Prompt: Hunger Games

Warnings: Character Death

Allies

The thirst made Hermione swallow more than usual. Sweat dripped down the side of her face as her breaths came in short, deep pants. She wouldn't allow herself to stop. Not for anything.

I have to live.

Fear was her best friend now. She feared all pain – the idea of leaving her mother and father behind in the wake of her death. She feared of letting down her sponsors and Severus, her mentor who through thick and thin supported her no matter what, who made her who she is now – strong. She feared of letting down her two best friends back at home, Harry and Ron.

But it now came to a point where she could no longer move. She tumbled to the dry earth next to a fresh water river as she reached out and cupped the water into her hand, bringing it to her lips with greed.

When her thirst had been quenched for the time being, she laid there, her wand safely in its holster at her side. Her screaming muscles were beginning to relax.

Soon, her breath regulated and it caught up with her, the lowering sun causing the darkness in the forest to relax her. She could be seen less easily now.

It was absolute torture to have her wand capped to only performing defense and murdering spells.

The 3 unforgivable curses, Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Bombarda, Finite Incantartem, and one custom spell created by each person's Mentor. Severus had come up with Sectumsempra, which was a spell Hermione kept at the top of her head, feeling safer with such a spell known.

After an hour or so of just laying there, letting her body rest, she sat up, getting to her feet shakily and tiredly. She wanted to keep moving now, wanting to find a safe spot.

It was hard with no allies.

Who would watch her back while she slept?

Could she even sleep knowing she was alone in this game?

She looked around the dimly lit forest for a place to hide. At least hiding would help her feel a bit more relaxed to sleep.

Suddenly, a tree branch on the earth snapped behind Hermione, and her body went frigid. She quickly turned around to see just up ahead, Tom Riddle from District 1.

Her eyes widened.

She hadn't seen him since the first hour of the Game. Never had he shown any signs that he wanted to attack her, but whenever they were in the same room or in close proximity, he always seemed to be watching her, and that had left Hermione confused as to if he wanted to kill her or not.

She quickly drew her wand, pointing it at him shakily.

He had his wand raised at the same time.

The two said nothing, just stared at each other.

This is it. I'm surely to die, thought one part of Hermione.

Remember what Severus taught you, the other part of her thought.

She was aware of him fully, ready to dodge a spell at any given moment, ready to throw Severus's spell at him. But she wouldn't dare make the first move, afraid of assuming his actions to be the opposite.

"Avada Kadavra!" Tom shot too fast for Hermione to block.

NO!

Hermione winced, tears forming in her eyes in fear as she waited for the curse to hit her.

But it never did.

After a moment, her eyes opened. She looked down at herself, still in one piece.

As if she felt she had to, she turned to look behind her.

There on the ground a few feet away, Bellatrix, from Tom's district, dead on the ground.

The cannon sounded, making Hermione jump at how frigid she still was.

Tom began walking closer to Hermione and her eyes fell to him again.

He look exhausted, tired, sweaty, worn.

Above, a Hovercraft came to take Bellatrix's dead body away and Hermione moved closer to Tom as she put her wand back in its holster, wrapping her arms around herself.

"You...didn't kill me..." she murmured when he was close enough to hear. She didn't want to speak too loudly in fear of attracting any attention from the perimeter around them, should there be any other tributes around.

Hermione felt Tom's eyes rake over her face and her breathing came in short, deep pants again.

Tom said nothing as he looked around, pointing to the spot Hermione had eyed before he showed up.

"We'll camp there tonight. Tomorrow, we'll move to the other side of the arena. It's best we keep moving," he ordered.

Furrowed eyebrows and a puzzled face, Hermione watched Tom kneel on the ground, pulling out a container and dipping it into the river, letting the water fill it.

I should do the same, Hermione thought as she shrugged out of her backpack and took her container out, kneeling down beside Tom and watching him carefully.

"I need someone to watch my back and you need someone to watch yours," Tom said without looking at her. "There's no easier way to survive this Game without an ally." This time he did look at her. The two stared at each other for a few moments.

Memories of the interview with Caesar Flickerman came to mind.

"So tell us about you. Any special girl waiting for you back at home? I mean, you are quite the looker," said Caesar.

Tom, with a straight face, shook his head. "I don't have anything to return home to," was his reply.

Pity had flooded Hermione at that moment as she watched the screen zoom in to a numb-looking Tom.

"No one? How sad," Caesar looked to the crowd with a fake sad face.

Tom had no one to fight for. So why did he decide to become allies with Hermione? She was from District 12, one of the poorest Districts. She was below him.

Severus had warned Hermione about Tom. He had warned her about how no one has figured him out and how no matter what, he wasn't to be trusted.

Hermione didn't have a choice right now.

The two still looked at each other.

"Why me?" Hermione questioned.

Tom said nothing as he capped his container and moved towards their new camp spot, their hiding place.

Soon, night time had fallen, and the Panem music was heard all around the arena. Faces of the fallen tributes from just today splayed across the arena ceiling. Even Hermione's friend Neville's face appeared and she frowned. He was her friend, he was from home.

Last came Bellatrix's face and Hermione looked to Tom, who had his back to the tree just beside the fort of leaves the two had made above a dip in the earth.

Tom, as if he had felt Hermione's eyes, looked to her with a tired, calm face.

"Thank you for saving my life," she murmured to him. She was grateful for him. She felt indebted to him.

Still, with a tired and calm face, Tom looked at Hermione carefully. "I expect you to do the same, should you ever have to," he murmured to her in response.

Hermione nodded her head in understanding. She expected that too.

"Get some sleep. I'll take first watch. I'll wake you up in a few hours."

Hermione nodded her head again and on the pile of soft leaves the two had created, she laid down, her head resting on her backpack with her wand held tight in her hand. She fell asleep in minutes to the sound of Tom's heavy breathing, the nighttime crickets and animals, and the nearby river's water dancing over the rocks away from them.

She felt safe.