"Once I figure out how to control my arms, I'll be flying loop-de-loops around you!" Tony crowed. "You just wait!"

"Aw, you're a fire crab—full of hot air!" Arig countered.

The group from Montmorency was standing in line for the breakfast buffet and Tony and Arig started laughing and shoving each other as their playful bantering escalated. Harry was standing behind them, laughing along with them at the same time that he was trying to avoid getting tromped upon.

"Harry's the one you need to watch out for—he was outflying us all… you just wait and see!" Arig proclaimed. "He's going to give Slytherins a run for their knuts…

Apparently that hit a nerve. Harry's staff gave a warning and he stepped back, but not in time and he released his tray trying to keep from toppling over as a torso slammed into him preceded by elbows and crutches. He stumbled backward, twisting, crying out, and trying to right himself. His knees connected painfully with the metal of Mei's wheelchair as he fell and encountered the sleek surface of Mei's scales under his hands. A battering ram of hands shoved him off and he fell to the floor, tangled in Arig's crutches and limbs.

"Sorry, Harry," Mei shouted. "I just reacted. I didn't mean to… Tony! You troll's bollocks!"

There was a crackle and a boom and Tony was shrieking and thrashing around—it was a terrifying sound. Harry's staff sparked against his hand and he dropped it and his wand burned white hot pins along his arm. Smells erupted around them—the breakfast smells that Harry had been breathing in deeply while they were in line were now stronger and there was something else—something burning. Something sickeningly sweet and charred.

"Mei, Mei! Stop it!" Arig shouted from underneath Harry.

Harry launched himself toward Mei—he flicked out his wand, willing himself to hold onto it even though it pierced his palm like a branch of stinging nettles—shouting "Aguamenti!" and a fire-hose force of water shot out of it that splattered back against him as it hit Mei.

Tony's anguished cries turned to whimpers as he thudded to the ground.

"Finite your water, Potter!" Mei yelled. "It's over… that worked."

Harry ended the charm and summoned his staff that he'd dropped at some point during the melee. It snapped into his outstretched hand. He winced. His palm stung—it was burned, but not as badly as his wand hand. He was crouching—up on one knee, the other leg still tangled with Arig and he leaned against his staff as he tried to extricate himself, pain slicing through his hand as he grasped his staff. He tried to push aside his own pain.

"Arig, you all right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Just get off my leg so I can stand up," Arig huffed.

Gemma's hands were on Harry's shoulders steadying him and questioning him as he pulled his leg out from the pile and stood up.

"Thanks," he signed wincing as he moved his fingers and then jerked trying to right himself as he stepped in something squashy.

"What was that?" he said as he tried to wipe it off his foot, but stepped in more, lurching again as he stepped in something crunchy.

Gemma signed "food" on his arm and Harry sighed. The breakfast buffet had exploded all over them.

His stomach growled in response to the breakfast aromas that were now wafting around him from every surface. The burned smell lingered as well making him feel nauseated.

There goes breakfast.

Harry heard Healer Jordan's distinctive tread approaching them through the clamor of the other residents who were emerging from stunned silence into action. She went right to Tony and he heard her quietly assessing his injuries. Harry cringed as he thought about the stinging in his own limbs and remembered how Tony's prosthetic arms had rings of his wand imbedded in them.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Mei wailed, their wheels squelching through wet food.

Harry recognized the sound of Mei's pearl tears dropping on the tile now that he knew what the sound was and took a tentative step toward Mei. He remembered that the pearls were treacherous to walk upon and also wondered what else he was mucking through. He was unsure if Mei would welcome comfort after what had just happened. He summoned a handkerchief from his staff and gingerly held it out—his hand hurting as he brought his fingers together to hold the stiff linen.

"Here, Mei—would you like this?" Harry offered nearing them.

Mei snatched it from his hand and blew their nose loudly.

"You were right—I should carry water with me always. This wouldn't have happened if I had listened to you," Mei moaned.

Harry realized that he was hesitating to pat Mei on the shoulder because he wasn't sure if Mei would welcome it …

Because Mei's no longer a girl? But when I thought she was a girl I would have patted her on the shoulder to comfort her, but now that Mei told me that she … I mean… they… are neither, that's not comforting? Geez. I'm overthinking this. Wow.

And his hands hurt. Harry reached for Mei's shoulder and patted it. He ended up patting the handle on the back of the wheelchair instead—wincing as his burns came in contact with the plastic covering on the handle. He touched it lightly—his hand hurt to much to wrap around the handle—pretending that's what he intended to do all along and crouched down next to Mei so that they were on the same level.

"Hey, Mei. I'm sure Tony's going to be fine," Harry tried to reassure. "Healer Jordan will heal him and he'll be buzzing us on his broom in no time."

"And I'll hex him again… I'm so … evil!" Mei wept, pearls bouncing all around them. "Why can't I think before I lash out?"

"I dunno… sometimes we can't control it, right?" Harry said wishing he had more to offer. "It just happens. I mean, yours is pretty powerful… that's really cool. That could be handy in a duel."

Mei laughed weakly. "Right."

Gemma made the laughing sign across his back.

Harry wondered why he hadn't cast a shield charm when all this happened.

How was it different from other times when I felt threatened? Because I was laughing with friends? Horsing around?

"I'll ask Healer Jordan about figuring out a way to carry some water with me that would work," Mei said.

"What about a bubble charm?" Aminah offered. Harry hadn't realized that Aminah was nearby until she spoke. Residents had begun to charm away the mess around them and the area was teaming with wixen muttering charms.

"I guess that could work. Maybe it would help with my hydration, too?" Mei said to Aminah, their breath slowing to a more normal pace.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Adam addressed him from behind.

Harry turned toward Adam and felt Gemma's hand pull on his arm.

"Yeah, just a little burned, I think," Harry said, holding his palms up. "Did anyone else get hurt?"

Gemma made a little frantic wave across his back as Adam took his hand to look more closely at the burn. She seemed alarmed and she darted away, but was back quickly—her hand held lightly on his arm, careful not to touch the area where his wand in his holster had burned his arm.

"Gemma, did you get hurt? You were behind Mei, right?"

She tapped "no," then "yes," on his shoulder.

"Adam's here," he said to her, remembering that she might not know. She responded with a yes tap.

"Harry, I think Healer Jordan should sort out your burns, I think they might need a bit more than dittany," Adam replied gently turning his hand from side to side as he examined the burn.

"Really?" Harry questioned wondering why Mei's magic burned him this time when before it had just been a stinging sensation. "Is Tony badly burned?"

"Harry and Mei—could you two come with me—oh, and Arig?" Healer Jordan asked.

Harry replied yes and grasped his staff. It hurt to use it.

How am I going to do this? Holding someone's elbow was going to hurt, too.

He set his staff to vibrate and collapsed it and put it (carefully) in his pocket. It would be like when he was flying—feeling the vibrations through his body, but not listening to the feedback from the tip. He could do that for a trip down the corridor while following Healer Jordan.

"Oi, Mei. I can't use my staff—my hands…" Harry held out his hands to show Mei and they gasped. "Can I follow you closely? Touch the back of your chair with the back of my hand?"

"Yeah. I'm really sorry, Harry. I should be expelled," Mei said.

"You're here to figure this out, Mei. Don't give up on yourself," Harry said quietly as he moved behind Mei and touched the back of their chair with the back of his hand. Mei began to follow the group through the dining hall and grumped in response.

He waved bye to Gemma who hadn't been asked to leave the dining hall and hoped that she'd be able to get some breakfast at least.

Harry's shoulders sagged—he felt like he was being called to the Headmaster's office … again.

As he walked behind Mei, Harry thought about what he'd rather be doing right then… he longed to go out to the lake again—to hear the way their voices echoed across the vast open space with the knowledge that he could fly as fast and as far as he wanted without running into anything.

"Godric, could you please ask Corbin to meet me in my office? We have some burns to heal and I need his help. I'll also need your assistance," Healer Jordan said as a blast of bright light erupted in front of Harry. He cried out at the unexpected pain.

"Oh, sorry—Harry—I should have warned you," Healer Jordan said. "My patronus."

"Why didn't you just send it directly to Professor Huw?" Mei asked.

"He can't hear the patronus," Healer Jordan explained as her steps clipped down the hall. "And my patronus can't sign."

Arig snorted.

Harry was tempted to ask about the patronus—as far as he knew it was just an orb of piercing bright light that spoke… but he tamped down the question—a simple act of muscle memory from years of not asking questions. Also, the pain from his hands and arm was getting harder to bear.

Soon other footsteps were sounding down the corridor, approaching theirs as they neared Healer Jordan's office. No one said anything though footsteps slowed and so did Mei as if they were distracted and Harry imagined that this Professor Huw (was this Gemma's BSL professor?) was signing with Healer Jordan.

Mei sighed audibly and Harry wondered if they were going to start crying again. He didn't hear the tattletale pearls dropping on the tile, though. Mei's movements were rhythmic—a big push, then glide repeated down the hallway with slight adjustments for direction.

Harry sighed, too, and followed the group into the office, guessing that they'd catch him up if he missed anything important.

Professor Huw's footsteps went ahead of the gurney holding Tony back into the infirmary and Harry heard potion bottles clinking soon after.

"Harry—you come in here with me," Healer Jordan said curtly. "Mei, please wait out here. Godric will be here soon. Arig, can you stay with Mei? Please. You're not burned, right?"

"Sure. Just a hole in my pocket, where my wand was," Arig said and he patted his leg. "I already repaired it. I had already dropped my crutches when the blast happened, luckily."

Harry followed Healer Jordan into the infirmary and she tapped the back of his hand to guide him to a tall examination table that he didn't know was in the room. He held her arm very lightly.

"There's a step stool so you can get up on the table easily, Harry—just to your right. That's it," Healer Jordan directed as Harry got settled on the exam table. "Now let me look at your burns. Gemma said your hands were quite badly burned. Oh, yes. Okay, well. They are similar to Tony's. I'm going to ask Healer Huw to heal them after he works with Tony—he specializes in burns. I'll get the runic magic set up so that you can hear him when he signs—like what I do for Gemma during Council."

"How do you do that magic, Healer? Is that something you can teach me?" Harry asked.

"It is rather advanced magic and it took me a long time to master it, so I don't know if we have time for me to teach it to you while you're at this leg of the training. Hmmm… perhaps it is something we can work on later…" Healer Jordan sounded distracted—he could hear stones moving around—rubbing against each other.

"Harry—I saw you dousing Mei with water from your wand … how did you know to do that?"

"Oh, I just noticed that when Mei is in water, her …er… their … anger doesn't spark the way it does when they are on land. I thought it might help. Actually, I don't think I thought about it—I just did it," he confessed.

"Well, that was very observant and it was just what they needed. It appears, too, that Mei confided in you. I'm glad. An understanding friend … can make all the difference."

"Mei is afraid that they will be expelled. They won't, right?"

"We will work with Mei and figure out a way to keep everyone safe," Healer Jordan said.

Harry wasn't completely satisfied with that answer, but knew that Healer Jordan wouldn't go beyond that. He clenched his jaw as the pain in his hands and arm were getting worse—he held his arms gingerly on his legs, palms up.

"Once Healer Huw treats your burns, then I can give you a potion for the pain," Healer Jordan said. "They are magical burns and so require special treatment—we're lucky to have Healer Huw onsite."

Harry could hear Tony moaning not far from where he was and Healer Huw's occasional footsteps as he walked around near Tony.

Still on the gurney?

"Why was it worse this time?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure. Once I have a chance to talk with Mei, I'll know more. I'm sorry, though, that you were injured. We'd taken precautions with Mei's magic, but they didn't work."

"What about water? Wouldn't that work?" Harry asked.

"Yes, that's possible. We'll look into it."

"We'll also get you some breakfast—I imagine you're hungry."

"I was, but not anymore," Harry sighed, his stomach lurching at the thought of food.

"I'll get you a nutrition potion then… I'll be back in a moment—I'm going to speak to Healer Huw as well. Excuse me," Healer Jordan said and she walked away swiftly.

Harry listened as the two sets of footsteps left the room.

"Tony?" Harry asked.

Tony moaned in response.

"Mate… you all right?"

Tony groaned again then managed to talk through gritted teeth, "My arms. It's worse than the first time… Burns. You?"

"My hands and arm—from my staff and wand. Yeah—it's worse…"

"That Mei. She's going to kill us. They got to kick her out."

"Mei didn't mean it. They are working on learning how to control it. They need to be here to figure it out," Harry urged.

"They? What are you talking about? There are more fish girls here?" Tony grunted with the effort.

"No, just Mei. Mei needs to be here," Harry said. "Mei will figure this out."

Healer Jordan's footsteps approached Harry at a quick pace and she set potion bottle on the table near him.

Healer Huw had followed close behind and Tony was answering signed questions with short responses, "Yes, no, I dunno."

"Harry, we're going to need Mei to help us with this healing process. It appears that their magic has become stronger and we're having a hard time healing Tony's burns with our typical remedies. We're guessing that yours will respond the same way. Healer Huw is coming over now to look at your burns," Healer Jordan explained.

Healer Huw's footsteps approached Harry and warm fingertips rested on his wrist—reminding him of Gemma's touch.

"Hi, Harry, I'm Healer Huw. Healer Jordan has explained about the runic magic that gives voice to my signs, yes?"

"Nice to meet you, Healer Huw," Harry said and made an attempt to sign the greeting that Gemma had taught him, but his hands hurt and it was challenging to make the signs.

"Oh, you know sign language! That's great. But these burns look painful. Your burns are making it hard for you to do much of anything, aren't they? I'm going to try a nonverbal healing charm … we'll see if we can get it to work," Healer Huw said.

Harry felt a cool breeze waft over his hands, but his hands and arm still stung painfully.

"Okay, it's as I suspected. We're going to try working with Mei to see if they can help us heal these burns. I'm afraid this is a bit experimental. We're working outside our known areas of expertise… so bear with us, please," Healer Huw touched Harry's wrist again as Healer Jordan's footsteps left the area—Harry guessed that she was getting Mei.

"But why? Why can't you heal us? Healer Jordan was able to heal us the last time this happened. I don't understand," Harry said.

He wasn't sure if the pain was intensifying or if it was the uncertainty that was making it worse.

"We don't understand it either, Harry. We're hoping that Mei can help us understand."

Harry was surprised that he could smell Mei approaching—a fishy odor preceded them into the room. He guessed that they were stressed and sweating. His heart thrummed against his ribs and his pits stung in anticipation of more pain.

"Harry—Tony, Mei and I have been talking and we think we know how to heal you, but we'll need to travel through the Egress to the South Sea, to Mei's island where they will have access to the Jiāorén magic needed," Healer Jordan explained.

"What? Why?" Tony spluttered. Harry could hear him struggling on the gurney and guessed that he was struggling to sit up.

"Tony—you're going to do injury to your arms," Healer Jordan said, rushing to his side.

"I. Don't. Have. Arms!" Tony seethed through gritted teeth.

"What's remaining of them—your stumps. We need to heal them so that you can use your prosthetics again," Healer Jordan said in a remarkably calm voice.

"What's the point of them if they are going to burn me every time Mei gets mad!" Tony shouted.

"See, I told you," Mei said.

"Tony, Mei. We will have time to process the emotional trauma—but first, we need to heal the physical injuries," Healer Jordan counseled.

"I don't want to process!" Mei screamed.

Harry wanted to bury his head in his hands and shrink away from all of this… but his hands hurt and everything he wanted to do that day was dependent on having fingers that he could bend and fingertips that could feel.

"Come on, you two. Could you please drop it so that we can figure out how to heal these burns? They really hurt. I need my fingertips so that I can learn braille," Harry pleaded.

"Ugh. Sorry, Harry," Tony sighed and Mei grunted.

"Right. Thank you. Let's move through the Egress," Healer Jordan said.

Harry could hear her gathering up the runic stones. Healer Huw tapped the side of Harry's hand.

"Sighted guide?" Harry asked and Healer Huw tapped twice on his wrist so Harry climbed down from the table and gingerly placed his hand on Healer Huw's upper arm. He was surprised that Healer Huw was leading him to what he thought was a wall… but apparently it was another Egress. A blast of hot air blew through the room, rich with brine and humidity. Harry could hear the sound of the ocean through it and the distinctive cry of gulls.

Mei's wheels stopped making noise against the tile—Harry expected them to crunch through sand, but he couldn't hear anything. He imagined that she was being levitated again as Besel had done over the mud at the farm.

Next, he felt Tony's levitating gurney pass him and then Healer Huw lead him through the navel-pull of the Egress into sinking sand. He had closed his eyes against the sun long before they approached the threshold but opened them in surprise once they crossed.

"Why is it so dark?"

"It's night time in the South Seas, right? I think it is something like 11 hours ahead of us," Arig answered from behind him.