Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 116: Aguamenti

When he put his shield up again, Harry thought of a knight's shield—one that he could hold and crouch behind instead of just a bubble of protection all around him. He was surprised when his shield actually took that form—anchored on his staff so that as he moved, it moved with him and he could feel and hear it hit the floor. He was able to kneel behind it and listen for Professor Lupin splashing through the water that surrounded him.

He didn't hear the hex that hit him in his wand arm, though—it came completely out of the blue and pierced his skin like a hundred hot needles. He wasn't able to hold onto his wand, but he still had his staff and he pulled it around in front of himself, panting and cradling his right arm across his knees. He willed his shield to close around him in a bubble and thought about it as a concrete wall—impenetrable.

Professor Lupin's voice was muffled from the other side, "Wow. That was a great way to retreat and give yourself time to recover, Harry. Well done!"

As he crouched under his concrete shield, Harry noticed that his heart was fluttering in his throat and that his palms were sweating. Even though he was well aware that he was here in Professor Lupin's office, a part of his mind was deep below in the Chamber of Secrets... standing before Riddle feeling starkers without his wand, his skin tingling as he anticipated the curses that Tom was going to start throwing at him and then stumbling away from the Basilisk with his eyes squeezed closed, certain that he was going to die.

"You okay, Harry?" Professor Lupin asked, his footsteps approaching Harry's concrete bubble.

"Yeah, sorry," Harry said, shaking his head to rid himself of the memory and letting down the shield. He stood up slowly, squeezing his hand and wincing at the lingering effects of the stinging hex.

"You did well," Professor Lupin said, slapping him on the shoulder and lightly tapping the back of his hand with Harry's wand. "How did you manage to modify your shield? Is that something you learned at the Center?"

"What? Oh. No. I just thought about it—I wanted something that I could shoot around," Harry said.

"Well, it was impressive. I've never seen anything like it," Professor Lupin said. "It also blocked you from view—so that was another way to keep your opponent on their toes. I didn't know which side of the shield you were going to hex me from. All right. Let's give Aminah a go while you rest."

Harry could hear the water dripping off the professor and then heard his low voice mutter the drying charm.

Harry gratefully sank into the overstuffed armchair as he listened to Aminah work on evading the hexes that Professor Lupin was throwing at her.

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Harry was dreading the Council meeting—not because he didn't support Mei and what they needed to share with the group, but because he was just so exhausted. It had already been a full day and he was anticipating that this wasn't going to be an easy conversation. He and Aminah had walked together from their lesson with Professor Lupin to Healer Jordan's office and barely had exchanged a few words.

Harry guessed that Aminah was equally exhausted, but for other reasons. She had shared with him earlier that her father had sent her a letter that was hard for her to process... she was having a difficult time sorting out what she thought about what he'd shared with her.

Not knowing the content of the letter, Harry felt that his offer of understanding and support somehow fell short, but Aminah seemed buoyed by it even so.

Before they reached the door, Tony was ushering them in as if they had been waiting.

Gemma and Peter greeted Harry and Aminah with protactile waves across their backs. Peter's interpreter also greeted them, but verbally.