She thought she saw two of the St. Anne's girls exchange whispers and smirks, and was sure of it when Krystal suddenly stood tall, glaring at them, and said, "s'pose your shit smells of roses, does it?"

"I beg your pardon?" said their coach.

"Jus' askin'," said Krystal sweetly, turning her back to pull off her tracksuit bottoms.

The urge to giggle had been too powerful to resist; the Winterdown team snorted with laughter as they changed. Krystal clowned away, and as the St. Anne's crew filed out she mooned them.

"Charming," said the last girl to leave.

"Thanks a lot," Krystal called after her. "I'll let yer 'ave another look later, if yeh want. I know yeh're all lezzers," she yelled, "stuck in 'ere together with no boys!"

Holly had laughed so much that she had doubled over and banged her head on the locker door.

"Fuckin' watch it, Hol," Krystal had said, delighted with the effect she was having on them all. "Yeh'll need yer 'ead."

As they had trooped down to the canal, Sukhvinder could see why Mr. Fairbrother had wanted the venue changed. There was nobody but him here to support them at the start, whereas the St. Anne's crew had lots of friends shrieking and applauding and jumping up and down on the spot, all with the same kind of glossy long hair.

"Look!" shouted Krystal, pointing into this group as they passed. "It's Lexie Mollison! Remember when I knocked yer teeth out, Lex?"

Sukhvinder had a pain from laughing. She was glad and proud to be walking along behind Krystal, and she could tell that the others were too. Something about how Krystal faced the world was protecting them from the effect of the staring eyes and the fluttering bunting, and the building like a palace in the background.

But she could tell that even Krystal was feeling the pressure as they climbed into their boat. Krystal turned to Sukhvinder, who always sat behind her. She was holding something in her hand.

"Good-luck charm," she said, showing her.

It was a red plastic heart on a key ring, with a picture of her little brother in it.

"I've told 'im I'm gonna bring 'im back a medal," said Krystal.

"Yeah," said Sukhvinder, with a rush of faith and fear. "We will."

"Yeah," said Krystal, facing front again, and tucking the key ring back inside her bra. "No competition, this lot," she said loudly, so the whole crew could hear. "Bunch o' muff munchers. Le's do 'em!"

Sukhvinder remembered the starting gun and the crowd's cheers and her muscles screaming. She remembered her elation at their perfect rhythm, and the pleasure of their deadly seriousness after laughter. Krystal had won it for them. Krystal had taken away the home-ground advantage. Sukhvinder wished that she could be like Krystal: funny and tough; impossible to intimidate; always coming out fighting.

She had asked Terri Weedon for two things, and they had been granted, because Terri agreed with everyone, always. The medal that Krystal had won that day was around her neck for her burial. The other request came, at the very end of the service, and this time, as he announced it, the vicar sounded resigned.

Good girl gone bad -.

Take three -.

Action.

No clouds in my storms...

Let it rain, I hydroplane into fame.

Comin' down with the Dow Jones...

Her family half carried Terri Weedon back down the royal blue carpet, and the congregation averted its eyes.

J.K. ROWLING is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series of seven books, published between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories, have been translated into 73 languages, and have been turned into 8 blockbuster films.

As well as an Order of the British Empire for services to children's literature, J.K. Rowling is the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, including the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, France's Legion d'honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and she has been a commencement speaker at Harvard University. She supports a wide number of causes and is the founder of Lumos, which works to transform the lives of disadvantaged children.

Also by J.K. Rowling.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

(published in the U.S. as The Sorcerer's Stone).

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

(in Latin)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

(in Welsh, Ancient Greek and Irish)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Quidditch Through the Ages.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

end.