"Alright, everyone, settle down! It's time to start instructions," the Capitol lady at the front of the room said. " My name is Stacey, and I am one of the head designers for this year's arena. First, I need everyone to line up by district along the back wall."
Everyone scrambled into position, Scorpius and Lily at the end of the line as usual. A second woman from the Capitol that they hadn't noticed before walked up to the first person in line, holding a big needle.
Stacey continued, "Linda, another arena designer, will inject each of you with a tracker so that we know where you are in the arena at all times. Don't worry. It doesn't hurt for more than a few seconds. You need a tracker so we know which cameras to activate. You will not know where the cameras are. They are hidden within the scenery of the arena. Anything you do may be seen by the people watching at home, so don't do anything that you do not want to show to the whole country."
By that time, Linda reached Lily, who held out her arm. Just like Stacey said, it only hurt for a few seconds.
"Now it's time to go over the rules of the Games," said Stacey. "As you might be able to guess from the nature of the Games, there aren't that many rules. After we're done in here, you'll be sent to an individual areas to go into the arena. There, you'll be on sort of a circular platform, so to speak. All the plates will be arranged in a huge circle, one for each tribute. You cannot leave it for sixty seconds. There will be a countdown, so no guessing will be necessary. If you choose to leave the platform before the time is up, there are mines in the ground around each platform, and there is no question of what will happen then. On the inside of that circle of platforms, there will be a large cornucopia. Inside will be weapons and supplies that could be helpful for the games. The arena itself is a circle with a diameter of about five kilometers."
Wow, thought Lily, I thought the arena would be the size of a baseball diamond, but this is huge!
"In addition to these supplies," continued Stacey, "sponsors can send you much-needed food, medicine, et cetera. As you already know, you guys will fight until one person remains. However, if you wish, you are allowed to form alliances with other people during the games, keeping in mind that only one can win. That's it, so since we're done with the tracker injections, it's almost time to start the Games! Please go back to your district rooms, and from there you will be sent into the arena. Thank you!"
Scorpius squeezed Lily's hand before leaving to their room.
"Oh, is it time to get in position already?" asked Susana in her usually cheerful voice once they got there. "Well, then, follow me. Right back here." She led them to two doors in the back that Lily had not noticed before. Scorpius, you're supposed to go in the one on the left, and Lily, you go in the one on the right." Lily walked to her door and tentatively put her hand on the handle. "Go on, then! I'll be in to talk to each of you before the Games start. Don't worry."
Lily slowly turned the doorknob and found herself in a long, winding passageway. The floor was white tile, and the walls and ceiling were also white. There were bright ceiling lights every ten feet or so. Lily followed the hallway until she reached another door. She took a deep breath and opened it.
Inside the room, there was a woman from the Capitol holding a shiny white clipboard and a wide glass tube that ran from the white tile floor to the ceiling. The tube was just big enough for a person to fit in, and there was a door in the side.
"You're Lily Potter from District 12?" asked the Capitol woman.
"Yes," replied Lily.
"I'm Rita Emerson."
"Nice to meet you." There was a short pause. "I suppose I should step in the tube, then?" asked Lily.
"Yes, you should do that, but you can wait for…" she paused to look at her clipboard, "Susana to come if you want. She should be here momentarily. You can sit in that chair if you want to wait for her." She pointed to a polished white chair in the corner that Lily had not noticed upon entering.
Nervously, Lily crossed the room to the chair, but right as she sat down, Susana burst into the room, so Lily immediately stood back up.
"You only have three minutes. Why are you sitting down?" asked Susana frantically.
"Sorry. She said that I could wait for you if I wanted," replied Lily.
Susana ran to Lily and hugged her. "I just want you to know," said Susana, "that I will be rooting for you the whole time, and don't forget that."
This made Lily feel better. "Thanks."
"Oh, I forgot to give this to you." Susana pulled a long, thin brown stick out of her pocket that Lily recognized as her wand.
"It's my w—my lucky stick. I like to keep it with me for good luck."
"Scorpius has one too. It must be a British thing. He asked for it when I met with him and said that you would like yours, too. I spoke with one of the arena designers and got it approved. Everyone's allowed to keep one thing from their home, but it has to get approved. They did tell me to tell you that it won't work as well in the arena and that you will not get penalized for using it outside of school, whatever that means. It's not like it actually does anything. They probably just mean that nothing works as well in the arena. Anyway, here you go."
"Thank you so much!" Lily hugged Susana again as she took her wand.
Just then, a warning announcement came over the loudspeaker saying, "Attention, tributes. One minute before you enter into the arena. One minute."
Susana broke away from her hug. "You better get inside that tube, Lily. I sincerely wish the best of luck to you."
"Bye, Susana! I'll miss you!"
Lily got inside the tube right as the thirty-second warning came on. After several agonizing moments of silence, the tube started to raise Lily into the arena.
Note: All the characters in this chapter are OC's except for Lily and Scorpius.
I'll try to get the next chapter posted in the next week or two.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! :D