Thank you for your constant reviewing! :)

We hope you like this chapter!

Soon after the meal had ended Minerva made her way to Rolanda´s rooms, quite concerned about the younger woman after she had learned from Poppy what had happened in the staffroom a little bit earlier this afternoon. Rolanda was a proud, strong woman, but Minerva feared that she must have reached her breaking point after Umbridge´s comments and foremost Severus' words – when would these two finally see the feelings they harboured for each other?!

Minerva let herself into Rolanda´s rooms after there had been no response to her knocking.

The image which met Minerva was one of utter melancholy. Rolanda was curled up around an oversized shirt wearing only half of her clothes. In her sleep she snuffled and spluttered quite a bit and Minerva had ideas that the dreams Rolanda was having were anything but pleasant. Minerva's heart went out to her friend completely, and she made her way over to her, sitting down beside her and rubbing her back softly. The younger woman slowly awoke, and turned to face Minerva with the face of a lost child. For one, all of the confidence of the woman who had posed for magazines and educated young students was gone, to be replaced by a much bleaker image of somebody who was confused, upset and hurt. Minerva smiled at Rolanda, and took the shirt gently from her hands. Pulling it over Rolanda's head gently, Minerva addressed her softly.

"Now, Rolanda, something has happened, and I will not leave until we get to the bottom of all of your problems."

"I am not entirely sure what my problems are though, Minerva."

"I have time. I will figure everything out with you."

"Thanks so much,"

"No problem. That's what friends are for." Minerva smiled warmly at the woman before her. "Now, come and tell old auntie Minerva what's wrong."

Rolanda sat up and rubbed her hurting hips a little bit, then she leaned her head against the wall, a exhausted sigh escaping her lips.

"I... well, first, there is Umbridge..."

"Oh, I already heard about your inspection", Minerva chuckled, her cheeks reddening a bit. "That was utterly brilliant, Ro! But also a bit risky and now she will watch every single one of your movements!"

"I know, I should not have but... it felt so good...", Rolanda gave her a sad smile and opened her messy ponytail.

"But now she is becoming really mean... she called you our "celebrity" while dinner and mocked you..."

"And she indirectly called me a slut, I know, I am not dumb nor deaf", Rolanda muttered. "But that was so long ago, my professional career was nearly 8 years ago! And still people are riding around on the affairs I had back then!"

"You mean Umbridge and Severus!", Minerva said and grinned a little bit as she saw how Rolanda flinched a little bit as she mentioned the potions master.

"I am not like that anymore! I am..."

"A nearly 33 year old woman with a shining individuality and a big mouth that likes to challenge the wrong people and sometimes behaves like a teenager? And you have to admit, you still are extremely flirty – look at how you are talking with Severus!"

Rolanda could barely believe what she was hearing. She didn't flirt with Severus! Did she? She was well aware of the joking and comments between them, but she always thought it was just ironic banter. Only that morning she had been laughing alongside him as they made innuendos about riding a broomstick. She enjoyed his company, granted, but that was mainly because of his deliciously wicked sense of humour which she had discovered - he could seductively talk about hand technique upon poles with the best of them, and not many people knew it. She also liked his dry sense of sarcastic humour which he used to his advantage in staff meetings and lessons. But she didn't like him as more than that - a hilarious companion - did she? She turned to Minerva, tears welling in her eyes again.

"I don't care for him that way Minerva, I don't think. I just wish he didn't know all about my old ways. I was young... Impressionable... Riding on fame... And half of the stories are wildly exaggerated rumours I didn't bother to deny anyway. I wasn't as bad as some think. Anyhow, Albus hired me here, and the students don't bring it up. So why should the staff?" She snuffled loudly into her shirt. Minerva looked at the woman with pity in her eyes and conjured her a clean cotton handkerchief.

"Believe what you will, Rolanda, but you need to understand that sometimes people bring up our pasts to tease us. Severus may have been doing just that. You may not have realised though if that... That... Bitch hadn't made highly inappropriate comments against you in the first place. Don't be angry with him. It isn't worth it. Direct it towards the Minister's number one fan instead." Rolanda smirked through her tears at Minerva.

"Is that really what you think, or do you just want me to beat up the pink toad by sending her on a broom directed at the whomping willow?" Minerva laughed and hugged her friend.

"Both. Now, don't be angry with him. I must leave."

"Albus calls, does he?"

"Now that's the sarcastic little witch I like to see! Don't be angry!"

"I can't stay angry with him for long anyway," Rolanda murmured softly to herself as Minerva went away. Unbeknownst to her, Minerva had heard, and she shook her head incredulously as she shut the door.

"And she says she doesn't have feelings for him," she muttered.

Severus was extremely nervous. He had waited in a nearby classroom until he had seen Minerva leaving Rolanda´s rooms and then he had walked up to the portrait, sorting out the sentences he wanted to say to her. Lacking the knowledge about her password, he knocked, the portrait eyeing him with a questioning look. The portrait opened and the words he had wanted to say slipped out of his mind as he saw Rolanda: her golden eyes were swollen and red, her blonde hair a mess and make-up was smeared over her face. He had never ever seen her so miserable before and he felt guilty that he had done his bit to this.

"Oh no, you are one of the last persons I want to see right now!", Rolanda said with a weak voice as she saw who was standing in the hallway staring at her. She had said she would not be angry with him for long – but for right now she still was! All she wanted was little bit time on her own, a ton of chocolate bars and a bottle of liquor to throw a little bit of mist over what had happened today! But no – Severus had to come and confuse her once again with this expression on his face!

She looked into his eyes and saw something unfamiliar there - she couldn't quite place what it was, but it definitely wasn't laughter. She laughed weakly as he stood there, looking out of place amongst the colourful decor of her room, the walls covered in various quidditch shirts and towels and scarves and hats and goodness knows what else. His black presence filled a huge gap in the wall, once again reminding Rolanda of how he had thrown a dark shadow into her somewhat glorious past. She eyed him up and down and part of her broke inside.

"Come in, why don't you, and shut the door. I forgot you're not aware of the costs of heating places since you're so cold down in that dungeon." He flinched at her words and entered as she instructed, still hovering uncomfortably. She rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

"I came to... To... Say that the comments I made were insensitive. I meant them harmlessly but I am afraid, given the context, they were crude and uncalled for." He bowed his head meekly, and she felt a strange sensation in the vicinity of her ribcage.

"It's fine. I won't let that toad get at me so much in future. I overreacted somewhat I reckon. Maybe I'm menopausal." It was his turn to laugh then.

"You? Menopausal? You're barely even thirty. You're still practically a teenager. I would say it was more puberty taking over." He responded, easily slipping into their usual teasing manner. She threw the handkerchief at him. Unfortunately for her, or fortunately for him, it just wafted to the floor a few centimetres from its starting point. Rolanda smirked.

"Don't push it, or next time it will be something much heavier. A cauldron, perhaps?"

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Something tells me that you me-AGGH!" Severus suddenly found himself being thrown backwards as the witch in front of him leapt like a lion to its pray towards him. Unexpected, surprising and incredibly forceful, Severus quickly found himself in a crumpled heap of laughter upon the floor, his robes spread about around him and the quidditch mistress on top of him, laughing as if her sides would split into and looking considerably happier than when he had entered not half an hour ago. He was just pulling his arms from their spreadeagled position to place around her when a noise sounded from the doorway.

"Hem, hem. It would appear I am interrupting something."

Oh dear.