Mercy's bare feet slammed against the wood of the dock as she sprinted towards the edge, her competition nipping at her heels. Troy Donaldson was a year older than her, and had made the mistake of thinking that meant he could jump further. Mercy met the challenge head on, all but dragging him to the beginning of the dock to put his claim to the test. Janine obligingly counted down as the two prepared to race down the dock and into the water. The others gathered around to watch, some placing bets as the two equally cocky Gryffindors exchanged playful glares.
The day was swelteringly hot, so the group that had congregated at the Black Lake was growing larger by the minute. Mercy had been one of the original promoters of the idea, donning her swimshirt immediately after lunch once she had checked that Janine and the rest of the quidditch team were on board. By the time they'd gotten there, many of them had invited their friends to tag along from other houses, and their group was twice the size it had been orignally. Mercy didn't mind - the more the merrier.
It had all been fun and games until Troy had started challenging the other boys his age to see who could make the furthest leap off of the dock. After beating three or four of his friends, he had arrogantly proclaimed he could beat anyone. Mercy took personal offense. Especially after the growth spurt she'd had last summer, she knew her legs could keep up with the best of them, and she would never give Troy the satisfaction of being right. She'd wipe that smug smirk right off his stupid face.
And so she let out a holler as her toes curled around the edge of the dock for a fraction of a second before she propelled herself into the air, curling into herself for momentum. She hit the lake feet first, puffing her cheeks out to hold in her breath as she crashed through the surface, eyes closed against the rush of water. A split second later, she heard the muffled splash of Troy hitting the water too. She shoved herself upward toward the air, shaking her head like a dog as she breached the surface and turned to see Troy's head pop up half a meter behind her. She grinned; he pouted. A couple people cheered.
"Ha!" she laughed smugly before ducking under the water again and swimming back to shore. He grumbled a little as he followed.
When Mercy staggered onto the short bank next to the dock, water dripping from her hair and nose and fingers, she high-fived Janine and a couple of her other teammates, then turned as something caught her eye.
A boy was sitting some distance away, watching them. And not just any boy: Squid Boy. One of Mimosa's friends. She couldn't really tell from this distance, but he didn't look happy. Then again, she couldn't remember ever seeing him look happy.
Curiosity got the best of her, and she slipped away from the group, padding down the beach towards him. When she was near enough to be heard, she raised her arm to wave and called out, "Hey!"
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