A/N: Another chapter! I was worried that this one would not be posted on time but here it is a day early! Thank you for all of the reviews on the previous chapter - it is very much appreciated!
If I stick to my main plan, as there are a few, it will not be much longer until the Games themselves! So, stay tuned and it shouldn't be long!
Enjoy the chapter!
Arwen4eva xxx
"The Games will destroy us." a final year Hufflepuff says a few days later. The Tributes are gathering together to begin their fifth day of gruelling training. For the Panem originating Tributes, it is easier to grasp the ideas of the weapons available to them and their potential foreboding deaths. For those originating from Hogwarts, their reliance on magic and lack of weapons knowledge is their current downfall.
"They won't." Ginny assures, placing her hand on his shoulder. "We will not let them."
"They will, Ginny." the Hufflepuff says. "We cannot use our magic; something we have known all our lives. Those from this place know what they are doing and it is a completely unfair advantage."
Ginny moves closer and hugs him, seeming consoling him to anyone who looks at them. She does not wish to risk the Capitol hearing what she has to say.
"Daniel, where have you hidden your wand?" Ginny whispers. Daniel hugs Ginny back and puts his mouth near her ear so she is able to hear him clearly.
"Underneath the mattress of my bed in my room. I believe that Marcol has done the same. She is from District Six which is transport and she has said she has no love for the Hunger Games; never has and never will. She doesn't want to be a part of it even more since she has been at Hogwarts; or so she says. Let's hope that her word is true."
"Make sure they stay hidden, Daniel. Find a way of bringing them into the arena when the time comes."
"Until then?"
"Practise. Your life depends on it. If we cannot get our wands in the arena, you need to be prepared to fight. But, remember everything we were taught at Hogwarts, it will come in handy if we can use our magic." Ginny says and withdraws from Daniel. They both smile at each other and Ginny turns to her left, moving away from Daniel, seeing Toby standing next to her. He smiles and quickly takes hold of her hand in his, squeezing it.
"Last training day before the evaluations." Toby says, dropping Ginny's hand. "How are you feeling?"
Ginny shrugs and looks out at the rest of the room, glancing at the different stations.
"I'm alright, I guess. We just need to go over to survival skills for a little while to finish off." she says, pointing momentarily at the station.
"I'm good with that." Toby says and then looks at the rest of the Tributes who are now all present and lined up. "Everyone seems strangely calm."
"I spread a message amongst the Hogwarts lot." Ginny says, quietly. "I told them to show no fear and appear calm. That way, the Capitol cannot say or do anything."
Before Toby can reply, Yvette steps forward and calls for silence. The mumble from the Tributes quickly ceases.
"Tomorrow, you will all be assessed and given a score between zero and twelve. This will help know how good your chances of survival are to potential sponsors."
At these words, Toby quickly looks at Ginny as he realises he did not mention that detail. Ginny looks at Toby with surprise across her features before looking back at Yvette.
"Without sponsors, your chances of survival are second to none. Sponsors can provide you with anything you need in the arena; food, water or survival tools. Impress them and your chances automatically almost triple." Yvette says.
Toby reaches for Ginny's hand but seeing this in the corner of her eye, she pulls it out of the way before he can make contact.
"Train well and impress." Yvette says, gesturing to the rest of the room; signalling for the Tributes to go. The group splits up and Toby begins to head over to the survival skills station. He turns and sees that Ginny is not going with him, but heading to the blades station instead without saying a word to Toby as she goes.
'I hope she isn't frustrated with me.' Toby thinks as he continues to his destination. When he gets there, he watches as Ginny picks up a large handful of throwing knives. She goes over and takes position, giving a look to the trainer to start up the targets. He does and they begin to swiftly move as if they are running around.
Ginny then begins to frantically throw the blades at the passing targets, without focus as she allows her anger to take over. Anger not at Toby, but at the Capitol; treating Tributes as if their lives have no value other than what sponsors are willing to pay.
Within a mere minute, Ginny relaxes and the targets stop moving. She releases her breath and looks at the trainer; almost seeking his approval. She sees that he has astonishment written across his features which causes Ginny to turn her head back to the targets. Her mouth drops open slightly.
All blades have stuck perfectly in the centre of each target.
"How did you do that?" the trainer asks, unmoving.
Ginny shakes her head slightly and takes a few steps back, shocked by her actions.
'What just happened?' she asks herself.
"I don't know." she says quietly and looks around. The Gamemakers in their booth are looking at her, as are the other Tributes.
Ginny goes back to looking at the targets and the result of her anger. She draws in another breath and then walks away from that station, over to Toby. She kneels down beside him, recognising the snare Toby had begun and hears the sound of the trainers coaxing the other Tributes back to continue their training. Once she hears the commotion of blades hitting each other and thumps on targets behind her, Ginny continues on the snare to complete it.
Toby places his hand on Ginny's back and inwardly releases a breath in relief that she does not flinch or move away.
"Are you alright?" he asks softly.
"Can we talk about it later?" she replies, not looking up.
"Of course." Toby says and looks down at the snare as Ginny finishes it. "Well, that is completely different."
"What do you mean?" Ginny asks, sitting back.
"I was trying to make the other one." Toby says, guiltily, and then looks at Ginny. "Could you teach me?"
Ginny laughs softly and then smiles.
"The boy who can make deadly hooks and intricate nets needs help to make a simple snare?" she asks and Toby shrugs. "Of course I can."
...
"District Four male." a voice booms and Toby stands from his seat beside Ginny.
"Good luck." Ginny says, squeezing his hand for a moment before releasing it, a smile on her face.
"You too. I will see you when you're done." Toby says. He smiles and then turns away from Ginny, heading into the training room.
As he walks in, he notices the Gamemakers watching his every step. As he walks into the centre of the room, he stops and looks up at them expectantly.
"You have fifteen minutes to demonstrate your skills and we will judge you accordingly. You may begin."
Toby looks around and settles his focus on a particular station. He allows his feet to guide him and ends up at the spears station. He takes one in hand and gets a feel of its weight before suddenly throwing it with force at the target, where it sticks in the centre. He goes over and picks up two more spears and jogs away slightly. When he reaches about ten paces away from the line, he throws one and it sticks beside the original spear. He then makes the decision to go back five more paces. When he throws, he is pleasantly surprised to see the spear stick beside the others.
'That is what happens when you come from District Four.' he thinks, slightly proudly.
Instead of going over and grabbing more spears, Toby heads over to the netting station. He quickly creates an intricate net and spends the rest of his time rigging it up. Just before the Gamemakers stop him, Toby releases his net on an unsuspecting trainer and is pleased when the trainer is unable to free himself as he is tangled.
"Thank you for your display of skills. You may go." a voice says, dismissing Toby from the room.
...
Ginny walks into the training room and sees the Gamemakers staring at her. She goes to the centre of the room and stops, facing the Gamemakers and crosses her arms over her chest.
"You have fifteen minutes to demonstrate your skills and we will judge you accordingly. You may begin."
Ginny nods, showing her understanding and looks around. She quickly decides where she wants to go.
'Might as well make a good impression.'
Ginny walks over to the blades station and picks up a handful of throwing knives. She channels her anger and readies her blades. The trainer begins by firing up the targets; making them move very fast after her display the day before. The blades are fired one after the other and as they leave her hands, many cuts are made. However, Ginny completely ignores the stinging pain.
Red clouds over Ginny's vision as she allows her inner anger to control her actions. Seeing this, the trainer to her right takes a step back and ensures he does not get involved.
The targets soon stop and Ginny partially relaxes, dropping her arms. She recognises the stinging in her hands now and glances down, seeing the red scratches oozing blood at varying levels of speed. She looks up at the Gamemakers who are completely silent. She turns back around and looks at the targets. Like before, all of the blades have stuck dead centre in each of the targets.
"Where are the spears?" Ginny turns and asks the trainer. He runs over to the spears station and brings back four spears for her.
"Here." he says, passing them to Ginny.
"Thanks." Ginny says, curtly. She weighs the weight of the spears in her hands, unintentionally spreading blood on the wooden shafts. She puts one in her right hand and raises her arm, levelling the spear.
After a breath, she strongly throws the spear and is surprised when it sticks beside one of her blades. She drops the other spears and turns.
"At least I know I can throw a spear." she mumbles to herself. "Might as well go over my snares."
She walks over to the survival skills station and immediately begins work on a snare. The silence surrounding her suddenly disappears as a small murmur rises from the Gamemakers.
'Poor Gamemakers. Must be rather boring for them now.'
Ginny looks over to the clock in the corner of the room and notices that she only has a few minutes left. She finishes off her snare and gets back up, going to the blades station once more. She picks up five more blades and places them all in her right hand.
'I might as well go out with a bang; fully make that good impression.'
Ginny takes a breath and then throws all the blades at the same time. She hears a glass shatter on the ground behind her and smiles in satisfaction; all blades have stuck in the centre of the furthest target. The young wizard turns around and looks at the shocked faces of the Gamemakers.
"Thank you for your display of skills." a voice says, shaking. "You may go now."
...
"How do you think you did?" Toby asks as he and Ginny sit together for lunch. The other Districts are slowly piling in after their assessments.
"Someone dropped a glass when I threw five knives at the same time before I left."
"Seriously?" Toby asks, snapping his head to Ginny in shock.
"Yeah." Ginny says with a slight shrug. "We were told to impress. If we impress, we get sponsors and we survive."
"Fair enough." Toby says. He takes Ginny's hand in his own and kisses her hand, over one of many cuts inflicted by one of the numerous blades. "You should have been more careful."
"I have dealt with worse before, Toby. I have fallen off my broom many times from various heights."
"Me too." Toby says, remembering the first disastrous times he flew on his broom.
Silence follows as both recall precious memories of Hogwarts and the Wizarding World. However, this silence is short lived as a loud belch comes from the District One Tribute, Marcus. Ginny shakes her head in disapproval and then looks back at Toby.
"When is it we find out our scores again?" Ginny asks.
Toby has an intake of breath and sighs before replying.
"Later on this evening."
...
"It is now the time to announce the scores for this year's Tributes!" the cheerful presenter, Caesar Flickerman, roars and receives a large applause from a Capitol filled audience. "This year we are going to go largest score to lowest score; just to add some fun to this!" Suddenly, he starts laughing.
Ginny, from her place beside him on the large couch, looks at Toby with a look of surprise. Toby simply shrugs and looks at the vibrant gold man on the holographic screen in the living space of their apartment.
"He is always like this. Every year it is a different colour for his hair and ridiculous eyebrows; this year it seems to be gold. The laughter is something we have partially gotten used to over the years." Toby says and looks back at Ginny.
"I will not ever get used to that man." Ginny says, dryly. They both turn to face back at the large screen in front of them.
"Now, for those who do not remember," Flickerman continues. "the Tributes are scored between zero and twelve. It is very rare that a Tribute will achieve high scores. Tributes from Districts One and Two predominantly receive around ten. So, let's see what this year has in store."
Both Ginny and Toby glance at each other for a moment, taking in sharp breaths, then face the screen again.
"On top is the female Tribute from District Four, Ginny Weasley with a shocking score of twelve! Beside her is the male Tribute from District Four, Toby Osnet also with a score of twelve. Ladies and gentleman, this has never happened before!" Flickerman says, gleefully clapping his hands.
Ginny and Toby look at each other in shock. Ginny takes Toby's hand in her own and holds it tight. Neither pay any more attention to the screen in front of them or the words that Flickerman is forming. Toby lifts up Ginny's hands and kisses the top of them before drawing her in for a hug.
Ginny hugs him tightly, resting her chin on his shoulder. They embrace in silence until a few minutes later once the screen has turned off and there is no other sound than their breathing.
"Has this just made us targets?" Ginny asks, not moving.
"Yes, it certainly has."
End note: Please review! :)