Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, except the one I created myself. All others belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I have only borrowed them for my amusement and hopefully yours as well.

Chapter 8

Snape was furious. As he marched to the teachers' quarters, he thought to himself, "What does Albus take me for, a house-elf, a tour guide? Why did he have to ask me to show her the way? Sometimes I think he does these things just to get under my skin. The meddlesome old goat!"

Luckily for Jolicia, she was almost as tall as Snape and therefore could meet his pace, stride for stride. A shorter person would have been left in the dust by his bounding steps. She had the sinking suspicion that Professor Snape didn't much care for her, although she couldn't understand why. What had she ever done to him? Maybe this was his way with everyone? She decided to test the waters.

"Have you been teaching here at Hogwarts for a long time, Professor Snape?" she politely inquired.

"Yes," he answered curtly.

"Do you enjoy your job?" she tried again.

"Yes," he replied just as coldly.

Jolicia thought, "Well, this is going nowhere fast. I wonder if he knows any other words besides yes?"

"I was just thinking, how am I to know where everything is located in the school? Is there any kind of map available?" Jo asked.

Snape rolled his eyes and said, "Professor Medwin, in your quarters you will find a book entitled, 'Everything You Need to Know About Hogwarts.' It contains all the information you will require."

"Excellent! That should be a great help. Please call me Jolicia, Professor," Jo ventured.

Just then, they arrived at their destination.

"These are your quarters, Professor Medwin. Good afternoon," Snape said, looking icily in her direction. He then turned and strode away, his black robes billowing behind him, before she even realized he was going.

She called after him, "Thanks for your time," in her head adding 'asshole'.

He did not turn around to acknowledge her thanks. She felt herself shiver yet again.

"So much for 'call me Jolicia'.  He definitely has a problem with me. I'll have to ask the Headmaster if he knows why Snape feels this way," Jo thought as she opened the door to her new home.  She was at a loss to explain the events of the day. Most perplexing!

"Good," she said, as she spied her belongings.  Dobby had been true to his word and had delivered the trunk to her chambers.

She surveyed the outer room. It was of a good size and well furnished. There were comfy looking easy chairs arranged in front of the large fireplace.  In one corner stood a large desk and bookshelves; in another, there was a round table, four chairs and a side-board. The window was wide open and let in a sweet, late summer breeze. There were two doors to one side of the room. Opening the first one, she saw that it was a private bathroom.

"Thank Merlin," she thought. "I wouldn't have wanted to run into Snape in the middle of the night on the way to the community john."

It had a large, deep tub – perfect for soaking after a long hard day. There was also a separate shower stall. Jo was glad of this as she preferred a quick shower in the mornings. All in all, it was a well-appointed bathroom.

The next door revealed her bedroom. She was quite surprised to see that it contained a queen-sized four poster bed with night tables on either side. There was another small fireplace and a chaise longue beside it to curl up in. A large wardrobe, a bureau, and a vanity and chair completed the room's furnishings. On the vanity, there was a crystal vase filled with beautiful pink roses and blue Witch's Wands that filled the air with their heavenly perfumes.

"Someone here knows how to make you feel welcome," she mused. "Don't judge everyone by that arrogant ass, Snape."

As she sat down on the bed, she suddenly realized that the room was decorated in her favorite color – blue. The bed was made up with a rich, royal blue silk comforter. There were matching drapes on the bedposts and the window. She wondered how they could have known. It was at that moment she decided she was going to be very happy at Hogwarts, in spite of a certain dark someone.