Why was it that when you needed to get somewhere quickly, everyone got in the way? Pansy felt like she was moving through heavy syrup, trying to get to Polly. She saw Neville speak to Ella and Ella's eyes light up as she spoke excitedly to Polly, but Polly didn't seem to be going along with her friend. Pansy's daughter had found her Harry and she wasn't giving him up.
Maybe she thought it was a game, these sort of events...'Find the Harry.' Or maybe she thought it was some evil plan to steal her favourite person away, Pansy didn't know. Polly had decided she was having none of it, though.
Pansy finally got to the little group. She kept her eyes on her daughter. 'I'm so very sorry,' she murmured to the group, scooping up the little girl. 'Come on, my darling, and let the nice people talk?' she said hopefully. Knowing Ella as she did, she added in a calm, confident tone, 'It's okay, Ella. Everything's fine.' She didn't want Ella to think she'd done something wrong. Pansy should never have let Polly down in the first place.
Polly, however, wanted none of losing her Harry. She screamed and squirmed and held out her arms to Harry. 'Hawwweeeee, Hawwweeeee, Hawwweeeee!' she cried.
Knowing that Harry couldn't do anything and that Polly wouldn't understand that, Pansy put her other hand against her daughter's back, rubbing gently, growing more and more upset herself. It had been a mistake to come, and now she'd gotten her daughter upset, and..... She hurried away, throwing Harry a quick look of distress and guilt.
Polly continued to struggle and cry as they moved away from her Harry. Pansy thought she might have to join in, too, she felt so bad, but she spoke brightly to the two little girls, saying, 'Why don't we go home? We'll get some biscuits and cakes from Hilly, and some lemonade, and play out in the yard?'