Slowly, I regained consciousness, and the whiteness of the hospital wing blinded my eyes. I immediately tried to blink, but to my horror, I could not. I tried again, but as hard as I tried I could not blink. I tried to speak, but my muscles would not respond.
Realising that I could not move at all, I panicked, fear and confusion spreading through out my body. What was I doing here? And then I remembered – the boggart! I ate the bloody apple! But everything is okay now, I assured myself, I'm in the hospital wing, that's a start. The boggart-witch is gone.
I appeared to be lying down in a bed in the hospital wing, with my back propped back against some pillows, and my eyes were focused dully on the wall in front of me.
Two sets of loud foot steps interrupted my thoughts. Then, a voice.
"Where is she?" Audrey's panicked voice echoed through out the silent hospital wing.
"Over here," I heard Lupin reply softly, and then call out, "Poppy? I'm back with her friend."
From the corner of my eye I could see Audrey slowly approaching my bed. She reached my side, and took my hand in hers.
"Faylinn?" she asked uncertainly.
The panic in her voice, for some reason, calmed me. Perhaps it was because I knew that I was fine – other than the obvious fact that I could not move. I hated to see her worry like this and I hated the fact that I could do nothing to calm her.
She put my hand softly down on to the bed when Madam Pomfrey entered the room. I watched her from the corner of my eye; she held a massive brown leather bound book. It looked ancient.
"Is she going to be okay, Madam Pomfrey?" Audrey asked anxiously.
"She's fine, dear, she's appears to be temporarily paralysed," she replied.
I heard Audrey gasp, and if I weren't paralysed, I would have rolled my eyes. Being paralysed hardly classified as 'fine'.
"But you can fix her, can't you?" came Audrey's horrified voice from my left.
"Of course," said Professor Lupin reassuringly, stepping forward. I could see him clearly now. His hair was even more dishevelled than before, and he looked worried, "But we just need you to help us. Faylinn's boggart, it was a witch, and she was forced under the imperious curse to bit an apple. She fainted immediately, but her eyes remained open. I've never seen anything like it, nor has Madam Pomfrey. Do you know what it was?"
"Boggart?" Audrey said faintly.
"It was a boggart that did this, but do you understand her boggart?" Professor Lupin pressed, "You are her closest friend, surely…?"
"Yes, that – that's the witch, the Queen – from… that muggle film," Audrey said slowly, her tone heavy with realisation, "Of course! Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, I think she said it was called. Yes, that was always her boggart, we found out in third year..."
I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, and wondered vaguely whether being paralysed would stop me from blushing. Yes, the witch always had been my boggart, her and that horrible poisoned apple…
"Snow white?" inquired Madam Pomfrey, "I've never heard of it."
Professor Lupin shook his head, "Nor have I."
"No, it's a muggle cartoon," Audrey explained, "Fay is muggle born, so she knows about these things, she explained it to me. Snow White was a beautiful princess, her mother died when she was young and her father remarried. The Queen – her step mother – was jealous of her, well, long story short, she poisoned her with an apple. That must mean Fay is under the effect of the poison, doesn't it? If she ate the apple…"
"Yes, it seems so," Professor Lupin agreed, his brow furrowed in concentration, "What happens next? Is there a cure for the poison mentioned in the story?"
"Umm," Audrey paused, trying to remember. Come on, Audrey, I thought, encouraging her silently in my head, I've explained this to you more than once.
"Yes, yes – I remember! Theres a prince, a prince kisses her, and she wakes up!" Audrey said excitedly, "Do you think that's it, someone has to kiss her?"
Professor Lupin looked uncertainly at Madam Pomfrey, who said, "Give me a minute, I'll need to look this up in my muggle-related injuries encyclopaedia."
There was silence as Audrey and Professor Lupin waited nervously for Madam Pomfrey to return. I already knew that Audrey was right – it was the only logical way. Someone will have to kiss me. My heart started beating fast at the thought – I won't even get a choice. Argh, anyone but Marcus Flint. It's a good thing Audrey is here, she won't let them throw a troll at me…
Foot steps signalled that Madam Pomfrey had returned to the room.
"I've found it!" she said happily.
"What does it say?" Audrey asked quickly, jumping up and almost knocking over Madam Pomfrey in an attempt to read over her shoulder.
"Calm down, calm down," Madam Pomfrey said bossily, "Right, it says here that there have been a number of recorded Snow White boggarts over the last few centuries, and in all cases the girl was revived by a kiss."
Audrey sighed audibly, "That's a relief!"
For you maybe, I thought bitterly, I'm the one on the receiving end!
"But Faylinn doesn't have a boyfriend, does she? Who should do it?" inquired Professor Lupin.
My heart fluttered slightly as I allowed myself to enjoy a brief, though admittedly far-fetched, image of Lupin being the one to kiss me. Sigh, a girl can dream, right?
"According to the book, there are some conditions needed in the male and the kiss. He must be older than the girl, because a prince is always older than his princess, and the kiss has to last at least thirty seconds. As soon as his lips touch hers, she will be able to move, but she has to kiss back for the whole thirty seconds, otherwise, if the kiss is broken before that, she will be under the influence of the poison again. And there has to be some degree of passion," she added, almost as an after thought.
A stunned silence followed this announcement.
"But – Madam Pomfrey, if Fay wakes up, and finds someone kissing her, won't, won't she back away immediately?" Audrey asked worriedly, "I mean, it's a pretty alarming thing to wake up to."
"Audrey is right," agreed Lupin, wearing a concerned expression.
I watched Madam Pomfrey skim through the page, "Here," she muttered, her finger stopping at the bottom of the page, "It says, the witch under the influence of the poison appears to be sleeping with open eyes, however is actually conscious. She can see, hear, smell and feel as any waking person can, but is simply not able to voluntarily move a muscle."
"So she can hear us!" Audrey squealed, and she ran up to my side, sticking her face in front of mine.
"You'll be fine, Fay, don't panic, we'll find you someone decent to kiss, and I know what your thinking, don't worry, I won't let Marcus Flint anywhere near you!"
If I could have moved I would have laughed heartedly, but instead contented myself with a mental note to give Audrey a big slab of Honeydukes chocolate once I can move again.
Behind her, Professor Lupin had conjured a large piece of parchment, and was skimming through it intently.
"Right, it seems that there are only five male students older than Faylinn," he muttered, "Theres Percy Weasley –"
Not Percy, I thought desperately, anyone but pompous Percy!
"He has a girlfriend, Professor," Audrey said quickly.
Audrey, you life saver! Make that two slabs of chocolate.
" – Oliver Wood –"
"He, uh, he," Audrey stumered. I listened to her, amused, knowing she would never let him kiss me. Not that I would want him to do it either.
"Ah, actually he's away for today, at his sisters wedding," Lupin said.
Audrey let out a sigh of relief.
"How about Albion Ward?"
"He has a girlfriend too…"
"Marcus Flint?"
"She'll probably vomit as soon his lips touch hers."
"Then that leaves only Damian Kreb."
"Uh, he's even worse than Flint."
Lupin looked up frowning, "You're sure none of them will do? They are the only options we have."
"Not so fast, Remus," said Madam Pomfrey, "You're forgetting the staff."
"The – the staff?" Lupin stumered disbelievingly.
"Yes, they are all older than her," Madam Pomfrey said, looking thoughtful.
"But, surely – who?" asked Lupin, his tone suggestion that he was horrified by the suggestion, "Dumbledore, Flitwick, Filch and Hagrid are all much too old, and Severus, why, I doubt he would do it if we paid him!"
"He'll make her vomit anyway," said Audrey quickly, clearly trying to put a stop to any horrific suggestions of Snape kissing her best friend.
"Thank you, Audrey," said Lupin, looking relieved, "See, Poppy, we'll need to stick to one of the students."
"You're forgetting someone, Professor," Audrey said quietly.
My heart was pounding, my mind racing with wild thoughts. Did Audrey mean who I thought she did?
"Who?" Lupin asked, looking confused.
"Er, well, you, professor," she replied timidly.