A/N: Written for the Sapphic Season Competition on HPFC. Trigger warning: contains drugs (potion) rehabilitation and withdrawal symptoms.

Dear Juniper,

I'm writing to you because I'd like your advice on one of my charges. She came into my ward yesterday with a concussion after taking a Bludger to the head. Naturally, I gave her some Wideye Potion and kept her in for the night for observation.

She hasn't slept since, and it has been over twenty-four hours now. I worried that I might have accidentally overdosed her, but I've only given her a teaspoonful. Could it be an unknown side effect? I couldn't find any such reaction in the books. Is it possible that she is just reacting too strongly to the potion? If so, how long will it take for the effects to wear off? Can I safely administer some Sleeping Draught? She needs her sleep to recover.

I do hope you can advise me on the matter.

Sincerely, Poppy

Poppy glanced at the ward where the patient in question was currently staying. As an afterthought, she added: PS, she also has a slight tremor in her right hand.

She addressed the letter to Juniper Samuels, St Mungo's Hospital, London and tied a ribbon around it.

"There you go," she said as she presented it to one of the school owls. "Please be swift."

The owl gave her an indignant stare, hooted, and then took off. Poppy looked after it until it disappeared on the horizon. She hoped her former mentor would know what to do.

The reply came a couple of hours later.

Dear Poppy,

I don't think I've ever heard of such a side effect or such a strong reaction to Wideye Potion, but it is of course possible that it is just that. I would advise strongly against the use of Sleeping Draught or any other sleep inducing concoction until you know why she can't sleep. You'd best keep her under observation for a while, even if she does sleep tonight. The tremor worries me; better keep an eye on that. Please let me know if there is any new development.

Sincerely, Juniper

"Ha, she's not going to like that," Poppy murmured.

She went over to the little room at the end of the ward. It was normally used for students with contagious diseases, but in this case she'd figured that her charge would like a bit of privacy, away from the prying eyes of admirers.

"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch," she said briskly. "How are we feeling?"

"Not much different from last time you checked, Madam Pomfrey. So, are you here to discharge me? I do have better things to do than sit in a shoebox of a room all day, you know. "

Poppy shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. You'll have to stay in a bit longer."

"Oh come on!" Madam Hooch exclaimed. "It's only a concussion! I've experienced worst in my career."

"I'm sure you have," Poppy replied drily, "but as a Healer, I've seen concussions before and this is not an ordinary concussion. You're showing some symptoms that as of yet are unexplainable. And I'm not going to discharge you until I'm sure you're okay."

The woman glared.

"Fine, I'll stay for another night," she relented. ""but I'm out of here on Friday, I have an important match coming up this weekend."

"We'll see about that when we get to Friday. For now, you should focus on your recovery first."

Dear Juniper,

We're about to enter into the third night. I'm worried. Today, my patient kept dropping to sleep at odd moments, in the middle of a conversation or when getting dressed for example. She'd sleep for half an hour maximum, during which it was impossible to wake her up. The tremor that at first was only present in her right hand has spread to her left side as well. She's agitated and skittish. It could be due to lack of sleep from the past days, but somehow I feel there's more to it. What could possible be wrong with her?"

Sincerely, Poppy

Dear Poppy,

I share your worries. I've been asking around and Mukhtar suggested that maybe your patient took another potion or medicine recently, which either clashes with the Wideye Potion or reinforces it. I'm sure you've checked that already, but I'm mentioning it just in case. If neither of these apply, then I suggest you transfer her to St Mungo's so we can further investigate her symptoms.

Sincerely, Juniper

Poppy rechecked the questionnaire that her patient had filled in after regaining consciousness now almost three days ago. She had checked the box 'no' for the question about medicine use. But of course it couldn't hurt to verify this again.

She went back to the ward, just in time to see her charge leaving her room.

"Madam Hooch!" she called out.

Reluctantly, the woman slowed down. "Look, I'm leaving now. I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey. I've had enough and my team needs me Saturday. If I'm to play I'll need to train tomorrow." Her eyes darted to and fro the door of the ward and she fumbled with her hands.

"But you're in no condition to fly!" Poppy exclaimed. "You fall asleep mid-activity, imagine what would happen if you're on a broom…"

"There's nothing wrong with me! I keep telling you that for the past three days! You can't keep me here any longer. Besides, I can take some Invigorating Draught before the match. I'll be fine. Why were you coming in anyway? It's the middle of the afternoon. You usually only come in much later."

Madam Hooch eyed Poppy, suddenly suspicious. "Have you been tempering with my drinks or my food? You are in lieu with the Arrows, aren't you, to prevent me from playing Saturday. I knew they were low, but I never figured they would sink this low. Unbelievable." She shook her head and made to leave again.

Poppy was momentarily at a loss for words. Such a ridiculous accusation! Madam Hooch was acting really peculiar today. It was almost as if… Something clicked. Of course, she thought. Agitation, tremors, tension, suspicion… It all fitted. How did I not see that before?

As nonchalantly as she could she asked: "So, do you often take Invigoration Draught before a match, Madam Hooch?"

"Sometimes." The Quidditch player shrugged. "No big deal. Now, if you'll excuse me?"

"Prove it."

"Prove what?"

"That you're doing well. Prove to me that you're stable on a broom and I promise I'll let you leave first thing in the morning."

"Fine, hand me a broom."

Poppy shook her head. "No, not in here. You'll need to go a bit of a distance for a proper evaluation. I'll see you at the Quidditch pitch at eight."

-0-0-

That night both witches met at the Quidditch pitch.

"How long does it normally take you to fly once round the pitch?" Poppy asked.

"I don't know. In training we often do rounds, but then of course we're in professional pitches, this one is smaller."

"Can you make an estimation?"

Madam Hooch eyed the pitch. "I reckon I can go round in one and a half minute. Have you got a broom for me?" She was obviously keen to prove herself fit to be discharged.

Poppy showed her the broom closet. "Help yourself."

Madam Hooch took out a broom and got on.

"If you make it round the pitch within two minutes, without falling off, you're free to go tomorrow." Poppy felt that allowing her an extra thirty seconds was only fair given the state she was in. If she was correct, she would not even be able to complete it with the extra time.

"You're wasting your time. But fine, if this is what it takes for you to believe I'm well…"

Poppy took out a pocket watch. "Ready? Off!"

Madam Hooch took off and for the first quarter round everything went smoothly. Then she started shaking and plummeted.

"Arresto momentum" Poppy said, just in time to stop her charge from falling head first on the ground. As I feared…

She walked over to help her up.

"This broom is faulty," Madam Hooch seethed.

Poppy decided not to point out the obvious. She'd have to come to her own conclusion.

"Fine, pick another broom then."

This time, Madam Hooch took a bit more time examining the brooms, and eventually chose a steady Comet. She made it to a third of a round before falling asleep and once again falling off her broom.

Arresto Momentum once again saved Madam Hooch from crashing into the ground.

She tried three other brooms, but never made it past the first half round.

"I appear to be out of form tonight," Madam Hooch said. "But a bad rehearsal usually means the real thing will go smoothly, is what we say, Madam Pomfrey. I'll be fine tomorrow."

Poppy shook her head. This will take more convincing then I thought.

"You'll take Invigorating Draught and be top fit?"

"Something like that yeah, like I already told you this afternoon.

Poppy was getting a bit fed up with it and tried a different approach.

"How about you start being honest with me now?" she said.

"What do you mean?"

"You've taken Invigoration Draught a lot more often than just occasionally, haven't you?"

"I…. Why would you think that?"

Poppy waited without answering, but just gave her the look she usually reserved for students who lied about the cause of their injuries.

She hadn't thought it would work on adults as well, but the witch in front of her sighed.

"Fine. I've taken it more often lately. Not that it's any of your business, of course."

"How often?" Poppy asked, ignoring the last part of the reply.

"Oh, I don't know. Biweekly for a month or two, I think."

Somehow Poppy doubted that, so she remained silent.

"Alright, every week for three to four months. Happy now? Now, can we go get the discharge papers?"

Poppy still said nothing. How much did she use, really?

"Why aren't you saying anything? What do you want?" Madam Hooch said frustrated.

"I want you to tell me the truth. The only way to overcome your problem is by admitting you have it in the first place."

"And who exactly do you think you are, for you to judge me? You only met me a couple of days ago. And yet you think you can just accuse me of being addicted? That's called slander, that is."

Poppy shrugged. "Fine, then don't tell me. It's a shame though, you still had a great career ahead of you."

She walked away. She hoped her comment would pique the other woman, and wasn't disappointed. It took only thirty seconds, before Madam Hooch came after her: "Wait!"

Poppy stopped and turned to meet her.

"What do you mean, I still had a great career ahead of me? I'm one of the best Beaters in the competition."

"For now," Poppy said. "But your body will be craving the Draught more often. You'll be needing more of it, larger quantities in a continuously shorter amount of time. You're already up to once a week, if what you say is true. Before you know it, you'll be using it before trainings as well as matches and from there, you'll get to a daily usage. Your body, exhausted from a lack of sleep, will start shutting down non-vital systems. You'll not be able to concentrate properly anymore. Your sight will become blurry, your speech slurry. You'll get palpitations. You'll lose control over your muscles, they'll either become weak or you'll get spasms. You'll start hallucinating. Every time you take another Draught, your body gets another rush of energy, when all it really needs is rest. How long do you think you can keep your addiction a secret? It won't take long before your team Healer realises the truth. They'll kick you of the team, the papers will tell their own version of your downfall, and you know they'll expand on the truth in their attempt to dig up dirt on the greatest Beater the Wasps ever had. Their articles will render it impossible for you to ever make a comeback, if you manage to somehow overcome your addiction."

Poppy stopped talking. She realised the woman in front of her had gone very pale. Perhaps this is a bit too much in one go.

"I'm sorry. You're right. It really is none of my business."

"Is… is that really what lies ahead of me?" Madam Hooch asked after a short moment of silence.

Poppy nodded. "Of course, everyone reacts differently, some are more immune to its symptoms than others, but eventually you'll wear out the reserves of your body."

Again there was a moment of silence.

"Madam Pomfrey, are…," Madam Hooch cleared her throat. "Are tremors a symptom as well?" she asked at last "And falling asleep at random moments?"

"No. I'd say those are withdrawal symptoms."

"Oh."

She suddenly seemed very small, fragile even, and Poppy felt sorry for her.

"Come" she said gently. "It's getting cold. Let's get inside and I'll make you some herbal tea. If you like, we can talk some more then."

Madam Hooch let herself be convinced and the two women walked back to the castle. Several times Poppy glanced sideways to her companion. She could see that she was processing everything she had heard, and Poppy could only hope that she would make the right decision. If Madam Hooch decided to return to the Wanderers tomorrow, there was really nothing more Poppy could do for her.

-0-0-

Back in the hospital wing and from after a steaming mug of chamomile tea, Madam Hooch seemed to have reached a conclusion. "I … might … have a more serious problem than I thought," she admitted reluctantly. "But I don't have a clue as to how to fix it."

"I could help you with that," Poppy offered. "I've worked in St Mungo's before coming to Hogwarts, and I still know a lot of the Healers there. I'm sure you'll be in good hands in the Dilys Derwent Ward."

"I can't go to St Mungo's!" Madam Hooch exclaimed, panic on her face. "If only one person blabs that I'm there, journalists will be swarming the place to see me at my worst and spread lies about me."

"The Healers at St Mungo's are professionals, they wouldn't do that."

"Perhaps not, but there is a lot of medical staff and there is always a possibility that one of them sells my story to the highest bidder. And of course other patients and visitors can't be forced to keep quiet."

"Hmm, I get your point," Poppy contemplated. But you need help, she thought. You can't do this alone, it'll be difficult enough to come clean with help, but without it, it's doomed to fail.

"Can't I stay here?"

The question surprised Poppy.

"Why, because teenagers are so much better at keeping their mouths shut when a famous Quidditch player is in their school hospital wing for an extended amount of time?" Poppy tilted her head, a smile on her lips.

Madam Hooch let out a shaky laugh. "Of course not," she said. "But at least they won't be swarming the hospital wing with cameras and notebooks."

This time Poppy laughed. "I think you underestimate your own popularity. If you'd stay here, I foresee a sudden increase in sick students, all hoping to get a glimpse of you, or an autograph. And there's no guarantee no one will talk to journalists."

She shut her mouth, realising she wasn't exactly helping.

"I'm not sure I can give you the help you need," she tried, kindly. "At St Mungo's there are specialists. I really think you'd be better of with them."

One look at the other witch' face told her she needed to leave the subject be. "Okay, I'm sorry. Not St Mungo's then."

"I want to stay here," Madam Hooch repeated, stubbornly. "It's safe here. Any journalist who'd want to sneak in, would have to go through Albus' security system first. Do you know how many times my identity was checked before I was allowed in? And I had an invite. Even if one would manage to succeed, they'd have to get past you. I've seen you handle unwelcome visitors for your patients. I feel that I can trust you. You could have easily let me get back to my training and then tip of the Daily Prophet about my… problem. But you didn't. You gave me a chance."

Poppy was surprised by this sudden outburst of sympathy, when all they'd done in the past days was clash. She felt flattered that Madam Hooch thought it was tougher to get past her than past Albus' security.

"I'll speak to Albus tomorrow," she said. The outline of an idea was slowly starting to take shape in her mind, but she needed to think it through. "Maybe he'll know what to do."

"I don't want him to know." The panic of before resurfaced. "You can't tell him."

"I'll have to," Poppy replied. "If you're serious about wanting to stay here and getting my help, Albus will need to know of your stay. That is not open for debate. He is the Headmaster, so if you're staying, it'll be with his permission."

She waited. She wanted to help the woman in front of her, but Albus really ought to know about it.

"Fine then, if you insist," Madam Hooch murmured eventually. "What do I do now?"

"I think you should lay down now," Poppy suggested. "I don't know if you'll sleep more than half an hour at a time, but at least you'll be resting. As I said, rest is all your body needs right now."

Madam Hooch remained seated. "Coach Wellington will be furious if I don't show up tomorrow."

"Just write him that the concussion is more serious than you initially thought and that you have to stay a bit longer."

The Quidditch player stared at her tea mug. "Yeah, about that…

"Didn't you inform him? You didn't inform him," Poppy concluded. She groaned. "Why not?"

"Until a few hours ago, I was under the impression that I would play tomorrow, so I didn't see the need. I'll write him now. Any advice? Do you think he'll believe the concussion story?"

"I've never met him, so I don't know what he's like," Poppy replied, while searching for some parchment and a quill. She didn't voice what was on her mind. That the coach would probably believe that she couldn't play tomorrow, but that he'd be expecting her back in a short time. If Madam Hooch were going to stay for treatment, they would need to come up with another story to explain her prolonged absence from the team.

-0-0-

The next morning, Poppy found herself in Albus' study. She had just explained to him in what condition her charge really was.

"And so I was thinking," she continued. "Couldn't she stay as Quidditch instructor for a while? The clinics she gave last week were very popular with the students, and I think that's something she can still explain to her team. They might buy that."

Albus thought about it. "It might work," he said. "Though I do see some technicalities that need to be solved first. What amount of time are we talking about?"

"I'm not sure. I've never treated a patient for addiction before, and even if I had, there's no telling how one particular person is going to react. I need to go to St Mungo's to see if I can pick up some books on the matter. But my initial guess would be that she would need another week of admittance in the ward under my vigilance. She really needs to give herself rest, that's the most important. After that, she'll need rehabilitation. I have no idea how long this would take. It could be anywhere from three weeks to three months, depending on her level of willingness to alter her situation."

"That's quite a difference. What will I tell the staff? There are some teachers who won't be too happy if their Quidditch team is taken from under their wings."

"If you're referring to Minerva," as they both knew he was, "I've thought about that. You know how she's always complaining that Quidditch training ought to be standardised throughout the houses?"

"I seem to recall her uttering something of the like, yes," Albus muttered, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"If Madam Hooch were to take up the trainings, we'd get just that. All houses the same training; and from a professional Quidditch player nonetheless. I'll admit, she probably just intended that the other Heads of Houses should follow her guidelines, and it's of course only temporary, but still…"

"Very well, you seem to have thought this through thoroughly. We'll need to find her lodgings after next week. She can't stay in the ward forever. Shall we say a month, to start with?"

Poppy nodded. "I think that would be fine. That's an amount of time we can still more or less explain under an injury, and if she needs more time, we'll say that she stays longer because she likes the teaching experience. Or something. We'll think of something if the situation arises. Thank you for this, Albus."

She hesitated, and then said. "I don't think it's fair to tell the staff the entire situation. We want Madam Hooch to feel safe here. It'll be hard enough for her to tackle her issues as they are, but it will be even harder if the entire staff knows she's having them. She has a right to privacy in the matter."

"Of course," Albus replied. "Oh, and Poppy?" he said as an afterthought. "If she's going to stay here longer, you might consider starting to call her Rolanda."

"I can't," Poppy said. "Not as long as she's my patient. Professional boundaries, you know? I wouldn't feel comfortable being on a first name basis with a patient."

Albus smiled. "There's still a lot of St Mungo in you," he remarked. "Not that that's a bad thing," he added upon seeing her face. "It just shows."

Poppy didn't know what to make of the comment and decided to let it go by.

Poppy turned towards the door. Then she turned back. "Albus, could I use your fireplace to go and pick up the books at St Mungo? It'll be much easier to look for the proper volumes myself instead of asking Juniper to send me items she thinks would be helpful."

"I take it you haven't told Juniper about the situation?"

"I did ask her advice in the matter. Though I never mentioned her name. As far as Juniper thinks, we're corresponding about a student."

"Very well. Use the fire place, I'll leave you to it. I should go and inform the staff that we're getting a temporary addition to our team."

Poppy thanked him again and took a handful of Floo powder from the bowl and stepped into the fireplace.

"Rolanda is in excellent care with you," Albus said before leaving his room, "She really couldn't be in better hands."

She called out 'St Mungo's' and let the Floo Powder fall. As the familiar tugging feeling came, she thought: I don't know if I really am her best option, but I'll make sure to not to betray her trust.