Harry turned to Adam as people were moving toward the painting to begin their journey through it, "Thank you for healing my cuts and drying my shoes, Adam."

"It was no problem, Harry, I was glad to help," Adam replied. "Now, here is your young friend who is always guiding you. I don't think she knows I'm here. I'm going to go help Fitz, but maybe another time you can introduce me to her when we have more time?"

"Oh, yes, Gemma. Um, yes, I will. Thank you!" Harry dropped his hand from Adam's arm and listened as he walked away. He felt Gemma's hand lightly touching the back of his hand and he lifted it up so that she could write on it.

"Hi Gemma, How did everything go? Did Mei get down the mountain okay? And Aminah?" Maybe he should have waited with Tony for all of them and they could have helped each get down the mountain. He felt a little disappointed in himself that he hadn't considered waiting until just now.

Maybe that's why Healer Jordan sent them down the path in the first place… well, we didn't fail completely, he thought.

Gemma tapped his palm twice for each question, then wrote: "W-H-O" space "T-A-L-K" space "T-O" space "N-O-W-?"

"I was talking to Adam, he healed our cuts—Tony's and mine" Harry explained as they moved closer to the painting (Harry trusted that that was the direction they were headed).

She wrote "I-N-V-I-S-I-B-L-E-?" on his palm and Harry nodded before she was done writing the word, she continued "C-U-T-S-?" and he felt a little shudder go through her hand to his.

"We both fell on the path, and I got caught in a thorn bush," he explained and he ran his thumb over his fingertips, relishing the feeling of the healed skin.

She opened his palm again and wrote, "T-O-N-Y" space "O-K?"

He nodded in response.

They moved forward and Harry took out his staff and shook it out carefully—mindful that there were a lot of people close by.

He thought he heard someone else's staff tap near him and asked, "Aminah, is that you?"

He realized that he recognized her by scent, too, a pleasing flowery scent that wasn't too sweet or overpowering.

"Yes. Hi, Harry."

"How was your trip down the mountain?" he asked.

"It was challenging. Healer Jordan came and helped us. Mei was having a hard time and so Healer Jordan took her directly down to the water, so it was easier when it was just me and Gemma. Gemma's really brilliant, you know?"

"Yes, she is," Harry agreed. "I was wondering how Mei was going to get up the gangplank."

"Do you know what the painting is a picture of?" Aminah asked.

"No."

"Yeah, me, neither."

Gemma took Harry's hand and wrote, "P-I-C" space "O-L-D" space "N-A-V-A-L" space "O-F-F-I-C-E-R" and Harry told Aminah what she said.

"Oh," Aminah seemed confused, "Like a muggle? I guess I thought it would be a wizard or something."

"Yeah, me, too."

Gemma let go of Harry's hand and shifted away from him. He felt the air moving near him and could hear hands moving, occasionally hitting their clothes or chest or clapping together and it sounded like someone was making noises with their mouth like they were mouthing words. He guessed that she was signing with someone. He wondered who else here knew BSL.

Gemma touched his hand and nudged him forward in the line a little absentmindedly, so he used his staff navigate a step forward while he reached out for Aminah.

"Aminah, I think we're moving forward," he said as he found her elbow and added, "I think Gemma's signing with someone, too."

Gemma's hand found his and raised it up and wrote, "M-E-E-T" space "S-H-A-N-N-O-N" and then moved his hand and he felt someone else holding his hand, shaking it.

"Hi, Shannon. Nice to meet you," he said and he leaned toward Aminah, "Gemma is introducing us to Shannon."

"Shannon, are you also deaf?" Harry asked, wondering if it was rude to ask, but also figured it was just handy information. Gemma tapped his hand twice, "yes," and Shannon answered, "Yes. Nice to meet you, Harry." Her voice was pleasant and he was surprised that she didn't sound deaf at all. He wondered how she was able to talk so easily when she couldn't hear her own voice. Maybe she wasn't completely deaf? Or maybe she was like him… it was a recent change. He realized that he had been lost in thought and shaking her hand for too long. He released her hand and felt heat creeping up his neck.

"Er, this is Aminah," Harry said quickly, turning toward Aminah. He could feel Shannon pressing against him as she greeted Aminah.

"Nice to meet you," Shannon said.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Shannon."

Harry could sense that Gemma was talking to Shannon in sign language and waited patiently.

"Gemma wants me to tell you that we're next in line to go through the portrait. She's going to go first so that she can help you and Aminah go through, okay? I'll go last." Shannon explained.

"Thank you, Shannon." Harry was grateful to have someone who could help them communicate more efficiently.

He felt Gemma's hand on his as she moved in front of him and then was pulled into the portrait. He held out his hand, thinking that she'd grab it, then he imagined it was Shannon's hand that guided his arm to the left and up a bit until he found Gemma's fingertips and then her hand. She grasped it firmly and he felt himself being tugged forward. He had thought that he'd have to step over a frame, but he was just sucked forward as if he were in a vacuum—it made his naval ache in an odd way as if he had been pulled through by his umbilical cord—he could feel it in his core.

Ugh, I don't like that, Harry thought as he was squeezed through. It was nearly as bad as trying to dig lint out of his belly button—which usually made him pretty queasy.

Immediately he was struck by the change in atmosphere. He was glad for a distraction from the weird belly-button feeling. The air had been crisp and cool and light when they were in the French Alps, and now it was heavy, thick, and wet—they were definitely in a different climate.

He remembered that he was supposed to offer his hand to the next person—Aminah—and he stuck his hand out in the direction he had come before his feet landed on firm ground again. Gemma helped guide his hand to the right spot and he could feel a tingling as it passed through a magical barrier and then felt Aminah's warm hand grasp his. He held on tight as she moved forward and then helped her gain her footing as she landed.

He could feel Gemma next to him helping Aminah pull Shannon through the portrait of the naval officer.

"Ew. I don't like that feeling," Aminah groaned.

"Yeah."

Harry was trying to figure out where he was—he was definitely on a ship that wasn't too different from the one they just left; it was possible that it was even an identical room. The same people he had just been with were around him and talking in the same tones as they had been conversing in the Captain's Quarters of the HMS Eden. He could hear Fitz and Adam talking of the view from the Captain's quarters. Adam was pretty animated as he described a tropical scene that was very different from the mountains they had just been in. He sounded like a child in a candy store, so palpable was his glee.

I wonder if this is close to his homeland.

Pretty soon everyone had come through the portrait and Healer Jordan addressed them: "In a moment, we're going to move out onto the deck of the HMS Eden, and then deboard to the shore of Fernando Po, which is an island off the western coast of Africa (in our times it is called Bioko). This painting that we've stepped through is a little different from the enchanted portraits that you may be familiar with. This one was painted by the controversial witch, Beryl Comstock, who lived and traveled extensively in the 19th century and experimented with painting portraits of well-known wixen and muggles of her time. She was shunned in England for her work with muggles, and left England to continue her experimentations abroad—where she painted this portrait. She combined wixen painting techniques with memories of the same event witnessed by several wixen to make portraits of wixen and muggles that are more realistic and true to life. Many of Beryl Comstock's works were destroyed, but her daughter Magenta Comstock was able to save this portrait and left it to our center upon her death a couple years ago.

This painting takes us back to 1827 to meet our honored guest, Lieutenant James Holman, who will greet us on shore. We are very fortunate to have this chance to talk to Lieutenant Holman who lived from 1786 to 1857 and who was memorialized in this portrait on the HMS Eden. Lieutenant Holman was a remarkable muggle who was blinded at the age of 25 by an unknown illness. He also suffered from rheumatism that at times made it difficult for him to walk. He found that the cure for the rheumatism that threatened his life was to travel by himself into areas of the world that were unknown to most westerners at the time. I hope you'll find him a very fascinating guest."

Harry wondered where Mei was—it seemed like this was when she'd chime in with a groan at the very least. He was also surprised that Tony wasn't expressing his disdain for muggles.

Healer Jordan went on, "Please keep in mind that the world has changed a lot since 1827 and some of the cultural views that Lieutenant Holman is likely to express have changed radically. I think that you'll find that he's rather open-minded if you make allowances for the differences between his time and ours. At the point that we're meeting him, he had just begun the leg of his journey where he would confront slave traders and attempt to bring them to justice as well as assist freed slaves as they tried to return home. Later, he would go on to advocate for the rights of the Aboriginal people in Australia who were viewed by the English invaders as subhuman. He was also fairly accepting of the hidden wixen community existing around him—that other muggles had not noticed. While the painting depicts a specific time and place, this portrait version of Lieutenant Holman has access to nearly all his memories, except maybe those from the very beginning and end of his life."

This guy sounded a bit intimidating to say the least. And just getting here to talk to him was exhausting. Harry wasn't sure he was up to meeting him. He was afraid he'd be rather disappointing to someone who had done so much with their life.

Maybe I won't have to talk—I can listen, Harry thought.

Why had they gone to the French Alps to get on a ship then to go through a portrait to travel back in time to Africa to visit him? It all seemed very elaborate and convoluted and Harry was feeling pretty tired. Especially now that his feet were dry and warm and it was hot and muggy.

I sure wouldn't mind a hammock and a cool drink down by the beach right about now…

But that didn't seem to be on the docket.

Healer Jordan led the group out of the Captain's Quarters. Harry took Gemma's arm and Aminah took Shannon's. They had to go single file through the corridor. Out on the deck, the sun was even more brilliant than it had been at Mont Blanc and Harry squeezed his eyes tight against it.

He wondered if they'd have to go down the gangplank. He stopped, his feet rooted to the spot.

I don't want to do it, he thought as his feet refused to move forward.