When I awoke, the first thing I noticed was how still I was. My eyes felt dry and weary, and any attempt to open them meant facing the blinding light. Instead I focused on my other senses. I couldn’t move, it was as if my entire body was pinned down. Okay next, hearing. I listened carefully for and slight murmur that might give evidence to where I was. Something close? Very close…. sounds like…..snoring? Snoring! Yes! I must be in bed, it was all a dream...I hope. What’s that? footsteps…. I lay still, as the footsteps grew louder. Not that it was hard, my entire body felt trapped, and I couldn’t move if i felt inclined to. Then I heard a sort of rustling at my feet, sounds like parchment? As quickly as they came, the footsteps disappeared again, and I was alone. Now it was time to try to open my eyes again. Slowly I opened one eye, so that I could just barely see the blurs of color before me. a little bit more each time, then the next eye, until I was blinking back tears and my eyes were fully open. A body on my right revealed the reason for my stationary state. Wilda sat in an uncomfortable looking chair. She had obviously been here a long time, and had drifted off to sleep. Looking around I noted the other reason, was because most of my body was bound and wrapped in bandages. My toes stuck out from under the white linen sheets that covered me. In front of them sat the source of the unusual sound. Several bouquets of various flowers lay at my feet, each with a card of some sort. I was in the hospital wing. I tried to shift my weight, but in turn elicited a groan of agony. Immediately a short plump woman in a nurses uniform shuffled over to me looking rather flushed and rosy cheeked.

“Lay back deary, you’re already mangled plenty!” she said cheerfully, hoping to make me brighten up “You’ve been asleep a while now haven’t ya’.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Well it seems, you were reachin’ for the snitch, when a bludger whalloped ya straight in the back of the head.” Her heavy Irish accent faded in and out of my head, and I narrowly managed to grasp what she said.

“No, I mean, what happened in the match? Did we win?”

“You wild young ones you!” She bellowed disapprovingly, “Near to death and your only concern is the bloody score.” With that she toddled off to bring me my routine pumpkin juice. Soon upon her exit, Cyril entered with several of my other teammates.

“Hey! You’re awake? Have a good nap then?” He joked. I shifted in my stiff bed so that I could see them all, “See you got our flowers then.”

“Yes thank you Cyril. Tell me, what did I miss since yesterday?” At the mention of the day, the team all shifted uncomfortably, Cyril didn’t quite meet my eye.

“Uhhh.. Helena… about the match… That wasn’t…” He trailed off, “That was a week ago..” This sent a shock through me, enough to rouse Wilda from her slumber on my arm.

“Yesterday! Bloody hell!” I panicked, “Well, at least tell me we won?” Again, I was met with an uncomfortable silence.

“Well, we don’t exactly know. We were up several points when you.. erhmm… fell out… and then after that, Hawthorne couldn’t find the snitch. No one could. In fact, no ones been able to practice with it cause it’s still missing.” With that, my nurse returned and ushered the students back a few feet. Wilda too, rose and joined my team mates.

“Well, I suppose you’ve had enough time with this one, You shattered a good many bones deary, but I think this ones good and ready.” She said this as she began to unwrap my right arm. Slowly, the stark white bandages gave way to flesh, and eventually all that remained was my hand. As she examined the bone she noticed something unusual. “Deary, I don’t want to frighten you, but I think your hand may be swollen.” Sure enough I turned over my hand to reveal a large bulge in the center of my palm. With a slow resolve the nurse continued to remove my bandages. That is the weirdest looking swelling I’ve ever seen!  Slowly the bandages piled on the floor, to reveal, not swelling, but something small and shiny.

“Bloody hell!” Shouted Cyril, “Is that what I think it is?” Now the bandages were completely undone, and I opened my sore palm to reveal, the snitch.

There were cheers and uproars all about. It seems as though I had just managed to capture the snitch, before being struck from behind and connecting with the ground. The Nurse, whose name I never learned, began to explain that I must have had a seizure, and therefore my muscles contracted, and were wrapped with the snitch still connected!

The next morning an announcement was made during lunch that, due to recent findings, Ravenclaw won their match against Hufflepuff. This put Ravenclaw in the lead, and meant that the next match would be against Slytherin. After a few more days, and plenty of skelgrow, I was healed. Wilda was the most concerned for me. She carried my books for me, and never let me stress myself too much. She rubbed my aching muscles, and lulled me to a peaceful sleep. Wilda was an amazing person. She cared so much for me, and it was really touching to see that. Eventually news got around to Headmaster Erendale, that the cause for my lack of performance during the match was due to sleep deprivation. After extensive testing with all sorts of peaceful sleep draughts, Erendale gave up, and gave me special permission to use an unused prefect bedroom as mine to share with Wilda. It was reasonably large, with it’s own bathroom and common room. Wilda had convinced the Headmaster that the company of other people was the only thing that allowed me a peaceful sleep; and she was permitted to stay. In the afternoon, after classes, Wilda would sit me down and rub my muscles. Skelgrow may work great for bones, but it’s effect on muscle is minimal. She would start with my shoulders, and then slowly and tenderly, work her way down my back, along my spine, and then back up to my arms. Eventually working her way down to my legs and feet.  By this time I had usually already fallen asleep, and she would lift my body as if it were weightless, and tuck me into my four-poster bed. I often awoke with her strong tawny arms wrapped around my middle, and it made me feel completely safe. In fact, I felt completely renewed. The random sore aches, and nightmares eluded me. I was more alert, and attentive. My attitude improved ten fold, and the bags below my eyes disappeared.

When I awoke, I again found myself tangled with Wilda. The sun outside my window suggested that we must prepare for our morning classes soon, and I attempted to rouse her.

“Wilda.” I whispered.

No response.

“Come one darling, time to wake up.” I said a bit louder. Wilda merely furrowed her brow and buried her face further into my shoulder. I turned to face her, and tried to gently shake her.