Polly found Hermione in the library one afternoon, and figured that if anyone knew anything about this Chamber of Secrets rubbish, it would be her. Polly didn't want to read about it in some book, she wanted to hear about it from someone she trusted. Someone who would easily sift through the boring parts and just tell her the important bits.
"Hermione, have you found anything out? About the chamber?" Polly asked, sitting across from her at the table. She didn't mean to bother Hermione, but she was desperate for answers.
"Yeah," Hermione said, but she sounded unsure. "But Professor Binns says it's all just legend, and legend is only based on facts. I can't figure out what's true and what's not."
"Can you tell me the gist of it all anyway?"
"Yeah, what I know anyway. So basically, there's legend that Salazar Slytherin built a secret chamber somewhere in the school to hide a monster to purge the school of those who don't deserve to study magic."
"What kind of monster?"
Hermione held up a book about monsters throughout legends. "I have no idea, but if I figure anything else out, I'll tell you."
"Thanks Hermione, I'll leave you be." Polly got up.
"Bye," she said, returning to her book.
Polly had a lot of new information to think about. A monster? Running around the castle? How was that possible? Someone would've seen a monster roaming around, right? Polly was aimlessly walking the halls, thinking about what nonsense this was turning out to be. It all just seemed like something out of a story at this point.
Fred, George, Angelina and Katie were all walking the opposite way of Polly. Katie and Polly never really talked, but they were still on friendly terms. George parted from the group and turned back the way he came, joining Polly instead of carrying on with the others. Fred said goodbye to the ladies and followed along with George and Polly. In a small voice, Polly explained everything that Hermione had told her. About the chamber, and the monster. Fred and George were aware that what they said next would be critical. Polly was scared. She may put on a brave face to protect Justin, but she was terrified. Fred and George were well able to see right through her painted face.
"Polly," Fred said, stopping her. "If this is real, and if Dumbledore thought for a second that any of his students weren't safe, he would shut everything down. Quidditch, earlier curfew, more security. But nothing has changed, and Mrs. Norris is gunna be just fine. So, ignore what you fear might happen, and focus on things that are real. Like homework, or your two best friends."
Polly smiled. George felt a tinge of jealousy that he couldn't perk her up like that. "Thanks," Polly said. "You two are the best."
"Both of us? Are you sure about that?" Fred asked, effortlessly lightening the mood. Polly laughed.
"Just coming back from quidditch practice I assume?" Polly asked.
"Yes ma'am," George said, intentionally bumping his knuckles along hers.
"I thought so, you stink." Polly laughed at the boys' insulted faces. "Go shower, I promised Ginny I would meet her in the great hall in a few minutes, and I don't want to leave her waiting."
"Ah, what would we do without you, Polly?" Fred asked, smiling.
"Struggle to calm your sister down, now shoo. I have very important things to do."
Polly said goodbye, and parted ways with the boys. "Polly! Wait up a sec!" George shouted, turning the corner to catch up with her. "Just wanted to kiss you, kinda," he said, grabbing her cheeks and gently tugging her up to kiss him. She smiled as she kissed him, making him do the same as they parted. "Okay, now go talk to Ginny."
This time, George actually did leave. Instead of monsters and conspiracies, Polly was thinking about George. It was a nice change of pace.
Ginny hadn't arrived at the great hall yet, so Polly just sat at the Hufflepuff table, claiming a spot near the door. There were only a few groups of people scattered around the room.
Slowly, the great hall was filled with people. And that's because Polly waited for hours, and never saw Ginny Weasley walk through those doors. It was absolutely unlike Ginny to stand someone up, especially Polly. They were good friends. When dinner began, and everyone chattered around, Polly continued to stare at the door. Even when Justin squeezed in beside her and starting going on about the chamber. As if someone else controlled her, she got out of her seat, and left without a word.
"Polly?" Justin called after her. But she ignored it and left the great hall.
Looking for someone in Hogwarts was like looking for a specific piece of hay in a pile of hay. Polly didn't exactly know where to look, so she looked everywhere. Eventually, Polly was walking down a corridor that Ginny happened to be running down.
"Oh good! I found you," Ginny said. "I've been looking everywhere."
"Me too," Polly said, laughing. "I thought you must have been in the Gryffindor common room at this point."
"I was until about an hour ago, I fell asleep. I'm so sorry," Ginny said, hugging Polly.
The pair sat on a bench in the hallway, and talked for hours. It started as a friendly chat about school, and how things were going. One thing that bothered Polly was how generic and rehearsed Ginny's answers sounded. It was as if Ginny was hiding something. But Polly assumed that Ginny was still just scared about everything, or stunned about Mrs. Norris. Or homesick. But then the conversation turned to one about the problems that Hogwarts was facing. Ginny admitted to being scared, and Polly did the same.
"You don't think Ron will get expelled, do you? Or Harry?"
"Of course not, I think Dumbledore is quite sure that the boys, and Hermione, had absolutely nothing to do with this."
"You really think so, Polly?" Ginny sounded terrified.
"Of course I do, you've known your brother your whole life. Do you really think him capable of this? And Harry, I mean, come on. Harry Potter, literally saved all our lives last year I don't see why everyone is ignoring this."
"You're right, you're right," Ginny said, trailing off. "No one would possibly believe they did this. Anyway Polly, it's late. I'm exhausted. I have to get going."
Polly nodded, watching as Ginny headed off down the hallway. Once she was safely around the corner, she could've sworn that she heard Ginny take off in a run. Polly rushed around the corner to see for herself, but Ginny seemed to be long gone. Something was off. Ginny had just woken up, she said. So why would she be exhausted just a few hours later? Ginny was known to stay up for hours talking, and somehow beat everyone up in the morning.
The next day was no less strange. Ginny looked like a ghost, sauntering around. Polly tried to talk to her but she brushed it off. Later, Percy Weasley, the one Weasley that rubbed Polly the wrong way, was walking up to her, demanding to know what was bothering Ginny, as if Polly knew. When Percy finally accepted that Polly knew nothing that he didn't know, he left without so much as a goodbye.
"George, thank god I found you," Polly said. "I'm having the weirdest day."
"Everything alright?" George asked, giving Polly a sweet hug.
"I don't know anymore, maybe, I guess." Polly welcomed the hug, and nuzzled into his chest.
George was on his way to meet Fred at the quidditch pitch, so Polly thought she would tag along for the walk. It might be nice for her to get some fresh air.
"So, are my boys well prepared for the match against Slytherin this afternoon?" Polly asked, smiling.
"But of course, just a few hours pregame preparations Oliver will surely put us through, and then off to the races." George grinned when he realized he made Polly laugh. He always felt proud of himself when he did that. "You'll be cheering me on, right?"
"Of course," Polly said. "Wouldn't miss it. Even when I'm cheering for Hufflepuff to beat Gryffindor, somehow, I'm rooting for you as well."
"I'm always rooting for you," George said, smiling. "Every second of the day I'm rooting for something good to happen to you."
"You're the sweetest boy I've ever met, but that also makes you quite dangerous. Little charmer," she said, grinning.
"So you find me charming?"
"That's what I said, is it not?" Polly could go on for hours, pretending she held the upper hand when really nothing was changing, and they were talking about the same point. But she didn't want to carry on that right now. "Are you nervous? You seem a little flush," she asked, touching one of his cheeks.
"It's not that I'm nervous, it's that the whole Slytherin team has their mitts on the fastest racing brooms around." George looked a little disheartened.
"Well, I believe in you. All of you." Polly gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I better let you go suffer with Oliver."
"Great," he said, "thanks."
"You're welcome, love." Polly began walking towards the school. "Good luck!" she shouted over her shoulder. "I'll be seeing you at eleven!"
Polly walked back to the school, almost forgetting about her weird interactions today. George was always the calm in the storm for her. It was like finding a calm island to dock on while the ocean threw a fit. George was like a cold glass of lemonade in the hot summer. He was like shelter from the rain. He was perfect. And Polly knew exactly how she felt about him now, there was no mistaking it. That boy had captured her heart without even trying. Polly seemed the give it to him without so much as a fight.
Polly met up with Justin, Cedric and Anya in the common room. They waited around for Tanya but she never showed up, for whatever reason. The four of them made their way down the the pitch, chatting excitedly about the upcoming game. They wanted to see Slytherin go down hard in their first game. They wanted to see Draco's daddy's money go completely to waste as the fastest brooms couldn't match up to the talent that the Gryffindor team had. It was like pitting a cheetah against a shark in the water. One is sure to overtake the other.
The stands were already packed. Tanya was there, sitting cross legged in a hump. When Polly asked what the matter was, she pointed to a Ravenclaw boy kissing a girl. No doubt Tanya's flavour of the week gone wrong. She had a new crush every week since Polly could remember, and she doubted Tanya had changed her ways over Summer.
Polly felt bad for Tanya, but what kind of conversation could they have as three out of four houses began cheering like maniacs as the Gryffindor team made their way onto the pitch. It had been ten times quieter when Slytherin walked out, and Polly couldn't help but think; good.
The roar of the crowd never seemed to fade. Everyone was screaming like this was the final match of the season, when really they'd only just begun.
Polly had been watching George, when she realized he had hit the bludger twice in a row. That was fairly uncommon, as they would be sent directly for someone else, and never really turned around. But this one seemed to have a vendetta against Harry. No matter who hit it, or in what direction; it came back to trying to get Harry off his broom. Something was very wrong indeed.
The rain began soon after that, and it was only fitting. Something wicked this way comes. It felt like the weather was warning her about something, both short term and long term. It felt like the bludger had hit her twice in the stomach. Hard. Justin noticed something, because he stopped trying to read the lips of the team on their time out and started trying to talk to Polly. He wanted to know if she was alright, because she looked pretty pale.
"I'm alright, is Harry?"
"They're just about to resume, I think."
Then, in an odd turn of events, it appeared as though Harry began to dance, all his quick turns and spins, looked a lot like some kind of modern ballroom dance nonsense. But he was clearly right in doing as he did, because staying still for even a minute got him hit by the bludger, and Polly couldn't tell for sure, but she assumed he was hurt. In a flash, Harry zoomed towards Malfoy and whizzed past him, catching the snitch with his good arm. But that meant he was flying his broom hands free. He went plunging towards the ground, and landed in the mud.
"Well, that was certainly interesting," Anya said, clapping along with everyone. Harry opened his eyes, so everyone who had missed it realized that he's caught the snitch, resulting in everyone screaming, cheering and stomping their feet. Slytherin had been defeated and that seemed to be about all that mattered. The way Harry's hand soon fell by his side, Polly could only guess that the poor boy had fainted. She made her way out of the crowd and followed suit of a few others running onto the pitch. But instead of going to crowd Harry, she went over to the twins, who were trying to capture the bludger that had been causing such a scene.
"Immobulus!" Polly shouted, pointing her wand at the terrible thing. It froze long enough for George to wrestle it into the box, and for Fred to lock it up.
"Quick thinking," Fred said, nodding. He rushed past to go see Harry, but he was already leaving for the hospital wing.
"I didn't know if that would even work on a bludger," Polly said, rather proud of herself. "Go me."
"Good job, love." George kissed her forehead. He looked at Harry as he walked with Ron and Hermione off the pitch. "His arm looks weird."
"How so?"
"I don't know," he said, trailing off. "Something just seems off there."