Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 28: Roundabout

Harry had waited for a bit, crouched down with his face in the Agapanthus, hoping to hear the rustling sounds of Nio hus cherio kisa making his way toward him. With a sigh, he stood up and squared his shoulders.

I can do this, he told himself. Sure, I don't have any muggle money and... he stopped himself from naming his other fears. I can do this.

He started down the path to the street and at the staff's direction, turned left to walk in the street (there was no pedestrian walkway), and kept as close to the side of the road as he could by tapping the bordering stones on the curb. His footsteps on the gravel broke the quiet of the neighborhood and he imagined that people were starting to stir in their houses, making morning tea and getting the paper from their stoops. He was glad it was still pretty early and there wouldn't be many people on the road at this hour. The sun was just starting to get bright and Harry closed his eyes behind his glasses.

He listened to the birds filling the morning with their song and wished he heard Hedwig's low hoots among them.

Hedwig will be able to find me, she always knows where I am... How does she do that?

He could hear the traffic on the busier road ahead of him and took in a shaky breath. He knew his staff would help him avoid the cars, but they moved a lot faster than Dudley or Aunt Petunia and he'd have to respond quickly to the warnings.

What if I jump in the wrong direction.

The roundabout is coming up, Harry thought as he turned left again, this time onto a walkway. His staff warned him of a low-hanging tree branch and he ducked his head to avoid it. The staff told him to turn right and that he was at a pedestrian crossing. He listened to the traffic in the roundabout trying to figure out if he could cross and heard a car stop near him. His staff told him to cross... so he thrust his staff out in front of him, swinging it from side to side and started across. He heard another car approaching on the other side and then stop suddenly. It made his heart race and he felt like he was on display, his face flushing with heat. He drew in a deep breath and kept walking until the staff let him know that there was a curb in front of him. He could feel the different textures of the street and the pavement under his feet and was glad when he was safely on the other side. The cars moved on and he followed the curved pathway that went along the side of the roundabout to another street with a pedestrian crossing. He knew that he'd be walking along one of the busiest streets in Little Whinging soon, and then he'd have to cross it to get to the train station.

The distance to the next intersection was short because of the roundabout, and again Harry listened to hear if the cars had stopped before stepping out. It was nerve-wracking and it reminded him of being trapped by Devil's Snare in first year and having to trust Hermione that relaxing was the way to get through it.

Blind faith. This is what people mean by blind faith. Gah.

He made it around the roundabout to the next pedestrian crossing—this one would take him to the street that led to the train station.

Harry was starting to regret not eating breakfast while he was stealing food in the kitchen—he had been too nervous at the time.

I'll have time to eat one of my sandwiches once I get to the train station.

Another pedestrian joined Harry at this crossing and as Harry was listening to the traffic trying to gauge if it was safe to cross, the person grabbed his arm and started pulling him across the street.

"Here, let me help you get across," said a man's voice as his fingers dug into his arm, right on one his bruises.

The staff told him that the man was reaching for him, but not urgently like it did when the swing was about to hit his head or when he was going to run into Aunt Petunia or Dudley was about to trip him.