Welcome to my first ever decent fanfic! Leave me a review, they really help me write quicker and I'd love to know how/where I can improve. If you want new updates quicker than anywhere else, go to the Potter and Pals website, because I always update it there first!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter universe. I also don't own the Hunger Games universe. I do own this story though.
Chapter 1: How it all started
My name is Cypress Moran and I am the male first-year Ravenclaw tribute in the 174th Triwizard Tournament. Right now I am standing on the steps to Hogwarts castle, looking at the shining gold Cornucopia right in front of me. The 31 other tributes are standing next to me. In the Cornucopia I can see some wands, some rods and other weapons and right in front of me on the ground is a mokeskin pouch which could contain anything. I know next to no magic and have never used a Muggle rod, giving me a huge disadvantage.
Before I can really get my bearings, the gong sounds and everyone is off. Without thinking too much I grab the mokeskin bag and run towards the Forbidden Forest, only bending to pick up a sweater on the way. I hear shouts and bangs of curses behind me, followed by screams and more bangs and curses. I run as fast as I can, eager to get away from them all. I don't stop until I'm well into the forest, with nothing but trees and darkness around me.
Once, long ago, this forest was a place no Hogwarts student would dare to set foot in without a very, very good reason. Then again, back in those days Hogwarts was a nice place where students had no bigger fear than failing their exams and maybe a magical accident or two.
These days are very, very different.
About 50 years ago, a bit more, the then Minister for Magic Barnabus Mathers thought it was time the Muggles learned of the existence of the Wizarding world. At first everything seemed to go well- Muggles came to Wizards for help (as Mathers had anticipated and hoped for) and they co-existed peacefully.
But then the Muggles got a new Prime Minister who didn't like Wizardkind one bit. He thought us freaks of nature and was of the opinion that we needed to be controlled. It was the main point of his campaign and the overwhelming amount of votes he got proves that many Muggles thought the same. A civil war ensued and as expected Wizards were winning- guns are no match for wands.
Until the Muggles discovered that electricity could be used in much the same way as magic. They developed wands of their own called rods. In the beginning they only shot lightning bolts, but as the war went on they became more and more dangerous, eventually surpassing wands. Wizards didn't stand a chance. To avoid more casualties the new Minister for Magic (William Potter, a grandchild of Harry Potter) surrendered. All wizards were moved to wizarding towns- Godric's Hollow, Hogsmeade, Ottery St. Catchpole, Diagon Alley and others. The towns were put under heavy security and no one can get in or out without them knowing. We only get the resources they permit us to have and we are obliged to create magical artifacts and the like for use by Muggles. We get a small bit of gold each month to survive, but it's hardly enough.
Attending Hogwarts is mandatory. It would be far too dangerous if wizard kids didn't learn to control their magic. The government provides all the equipment a student needs, including a wand - although the wand still chooses the wizard. At Hogwarts the students' results are heavily monitored. Every fail on a test, no matter how minor the test is, puts your name into the Goblet of Fire an extra time.
And each year, the Goblet of Fire chooses students to take part in the Triwizard Tournament. The tournament has always been dangerous for students of course, but the new tournaments are on a whole different level. It's now a way of showing wizards that Muggles are in control and wizards are just there to do their bidding, to provide them with items and to be entertainment for them. There are no longer just three Champions, one from each school. In fact there are no longer three schools taking part, it's only Hogwarts. The Goblet of Fire chooses 24 students - tributes, they're called - to take part. One boy and one girl from each odd year (1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th) and each House. They are trained for a few weeks and paraded around to gather sponsors, who may send them items in the arena. And then they are sent out into the Hogwarts grounds, with nothing but the clothes they wear and the items they can get in the Cornucopia. Even their wands are taken from them.
There is only one survivor.
The survivor gets to continue their studies at Hogwarts and if they aren't Seventh years, they will be at risk of participating again in another year. Yeah, they're that cruel. Seventh years who win have it nice though, they get to live in freedom. They can live wherever they want, so they usually move out of the country and start a new life somewhere else. I've heard wizards can still live in peace in Japan. Must be nice.
As for me... well, I still have my whole Hogwarts career in front of me so even if I manage to make it out of this Tournament alive, I'll still be stuck in this horrible place. I suppose I should tell you a bit more about myself, now that you know what the heck is going on.
Like I said before, my name is Cypress Moran. Just call me Ress, only my mum calls me Cypress. I live in Godric's Hollow with my mother and five year old sister, Cherry. I'm a first year at Hogwarts and I've been sorted into Ravenclaw. My only friend is my barn owl. Her name is Hope. Quite fitting, because she'll be the one to bring me packages from sponsors in the Tournament, which might be my only hope of actually surviving.
The wand that chose me is made of Holly wood and has a unicorn hair core. It's 13 and a half inches long and unbending. Not that it does me much good right now. Tributes aren't allowed to bring their own wands into the arena so it has been taken from me. I didn't even get to use it much.
On the train to Hogwarts I met a few students. I thought we might even be able to become friends. One of them, Rowan, didn't get sorted into Ravenclaw so I quickly lost contact with her. The other three shunned me after I got chosen by the Goblet. They pretty much pretended I was dead already. I suppose that's the best way for them to avoid getting hurt.
Maybe I'll be able to re-connect with Rowan in the arena though - she's the female first-year Slytherin tribute.
Not having friends made the weeks leading up to the start of the tournament a living hell. It would have been great to have some friends to talk to in those few weeks of normal life I had left. Okay I did have training and the whole sponsoring thing to go through, but tributes are still allowed to follow classes and be with others during that time. Instead I just spent my time in the Library, looking up useful things and practicing spells. Who knows, I might be able to get my hands on a wand.
It doesn't seem very likely though. I'm surrounded by trees and darkness and the others could be hiding anywhere, waiting to attack me. I have zero experience gathering food or using weapons. All I have is a mokeskin bag and a sweater.
I should look for shelter before I get ambushed.
So, I continue into the forest. My cloak gets caught on branches all the time and it has quite a few rips and tears already. I stop every few feet to listen for sounds, but I hear nothing but the rustling leaves and the sound of my own heartbeat. I must be a boring sight for the camera's now. They'll probably be focused on the Cornucopia. I haven't heard the cannons yet so the fight must still be going on. I wonder how many are dead already.
I suddenly trip over a root. Instead of falling to the ground though, I find myself rolling down a slope. Some sticky substance clings to me and some of it gets into my mouth. When I finally come to a rest and take a look at myself, I see that I'm covered in spiderwebs and tiny dead spiders.
That's when I saw the other, bigger spiders.