Monday afternoon, after all of her classes were done, Polly went to the library to meet with the twins. Fred and George were already there, sitting at a table with books spread around it in the corner. Not a single one was even open. They got quiet as soon as Polly approached them. Polly had learned it was way easier not to ask why.

"Hey, Polly," George said, pulling out the chair next to him for her. Polly set her books on the table as she took the seat. "Did you hear about Harry?"

"What about Harry?" Polly asked, opening up her textbook. Polly got her parchment ready to do her homework.

"He's the new seeker," Fred said.

"Oh, yeah. I heard that. Justin told me," Polly said, not even looking up from her work.

"Uh, you're getting pretty close to him, huh?" George asked, looking at Polly. She still didn't look up.

"Yeah, he's a good guy," Polly said, not understanding that George was feeling jealous.

"I think I see Lee over there. I'm gonna go talk to him," Fred said, leaving the table.

"You don't want to see Lee?" Polly asked George. He wondered if she was trying to get rid of them. She wouldn't do that, right? The truth was that Polly was just trying to do her homework.

"I'm a good guy too, right?" George asked.

"Of course you are; you're my favourite guy." Polly looked up at George and smiled. George smiled back.

Polly returned to doing her homework. George even started doing his, he kept getting distracted by Polly. He loved the way you could see her tongue poke out when she was thinking really hard, and the way she had to keep brushing her hair behind her ear when it fell in front of her eyes. She was so beautiful. If she was more outgoing, George would bet they wouldn't have even become friends. It was a scary thought for George; she was one of his absolute favourite people in the whole world.

"Done," Polly said, startling George. "What're you thinkin' about?"

"Uh..."

"Man! Lee had his tarantula, right? And he used it to scare some Ravenclaw into a date! Brilliant," Fred said, rejoining them at the table. George was thankful for the distraction.

"You alright, George?" Polly asked. George must have looked concerned, which he was.

"Course, why wouldn't he be?" Fred asked.

"Dunno," Polly said.

She gathered up her things, getting ready to leave the library. George asked if she was leaving, and she nodded. He didn't want her to go.

"I'll see you two later. We can do something after dinner, if you want."

"Yeah, I have something we can do," Fred said, smirking.

"Alright, meet you guys in the Great Hall," Polly said, leaving the library.

Fred instantly turned to look at his brother, who looked away. Fred just smiled, waiting for George to make a single move.

"So," Fred stated. "You like her."

"Shove off," George said, crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair.

Meanwhile, Polly was off to the Hufflepuff basement to stow away her books in her trunk before she went to dinner. Tanya was in their room while she got there, crying. Polly quickly went to her aid, dropping her books on her bed and asking what the matter was. After Tanya stopped teasing, and she had apologized, they actually became friends. Polly could be certain Tanya would never spill any of her secrets or be rude again, because Tanya had barely endured the wrath of the twins the first time. And the twins had only gotten smarter.

"Laura faded out of her lovey dovey stage," Tanya said, "and she's angry."

"What has she done?" Polly asked, sitting next to Tanya on her bed.

"She told Snape that I was the one to do it! Snape took away fifty house points. Everyone hates me," Tanya cried, rubbing her eyes. "I just want to be alone right now, Polly."

"Okay, yeah. Do you want me to bring you back something to eat?" Polly asked, getting up off of Tanya's bed.

Tanya got herself tucked under the covers. After her face was shoved into her pillow she mumbled, "No thanks, not hungry." Due to the pillow, it was hardly audible.

Polly walked back over to her own space and placed her books in the trunk at the end of the bed. Then she left, crawling out the little tunnel into the common room. It was one of her absolute favourite places, and she loved how it smelled. Like plants and home. Polly sat down on one of the many chairs, giving herself a moment to think.

"I know you had something to do with it, snake." Laura's voice was raspy, and sent a shiver shooting up Polly's spine like a rocket. Laura was standing right behind Polly, so close that no one else could have possibly heard what Laura said. "I was humiliated, everyone thinks I'm in love with that little brat, Justin."

"You got what was coming to you," Polly sneered, not turning to look at Laura. Polly hate confrontation, so the confidence in her own voice shocked her. If only the boys could see her now.

"And you'll get what's coming to you," Laura said, beginning to walk towards the dormitories.

"I bet it'll be a medal!" Polly shouted. Laura's head snapped in Polly's direction. She was glaring, but Polly still hadn't turned around to face her.

Polly heard a door slam, and she let out a breath of relief. She had indirectly taken credit for the injustice to Laura - not that it was really an injustice. It was hilarious, and she had deserved it. Polly left the common room and headed towards the Great Hall. She was hungry and just wanted a nice meal with small talk. She didn't want to hear Laura's name or anything of the sort.

While she walked she heard an "oh!" followed by someone grabbing her forearm. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw Oliver holding her arm. "Polly, glad we ran into each other." Oliver didn't drop her arm, but Polly kind of wanted him to. "I just wanted to apologize for not listening to you before. I should have just listened to you and let you explain that it wasn't you. I've set everyone straight," Oliver said. "No one thinks you're obsessed with me or anything. And if they do, then they're daft."

"Don't even mention it," Polly said, clearly trying to end the conversation. Oliver was ignorant of it.

"Really, I thought of it as a compliment; guess I was a little caught up on myself." Oliver continued to ignore Polly. She could have sneaked away then and he probably wouldn't notice for a half hour. But he was still holding her arm.

"It's not like I dislike you or anything," Polly said. Oliver finally shut up. "I just don't know you."

"Don't worry about describing your feelings to me. Leave it to my imagination," Oliver said. Polly had no idea what Oliver was even talking about at this point. He pulled her in for a hug, squeezing her tight while her arms just dangled by her side. Recognizing that he wasn't going to let go until she returned his hug she brought her arms up to rest on his back. Oliver must have been practising, because he smelled like sweat. Finally, he let go, saying his goodbye before walking off down the hallway.

"What was that about?" Fred asked, walking up with George beside him. George had his fists balled up.

"If you can explain it to me I'll pay you," Polly said, shaking her head. "He apologized for not listening to me and then proceeded to not listen to me."

Fred laughed. "He does that sometimes."

"Still on for tonight?" Polly asked. Fred nodded with a grin. "Oh no, what're we doing?"

"Sneaking out," George said, "If you don't want to we don't have to."

"Of course she wants to," Fred said, smacking his brother's arm.

"How would you know?"

"Maybe I know her better."

"Like hell you do."

"Boys, settle down. No bickering," Polly said. "I'll go if you promise we'll make it back by curfew."

"Done," Fred said, nodding. "Let's go eat!"

Together, they all started walking to the Great Hall. It was times like this that Polly wished she could sit with her boys during supper, because they were a blast. Sometimes, while she was chatting with Justin or recently Tanya, the boys' loud voices would carry across the room, and Polly would wish she could be a part of the fun. But she was happy with her house; that wasn't to be misinterpreted. If anything, she wished that she was in the same house as the boys, but she didn't want to be in a different house. Maybe she was just being picky; maybe she just loved the twins. Who knew?

"We'll see you later. Meet us by Gregory the Smarmy." Fred rushed off after talking. George lingered for a moment longer.

"Don't feel like you have to go," George said. "We can just play chess or something."

"George, honestly, it could be fun," Polly said. She put a hand on his arm. "Why are you so worried?"

"I just don't want you to get in trouble," George said, shrugging.

"You get in trouble all the time." Polly laughed, shaking her head.

"Yeah," George said, looking at the ground. "But I don't want to get you into trouble."

"That's sweet," Polly said, "but I can handle myself, George. See you later."

Polly smiled before she walked off towards her own table. Polly hadn't realized how hungry she'd gotten, she'd been so distracted. Justin was sitting alone, in a crowd of people, yet still isolated. Polly sat next to him, smiling as she did. He looked at her but didn't return her friendly smile, instead he just sighed. Polly slowly filled up her plate, while in her mind she debated asking Justin what the matter was. She decided she should. "Is anything bothering you, Justin?"

"Yeah," Justin answered, pushing a piece of corn around his empty plate with his fork. "I bumped into Laura in the hallway. You should have heard the things she said. It was awful," he said, shaking his head.

"What did she say?" Polly stopped filling up her plate when she realized something was seriously wrong.

"I don't want to talk about it," Justin said. He stood up, looking at Polly. "Thanks anyway. If I need someone to talk to can I find you later?"

"Course you can," Polly said, smiling sadly at him. He hurriedly walked out of the Great Hall.

Polly ate quietly and quickly. She finished up, and soon after she raced over to the Gryffindor table, specifically to her two favourite twins. She whispered in George's ear that she needed help, and he was at the ready in under a second. Fred laughed and followed behind the two as they walked out of the Great Hall with linked arms.

"I'm going to get into warmer clothes," Polly said to Gorge who nodded. "But I'm going to need your help."

"Getting changed?" George asked, eyes wide as saucers. Fred broke into loud laughter.

"No you dork," Polly said, chuckling. "I'll tell you what I need when we go."

Twenty minutes later, the twins were waiting outside of the statue in clothes that were respectable in this chilly autumn weather. They were waiting for Polly, who had promised to be there by now. George was getting worried. Fred might have made fun of him, but he was getting slightly concerned himself. Polly was true to her word, always, and she was the most punctual girl either of the twins had ever known.

A few minutes later Polly was running towards them, bu she hadn't changed her clothes. She had tears in her eyes, and her cheeks glistened every time she stepped near a torch on the wall. Both of the twins were shocked, but while Fred just stood confused, George ran to their friend. He wrapped his arms around her and she covered her face in her hands. She was crying quietly, sounding fragile and broken. Fred walked over to them, kneeling while George helped sit her down. Both of the boys tried to coax the problem out of her, but she was hysterical.

"I d-don't wanna go any -" she interrupted herself with a hiccup "- where t-tonight."

"That's okay, Polly." Fred said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She cuddled up closer to George, who held her tightly.

"What happened?" George asked, his voice barely a whisper and his breath hitting Polly's neck. She shivered, but calmed down a little bit. She stopped crying, but her breathing was still irregular.

"Laura happened," Polly said. The twins both tensed. "I saw her in the hallway, and I asked if she did anything to Justin since he was so upset at dinner and then..." Polly sniffed. She mumbled something inaudible.

"What was that, love?" George asked, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Then she called me a bunch of horrible names."

"How bad were they, to make you cry like this?" Fred asked.

"She called me a disgusting Mudblood."