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 to all who reviewed! It is quite gratifying to read such nice comments about my work. Kisses!

Chapter 21

Quidditch had begun. Trials for the House teams were held the second week of September as usual. Ron made the Gryffindor team as Keeper, since he had been the reason they had won the House Cup the previous season. That win had given him the confidence he was so lacking. Harry was back as Seeker, after being banned from playing by Umbridge. Ginny Weasley didn't mind losing her position as Seeker. She knew that the job had belonged to Harry; she had only filled in for him during his ban. This year, she became Chaser instead, as well as back-up Seeker.

Harry was thrilled to be back on the team, even though he had a full schedule. It seemed that every minute of his day was spoken for – studying, writing reports, researching in the library, practicing Occlumency, and now Quidditch. He didn't mind it all, rather, he relished it. Being so busy made him happy, except when it came to Potions. Snape was as snarky and cutting as ever. Gryffindor seemed to lose points at every lesson. It was usually either Harry or Neville who was the cause. Snape picked on all except, of course, his own students, the Slytherins. The others all found this to be most unfair, but there was nothing they could do about it. None of them dared to stand up to Snape, not if they wanted to live to graduate from Hogwarts.

Occlumency was progressing very slowly; too slowly for Harry's liking. Professor Medwin still maintained that he had it in him. She wasn't discouraged by his slow pace, so he was determined not to be either.  She had told him that one day, out of the blue, he would be able to keep her out of his mind and to let her see only what he chose. He couldn't wait for that day to arrive. In the meantime, he kept plodding away.

Professor Dumbledore met with Jo on a regular basis so that she could update him on their progress. He, also, was not put off by Harry's evolution. He, like Jolicia, knew that Harry would soon be a master at the technique. Not one word of this was spoken to Severus, although Jo figured he must be curious. She was sure he was waiting for her to fail just as he had done. He didn't ask about it, and they didn't tell.

Jolicia was astounded to find herself totally and hopelessly in love, in love with her job. She had loved teaching at L'Académie, but somehow Hogwarts outshone it by a mile. She couldn't really explain why; she just knew she was the happiest she had ever been in her life. Everything just felt right. 

Jo found herself at the Quidditch pitch very often. Anytime there was a practice, she was there. It brought back memories of her playing days. She was anxious for the real matches to begin. L'Académie had disbanded their team three years ago, due to a lack of interest. Quidditch had lost some of its appeal with the younger Witches and Wizards back home. Jo was glad to see that the game was still wildly popular here in Britain.

One afternoon, Jo was on her way to watch a practice, when she spied Snape.

"Good afternoon, Professor Medwin," he said. "From the way you are dressed, I would hazard a guess that you are on your way to watch practice again?"

Looking down at her jeans, Jo replied with a grin, "Naturally. You know me, can't resist anything to do with Quidditch." She always dressed casually on such occasions – she liked to be comfortable. It was bad enough to have to wear the robes during school hours, never mind on her own time.

Indeed, Jo had garnered quite a reputation as a Quidditch fanatic amongst both the staff and students. She never missed an opportunity to chat about the latest results, no matter who it was with. Of course, Ron picked up on this very quickly and was always more than eager to discuss his favorite team, the Chudley Cannons. She favored the Montrose Magpies and took great pleasure in rubbing his nose in it every time they won. He was in heaven during those chats. What more could you want – Quidditch and a hot teacher!

"Why don't you come with me, Professor Snape? It's a lovely afternoon out there," ventured Jo.

He looked at her as if she had asked him to cut off his right arm.

"Surely you jest? Me, go to watch Gryffindor and Hufflepuff practice Quidditch? I'd rather be dead than be seen there. Perhaps if it had been my own House team, but even then, I attend matches only," he replied coldly. "I have better things to do than watch two inferior teams practice."

The way he said Gryffindor and Hufflepuff made her think he would choke on the words. She also felt that he wanted to add 'I have better things to do than spend time with you'. Her cheeks flushed.

"Sorry to have bothered you then, Professor. I'll leave you to your more important matters," Jo quickly said and then left.

 "Git," she thought as she left.

"Pain in the ass," he thought as he watched her walk away. However, he watched that 'ass' until it was out the door.

Several afternoons later, Jolicia was walking through the courtyard when she came across a group of students. As she looked to see who they were, she realized they were all on one or other of the Quidditch teams. She heard them complain.

"It's no use if we don't have a second Seeker. Harry needs to practice, too," griped Ron. "If only Ginny didn't have an exam to write. No body else is available either."  The rest of them grumbled in agreement.

Jolicia inquired, "Good afternoon all. What's all the complaining about?"

Harry replied sadly, "Hi, Professor Medwin. We were all going to have a game of pick- up Quidditch, but we're short a seeker. We were looking forward to it too."

A thought raced through Jo's mind, but she wasn't sure if she should offer or not. She decided to take a chance. The worst they could do would be to say no.

"Ahem, I have a suggestion, but you're not obliged to take me up on it. If you want, I could play Seeker for you," Jo said.

They all looked at her in surprise and then looked at each other, and in unison they yelled, "Yes! Please."

She broke into a wide smile, "I have been dying to play again. I have to warn you though; it has been a very long time, so I'll be a little bit rusty. If you're sure you don't mind?"

Harry grinned, "We'd love for you to join us, Professor. I warn you, I take no prisoners."

"I stand forewarned. I'll go change and meet you all at the Quidditch pitch in about ten minutes," Jo said and quickly took off to her room.

She changed into her old Quidditch uniform and stood back to look in the mirror. She was quite pleased to see that it still fit with only some slight adjustments. She took out her broom and the memories of her playing days came flooding back. Damn, it felt good to be in uniform again! She hoped she would be able to keep up the pace.

As luck would have it, she ran into Snape on her way out to the pitch.

"My, my – what do we have here?" he asked with a smirk. "A Quidditch uniform, Professor Medwin? Really!"

"How observant! Nothing gets by you does it?" she replied sarcastically. "The students needed a Seeker and I volunteered. I was a Seeker in my school days, you know. Is there a problem with my playing? Am I breaking some rule that I unaware of?"

"No, I imagine that you are able to play. If you so desire," he said silkily. "-to live in the past."

Grr- he was infuriating!

"I'd invite you to come and watch, but I know you have better things to do," she snapped. She shot him a dirty look and left.

"Git," she thought.

"Pain in the ass," he thought.

Ten minutes later, the 'git' snuck into the Quidditch stands to watch the 'pain in the ass' play.

Jo took a deep breath, hopped on her broom and soared high up to where Harry and the others were waiting for her.

"Let me have a few practice laps around the field to warm up," she yelled as she took off.

She had forgotten how exhilarating flying was. She felt so alive, so free as she sped higher and higher. She did a few fancy maneuvers – sweeping, diving, rolls, upside down. It was all coming back to her. She rejoined the students and the game began.

She and Harry hovered high above the others watching the action below, all the while scanning for the first glimpse of the Golden Snitch. He cheered when his team managed to get the Quaffle in. Jo booed jokingly. She and Harry were chatting about techniques when all of a sudden she caught a flash in the corner of her eye. The Snitch! Before Harry even realized it, Jo had taken off and was speeding towards the ground near her goalposts. He spied it as well and took off, right behind her. Jo had the longer reach but Harry was smaller and therefore more maneuverable. They chased and chased the glittering globe, but it eluded them both.

Jolicia was having a great time. Even though she narrowly missed getting hit in the head by one, she was even enjoying dodging the Bludgers. She was impressed with how well the students all played. Jo now knew why Harry had been the youngest player for a House team in over a century. He was amazing.

On one of her routine scans for the Snitch, she thought she saw someone move in the spectator area. She casually descended until she was level with the stands and without being obvious, looked to see who it was. Snape! He was hiding behind a banner. Interesting ! She thought about flying over and calling his name but decided not to, reasoning that if he was hiding, he didn't want to be seen. She just kept her eye on him and to her surprise, he stayed for the whole match. More than interesting!

Harry's team won, but it was close. Although Jo's team had scored more points, Harry beat her to the Snitch, by a fraction of an inch, but he managed to capture it before her. They had both lunged at the same time – she landing on her stomach in the dust and Harry still on his broom, his prize in hand.

Jo was thrilled when the students told her she was welcome to join them any time she wished. She joyously accepted their invitation. They made their way back to the school all the while talking boisterously about the game they had just finished. Jolicia couldn't wait to have a shower; she was covered head to toe in dust. She also knew she was going to sleep like a log that night.

The following morning, Jo had discovered an unpleasant after effect of yesterday's match. She was aching all over. She ached in places where she didn't even know she had muscles. It was all Jo could do to climb into a hot tub. She wasn't even sure if she would be able to get back out again. She lay there contemplating her pain.

"And you thought you were in shape, idiot," she said aloud.

She managed finally to crawl out of the water, get dressed and drag herself to breakfast. She was determined to keep this her little secret. Putting on a brave face, she strolled into the Great Hall, stopping to chat with her fellow players. She was a good actress. Each step was agony, but there was no way she was going to let anyone, especially Snape, see her in pain. She sat slowly down beside him.

"Good morning, Professor Snape," Jo tried to say brightly.

"Good morning, how did you enjoy your Quidditch?" he queried. "No after effects?"

"None whatsoever. I loved it. I can't wait to do it again," she replied. "You really should have come. It turned out to be a great game." She watched for his reaction.

There was none. He just said as smoothly as ever, "I think not. I'm too busy for such nonsense."

"Liar," she thought.

"Liar," he thought.

They ate in companionable silence. Snape watched her very closely as she left. She knew he was watching, so she walked briskly out of the room. Once on the other side of the door, she stopped, leaned against it and groaned in pain. She hobbled her way to see Poppy, thinking she might have something to put her out of her misery.