Home - Charlie Weasley Fanfiction Series

BOOK THREE: CHAPTER ONE

As Veronica turned the corner onto one of the deserted corridors on the third floor, she walked about halfway before stopping and turning to face the way she had come. Seconds later, she came face to face with the person she knew had been secretly, yet not so secretly, following her around the school: Archie.

Archie's detentions from Dumbledore had ended last year, and despite many protests from Veronica, Charlie and even Snape, the headmaster was adamant about not extending them. He believed in second chances and redemption, and he wanted to give Archie a chance to change. Snape continued giving Archie as many detentions as he could, but Archie had completely stopped misbehaving around him, and there were only so many times he could be given detention for walking weirdly or talking too quietly. This meant Archie had a lot more free time than he did last year, and his anger had only increased tenfold.

Which is how they ended up in this situation now. After lunch, Charlie had gone to Quidditch practice, and Veronica was on her way to the library when she felt like someone was following her. She had decided to make her way to this deserted corridor to confirm her suspicions, knowing full well that if there really was someone following her, it had to be Archie. And when he came around the corner, she could do nothing but shake her head and sigh in frustration.

"What do you want, Archie? Why are you following me?"

"How did..." Archie shook his head. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter. I've been trying to get you alone for weeks now. I need to get you back for all those detentions you made me have last year," he growled angrily under his breath as he glared daggers at her.

Veronica's jaw dropped as she stared at him in disbelief. Was he really that delusional? He couldn't seriously blame her for his detentions after what he did. As quickly as it came, her shock turned to rage. That's it, she'd had enough of his shit. She refused to keep putting up with this. "You know what Archie? Fuck you," she snarled. Veronica could swear like a sailor when she was upset; it was one of the few things she got from her parents. This side of her didn't come out often, but when it did, you knew it was serious. "You tried to fucking kill me, what did you seriously expect would happen? You thought you'd be able to get away with it scot-free? That's not how life works."

"Oh, calm down. Stop being so dramatic!" he exclaimed as he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "I wasn't going to kill you, I was just trying to scare you into giving up the Beater position."

"Wow, you think that's better? You think that makes it okay? You used my biggest fear against me, and whether or not you intended it, I almost died. The consequences of your actions are on you, not me!"

Archie didn't even skip a beat, unphased by her words. "Well, you never should have gotten picked over me anyway! That was complete and utter bullshit!"

It was Veronica's turn to roll her eyes now as she fumed. "Oh, fucking hell! Get over it, Archie! You're such a bitter old hag. I beat you fair and square. If you wanted to get the position, you should have done better. Plain and fucking simple."

At that, Archie had heard enough. His face was redder than the Weasleys' hair, and if this were a muggle cartoon, he would have smoke coming out of his ears. However, Veronica stood there with her hands on her hips, completely unphased. She knew she could take him any day, and that only seemed to piss him off more. Archie began raising his wand, preparing to hex her, but before he could even begin an incantation, Veronica had him hanging by his ankles in the air in front of her.

Archie's shock was palpable. "Ho- How did you do that? You didn't even have your wand, you... You didn't even say the incantation. Th- That's not possible. My parents can't even perform non-verbal wandless magic," he whispered with wide eyes.

Veronica stood inches from his face, looked him straight in the eye and smirked. "Well, your parents aren't me," she laughed sardonically. "So I would suggest you remember that the next time you try to challenge me. I can disarm you without even batting an eye. This time, it happened in an empty hallway, so no one will know how weak you really are. But next time..." she released her hold on him and let him come crashing down with a hard thud. She slowly crouched down beside him as he groaned softly. "You might not be so lucky. You may just find yourself hanging upside down with your trousers at your ankles in front of the whole school. How embarrassing that would be for you." Veronica chuckled darkly before standing up. "Leave me alone, Archie. I mean it. Get over it, get over yourself, and leave me the fuck alone, you understand me?"

Veronica left him there on the floor and walked around him, going back down the hallway the way they had come, ready to finally go to the library and get her potions essay done. As she turned the corner, she was startled to see someone leaning against the wall, smirking at her. She hadn't expected anyone to be there, and they had scared the crap out of her, causing her to jump back and cast Flipendo with her hand on her heart, slamming them into the wall.

"Shit!" Veronica rushed over with her hands over her mouth once she recognized who it was. "I'm so sorry!"