Survival of the Fittest By MJ
I slid into my seat at Ravenclaw Table just as Mayor Dumbledore began to read the history of the 7 Worlds, the one we all knew by heart. I listened halfheartedly as he read about the Story Wars, the ones that had caused the divide of Fictonia from Panem. Nobody in Panem knew that Fictonia was real, all they knew was from the old stories told by the Creators. When Fictonia first left Panem, some people thought we could live in harmony with the ordinary people. When the Capitol refused, they rebelled. Many were killed. The leaders, Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks, had been executed by President Rane on national television.
All of a sudden, Mayor Dumbledore was done and our Capitol representative, Arthur Weasley, was on stage ready to draw the name. I grew slightly nervous. I was entered 27 times, at just 13. As the oldest at the orphanage, I had to take out all the tesserae, so that the little ones didn't have to. Marie was 11, entered for the first time. Entered once.
"Let's start with the girls, shall we?" Mr. Weasley was smiling for the cameras, but he looked nervous. 4 of his own children were entered this year. Ron, Ginny, Fred and George. Ron was my age, 13, but he was only entered 3 times. As Capitol Representative, Mr. Weasley's own children were not required to take out tesserae. However, they were not well off as you might expect.
Mr. Weasley pulled the name from the large glass bowl sitting up there on the stage. He paled, and looked as if he might faint.
"G-G-Ginevra W-Weasley" he burst out. He was really scared. I looked over at the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley was crying, her face in her hands. Ron looked as if he had just been hit by one of the Capitol's high-speed trains. Fred and George had the exact same expression of horror on their faces. Ginny was not crying, she simply held her shoulders back and made her way slowly up the stairs to the stage. One of Ginny's brothers had been killed in the Fiction Games 3 years ago.
Mr. Weasley turned away from the camera for a moment, composing himself. He turned back towards the audience.
"Well come on, Ginny, we don't want to keep the games waiting!" He said with a forced grin. A single tear dropped to the stage. Ginny took her place on the stage, looking over the audience with dignity.
"Are there any...volunteers?" Mr. Weasley asked, hoping against hope and yet not letting himself show it.
Timidly I glanced back at the rest of the audience, wishing for someone to raise their hand, willing them to. If she played this game, she would die. And the Weasleys would be devastated.
Slowly, cautiously, I raised my hand.
"What a brave young girl! What's your name?" Asked Mr Weasley. The relief showed in hie eyes. "Serena. Serena Black." I walk up the stairs, nervous already. Then I hear it.
"NO! NO, SERENA YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T DO IT!" Screams a voice I know. It's Marie. She tries to run to me, but the peacekeepers hold her back.
"Is that your little sister?" Mr Weasley asks. "Well-yes." we are not related by blood, but we are closer then two blood sisters could ever be.
"Let her up on the stage!" cries Mr Weasley to the peacekeepers. Reluctantly they let her go. She runs to me, tears streaming down her face. She grabs me into a bear hug. I let her hug me, not crying but wanting to. As she lets go, I whisper in her ear. "I have something for you" I say "Come see me later" She steps off the stage, still sniffling.
"Aww, touching. I'm sure your sister is hoping you'll win, eh?" Says Mr Weasley. I nod silently. "But enough of that. We need a boy tribute!" He sticks his hand into the glass bowl. "And he issssssss...HARRY POTTER" He calls. I pale. He is the one person, in the whole audience, that I cannot kill.