Poppy's POV
I woke up slowly, hearing a gentle murmur of voices. My whole body ached, and I felt as though I'd been run over by a truck. My eyes seemed reluctant to open but after some persuasion I managed it, looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. I attempted to sit up and felt somebody next to me gently push me back.
"Poppy darling stay there" I frowned, thinking I must be hearing things. Sara couldn't possibly be here. Unless…was I still at Hogwarts? I turned my head to see her sat there next to me, attempting to smile but it came out a little shaky.
"Where am I?" I asked her, feeling her take my hand.
"You're at Hogwarts. Do you remember?" she asked, and I frowned but nodded.
"What are you doing here then?" I asked in return and she gave a shaky laugh, tenderly brushing some hair out of my face.
"You had an accident sweetheart. Do you remember?" she asked, and I shut my eyes, bits of it coming flashing back.
"Bits. What happened?" I asked, feeling confused. She looked up at this point and I felt the back of the bed raise as it lifted me up and I saw Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall stood alongside a man and a woman I didn't recognise.
"Good morning Miss Turner. How are you feeling?" Professor Dumbledore asked, moving to sit in the seat next to Sara.
"I'm a bit confused and my whole body hurts" I admitted, seeing him glance at the unknown man and woman.
"Do you remember what happened?" he asked, and I shook my head, still feeling very confused. He looked at Sara and it was to her I turned.
"You fell down the stairs sweetie. You bumped your head and broke your leg and your arm on the way down" she told me, and my eyes widened in surprise. I remember feeling funny before I fell but had obviously forgotten that we were at the top of the staircase when we ran into Caleb. I put a hand to my head, feeling how tender it was just above my right eye before looking down at my leg which looked like it had been put into a splint and my arm too.
"This is Madam Pomfrey" Professor Dumbledore told me now and I looked at him to see him gesturing to the woman wearing the nurse's attire. She gave me a kind smile before I looked towards the man who, now I thought about it, kind of looked like Professor Ford. "And this is Doctor Ford" he introduced, taking me by surprise. A doctor, as in a muggle doctor?! Doctor Ford moved towards me now, getting his wand out and muttering an incantation and I felt a strange sensation flood through me before I looked up in surprise as a multitude of colours floated over me. Madam Pomfrey frowned at this before she moved to the other end of the room.
"It's nice to meet you Miss Turner" Doctor Ford told me with a smile, stepping forward. "Could you tell me what the last thing you remember is?" he asked gently.
"I remember being with Fiona, James and Sirius and feeling funny but don't know why and then, my vision went weird and then I just blacked out" I told him, shrugging. He nodded before stepping closer.
"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the leg which was in a splint and I nodded. He gently felt it before waving his wand over it and nodding before coming up to my arm and doing the same. "Okay well, you're starting to heal well" he told me, and I looked at him in surprise, seeing him smile. "You're surprised?" he asked, and I nodded, glancing at Sara and Professor Dumbledore who were both smiling.
"It was your birthday last week I believe?" Professor Dumbledore asked, surprising me again and I nodded. "We think that your coming of age has altered your magic in some way" he explained, and I looked at Sara who nodded as though in confirmation.
"But, why? How?" I asked, looking back at Professor Dumbledore as Sara squeezed my hand.
"I'm not entirely sure. But just before you collapsed you sent out a wave of magic, which immobilised Mr Potter, Mr Black and Miss Shorts" he told me. What?! "As not much is known about the Etoileige it's proving difficult to find out more" he told me. "Knowing as much as I can, I asked Doctor Ford to come in, but we were all surprised to find that your blood is more receptive to magical remedies now" he informed me.
"Really?" I asked in surprised and he smiled, nodding.
"We've had to set your arm and leg. For some reason, your leg is healing at a much faster rate than your arm" Doctor Ford interjected, giving me a politely confused smile. It all felt like a lot to take in and I felt my head give a throb in response to my thinking.
"I have spoken to Mrs Marais and the both us agree that it would be a good idea if I gave you some private lessons. It seems your magic is spilling out of you and we think it a good idea if you learn to control it. Is this something you would be interested in?" Professor Dumbledore asked me. I looked at Sara who nodded.
"I know your mother had private lessons with the head when we were at school" she told me, taking me by surprise. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I feel like you've been robbed of a lot of things" she said sadly, welling up. "Your mother had her mother to guide her through all this. A similar thing happened to your mum when she turned 17. But I didn't know what to tell you, as I didn't know what it was, so I said nothing. I'm so sorry" she apologised, and I quickly shook my head, feeling emotional myself.
"Please don't apologise. You've only ever done your best for me" I told her, furiously brushing away a tear that had escaped. I composed myself before turning to Professor Dumbledore who smiled at me. "I'd like to do lessons with you" I said, knowing that if it was something mum had done then it was something I should do.
"Marvellous. I will do some further research and of course, keep you informed of what I find" he replied, and I gave him a small smile in return. "But we won't be doing anything until you're fully healed. So, I need you to rest up" he continued, and I nodded, smiling back at him.
"Yes sir" I told him, and he chuckled before turning to Doctor Ford.
"So yes, Poppy your leg is on the mend. Based on the current repair rate I would say it will be completely healed by tomorrow. Your arm though" and here he hesitated, eyes darting to Sara. "Your arm is still more resistant to the magical remedies. We might have to leave it in the splint and sling and allow it to heal itself" he told me, and I sighed, feeling crappy about that. "Your bruises as well will take a while. But your ribs are already healed, I think your own magic did that" he told me, not allowing me to dwell on my arm and taking me by surprise.
"It's most interesting" Professor Dumbledore said, and I saw Doctor Ford nod.
"Sweetie, I've told Doctor Ford that he's okay to write up his findings about this. You know there's not much else out there about the Etoileige and it might help other people" she told me softly and I nodded in agreement.
"That's fine" I told them both, thinking Sara was right.
"Miss Turner?" Professor McGonagall now called my attention to her and I looked over to see her give me a small smile. "Your friends have been most persistent in wanting to see you. Madam Pomfrey and Doctor Ford have said you can have a couple of visitors this afternoon if you would like?" she questioned. I hesitated however, not sure about this given the state I was in. What if they asked me a load of questions about it?
"You have a good group of friends around you Miss Turner" Professor Dumbledore said, taking me by surprise. "I think they'd be very supportive of you, regardless of your magic" he said softly, feeling Sara squeeze my hand.
"I read the letter you were going to send sweetie. You seemed very happy" she told me, and I saw her smiling at me before I looked at Professor McGonagall.
"Okay" I told her, and she smiled at me.
"Who would you like to see? Only 2 to 3" she informed me, and I nodded, thinking that made things easier.
"Lily, Fiona and Alice" I told her, seeing her nod.
"Very well. I'll tell them to come after lunch" she said before she walked off when I realised, I had no idea of how long I'd been in here.
"Professor?" I questioned and he turned to me. "Um, how long have I been in here?" I asked.
"It's now Saturday morning. Madam Pomfrey and Doctor Ford put you in an enchanted sleep to allow your body to recover" he informed me as I felt my eyes widen. It was Thursday when I had my accident! That meant I had missed out on a whole day of lessons! "I believe Miss Evans has been diligently taking notes for you" he told me with a smile, evidently knowing what I was worried about. "Right, well I'll leave you in the capable hands of Doctor Ford and Madam Pomfrey" he said, starting to get up and Sara did the same.
"I have to go now sweetheart" she told me, and I nodded in understanding as she gave me a gentle kiss on the head. "Please look after yourself for me" she told me. "And make sure Luca looks after you too" she added making me laugh.
"I will. Thanks for coming" I said as she let go of my hand.
"I was always going to come. Write to me next week please" she told me, and I nodded, making a motion of crossing my heart and making her laugh. "Speak to you soon. Rest up" she said, giving me a wave as she headed out with Professor Dumbledore, the pair of them talking as they went.
"Right take this for me please Miss Turner" Madam Pomfrey came back over with a vial in her hand. I glanced at it suspiciously before taking it, wrinkling my nose at the smell.
"It doesn't taste as bad as it smells" Doctor Ford told me with a smile.
"I'm going to hold you to that" I told him, making him laugh as I downed it quickly. Banana, not my favourite.
"See?" he said, and I shrugged handing it back to Madam Pomfrey.
"I don't really like banana" I admitted, and he laughed, shaking his head. I suddenly felt a little drowsy as I felt my muscles relax and the pain left me.
"How does that make you feel?" he asked and saw both him and Madam Pomfrey watching me closely.
"Tired" I told them, trying to keep my eyes open.
"And the pain?" he questioned.
"Much less" I admitted before I gave in to the tiredness and slept.
When I next woke up Madam Pomfrey was bustling around me and upon seeing me awake she smiled broadly before getting me some food, telling me I wouldn't be going anywhere until I was eating properly. I still felt stiff and sore and I kept getting shooting pains through my leg, but she reassured me that this just meant I was healing properly. Taking her word for it, I dutifully ate my lunch starting to get apprehensive about the imminent arrival of the girls. I could only hope they wouldn't ask me too many questions and if they did, well, at least I would have Lily with me, and she knew everything. Once I was finished, Madam Pomfrey made a fuss of me, checking I was okay and wasn't in too much pain and making sure I was comfortable in bed. She changed the dressing on the cut above my eye which was somewhat painful, but I stayed still, hoping good behaviour would mean I could get out of the hospital wing a bit quicker. After this she left me to my musings, and I found myself hoping that somebody would bring me something to entertain myself if I wasn't allowed visitors; there wasn't exactly a lot to do in this place. I had only been left by myself for about ten minutes when the door of the hospital wing opened, and I turned to see Lily peeking in. Upon seeing me awake she smiled widely and opened the door a bit further, quickly coming in and I saw Alice and, to my surprise, Luke following her in.
"Oh Poppy!" Lily exclaimed before she gave me a very careful hug, taking me by surprise.
"Hi Lily" I replied, smiling as she let me go and looked at me with worry. "I think it's worse than it looks but I don't actually know as I haven't seen" I told her, and I saw her mouth twitch as though she wanted to smile.
"Hey let me through!" Alice moaned at Lily who quickly stepped away and I was surprised when Alice too hugged me. "We've been so worried about you Poppy. How are you?" she asked, giving me a small smile when she stepped away.
"Admittedly I've felt better" I told her, and she laughed at this, shaking her head as she stepped away, coming around to my other side and sitting down as Luke came forward.
"Poppy you nearly gave me a heart attack" he said softly, and I could see the worry in his eyes as he leant down to hug me. His was a much longer hug and I felt him give me a small squeeze before he pulled away. "Max told me to look after you and you're in the hospital wing second week in" he said with a sigh, sitting down with Lily next to him.
"I'm sorry" I told him, and he shook his head.
"What are you apologising for you wally?" he asked, and I just shrugged by way of reply.
"How are you doing? Have Sara and Phil been in?" he questioned, and I nodded.
"Sara came. I don't know how long she was here for, but she was here when I woke up this morning" I told him, and he nodded.
"Really though, how are you doing?" Lily asked me and I turned to see her still looking worried.
"Honestly okay. A bit banged up and bruised but I'm on the mend apparently" I told her, turning to Alice who also looked worried.
"We've all really missed you. Fiona, James and Sirius all told us what happened when Dumbledore let them come back" she told me and I frowned, confused.
"What do you mean let them come back?" I asked, looking between her and Lily.
"Professor Dumbledore needed to know what happened so he made them come to the hospital wing. It was him who got you here" Lily informed me and I nodded in understanding now.
"So, when are you allowed out?" Alice asked and I couldn't help but glance at both Lily and Luke before replying.
"I don't know yet. I'm not properly healed yet so I would say tomorrow at the earliest" I told her, and she nodded, thankfully not going to question it. "So, tell me what I've missed" I said, directing my question to Lily and at this, all of them laughed, Luke shaking his head.
Lily, Alice and Luke stayed with me for about an hour and Lily gave me some of my new reading books as she said she didn't want me to get bored. I was extremely thankful which had only made Luke roll his eyes at me. When Madam Pomfrey came out to tell them I needed my rest, Lily had told me that Professor McGonagall had said the others could come see me after dinner as they were all at Quidditch practise now which is why Fiona couldn't come. They then all gave me a hug, telling me they'd come visit me tomorrow before they left, and Doctor Ford had reappeared to check on me. It transpired that he was Professor Fords brother and that he had decided to go into muggle medicine as he felt he could make a real difference there, hence why he had been called in to help treat me. It was most interesting, and he admitted that it had taken him a very long time, given that he needed to do the muggle qualifications on top of his own healer training. After he was quite satisfied with my progress, he left me, telling me he would be back tomorrow for a check-up and so I spent the rest of the afternoon reading, trying not to worry about my next lot of visitors. These were the people who were most likely to ask questions given that they had been with me at the time. At dinner time, Madam Pomfrey brought me some food and again, I made sure to eat every last morsel so that I would be allowed to leave the hospital wing quickly. After I had eaten, it was a mere matter of waiting for the others and once again, I didn't have to wait too long for them to appear.
"Poppy! You're awake!" James exclaimed, being the first one through the doors. He bounded towards me, wrapping me in a careful hug which surprised me before he let me go, big smile on his face. "I'm so glad you're okay. I mean, you seem a bit, you know, hurt still but you're awake" he told me before he was elbowed out of the way by Fiona.
"Poppy I'm so happy you're okay. I was so scared" Fiona admitted quietly, hugging me tightly and slightly hurting my arm as she did so. "Shit! Sorry I didn't mean to hurt you!" she quickly jumped back; eyes wide looking scared.
"It's fine" I told her, waving away her concern as the pain had receded as soon as she moved back. Her and James moved to my other side as Remus and Sirius came into view. The former gave me a gentle hug, evidently being careful as he gave me a small smile.
"It's really good to see you Poppy" he told me before moving out of the way for Sirius. He was looking at me carefully as he moved towards me and he hesitated, as though uncertain whether to hug me or not. He took another few seconds before he evidently made up his mind and came towards me, giving me a very gentle hug.
"I'm glad you're okay Poppy" he said softly before he pulled back, giving me a smile before he settled into the seat next to me.
"So, what's the diagnosis?" James asked, drawing my attention away from Sirius and I saw him looking concerned.
"Um, broken leg, broken arm, I think I broke some ribs and obviously my head" I rattled off, gesturing to my newly bandaged head and seeing them all wince.
"Poppy seeing you fall down those stairs was…it was horrible" Fiona said, leaning forward and taking my only currently good hand, squeezing it tightly. This outpouring of concern was taking me aback and I found my mind flashing back to my birthday dinner with Luke where he told me they were my friends.
"I'm sorry for scaring you" I replied to Fiona, seeing her shake her head.
"Don't be daft. We're all just glad you're okay" she told me, giving me a smile. "We've all missed you not being around" she informed me, and I saw James nod quickly. "Even Will Masters asked after you" she informed me with a grin, making me blush.
"Honestly Poppy you should have seen the girls when he came over at lunch yesterday" James told me, rolling his eyes and making me laugh.
"Hey, stop it! He's hot!" Fiona elbowed him although she was grinning.
"We're hot and you seem to all function okay around us" Sirius countered and I turned to see him grinning at Fiona.
"Oh, the arrogance" Fiona replied dramatically and that was all it took for them to start mock arguing with each other, leaving me to just sit back and watch it all unfold with a smile.
I really shouldn't have worried as they were all apparently just happy to see me. They just chatted away, asking me the occasional question before Madam Pomfrey came in and told them they had five minutes. James and Fiona had pouted at this, but she stood firm in her decision and left them to say goodbye to me.
"We'll see you tomorrow Poppy" Fiona told me, giving me a much gentler hug this time and I nodded, smiling.
"Sure, that sounds good" I replied, seeing her give me a big smile in return before James hugged me.
"I hope you'll be okay by yourself Poppy?" he asked, and I nodded, motioning towards the books. James shook his head, but I could see him grinning as I turned to my other side, seeing Sirius and Remus standing.
"Do you want us to bring you anything tomorrow?" Remus asked as he edged past Sirius and gave me a soft hug.
"I don't think so, thanks though" I replied, seeing him smile in return and nod as he moved away, leaving just Sirius to go. He gave me a gentle hug, much longer than his previous one.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked quietly, so quiet in fact I wasn't sure the others would have heard. I nodded, unable to tear my eyes from his, seeing how much darker they were today than I'd seen them before. He nodded, giving me the crooked smile, which made me blush and I quickly averted my eyes, not sure why that smile should cause that reaction. "I'll see you soon then" he told me, drawing my eyes back to him and I nodded again as all four of them made their way.
"See you tomorrow Poppy!" James called, a grin on his face for some reason as he waved from the door. I gave him a wave back, seeing his grin broaden before they all disappeared, leaving me to wonder what it was James Potter was up to.
At nine that night, I was just about to start my new book when I could have sworn, I heard the door to the hospital wing open. But when I looked up, I couldn't see anything out of place although I felt something…odd. I tilted my head, glancing up the ward and found myself tracking something that I couldn't see but that I could hear. It sounded almost like…a hand covered my mouth and my eyes widened.
"Please don't scream or say anything" James's voice stunned me. Although my heart was hammering it started to slow and I felt the hand retract before both he and Sirius appeared from seemingly thin air.
"What are you doing here?!" I whispered furiously, glancing towards Madam Pomfrey's office but not seeing any movement to indicate that realised something was going on.
"We didn't want you to be on your own so we're here to keep you company" James explained as he and Sirius settled into chairs next to me.
"But what about Madam Pomfrey?!" I exclaimed, still keeping my voice quietly. I saw them both shake their heads.
"You do remember how we got in here, right?" James asked me sarcastically just as we heard movement from the office. In a flash, the pair of them disappeared and just in time too as Madam Pomfrey appeared with a vial.
"Right Miss Turner. This should get you through the night" she told me, and I recognised the potion as the same she had given me earlier which had made me sleep. I hesitated and she raised her eyebrows at me, so I had no choice but to take it from her. She stood over me and I sighed before drinking it, thinking this was going to be far too embarrassing when I fell asleep in front of James and Sirius. "Sleep well Miss Turner" she said with a smile, dimming the lights in the hospital ward as I felt the drowsiness surging through me. When she was finally back in her office, the pair of them reappeared, sitting down in their chairs again.
"What was that?" Sirius asked me softly and I blinked, trying to fight the sleep. I felt a surge of magic through me and knew my body was fighting the drowsiness.
"Pain relief and sleeping potion" I told him, seeing him give me a small smile.
"How comes you're not asleep?" James asked curiously. I hesitated, knowing I wasn't going to be awake too much longer.
"My body's fighting it" was all I said, seeing him look most intrigued. "Look I'm just going to be asleep. You can go" I told the two of them, seeing them glance at each other.
"We'll stay for a bit. Just until you fall asleep" Sirius told me gently, making me blush a little.
"You really don't have to" I insisted, struggling to keep my eyes open.
"We want to" James told me softly and I saw Sirius nod. A moment later I felt a hand in my own and glanced down to see it was Sirius who had taken it. My eyes met his and I saw the question in them but before I could reply, the potion overwhelmed me, and my magic couldn't fight back anymore as I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.