Chapter Seventy-one
Araminta opened her eyes, but she couldn't see anything. The world was a dark, dark place at the end of a dark, dark hall in a dark, dark house. It was like something in a horror film, but she couldn't hear anything that sounded dangerous.
"What," she began, but her throat was dry and it was difficult to speak. "Where?" she forced out through dry, cracked lips that were badly in need of Chapstick.
"Here," said a motherly voice. A scraping sound met Araminta's ears and a match flared against the darkness like a beacon in a storm. Madam Pomfrey used it to light a lamp next to Araminta's bed. She put a hand to Araminta's forehead. "How are you feeling, dear?"
Araminta wiggled her arms, legs, and nose experimentally. "Nothing's broken? What happened?"
"Any weakness or shaking?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she checked for a pulse.
"No, I'm just very thirsty," Araminta complained.
Madam Pomfrey poured her a glass of water. "Here, dear. Drink up."
Araminta swallowed the glassful greedily. She wiped her hand with her mouth and held the glass out for more. It wasn't until she'd had three cups, or the equivalent of three bottles of Evian water, that she felt almost like herself again.
"Madam Pomfrey, can you pretty please tell me what happened?" Araminta asked as sweetly as she could manage.
"Well," said Madam Pomfrey, "it appears that you accidentally swallowed a Fainting Fancy. We found a packet of them in your cloak, and one was missing. We gave you the other half as soon as we figured it out, but it was too late. You've been knocked out for hours."
Araminta gasped. She'd been playing Quidditch when that had happened! "What happened? Who won the match, Gryffindor or Slytherin?"
Madam Pomfrey patted her arm. "You have visitors who have been waiting outside of the infirmary all night long. How's about I let them tell you themselves?"
Madam Pomfrey walked over to the door and opened it a crack. "She's awake." Araminta heard a huge sigh of relief. "You may come in and visit with her now." She stepped back and let two figures through the door.