After they had left the Great Hall, the twins had instructed Polly to go get dressed up in nice warm clothes. Polly, who found it easier to just go along with whatever the twins had planned, agreed and ran to the common room to quickly dress up. When she returned to the twins, they were also bundled up. Polly was confused. There was no way they were sneaking out to Hogsmeade, there was nothing going on there right now. Polly just silently followed the twins, who were just chatting about something random. Polly wasn't listening. She was mentally going through everything the twins could have planned. Polly couldn't remember them mentioning anything.
"Tell me where we're going!" Polly suddenly snipped, stopping dead in her tracks and crossing her arms.
"Honestly Polly, how old are you?" George asked, rolling his eyes. "How old, Fred?"
"Thirteen," Fred said, "Way too old for tantrums."
"But wait," George said.
"Wait for what, George?"
"She's not thirteen." George and Fred shared a look.
"Sure I am," Polly said, confused at the boys.
"Polly, you're such a muppet." Fred laughed. "It's December 21st."
"Oh," Polly said, still confused. But the she got it. "Oh!" Polly suddenly became hyperactive. "It's my birthday today! I totally forgot! I was so excited about Christmas that I forgot!"
"Polly, I worry about you." George laughed. "Now let us lead you to your birthday surprise."
"Okay!" Polly chirped, suddenly in the best of moods. Nothing could take this feeling away from her. The boys laughed as they listened to Polly's happy chatting. When she had first met the twins they could barely get her to talk to them, now they couldn't get her to shut up. But they wouldn't change a thing.
Polly was basically skipping as she walked between the two twins. Her chatting quickly switched from her birthday back to Christmas. Nothing could seem to take the Christmas spirit from this girl. George thought it was precious, Fred just thought it was funny. Soon they were outside, which meant that Polly was forced to stop talking because the wind made her teeth cold. Polly was happy to be cold if it meant she could play in the snow.
"Are we going to build a snow man?" Polly asked, her teeth showing in the most innocent smile.
"We can," Fred said, "but first. Now!"
Then, from behind the small wall between the courtyard and the hallways, her friends jumped out and threw snowballs at her. She laughed as the snowballs exploded into bursts of colour when they hit her. Fred and George had managed to make it happen. Magic was beautiful. Especially when Polly was in the middle of an ocean of colour. She laughed and laughed until the snow finally all fell back to the ground, and the colour subsided. Then she looked around at the smiling faces of her friends as they waited for her to do something.
Polly picked up a handful of snow and just looked at it for a minute. Then she ran towards George and mushed it into his face. Everyone began laughing again, and the friends broke into the biggest snowball fight Polly had ever experienced. It was the best birthday of Polly's life.
After all the excitement of snowball fights, and building enough snowmen to charm and turn into an actual army, the whole group moved the party to the Great Hall. They were all freezing, so they figured they could all use some warming up. Everyone was there for Polly, and she couldn't be happier.
Polly was given gifts left, right and centre, and she didn't know what to even do with it all. Cedric got her a book on magical creatures, and Tanya got her the second volume of the same book. Angelina and Lee got her new mittens and a matching hat. Justin got her a nice picture of the two of them that was of them dancing around the common room after Polly had insisted he needed to dance off his problems. She hadn't even realized this was taken. Mostly everyone just got her candy, as it's the safest route for any birthday gift.
Polly thanked everyone, especially the twins. They each got a bear hug and a kiss on the cheek. The battle royale in the courtyard had seemingly drained everyone. So off to bed they all went. Her Hufflepuff friends helped her carry her presents up to her room, while everyone else just made their way to their own beds to get warm and rest. Polly didn't even know what to do with the candy, so she just threw it into her empty trunk. She felt so spoiled, and she loved it a little bit.
The next day Polly was on her way home for the holidays. She was bouncing in her seat, even though Justin was there trying to get her to calm down. He thought it was hilarious. After two long hours of hyperactive talking Polly got tired, and took a nap. She didn't wake up until they arrived at King's Cross, and for that Justin was thankful. He may have been two years younger than her, but they were really close friends.
Polly spent the whole break focusing on her family. Except for Christmas Eve when she wrote long letters to all of her friends. George's was the longest, even though she hadn't meant it to be.
On Christmas day, after opening presents with her family and enjoying the day. Her favourite present was the Weasley jumper that her parents had been hiding for a few days. It was a dark green with horizontal Magenta stripes up each arm. She had put it on right away, enjoying the coziness of the slightly too big sweater. Not that she minded. At around noon, Hedwig arrived with a letter from George. He must have borrowed the bird from Harry. Whether he actually asked or not was debatable. Polly was excited to open it, as she missed George (and Fred) very much.
Dear Polly,
Happy Christmas!
It's an hour until Christmas and the only gift I want is to pull some pranks with my brother and best friend. And since I doubt I'm going to find you wrapped up under the tree with a little bow, that's probably not going to be what I get. (The only promised item will be a jumper). If you get one of these fabulous pieces of clothing please make sure to bring it to school. I want to see it on you. You'd look adorable.
Not that I know for sure you're getting one.
On a more important note, Harry Potter is staying behind at school too. Any questions you want me to ask? I think I'm going to ask him about his brush with death as an infant. Or maybe about his time meeting you-know-who...
George wrote that just to rile her up, she realized this early so it didn't bother her. But she smiled, thinking about George. She imagined him writing this by the fire, at dark, so the fire danced on his face like an after party. She imagined him poking his tongue out as he scribbled away on his parchment, writing down whatever he could to talk to Polly. Then she imagined him smirking as he wrote that last line. Polly could feel her heart racing in her chest.
George was so adorable.
I hope you get everything you've asked for this Christmas, Polly, I really do. Because you deserve the whole world.
Polly blushed at the words George had written. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. And she had written proof. She would keep this forever. Polly had been having troubles interpreting her feelings up until quite recently. She had a crush on George, nothing else to say about it really.
I'll see you the moment you get back, I'll be waiting for you. I expect a big hug, and for you to tell me everything about your break. That'll keep us busy for about twelve hours.
Miss you,
George Weasley.
Polly held the letter close to her chest for a second, patting it with one hand. It meant a lot to her. She had gotten a few other letters, from Tanya, Justin, Fred, and even Cedric Diggory, the boy she sat next to during potions. But this one was her favourite, because she knew he meant every word (aside from him asking Harry about the past). She missed him a lot too, and it's only been a few days, there was still more than a week to go.
"Sweetheart, Nan is here," her mom said, entering her room. "Oh my, that's an owl."
"She's just taking a little break here before she goes back to Hogwarts," Polly said, reaching out to scratch Hedwig's head lightly. "Her name is Hedwig."
"Oh, well, Merry Christmas, Hedwig." Polly's mom, Sandy, turned back to Polly. "What've you got there?"
"Letter from a school friend," Polly said, handing to her mother.
"Ah yes, George. One of the twins we've heard so much about." Sandy read over the letter. "It's very sweet, but, he's not actually going to ask this Harry about his brush with death, is he?"
"No, mum," Polly said, standing from her chair. "He's just trying to rile me up, he always does that."
"Boys," Sandy said, shaking her head. "C'mon, go say hi to your Nan."
Polly had a lovely time visiting her Nan, and everyone else in her family. But before Polly knew what was happening, she was on the train trying to get over this Christmas hangover that was melting her brain like ice. While she was excited to go back and return to her magic filled daily life, and to see both Fred and George. But she now had to wait a full year for Christmas. January was the worst.
The Christmas hangover was shot away when Polly locked eyes with George, and then Fred right after. Polly was delighted as she hugged each of them, pecking both of their cheeks. Polly had missed them dearly. The twins and Polly sat in the Great Hall talking for over an hour. If she wasn't so exhausted she would have talked to them all night long, but she had to get herself into bed or she feared she would collapse. It was almost as if the excited of the winter break had been keeping Polly wide awake and then it faded, sending her body into hibernation mode. Or maybe her body was finally done digesting all the food she'd eaten and it could only just now relax, sending Polly into the dreaded food coma.
Polly said her good nights to Fred and George, thanking them for waiting up to give her a proper greeting. Then she walked herself to her room and falling asleep.
The next day was arguably the worse day of the school year. Not because anything bad happened, but because it was the first day back to classes. Polly had a bit of a rough time walking up. Tanya had to force her out of bed by pulling on Polly's bed sheets, sending her rolling onto the floor with a yelp. Polly groaned, shifting around on the ground trying to get comfortable while actively ignoring Tanya's pleas for her to get up and get ready. The only thing that worked was pouring a glass of water on Polly's head. Shocking her awake was effective. She shot off the floor like a bullet, shaking from the cold.
"I gave you every opportunity to get up," Tanya said, crossing her arms. "This is no ones fault but your own."
Polly glared at Tanya, but said nothing. She got ready quickly, not having a lot of time. She made it class just in time, with damp hair that was uncomfortably clinging to the back of her neck. She took her place next to Cedric, who had one eyebrow raised as he watched her sit down. Before he could get a word out she held up a silencing hand, which just made him burst into laughter. Snape glared at him, but since he hadn't started class yet he chose to ignore it. Lucky break.
"Rough morning?" Cedric asked, grinning at Polly's unamused face.
"I'm tired, and I'm cold." Polly yawned. "Does no one else sleep in?"
"Not on the first day back," Cedric said, laughing.
"If you don't mind Mr. Diggory. I'd like to begin the lesson, but if at any point I'm interrupting your conversation please, do stop me." Snape's words shut Cedric up immediately, which was the first thing that made Polly smile today.
When lunch rolled around, Polly looked like a proper zombie. Her eyes were half closed, and her hair was a ratty mess from getting wet and then left to dry on it's own. Her clothes were messy, and she only communicated in moans and groans. But something was off in her stomach. She felt sour. And her throat was tight and scratchy. All she wanted to do was crawl back into bed, and retreat from school forever. Cedric found Polly with her head down on the table so he shook her awake. He suggested she visit the hospital wing, but she fell back asleep mid-sentence.
"Well, I'm taking you there," Cedric said, picking Polly up and carrying her bridal style. But it was difficult because she was just dead weight.
Upon arrival at the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey directed Cedric to a bed he could set Polly in. His arms were burning, but he didn't mind as he was just worried about his friend. Madam Pomfrey kicked him out while she looked at Polly. Cedric left, reminding himself that he'll have to come see how she was feeling later. Polly was typically a hyperactive little thing, so he figured something had to be seriously the matter. Cedric walked to his next class.
Meanwhile, Polly was stretching and waking up in the hospital wing. She was momentarily stunned. Polly couldn't figure out where she was. But she soon recognized the room, and she got comfortable in the bed. It was a nice bed.
"Ms Samuel," Madam Pomfrey said, successfully keeping Polly awake. "You're sick."
"I'm jus' tired," Polly slurred. Polly was surprised when it hurt to talk. Polly sat up, giving her attention to Madam Pomfrey.
"No," Madam Pomfrey said, "You're sick. And contagious. So you're stuck in this room until you've gotten better. And unfortunately it's going to get worse before it gets better."
"What is it?" Polly asked.
"Glandular Fever," Madam Pomfrey said. "Haven't had a case of that around here in a long time. You must have picked it up over break. It'll be at least a week before you're better. Longer if your fever doesn't break."
"I don't feel feverish," Polly said, attempting to feel her forehead but she knew it doesn't work that way.
"Because you haven't gotten the fever part yet," Madam Pomfrey said, "so you have to wait."
"You can't just heal me?"
"No, dear. I can't. You just have to wait this one out." Madam Pomfrey suggested Polly lie down and try to sleep. "It's going to be a bit of a long week."
George wondered why he didn't see Polly during dinner that night. He had scanned the Hufflepuff table several times, always coming up short. He wanted to go looking for her, or at least talk to Justin and Tanya. But he was quickly ushered away from the Great Hall along with Fred by Oliver Wood, Hogwarts' very own Quidditch fanatic. George was annoyed, but he understood that Polly was probably fine. The weather had quickly changed from snow to rain, making practice a dreaded activity. Oliver never cancelled practice. He was determined to win this year. George lugged himself onto his broom, and began practising with the rest of the team.