Bloodlust 4: Far From Enemies
Welcome back to Bloodlust after a break that was very long so I must apologize. Board exams take up way too much time .
Without further ado, enjoy xx
"Charley."
The man looked up at me and concern flashed through his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" Yes, I was. It was half an hour to midnight. Charley and Evvie, Malfoy's beautician, were sitting together at the dining table and talking so I figured there was no better moment than now. This was the first time I was seeing Evvie from up close and I noticed that she looked much more... Plain... In comparison to the other female beauticians. Other than her snowy white hair that was straight and then fell in large curls over her shoulders, her face was devoid of the layers of make-up that was so visible on the others' faces.
I held out the two envelopes in my hand and Charley glanced at them and then at me questioningly.
"One is for Ron and Harry and the other is for Ginny and Luna. I need you to make sure it reaches them. It's probably the last thing I get a chance to say to them." I said. Charley nodded and took the envelopes and tucked them safely into his coat pocket.
"Draco asked me to do the same." Evvie said softly, patting the inner pocket of her white robe. "For Blaise Zabini and the others. I believe Pansy wanted to but her beautician was afraid of being caught."
"Afraid of being caught?" I asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down. Evvie nodded.
"If we're caught passing messages between the tributes and their family or friends, they can kill us."
My eyebrows shot up slightly although I should've expected it. "Aren't you afraid?"
"She shares my sentiments towards the games and the 'Elite', Hermione." Charley explained. "She wouldn't mind dying if it meant a better world for us to live in."
"Monique Evlynn Thatcher. My muggle parents named me that." Evvie said. "I'm just Evvie now. They killed my parents- I really have no identity to go by."
"They killed my parents too." I offered. She removed her first and last name because they killed her parents? They must have stolen her identity in a manner worse than she was willing to admit. Maybe. Maybe not. What do I know?
"I'll make sure the letters reach them, Hermione." Charley said. "The games begin tomorrow morning at nine. You should get some sleep."
"I'm going to die anyway. Enough time to sleep then." I said, my face completely blank. To be entirely honest, all I wanted to do was curl up in a corner and cry. I was afraid that if I lay down, I would end up doing just that. And I couldn't. I wouldn't.
"You sound so much like Draco." Evvie said, smiling sadly. "He doesn't think he'll last a day in the arena. He's petrified yet he won't show it. He passes it all off with sarcasm and witty comments and dry humor."
"I told him not to shoot himself with a gun." I said drily.
Evvie and Charley shared a smile they thought I didn't see. But I did. Clearly.
"That was sweet of you." Charley commented. He reached out and placed his hand on mine. I didn't withdraw mine. "You should sleep, Hermione. You need energy." I also need to not cry.
"I-"
"You are NOT going to die." Charley said, all traces of humor gone from his face. His lips were in a straight line and his expression was completely serious. "You will not die, you hear me, Hermione? You will survive this and you can win this.
"You're stronger than you think. You're a Gryffindor, remember? You're braver than you think. You've survived one war. You can survive another."
"I have no magic, no friends. I am on my own, Charley. And a huge difference is that this time, there won't be anyone by my side if I win. I would have the deaths of so many people on my hands- blamed on me- and that is not a victory for me, Charley. I'd rather die." I said, feeling a pricking at the back of my eyes.
Charley moved closer to me by leaning over the table. Tightening the grip he had on my hand, he said, "You have to forget about that. This is war. You have to do this for Ginny, Harry, Ron- you have to do this for everyone there. You cannot let someone who will cause more havoc in this place win. Someone who will change the way things are HAS to win and you know that it has to be one of you."
I squeezed my eyes shut and felt the tears slip out beneath my eyelids. I couldn't do this! I couldn't possibly win!
Arms wrapped around my upper body from behind and because of the fact that the grip on my hand hadn't ceased, I knew it was Evvie holding me. And I didn't push her away.
This was probably one of the last hugs Id receive before the games. This was probably the last time I'd see Evvie. Just as there's a first time for a lot of things, there's a last time for more.
Charley finished braiding my hair tightly and knotting it so it wasn't hanging down my back. The red streaks remained. The straightness remained. The beauty remained. The question was how long it would remain for.
He spun me around and looked at my outfit. It consisted of a black cotton collarless t-shirt and cargo black full pants. There was a tight belt around the waist that didn't really hold anything together but I assume it was more for style- or identification. For example, my belt was black but trimmed with red. I had red as did Seamus. Malfoy and Parkinson had green on their's. The Hufflepuffs had yellow, the ravenclaws had dark blue. The others schools dont have houses so they had one colour for all their tributes- light blue for Beauxbatons, White for Jawstens, Purple for Delists and orange for Durmstrangs.
"You look great." He said. I was going to ask him if it would help me survive the games as I usually did but I should have known better because the next moment, he shook his head and reminded me- "Sponsors. You need to be impressive for the Sponsors. You need to remember that."
We were currently in a small room that was very similar to how the inside of a metal cube would look. A clear, straight tube just big enough for me to stand inside was to our left and it went through the ceiling to what would be the arena. We had been transported to another area after being blindfolded and portkeyed.
Charley took my hands in his and held them tightly. This was it.
"It's eight fifty seven." He said softly. I nodded, my heart beating faster. "In three minutes, you will officially be a part of the games. You will be in the arena. I know that you don't think you can win. But I honestly think you can. You're intelligent, you're brave and you can fight. Your greatest advantage is that you come from a Muggle background. You know about the weapons while the Purebloods probably do not. You can win this. You really really can." I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
"Hermione, out there in the arena- you already know it but I'm reminding you- it's going to be ruthless. You're going to watch people get slaughtered. You're going to have to kill." He said the last sentence clearly and slowly. I flinched visibly even though I knew it was true. "You can't allow your emotions to take over at any point. You have to keep moving on no matter what you see or do. You have to lock away all that sensitivity and all your emotions- suppress your feelings and think with your head, not your heart. This is war. And you know better than I do what that means."
He placed his hand on my cheek and I stared into his dark brown sharp eyes. "You can do this. I believe in you. We all believe in you. Come back to us."
A shrill voice rang through the room- "Two minutes remaining."
I suddenly remembered something Zabini had told me. I had to know. "Charley," I whispered, hoping there were no listening devices around. "Somebody told me that since this was the first Bloodlust they've held, they may have made mistakes. Loopholes of some kind. Do you think so?"
"It's hard to tell but I wouldn't rule it out." He said. "It won't hurt to keep a look out."
"Any idea on what I should be looking out for?" I asked. I needed something. Anything.
He thought for a moment before answering, "There has to be some kind of a limit to the arena- it's outer circle, that is. Perhaps if you keep moving outwards- it's possible that you might reach the outer limits. I don't know, though. I'm just taking a wild guess."
"It's all I have and it will have to do. I need to try. Nobody here deserves to die." I shook my head firmly. Contrary to popular belief, not even Malfoy. Nobody deserved this except the people who thought of it.
"One minute remaining." The voice rang through the room again.
I stared at Charley, feeling the urge to burst into tears. He obviously realized and he grabbed my shoulders.
"No! You will not cry, Hermione! You're stronger than that!" He grabbed me into a hug and my arms went around his waist and I held on tightly. It was the final embrace. My final embrace. "Don't let them win. They see you cry, they see you weak- they'll consider it a victory. You cannot let them win. You just can't. Their purpose is to break you before they kill you. Don't let them even touch you." I nodded against his chest, pushing the tears further away with every word he said. "Come back to us."
He pulled away and his hands on my shoulders, he kissed my forehead. "Good luck."
"Thank you, Charley. For everything." I said, swallowing hard. I wondered about the other tributes. How, except for Malfoy, I hadn't seen them since yesterday's ceremony. I wondered about Seamus... If I would ever see him again. And if I did, what the situation would be.
"Thank me when you come back." He said firmly. I nodded and he lead me to the transparent tube and unlocking the door there, he made me stand inside. "Be strong," He said before stepping away from the tube.
I stared at him, taking him in- every feature, every color- before the tube started spinning slowly. I spun around to look at Charley but the walls were beginning to turn opaque and the last thing I saw was a flash of grey before the walls turned black. The platform continued to spin slowly and I felt it rise.
Higher...
Higher...
Higher...
Light.
I blinked a couple of times before my eyes adjusted to the bright light of the morning. Morning, right? What day was it again?
I looked around me and the first thing I saw was Seamus. Perhaps THIS would be the last time we met. He was standing on a circular platform about ten meters away from mine. His eyes were locked with mine and he nodded. I nodded back before taking in the rest of my surroundings. Tall, thick trees surrounded us on all sides and rocks and grass covered the ground in layers. A forest.
The twenty four tributes stood on their platforms in a large circle, each ten meters away from the other. At the center of the circle, what I recognized to be backpacks and weapons were scattered all around. The closest to me was a small black backpack and a bow and a set of arrows. Could I reach it in time?
"Welcome to the arena, tributes. Stay on your platforms until the end of the countdown or you will face your end before the games even begin. 10-"
I took a deep breath and quickly looked around for familiar faces- Seamus. Parkinson-
"9-"
Hannah- Oh, Hannah...
"8-"
Malfoy. Calyx. Viktor.
"7-"
The twins. What they must be going through...
"6-"
The hufflepuff tributes.
"5-"
The ravenclaws.
"4-"
Then there was everybody else. Faces.
"3-"
I prepared myself, my eyes focused only on the requirements lying a short distance away from me.
"2-"
I could do this.
"1-"
Take it day by day.
"Begin!" The sound of a canon blasted through the air and before I had even registered it, I was running.
I was close to the bag and archery set now. So close...
A canon sounded.
Everything else around me- the sight of people tackling each other, the screams, everything- turned hazy and faded away as I sped up. My fingers closed around a strap of the bag. I swung it through my arm. I grabbed the bow and that was looped around my torso in a second. Finally, I grabbed the quiver and spun around to run into the forests behind me.
Another canon.
Adrenalin and a hint of fear pumping through my veins, I ran. Once again, I was at war. I was-
I felt the breath get knocked out of me as I was tackled to the floor. A canon boomed just as my head hit the floor and I was pinned down. I gathered my bearings in a second and kneed my attacker in the back. Dark blonde hair got closer to me as she doubled over and I took that moment to free my arms and flip her over, pinning her down. I raised my fist and punched her across the face. Twice. Blood leaked out of her nose. A third time. I hear her jaw crack. But she was still alive.
Another canon.
I jumped to my feet, grabbed the quiver which had fallen, took one last look at the knocked out girl- she was from Beauxbatons- and sprinted away in the direction I had previously intended on heading to.
As soon as I entered the actual body of the forest, everything fell perfectly silent. And then the sound of a canon booming rattled my bones and I slowed down to catch my breath, wondering what the canons were signals for. Intervals of time passed?
First things first, I had to get deeper into the forest. I would then have to get to higher grounds. I looked up at the tall, sturdy trees. Wouldn't be too difficult.
I sat with each leg swung over one side of the thick branch. The fear had subsided and it had been replaced with all the feelings that used to run through me during the hunt for horucruxes. Anxiety, paranoia and fatigue. I was probably some thirty five minutes through the game and it had already drained me out. I had to admit, this was worse than anything I had faced before.
Previously, before entering the arena, I had underestimated how it would be without my friends and magic. Now, being in the arena, I knew that it was going to be much worse than I had suspected.
Much much worse.
The sound of a canon shook the entire forest. This was the fifth boom I had heard and I had come to one conclusion- they marked deaths. There were five people dead. Nineteen of us left.
I was alive. And for that moment right then, it was enough.
"Tributes." I jerked awake and my fingers instinctively tightened around the loaded bow in my hands.
I blinked a few times, adjusting to the bright light of the morning. Wait. Morning? I had survived a day? I had actually managed to live through a day?
Oh, Merlin...
The sound of three canons had woken me up once every time through the night and I had stayed awake for a few minutes, ready to fight or take flight according to any approaching dangers. But nobody and nothing came for me. Thankfully.
So I sat where I was, about twenty meters above ground, tied to the tree. The bag I had picked contained a long length of rope, an empty water bottle and a black plastic sheet. Not much help but it had to do. It was more than I had expected at any rate.
There were sixteen of us remaining. Sixteen... Eight dead. Gone. Slaughtered. Killed...
Just like that. In the matter of twenty- maybe less- hours. They were dead.
"Congratulations on surviving twenty hours in the arena. Perhaps you have figured it out- every canon boom indicates the death of a tribute and if you have been keeping count, there are sixteen of you remaining. We will not be disclosing who the sixteen of you are. Every morning, we will inform you of how many of you have survived the day. Good luck."
I couldnt remain in the same place for so long at a stretch. Well, I could. But I shouldn't. Somebody or the other would stumble upon this area soon enough and I wasn't wiling to be present for that situation. Better to be safe than sorry, right?
I maneuvered my way around in my seated position and untied the rope around my waist. Keeping my balance, I put the rope back into the bag, strapped the bag on tightly on to my back along with the quiver and looped the bow over my head and across my upper body and stretched my limbs carefully before beginning to climb back down.
Thank god for all the camps my parents had sent me for when I was a kid, huh? The ten year old version of me had never thought the skills would ever come in handy. Oh, how wrong I was... How wrong I was.
As soon as my feet hit the ground, I took the bow off, loaded it with an arrow and began moving through the forest. Outwards, I reminded myself. I may as well start my search.
A loud grunt made me freeze where I was. It came from my right. It wasn't far off. Another grunt. It sounded... It sounded like somebody was being punched.
Think with your head, Hermione, I told myself. Not your heart. This wasn't a place to think with my heart.
My head told me to run the other way and fast. My heart told me to go see if there was anything I could do. What if it was Seamus? What if it was Calyx? I could save them... I couldn't just leave them there.
But it could also be someone ruthless from Durmstrangs. It could be a group of people who wouldnt hesitate to end me.
Another loud grunt made my decision for me. Gripping my bow and arrow tightly, I made my way towards my right. I finally came across two figures. I stepped behind a tree close to them and looked out, careful not to make a single sound.
The sight that met my eyes almost made me stumble backwards.
I watched as a boy from Durmstrangs- one who had named himself Hulk- slammed Malfoy against the tree behind him, one hand grasping his collar and the other piercing the edge of his dagger into the blonde's throat. Malfoy looked positively petrified. His own dagger lay on the forest floor a little distance away from me. There was no way he would make it out alive.
Unless... No. Why should I save him? He was bound to die. It was either Hulk being a murderer- which I was sure he already was- or me.
But the very prospect of watching someone I knew being killed was horrifying. Was absolutely wrong. And I knew for a fact that I'd forever- until somebody had a dagger lodged in my stomach- have the burden of the guilt of his death on my shoulders. I knew I would end up only blaming myself.
The dagger slit the side of his throat, drawing blood. It was obvious Hulk was speaking to him or else Malfoy would have been dead long before. He would be soon unless I acted. And acted fast.
Swallowing hard, I stepped out from behind the tree to get a better angle. I wouldve rather stayed behind it but I wasn't skilled enough. And I had one shot at this.
Or he'd be dead. And so would I.
I raised the bow and I held my breath to stop myself from shaking. Malfoy's eyes suddenly snapped towards me. I pulled the arrow back. His eyes widened. The knife sliced his throat further. His eyes lost focus.
I relseased the arrow.
Three bodies collapsed to their knees just then.
Hulk fell to his, an arrow lodged into the back of his neck. He then fell forward, his head cracking against a protruding rock. Malfoy scurried a few steps away, clutching his bloody throat. His eyes first stared at Hulk's fallen figure before fixating on me. I had fallen to my knees, breathing deeply, staring at the life I had just taken. And then I looked up at the life I had just saved.
I had saved Draco Malfoy's life. I had taken a life to save Draco Malfoy's.
I stared at the boy and he stared back. I had been right and he had realized it just then- this wasn't a place for petty rivalries. Here, we werent enemies. Far from it.
A canon booming jolted me back to reality and I scrambled to my feet. I moved forward and hands trembling, I took the arrow out of its position in Hulk's neck and without looking at the tip which I knew would be bloody, I put it into the quiver and took out a fresh arrow to load my bow with. With one last look at Malfoy, I turned and sprinted away.
There. So first things first- I know that a lot of this was an awful lot like the Hunger Games itself- the forest, the platforms, the bow & arrow, all those- and the thing is I've got a lot of mixed reviews on this. Half of the readers love how I've replaced the HG characters with HP ones and the other half think it should be more original. I'm still sticking to a very close Hunger Games based story like you saw in this chapter BUT as the story goes on, I will be moving further away from it- introducing my own little character perks and all. It will get more original than this. For example, the last bit here ^
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that! It took me a long time to write because I really haven't had time. My exams are still currently going on and it's studying, studying, studying for me :/ But I got this done for you guys so thank you for being patient with me!
Love always,
FeltonLewis xx
