A blood curdling scream shattered the morning's silence. Hermione bolted upright, shoving loose pieces of hair out of her eyes while fumbling around for the zipper of her sleeping bag. Not bothering to neatly roll it up, she flung it into her bag and zipped it tight. Losing her balance as she rose to her feet, Hermione slipped on the wet, dew covered grass and hissed as her hand made direct contact with the bed of hot coals. Pulling it sharply back, she clutched it to her chest, black finger prints smearing across her top. She cursed Draco for not waking her to take her watch.

At the thought of her partner, Hermione turned around to find him curled next to the moss-covered rock, bow and arrows clenched tightly in his hands. She rushed over and reached her hand out to shake him, but pulled her hand to a halt a hair's away from his shoulder. Light whimpers, of pain or fear, she wasn't sure, were emitting from his lips pressed together in a tight line. Hermione's brow furrowed and realized his forehead was glistening with a cover of sweat, strands of his white hair sticking tightly down to his skin.

"Malfoy," she whispered, giving him a gentle shake. He squeezed his eyes together at her touch as if burned, his breathing becoming ragged and sharp. "Malfoy!"

Hermione gripped his arm tightly and shook him. Hard. The rough shake she had given seemed to snap him out of whatever dream he was having; the next thing she knew, Hermione was looking into the fearful eyes of a gasping Draco Malfoy.

"G-Grang-ger," he stuttered, not able to fit his words together. Slumping over, Draco pinched the bridge of his nose and turned away from her, trying to keep his breathing under control and his eyes from welling with tears. Hermione stayed kneeling by his side, studying him carefully as he tried and failed to regain his put together composure. Hermione felt that same pang of pity she had felt upon arriving at Malfoy Manor all those years ago. She had seen the raw fear in his eyes when they were dragged in for inspection and he was forced to identify if it had been Harry; she saw the same fear in his eyes now.

"Malfoy, we have to go," she stated quietly, looking back over her shoulder. The Dark Mark had now appeared twice in the last minute, plucking up the mangled bodies of tributes and disappearing back into the clouds. Giving another tug, Hermione rose to her feet bringing him up with her. Draco wouldn't meet her eyes when she moved them back behind the large boulder, and he didn't fight back when she took the bow and arrows from him. Whatever he had seen, it was taking its toll.

The two waited and stared out over the clearing, neither quite ready to strike what dared show its face. Hermione took a shaky breath and glanced at Draco out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to be pulling himself back together, though the low growl that echoed around them seemed to put him on edge; it wasn't doing much good for her either. Pulling back an arrow into the string of her bow, Hermione held it in place and aimed for whatever was making its way forward. It took everything she had not to scream as her stomach plummeted to the ground.

Emerging from the bushes came a beast she had only ever read about in her books. It's mouth dripped with crimson blood, glistening against the dagger like teeth. It's eyes were bloodshot, pupils mere slits against it's blood-thirsty gaze. Claws that outranked that of a dragon's curved into the morning soil creating divots wherever it stood and stopped. Her hands shaking uncontrollably, Hermione leaned towards Draco and whispered, "Manticore." Her voice came out as a strangled squeak.

The head resembled that of a man, while it's body of a lion. The long winding tail was covered in maroon scales, a large scorpion stinger resting on the tip. Much like it's mouth, the manticore's tail dripped pools of blood onto the morning dew.

Hermione steadily rose from her crouched position, and it took all her strength not to collapse. The beast sniffed the air, stalking over to the worn down fire. A thin line of smoke rose from the remaining ashes, but it seemed rather interested in the left behind grease stains from last night's meal. The manticore snuffed through the ashes, nudging them aside with his nose until he found what he was looking for. Beneath the pile of wood, the seared remains of a Jarvey seemed most appetizing at the moment. The manticore pulled it out, and in the blink of an eye, it had swallowed the ferret whole, the crunching and shattering of bones ringing out like a gong.

Hermione felt a gentle nudge beside her. She slowly turned away from the manticore to find Draco was moving out away from the boulder and towards the brooke down the hill from their clearing. Hermione looked down at him as if he had grown two heads.

"Are you mad?" she hissed through clenched teeth. Her eyes continued to dart between her retreating partner and the manticore, who was now stalking the grounds around the stack of burned firewood. It seemed rather keen on sniffing out where she had slept the night before.

"No, I'm saving myself, and I'd suggest you follow unless you want to be that bloody beast's breakfast," Draco whispered back, not slowing his pace but keeping his body low. Hermione saw his footing but couldn't get the warning out in time.

Draco's foot came down on a fallen twig he hadn't seen, and the snap seemed deafening. Draco froze in place as if time had been paused. Slowly turning back to glance over the rock afraid of what she would find, Hermione's face drained of all its color as she met the soul-piercing stare of the manticore. It stood gazing at her for only a moment before it started it's footing towards her, it's mouth pulled back into a vicious snarl.

Tripping over her own two feet, Hermione scrambled to get up as she followed Draco down and into the creek. She didn't dare look behind her as she heard the manticore scrape it's claws around the base of the boulder. Hermione could practically hear the blood dripping from it's mouth, the soft cooning beginning in the back of its throat. It could only mean one thing, and she didn't want to be around for it.

Hermione ran like the devil was on her feet, jumping through shrubs and over roots, swerving in and out of trees trying to lose the beast. She hoisted Draco to his feet as he slipped on a wet rock, landing in the bed of the creek with a loud splash. With their soaked clothes clinging to their skin, they sprinted out and over the bend of rocks opposite of them.

Hermione caught the faintest glance of the manticore to see how long they had until they were ripped to pieces. She slowed her pace for only a second when she looked again to see it was trying to find a way over the brooke's pass. Her thoughts went straight to Crookshanks who had all but ripped the skin from her wrists the first time she had tried to give him a bath. It may have been a hybrid, but cats still hated their water.

A temporary moment of relief washed over Hermione, thinking they were safe. Just as she was about to call out for Draco to slow down, she heard the loud thump of something land not far behind her. It had jumped the bed and resumed the chase.

Hermione turned back to the forest ahead of her and ran with all her might to catch up with Draco. She was sure the only reason she hadn't lost him yet was from his apparent blonde locks that acted as a beacon. A strong gust of wind whipped at her face, her cheeks searing from the cold wind. But she didn't stop. Hermione pushed through to a bend of large bushes and dove head first behind them; not her best idea.

Sharp thorns pierced through her skin as she crawled as far back as she could go. Keeping her head low and her eyes down, she heard the menacing growl of the manticore a few yards behind her. Her head made contact with a hard boulder and she pulled back, rubbing the top of her skull. She turned back just in time to see the manticore's large paw extending out to grab her ankle. Hermione screamed and pushed herself flat against the rock, curling her legs up to her chest.

The blood rushed to her ears as she heard the pounding of her heart and could taste the sweat on her tongue. Squeezing her eyes shut, she screamed again as the manticore dove it's large paw in after her, this time nearly grazing her backpack. Turning her head away to look for any sign of escape, she looked for any given opening. Hermione heard the shout of someone above her and looked up to see a sliver of sunlight blinding her. As soon as she had seen it, a long shadow crowded over it, blocking her only escape.

The manticore released a mighty roar, pulling its paw out from the thorned bush. Hermione had to plant her hands over her ears to block out its anguished cry. She was sure she was imagining someone screaming her name as the manticore released another deafening shriek of pain. It was when she finally looked up to her only escape did she meet a pair of silver eyes looking down on her.

A pale hand extended down into the bush offering her an escape. Taking her only chance, Hermione hoisted herself to her feet and grabbed hold, wincing as she realized she had given him her burned hand. The arm of her savior pulled her up the edge of the rock, the thorny bush leaving new scrapes and scratches as she maneuvered her way to crawl passed. Hermione sucked in a lungful of air as she fell into the soft, comforting grass of the forest floor. Beside her, she turned her gaze up to Draco. A long cut ran down the side of his cheek, droplets of blood spotting the collar of his jacket and the tips of his damp, blonde hair. His face was twisted in pain as he pulled back the sleeve of his coat revealing what looked to be hundreds of small cuts. The shriek of the manticore brought him back to the issue at hand.

"Thank...you…." Hermione gasped, regaining her balance and picking herself up off her hands and knees. Draco turned his stare away from the large creature and gave Hermione a curt nod. She ignored the cuts up and down her arms and legs and looked back to the manticore. A silver dagger stuck out of it's right eye, blood and fluid overflowing from the wound. Another strangled cry escaped the beast, throwing its head back and forth in all directions. Hermione's eyes widened and she swiftly got to her feet. "We have to keep going before it dislodges your dagger."

Draco looked back up at her, a dazed and shocked expression still etched over his pale features. Extending her hand out to him, she helped Draco rise to his feet before turning back to the forest and taking off through the shadows of the trees. Hermione sped up her pace when she heard the manticore leap from its place below the boulder, it's claws scraping against the smooth stone. She didn't have to look behind her to know it wasn't after them for a morning snack anymore; it was out for blood.

Cutting a sharp corner, Hermione and Draco sprinted towards a clearing, the manticore only a few yards behind. Hermione squinted her eyes to see what was ahead of them: large rocks, vines, a drop off, and...water. Buckets of it spilling over into each other. The sound was like music to her ears as the plan was already forming in her head. Glancing over to Draco, she lightly grimaced before throwing herself to the side and colliding with Draco's shoulder, sending both of them sprawling to the ground.

She felt a searing pain shoot through her arm as she landed on her open wound from the maze. Hermione winced when she looked up again. No less than a hundred feet away, the brook met with several others spilling into a small pond. The pond itself plundered over the side of the cliff and down to a winding river.

Hermione was snapped from her thoughts as a groan of pain came from Draco who was sprawled out beside her. He winced as he brought himself to sit up and look around. "What in Merlin's name was that for Granger?" he yelled, his face contorted with anger.

Hermione didn't meet his fiery gaze as she glanced over his shoulder. The manticore came skidding to a halt at the sight of them defenseless on the forest floor. Her stomach churned at the sight of it's mangled face. A trail of blood ran down from where its eye should have been, pooling over into the matted fur. The other eye darted rapidly between her and Draco as if pondering which one to rip to pieces first.

Scrambling back to her feet, Hermione gripped Draco's jacket and drug him towards the bed of the pond. Stepping in, cool waves rippled around her aching feet. While Draco threw question upon question about what the blazes she was doing, Hermione dragged him further into the water. By the time they were knee deep in the middle of the pond, the manticore was snarling on the bank of the water, debate swirling in it's hungry gaze.

It leaped in after a second's hesitation following in their footsteps, fear and a questioning gaze replacing it's vicious snarl. Hermione took slow steps towards the waterfall with each step that it took towards her, cornering them between a hungry beast and a deadly fall.

The manticore, realizing it wouldn't go all the way under, looked back up to Hermione. His eye seared a deep crimson red like the blood stains on his fur and lips. Each step he took, Hermione gripped Draco's arm and took another back. He was screaming at her every foul name he could think of, though she noticed "Mudblood" wasn't in the mix. Cutting his rant short on trusting "know-it-all Gryffindors", she whispered over to him, "Can you swim?"

"What?" he asked, looking taken aback.

"Can you swim?" Hermione repeated, taking another step back towards the waterfall.

"I, well, yeah - "

"Do you trust me?" she interrupted again, grabbing the wrist of his jacket. Hermione didn't take her eyes off the manticore as it took another step closer.

"You've backed us up to the edge of a bloody cliff with a manticore, why on earth would I trust you, Granger - "

"Good, then hold your breath."

Before Draco could get a word in, she shoved him as hard as she could over the side of the waterfall. At the exact moment she broke eye contact and turned her back to the creature in front of her, it pounced, claws open and teeth bared. In the split second she saw it out of the corner of her eye, Hermione stepped back over the edge, the manticore following in step.

Hermione screamed as the river below her grew closer and closer by the second. Draco's shouts were cut short by his body connecting to the river with a loud splash. Hermione turned her head to see the manticore helplessly flailing its arms and legs, attempting to save himself from the water below.

Putting her legs straight below her and crossing her arms protectively over her chest, Hermione took a deep breath as the dark, cold waves of the water encased her body, the manticore's splash following in tow.

Hello my lovely readers!

I hope you enjoyed the next chapter of Hermione and Draco's adventure through the treacherous world of the Hunger Games inspired arena! As usual, updates will resume every Monday and Wednesday, so be sure to keep a look out for the next one coming out next Monday! And if you're liking this story so far, be sure to check out a few of my others stories if you'd like. :)

And, as always, I hope y'all have a wonderful morning, afternoon, evening, or night!

-Summerwinds