Harry sat quietly for a bit while the sighted people around him oohed and ahhed as the storm raged around them. He'd put his socks and shoes back on after Healer Jordan had healed his foot.

After a bit, he got up and asked to sit next to Aminah. It was too hard to try to engage Tony or Gemma in a conversation when they were constantly being distracted by the destruction caused by the storm. Healer Jordan had also told them that they were a common occurrence on Fernando Po.

Why didn't she warn us that this might happen, then?

Their magical hut was so secure against the storm that they couldn't feel or hear the wind as it rampaged outside.

"I guess it is quite the storm," he said to Aminah as he settled in next to her.

"Yeah," she said.

"Do you think the ship will be okay? What if the painting gets damaged? Then what? Are we stuck here? Or does here go away? And then if it goes away, where do we go?" Harry pondered, his heart racing a bit at the prospect.

"The painting is protected," explained Mr. Burbage.

"Oh, hi. I didn't realize you were there," Harry said, a bit embarrassed.

"Yep. Maybe Fitz and Lieutenant Holman would want to join us, too, since everyone else is so captivated by the visuals. It's like being at a movie that's all action and no dialog," Mr. Burbage complained.

"What's a movie?" asked Aminah.

"Oh, I guess you've not been around many muggles, then," chuckled Harry.

"It's a… " he turned to Mr. Burbage. "How do you explain movies to wixen?"

Harry was frustrated that he wasn't finding the words.

"I always tell them that they are like plays that have been captured so that they can be seen over and over again. And they are kind of like memories, but you only view them from one perspective … the one that the director chose to show," explained Mr. Burbage, turning to Aminah.

"Have you seen a lot of movies?" Harry asked.

"I used to go to movies all the time with my pa when I was a kid, but I haven't seen a lot since my pa di… I lost my sight," Mr. Burbage got quiet for a little bit. "Some of them are okay, but most are so visual that you spend the whole time trying to figure out what is happening. My ma does a good job of describing the visuals, but she's pretty busy and we don't go very often… "

Godric stood up suddenly.

"I'll check in with Fitz and Lieutenant Holman—see if they want to come sit with us while we wait this out," Mr. Burbage said heavily as he moved away.

"Are there enough chairs here for them?" wondered Aminah.

"I dunno," mumbled Harry.

He was wondering why talking about movies made Mr. Burbage so sad.

How long we were going to be waiting the storm out? I wish we could just go back to our rooms. It must be nearly time for lunch, Harry thought as his stomach rumbled.

"If this is a memory, can't we just skip this part and move on to a nicer day?" Harry asked.

"I don't know how memories like this work, actually," Aminah said.

"Maybe it is like a movie, except its one where you can be bitten by the mosquitos, drenched by tropical storms, and feel the sand beneath your feet."

"That sounds like real life," said Aminah.

"Yeah. It does."

He looked up toward the noise of Mr. Burbage coming back with Fitz and Lieutenant Holman.

"Hi, we're not sure if there are extra chairs around here," Harry said turning to Tony, who didn't respond. He nudged Tony in the ribs to get his attention.

"Tony, are there extra chairs over here for Fitz and Lieutenant Holman?"

"What? Oh, yes. To the right of Aminah, there are two extra. You'll need to get one more. I can lead you to it, if you want, but you'll have to carry it," Tony said.

The last part he said more quietly to Harry. Harry heard him stand up and stood up, too, as Lieutenant Holman and Fitz found the chairs by Aminah.

"Okay, that works," Harry agreed, putting his hand on Tony's back. Harry's stomach growled again.

"You hungry again?" Tony teased.

"I guess so. Say, is there a loo in here?" Harry asked Tony as they moved past their little group.

"No, I was wondering the same thing," Tony responded as they moved across the crowded hut to the other side of the room.

Harry stumbled over people's feet a couple of times as they moved through the space, steadying himself against Tony's back.

"Here's the chair, Harry. It's directly in front of me," Tony said. "Is it all right if we take this chair?"

"Sure, you go right ahead, um, er. How are you going to do that?" asked a flustered older person that Harry didn't recognize.

"Harry's going to carry it, and I'll lead him back," Tony explained.

"I don't know how you two are going to manage that without hitting someone with the chair," the person replied.

"We'll manage."

"If we accio'd the chair," Harry wondered. "Would it hit people as it moved through the room?"

"Well, I suppose you could do it that way, but usually the summoning charm needs a bit more space than we have in here," the person replied.

"I could just push it in front of me," said Harry.

"I suppose you could do that, too," the person grumped.

"Just pick up the chair, Harry, and let's go."

Harry moved in front of Tony and found the chair first with his knee, and then reached forward to locate the back. It was a wooden folding chair, he realized as he ran his hands over the back and then the seat. He folded it up and held it against his body to turn, mindful that the grumpy old man (as he silently dubbed him) was watching them.

"Hey, watch it!" the grumpy old man shouted. "You about dislodged my weight. Do you want me to float away, blown out to sea by this storm?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir," Harry apologized.

Resisting the urge to move quickly to get away from the old grouch, he shuffled around Tony in the tight space, trying not to knock up against anyone else. Tony was giving him directions from behind him and they started walking back.

Harry put the legs of the chair on the ground and started using it like his staff to feel the ground in front of him. It was a lot more cumbersome. They hadn't made it very far from the grumpy old man (Harry could hear him behind them commenting on their progress) when Tony said, "Here comes Gemma. I bet she's going to want to help us."

"Hi, Gemma," Harry said as her steps neared.

"She asked if she can carry the chair," Tony interpreted.

"Sure, that's fine," Harry said, as she took it from his hands and walked away.

Tony moved in front of Harry and gave him a chance to place his hand on his back so they could go back to their seats.

"What did that old man mean that I had almost dislodged his weight?" Harry murmured to Tony, hoping others wouldn't overhear him.

"He's tied down to a weight. I guess he floats away if he's not tied down. Someone said that he had an allergic reaction to a Billywig bite," Tony explained.

"What's a Billywig?" Harry asked.

"It's some sort of Australian insect. Pretty harmless, except if you're allergic to them," Tony said.

"I wonder why he's here."

"I guess he has to adapt to floating?" Tony said.

"That doesn't seem like it would be that hard."

"Yeah, I dunno. It seems like he's having a hard time from the way Healer Jordan is always working with him. Maybe it's harder than it seems," Tony said.

"Being tied down to a weight seems like it would be hard. How does he move around? Wouldn't it be easier just to put on a weighted vest, or something? It seems like the wixen world could come up with some way to make it easier for him to manage."

"It was like he couldn't keep his arms or legs from floating… " Tony whispered, but then stopped as they had reached the group.

"Here's your chair, Harry, just two steps to your right," Tony explained.

"Thanks, Tony," Harry said as he moved around Tony to find his chair and sat down.

"Hey, Tony and Harry," Mr. Burbage addressed them from his seated position—they had just passed him. "Remember that you need to respect the privacy of the participants. Speculating about why someone is at the Center while you're walking through a room of people is… well, it's rude," Mr. Burbage admonished. "Think about if someone was talking about your disability like that… how would it make you feel?"

"You know they are, though," Tony grumbled.

"Well, that's why we have this policy. You know how painful it is to be the subject of someone's idle speculation… please consider that before you participate in it." Though Mr. Burbage finished in a sympathetic tone Harry could feel his mortification thread through his cheeks.

"Sorry, sir."

"Yeah, sorry," Tony mumbled and he went back to where he had been sitting earlier.

Harry just sat quietly for a while, tuning out the conversation that Lieutenant Holman, Fitz, Mr. Burbage, and Aminah were having that had been momentarily paused when Tony and Harry came back from getting the chair with Gemma.

His embarrassment was still burning in his chest. He also felt a resentment toward the grumpy old man.

The sighted people in the room were starting to talk among themselves and Harry wondered if the storm was starting to abate. Maybe they'd be able to go back to the Center soon. He hoped so. He was feeling hungry and sad and angry and he really wanted to be alone… away from the press of all the people in that small space, away from his embarrassment, and away from all the hassle of not being able to see. He hunched his shoulders and thought about getting his invisibility cloak out of his staff.