A/N: Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with family and/or friends! This story is one that one of my friends influenced and I have enjoyed writing this and planning the future chapters.
The plan is to update this story once a month, dates scattered, as it means that I can work around my other commitments and stories and my friend thought that he would like it done that way. So once a month, he will get his copy and then it will be posted on here!
Do enjoy the first instalment of the story!
Arwen4eva xxx
District Four: Fishing. That is where Toby lives, for now anyway.
His sea green eyes squint at the bright sun reflecting off the water in front of him as he removes a few fish from the net. His mind is still reeling from the information he was told about the mysterious school he is being transferred to; Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
'A school like that probably doesn't even exist.' Toby thinks. 'Magic is not real. If it was, the Districts would not be in the horrible situation we are. It is like they are not even aware of the yearly horror we go through with the bloody Hunger Games.'
"Toby! No slacking. If you are getting out of here, you can finish a decent day's work!" Frederick shouts from across the docks. Toby looks up and his mentor and smiles apologetically.
"Sorry, Fred!" Toby shouts back and pulls out the last fish from inside the net before going on to the next one.
'I will have to think about that later.' He thinks, continuing on with his work.
…
"My name is Professor McGonagall and I am Headmistress of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." A woman, now named McGonagall, shouts across in a small room of twelve Panem teenagers. "You have all been selected, one from each of your districts, to become a student at Hogwarts. This means that you will all receive immunity from the Hunger Games for the rest of your lives, whatever this Hunger Games is."
Many of the teenagers whoop in joy to hear those words, however Toby just smiles.
'Nice to know that I will not have to fight to the death, but everyone else will.' He thinks. However, he pushes that thought to the back of his mind and curiosity engages.
"Why are we going to this Hogwarts school?" a girl, clearly from an outcast district like 11 as she has leaves entwined in her hair, asks quietly.
"My dear child, you all have special attributes that make you suitable to come and join us at Hogwarts. You all have talent to learn alongside children of witches and wizards, or muggles like yourself. You will learn our ways and the magic that surrounds our lives." McGonagall says, a smile on her face. "Now, we need you all to huddle close and prepare yourselves. We need to disapperate out of here to get to Hogwarts."
The teenagers all huddle together, Toby ending up next to the District 11 girl, and McGonagall says two words before the world spirals out of control:
"Hold on."
...
"That was horrible." Toby says, sitting up from where he had fallen over. He looks around and sees stone walls surround him with moving pictures hanging periodically. Flames illuminate the corridors and he looks forwards to see two large, wooden doors.
"Before we take you into the Great Hall, there are a few things I wish to talk to you about." McGonagall says, capturing the attention of the disorientated teenagers. "When we go in, I will call out your district and you will sit on the stool provided where the Sorting Hat will tell you which house you are in. There are four houses; Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. You will be sorted into the one best suited to you. From there, the prefects will guide you to your dormitories where you have robes waiting for you. Wands will be provided after a small practical exam tomorrow morning. Your lessons will begin tomorrow afternoon. Good luck."
McGonagall then turns around and walks through the opening doors. Toby is in the front of the group with two others and they walk in to see four very long tables spanning across the Great Hall, all filled with students. Many give the group strange looks whilst others smile encouragingly. After a minute, they are all bunched before the small set of steps where on the top, a stool is standing with a floppy, ancient hat seated upon it.
"We shall start from the beginning, and work our way through. District One." McGonagall says and a very confident boy struts forward.
'Definitely District One. Probably disappointed about never being able to be in the Hunger Games to show off his murderous abilities.' Toby thinks.
The Sorting Hat is placed upon the boy's head and immediately shouts out, "Slytherin!" The latter house begins to clap and cheer and the boy struts over and sits on an empty section of the bench.
"District Two." A small, frail girl walks up and is sorted into Hufflepuff.
"District Three." An older boy, large glasses slipping off his nose, walks up and after a minute is sorted into Ravenclaw.
"District Four." Toby takes a deep breath and then walks up the steps before sitting on the wooden stool. He hears the Sorting Hat muttering away loudly but no one else seems to register its words.
Strong, full of courage, kind-hearted and full of promise. I know just where to put you…
"Gryffindor!" The hat is removed from Toby's head and he stands and walks over to the table where the students are clapping.
He sits next to a girl with fire-y red hair. He smiles at her and shakes the hand that she has outstretched.
"I'm Ginny." She says.
"Hi. I'm Toby."
"Nice to meet you, Toby."
The rest of the group is sorted into their houses and then, once McGonagall has said a few words, huge amounts of food appears on the tables. Toby is taken aback as he sees the array of food before him.
"What?" Ginny asks, seeing his reaction.
"I have never seen so much food in all of my life. Especially so much variety as all I see is fish." Toby says and watches as everyone else dig in and put plenty of food on their silver plates. He sees that there is chicken in front of him so he grabs 2 legs and puts them on his plate.
'Too much to choose from.' Toby thinks, agonising over the other choices.
"You could just eat chicken all evening if you wanted to. That was what my brother, or one of them, used to do. If there was chicken in front of him, he would eat it all." Ginny says. Toby laughs slightly and just looks around seeing the girl from District 6 and the boy from District 12 were sorted into Gryffindor and like him, are struggling on what to eat.
"But then I wouldn't want chicken again. If you have too much of something, like fish, you do not want to eat it again."
"Fair enough." Ginny says and then takes a quick look at Toby's body. "How fast are you?" she suddenly asks.
"Pretty fast in water, I suppose. Comes with the job I had. Why?" Toby asks and looks at Ginny whilst munching on his first chicken leg.
"I need someone fast on my Quidditch team to be the new seeker."
"What on earth is Quidditch?" Toby asks, completely confused.
"Before you came here, were you told anything about the Wizarding World?" Ginny asks, taken aback about Toby's lack of knowledge.
"No. Just that we would be going to a wizarding school and that we would have life immunity from the Hunger Games."
"What is the Hunger Games?" Ginny asks, turning to face Toby more as she grows more intrigued.
Toby takes in a deep breath and slowly releases it. He takes another bite of his chicken leg too to bide more time. Finally, he gives Ginny an answer.
"That is a story for another day. Perhaps you could tell me about this Quidditch thing."
….
"That's it. Now, do not lean too far to the right otherwise you will be completely off balance." Ginny instructs as Toby hovers above her. He nods and then does another circuit around the Quidditch pitch on his broom, taking Ginny's words into action. He leans a bit too much in the first corner but quickly learns and leans less on the next turn, going around the corner perfectly. He flies back to Ginny who has a smile on her face.
"How was that? I think I am doing alright after 3 months of this." Toby asks.
"Not too bad. Now, tomorrow we will practise properly with the snitch, despite the accident last time. I think we are done today though." Ginny says and mounts her broom, raising up to Toby's level with a swift kick to the ground.
"Are we doing the customary finish-training-and-then-see-who-is-fastest lap?" Toby asks, getting ready to fly.
"Maybe. Once you beat me, I know that you are ready to officially become Gryffindor's seeker. Until then, well, you need to keep trying." Ginny says with a wink. They both fly up higher and ready themselves.
"Three." Ginny says.
"Two." Toby says, gripping his broom tight.
"One … Go!"
They both fly off at speed but Ginny snatches the lead in a split second. Toby flies close behind her, keeping hot on her tail and searching for the one moment where he can overtake her. Around the third corner, Toby seeks his opportunity. He pushes down on the broom, encouraging it to move faster and as they round the corner he glides past her, sneaking in front. As the final corner and home straight arrive, Ginny attempts to regain the lead to no avail.
"And he has done it!" Toby shouts as they reach their finish mark. "I have finally beaten you!"
"Yes, you have." Ginny says, her cheeks flushes from the chill in the air.
They descend to the ground and dismount their brooms.
"Should we head back so we have enough time to change before dinner?" Toby asks Ginny who nods in reply.
"We need to put these back anyway." Ginny says, gesturing to the brooms in their hands.
The silently make their way to the Gryffindor changing rooms where the broom cupboard is. Ginny removes her wand and recites the small spell specifically designed to lock and unlock the cupboard, keeping the brooms within secure.
Toby places his broom inside and sits down on a nearby bench. He watches as Ginny stands and just stares inside the dark cupboard, her broom dangling in her hand.
"Ginny? Are you alright?" Toby asks, standing again and going over to Ginny. He places his hand on her shoulder and she turns around. "What's wrong?"
Ginny does not answer and instead, kisses Toby with force. Toby, surprised at Ginny's actions, for a moment stands still and does nothing but allow Ginny to kiss him. After that moment passes, he responds to Ginny's kiss, wrapping his arms around her slim waist as her free hand rests on his chest, the other still holding the broom.
After a few seconds, the broom clatters to the floor as Ginny wraps her arms around Toby's neck, pushing her body closer to his.
For a moment, Ginny breaks the kiss and pulls Toby into the broom cupboard behind her. But they quickly resume their actions…
….
"You know, you still haven't told me what the Hunger Games are. That is something you haven't mentioned at all." Ginny says as she sits beside Toby on the couch in the Gryffindor common room. It is late at night and many of the others have gone up to bed.
"There is a good reason." Toby says, rolling up the parchment he was looking at in preparation for his potions lesson the next morning.
"Why? It cannot be that bad, surely." Ginny says, turning her body towards Toby to show she is ready to listen.
"Alright." Toby takes a deep breath and decides where to start. "Many years ago, there was a huge uprising by the Districts towards the centre of Panem, the Capitol. The Capitol won and decided that as punishment for the uprising against them, every year the Districts would have to offer up one male and female tribute to compete in the Hunger Games. From the age of twelve until you are 18, you are eligible to be reaped for the Hunger Games. Once your name has been called, there is no going back." Toby says, fiddling with the parchment that has remained in his hands.
"Right. So, what is wrong with the Hunger Games? How is it a punishment?" Ginny asks.
"It is a fight to the death for the Capitol's entertainment and all Districts are forced to watch. In all Districts, especially the poorer ones, children can receive tesserae in exchange for their name being entered more than once. Two years ago, my name was entered 18 times." Toby says, hanging his head.
"Oh. Toby, I'm sorry. I had no idea."
"There was no way of you knowing. Each year, the Tributes are dolled up in the Capitol, living the life of luxury and then one morning they are thrown into an arena and expected to kill each other until one remains. That single person lives a wealthy life but almost certainly disturbed by what they have had to do."
"Is that why you were all glad to hear that you have immunity from the Hunger Games when you arrived here?" Ginny asks, edging closer to Toby. Her hands cover his to stop him rustling the parchment in his hands.
"Yes. I know that I will never go into the Hunger Games and live in fear of the reapings. Although, we were told that we have to go back and be present when the next reaping is held. But, we are allowed to bring someone with us from Hogwarts and I want it to be you – you support me better than anyone else." Toby says, smiling at Ginny.
"I'd be happy to come with you. I will get to see your District and actually see what you have described. District 4 sounds beautiful."
Toby smiles. "It really is. After the reaping, I will show you around and you can see where I used to work." He says.
Ginny leans over and quickly kisses Toby before standing up.
"Good night, I shall see you tomorrow."
Toby smiles sweetly at her and watches her go up the stairs to her dormitories.
"Good night."
….
"Come along!" McGonagall shouts as those from Panem slowly trudge along through the courtyard with their friends tagging along. Ginny holds Toby's hand tightly as they approach the Professor. "Now, we are disapperating District by District in order so you will have to bear with us. Now huddle in and let's get this over with so you can all return back here as soon as possible."
The group huddles in closely and they disapperate. After 10 minutes, Toby and Ginny arrive in District 4 with spinning heads.
"We will be back two hours after the reapings finish. Come here and wait for me and we will take you back to Hogwarts." McGonagall says and then with a nod of her head, the group disappear.
Toby looks around and notice that they are only 5 minutes away from the town square.
"We need to head to the Square for the reaping. We are required to sit on the stage." Toby says, holding Ginny's hand so tightly, the blood flow is restricted.
"Alright. Once this is over, you can take me on a tour." Ginny says, quickly kissing Toby's cheek. Toby nods and then smiles at Ginny.
"Hopefully it will be quick."
….
The customary video plays at the beginning of the Reaping. Ginny watches the entire video and is disturbed about how casually the horror of it all is mentioned. Toby does not look at it, knowing it word for word like many others. Once the video ends, the Capitol envoy, a woman in vibrant oranges and plastered in make-up giggles gleefully.
"Now, here is my favourite part!" she squeals and walks over to the large bowl on her right. "Let's do the ladies first, shall we?!"
She thrusts her hand into the bowl and picks out the first slip of paper on the top. She walks back to the microphone in the centre of the stage and opens the paper.
"Our female tribute from District Four for the 63rd Hunger Games is Ginny Weasley!"
Toby's heart sinks into the floor. He looks to Ginny who looks extremely pale, like she is about to be sick. Toby stands and looks at the Capitol woman.
"What is this? She is not from District Four! She is from Hogwarts! How is this possible?!" Toby shouts and holds on to Ginny's hand.
The Capitol woman looks confused. "I am unsure on what you mean, my dear boy."
"I mean that she is not from Panem and her name should not be in that bloody bowl!"
"Alright. We will see what has happened."
The Capitol woman goes to a guard who gives her a small envelope. She opens it, reads its contents and hands it back. She then turns to Toby.
"I am afraid that the Reaping result stands by order of our magnificent President." The Capitol woman says. She then goes back to the microphone and puts her large smile back on. "Now, for the boys!"
As her hand rummages through the names, Toby's mind spins.
'This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening!'
"Our male Tribute from District Four is Hanley Dringhert."
"I volunteer as Tribute!" Toby shouts out. A collective gasp erupts from the crowd as they watch Toby stand up and defiantly stare down the Capitol envoy.
"Well then, we have our two tributes! Ginny and Toby!" The Capitol woman shouts out, undeterred about Toby's behaviour. Without any more debate, the Capitol envoy ushers Toby and Ginny inside the Justice Building, their hopes of a content future gone.
….
On the train to the Capitol, Ginny and Toby sit on a small sofa together as they watch the Tributes being selected at the Reapings as it is broadcasted on the holographic screens. Ginny is twirling her wand in her hands whilst Toby is keeping his hidden in his jacket. They know that if the Capitol find them, they will never see them again.
"Toby, the Tributes are all those who went to Hogwarts at the start of the year and everyone who came today have been chosen. This is not a coincidence." Ginny says as she sees her friends from Hogwarts being reaped and all those who transferred have volunteered.
"I know. Do you think McGonagall knew about this?" Toby asks, holding Ginny close to him.
"Definitely not. She would never allow something like this. She spoke to us before saying that it was strange that Panem would offer a transfer without a price of some sort. That is why she said she wanted to get it over with – she did not think we could trust your President."
"Well, Professor McGonagall as usual was right. No one can trust President Coriolanus Snow." Toby says, contempt clear in his voice.
Ginny looks up at Toby. "What is going to happen?"
"I am going to protect you. I always will, no matter what."
"We will protect each other."
Toby nods and kisses Ginny's forehead. They then share a similar thought.
'How are we all going to kill each other? I do not think it is possible to harm my friends.'
End note: Please review! :)