Chapter 8 - The Retalliation

District 7. The Hogwartians had settled in, mainly residing in makeshift tents around the crash-landed castle. Professor McGonagall had been trying to encourage them to practise and study whatever they had been learning, which some did. However, ever since their school had been sucked through a wormhole into the future and had landed in the lumber-producing district of a corrupt dystopia, a few students, and indeed teachers, had been understandably not all that enthused in their schoolwork. Professor Longbottom managed to keep the spirits up with his friendly personality to all, but he was truly feeling very anxious. Anxious for Lily and Albus and how they would fair in the Arena, indeed, but for their brother too. James had recently been subjected to cruel punishment by the Peacekeepers for his outburst at the reaping ceremony. Professor Longbottom had been caring for his wounds with numerous herbal remedies but it seemed, however, that the Peacekeepers did not like this. The peacekeeping forces of District 7 were aware that the people who had arrived on the castle that fell out of the sky were indeed magical, but they had done their best not to let it sink in. It was as if they had heard an animal speak to them and had decided not to speak of it in case they were deemed as insane. The supernatural forces of the Hogwartians were not denied, but maybe even feared. The Peacekeepers knew without need for conversation that James Potter could surely be healed instantly with some form of enchantment or potion. In fact, they knew for certain, as it had happened before.

The first time James was sentenced to undergo the punishment fitted to the crime of attacking a Peacekeeper, it all seemed to go normally. Professor Longbottom had administered a herbal mixture to James that would prevent pain for about ten minutes. It worked, but for only ten minutes. The Peacekeeper administrating the penalty long exceeded the amount of lashes originally decided and James felt the great pain that was intended for him. He was taken back to Longbottom's tent, quite bigger than average, where Professor Longbottom healed his wounds with magic. The next day, he appeared outside, walking and smiling as though nothing had happened. The Peacekeepers noticed and grabbed him on sight, whisking him into the shadows.

'Fair to say you've made quite a recovery, haven't you?' asked one of the Peacekeepers venomously.

'Yes, sir,' replied James, feeling proud of his victory.

There was a short silence while the Peacekeeper tried to form his next move.

'Show me your back,' he demanded.

'What?!' squealed James. 'No!'

The Peacekeeper pointed his gun under James' chin. His eyes narrowed. 'Show me your back, Potter.'

He pushed James away, still holding him at gunpoint, and James did as he was told. He turned around to face away from the Peacekeeper and removed his shirt, closing his eyes, to reveal his unscathed and unmarked back. James got the feeling that the Peacekeeper was enjoying this a little too much.

'Well then,' whispered the Peacekeeper into James' ear, barely being able to contain his excitement, 'I don't think your punishment worked. I'll see you again at midday, Potter, and this time you won't pull any more tricks.'

James was petrified. The Peacekeeper walked away, leaving James standing shirtless and hopeless in the shadows. He forced himself to breathe and told himself that it would all be alright. If he could recover so easily once, he could do it again. He quickly put on his shirt and ran back to the castle, searching for someone to confide in. He spotted McGonagall, called on her while still running, then halted next to her and told her the whole horrid business. She listened intently as a flame began to spark behind her eyes and when James had finished, she looked as though she was ready to kill.

'Come with me, Potter,' she said calmly as she started to walk towards the Justice Building. 'Which Peacekeeper was it?' she asked him in the same unruffled tone.

'Eh, the once in charge,' James answered, 'with black hair and blue eyes.'

'Ah, Cronin. Of course, who else?' she said without a trace of any emotion. 'Any idea where he might be?'

'Setting up the…the wood for the, eh…'

'Got him,' McGonagall announced, aware that James was finding it hard to form proper sentences. 'You wait here, or even better, stay out of sight.'

Martius Cronin was already well acquainted with McGonagall and with the Potters, having met on several occasions. Not only had Cronin been the Peacekeeper who took a record of McGonagall's name, age, blood and fingerprints, showing no sense of humour in the process, but he had been the very Peacekeeper to have ordered and administrated the punishment on James. In fact, he had been the Peacekeeper who received a punch in the face from James at the reaping ceremony. Cronin was standing watching the wooden structure, on which he planned to have James tied to and flogged, being constructed, observing eagerly like a vulture watching its prey wandering towards it. By the look on his face, it appeared that Cronin wished to be the one to reprimand James again.

'Hello, Marty,' McGonagall said loudly enough for those arranging the cruel wooden construction to hear. She was bubbling with rage, but was somehow managing to control herself.

'Minerva,' Cronin replied. 'I trust you wish to talk about the boy.'

'You have already subjected James Potter to a malicious beating. I stopped myself from doing something I would regret that first time, but now I would have no regrets. I could have quite easily stepped up and brought you down for even considering harming one of my students and frankly I am ashamed of myself that I didn't. So here it is; don't you dare hurt or harm any of my students in any way ever again or so help me I might just end up in a fight to the death with you. Is that quite clear?'

'If you are threatening to kill me then it might just be your turn to receive a "malicious beating" next.'

'Ah, but that's just it. You wouldn't take pleasure in trashing an old woman half to death. No, that wouldn't quench your sadistic taste. You would much prefer a young boy, a young boy like James. Yes, Martius, I can see right through you. You are sick, twisted, warped and perverse and every breath you take is a sin.'

'You have no grounds to insinuate and accuse me of such things, McGonagall.'

'Really, Cronin? I find the grounds that you have twice sentenced a sixteen-year-old boy to be whipped in public quite solid enough to construct my knowledge upon.'

'Minerva McGonagall, do you know who you are speaking to?'

'I know more than anyone else!'

'How dare you suggest that I am perverted in such ways?! Trust me, McGonagall; I shall see to it that you are penalized in a way that makes what happened to James look like mere school discipline!'

That was the last straw for McGonagall. She withdrew her wand from inside her robe, waved it in a circular motion, then pointed it at Cronin and yelled 'STUPEFY!'

Cronin was thrown back into the wooden structure, knocking it over. There were screams from all of the surrounding witnesses, all of whom had crowded around to see some of the action. A Peacekeeper ran up to the bundle of sticks that was the structure for whippings and tried to awaken Cronin. He had been stunned and would not stir. McGonagall noticed the several armed Peacekeepers appearing so took action and cast a Disillusionment Charm over herself. Soon, she blended in and became like a human chameleon, free to get away. Only, she would be if there was not a crowd of people gathered around her. She pointed her wand at the ground, casting the Snake Summons Spell. A long black serpent was soon slithering around the people and Peacekeepers of District 7, causing them to scatter rapidly. McGonagall looked around for James and saw him peeking out from behind a tree to get a view of the madness. She ran as fast as her tired legs would take her, grabbed his arm and Disapparated with a pop.

They appeared inside McGonagall's tent. James fell to the ground, terrified, but forced himself back up and pulled out his wand.

'Show yourself!' he cried, his fear evident in his voice.

McGonagall cast the counter-charm around herself and slowly, from the crown to the toe, she began to appear. James put his hand over his heart in relief.

'What happened out there?' he asked her, still retrieving his breath.

'I stunned Martius Cronin,' she replied, 'then Disillusioned myself and then, for good measure, summoned a snake. Then, I grabbed you and Apparated to my tent.'

James stared at her in disbelief. 'With all due respect, was that the wisest choice?'

'No, James,' she replied solemnly, 'it was very unwise and I fear I may have given Cronin more reason to hate us.'

'So what do we do?' he demanded, his anger beginning to appear.

'Well, I become a cat and stay that way for as long as necessary. Or, I could try travelling to the Capitol but I wouldn't have a clue where I was going. Or, I could just hide in my tent.'

She looked at James and saw that her desire to put things right may have made them worse.

'I'm sorry, James. I'm sorry for everything. I've not made the best decisions lately and I've said things that were false-'

'What do you mean?' James interrupted. 'What have you said that was false?'

McGonagall took a deep breath. 'On his first visit to District Seven after we had arrived, I told President Snow that Scorpius was thirteen when, as you know, he is in fact fifteen. I had a feeling that if I told him the truth, he would object to letting children from twelve to fourteen be spared of being reaped, but if I said that Scorpius was thirteen, then he might just spare the twelve year olds. And he did. I couldn't have changed my mind after I said Scorpius was fifteen, so I didn't say it. But I cannot be completely sure that he wouldn't have spared the twelve to fourteen year-olds. I doubt it extremely as I know he is an evil man, but there can never be definite proof that he would or wouldn't have. There was a chance, a tiny little chance, that I could have saved Lily, and I didn't take it. Not a day has passed that I haven't-'

But James interrupted again. Not with a scream or a shout, but with a hug. A teary embrace. He held on to McGonagall as teardrops streamed silently down his face. He had never felt more respect for her than he did right now, this wonderful woman who had become like a step-mother to an entire school of children without a pause for thought. He wanted her to know that he never doubted her, not really, and no words could have given his feelings justice. McGonagall smiled and wrapped her arms around James, holding him tight as if he was his own. In that moment, they were not like a headmistress and her student, but a grandmother and her grandson.

'Trust me, James,' she whispered strongly yet kindly. 'I will not let you come to harm.'

They broke apart from each other and smiled, just for a moment, before McGonagall stepped back and transformed herself into a tabby cat, and strolled out of the tent. James had never witnessed regret and compassion coming from McGonagall before, only clever wit and firmness. He wondered if maybe she was starting to get tired and worn-out. After all, she wasn't as fit and young as she used to be, not that James had ever known a fit and young McGonagall. She just seemed to be doing everything at once now, but maybe it was just because of the wormhole incident.

Suddenly, someone burst into the tent. It was Rose Weasley.

'The Peacekeepers are coming' she warned him, 'but we've got a plan. We can hold them off and you can escape.'

'What?!' yelled James. 'You can't take on the Peacekeepers! And anyway, escape where?'

'The Room of Requirement. Professor Longbottom says he can Disillusion you and get you there. You'll be safe, you might even find something to help us get home.'

'Rose, no one else is going to fight for me. Don't do this; it will only make the problem bigger.'

'They'd do it if it was me, and you would too. Or if it was Hugo. Or Lily or Albus. Heck, we'd probably do it for Scorpius.'

'Want a bet?'

'We would fight for each other no matter who it was we were fighting against. Besides, these Peacekeepers don't even have magic, it'll be a pushover.'

'Rose, please, tell them to call it off.'

'No, James, this needs to happen. It's for all of us; it's to show we can stand up to the Peacekeepers. Now come on, they'll be here soon.'

Rose stretched out her arm, and reluctantly, James took it. They speedily walked out of the tent, looking all around for Professor Longbottom. They saw him, quivering and shaking as he jerked about on a broomstick up above them. He had never been great at flying, and it appeared that he was struggling to land. His broomstick flew, still in a horizontal position, down to the ground with great speed, then back up into the sky. It was a wonder that the professor stayed on. He looked around at the ground below him, and made a swift decision. He dived off the broom, and fell from the height of a three-storey building.

He pulled out his wand, shouted 'Aresto Momentum' when he was mere inches from the ground, and his fall was cushioned. He stood up and pointed his wand at the madly flying broomstick, and slowly pulled it towards the ground. Once it was on the floor, he told James to get on.

'No doubt you'll be better at flying than me,' Longbottom laughed. 'Rose, you stay here and find somewhere safe to stay while I get James to safety.'

'I'll do what I can to help,' Rose answered. 'When I'm safe, I'll send you a Patronus.'

'A Patronus?' Longbottom gasped. 'You really do take after your mother. Now, come on James, let's see if all that Quidditch has paid off.'

James and Longbottom were both sitting on the broom, James at the front, and it began to fly up in the air. Rose watched, giving them a nod before running away. From his new height, James could see the Peacekeepers assembling as word got around of something strange happening at Hogwarts. James turned the broom to face the castle, and could see a new tower stretching up from up.

'We asked the Room of Requirement to help us get from outside to it quickly so you could hide inside,' Longbottom said, 'and it gave us that tower. If you fly into that hole in the tower's roof, you'll be taken to the room.'

James went full speed ahead for the hole on the towers roof. Suddenly, he saw something from the side of his vision appear and smash into the very tower he was heading for. He turned to face the direction it came from, and he saw what he did not want to see; two Peacekeepers manning a rocket launcher.

'Professor!' James shouted. 'Get those Peacekeepers, I'll get us inside.'

The professor didn't think much of the fact that James had just given him a command, but began to fire bolts of light from his wand to the missile-launching Peacekeepers. He did not hit them, and they fired a second rocket. James turned around to see the rocket coming straight for them, and swooped the broom down as to avoid it. He lost control. The force of the missile had confused the path of the broomstick and it began to fall to the ground. James tried desperately, but he could not regain control. James and Longbottom crashed into a tree, the broom snapped in two, and both its passengers were lying on the ground. James' vision was blurry and he was lying on his right arm. He brought his free hand up to his throbbing head and saw by the blood on it that he was injured. He didn't want to think about anything, he just felt tired. At that moment, a small, silver, shining robin landed beside him and twittered. James gave out a deep sigh, and closed his eyes. It was Rose's Patronus. She was safe, and right now, that was the best news James had. He forced his eyes open, and saw a white van decorated with the golden Capitol seal. Two Peacekeepers ran out of the back, pulled James up from the ground and shoved him in the van, slamming the doors behind him. It was pitch black; James was terrified. The van started up, and James fell backwards as it began to move. He quickly pulled himself up off the floor and began kicking and punching the wall. He smashed out in every direction, and only when he paused for a moment, he heard a quiet hiss. It was gas. James went to pull out his wand, but it was gone. He was already feeling tired after falling from a tree, but now he couldn't control himself. He fell to the ground, unconscious, as the van drove far away from Hogwarts and closer to James' fate.