"Oh Ed, you can't be serious!" Lucy laughed when he burst into her room, blurting out his news. "Emma? Bewitched?" She shook her head, as she brushed her hair. "You're jumping to conclusions!"

"Lucy, please," Edmund begged his little sister to listen. If anyone would believe him, it would be her. "I know it sounds crazy, but… I of all people should know what being bewitched is like. Lucy, I know what it looks like, I know the smell and taste of evil… and it's that that has been hanging around this castle for days. I didn't know what it was, I couldn't quite place it. But since speaking to Thunderfoot… it's her, Lucy, she's the evil in Narnia."

Lucy took a few seconds to digest the information. "Okay," she said slowly. "But she's been here for nearly three weeks, she comes from our world, how can she be evil?"

"She's bewitched," Edmund insisted. "She's being used for some reason. I don't know what… but this obsession with Peter… that has to be linked."

Lucy nodded. "I guess. So what are we going to do? Do you think she's dangerous?"

"Thunderfoot said the stars predicted the crumbling of power," Edmund reminded her. "That's us, Lucy. I think she's very dangerous."

"Then we've got to stop her," Lucy said decisively.

"And I've got an idea," Edmund said, proceeding to tell her.

Lucy wondered why she listened to her brother sometimes. This was a crazy idea, they were supposed to be in the Great Hall, with other royals, impressing them, and instead they were galloping madly across country after one of Edmund's "brainwaves".

"Edmund, I really don't think this will work!" she said, not for the first time, as her bay mare drew level with his huge chestnut stallion. "Mr Tumnus doesn't do things like this, he's not like an apothecary or anything, he just knows how to mix some herbs and things up to heal cuts and bruises. He doesn't know how to sedate people!"

"He sent you to sleep once, didn't he?" Edmund reminded her.

Lucy had forgotten she'd told Edmund that; she hated it when anyone said anything nasty about her beloved Mr Tumnus. Yes, he'd made his mistakes, but Edmund was hardly flawless.

"That was different, he used his flute for that," she said. "You want him to make some sort of potion…"

"Are we nearly there yet?" Edmund demanded. His horse was panting heavily; it was a hell of a long journey from Cair Paravel up to Mr Tumnus's house. It was already dark and he knew everyone back at the castle would have missed them by now.

"You know jolly well we're not!" Lucy reminded him, as her brother pulled his horse up and let the poor thing have a break and a drink from a stream. She slipped off her own mare and let her crop at some grass nervously.

Edmund got off and walked around, the tension obvious. They were only just over halfway there, and he was aware that every second counted. He hated to think of his brother being so entranced by Emma, so overtaken by something so corrupt. The sooner they broke whatever spell there was, the better.

"Edmund, I'm really not sure Mr Tumnus will be able to help you," Lucy insisted, wishing her brother would see sense. "Can't we just turn back and tell Peter what you think?"

"Oh, come off it, Lucy!" Edmund snapped. "He wouldn't believe us, and even if he would, we couldn't get close enough to tell him without her hearing."

"You're acting like this is her fault," Lucy pointed out. "If she's that dangerous, surely we should just…"

"No!" Edmund guessed what she was going to say and interrupted. "Killing her won't end this, Lucy, we need to get to the bottom of it all." He patted his horse. "Come on, we need to get moving."

Mr Tumnus, nervous at the best of times, was highly alarmed after Edmund and Lucy had related their tale. Especially when Edmund explained why exactly they were there.

"Oh, I don't know," he said, looking at Lucy worriedly. "I really don't have any sort of potion that could help with that, that would stop the evil…"

"We don't want that." Edmund shook his head. "A sleeping potion, that's all, to give us some time to think."

"Well…" Mr Tumnus was still flustered. "I don't have anything that will send someone to sleep, I don't think, I…"

"Mr Tumnus, please." Lucy looked at him beseechingly. "There must be something."

Mr Tumnus hesitated before moving over to the bookcase and taking out a thick tome. He rifled through it to the relevant page and placed it on the table. "I've never tried it," he admitted. "It's a pretty potent concoction, it's only supposed to be used in extreme cases…"

"This is an extreme case," Edmund stated bluntly.

Mr Tumnus nodded. "Okay then." He read the instructions carefully. "What weight would you say the recipient is?"

"I don't know, about the same as Lucy, wouldn't you say, Lu?" Edmund frowned. "Is that really important?"

Mr Tumnus nodded. "It's all about dosage… too much and it could…" He tailed off and nodded again. "About the same as Lucy… we'll underdose it just in case."

He pottered around, putting things into a large pot, occasionally mixing it in. Finally he placed the whole pot over the fire.

"It needs to simmer for an hour," he informed them. Lucy was nearly asleep by now, and even Edmund looked tired. "Can I interest you in any tea?"

"That would be lovely!" Lucy nodded eagerly.

"Is there no way we can speed it all up?" Edmund asked anxiously, looking into the pot.

"No way, sire," Mr Tumnus shook his head.

"Then I suppose so," Edmund agreed reluctantly.