Next Chapter! Hurrah!

I'm sorry it took a while, i'm on holiday now : D

Thank you to Fireonice1292 who was my only reviewer, I appreciate it!

OH! And, last chapter I forgot my disclaimer, so here it is:

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or Harry Potter. They belong to Suzanne Collins and J.K Rowling (x2)


I sat in front of the television screen in our tiny living room, waiting for the live broadcast to begin. I felt sore all over my body because of the huge belting I received this morning for forgetting to ice the cakes. Even the smallest movement caused a sharp pain to hit somewhere on my body. Sitting on the cold, hard, stone ground wasn't helping either. I stared at the television set, my eyes glued to the screen. I wasn't going to miss anything. I had to watch, or I'd risk imagining things that weren't real.

The sound on the television set was laggy, and we heard the words almost a full three seconds after the mouth movements had indicated someone had spoken, but it was definitely better than nothing. Better than watching out in the town square, in front of a large amount of people who couldn't afford a television set.

The colour was also horrible and had a strange green tint to it. Currently, Caesar Flickerman was talking to one of the Gamemakers about the tributes this year. Caesar's hair was a powder blue colour, (which of course had a greenish tint to it) and he wore his signature velvet blue suit with little sparkling light bulbs.

"I was so surprised when that girl from District Twelve… Katniss! I was surprised when she volunteered for her sister! District Twelve hasn't had a volunteer for over thirty years! Maybe this will start a new trend?" Caesar asked the Gamemaker in his strange Capitol accent. I frowned at the topic of Katniss being discussed, as if this was a simple game, an enjoyable and painless game for a prize. Although everyone outside the Capitol and Districts 1,2 and 4 considered them a death sentence. The Gamemaker was seated in an expensive looking chair, with his face permanently mashed into a frown.

"I don't know Caesar, Katniss volunteered for her little sister, it takes a lot of courage to do that in their district. All the teenagers there are very…" He stopped to find the correct word to describe the District 12 teenagers, without offending anyone. "weak?"

I laughed at his poor attempt at hiding his dislike for our poor district. The Gamemakers have always hated our district and usually make life inside the arena more difficult for our tributes. I hoped that this year they would have some mercy and give Katniss and Kris a fair chance.

I also hoped that the dumb, alien-like stylists at the Capitol would be fair and give Katniss a reasonable outfit. The skimpy coal-miner's get-up just wasn't her style, and I'm one hundred percent positive she wouldn't like being naked and covered in coal dust, like the unfortunate tributes from several years ago.

Someone burst through our front door and walked into the living area with their extra muddy, heavy-duty boots sending dirt all over our floors. I turned to look, but when I saw who it was, I simply turned back to the screen. It was one of the Peacemaker's associates, checking to see if we were watching the Opening Ceremony. He stared at the television once, nodded in silent approval, and walked out without a word, ticking our name off his long list of families.

"God, I hate those people! Every time they come into our home, they leave mess everywhere!" Maxim exclaimed, grabbing a broom to sweep up the mess before mother sees it. This year, I'm certain that I will be glued to this television for every screening each night, just to know what's happening to the girl who has my heart with her at the Capitol.

The opening music begins so loud that my speakers make it more fuzzy than usual. I rush to turn it down, before resuming my position on the floor. Caesar and the Gamemaker sitting with him in the commentary box commentated on the happenings in the streets below.

As always, there were portable seating stands, and over three hundred of the strange Capitol residents were packed into each one. President Snow declares that the Opening Ceremony has begun, and the tributes from District 1 step out of their carriage in beautiful, glittering silver jumpsuits encrusted in jewels.

"The crowd goes wild for Glimmer and Oro! Look at those costumes, aren't they fabulous?" Caesar commented as the tributes wave at the residents of the Capitol.

It continued on like this for a long time, when the two tributes from each district step out of the carriages, the audience would cheer for a short while and Caesar would make comments on their costumes and give any interesting facts he remembered about the tributes.

By the time District 11 tributes were parading through the Capitol, I had scooted over a metre closer to the television screen in my anticipation to see Katniss. I then realized that even though she's been gone for only one day, I've been having withdrawals. So when the loudspeaker called District 12, I was almost bursting.

She stepped out of the horse-drawn carriage, and all eyes were immediately on her. I gasped, and my jaw dropped open. She looked so stunning! She wore a simple black uni-tard and black, lace-up boots, but what really amazed me was her cape and headdress. She was on fire! The flames flickered in the twilight and her face glowed luminously. The crowd went crazy yelling and screaming her name, along with Kris's. She was smiling brightly, waving to the audience and driving them insane with her beauty and lovable approach.

"Katniss: the girl on fire." Was all the commentators could manage get out, they were so astounded by the costumes.

Even though I hated to admit it, the commentators were right, the name suited her perfectly. She was always beautiful, but tonight, even on our crappy television set made her look amazingly gorgeous. I smiled, and I didn't even notice Kris, and it was if the sight of Katniss, the girl on fire, had wiped all remaining memory of the previous tributes.

Then, I remembered immediately that I should not be smiling, as they've just prepared and pampered her to die. I buried my head in my hands for what seemed like the billionth time to try to escape images of Katniss's death in gory and horrible ways. I knew she could hunt, but a simple rabbit, squirrel or even deer don't fight back with swords or spears. They can be taken down easily with one arrow, but a massive teenage boy, weighing over one hundred kilos is different.

After the horrific thoughts came back, I was in no mood to watch the Opening Ceremony anymore, no matter how pretty Katniss looked, I could not watch any longer.

"I'm going to bed." I announced in a monotone voice, and I didn't even wait for an acknowledgement from anyone. I quickly raced up the stairs and shut the bedroom door quietly. Even though I was supposed to be watching the Games, I don't think I would have had the nerve to sit and watch while the tributes got paraded around the Capitol.

It was extremely obvious that I wasn't going to get to sleep, so I settled for reading a very old novel that was once my great, great, great grand-father's. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Personally, I thought it was all right, but it had been a best seller for a very long time. No one bought books anymore; they were too expensive and used too many trees, but second-hand ones were always available as heirlooms and could usually be found in old attics or homes.

The book only briefly brought on a new train of thought, but it was nice to not worry for even just an hour. Maxim came into the room after the broadcast had finished, and gave me a grilling.

"You know you're supposed to watch anything to do with the Hunger Games, Peeta! Why are you so stupid? What if one of those associates came in, and you weren't planted in front of that TV like you're supposed to, we'd be fined, and we cannot afford that! Do you want to end up homeless and starving in the Seam?" He looked at me with anger in his eyes, as If he had been planning this conversation the whole time while he was downstairs.

"All you have to do is watch the television when the Games are on, and how should it effect you? Sure your friend Kris is involved this year, but why should you even care about the two tributes from our district, just that your lucky stars it wasn't you! Now you're the only one in this family left in the reaping and honestly, I don't think you'd survive a second in that arena. Now, get your head in the right place!" He yelled before gasping for air. He had a death glare in his eyes, and I knew he was genuinely pissed.

I just sat and took it, and I felt slightly ashamed because I knew he was right. Then he began again, in a softer, calmer tone.

"The only reason I didn't come and get you during the broadcast was because father told me and Shantay to leave you alone." He always calls mother by her first name to show his dislike towards her.

" I don't know why, but you shouldn't endanger the family like that. Even though it might not seem like much, we have to watch the stupid show, and we should abide if we don't want to be punished." He said, turning his back to me.

"Yeah, I know Maxim." I said, and I pretended to read my book once again, while he collapsed on his bed and fell asleep instantly.

His loud snores were not easy to ignore, and it made falling asleep even more difficult. I decided to take my thin, dirty, pillow downstairs along with the grubby blanket that provided next to no warmth and I camped out on the couch for the night. It wasn't as comfortable as my bed (which wasn't very comfortable anyway) and my bruises from my assault with the wooden spoon this morning. It still wasn't easy to drift off into unconsciousness with scary visions in my mind, but eventually, somewhere in the early morning, my eyelids grew heavy and my thoughts were diluted by dreams of Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts.

***

"Peeta! Wake up! You have school today, you ignorant boy! You shouldn't have stayed up all night! What will Miss Fulker say? You've got fifteen minutes to get there, and I suggest you get ready this very instant!" Shantay practically screamed in my ear.

"Then, why on earth didn't you wake me up earlier if you knew I had to go to school?" I barked back in my crabby morning voice. And now, she was lost for words.

"Just get ready!" She replied sternly. She was blushing at my question that she couldn't answer without sounding stupid.

So then I was racing around the house trying to get ready for school. I was already dressed in an old pair of jeans and a red t-shirt, with a pair of really dirty tennis shoes that used to be white. I had the second-hand school bag slung across one shoulder, and a stale piece of bread in my mouth. My back ached where I had been hit yesterday, but I winced and continued on in my hurry.

I slammed the door behind me and ran down the crowded dirt roads to school, chewing on the piece of bread. I made it inside the school gates just as the second bell rung, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gale walking to his class, his shoulders hunched. High School in District 12 was much different to how it used to be. We only have one class ,with just one teacher and we don't have a timetable.

The only thing everyone was doing was talking about the Opening Ceremony last night. It made me want to puke the way they were talking about the brutal murders that will most likely take place. Some of the boys in my grade are constantly discussing the games, all year round, and how 'awesome' some of the deaths were from previous years. They are probably the only three people in the whole of District 12 who actually look forward to the games.

I didn't want to talk to anyone; I just wanted the day to pass quickly so I could return home to wallow in my sadness. Here at school, it was difficult to hide feelings, among other things.

"Alright, today we'll be reviewing the history of the games, once again. I would rather not touch on the subject, as I know some of you were close to Kris, and possibly Katniss, but it is a compulsory subject to teach, according to the Capitol." Miss Fulker almost spat.

Could this day get any worse?

The class was horrible. Miss Fulker was required to show us clips of the first Hunger Games, where there were no tactics, and the tributes had no idea what they were doing. Not one out of the twenty-four tributes had been killed in the first week, so when the first was murdered, a killing spree followed. It had finally sunk in that if they wanted to return home, they would have to kill another teenager much like himself or herself.

Every year I hated having to watch the Hunger Games, and to re-watch games gone by is even worse, as you know who dies and the outcome. Even the years that I wasn't alive, the games that occurred still repulsed me.

When it was finally time for break, all the girls were gushing over how fabulous the flaming costume last night was. The boys were indifferent, and the subjects they were talking about didn't interest me in the least. Once or twice I saw Prim, who was ordered to go to school by the family counsellor that the Peacemakers provided, and endure the pain of her loss with others around. Her face was grim and there were bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. I saw here friends trying to comfort her, but in her case, it wasn't really helping. She was actually making an effort to pretend everything was normal, so she could survive without breaking down into a sobbing mess.

Then, there was Gale.

He looked as if he had died. His face had no emotion, and he made no effort to be friendly to anyone. He was like a ghost, silently moving to where he needed to go, shoulders hunched. No one went near him. He actually looked scary, in a zombie sort of way. Everyone knew about his close relationship with Katniss, and some even speculated that they were together as a couple. I felt sorry for him, even though I was usually awfully jealous of him.

I hadn't spoken to one person, and because of this train of thought, I wondered-- did I look as bad as Gale did? I was sure I hadn't been smiling, and I probably looked horribly desperate and alone too.

So then, in a ploy to try to look less upset, I started a conversation with one of my friends.

"Hey Lewis. What have you been up to?" I asked in a casual tone, forcing a smile onto my face,

"Nothing really, Peeta, just talking about the games. Did you know that Jeremiah is already taking bets? I want to know where he's getting the money from, but the betting is pretty heavy already, but I think that when training scores are released on Friday, we'll get a better insight." He babbled.

"Mmm, yeah. Have you placed any bets yet?" I asked curiously.

"No, but I think I'll bet on that massive kid from District 11. He's huge! Looks like he could crush someone's head with just his hands!" He joked. "What about you? Your brother Maxim is always betting when the games roll around. Do you have any ideas?"

I shook my head. "No, no. I don't like to bet on the games. Suppose I feel sorry for the tributes." I said softly,

"Me too. But, I think, if we have to watch the games, we could at least get even the tiniest bit of fun from them to make us forget that next year, it could be us in that arena. So, I think that betting gives us a little safety in our minds." He beamed, although what he was saying didn't make any sense at all.

"What about Katniss, do you think she has a chance?" He questioned, seeming genuinely unaware of my fixation with her.

"My dad buys her squirrels, they're always shot straight through the eye. She's the best there is. " I said, avoiding the question.

"Yeah, wish I could have the nerve to go into the woods. Isn't it funny how everyone knows that she and Gale hunt, but no one does anything?"

"Yeah. It is." I reply dryly.

Then, when the silence became awkward, Lewis created some excuse about homework that hasn't been done yet and I was alone once again.

Always alone.

Thank you so much for reading!

I'd really appreciate it if you would review and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome :)

Chopeeh xx