Chapter 20 : Aftermath
It felt like time slowed in the Safe House. The tributes were slowly re-adapting back to normal life. Five days passed as their injuries healed and their thoughts began to clear back to the normal thoughts that teens should have. Each of them came out of this experience changed and knew that they would never be the same again...whether from the mental and emotional changes or from the persistent nightmares that many suffered from.
The twelve tributes sat around a large dining room table in privacy with the door closed. It was a relaxed environment around them all but they knew why they were meeting. It was time to talk about what happened next as they'd begin returning to their schools or be transferred to Hogwarts as some had decided to do. Either way, they knew that they needed a moment alone and away from the other adults.
"You guys know why we're here. Tomorrow, we return to the schools and we have to be ready to go," Sophia reminded the group, her hands clasped on the table. "I'm not going to lie...it's not going to be easy for us to return. They're going to ask questions, make their comments, or look at us in a completely different way. It's going to happen because they only know what they saw through the video feeds. We have to be ready."
Melissa scrunched her nose at the reminder. "Why in the hell would anyone want to ask about any of this? They saw it happen...they don't need our play-by-play. Besides, if they have comments, they should keep them to themselves. They weren't there," she spoke up, her attitude souring.
"That's exactly why we're talking about it now. We know that it's coming and we want to be sure that we're ready for it. Nobody's saying how you have to reply to these questions...we just want you to be thinking about how you're going to respond ahead of time," Yosuke replied to Melissa, trying to calm her.
"Who honestly cares what they think about us? We did what we had to do in order to survive. I'm sure plenty of them would react the same way if their back was against the wall," Preston spoke up, frowning at the topic. "We watched people die in front of us, killed people to survive, and barely made it out ourselves. I dare somebody to give me some condescending remark...they'll swallow teeth for it," he hissed.
Sophia sighed, hearing the tension and anger in their voices, yet she understood where they were coming from. "Seriously, guys, we can't resort to violence. That's what they're expecting from us. They'll expect us to act like we did in the arena but we can't let that mindset control us. We have to act above this," she pressed them. "We are not the caged animals that they wanted us to become in that arena. We are better than that."
Emy shook her head, having been quiet for the conversation so far. "I just want to mourn our lost friends and go back to some sense of normality. Things will never be normal for us but we have to at least try. We lost 13 other lives in that infernal arena. We have people to live for that didn't make it," she spoke up. "We have to take this second chance and make something of it."
"Emy brings up a good point. What we really need to remember is that we need to adapt back to being in the regular world and get back into the swing of school," Xavier agreed. "Some of us are going to a new school rather than finish the year at our home schools. We have a lot to learn in a short period of time," he pointed out.
"I just want things to go back to how they used to. I want to forget that all of this ever happened," Evani commented, scratching at the wood grain in the table.
"I'm afraid that we'll never be able to forget. We'll just have to adapt to this new normal the best we can," Sophia began before she sighed lightly. "It's not comforting but I wouldn't want to forget any of our friends we lost in these Games."
"Besides, several of us are going to have to deal with some of these when we go home. We'll have to deal with whatever fallout comes after all this," Tessa reminded them.
"I don't care what anyone thinks after this. After what our Ministries put us through, I dare them to try and make our lives any worse," Ptolemy spoke up. "A bunch of cowards is what they are."
"I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to apologize with some kind of reparations," Philip chimed in. "Not like it brings anyone back but don't be surprised if you get some sort of money as compensation for what we went through."
"Fat lot of good their money does for a bunch of traumatized kids," Jamie groused, leaning his chair back a little. "None of them had to walk around with real blood on their hands or try to comfort someone dying from one of these archaic injuries."
"If it's any solace, the political fallout from all of this is going to be far-reaching. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot of cleaning house this Summer. Parents are going to be angry, as well as any other well-meaning magical person," Yosuke reminded them. "They won't be immune from this."
"Good...after what we all went through, it would be unprecedented if they got out of this free of the fallout," Jerika finally said after a few moments. "We just have to decide within each of ourselves how we handle it."
"Glad we all agree on that," Sophia said with a nod before looking around the table. Everyone looked so different from that first day of the Games, a gaunt and pinched look still present in each of their faces from a sharp lack of food. Their eyes had also lost a bit of that shine, haunted by the events in the arena.
"Are we done? I'd kind of like to go get some more rest while we have the rest of the day here," Emy spoke up, having taken advantage of the food and rest being offered in the Safe House.
"Yeah, of course. We just wanted to make sure you all knew what to expect," Sophia told her and gave the others a nod. "We'll try to meet again every so often when we get back to school but for now, go take time. Meeting dismissed."
"It's going to be hard going back, isn't it?" Jamie asked Philip and Xavier, the three adolescent boys all sitting outside under one of the nearby trees. "We have to go back and face everyone else that wasn't there..."
"I don't see the point in worrying about it," Xavier answered, shrugging. "We know it's going to be hard and they have only a mild clue of what we went through. If they have any judgments about it, hopefully they're tactful enough to not say anything," he suggested to them.
"Most people at Hogwarts are good about that. They're usually understanding about little things so I'm sure that they'll be mild when it comes to this. I don't see them asking a whole lot of questions about the Games," Philip offered up. "Well, I doubt they'll ask me many questions. My time was pretty boring overall. They might ask you all some questions but I'm sure they'll be understanding if you tell them to sod off."
Jamie chuckled, shaking his head. "Telling them to sod off might be the best idea yet," he told the other two. "The easiest, anyways. I doubt they really want to hear the truth of everything."
"I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hear the whole truth of this mess," Philip agreed, shaking his head. "You guys went through some crap."
"Speaking of which, where were you all those days?" Xavier finally asked Philip.
"Mostly hiding. Any sort of thick brush, cave, or tree that I could hide in was a welcome place. I'm sure that my time was possibly the most boring out of anyone's. I only had one close call with a pack of them but Tara stayed behind to give me time to get away. Didn't find out until that cannon sounded later in the day that she didn't make it," Philip admitted to them. "I'll never understand why she did it but it saved my life."
"That's harsh, man," Jamie said with a sigh, shaking his head. "Must be rough."
"It makes you feel a little unsettled but...you know...that's just how it was," Philip answered. "It hasn't quite hit me yet but I'm sure it will when we're back with our Houses. She was a fantastic Hufflepuff. A loyal friend, until the very end," he added.
Jamie shook his head. "In that moment, she was more than a Hufflepuff. She was a Hogwarts student, through and through. She embodied the best qualities of our school and that's more than most achieve in their entire lifetimes," he pointed out.
Xavier crossed his arms as he leaned back against the tree trunk. "Despite how that one group teamed up to take all of us out, I only hope that people see them as teenagers trying to survive rather than villains," he commented.
"They will," Philip spoke up. "Every school will lift their fallen as martyrs, victims to each ministry's unwillingness to rise up. Political careers will end over this, communities will bond tighter than ever, and we'll be exalted as victors...considered the best the wizarding community has to offer. Only bad thing is that we'll also be left to the scrutiny of the fallen tributes' families," he explained.
Jamie raised a brow at Philip's examination of the situation. "Surely, not? We were only trying to protect ourselves," he questioned.
"He's right, though," Xavier spoke up, looking out across the countryside as he thought over Philip's words. "As much as our own will call us heroes, those people will look at us in anger and disdain - as though it will bring their children back. We'll have to be ready to deal with whatever negativity they bring but keep positive. We're as much victims as their children were, which is something we have to remind ourselves. Only difference is that we're still here and they're not," he added.
"It doesn't make this any easier to deal with," Jamie stated, shaking his head. "Maker, I thought the hardest part of these Games would be surviving it...that we'd be able to go back to our normal lives after it was all over," he added.
"Since we were chosen or volunteered for the Games, our chances for a normal life have gone out the window. Sure, we can try and live our lives as normally as possible with this behind us. It won't be the same, though," Philip told Jamie, letting out a sigh of air. "Whether they decide to use us for election politics or to host us at public events for morale boost, this won't be our last time in the spotlight," he added.
"Used for entertainment only to be later used for someone's own good fortune," Xavier stated, shaking his head. "Let's just enjoy now before we have to go back."
The next day came almost too quickly for all the tributes. Ptolemy was the first to go back, Headmistress Steele taking him back to the Elysian Academy to speak with the head of the school. It was hard for Melissa to say goodbye to her fellow tribute but she knew that she couldn't return to Greece. There were too many hard memories from the Game for her to not stay with her newfound friends. They did agree, though, to see each other once again over the summer just to hang out as friends.
The remaining eleven tributes had resolved to return back to Hogwarts together. For some, it was a second home and a sanctuary that they'd be returning to. For the others, they would be entering a new school but it was more comforting than returning to their home school without their fellow tribute. A fresh start looked to be the more reasonable choice than return to a place filled with memories of their lost friends.
It was mid-afternoon when all of them were gathered to go back. It had been decided that they would take the Floo network back to Headmistress Steele's office, allowing the newcomers to be sorted upon arrival so that they would know their new houses sooner than later. It would take them a few days to get everything that they needed but for the moment, the rules could be loosened given the circumstances. One by one, each took their turn in the fireplace and found themselves stumbling into the office.
The Sorting was done by the Deputy Headmistress, Professor Ines Astrid, and it was relatively quick. Melissa found herself in Slytherin, Evani and Preston were both sorted into Gryffindor, Xavier found himself in Ravenclaw, and Tessa was sorted into Hufflepuff. Their fellow tributes offered to show them to their new dormitories and, for a moment, the eleven were left in the office alone.
"This all seems...so fast," Tessa spoke up, staring out one of the windows. "What do we do now?"
"We try to heal ourselves and find our steady rhythms again. We try not to let everyone know how broken we were...and we lean on one another," Evani told her, stepping up to Tessa's side and placing a hand on her shoulder. "We just try to forget the worst of it."
"I don't want to forget," Preston spoke up from the back, arms crossed. "I couldn't forget Zeph or anyone else that was in that arena, even if I wanted to. They deserve to be remembered."
"They deserve to be remembered...but at what cost to each of us?" Emy spoke up. "What I want to forget is being manipulated and knowing that any day could have been my last. I want to forget starving and forget the fear in my soul when Preston and I were trapped by those Jabberjays. I don't want to remember what it felt like to be at the mercy of someone else," she pointed out.
"Let's each of us work towards what we want after this, then," Sophia finally said, her hand firmly in Yo's. "You can remember if you want or you can forget if you want. Do what helps you heal. That's what really matters."
"Sophia's right. No sense in fighting over how we need to heal. We've seen enough fighting in the past few weeks," Yosuke agreed before nodding. "For now, though, let's get everyone settled in their new dormitories and get ready to go to dinner."
"Yeah...dinner," Jerika agreed, though she was a little spaced out. After the Games, she had been trying to deal with her own issues of her visions and how they'd affected her.
With that, the eleven left the office and separated to their own ways. They knew that what lay ahead of them wouldn't be easy but they also knew that they'd have one another to lean on. The coming days would test them in different ways but, at the end of the day, they survived the Games and that's what mattered. Learning how to fight through what happened, though, would prove to be the bigger challenge for each.
FIN
Author's Note : Thank you to anyone who has stuck it out and followed this story thus far. Though it's a story with OCs set well after the original story, it was still fun and nice to write, taking place at least two, if not three, generational links after the original story. I hope that it was still an enjoyable story. If you like this story, be sure to go check out more of my stories (with canon characters)!