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.
A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! They really make my day. There were 5 of you who reviewed on Saturday, but I never got them due to the problems on the site. Blast and damnation! Special thanks to Hapi Le Fey; your kind words mean so much! I send you thanks from the bottom of my heart. P.S. I feel the same way you do about Severus!
Chapter 9
Jolicia decided that she would quickly thumb through her copy of 'Everything You Need to Know About Hogwarts' before starting to unpack. She realized it would be a good idea to know when and where she was expected to be. She was happy to find that there was a pull-out map. Hogwarts was such a large place and there were so many nooks and crannies and twists and turns. She did not want to end up lost down some forbidden corridor. Yes, the map would be godsend. Jolicia sat down in one of her easy chairs with the map in hand and read off all the names on the legend and found where they were located in relation to her quarters.
She read aloud," Headmaster Dumbledore's office- the Tower; the Great Hall – ground floor; first floor – Professor McGonagall's office, Muggle studies, History of Magic, and, oh, my classroom, too; second floor - my office; third floor - Charms and the Hospital wing; fourth floor – the library. Here's somewhere I won't be going – the dungeons – Snape's office and classroom." She continued studying the map intently. Jo decided that she would check out her office and classroom tomorrow. Tonight she would try to settle in as best as she could.
It would suppertime in a couple of hours, so Jolicia looked up the section on 'Meals'. When school was not in session, the professors took their meals in the staff room; otherwise they ate in the Great Hall with the students. She found the staff room on the map and memorized the route.
She looked at her trunk and said to it, "You're not going to unpack yourself, so I better get started."
She, of course, could have cast an unpacking spell, but she preferred to do it herself, the Muggle way, if you like. The trunk had, naturally, been enchanted – otherwise she would have arrived with dozens instead of just one. She had cast the spell of the bottomless valise. There was literally no end to the amount of items it could hold. She removed all of her books, which were many, and placed some in the bookshelf next to her desk. The rest of the books belonged in her office. She arranged her quills and parchments in the desk itself. She looked down at the well-worn wood and saw herself marking papers. She smiled. She pulled out her knickknacks and doodads and all manner of little objects and arranged them here and there throughout her rooms. Some of them she had picked up on her travels; some had been given by friends and family. Sometimes the smallest things mean the most. One of her most cherished possessions was a tiny, glittering model of the solar system that her father had given her the day she graduated from school. As she placed it on the corner of her desk, the planets hovered briefly, and then began to revolve around the golden sun at the center. When Alaisdair had given this gift to Jolicia, he said that he had chosen this because she had the whole universe at her feet; her life was open to endless possibilities.
She felt a sharp pang of emptiness at the thought of her father. She quickly pushed it aside for now; there was too much to be done. She hung the pictures of the family and stood back. They smiled and waved at her. It made her feel better to see their faces, even if it was just photos. All of her clothing was quickly settled into the wardrobe and bureau. As she hung up her robes, she wondered if she should change into them for supper. Undoubtedly, she would be required to wear them starting on Monday when the students arrived, but what about now? She decided that she would change into something besides jeans, but the robes would wait until Monday.
Finally, every one of her possessions had a found a new home. She took up her wand and said 'Reducio' and the trunk shrunk down so small that she picked it up in one hand and tucked it away in a drawer of her bureau. Jolicia surveyed her handiwork and decided it was a job well done.