I apologize again for being behind for like the quintillionth time!

Props to kidarock, and I hope maybe a few more who will not be mentioned yet.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter other than my copies of the books and in no way claim that this story in any way has anything to do with J.K. Rowling's novels with the exception of the characters.

Sunlight burned the retinas of Rolanda Hooch as she woke to find herself in her bed looking at her beloved Silver Arrow broomstick mounted on the wall opposite her. 'I'll miss playing Quidditch this year, refereeing students will be tame compared to playing professional games'. She thought as she threw open a window and enjoyed the cool breeze. 'Madame Pomfrey probably changed my clothes for me last night, it was really decent of Severus to go and get her for me. And to think, I thought he was a salty, rather greasy, overall unpleasant ogre while we were in school'. As Rolanda changed into a set of clean robes, her mind drifted to the past.

A breeze stirred the crowd and eased Rolanda higher in the air, this was the definitive match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw, and Slytherin had a slight lead. For the rest of the school, this game decided the future home of the Quidditch Cup, but for Rolanda this match decided her fate; there were two scouts watching her play today, and if she didn't pull through she might not have a chance at the professional league! The Quaffle dropped from Bone's hands into another Ravenclaw chaser's hands who then passed it to Rolanda who spun and swerved across the pitch to even the score against Slytherin. A sea of blue, red, and gold rose up in a mighty wave of cheers. Slytherin and Hufflepuff booed until the Quaffle was back in play. Finnigan, the reserve Seeker, had spotted something; Rolanda took a moment to follow his line of sight and also observed the Golden Snitch several feet away from the box where Professor Slughorn was sitting. She darted to the Seeker and said "Go for it." Finnigan looked unsure, but nodded and sailed towards the Snitch. Rolanda swerved in front of the Slytherin Seeker and looped around him, trying to prevent him from noticing the Ravenclaw Seeker's mad attempt at the Snitch. Rain started to fall, and then hail. Ravenclaw earned another 30 points over Slytherin, making the score 250 to 220 Ravenclaw; Rolanda used the momentum gained in a Sloth Grip Roll to increase the score to 260. The sound of the referee's whistle was barely noticeable over the roar of the croud when they saw Finnigan do a victory lap around the stadium, Golden Snitch in hand.

Rolanda's musings were interrupted by a knock at the door, but before Rolanda could answer, Poppy Pomfrey barged in. "Hello, Rolanda, how are we feeling today? You gave us a bit of a scare last night."

"Good morning, Madame Pomfrey, I feel just fine. How's everyone else?" 'How's Severus?'

"Tired and hung over; I thought I would check on you before distributing any Anti-Hangover Potion." Poppy surveyed the new Flying Instructor's room before continuing. She wondered why Rolanda had decided to put her bed in the main room instead of one of the side areas, and decided to ask about it at a later date. Like most of the rooms in Hogwarts, the floors and walls were composed of gray stone; not unlike most teachers' quarters, this room had many bookcases, but Poppy also noticed a cello in the corner. Poppy mused that Rolanda had chosen this room because of the large window on the wall opposite the door leading to the corridor. There were Quidditch plaques adorning one wall, along with a portrait of a woman and a gryphon on the wall adjacent to the bookshelves. The mediwitch smiled at the sight of a Silver Arrow racing broom beneath the portrait, and remembered when Rolanda had to go to the Hospital Wing because of a leg that was broken in a game of chicken with James Potter. "Did you feel any more symptoms today?"

"No, thankfully; I still don't see why it was such a big deal, it was just a headache!"

"And nausea, fainting spells, dizziness, and a fever."

"It could have been menstrual," Rolanda pouted. "I don't know about you, but I'm so hungry I could eat a dragon."

"Perhaps, but I doubt it; except for the dragon part. You have quite an appetite at times, especially when your body's on the mend."

"You would know, you were always fixing it."

Poppy turned to leave, and said "See you later Rolanda, it was a smart move to wait for Severus to be around to catch you when you fall." And with that, the mediwitch proceeded down the corridor to the Great Hall.

When Poppy left, Rolanda finished getting dressed, brushed her hair, and walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Before she could get there, Arithaeus Vector intercepted her. "Ah, Rolanda! You are looking spectacular this morning. Your eyes, they burn into me with the intensity of a thousand suns, your hair, yes, your beautiful dark hair! It calls to me like the moon calls to the ocean, like the-" Arithaeus stopped cold at the sight of Serena Sinistra, the resident Astronomy professor, walking down the hall.

"Serena! Oh, your skin is as smooth and as pale as the moon-"

"As smooth as the moon?" Serena pouted, "I could take that as an insult." The Astronomy professor quipped playfully.

"Perhaps I am in need of some lessons?" Arithaeus growled and slid his arm around the giggling professor's waist.

Rolanda hurried down the hallway. 'That couple was unexpected, I-' Rolanda's thoughts were interrupted by Professor Flitwick, who accompanied her the rest of the way to the Great Hall. "How was your evening, Sir?"

Filius laughed and said "No need for 'sirs' around me! My evening was quite enjoyable, but did you notice if anything was troubling Severus? He came in a panic asking for something, and it looked urgent; I'm sorry I couldn't help him."

"No, I don't know anything about that, I ducked out early." The two teachers entered the Great Hall and continued to chat about the first day of school until Filius was called over by another teacher. "Thanks for the tips, Professor."

"No problem, Rolanda, but if you call me anything other than 'Filius' in the future, your ears will do more flying than your broom!" The diminutive professor laughed and trotted off.

At that moment, Severus Snape swished by without a word. "Severus, wait up!" Rolanda called. "I need to talk to you!"

The professor slowed, but didn't stop as he ducked into the hallway that led to his classroom. When Rolanda caught up with him, she noticed that he suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Something wrong, Madame?" Severus resumed his brisk pace.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me last night; Professor Flitwick said you were really worried about me." Rolanda was also curious as to why he was suddenly calling her 'Madame', but held her tongue.

"Didn't he ask for you notto call him 'sir'?"

"Aha! So you were eavesdropping! I knew it!" Rolanda shouted triumphantly.

Severus winced at the volume of her voice. "Madame, if overhearing a shouted conversation inside a gigantic, resonating stone chamber counts as eavesdropping, then everyone in this hemisphere was doing so! Good day and good luck tomorrow!" A lamp exploded as Severus continued on his way down to his dungeons.

"My name's Rolanda!" She shouted after him, and then gasped. Tomorrow was the first day of school! She had to find Professor McGonagall and get a schedule!

Minerva wrapped a towel around her damp figure after getting out of the shower and checked again to make sure that Albus was really there. She felt rather perverse, thinking of him the way she was; he was her employer, for goodness sakes! In truth, she had found it to be quite exhilarating to wake up in his arms, she felt safe and… her train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door.

She walked out of the bathroom with only her towel on and cracked the door open so hardly a sliver of light peeked through from the outside world, but opened it wider when Madame Pomfrey appeared. "How are you feeling, Minerva? I hear that you ducked out early last night."

Minerva's brow furrowed as she asked "How did you know?"

"Someone's feeling a little cranky today; you should show more enthusiasm towards the person who brought you some Anti-Hangover Potion. Alastor saw you leave with the Headmaster. Speak of the devil, there he is!"

Minerva turned and saw to her horror that Albus truly was there, and Poppy was seeing this all play out. "Good morning, Poppy, I think I'll have some breakfast." Albus was obviously trying to keep his eyes off his barely clad and dripping wet Deputy Headmistress, but all three present knew he wasn't doing very well. He cleared his throat, "Some breakfast sounds delightful, shall I wait for the two of you?"

"I already ate, but thank you for offering; the waffles are delicious this morning, by the way." Poppy quickly ducked out of her good friend's chambers and continued down the hall.

"And you, Minerva?" Now that the mediwitch was gone, he chanced a proper look at his dear friend, but then wished he hadn't. Albus nearly needed a glass of water.

"Perhaps some other time, Albus."

"I wouldn't mind waiting, you know."

"I know, but it would probably be better if you left."

"Yes, you're right, as always. Ah, Rolanda, how nice of you to stop by; I had better be going now."

After Albus crossed the threshold, Minerva shut the door behind him, blushed heavily, and downed the beaker of potion Poppy handed her in one gulp. "Do you need something?"

Rolanda shrugged, "Yes, but is there anything wrong?"

Minerva hurriedly answered with a resounding "No!", and that was that. "What do you need?"

"First I need to know why you are blushing so heavily and I also need a class schedule. I didn't realize the first day of school is tomorrow!"

"That first item of business has nothing to do with you," Minerva said heatedly while rummaging through her desk, "and here's your schedule."

"Thank you. Sorry for coming in at a bad time."

Minerva's face softened, and pulled her former student into a tight hug. "I should be sorry for snapping at you, can you forgive me?" Rolanda nodded. "Why don't you ask Severus to have a look at your lesson plans so far? I'll never admit to saying this, but he is very good at things such as this."

"Thank you," Rolanda said as she backed out of the room. "Have a nice day."

Sorry again for the lateness! Man, I am so talented at procrastination! I'm also a pretty big jerk, too. I need to apologize to BlazeFourPaws and Padme Snivvey for reviewing, I'M SORRY, YOU GUYS! I should have thanked you earlier, but I didn't. I'm really sorry for that. I mean, like I'm gonna commit hari kiri for that, you know? Anybody else, I've learned my lesson and I promise to respond to every review I get, unless I suddenly get a ton of reviews, then I'll mention you in the beginning of the next chapter every time you review. SORRY AGAIN!