For a second, Harry was missing his little room at Privet Drive and the moments of being completely alone there—then he shook his head.
That's ridiculous!
I just feel weird here because everyone can see me and I can't see them. Well, actually, I don't know if everyone can see me. Just assume that they are not staring at you, Harry. They are busy getting settled. They don't care about you.
He used his staff to map out his area, figuring out the distances between his bed, wardrobe, and desk—touching each surface to gain an understanding of them. They were all wood—carved, not particle board like a lot of the flimsy furniture the Dursleys put in his room. The linens on the bed reminded him of the linens at Hogwarts—clean and stiff. He thought about unpacking his staff, but decided to do that later. He did unpack his book bag and put everything into his staff. Now that he was in a magical environment, he didn't need to worry about using it in front of muggles.
He knew he was supposed to be getting to know his roommates, but he really wanted to get to the owlery.
Besides, I already have met most of them. Just one… what was her name? It started with an 'A'. I'm going to have plenty of time to get to know them later.
He sat on his bed for a moment as he debated about whether or not to head to the owlery. As he struggled internally, he listened to his roommates, trying to figure out who was where and what they were doing. He was listening to the girl on the other side of the room whose name he couldn't remember, talking to someone in a low voice.
"Why are you staring at me?" Mei asked.
"What?"
"Quit staring at me," she insisted.
"I'm not staring. I can't see. I'm not looking at anything." Harry felt heat rising in his neck.
"Right. Likely story."
"Mei," her mother pleaded. "Hush. Leave him alone. He really is blind. Remember, Tony was telling you."
"Yeah, Tony also said that he's 'The Boy Who Lived,' and you know that's a lie."
Harry stood up and said, "Navigant owlery." He walked swiftly to the door and out into the corridor. He had a feeling he'd be spending very little time in his room during the next month.
[break]
As Harry made his way back down the corridors that they had traveled through on the tour toward the owlery, he wondered if he should try to find Mr. Burbage first or just go to the owlery on his own. He finally decided to try to find Mr. Burbage in the reception area and told his staff as much.
His staff took him directly to the reception desk. There was a steady and very loud clacking noise that put Harry in mind of an old fashioned typewriter, but not quite. "Mr. Burbage?" Harry asked and the noise stopped.
"Yes?" Mr. Burbage responded.
"It's Harry. I was wondering if we could go visit the owlery now?"
"Oh, sure. Let me just tell Healer Jordan where I'll be," Godric got up and Harry heard the tapping of his staff and then a door open and close. Harry's mind was on Hedwig and a litany rang through his head: Let her be okay, please be here, let her be okay…
Mr. Burbage came back through the door.
"Harry?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm over here."
"We can head over to the owlery now," Godric stated as he walked back toward the reception desk.
"Um, should I just follow you or should I cast the navigation spell to the owlery?" Harry asked.
"That's a good question, Harry. You know the adage 'the blind leading the blind?' right? We get to do a bit of that today. We'll use the sighted guide technique that I think Healer Jordan taught you, except for the sighted part." He chuckled at his little joke as he came around the desk to stand next to Harry.
Harry groaned, giving into the bad humor.
"Actually, some people are starting to call it 'human guide' and I think I actually prefer that," Godric said with gravitas.
Harry made an agreeing noise as he switched his staff in his left hand and found Godric's arm with his right.
Wow, he's tall. Why didn't I notice how tall he was earlier?
Harry wondered why this felt more awkward with Godric than it did with Healer Jordan or Hermione. Was it because Godric was blind? Or because he was male? Or maybe it was because he was taller than Harry by a considerable amount?
He's definitely taller than Dr. Granger. Maybe it is all of it together making awkwardness?
He puzzled over it. He was touching more people in the last week than he had all last year. It was kind of weird to be so intimate with people he didn't really know… and with some people it was more uncomfortable than with others.
Like, I didn't feel uncomfortable Healer Jordan—she seemed really professional as if she knew what she was doing. Confident, comfortable. Hermione is a friend and how many times did we walk around the castle under the invisibility cloak? It did feel a little strange with her dad, but that's just because I don't know him as well. Madam Pomfrey was a mess, so that was awkward.
Harry stumbled and realized that he needed to pay closer attention to what he was doing.
"Are you all right there, Mr. Potter?" Mr. Burbage asked.
"Yep, just need to pay attention to my feet, that's all."
They passed into the corridor and went right across the hallway. When Godric opened the door, Harry was overwhelmed by the owlery odor and for a moment thought he was at the owlery in Hogwarts.
It's so odd that the owlery is located across the hall from the reception area, though I imagine that's convenient for the office staff.
He had thought for sure that it would be on top of a tower. He realized that he had imagined a tower similar to Big Ben and overlooking the Thames, with owls flying in and out and perched on a jungle-gym of rafters high up into the roof.
As they stepped into the room, Harry realized that there was a breeze moving through the room as if it had windows open all around. From the windows, he could hear the sounds of London, but from far below and it felt as if the building itself were swaying ever so slightly.
Maybe it is at the top of a tower, just like I thought!
"Oi! Are we high up in a tower?" Harry asked as he slipped on some owl droppings under his feet and caught himself by pulling heavily on Godric's arm. "Poop! Sorry about that!"
"Yes, I guess the view is spectacular—a panoramic view of London. At night, it sparkles with all the lights," Godric explained.
Then there was a cooing hoot, explosive flapping and Harry felt feathers and wings dashing against his face and side of his head as a weight landed heavily on his shoulder, piercing claws digging painfully into his skin. Tears sprang to his eyes—the result of both joy and pain.
"Hedwig!" he shouted.
He reached up to feel her familiar form with his right hand, while bracing his left shoulder by gripping his staff.
She launched off his shoulder and landed nearby. Harry followed, using his staff to locate the base of the perch she was on.
"Watch out, there are droppings everywhere," Godric cautioned as something brittle crunched under his feet.
"Oh, Hedwig, I'm so glad you're here!" Harry was euphoric.
"Harry, I'll return to the desk now that you've located your owl, all right?" Mr. Burbage asked.
"Yes, thank you so much for your help!" Harry said as he stroked Hedwig's wing and accepted her nips on his fingers.
"There's a mat outside the door that you can wipe your feet on when you leave so that you don't track anything in the hallway," Godric advised as he exited the owlery—it sounded as though he were taking advantage of the mat.
"Okay, thanks!" Harry turned back to Hedwig after the door closed.
"Oh, Hedwig, I wish you could tell me where you've been!"
As if responding, she hopped on one foot and stuck the other one out to Harry. He followed the contours of her body down to the foot and found a couple of bundles of scrolls.
"Who else was sending letters, Hedwig?"
He was curious and untied them, but just stuck them into his pocket to read later. He didn't want to sit down in here. In fact, he was getting worried that he was going to get pooped on from all the owls up above.
He did summon one of his sandwiches from his staff and tore off pieces to share with Hedwig who greedily gulped them down. She nuzzled into his cheek, too. He didn't remember her ever being so affectionate before.
"It seemed like a long time, girl. Didn't it?" He smoothed her head. "It was four days. That's a lot."
He had felt her entire body and was relieved to find no sign of injury. He had been worried that she had been hurt.
He didn't want to go, but he checked the time and it was nearly eleven. He hated the thought of walking into the dining hall late.
"Hedwig, I'll be back soon. Okay?"
She hooted dolefully in reply and he felt terrible leaving her.
He left a big chunk of the sandwich with her and said, "Navigant dining hall," pausing only to scrape the owl droppings from his feet.