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 10

She decided to wear a long, multicolored cotton skirt and matching blouse to the evening meal. The ensemble was finished off with a spritz of her favorite perfume, "Spellbound".  Jo assessed her appearance in the mirror.

"Not too casual, not too dressy, perfect," she said aloud.

She left her quarters and walked purposefully to the staff room. It felt good to actually know where she was going. It wouldn't take her long to know Hogwarts like the back of her hand, but tonight, just to be safe, she folded up her map and stuffed it into the pocket of her skirt.

Jolicia Medwin was not what would be considered a true 'beauty' in the classical sense. She was what you would call 'pretty'. However, she had three things about her that made her stand out from other woman, and these three attributes often led people to describe her 'beautiful'. Firstly, she was very tall for a woman – she measured 5 feet, 11 inches in her bare feet. She literally stood out above the crowd. Secondly, she had the most amazing blue eyes; the color defied description. It seemed that they were every shade of blue possible, all rolled into one. Thirdly, she had a smile that came way down inside, indeed, from her very soul and enveloped you in its radiance. Hence, she had the illusion of true physical beauty.

She pushed open the door and entered saying, "Good evening, all."

She gave them one of those smiles. They responded in kind; they couldn't help themselves.  Dumbledore motioned for her to come and sit between himself and Professor Sprout. Jo was glad to see that Snape was not at the table with the rest of his colleagues. She felt herself relax.

The table was set with a most generous quantity of food. It all looked delicious. She tucked in with the best of them. The meal was most enjoyable. It was accompanied by jovial conversation. All of the other teachers were anxious to give her hints about the ins and outs at Hogwarts. They also told her about some of the students – which ones were trouble makers, which ones were top drawer, which ones needed a little extra encouragement. She wanted to ask them about Harry Potter, but thought better of it. She would wait and speak to the Headmaster himself. He would give her the truth without the embellishment of gossip.

Jolicia felt her energy draining from her body. She was exhausted after her long day. It had been quite an adventure, to say the least. Jo begged forgiveness for leaving so early, but they understood. Dumbledore requested that she meet with him in his office the following morning at 10:00. There was much for them to discuss. She agreed and bid them all good night and pleasant dreams.

She reached for the door to pull it open at the same time as someone on the other side pushed it in. Whack! She caught the edge of the door on her right cheekbone. She covered her face with her hand and looked through her tears to see who had hit her. Snape!

"Oh, gods, Professor Medwin, I am truly sorry. It was an accident," offered Severus. 

She stared at him. As much as she would like to believe he had done it on purpose, he really did look sorry for his actions. He actually seemed concerned.

"It's okay; I can see that it was a question of bad timing. Don't worry about it," replied Jolicia graciously. She tried to smile, but it hurt too much. The others rushed to her aid. Minerva McGonagall looked at the side of her face – it was very red and had started to swell.

"Severus, I think it would be a good idea if you took Jolicia to see Madame Pomfrey. She can make sure that everything is in order – no concussion or broken bones or such," said Albus. It was not a request.

"Certainly, Headmaster. Professor Medwin, please come with me," Snape said quietly.

He put his left arm around her back and supported the elbow of her right arm with his right hand.  She felt so strange. Her face was paining her something fierce and her whole body had started to tingle.

 "It must be the shock of the accident," she thought.

They made their way slowly to the infirmary. When her tears became too profuse, Severus stopped and gently dabbed them with his handkerchief. She was quite surprised by his demeanor. He was actually tender. Perhaps she was too hasty to judge him.  Would he come to the same realization about her?

Upon arriving at the hospital wing, he called for Poppy to come immediately. He explained what had occurred, even admitting that it had been his fault. Jolicia told him he could leave, but he insisted that he stay.

"Not a good way to meet one another is it, Professor Medwin?" exclaimed Poppy.

"No, it certainly isn't. I'm happy to meet you anyway, Poppy. Please call me Jolicia," responded Jo.

Poppy finished her examination and declared," Nothing is broken, your eye is not damaged and there is no concussion. You are very badly bruised, however. Don't worry, my dear, I have just the thing to fix you up. The bruise will be completely gone by Monday when the students arrive."

This hadn't even occurred to Jolicia! How awful it would have been to greet her new students with a whopping great bruise on her face. Thank Merlin for modern medi-wizard technology.

Madame Pomfrey picked up her wand and pointed it at a small cloth.

"Glacialis*," she cried. "Here Jolicia, hold this to your face. The cold will help the swelling go down."  She then left to fetch the proper potions. The iciness felt wonderful on her cheek.

Upon her return, Poppy gave Jo three potions to drink, explaining each one as she went.

"This one is for the swelling, the next is to heal the damaged tissues, and finally, this one is for the pain," said Poppy confidently. "Also, you should know that this combination of potions will make you very sleepy. You should sleep right through until tomorrow morning without any trouble. If you notice anything unusual or if you don't feel better soon, come back and see me right away. Right? Severus will see safely back to your rooms."

"Thank you so much, Poppy. I think I'm feeling better already. Good night," replied Jo, starting to feel drowsy.

Severus once again slipped his arm around Jolicia and escorted her back to her quarters.

"Poppy is very good, isn't she? She seems to be very thorough," Jo said yawning widely.

"Yes, she is. The school is lucky to have her," replied Snape.

Not too far from her door, Jolicia stumbled. Severus caught her before she could fall to the floor.

"Oh my, I…I can't keep my eyes open…I…" she said and then collapsed, asleep in his arms.

Luckily, there was a chair in the hall and he sat her in it while he went to her door. It was locked. Severus pulled out his wand and said, "Alohomora" and the door sprung open.  He lit the candles of her room and turned down the bedclothes. He then gathered her up from the chair and carried her to the bed. He gently laid her down, removed her shoes and covered her over with a light blanket. He stood there for a brief moment and stared at her. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. He shivered and shook off those thoughts. He saw that the window was open and closed it, not wanting her to catch a chill. He looked at her one more time, extinguished the candles and left. Severus then went to find Dumbledore and informed him of Poppy's findings. Jolicia would be fine tomorrow. Severus bid Albus a good night and turned to leave.

"Don't blame yourself, my boy. It was an accident, you know, "said the Headmaster reassuringly.

"Yes, Albus, I know. Sleep well," replied Snape wearily and left.

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes watched him leave.

 "Patience," he thought. "Patience."

Snape did feel guilty. Although he had vowed not to like the woman, he would never have harmed her physically. No one ever knew, including Jolicia, that Severus crept into her room three times during that night, just to make sure she was all right.

*glacialis – from the Latin, meaning "icy, frozen, full of ice"