The morning was bright and it promised to be a sunny day when Madam Hooch was going to give her first Quidditch training since her admission. Poppy made sure she arrived at the pitch early. She wanted to see how Madam Hooch would do, wanted to show her she believed in her, wanted to encourage her by her presence. She took a seat in the stands.

It's been a long time since I've been here, she thought.

She waved when Madam Hooch came in in her Quidditch robes. Out here, on the pitch, she looked different. Her yellow-and-black outfit was tailored to fit her and Poppy thought she made a striking figure. She greeted the Gryffindor team with an authority that didn't stem from her status as a renowned Quidditch player. It comes naturel to her, Poppy thought. If you didn't know better, you'd say she had always been teaching.

Her admiration for the woman grew. It took a truly strong person to face an addiction and overcome it, but Madam Hooch was exceeding expectations. Only the paleness of her face revealed that she had been admitted in the hospital wing just days ago. It was clear that, here, she was in her element. It was a pleasure to see her in action.

Poppy was startled by a hand on her shoulder. "Fancy seeing you here, Poppy."

She turned. "Hello Minerva. I didn't see you there," she stammered.

Minerva sat down beside her. "Obviously," she grinned.

Poppy raised an eyebrow.

"You were staring," Minerva elaborated.

"I wasn't staring!" Poppy protested. "I was just checking out the training."

"Really? I looks more like you're checking out the trainer, I'd say," Minerva said drily.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh come on, Poppy, when was the last time you attended a Quidditch match?" Minerva said amused. "And have you ever attended a training since you started working here?"

"She is my patient," Poppy said defiantly. "She's only just getting started after her concussion. It is my job to make sure she doesn't overdo herself."

"Uh-uh," Minerva replied meaningfully, but left it after that, for which Poppy was grateful.

The two witches watched as the training progressed. The first part was spent doing exercises and racing around the pitch. Then Madam Hooch had them flying in formation.

"She's good," Minerva reluctantly said after a while. "As much as I hate to admit it, she's actually doing a terrific job. Has she been teaching before?"

"Not that I know off."

"Then she's a natural. I'm glad to see my team is in good hands. It was a good idea of Albus to temporary employ her, don't you think?" she asked innocently.

"Hm-hm," Poppy hummed non-committingly. Something in the tone of Minerva's voice made her question how much she really knew – or suspected – about Madam Hooch' prolonged stay at Hogwarts, and about Poppy's role in the matter.

-0-0-

Once the training was over, Poppy went onto the pitch. "That went really well!"

"Definitely!" Madam Hooch said pleased. "I had my doubts, but when I'm working with the students, it just figures itself out."

"It showed," Poppy said. "I think this will be just what you need to speed up your progress. I'm proud of you. I'll head back to the castle, will I see you there?"

"If you could wait a moment, I'll get changed and then we can walk back to the castle together," Madam Hooch suggested.

"Even better."

Poppy waited near the changing rooms. Minerva's comment rang in her head. You're staring. She tried to push back the memories of that other time someone had accused her of staring, and succeeded only partially. This is not the same, she reminded herself.

She paced up and down and was relieved when Madam Hooch emerged from the changing rooms.

They decided to take a detour around the lake before heading back to the castle.

"So, how do you do it?" Madam Hooch asked.

"Do what?"

"I've been admitted for two weeks in the ward. I've never seen anyone else working shifts but you. It seems you're on call twenty-four seven. Don't you ever get a day off?"

Poppy shrugged. "I usually only have a couple of patients at a time, and most of them aren't very serious or don't need constant care. There is still plenty of time left to do other things."

"But during those weeks that I was admitted, you checked on me almost every other hour. You'd sit by my side to talk to me, reasoned with me when I was being unreasonable, brought me drinks and foods, stayed up with me all night when I had the hallucinations… That must have been though."

"Oh, it was no problem, really. You're a one-of-a-kind patient."

"Still," Madam Hooch persisted. "Are you always at Hogwarts? You never have a day off? And holidays? Do you get holidays?"

Poppy laughed. "Why the sudden interest in my free time?"

This time, Madam Hooch shrugged. "I'm just curious. We've talked so much the past two weeks, and I'll still be here for a while, but we only ever talk about my… addiction." She swallowed. "I still have difficulties calling it that, can you tell?"

Poppy nodded.

"Anyway, I know that it's necessary for my recovery to talk about it, a lot, but I just thought it would be nice to talk about something else for a change. And this was something I had been wondering about. But if you prefer to keep your personal life, well, personal, I respect that."

Poppy contemplated what to do. She did indeed prefer to keep the two things separated. She was very strict about professional boundaries. On the other hand, she didn't want to appear rude. She was involved in Madam Hooch' most personal life, and it felt wrong to keep her completely out of her own. And besides, what harm was there really in telling her what she did in her spare time?

"No, it's okay," she said. "Hogwarts closes in July and August. We as staff use the first week after the students leave, and the first week before they arrive, to finish off some things and prepare for the new school year, but in between that, we have a six-week holiday."

She skipped over a tree root.

"As for days off in between holidays, I don't really have them. I can get mornings off, or afternoons off, depending on the number of patients in my ward. I can visit Hogsmeade occasionally during the school year. I see my relatives mostly during the holidays."

She smiled. "So you see, it really isn't as bad as it may sound. In fact, I think I have more free time now than I had when I was still working at St Mungo's. How about you? You train every day, right? Do you also have days off, or holidays?"

Madam Hooch nodded. "Team trainings are usually in the morning. We practise our flying manoeuvres and try out different tactics. In the afternoon, most of us follow a personal training. We practise the things we have problems with, or we run to get a better condition and to stay fit. The competition is on Saturday. Some of us play for our country in international matches. They are usually on a weekday."

"That sounds like a rather harsh regime."

-0-0-

They had reached a small meadow at the side of the lake. There were wild flowers everywhere: yellow buttercups, white daisies, red poppies… and also a lot of blue cornflowers.

"This is my favourite spot," Poppy said. "I think you can see why. Let's sit down for a bit, shall we, and enjoy the sunshine. Everyone else is inside eating lunch, so it's ever so calm and peaceful." Without waiting for a reply she sat herself down on the grass and turned her face to the sun.

Madam Hooch sat down beside her. "It's indeed beautiful here," she said.

"We get Sundays off," she continued, as though she had never been interrupted. "Although, to be honest, most of us will just use that to get an extra training done. And there are no matches between Christmas and New Year, nor in July or August. So we too have several weeks off in the summer."

"And you? Do you also use your free time to train more?" Poppy asked.

"Now more than I used to. It's… it's hard. To keep up, I mean," Madam Hooch admitted.

She stared into the distance.

"I'm not getting any younger. If I want to keep my place on the team, I need to try harder, need to train more, need to be tougher than anyone else…"

"Need to be more alert during matches than anyone else," Poppy softly completed the enumeration. So that's why you started using Invigorating Draught. She had been trying to coax Madam Hooch in telling her how her addiction started, but up until now this had been unsuccessful. She wanted to hold her, tell her she wasn't old at all, but she was unsure how Madam Hooch would take that.

"Yes, that too. Coach Wellington sets very high standards."

Poppy didn't think she'd like the man. As far as she knew, he also still hadn't replied to Madam Hooch' letter, never once informing how she was. Neither had any of her team for that matter, Poppy thought. But she was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as she didn't know how informed they were on the situation. But the coach really disappointed her.

"That's good, though," Madam Hooch went on. She obviously took the look of disapproval on Poppy's face for disapproval on setting high standards. "We wouldn't have won the competition so often if the coaches didn't expect us to give it our all."

She sat back and closed her eyes, her face to the sun. "Sitting here, I realise that it's also good to pause once in a while and just enjoy the moment, instead of rushing from achievement to achievement." She sighed. "I guess I just need to learn how to do that again."

Poppy glanced sideways at her companion. She was moving on dangerous ground, she knew that. She had been attracted to the other woman almost from the beginning, but that was something she could still rather well hide. Although, taken Minerva's comment into consideration, she probably wasn't as good at that as she thought she was.

But she realised that in the past few days, since Madam Hooch was no longer admitted in the ward, she had been finding ways to still see her often. She liked spending time with her and talking to her. She was falling for her, she knew. And she couldn't let that happen. Madam Hooch was her patient, she was in a vulnerable position, and there was an inequality of power that made her dependant on Poppy for the time being. I really ought to respect my professional boundaries, Poppy thought. I won't be able to help her properly if I let my personal interest cloud my judgement.

"When did you know you wanted to become a Healer?"

The question threw Poppy aback. It was of course a really normal question, but it was posed at a most inopportune moment. The memories stirred by Minerva's comment earlier that morning were still too close to the surface.

"Something happened while I was here," Poppy eventually replied. "Something that made me appreciate the work the matron at the time did and made me decide I wanted to help people like she did.

"Did that have anything to do with what made you loose interest in Quidditch?"

Poppy nodded and didn't look up. She pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them.

"I don't know what they did and you don't have to tell me, but they obviously lost out on letting you go." Madam Hooch placed a hand on Poppy's back. "I'm sorry their actions still cause you pain."

The unexpected comforting gesture brought tears to Poppy's eyes.

She suddenly wanted to tell someone what happened, didn't want to keep the secret any longer. She thought no loner about the professional boundaries she had so carefully set for herself. She just wanted someone to know.

"Nigel," she choked. "His name was Nigel. I was a fourth year. A bit bleu, inexperienced. He was a seventh year, and very popular. You know the type: athletic, charismatic, good-looking… He could have had anyone, but he picked me. I wasn't actually in love with him, and I did not even find him all that attractive, but everyone else was having dates and relations and I was flattered that someone as popular as he was would even notice me. So I went along, thinking maybe that feeling of being in love that I saw with my friends would just grow on me if put enough effort into it."

"That sounds familiar," Madam Hooch muttered.

Poppy put her arms tighter around her knees. "I went to all of our House trainings. One day, I was extra early. Nigel and I had had a row the day before and I wanted to get on his good side again. I was so early, that one of the other teams was still wrapping up their training. They had a new Keeper and the moment I saw her, I felt something that I had never felt for Nigel, and that I probably never would. I took her in, the way her ponytail danced on her back, how she dived to defend her hoops, the sound she made when she laughed, the curve of her face…" She trailed off. She half-and-half expected Madam Hooch to get up and leave after this description, but she stayed where she was.

"Then our team came in," she continued after a cough. "But I didn't notice it until the other team left. Nigel didn't play well. He kept glancing my way, with a look on his face I did not understand, but which made me feel uncomfortable. I linked it to the row of the day before. Once the training was over, I waited for him, as I had done so often before. He lashed out immediately. Said everyone had seen me staring at the girl. He called me twisted, perverted, a freak of nature...And other things I do not want to repeat."

"That's awful," Madam Hooch whispered. "Didn't anyone stand up to him?"

Poppy shook her head. "He was the popular one, and everyone wanted to be his friend, or more. So they all joined in, hoping for his approval. After a while they left, and I was so relieved to see them go that I wept. But later that day he sought me out. He said that my behaviour reflected badly on him and that people were joking about his capacities if I preferred a girl to him. Said that I had ruined his reputation. He was speaking softly, instead of the yelling he had done before, and I mistook the signs."

"Surely he didn't…" Madam Hooch interjected, catching on quickly. Her face revealed appal.

"He said… he said that he would 'fix my misguided ideas'." Poppy trembled. Although the details of that evening were razor sharp before her mind's eye, it was difficult to put them into words. "I tried to protect my face," she whispered eventually.

Poppy's voice was barely audible now, but she knew the other witch had heard her, for she wrapped her arms around Poppy and pulled her in for a hug.

"You poor dear. That's horrible. I'm so sorry you had to go through that." She held Poppy tight and rubbed her back in slow, soothing circles. The tears Poppy had been fighting back began to fall.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She tried wiping away her tears. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess."

"Don't be sorry," Madam Hooch replied. "Don't you dare apologise. It wasn't your fault, you hear me? You did nothing wrong."

"I shouldn't be burdening you with this." Poppy felt suddenly guilty. This woman was her patient, and here she was recounting her own problems. "You have demons of your own to battle."

"That doesn't make your demons less important."

Madam Hooch held her at arm's length and locked eyes with her. "Now you listen to me. You always take care of everyone else. But it's okay to let someone take care of you for a change. And I'm more than happy to do that. Understood?"

Poppy nodded hesitantly,

"Good."

Madam Hooch pulled her in again for another hug. "It's okay to cry," she said gently. She rubbed Poppy's back again. "Just let it out. I'm here for you."

-0-0-

That day marked a change. Even though they still referred to one another as Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey, they were no longer just Healer and patient. Instead they had transgressed into a type of relation that was somewhere between professional and friendship. Poppy was still helping Madam Hooch with her rehabilitation process, but she had also visited her in her quarters two times now just for a cup of tea and a chat. And this is the most it can be, Poppy reminded herself sternly time and again. She was already on the edge of what was morally acceptable.

A couple of days later though, a letter arrived that would turn everything around.

Dear Poppy,

Mukhtar and I were just talking the other day about the patient you wrote about a few weeks ago. We haven't heard from you since, nor do we have a record of a patient with the symptoms that you described. So we figured she recovered. But recent information led us to believe that maybe she didn't.

Trisha told me about the books you borrowed from St Mungo's library. Although I hope that that's just a coincidence, it's not that hard too put one and one together and it would explain some of the issues you mentioned in your letters.

I'm sending you this to alert you that maybe you'll be getting some unwanted attention, as I'm not the only who can add up. You never were discussing a student, were you? I think you ought to inform her, too.

Sincerely, Juniper

P.s. Just out of curiosity: what was your reason for not referring her to St Mungo's?

Poppy slowly lowered the letter and fell back in her chair. This was a nightmare. She had been ever so careful not to give away anything that could reveal Madam Hooch' identity, yet obviously Juniper now knew not only who the patient was she had been corresponding about, but had also a pretty good understanding of what it was she was being treated for. And maybe Mukhtar was aware of the situation as well.

Poppy frowned and checked the letter again. Recent information led us to believe… what information was Juniper referring to? Did Juniper speak to anyone? But the only people outside of Hogwarts who knew that Madam Hooch was there, were her coach and maybe her team. And it was unlikely that either of them would have talked to Juniper about it. But maybe he spoke to journalists… It was a stretch, but that was the only thing that made sense. There had been nothing in The Daily Prophet, of that she was certain. So, Quidditch Weekly then? She knew one person who subscribed to it and she rushed to Minerva's quarters.

"Minerva, can I borrow your copy of the latest edition of Quidditch Weekly?" she asked, out of breath.

Minerva frowned. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure. Do you have it at hand?"

Minerva searched for the magazine and handed it to Poppy. "I haven't had a change to read it yet, but are you looking for anything in particular?"

"There might be something on Madam Hooch," Poppy muttered as she franctically thumbed through the magazine until she came to a page featuring a young man in yellow-and-black. She recognised the colours and something dropped in the pit of her stomach. She scanned the article. The man, she learned, was called Kirk Fitzpatrick, and he had apparently hit a Bludger so hard it had broken. Fitzpatrick is substituting for Rolanda Hooch, who is still at Hogwarts' hospital wing, recovering from her recent concussion. So far, Fitzpatrick has played three flawless matches.

Poppy didn't read any further.

"I need to tell her," she said to herself. With a heavy heart she got up. She knew she couldn't delay in informing Madam Hooch. She didn't want her to find out via another way. She was afraid she would not take it well. Madam Hooch had come a long way and was nearly recovered, but who knew what she'd do? She could go in relapse, or flee in alcohol. It wasn't uncommon for patients to overcome one addiction only to trade it for another.

"So, what is it between you two?" Minerva said amused.

Poppy stopped in her tracks.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't give me that 'I need to check if she's doing okay' nonsense again, we're both smarter than that. You're obviously head over heels."

After a short moment, Poppy reluctantly said "I might have feelings for her, yes. But that's all it can ever be."

"Because she's your patient?"

Poppy nodded. "Yes. It wouldn't be right. There are professional boundaries, and they exist for a reason."

"She won't always be your patient," Minerva pointed out.

"I know," Poppy sighed. "It's just… complicated."

Please don't ask me to elaborate, she thought. It's difficult enough as it is.

"Because?"

Of course she wouldn't just let it rest. Poppy knew Minerva would keep asking questions, so the easiest thing to was to just tell her the truth of the matter.

"Because she's a famous Quidditch player. She has this flashy, interesting life, and I'm just the Hogwarts' Healer. Our lifestyles couldn't be further apart." I'm afraid she'll think me boring, or mundane.

"She seems to be enjoying teaching just fine," Minerva observed.

"Yes, for now. Because she knows it's temporary." Poppy sighed again. "But once she's no longer my patient" which could be any day now, Poppy added in her mind, she really is doing so well she's almost recovered, "she'll go back to playing in the League. There'll be matches and trainings and events… And I'll still be here at Hogwarts. It'll never work."

"Poppy." Minerva said reproachful. "You're just making assumptions. For all we know, you could just as well be the calm in her stormy life."

"I don't even know if she likes women that way," Poppy muttered. "I mean, she knows I do, and she seems to be okay with that, but that doesn't mean she does to."

"So, what's the worst that could happen?" Minerva enquired. "She might not like women that way. Or she might, but doesn't return your feelings. And then what? Does the world stop turning? Is your life over if she says no?"

"I suppose not," Poppy said reluctantly, though her heart thought differently.

"The only way of knowing for sure how she feels is by asking her."

"Yes, obviously. I just don't know if I'm ready for a rejection yet. It might sound silly, but as long as she doesn't know, I could still hope. But if she says no, then that's the end of it."

Minerva nodded. "I think I understand. Still, if you want to have certainty… And she seems decent enough not to hold it against you if the feeling isn't reciprocated."

That was such a Minerva-way to phrase things, that Poppy smiled.

"Thanks for that Minerva. I really appreciate your advice. I'll just have to figure things out for myself, sooner or later. Either way, it'll have to be after she's discharged from my care." You'll be going to the Qualifier match with her, a small voice inside her head said. Perfect timing. She willed the voice to shut up.

A/N: So I always intended for Rolanda to play for the Wasps. I somehow got my teams mixed up and wrote the Wanderers previously. I fixed this now, but in case you read the previous chapters prior to the change and are wondering about it, this is the reason.