Veronica looked silently around the library. There was hardly anyone there, just a few older Ravenclaws crowded around a table towards the front. Almost everyone was getting ready for the students from Brimhall Academy to arrive. Brimhall Academy was a very small private school in Canada. It was so small (only 15 or so people in each year) that all of the students were able to come to Hogwarts for the match.

Veronica carefully set her watch. She didn't want to miss the arrival. She set her bag down on a table almost hidden from the rest of the room and headed over toward the rows of books. She wasn't quite sure where to start. She started quietly down one row, examining the titles of the books. She passed by the section on potions and one on famous witches and wizards. She stopped when a large book caught her eye. Carefully printed in bold gold letters were the words Hogwarts, A History.

Veronica smiled. She carefully pulled out the book. This was exactly what she was looking for. Perhaps this would tell her what the Chamber of Secrets was. After all, Professor Miller had clearly stated it had something to do with Hogwarts' past. She quickly took out as many books as she could carry and placed them on the table. She started to read.

An hour later, Veronica had gone through almost all the books with no luck. She sighed. This was going to be harder than I thought, she thought. She picked up the last book on the table which was titled Hogwarts During The Time Of Harry Potter. Veronica stared at the title. Wow, she thought. Professor Potter did seem to know about the Chamber of Secrets. It was worth a shot.

She carefully began flipping pages. A picture of a large red stone caught her eye. The caption read The Philosophers Stone. Veronica bit back the urge to read about it and flipped the page. A wide smile spread over her face. There was a huge section entitled The Mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. A soft beeping interrupted her thoughts.

Veronica glanced down at her watch. It was ten minutes until the students from Brimhall would be arriving. Veronica gasped and shoved the book into her bag before taking off toward the Entrance Hall. Her footsteps echoed loudly through the empty halls. Veronica stopped running to catch her breath, when she saw several students exiting the doors onto the grounds. When she got outside there were already rows of students. Veronica looked around for her friends.

"Nicci," a voice called. Veronica smiled when she saw it was Parker, Kylie and Daniella. They were standing in the first row.

"Hey," Veronica said, when she reached them.

"Where were you?" Kylie asked, "You could have missed the arrival."

"Library."

"Why?" Parker asked, wrinkling her nose, "Who wants to go there?"

"I needed some more information for my Transfiguration essay," Veronica lied. She wasn't sure why, but it just came out. Parker looked at her strangely.

"Oh, I wish you would have told me," Daniella said softly, "I needed some more books, too."

"Well, I didn't find any, so we can go again later." Daniella smiled.

"We truly have some strange friends, Kylie. I mean, they actually want to go to the library."

Kylie smiled. "Well, some of us actually need to go and research things to get a good grade on them," Kylie said.

"But it's so...quiet in there." She shuddred. "Besides it's just Transfiguration," she continued, waving her hand, "It's not like it's a hard class like History of Magic."

"Of all the classes to be awful at. All you have to do is listen to the lecture. We don't even do much of anything in there, just a few essays now and then," Kylie said grinning.

"If I listen anymore, I think I'll lose my mind. Could that class get any more boring?"

"I like History of Magic," Daniella said, "And Professor Miller is wonderful."

Parker scowled. "I don't like her."

"Why not?" Veronica asked, "She's really nice."

Parker shrugged. "I just don't like her."

Veronica sighed and looked out across the grounds. She didn't see anyone coming down the path yet. She let her eyes drift toward the sky. The sun had just set and the sky was alive with color. Pinks, oranges, and purples sat on the horizon line. Farther up, the sky was a pale blue. Veronica began to shift her gaze back towards the gates, when something caught her eye.

"Hey, look at that," a voice shouted from the back, "Up there in the sky."

A burst of whispering broke out. Veronica squinted her eyes to get a better look at what was coming. Whatever it was, it was approaching quickly. Soon, it was within a few miles of the school. That was when Veronica finally figured out what it was. It was a large flying boat. It was a dark red with black trimmings. It was huge. When in landed, Veronica noted it had to be three stories high and several feet long.

The students waited in silence, as the boat landed. For a few minutes nothing happened. Then, there was a soft rumbling noise and a door magically appeared out of what once was the side of the ship. It opened. Stepping out slowly, was a small woman with billowing blonde hair that reached her waist. She was probably in her early thirties, and was wearing silky white robes that hung loosely around her thin body. A short man with glasses followed her, as well as a tall woman with short jet black hair. Behind her a line of students was appearing. All of them were dressed in dark blue robes and were wearing thick, white fur cloaks. When the line stopped, Veronica guessed there to be a hundred or so kids.

"Welcome, Kathren," Sirius said, stepping forward. He shook the hand of the blonde, whom Veronica guessed was the Headmistress. He then shook the hands of the other two adults.

"Nice to see you again, Sirius," Kathren said, shaking his hand.

"Well, come in," Sirius said, guiding Kathren into the castle. Her students followed behind her. They were whispering and pointing. After they entered, the Hogwarts students followed. Veronica, Kylie, Nicci, and Daniella found themselves in the middle of the huge crowd, but managed to push themselves through and get a seat.

The students from Brimhall were seated in a smaller table in the middle of the hall. The other tables had been pushed aside to accommodate it and Veronica had a strange feeling that the room was somehow bigger.

A soft clinking of a fork on a glass, caused the chatter to stop immediately. Sirius, who was seated in the middle of the table, was now standing and beaming around at the students. Kathren, was standing next to him. "For all you Brimhall students, welcome to Hogwarts," Sirius began, "We are very pleased to have you and hope that you will enjoy your stay here. You are all welcome here anytime." He turned to Kathren, who nodded. "I think Kathren would also like to say something."

Kathren beamed. "Hello, Hogwarts," she said in a misty voice, "I am Headmistress Haller. On behalf of Brimhall, I would like to thank you all for welcoming us into your school. We hope that this will be the beginning of a long friendship between our schools. I would also like to introduce two of my teachers. This is Miss Kimberly Conway." The woman with short black hair stood up and smiled briefly. Veronica glanced at her to get a better look. She was tall and thin, with very pale skin, that contrasted greatly with her dark hair. Her face was rather expressionless, even her smile, except for her pale blue eyes. Though she was a pretty woman, Veronica found her quite creepy.

"And this is Mr. Lucas Longstein." He was a pleasant looking man, but he definitely lacked in looks. His once, brown hair, was sprinkled with gray and he was growing thick around the middle. His dark brown eyes were magnified by this thick glasses. Veronica had a feeling he would be an interesting professor.

Kathren smiled. Sirius smiled back at her. "With that said," Sirius said, "I think we should get down to what we've all been waiting for, at least I have. Enjoy your meal."

There were gasps from the Brimhall students when the food appeared on the tables. Veronica turned her attention back to her friends. "This is so amazing," she said grinning, "Do you think they'll be nice?"

"Maybe," Parker said, "They are Canadians."

"For Merlin's sake, Parker," Kylie said smiling, "Do you hate everyone who isn't British?"

Parker shrugged. "Don't mind the Americans. My cousins are American, remember?"

"I bet they'll be nice," Daniella offered.

"Always the optimist," Parker said, shaking her head, "How many times do I have to tell you people the glass is half empty?"

Daniella blushed. "It's half full," a voice interrupted.

"Stop butting into other peoples conversations, Black. And it's half empty."

"Half full," Orion said grinning. Veronica had a feeling he was saying it just for the sake of arguing.

"Empty."

"Full."

"Empty!"

"Full!"

"EMPTY!" Parker yelled. The chatter around them stopped, as everyone turned to stare, including the Brimhall students.

"Full," Orion said grinning.

"Half way," Kylie said, annoyed, "For Merlin's sake, give it a rest you two." Parker glared and Orion smiled.

"So," James said grinning, "Are you four feeling lucky tonight?"

"Why?" Veronica asked, but she had a feeling she really didn't want to know.

"No reason," Shane said grinning.

"At least not one we're telling," Jeff continued.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Parker asked.

"Nothing," Orion said casually.

"If it meant nothing you wouldn't have said anything," Kylie said.

"You're up to something," Veronica said in an accusing tone. The boys didn't have time to answer, however, because at that moment Sirius stood up. He had a huge smile on his face.

"Well, Kathren and I have been talking about how the whole point of these games is to bring a sense of unity to the schools. However, not much unity can be done when some students are outside in a boat and the others are in here. So, we decided that it would be nice if the Brimhall students stayed in the dorms for their two night stay."

There was a burst of excited chatter throughout the tables. "Settle down," Sirius said, as he waited for the chatter to stop, "We have put each year into houses. First year students and fifth year students will stay with the Gryffindor house..."

"Yes!" Kylie said excitedly.

"Second and sixth years will stay with the Ravenclaws," Sirius continued, ignoring the chatter this time, "Seventh and third years are with the Slytherin and fourth years will stay in the Hufflepuff house."

The noise in the Great Hall became increasingly louder, as students chatted happily about the new sleeping arrangements. There was another clinking noise, and after a few minutes the noise stopped. "Now," Sirius continued, "Prefects, please lead your Brimhall students to the dorms they will be staying in."

There was a scattering of noise and footsteps as the students searched for the prefect to lead them to where they would be sleeping. It reminded Veronica slightly of her first day going to the dorms. Twenty minutes later, the rest of the Hogwarts students were headed to their dorms.

"I can't wait to meet them," Kylie said grinning.

"Yes, that will be nice," Daniella said quietly.

The girls stopped and looked at the door to their dorm. Annabel and Levinia came up behind them. "Shall we?" Annabel asked grinning.

"Might as well," Parker said, pushing open the door.

The first thing Veronica noticed was the size of the dorm. It had definitely been made larger. Then she noticed the three extra beds. Sitting on the one farthest from the door were three girls.

"Hi, I'm Levinia Jordan," Levinia said grinning.

The girl in the middle smiled. She was smaller than the other two girls and quite striking. Her jet black hair fell down her back in loose curls and her blue eyes sparkled in a way that reminded Veronica instantly of Parker. "Hi, I'm Abigail Killingsworth."

"Nice to meet you, Abby," Parker said, "I'm Parker Keowen. I hope you don't mind me calling you Abby, because I'm going to."

"Don't bother trying to change her mind," Kylie said grinning, "Ask Daniella. It doesn't work. I'm Kylie Potter by the way."

Abigail smiled. "Nice to meet you, Parker, Kylie. This is my friend, Mercedes Bennett," Abigail said gesturing to a small girl with curly brown hair and dark brown eyes. "And this is Kacey Chambers." Veronica turned to Kacey, who was quite tall and thin, with waist length blonde hair. She reminded Veronica somewhat of Headmistress Kathren, but perhaps it was just the hair.

"I'm Annabel Wood," Annabel said, shaking their hands in turn.

"I'm Veronica Winters," Veronica said grinning, "And this is Daniella Carter." Daniella gave them a nervous smile.

Abigail smiled at Daniella. "So you're a quiet one," she said, looking amused, "You know, I've been trying for months to get Kacey here to lighten up. She's real quiet too."

Veronica suppressed a smile and a groan. Abigail was another Parker. She didn't think it was possible. She felt torn between whether or not that was a good thing or a bad thing. Could the world handle two of them? "I've have been trying the same thing with Dani. Do you have any tips?"

"I was hoping you would," Abigail said, looking slightly disappointed. Parker did as well.

"So what do you think of Hogwarts?" Kylie interrupted quickly. Veronica eyed her thankfully. My lord, they talked as if Daniella and Kacey weren't in the room, Veronica thought sighing.

"It was really cool," Abigail said grinning, completely abandoning her other conversation, "Except your accents are absolutely hilarious." She turned to Veronica. "You have a different one though. Where are you from?"

"I'm from the U.S," Veronica said.

"Really?" Mercedes asked. A smile was forming on her face. "So does that mean by any chance that you're related to Virginia Winters, the fashion designer?"

Veronica smiled. "Yes, she's my mom."

Mercedes squealed. "Oh my gosh," she said excitedly, pulling Veronica down on the bed next to her, "So is it true then? Is she really working here as a teacher?"

Veronica blushed slightly, when Mercedes pulled her down. She fought hard to remove the pink tinge from her cheeks. Mercedes didn't seem to notice. She looked like Christmas had come early. "Yes, she teaches Charms."

Mercedes was now beaming. "I always wanted to meet her. Would you take me to meet her?"

Veronica shrugged. "Sure."

"Yes!" Mercedes shouted, as she pulled Veronica into a hug, "I love you."

Abigail laughed at the look on Veronica's face. "Don't worry about her," she said grinning, "Mercedes wants to become a fashion designer. Your mom is her idol."

It was almost midnight when the girls finally made their way to bed. Veronica had spent most of the time talking with Mercedes and Kylie and answering all of Mercedes questions. Despite the embarrassment Veronica felt at first, she found herself really starting to like Mercedes. Parker had spent her time talking with Abigail. They were wearing identical evil smiles, which Veronica knew meant trouble.

Veronica was the last of the girls to fall asleep. Mercedes' questions had reminded her of her mother's lies and the book she had gotten earlier, still unread and in her book bag. Just before she fell asleep, she made a promise to herself to read that book over the break and find out just exactly what happened to her mother all those years ago.


Veronica woke up to the beeping of someone's alarm clock. It was Annabel's. Veronica groaned loudly. She looked over to shout at her to turn it off, but she was no where in sight. Veronica turned to see Levinia gone as well. Sighing loudly, she walked over and turned it off. Unfortunately, it had already woken everyone up.

"Damn bloody alarm clock," Parker said grouchily.

"What time is it?" Mercedes asked, rubbing her eyes.

Veronica turned to the clock. She watched as it turned to 7:30. She let out a startled yelp as a loud popping noise sounded near her ear and a cloud of blue smoke surrounded her. She coughed and stepped away, but it seemed to follow her.

She waited a few minutes for the smoke to clear and looked around. It seemed as if the same thing had happened to the other girls. Veronica noticed, with growing dread that their smoke seemed to have died their hair and face. She walked quietly over to the mirror and groaned. Her hair and face were now a bright blue.

"Can this get any worse?" Veronica said, but she immediately wished she could take it back. A soft whizzing noise was filling the room. A noise, Veronica remembered quite well. Fireworks. The other girls seemed to have noticed it too. They had all risen from their beds and were looking for the source of the noise.

They didn't have to wait long. Seven fireworks shot out of the armoire in the corner. Veronica ducked as a firework sped at her. It barely missed her head. She waited for it to slam into the wall, but it didn't. The firework turned in mid air and started back after her. Veronica stared at it in horror as it shot back at her. She ducked again, and shot a quick glance at the other girls, who seemed to be having the same problem.

"To the bathroom," Parker shouted, as she dropped to the ground. She got up quickly and dodged the firework again.

"We have to go at the same time," Abigail shouted, "Trick your firework into going the other way and then run!"

Veronica did as she was told. She ducked and her firework shot over her head. Then she took off full speed toward the bathroom. She was the last one in.

"Shut it!" Kylie screamed. Veronica turned and gasped as all seven fireworks zoomed toward the door. Veronica quickly slammed the door and it was just in time. The girls listened as a series of thumps came from the door and another series when the fireworks hit the ground. They waited quietly a moment to see if anything would happen, before anger began to take over.

"My stupid brother," Mercedes said furiously.

"You might want to add mine to that," Kylie fumed.

"Don't forget Weasley, Bryant and that bloody git Black," Parker said angrily.

"I bet Willis and Van Auken had something to do with this as well," Abigail said darkly.

"Shall we go see?" Veronica asked. Her voice was shaking with anger.

"Maybe we should just leave it alone," Kacey said softly.

"Yes," Daniella agreed.

"Absolutely not!" Parker fumed.

"I agree," Abigail said loudly, "Let's go!"

Veronica followed Abigail and Parker from the room. As she passed by the pile of fireworks on the ground, the anger she was feeling intensified. They were definitely going to pay for this one.

The girls marched down into the common room. It was practically empty except for a few fifth years and eight young boys sitting on the couches, laughing among themselves. They hadn't noticed the girls storm into the room.

"Matthew Thomas Bennett!" Mercedes yelled angrily. A cute boy with dark curly brown hair turned around quickly. His eyes ran over Mercedes before he smiled innocently. "Don't even try that! I know it was you. When we get back home you are going to pay so bad..."

"But Mercy," Matthew pleaded, "They had fireworks that follow you no matter where you go. I just wanted to test them..."

"On us!" Mercedes fumed.

"Is that your excuse too, James?" Kylie asked. Her voice was dangerously low.

"Well," James stammered, "The color bombs were timed and they are so small that you could put them on someone's face and they wouldn't notice and..."

"And you decided it would be okay to try them on us," Parker fumed.

"Now, Keowen," Orion interrupted, "You make that sound like we did it to deliberately cause you guys annoyance. We were just trying to see if the objects were worth trading."

"Oh, so now we're lab rats!" Veronica said furiously.

"Well," said a blonde boy, that Veronica didn't recognize, "We needed to try it on someone."

"Riley Van Auken," Abigail said, her voice was low and held a distinct chill, that made Veronica glad she wasn't angry at her, "You are going to wish that you never even thought of using us as your little experiment when I'm through with you."

Veronica stopped to look at the four new boys. The first one had to be Mercedes' brother and the handsome blonde was Van Auken. Her eyes shifted to another boy. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes. He looked embarrassed and kept his head down. The other boy was smiling. He was chubby, with brown hair and the palest blue eyes that Veronica had ever seen. Veronica guessed this one to be Willis.

"Abigail, darling," Van Auken said grinning, "Calm down. We haven't even introduced ourselves. I'm Riley Van Auken. This is Jacob Downes," he said pointing to the embarrassed boy with brown hair.

"I'm Bryan Willis."

"And I'm Matthew Bennett."

"Who cares!" Parker shouted.

"Let's go," Veronica said as she turned and stalked up the stairs. She heard the angry footsteps of the other girls behind her.

"One of these days, you'll all pay for this," Abigail shouted down at them.

It had taken a lot of good scrubbing and some well said spells, but the girls had finally gotten all of the color out of their hair and faces. Luckily they had finished just in time to make it down to the game and still have time to find a decent seat.

The girls had all walked toward the Quidditch pitch together. When they got there, Mercedes, Abigail and Kacey turned a different way. They stopped a little ways up.

"Guess it really wouldn't be right to sit on the Hogwarts side," Abigail said grinning.

"Yes," Mercedes said, "I don't think my brother would forgive me if I cheered on the team he was playing against."

"Your brother plays?" Kylie asked.

"My older one, Mark. He's the best Beater Brimhall has ever had."

"Yeah," Parker said grinning, "Well he's got competition on who's the best here today. Carly Weasley has got talent."

"We'll see," Mercedes said smiling back at her.

"See you after the game," Veronica called, as the girls left to find their seats.

The girls walked over and took seats towards the top of the stadium. Veronica noticed a section reserved for the Brimhall students. Headmistress Haller and Professor Longstein were seated with Headmaster Black in the teachers area. Professor Conway wasn't there. Veronica's eyes swept the stadium. She finally saw Professor Conway leaning against the back of a wall, hidden halfway in the shadows. As though feeling her gaze, Professor Conway turned and looked. Even though it was practically impossible that she had seen her, Veronica could have sworn that Professor Conway had looked right at her.

"Welcome everyone!" Darien Jordan's voice boomed.

Veronica turned her eyes to the field. There were fifteen people in the middle. Seven were dressed in black robes with the Hogwarts crest on the back. One was obviously Professor Weasley. He seemed to be in the middle of a discussion with the teams. The seven Brimhall students were dressed in dark blue robes with white trim.

"Hello, students and teachers. Welcome to the first ever game between Brimhall Academy and Hogwarts," Darien said, "The Hogwarts Chasers consist of Captain Nathan Richards, Natalie Matalka, and Howard Carver. Our Seeker is Genesis Gladden and our Keeper is my man Pete Baylen. Our Beaters consist of David Zaben, and the lovely Carly Weasley, who is definitely the best Beater Hogwarts has seen since her uncles Fred and George. On a side note, Fred and George Weasley own Weasley's Wizards Wheezes. Anyone interested in buying some of their jokes should..."

"Jordan!" Professor Weasley shouted. Darien grinned and avoided her grab at him. She glared and Darien continued.

"Now, the Brimhall Keeper and captain is Emberly Sims," Darien continued, "Who is looking mighty fine in my opinion..." He blew a kiss at the field. One of the Brimhall girls, who Veronica guessed must be Emberly, waved.

"Jordan!"

"The Seeker is Kent Yoder," Darien continued quickly, "The Chasers are Gretchen Scott, Elisha Gambalt, and Tag Yurit." Darien stopped and began laughing. "Tag your it," he said grinning, "I feel so sorry for you man..."

"Detention Jordan! Now give me that microphone!"

Darien dodged away from her. "And the Beaters are Katie Townsend and Mark Bennett," Darien continued. Veronica squinted her eyes so she could make out Mark Bennett. From where she was sitting, he could have been a clone of his brother, just older looking. Both had the same curly dark brown hair and light brown eyes.

"I have heard around campus that this Mark is the greatest Beater ever to play. I think our Carly is going to have to show him how it's really done, because lets face it Carly isn't just nice to look at. She is one hot mama and she can kick every other players..."

Veronica smiled and turned back to the field, as Professor Weasley made another attempt to catch Darien, who once again dodged her easily. Professor Potter was now on the field shaking hands with the Brimhall players. After he was done, he flew over toward the teacher's area. Veronica watched with interest as he sat by her mother and they began talking and smiling.

A sudden whistle caused Veronica to snap her head back to the game. "And Richards with the quaffle," Darien shouted, "He's swerving past Brimhall's Scott. He ducks a bludger from Townsend. Passes to Carver. Reverse to Matalka. She shoots...and it's blocked by Sims."

"Brimhall in possession. Scott is taking it down. Pass to...Oh, picked off by Richards, who has a clear shot. He shoots...He scores!"

Kylie and Parker burst into screams, along with all the other Hogwarts students. "Brimhall in possession. Yurit is taking it down. Pass to Gambalt, who passes back to Yurit. Yurit shoots...And a nice block by Baylen! Hogwarts is possession. Carver is taking it down. A nice bludger sent by Bennett. Carver dodges, but Brimhall is in possession. Gambalt is taking it down. Ouch that had to hurt! A bludger to the stomach, hit by Carly Weasley. How about that Bennett?"

Veronica watched Carly shoot a smirk at Mark. Mark retorted by sending a bludger straight at her. She dodged easily. By the middle of the game, the score was 80-50 in favor of Hogwarts, but Veronica was too busy watching the war going on between Carly and Mark to really care. In fact, most of the stadium was. It seemed as though they were competing over who could hit the most people. Penalties were flying almost as often as the bludgers.

"Hold on a second folks. Gladden and Yoder have seen the snitch," Darien's voice boomed.

Veronica quickly scanned the field for the two Seekers. She saw them by the Hogwarts goal post in a straight dive. "They're neck and neck," Darien said, "It's going to be a close one." All of the sudden, both Seekers pulled out of the dive. Veronica waited for what seemed like an hour for the Seekers to do something. She jumped from her seat and screamed when she saw Genesis hold up her hand. Clutched in it was a small glittering golden ball.

Cheers erupted through the stadium. Veronica hugged Kylie and Parker, as they screamed loudly.

Ten minutes later the girls met Mercedes, Kacey and Abigail on the field. "I have to admit," Parker said grinning, "Your brother is one hell of a Beater."

Mercedes smiled. "Well, Carly Weasley is definitely good too."

The girls laughed and started toward the castle. They began talking about the game and only stopped when Parker and Abigail suddenly changed course halfway to the common room. "Where are you two going?" Kylie asked.

Abigail and Parker turned around to face them. Both of them smiled sweetly. Veronica knew that smile all too well. "Nothing," Parker said.

"I know that smile," Veronica said, "And it definitely means you're up to something."

"Abby," Mercedes said, "What are you getting yourself into now?"

Parker and Abigail looked at each other. "You'll see," Abigail said, with a mysterious smile, before she and Parker took off running down the hall.

Daniella sighed. "We might as well get back to the common room. Knowing Parker, she'll tell us eventually what trouble she's got herself into."

"Yeah," Kacey said quietly, "Abigail is the same way."

"Abby managed to get herself detention the first day of school," Mercedes said, shaking her head.

"So did Parker," Kylie said laughing.

"It was supposed to be a month's worth," Veronica said, "But somehow Parker sweet talked her way down to one week."

"Abby does the same thing," Mercedes said laughing, "Merlin help us. There are two of them!"

The girls laughed as they entered the common room. Even before they opened the door, they could hear the noise of music and talking. It was packed with students, from both Brimhall and Hogwarts. There were chips and other food on the tables, and everyone was laughing and talking. The girls took seats on the couches and waited for Parker and Abigail to come back.

Veronica looked around the common room, while the girls talked. The Brimhall students were definitely good sports. They were partying right along with the Gryffindor students. About twenty minutes later, the portrait hole opened and Carly Weasley walked in. She was carrying two large cases of butterbeer. Cheers erupted from the other kids. Veronica watched as Carly handed a butterbeer to Mark Bennett. Whatever conflict they had going on the field had disappeared and they were talking happily.

Veronica noticed Parker and Abigail follow Carly in. They walked over to the boys and talked for a while. Veronica watched with interest. What are you two up to, she thought.

"Would you look at that," Mercedes said. "Abigail is flirting with Riley Van Auken. She hates Riley Van Auken. I mean she might flirt with Jared Downes, maybe. I mean, at least he's sweet. But Van Auken, there's no way."

Veronica adjusted herself so she could see better. Abigail was indeed flirting quite obviously with Van Auken. Parker and Abigail walked over a few minutes later. Both of them wore identical evil grins.

"What have you done now?" Mercedes asked.

"Started setting up our revenge," Parker answered.

The party ended three hours later when Professor Weasley appeared in her nightgown and started yelling at everyone about detention. The girls quickly found their way to their dorm and started getting ready for bed. Parker and Abigail sat on one of the beds and waited.

"Okay," Kylie said, "What is going on?"

Parker smiled at Abigail and removed two small vials from her pocket. "A little payback," Parker said softly.

"So, what do they do?" Mercedes asked, smiling.

"This one," Abigail said, pointing to the vile filled with purple liquid, "gives you different colored spots that don't disappear for a week."

"And this one," Parker said, holding up the other vile, which was filled with a steaming silver liquid, "Enlarges a body part, which ever its poured on, by ten times and turns it neon pink..."

"We think," Abigail finished, smiling evilly.

"You think?" Veronica asked, even though she really wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Yes," Parker said grinning, "We mixed it ourselves using some other potions."

"We figured why not use the boys for an experiment like they used us," Abigail said smiling.

"But you can't do that," Daniella said, looking worried.

"Yeah," Kacey agreed, "The boys may have tampered with the fireworks, but they knew exactly how they worked."

"Details, details," Parker said, waving her hand.

"So who's in?" Abigail asked.

"Me," Kylie and Mercedes chorused at the same time.

Veronica sighed and then smiled. Might as well, she thought. "Count me in as well."

"Are you two sure you don't want to come?" Abigail asked, looking over at Kacey and Daniella who were eying them with obvious disapproval.

"Suit yourselves," Parker said, heading for the door, "Let's go."

"Now?" Kylie asked, "But they won't be asleep yet."

Parker and Abigail smiled. "Yes they will," Abigail said, "We slipped them a little potion that causes you to fall asleep as soon as you lie down."

"Alright," Veronica said, eying them suspiciously, "Where exactly did you two manage to get all these useful little potions?"

"From Carly Weasley," Parker said grinning, "We were planning on buying some from Darien, but Carly found out what they were for and got us some free samples."

"That is, as long as we promised her something," Abigail said grinning.

"What did you promise?" Mercedes asked.

"Just that we'd break at leasta hundred school rules by the end of our fifth year and..." Parker said.

"And," Mercedes prodded.

"Oh, that we'd somehow convince your brother to go to some Beater camp this summer that's she's going to," Abigail said, "She told us to get him there and she'd do the rest."

"How are you going to do that?" Kylie asked.

Abigail smiled at Mercedes. "He'd do anything for his darling baby sister."

Mercedes groaned. "Oh fine, but I have a feeling that he is going to kill me when he gets home."


"Good morning, everyone," Abigail shouted.

Veronica groaned and rolled over. She was just drifting back to sleep, when her bed began to shake. She jerked awake and sat up. Parker was jumping on her bed.

"Parker!" Veronica grumbled.

"What time is it?" Kylie asked groggily.

"Just about time for us to leave," Abigail said.

"What?" Mercedes said jumping up.

"Relax we have thirty minutes," Abigail said smiling.

Mercedes let out a small shriek and headed for the bathroom. Abigail smiled. "It's really all too easy." Veronica stared at her, not really getting what she meant. Her eyes wandered to the clock. They still had two hours until it was time for the Brimhall students to leave.

The girls were ready thirty minutes later. They headed down to the common room. Even before they got down there, they heard angry shouts and laughter. Veronica began laughing as well the moment she saw the boys. All of them were covered in purple spots, and each had a different body part enlarged. Veronica found Orion the funniest. His nose was glowing pink and covered almost his entire face.

"You," James shouted.

"Guilty," Parker and Abigail chorused.

"Mercedes Elizabeth Bennett," Matthew said, "You better not be in on this."

"I am," Mercedes said through fits of laughter.

"Nice work, girls," a voice said. Veronica turned to see Carly Weasley standing by Parker and Abigail, smiling, "I see you used my gifts well."

"Your gifts," Jeff shouted, "For Merlin's sake, Carly! I'm your cousin! How could you let them prank me?"

Carly grinned. "Sorry, Jeff. I'm afraid I had to do what's good for the entire pranking community. It's my duty to help out a beginner. After all, we can't just let all the starters give up. That would be a boring world." The girls laughed while the boys stared.

"We are going to get you back for this, Keowen," Orion said.

"Huh," Parker said, "I couldn't hear you. I think your nose is blocking the sound."


An hour later Veronica stood out on the grass and watching the Brimhall students board the boat. She waved, when the girls waved at them. "Miss Winters," a voice said softly. Veronica turned and found herself staring into the eyes of Professor Conway.

"Yes," Veronica whispered, feeling slightly frightened. She looked over at Parker, Kylie and Daniella, but they were paying no attention.

"Be careful, Miss Winters," Professor Conway said quietly, "There is something evil going on here and you are the center of it all." Her blue eyes swept the castle and then she left quickly. Veronica watched her board the boat and shivered.

Five minutes later the Brimhall boat lifted into the sky and flew away. Veronica watched as it faded into the horizon. She was going to miss having them around, but it was probably better this way.After all, there was no way they could keep both Parker and Abigail in line.