I sat at on my bed staring blankly out the window. The sun was covered by a thick layer of clouds, making it look gray and dreary. Outside, our neighbor Ms. Heck was watering her lawn. She was always out there, seven o'clock sharp every morning with her pink sweatpants/ sweatshirt combo and her hair graying brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. The elderly couple from down the street were walking by with their old dachshund. His name was Howard and he was seven years old. I hated that dog. Once I went over there to give them some cookies as a thank you for watching our house when we were out of town. The dog snarled at me and wouldn't stop barking until I had left. I swear every time he walks by our house he glares up at my window.

I slowly stood and walked across my room to my desk. I packed a couple more things into my already bulging trunk; my quill, some extra parchment, and some school books. After much struggling, I finally managed to close my trunk and wheel it into the hallway. Today was the day. The day that I had been dreading since last September first. I was off to school, to my wizarding school. Hogwarts. Everything used to be okay. Wizards used to be able to look forward to going to school and learning magic. That all changed though, twenty-seven years ago. I walked back into my room and grabbed my wand. I sat in my desk chair and twirled it between my fingers. It had all started with a boy. His name was Harry Potter. When he was just a baby, a dark and powerful wizard named Voldemort tried to kill him. He survived, and for the rest of his life, Voldemort hunted him. He wanted Harry dead because of a prophecy. Finally, there was a terrible battle at Hogwarts. It finally came down to Harry and Voldemort, and Voldemort won. Harry Potter died, and so did the hope that one day everyone might be free from the evil clutches of Lord Voldemort. That was twenty-seven years ago. Today, every wizard still feels his wrath. To remind everyone that he is in charge, each year he requires each of the three wizarding school to pick four girls, and four boys to be put into an arena to fight to the death. They call it The Hunger Games.

I stood up and looked back out my window. I envied those muggles. They had no idea what was going on. They could carry on with their lives and not have to constantly worry if a death eater was going to come banging on their door and arrest you just because they could. That is how they put fear in all the wizards. No one dares to revolt against the Ministry. There used to be an Order of Phoenix, but that died a long time ago.

"Al, it's time to go!" my Grandpa Joe called from the stairs, disrupting my train of thought.

I stuck my wand in my front pocket and left my room. I grabbed my trunk from the top of the stair and dragged it down. My Grandma Tracy was waiting with my Grandpa at the bottom of the stairs. They smiled grimly at me as I came down. I didn't live with my parents. I didn't know who they were, what their names were, or even if they were still alive. I didn't care. See, they were death eaters. They did a lot of horrible things in their lives. When I was born, they didn't want me, so they dumped me off at my mom's parents house. I've been there ever since. Both of my grandparents were wizards, both from Griffindor. I don't know how she became a Slytherin, but I guess you aren't always in the same house as your parents. Like me. I ended up in Ravenclaw. Thank goodness.

It was a silent ride to the train station. Half of me wanted to jump out of the car and hide. Hide from it all. I couldn't though. They would find my grandparent and hurt them, probably kill them. Then they would find me. There was no way I could stay hidden forever. I twirled my bangs, nervous, and scared. The reaping, how they picked the tributes, happened on the first night you got to Hogwarts. They picked one boy and one girl from each house. if you were twelve, your name would be in there once. If you were thirteen, twice, and so on. Plus, every time you got detention, which they give out like free candy, your name would be added an additional time. I'm sixteen, and I have had seven detentions, so my name would be in there twelve times. It's pretty rare for a Ravenclaw kid to have more than five detentions. The teachers, who are all death eaters, just don't like anyone with any spunk. There are some kids who had it worse. One kid from Griffindor has his name in there thirty- three times. You think he would have learned to stay out of trouble.

I watched as we passed by rows of shops and stores until we finally reached the train station. I spotted a couple of idiotic wizards who were already wearing their robes and getting weird stares from the muggles.

After my Grandpa Joe finally found a parking spot in the hustle of the crowd, I spotted my best friend Riley walking toward the station with her parents and her younger brother, Jake, who was starting this year. I quickly called out to her as I climbed out of the car. She turned to me, smiled and walked over. As our folks said hello, I quickly hugged her.

"Thanks so much for the birthday card and gift card for Honeydukes," I said," I'll definitely use that this year when we go to Hogsmade."

"Oh, yeah, well I know how much you like your sweets," she winked at me.

Despite what a depressing day it was considering we were about to send eight kids to their deaths, I couldn't help but laugh. After saying hello to Jake, we all walked over to platform nine and three quarters. As we ran through a seemingly solid wall, I couldn't help but think that this could be the last time I would ever be doing this.

On the other side of the wall was a much different scenery than the rest of the of the station. A train rested at the platform, ready to depart. It was a mahogany red color with the words 'Hogwarts Express' written in gold on the side. Parents were hurrying their kids onto the train and making sure they packed everything. There were some heartfelt goodbyes, for this might be the last time they see their kids if they were to be chosen in the reaping. As Rileys parents turned to say goodbye to her and her brother, Grandpa Joe and Grandma Tracy embraced me in a hug. I was taller than both of them, so my eyes were just above the tops of their heads.

"You're a brave young lady," Grandpa Joe whispered to me, "Don't worry about a thing."

"Thanks Gramps"

Grandma Tracy stroked the side of my face. "We are both very proud of of you." She kissed my forehead and they both stepped away from me just as the train let out a whistle. I grabbed my trunk and turned to board the train with Riley right behind me. I didn't want to go. I was scared. I wanted nothing more than to run back into my grandparents arms. I didn't though. I straightened my back and boarded the train just as it started to pull away from platform nine and three quarters. I stared out the window, my eyes searching for my grandparents. Then I found them. My grandpa had one arm around my grandma who had a tear running down her cheek. They waved goodbye along with all the other families. Soon, the platform was just a speck in the distance. I was surprised to find my eyes tearing up. I took a deep breath and turned to Riley.

Come on," I said, "Lets go find the others."