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BOOK TWO: CHAPTER THREE

Veronica's eyes fluttered shut as she filled her lungs with the crisp autumn air that surrounded her as she sat under a tree on the shore of the Black Lake. It was a Saturday, and Charlie had left for Quidditch practice after breakfast that morning. He had made it onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team as the Seeker; he had been lucky, he had been the only person to try out for Seeker, so he hadn't even really had to try out. The Gryffindor captain had just wanted to make sure he could even fly, and once she saw how good he was, that was it. He was on the team.

At breakfast, Veronica had mentioned that she would be reading at their spot near the Black Lake and to meet her there when he was done. She knew he would be arriving soon as it was noon and practice should have been coming to an end. Veronica was extremely glad that Emily insisted on having weekends off to recover from an intense week of practice; Veronica enjoyed having time to relax, and this was her happy place. Autumn was her favorite time of year, but she also loved the breeze coming off the lake in the warmer months when she couldn't handle the heat. Plus, most students preferred to hang out in the courtyard or their common rooms, so it was always quiet and peaceful.

Normally, Veronica would have been reading one of her textbooks or a book about spells that she borrowed from the library. But ever since she made the Quidditch team, that was all she could think about. She was still a straight O student, but now she spent most of her free time thinking about and studying Quidditch. Besides, she was already outstanding in all her courses, so now she needed to be outstanding in Quidditch too. The first game of the season, that just so happened to be between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, was fast approaching, and she wanted to be ready. She hated to look incompetent, and she refused to let Quidditch ruin her perfect reputation. So there she was, reading 'Beating the Bludgers – A Study of Defensive Strategies in Quidditch,' another great read by Kennilworthy Whisp that Emily had given her to study.

She had been so busy reading and making notes that she hadn't heard a group of boys approaching until they were standing directly in front of her. Actually, she hadn't even noticed them then. Soon enough, she didn't have a choice but to notice them when the leader of the group yanked the book out of her hands and tossed it into the lake. Veronica's eyebrows furrowed and her jaw dropped as she stared in disbelief at Archie. It had only been two weeks since tryouts, and she knew he still felt resentment towards her, but she hadn't expected him to bully her like this. Veronica ignored her book, thankful that she had cast a water repelling charm on it earlier that morning, and focused on the group in front of her, worried about what they might do to her. Her wand was in her back pocket, and she knew she wouldn't be able to reach it fast enough to protect herself.

"Hiya Singer. I'm glad we made it before Weasley got back. I was hoping to have a little chat with Ravenclaw's star Beater." His voice dripped with venom as those last three words left his lips. "I was so happy to overhear you telling him this morning that you would be here, it's so hard to get you alone. You two are practically stuck like glue." The smirk on his face did nothing to ease her worries.

"Archie–"

"Levicorpus!"

In a flash, Veronica felt her world spin as she was yanked up into the air by her ankle. The sudden movement made her nauseous, and she had to close her eyes to stop the dizziness. When she opened them again, she was terrified of what she saw. She was dangling inches above the cold, dark water of the Great Lake. Not being able to see beneath the surface only worsened her anxiety. Unfortunately for her, Archie was just getting started. "You know, I heard from some of your fellow second years that you're afraid of water. Let's see how true that is."

Veronica felt a rush of cold water fill her lungs as she was unprepared to be dunked up to her shoulders into the water below. The panic that filled her only made it worse as she struggled to breathe and fought to stay conscious. She felt a sharp pain in her chest as her heart raced a million miles a minute and threatened to explode. After what felt like hours but was merely seconds, she was pulled back out, coughing her lungs out as she tried to catch her breath. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably as the cold air hit her now wet hair. Once Veronica managed to catch her bearings, she noticed a commotion taking place back on the shore. From what she could tell as she hung upside down, Charlie had come back from practice to find his best friend being tortured by her fellow housemates. She knew it was him from his signature Weasley red hair, and she could hear him yelling and cursing at Archie to let her go. Charlie was being held back by Archie's posse, but Veronica noticed there was a second person that she couldn't recognize fighting against the group. As she strained her ears to listen, she could hear someone yelling that this was never part of the plan and that Archie was taking this too far. She realized a member of the posse must have come to his senses and realized this was wrong, but there was nothing either of them could do against the large group. Archie didn't even acknowledge them as he had his back to them, standing at the water's edge watching Veronica dangling in the air looking like a wet rat.