.

It gave him an idea and he said, "Navigant Healer Jordan."

His staff was silent.

"Navigant group of people," worked though, and soon he was at the edge of the group of family and residents waiting for Healer Jordan. He was glad he had a chance to nibble on a sandwich with Hedwig because the food aromas in the dining hall were making him salivate.

He heard someone approaching him and again felt a small hand on his arm. He turned his face toward them.

"Hi, Gemma," he said.

He was pretty sure it was Gemma.

She lifted up his arm, and gently coaxed him to turn it palm up, then her finger was tracing something on his palm. He furrowed his brow in concentration, trying to figure out what she was doing. Then it hit him, she's spelling, "Hi." Gemma had spelled H—I into his palm.

He smiled and she squeezed his hand warmly. Then his smile faltered. Could she understand him when he spoke? He cast around for something to ask her. Well, he had a million things he wanted to ask, but they were too complicated, he needed something simple.

She was spelling into his hand again and he had to focus to understand what she was writing.

"W-H-A-T ?," she waited a few seconds between each letter. It took him a bit to get the last one, the question mark. He mouthed each letter as she wrote it and a gentle squeeze from her left hand supporting his let him know that she understood when he got the letter.

So he tried just saying, "I don't know if you can understand me when I speak." He could hear the people around him getting quiet and wondered how much of an audience they had. He felt his ears getting hot. He was tempted to drop it and walk away, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. She was being really brave approaching him when she didn't know if she'd be able to communicate with him.

She didn't squeeze his hand, so he guessed she didn't understand. He wondered if he should take her hand and try spelling into it, but then she was writing on his hand again.

She wrote, "S-L-O-W-E-R."

So he tried again, he figured he didn't really need to voice what he was saying as long as his lips were making the motions, so he tried slower, but barely breathing the words so they were very quiet. This time he phrased it as a shorter question, "Can you understand me?"

She squeezed his hand. He breathed and the corners of his lips lifted in a small smile.

That's a relief.

She wrote two dots and a curved line that, for a second he didn't get, and then he smiled in response. A smiley face.

More people were gathering around them. And then Gemma's mom was there and with her the flapping paper noise again.

He puzzled at that, Why did it always sound like she was waving a piece of paper around?

"Gemma, dear. There you are. Always running off. Oh, trying to talk with... what's your name, dear?" After a moment Harry realized that she had directed the last question to him.