Bat-Bogey Hexers

93

At 2 0'clock Saturday afternoon, Viola and Ginny stood on the icy dock with the black water of the Great Lake rippling below them in the chilling breeze.

They were not the only students present. Naturally both of the girls friends were there as moral support, but that wasn't all either. Most of the third year and second year students had shown up to see the show, as well as a few first years who'd been informed of the event by Dennis Creevey. Michael Corner and his friends, Anthony and Terry, had even turned up to watch the event. Some students had brought lunch with them, as if this were some spectacular show.

Viola smirked as she looked around at all the people. The more there were, the more humiliating it would be for Ginny if she couldn't complete the dare.

However Ginny Weasley hardly saw the students around her. Hardly heard the words of encouragement coming from them. She was almost entirely focused on the black water in front of her.

"Ginny, are you sure you want to do this?" called Wish shrilly from the crowd.

"Yeah, are you sure?" asked Viola.

Ginny's head whipped around and met Viola's gaze.

"I'm sure," said Ginny.

She reached up and pulled her red hair into a ponytail.

Viola watched from where she was huddled in coat, hat, scarf and gloves as Ginny began to peel away layers.

First came the knitted things her mother had made her, then her patched brown coat which had once been Ron's. Then came her jumper. The last thing to come off were her shoes.

Then Ginny stood there, shivering in the cold, in only a sleeveless shirt and shorts which made her look gangly and thin. Goose bumps erupted all across her freckled arms.

The sooner you get in the water, the sooner you can get out, thought Ginny as she walked to the end of the dock. Her pale toes pressed up against the edge. Ginny looked down at the black surface of the water, and swallowed hard.

Viola watched Ginny with baited breath. For a moment she just stood there, looking down at the water. Everyone around began to murmur. Then, just as Viola was thinking with jubilation she's not going to do it -Ginny dove in.

A splash rose up from the water as the red-head disappeared beneath the surface. Viola was sprayed in the face by water. There was a gasp and everyone went rushing to the edge to see Ginny reemerge.

Viola wiped water off her scrunched face. She heard someone say "Where is she?" It sounded a lot like Michael Corner.

The water was frigid. It was colder than anything Ginny had ever felt before. Sharp, then numbing.

Ginny plunged down, then did a mermaid kick to turn onto her stomach to avoid crashing into the bottom of the lake. Her stomach grazed the rocky floor. Ginny, who's cheeks were puffed up with contained air, opened her eyes.

Everything was murky and green. All Ginny could see were rocks, reeds and floating things that were possibly fish.

Ginny's head was beginning to hurt from the cold, and her lungs were starting a protest. She kicked off the ground, and swam to the surface of the water.

There was an enormous cheer as Ginny emerged, the end of her ponytail plastered across her freckled face.

Ginny grinned and swam to the edge of the lake, eager to get out of the cold water. As she approached the dead reeds, a pair of hands reached out and attempted to help her clamber up the bank.

"I've got it," said Ginny.

She used the long reeds to pull herself up. When she stood she realised it was Michael Corner who'd been trying to help her out.

"Oh, hi," said Ginny, surprised to see the Ravenclaw boy. He grinned at her.

"That was brilliant!" said Michael.

A moment later someone threw a warm coat over Ginny's shoulders.

"Thank you," said Ginny, hugging the coat tightly around her as she shivered.

"I know a drying spell if you want me to use it," said Michael's friend, Anthony. The bespectacled boy smiled at her.

"No, that's alright," said Ginny, "I think I'll stay wet. Makes me feel more triumphant! It's like my battle scars, you know?"

Viola still stood on the dock, her hands crossed over her chest as she regarded Ginny sourly. This had not gone at all as planned.

Only Hugo, Ava and Clemi had remained by Viola's side. Pretty much everyone else had gone to congratulate Ginny. Morgana, Bertha and some of the others Slytherins were awkwardly stuck in a place where they hated everyone around them. They weren't sure whether to congratulate Ginny, or sulk with Viola. In the end, they decided to just head back up to the castle.

Ginny came back on to the dock (followed by a stream of admiring students) and stooped to gather her clothes which she'd left scattered across the dock. When she straightened, she found herself looking right at the annoyed face of Viola Lestrange.

"Well, I did it," said Ginny, "I guess it's my turn to dare you then?"

"Guess so," said Viola. Her voice was so low it almost sounded like a growl.

Ginny, who'd thought of the dare before hand, said, "Then I dare you to go into the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night."

Viola looked around at the dark trees around them. Some branches were bare and crusted with snow. Viola gave a toss of her black hair as she looked back around at Ginny.

"Fine," said Viola, "I'll do it at midnight toni-"

"Wait!" cried Hugo, suddenly breaking into the conversation between the two girls. "Why don't you turn it into a competition?"

Viola and Ginny frowned at each other, then at Hugo.

"How?" asked Viola.

"Viola, you can dare Ginny to do the same thing as you, and then you can each take five-hundred steps into the forest, and the first person to get there and back, wins! Plus you get two dares over with at the same time!" said Hugo excitedly.

Ginny shrugged. "That's fine with me."

"Me too," said Viola, not about to let Ginny out-agree her.

"Brilliant!" said Hugo, "This'll be fun!"

But fun was not on Viola's mind as she thought of the werewolves and other monsters rumoured to be lurking in the forbidden forest.