Chapter 21:

'I'll see you tonight!' Polly grinned at Remus as his face faded from the fire. She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. She needed to start getting ready.

'MUM!?' she yelled.

'WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT SHOUTING DOWN THE STAIRS!' was her reply. Polly laughed at the way her mother never seemed to have a problem with shouting up the stairs, she waited for a moment and as always she heard the sound of her mother making her way upstairs to her bedroom.

The door opened and a middle age woman who was the spitting image of her daughter stood in the doorway, eyebrows raised and her hands on her hips.

Polly smiled apologetically and returned her gaze to the pile of dresses she had pulled out of her wardrobe...

'Help?!'

Her mother laughed. Polly loved that laugh, it was so deep, almost musical, and incredibly infectious. She loved how her mother could tell the most average story, but the way she laughed evolved it into a comic classic, and everyone would laugh with her.

'Looks like we have alot of work to do...all of this fussing...it wouldn't have anything to do with that boy you've been sneakily talking to through the floo ever since you came home from school would it?'

Damn Polly thought she's good.

Polly just laughed in response and felt herself blush.

'I thought so' her mother smiled 'This one!' she held up a charcoal grey strapless dress, the bodice was decoarted with silver and it flowed down resting half way up her thigh.

'Really?' Polly asked nervously.

'Really' her mother smiled, and Polly knew that when it came to matters such as these, her mother was never wrong.

'Well? What do you think?' Polly asked, doing a dramatic twirl for her parents.

'You look beautiful, doesn't she Joe?' he mother smiled.

'Of course she does' her father grinned 'but what I want to know, is who is this boy you're trying to impress?' he asked eyebrows raised.

Polly blushed 'Remus Lupin' she smiled.

'And what is Remus Lupin like?' he asked, putting on a fake strict look.

'He's really clever, the top of the year...he was a prefect last year and he's really nice' Polly smiled, avoiding eye contact with her parents.

'And when are we going to meet him?' her mother's eyes danced.

'Well I was kind of thinking maybe later on this week?'

'That would be perfect' her mother grinned exchanging a look of delight with her husband.

A loud alarm suddenly sounded in the house and Polly looked at her father and Mother in suprise. They had both dramatically paled, jumped up and pulled their wands out.

'W-what's going on?' Polly stuttered.

The sound of the back door smashing in caused Polly to jump in fear.

'They're here!' her mother gasped, speaking in a horrified whisper. The sight of her mothers eyes wide with terror sent chills up Polly's spine.

'Polly get your wand out...run upstairs and hide. .Come out...okay? Do you hear me?' her father grabbed her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. 'Whatever happens stay hidden!'

'What? I don't under-'

'We love you darling...so so much...now run..please?' her mother begged, tears in her eyes.

Polly nodded, fear consuming her entire body as she ran upstairs, her breathing became frantic until she felt herself beginning to hyperventilate. She ran into her mum and dad's bedroom and threw herself under the bed. She lay silent, her hand pressed over her mouth trying to silence her heavy breathing. She felt the tears pouring down her cheeks before she even realised that she was crying.

The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard from downstairs.

'Crucio'

Polly had to bite her tongue to stop herself from screaming along with her mother.

She covered her ears, but nothing could drown out the sound of her mother's screams. Her fathers yells. The crashing of furniture being cruel laughter. And then silence.

The silence seemed to be louder that the screaming, it rung in her ears, echoing inside her mind. The silence was painful, it was deadly...and she knew, without having to go downstairs an investigate, that her mother and father were dead.

She couldn't breathe. Her heart was thumping so hard that it hurt. It beat like a drum in her ears - the sound of life. Something that had been ripped away from her parents. Had they expected this? They must have, yet for that moment, Polly was struggling to accept the reality of the situation. She was huddled under her parents' bed. The bed they had slept in since she could remember. And yet they were downstairs dead. They were never going to sleep in that bed again. And then there was a creak.

The sob in Polly's throat caught. She heard it again, the unmistakable sound of someone climbing up her stairs. For a moment her heart leapt in false hope, she allowed herself to believe that it was her father, coming to tell her that everything was okay. But the feeling of utter dispair which had clamped its hold on her told her otherwise.

She held her breathe as the door opened, she briefly pictured her friends laughing at James' party, her parent's eager to meet her boyfriend. Remus...

And then she saw the feet. The bottom of the robes. She saw them bend down to look beneath the bed. And she saw his face.

'STUPIFY!' she yelled, and saw him collapse before her. She sprung out from beneath the bed and turned to the door. She could hear the footsteps running up the stairs. There was more than one of them. She braced herself.

'Impedimenta!'

She saw the Death Eater move in slow motion and prepared herself for his attack.

'CRUCIO!'

'Protego' she thought of her mother, her cold empty body downstairs and anger consumed her 'CRUCIO!' she yelled back and smirked as the death eater before her fell to the floor, writhing and screaming in pain.

She could hear the next one approaching the top of the stairs. If she was going down...then someone was coming with her. The thought sickened her, yet she didn't care...she wasn't just fighting for her own life, she was fighting for the life of her parent's which they had already taken.

'EXPELLIARMUS!' she yelled as the second death eater appeared at the doorway 'YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!' she screeched, tears running down her cheeks 'Removius' she added, and watched as the death eaters were unmasked. She looked into the dark eyes of the man before her.

'AVADA KEDAVRA!' she screamed, her eyes wild with rage. There was a flash of green light and the death eater fell to the floor.

A cold laugh sounded from the corner, she spun round to find herself facing the wand of the other death eater. She briefly acknowledged the pale blonde of his hair, the smirk on his face and the coldness of his eyes. And then there was another flash of green light.

A/N: So...I know it's only short. But I feel like Polly deserved to have this chapter to herself! Comments? And you can let me know if you absolutely hate me for this...I hate myself a little bit...Poor Polly...and Remus!

Thanks

Hannah x