A/N: This seems like it took forever to write. xD
Warning: I changed some things between Harry and Ginny's POVs, so I don't know if everything is the same in both versions. xD
I swear, it's different from the book next chapter.
Harry
Unfortunately, Ginny and I had woken up at about dawn, so we had plenty of time to stress. I had taken to pacing the room for about an hour, before she said she was going to go shower before her stylist came to get her.
I paced some more. I couldn't remember ever being more agitated and anxious. I kept moving my wand from the drawer, to on the pillow, to in my pocket, back on the pillow, trying to figure out how to sneak it into the arena with me.
Ginny came back in and I jumped.
"God, Harry, get a grip, it's not like he's going to attack you here when we're in a building full of muggles!"
"Yeah," I said. She was probably right, but I couldn't help being nervous.
"Come on, we've probably only got a few min—"
Right then her stylist chose to come and get her. Brilliant timing.
She smiled one last time. "It's going to be alright, Harry. Don't worry." And she followed her stylist out of the room.
Pacing. Pacing. More pacing. Why couldn't I stop pacing for God's sake? Oh, yeah I was freaking out that's why.
It seemed like forever until my stylist came and got me. Tigris tried to talk to me, but I didn't care. How was I possibly going to hide my wand when I had to change into those clothes for the arena. I supposed I could Stun her…no, then I'd be in more trouble with the Ministry. The Ministry is under Voldemort's control, I reminded myself. I can't get in trouble any more. I decided I'd figure it out once I saw the clothes.
…And I was screwed. The blue jumpsuit and the purple belt were not helpful in hiding a wand. I ended up just shoving it in my boot, though that wouldn't be easy to get out if I needed it in a hurry. I'd figure it out.
"Not very warm," Tigris said, pursing her lips and looking at the fabric. "It could possibly be good for water if it was treated."
Water? Oh God. I couldn't swim or anything, and I didn't think Ginny could either. We were so screwed.
As I stepped onto the plate, I wondered if Ginny knew that the arena was going to have water. The tube sealed itself around the metal plate. As it rose, I finally put two and two together and realized, if I had to swim my wand would get wet. And I had no idea what would happen if my wand got wet. The odds were not in my favor.
Then I remembered that I'd told Ginny to keep her wand with her too. I was going to potentially mess up both of our wands. God, I was so stupid!
I looked around trying to find Ginny. I saw her flaming red hair three tributes to my right. She looked scared; and I knew why.
All around us there was water. In the middle was the Cornucopia. Small strips of beach were going out from the center, but they were so far away!
"Ladies and Gentlemen let the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games begin!"
Sixty seconds to figure out what the hell to do. I could see Ginny staring at a bow in the center. The gong went off.
I jumped right into the water. I could doggy-paddle, but it was very slow. And surprisingly, I didn't drown. Something was keeping me at the top of the water, and at first I thought it was something in the water, then I realized it was the belt. I paddled over there as fast as I could. Katniss and Finnick were there, looking over the items.
I hauled myself onto the sand, and before I could even breathe, Katniss had turned and aimed an arrow at me. When she saw it was me, she lowered her bow, but she looked reluctant, like she still wanted to kill me.
"Well?" she snapped. "Come on then!"
I pulled myself up and ran to the Cornucopia. There were only weapons there. I grabbed a knife and stuck it in my belt, then grabbed a sword. By then, Ginny had reached the Cornucopia, too. I grabbed the second bow and arrows and tossed them to her. She smiled and turned toward the tributes, probably to check if anyone else was off their plates. Most of them were still there. I turned back to Katniss and Finnick.
Finnick was swimming back, pulling someone along. Peeta. Apparently, he couldn't swim either.
"So, I guess you two are in too?" he asked.
"Guess so," I shrugged.
"Let's get out of here before they all show up," Katniss said.
Some of the other tributes were now paddling toward us. We all jumped in the water, and swam—those of us who couldn't swim just kind of paddled—to the shore. We walked into the jungle trying to find a place to stop. Finnick requested a break after a while, but I think it was more for his district partner Mags, more than him. After a few minutes, we set off again.
Peeta slashed away some vines with his knife. Katniss had started saying something, but Peeta was thrown backwards before she could even really say it. She kneeled down next to him, calling his name. He wasn't breathing, I could tell.
Ginny was moving her mouth, and I knew she was trying to figure out if there was a spell or something she could use to save him. I shook my head. It wouldn't be worth it to do that.
Finnick had bent over him. He looked like he was kissing him, but that was stupid; he wouldn't do that.
After a minute or so of that, Peeta coughed a little bit. Katniss was hugging him. He tried to get up, but Katniss held him down.
"We're staying here for a while, Peeta," she said.
It was a good idea. Peeta didn't look like he could even sit upright by himself. Katniss and Ginny went off to find something to eat. Mags and Finnick started weaving baskets and things. And what did I do? I stood there looking stupid. I had no idea what to do, if I could even do anything.
When Katniss and Ginny got back, Mags and Finnick had made a whole shelter. It was crazy.
"Find any water?" Finnick asked.
"No, but this guy," she held up a large rat. "had to drink somewhere."
"Is it safe?" I asked. I really didn't feel like eating something that would kill me.
"Guess so." That didn't help.
We didn't want to risk a fire, so I ended up coming up with putting chunks of meat on sticks and sticking them in the force field. They bounced back, completely cooked.
"Good idea," Katniss said, though I could tell she wasn't happy I'd come up with the idea.
We rested, taking turns sleeping in the shelter. Around Midnight, Katniss and I were stuck on guard duty.
We didn't talk. I couldn't wait for it to be over. Ginny was sleeping, and I couldn't help watching her, the way her hair blew away from her face every time she breathed…
"What's that?" Katniss asked.
I looked where she was pointing. There was something coming closer.
"Fog," I said.
It felt like my skin was on fire.
"Get up!" Katniss yelled, jumping up. "We've got to get of here!"
I jumped up. We ran as fast as we could. It seemed like the tree roots appeared out of nowhere. Peeta and Ginny and I kept tripping on them. Katniss was staying with Peeta, trying to guide him. Finnick had stopped a few feet ahead.
He put Mags down and said something to Katniss. Finnick grabbed Peeta, and Katniss took Mags. I don't how they managed it, because the fog was making it harder for us to even move, and I couldn't move my arms at all. It was like when Lockhart removed all the bones in my arm.
Katniss tripped. Mags stood up, walked over to Finnick, and then I think she said something to him. She walked off into the fog. She dropped, and started twitching.
"Oh God," Ginny said. "Run!"
Easier said than done. We were still tripping. The fog seemed to get thinner…
Katniss, Finnick, and Peeta all crashed into each other, but I hit a tree. Well, at least it helped me stop walking.
I don't know how long we were on the ground before Katniss managed to say "Monkeys."
The monkeys were above us in the trees, but they didn't care we were there.
When we finally were able to drag ourselves out of the forest, I just lay spread out on the sand for a minute. Finnick had completely collapsed, and Ginny was sitting with her head on her knees. Only Katniss and Peeta were doing anything. They had gone out into the water. There was white stuff swirling around them.
"Come over here!" Peeta called.
Ginny and I went in and stood next to them in the water. It stung a bit, but then when the white stuff started to get into the water, it felt better.
I took off my boots, being careful not to let my wand fall out. I sat in the water, letting it soak out all of the white stuff. I don't know how I did it, but I fell asleep there. I guess running for your life can have that affect.
Ginny
Once I'd stowed my wand in my boot, I couldn't relax. Even without it, I wouldn't have been able to relax.
When the voice announced that there was one minute left, I stepped onto the plate. The tube sealed around me, and the plate went up.
The ground was oddly shiny. I had to squint my eyes to see it. Water. No wonder. I was in trouble. I didn't know how to swim. I would either drown, or die of starvation on the plate. Lovely. I saw Harry jumping into the water. So he was going to try to swim, huh? Well then. He didn't drown, though, somehow. He bobbed on the top for a second, then he paddled to the middle.
Fine, I thought. Might as well go. I jumped down. I figured I'd just sink to the bottom. But I floated up. I paddled over to the Cornucopia. Harry tossed me a bow and arrows when I was out of the water. I smiled at him. I turned around to see if any of the other tributes had gotten off their plates yet. Not many had, but the ones that did were just getting off the plates.
"Let's get out of here before they all show up," Katniss said.
I shook my head and followed them into the water. We hurried into the jungle to find a place. After a while, Finnick told us to stop, but I think it was more for Mags than him. In a couple of minutes, we started walking again.
Peeta slashed some vines with his knife, just as Katniss started saying something. He was flying backwards through the air before she could even really get the words out. She leaned down next to him, calling his name over and over.
I was horrified. I looked at Harry. Out of habit, I started running through the list of spells in my head, moving my mouth silently. Harry shook his head. He was right. If I did anything we'd be completely screwed with the Ministry. If we even got out of there, that is.
Peeta coughed. Katniss hugged him so tightly, I didn't know how he could possibly breathe. When he tried to get up, she held him down.
"We're staying here for a while, Peeta," she insisted.
That was good. Peeta didn't look too good, he was pale and shaky. Katniss grabbed my arm and hauled me off to hunt.
"We need water or something," I said.
"Yeah. But I didn't see any…the lake might be the only source…"
"It can't be!" I said. "They wouldn't do that…would they?"
She had a disgusted look on her face, kind of like Snape when someone brewed a potion incorrectly. "The Gamemakers are sick. They'll do anything for ratings. I wouldn't put it past them to have the only water in the lake. And only saltwater, too."
I knew she was right. After a bit, we found a big rodent, and Katniss shot it.
"It's mouth is wet," she said.
I looked closer. It's mouth was wet. It had to drink water from somewhere.
I found another one and shot it, and we went back to the camp. When we got there, Finnick and Mags had built a whole shelter made of grass. Harry was sitting there awkwardly, and Peeta was asleep. I almost laughed.
"Find any water?" Finnick asked.
"No, but this guy," Katniss held up a large rat. "had to drink somewhere."
"Is it safe?" Harry asked. Oh. I forgot. We were in an arena, where anything could be poisonous. Duh.
"Guess so." Wow, Katniss. Seriously? I thought. The rodent in my hand seemed to weigh a million pounds more.
None of us wanted to start a fire. The other tributes were experienced, and wouldn't mind killing us. So it was a good idea not to tell them exactly where we were. Harry ended up coming up with just tossing them into the force field to cook them.
"Good idea," Katniss said. She didn't seem happy that Harry even came up with the idea.
Harry, Katniss, Mags, and I all slept while Finnick and Peeta were on guard. Katniss had insisted that Peeta should rest and not stay up for God-knows-how-long, but he said he'd slept enough. Whatever.
"Get up!" Katniss yelled. "We've got to get of here!"
I must've fallen asleep. Katniss and Harry were standing up, shaking the others awake. I pushed myself up, and we all ran. Finnick ran fast, carrying Mags on his shoulder. Katniss ran nearly as fast, but she slowed down for Peeta. Harry and I were last.
Finnick stopped and said something to Katniss. He grabbed Peeta, and she took Mags. It was impossible for me to carry myself, so I can't even get how they carried Peeta and Mags.
Katniss tripped over a root. She said something to Finnick. He shook his head then looked at me and Harry. After a second I realized, Katniss couldn't take Mags, and neither could Finnick. And Harry and I weren't any better. I shook my head.
Mags got up and walked over to Finnick, said something I think, and then walked straight into the fog. She fell to the ground, shaking and twitching.
"Oh God," I whispered. "Run!" I said louder.
Easier said than done. We were still tripping. And rubber-feeling arms and legs weren't helping a bit. I felt like one of Fred and George's dummy wands—the ones that turned into rubber chickens.
Katniss, Peeta, and Finnick, crashed into a pile, Harry hit a tree, and I just plain collapsed. We must have looked crazy.
"Monkeys," Katniss managed to say after a while.
They didn't seem to know, or care that we were there.
After a while, we managed to drag ourselves out to the beach. We were right there in plain sight, for everyone to see, but we didn't care. I just sat there with my head on my knees, while Katniss and Peeta went out into the water. Finnick was face-down in the sand.
"Come over here!" Peeta called.
Harry and I went in and stood next to them in the water. It hurt a bit, but felt better once some of the white stuff was gone.
I took off my boots, carefully keeping my wand hidden. Harry fell asleep, and I just splashed in the water.
"What's that?" I asked.
There was a parachute coming toward us. I grabbed it out of the air. I went over to Katniss and Peeta.
"Do you know what this is?"
"No," Peeta said.
"Maybe…" Katniss whispered. She thought for a minute. "A spile! You use it to tap trees to get sap out. "
"Why would we need a spile?" Peeta asked.
I thought about it. "The rat had long teeth and claws right? And its face was wet! That's where the water is!"
Well, now we wouldn't die of thirst anyway.