"So you're just learning braille?" asked the clerk.
"Yes, I've really only had one lesson," Harry said, still running his finger over the three letters and finding comfort in it. A word I can read with my fingertips.
"Well, that's pretty impressive then. So, any chance you're working with my friend Godric at the Perenelle Flamel Center?" he asked.
"Um, yes… he's one of my teachers actually," Harry raised his head in the direction of the clerk, paying more attention to him. "He recommended we come here." Harry then stilled… he realized that while Godric was there when they were discussing his disguise, he probably didn't hear them talking about his fake name and that maybe by revealing that he was at the Center, he was blowing his cover. Hermione seemed to think the same thing because she nudged his arm.
"Well, that's good. He did help us choose our line of adaptive magical items and also sends us new ideas constantly," the clerk said. "I'm Chester Davies, by the way, and I'm holding my hand out if you'd like to shake hands."
Harry reached out finding Chester's hand easily, "it's nice to meet you. I'm Haripreet Batra and this is my friend, Hermione Granger and her father is near here somewhere, he's Dr. Granger." He cocked his ear, listening for Dr. Granger, but wasn't sure where he was.
"So, you two go to Hogwarts, don't you?" Chester said. "My brother, Roger, is going to be a fifth year… I'll be starting my seventh year. We're both in Ravenclaw. What years and houses are you?"
"I'll be a third year at start of term," Hermione said. "I'm in Gryffindor. Haripreet will start next year… that is if his family doesn't return to New Delhi."
Harry was a bit put out that Hermione answered for him and tried to direct a look at her, though he wasn't sure she received it.
Is she afraid that I'm going to mess this up?
"So, how does this quill work? Can I try it out?" Harry asked.
"Sure, Accio parchment," Chester said and Harry felt a slight breeze as the paper flew by his face.
It reminded him of Gemma's papers.
I'll have to remember to cast the spell again before Gemma returns.
"The quill's charmed to start transcribing as soon as you touch the tip to a piece of parchment on a flat surface (that's to protect it from starting to transcribe randomly in your book bag). So, let's move over to this counter—and roll out the parchment," Chester instructed.
Harry shook out his staff, following Chester's voice and footsteps to the counter. Hermione hovered behind him. Harry reached out and found the countertop expecting glass, but was surprised by a well-worn and oiled wood. He leaned his staff against his shoulder, in the crook of his arm, and transferred the quill to his left hand, then found the parchment by following the sounds of the paper being smoothed out on the wood.
"That's right, now put the tip of the quill near the top left-hand corner," Chester instructed. "Oh, wait, do you want it to write in braille or cursive?"
"Let's try braille first," Harry said.
"Okay, so press gently against the word braille on the quill—you'll notice that the nib will turn to a stylus point—then set it down," Chester said.
Harry felt the tip—it had transformed into a thick, blunt needle shape.
"Near the top left-hand corner?" Harry asked.
"No, actually—it'll be like a slate and stylus—so you'll want to put it in the top right-hand corner, and then you'll read it from the other side from left to right," Chester said.
Harry placed the quill on the parchment.
"I'm not sure what to write," he said and then listened as the quill set to work. It wasn't as loud as the brailler, but it did make little punching noises.
"Why would Godric use a brailler instead of this? This is a lot quieter and it has to be much more portable," Harry wondered aloud.
"Oh, I think he loves muggle tools… something about his dad… " Chester said. "Also, it is a different process to say what you're going to write and have a tool write it down, than to write it yourself—compose in your head and then write it without speaking. I think he uses a QQQ for taking notes at lectures and such and a brailler for composing letters or other works."
"Right," Harry said as he listened to the quill punch out Chester's words. "How do you stop it?"
"Simply lift it off the parchment," Chester said.
Harry found the quill easily and removed it from the paper, then flipped the paper over to read what had been written. He puzzled over it for a while and then realized that it was writing in contracted braille and the only word he knew in contracted braille was 'brl'. He actually felt pretty skilled to have figured out that it was writing in grade 2 braille.
"Can I set it to write in uncontracted braille until I learn all the contractions and how to read them?" Harry asked.
"Oh, that's a good question. Probably, but I don't actually know," Chester said.
"Does it come with instructions?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, yes, you can ask it to transcribe the instructions. Let's see, press the braille again to change it to the quill neb, then set it on the paper, and say, "Ex grafo instructions".
Harry had set the quill on the paper before Chester said the spell and he heard the quill start to scratch across the parchment.
"Oh, Harripreet, it can be set to write in grade 1 braille!" Hermione exclaimed after a little bit.
"Do you need a reader, Harripreet?" Chester asked as he moved over to another shelf and shifted around some boxes.
"No, actually… "
"Excuse me, do you work here? I'm looking for a crystal ball… " someone asked Chester.
"Oh, yes, just a moment and I can show you where they are," Chester said. He turned back to Harry. "Here's a reader if you'd like to try it out and I'll come back… we have some other items you might want to explore." He pressed a box into Harry's hand and turned back to the other customer and led them away.
Harry could still hear the quill scratching at the parchment. Hermione's arm was pressed up against his as she was leaning over the counter reading the instructions as the quill wrote them out. Harry felt the box and found that it had a top that he could lift off. Inside he found a pencil-like reader that was slender and cool, though a little wider and lighter than the one Dumbledore had given him.
He took it out and felt it to determine which end should be set on the paper.
"Hermione, does the quill have much more to write for the instructions?" he asked.
"I think it is about done… it is going to run out of parchment soon. I'm curious about how it will notify you that it needs another piece," Hermione said. "It says that you can also set it up to transcribe what is on the blackboard and that if a teacher is talking while they are writing, it'll sort it out so that you can tell what was on the board and what was spoken… that's pretty amazing. It was specially designed for blind students."
"That actually makes me feel a lot better about going back to Hogwarts… " Harry said in a low voice.
"Yeah, I've been worried about that, too," Hermione sighed.
He heard the quill stop and heard a tiny bell ringing.
He followed the sound to the quill and lifted it off the paper, then turned it over and placed it below the braille that it had written earlier so that it could continue writing the instructions.
It didn't take long before it stopped and the bells rang again.
Harry laid aside the quill and turned the parchment over to read the instructions. The reader did a fine job of reading the text—but it was a very impersonal voice, not at all like the anagnóstis and it didn't have the ability to define words—or if it did, it wasn't automatic. He put it back in the box.
"What other things do they have, Hermione? Anything else that would make school easier?" Harry asked.
"Oh, here's a quill like the one Godric used this morning to make the tactile map for us. It says that it will turn paper maps into tactile maps and… Harry… it does the same thing for images—it creates a tactile form that you can feel. Your photo album… it could make the images visible to you… " Hermione said in hushed tones.
Harry felt his gut seize at the thought. "But it wouldn't be like looking at a photograph—I mean wixen photos move. How would it capture that?"
"Let's try it—the box says there are examples inside," Hermione said as she lifted the top off a box that she had placed on the countertop. He heard her unfolding a piece of paper.
"Here's the tool—it says when you lay it on its side, you can move it over a photograph to turn it into a tactile form of the image—a three-dimensional representation. And when you use the point, it'll draw lines—that's what Godric was doing this morning when he marked the shops for us on the map," Hermione explained.
Harry had the tool in his hand—it was about as wide as knife, but uniform in size, and flat with edges all the way around that were tapered, and it narrowed to a blunt point on one end. Hermione nudged the paper she was reading toward him.
"There's a wixen photo here that you can try it on—it is moving. It says that it will convert the text around the image to braille. When you're done, you can restore it to print and images by saying 'Non tangere'."
Harry placed the tool on its side and pulled it over the paper. Hermione gasped. Harry felt the paper and found the braille text then a narrow ridge—he ran his fingers over it and found that the ridge was in the shape of a box—like a frame. He moved into the space it defined, his brows knitted together as he tried to figure out what it was. He could tell that Hermione was dying to tell him—she was emitting the same nervous energy she gave off when she knew the answer in class. He was glad she was resisting the urge. He wanted to do this on his own.
Harry noticed that Dr. Granger had circled back to them and was watching as well—he had recognized his footsteps and he could smell his faint aftershave.
He tried to focus again on the image under his fingertips—it was larger than he thought it would be. It was like a little sculpture—except warm and moving. He figured out that the most prominent shape was a person standing holding something. A man—he was pretty sure. He felt the heat on his neck. It was like a little miniature version of a person—warm body, fabric, hair, and moving slightly. It was a little weird and embarrassing to feel the contours of a person's body rather than looked at them, but how else was he going to know? He moved over the image and discovered trees that seemed to jump up and out of the frame in their prickliness and feather-like branches and as he moved around the image, he found a pathway through the trees—the texture was like sand. He went back to the man and carefully found that he was holding a piece of paper and a staff. He named each thing as he identified it and Hermione affirmed each item.
"So is it an image of a blind man feeling a tactile map at the head of a trail that goes through a forest?" Harry asked.
"Yes, that's exactly it, Har-ri-preet!" Hermione exclaimed, catching herself as footsteps approached.
"Oh, good, I was hoping you'd find that tool," Chester said. "Sorry, that took longer than I expected."
"That's pretty nifty!" Dr. Granger said, "You could look at that photo album that Hermione put in your staff."
"What?" Harry said, turning his face quickly in Hermione's direction.
"Um, yeah. I put it in your staff. I was hoping we'd find something like this," she said and he could hear her discomfort in her confession.
His insides were playing tug-of-war with him. On one hand, he felt like she had tricked him—using his inability to see against him, on the other hand, he really wanted to look at those images… any way that he could.
"Oh, I would like that," Harry said. He resisted the temptation to take it out and do it right then.
oO0OooO0OooO0OooO0Oo
Harry stashed his new quill and digitus in his staff as he thanked Chester and they headed back out onto the street where it was raining. Hermione quickly cast a shielding charm over the three of them that acted as an umbrella. It sounded like an umbrella to Harry, at any rate.
He was itching to look at the photographs that Hermione had found in his vault with the digitus… and he almost wanted to cancel the trip to Charing Cross Road to shop for clothes and trainers, but he bit that desire down… it would be a lot harder for him to shop on his own in muggle shops.
They were headed back to the Egress by Gringotts. They had decided that they'd have more tasty options for lunch on Charing Cross Road. Harry remembered some of the aromas that had tempted his nose on their outing yesterday and was hoping for something savory. He had convinced Dr. Granger and Hermione to let him buy lunch… arguing that they had seen his vault, they bought the train tickets last week, that he wouldn't have many opportunities to eat outside of the Center, and that they had done so much for him this week. They finally gave in.
"Oh, Hermione, is the apothecary shop nearby?" Harry asked, knowing that they had walked by it earlier.
"It's not too far away… why?" Hermione asked.
"I was just thinking that it would be nice to have my own bottle of essence of dittany. I keep getting little cuts on my fingertips and they get in the way of me seeing," Harry explained. "It would be nice to have something to heal them in my staff. You know, this extendable storage is really amazing. You should get something like it for all the books you're always carrying."
"I know. Ever since you showed me yours I've been thinking about it. Is it undetectable, too?"
"What do you mean, undetectable?"
"I was reading up on it at the library, and I guess a lot of extendable storage units are also undetectable so that people can hide things without other wixen being able to cast spells that allow them to locate the hidden items," Hermione explained.
"Oh, I don't know," Harry said. "I can ask Godric about that. So, the apothecary?"
"Sure, let's go there," Hermione said as she changed direction. "You don't mind? Do you, dad?"
"No that's fine, though I am starting to get hungry," Dan said.
"We can be quick," Harry assured.
"Er, do you mind, then, if I duck into this shop here?" Dan asked. "There's something that I want to take a closer look at."
"Are you sure, Dad?" Hermione asked. "We can go in with you."
"No, I'll be okay, Hermione. It's right next door. You can get your dittany stuff and then we can go have lunch," Dan assured.
Harry was really curious about what would attract Dan's attention in Diagon Alley, but Hermione seemed more worried about her dad going off on his own. Dan ducked out of the shield that was keeping the rain off them and headed toward the store. "I'll be fine, Hermione. Really," he said as his footsteps splashed through puddles.
"Okay, here's the shop—there are two steps up," Hermione said. "Finite. Oh."
A very familiar voice was echoing throughout the shop—one which made Harry's stomach seize up.
"Is that… ?" Harry asked as Hermione nearly froze on the second step.
"It's okay… it's just Professor Snape is at the counter," Hermione hissed in his ear. Harry was thinking they should just turn around and leave and then he remembered that he wasn't Harry Potter today.
"Uh—he won't want to talk to us," Harry reminded her. "Maybe he's finished and is about to go?"
As they stood there stalled in the entry, it became clear that their Potions professor was having an argument with the apothecary.
"… specified in my letter… dated June 4th… the moonseed must have a pearlescent sheen. I clearly stated that I would not accept moonseed that had any. tinge. of. grey… This order is of the utmost importance and I will not brook any delay… "
It sounded as if the apothecary was doing her best to appease the professor, but it didn't seem to be making a difference.
"Hurry, Haripreet, we better get out of the way," Hermione urged tugging him along through the door so that they pressed against a barrel of what could only be peeled and pickled garlic. The fumes were almost more than Harry could bear. His eyes began to water. He wondered if the apothecary was trying to fend off vampires.
So how was it that Snape was able to tolerate it, then?
"Um, can we move to a spot that isn't so garlic-y?" Harry whispered as he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Er, yeah… it's just that it is a very tiny shop and there are a lot of barrels and things," Hermione replied in a very low voice. She started to edge around the garlic barrel. Harry's staff tinged against another barrel and something inside of it moved suddenly in the watery depths as if startled.
Hermione squeaked.
"What was that?" Harry whispered.
"Live eels, I'm pretty sure," Hermione moaned.
Harry pulled his staff closer to his body.
The argument ended abruptly with a sharp noise that Harry guessed was Snape slamming his hand on the counter for emphasis. Harry listened for his footsteps, but only heard the rustling of a cloak as it swooped by… pausing for a breath near them and then continuing on. He could feel the weight of Snape moving the floorboards, even though he couldn't hear his steps.
Hermione let out a relieved sigh when the door slammed shut.
"He looked at us, didn't he?" Harry said.
"Yep," Hermione confirmed.
"Let's get the dittany and get out of here," Harry urged.
"Okay," she agreed and led him carefully around the barrels and through the narrow aisles to the counter in the back where the apothecary seemed to be angrily sorting small glass jars and muttering to herself about pearlescent sheens and tinges of grey.
It wasn't too long before they had a small potion vial stoppered with a cork stashed in Harry's staff and were out on the pavement again under Hermione's shield charm and waiting for Dr. Granger who didn't seem to be in the shop he said he'd be in.
"Where'd my dad go?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. Are you sure he's not in there?" Harry asked.
"I'll just run inside and check, okay? You don't mind waiting here, do you?" Hermione asked, but was running up the stairs of the shop and wrenching the door open before Harry could answer.
Harry shifted from foot to foot as he waited, tapping the silver tip of his staff against the cobblestones lightly. Pretty soon he heard hurried footsteps approaching him.
"Oh, Harry… er… Haripreet," Dr. Granger said from a bit of a distance.
Harry turned toward him.
"I didn't mean to be gone so long. Where's Hermione?" he asked, grasping Harry's shoulder.
"She went inside looking for you," Harry said.
The door creaked and Hermione clattered across the cobblestones toward them.
"Dad! Where were you!" Hermione interrogated. "I thought you were going to be in this shop!"
Dr. Granger wouldn't reveal where he'd been or what he'd been up to… and after she ranted a bit, Hermione seemed oddly pleased. Harry wondered if this was something that parents often did with their children… he had figured out a while ago that the Dursleys weren't necessarily an example of a typical family. Everything they did was for show.
"How about we go through the Leaky Caldron to get back to Charing Cross Road—isn't it pretty close to the Center?" Dan suggested. "I think there's a Thai place near there that's supposed to be pretty good."
"Really? It's near the Center?" Harry asked, trying to remember how he and Hagrid had traveled to the Leaky Cauldron. There was so much about that trip that was seared into his memory—Hagrid getting stuck in the turnstile and pointing out the parking meters—but he didn't remember what station they traveled to or what streets they took to get to the Leaky Cauldron. He had been so caught up in the magic that he had forgotten to pay attention to everything else.
"I've been wanting some Phad Thai—what do you think?" Dan asked.
"Hmmm. Aren't those noodles?" Harry asked, a little worried.
"I thought you liked noodles," Hermione said.
"Yeah, I do—I just haven't tried them since" and he waved at his face. "I think they'll be kind of hard to manage."
"Don't worry about that stuff with us, okay? We don't care," Hermione assured.
"Yeah, sure, I know," Harry said, "It's just frustrating sometimes to have to learn how to do everything again."
"I bet," Hermione sighed.
As they walked to the Leaky Cauldron, the rain started to abate. Harry liked the sound of it on the trees and rooftops—it gave him a sense of where things were. He could hear it gurgling down drain pipes and dripping off rooftops. He knew when he was passing potted plants because he could smell the wet soil and leaves. The trees were the best part and though there weren't many on Diagon Alley, the small ones that they passed were alive with sounds and fragrances. He paused under one, letting go of Hermione's arm.
"What are you doing, Harry?" she asked.
"Just listening to the tree… and smelling it," he reached out and found the trunk—tracing the raised lattice-like lines of the bark. He had stepped outside of Hermione's shield charm and drops of water fell on his face as he stood under the tree, trying to inhale it.
"It's on the verge of blooming—it'll be amazing," Dan said. "A sweet lemony-orange smell."
"It smells good now," Harry said.
"Yeah, it does," Hermione agreed.
As they passed through the Egress to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry felt the familiar tug of the magic on his navel. He wondered why he hadn't felt it before. He heard Hermione utter a small 'oh!' and knew that she felt it, too.
The bar was bustling with people and Harry worried that they'd run into other people that they knew. At least the Malfoys wouldn't be caught dead here!
Dr. Granger hissed to Hermione about something that someone was carrying, but Harry couldn't quite hear what it was and Hermione whispered that she'd tell him later. There was something about the smell of spilt butterbeer and sour dishrags that made Harry remember meeting Quirrell here and how clammy and cold his hand had felt—like he had pressed a limp fish into his. He shivered.
"What is it?"
"Just remembering Quirrell," Harry said. "This is where I met him with Hagrid. My first year."
"Oh, right," Hermione said heavily as she led him through the maze of tables and chairs and he wondered if she'd gone so far as to confess to her parents about what had happened at the end of term her first year.
Finally, they were going through the door and the light outside pierced his brain.
"I guess the sun came out finally!" Harry said gasping in pain and squeezing his eyes closed.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione turned toward him.
"Yeah, just forgot to close my eyes before we went through the door," Harry said.
"Hey, Harry, can you ask your staff for directions to the Thai restaurant?" Dan asked softly.
"Navigant Thai restaurant," Harry muttered. "It's saying to turn left, Hermione and walk about 50 yards. It says there is a street to cross in six yards."
"Oh, yes, I see it," Hermione said. "Ha! It's called 'Thai's that Bind.' Your staff is really handy. I wonder if we can use that same with our wands? I can't wait to try when I'm back at school."
"Why not try now?"
"What? We're not supposed to magic outside of school!"
The restaurant was small and crowded, which Dr. Granger took as a good sign. The aromas were heavenly, which helped Harry overcome his nervousness about eating sloppily. It wasn't long before they had a seat and had ordered. Harry had taken out the map that Godric had given them to see if the area around the center was also marked on the map—not just Diagon Alley and was pleased to find that it was. He was exploring the street they were on when their steaming bowls of noodles arrived and he rolled up the map and stuck it in his pocket.
"There's a department store a couple of streets away," Harry told Dr. Granger and Hermione as he felt around the table trying to find utensils. He was relieved to find a fork and a spoon and while it wasn't the neatest meal he'd eaten since losing his sight, he was able to manage the noodles fairly well by twirling them around his fork in the spoon. He was also thankful for the large cloth napkin.