Ron Weasley

I hardly know what to do with myself these days. It's the same dull routine, always.

Wake up. Have breakfast. Go to Harry's to watch the games. Come home in the evening. Sleep. Repeat.

How long has it been since she broke up with me? Two months? Three? It seems like forever.

At the time, I thought it was the right thing to do. I could tell how much Malfoy cared about her; how desperate he was. I figured he'd find a way to break us up eventually, so why not just give him his chance? I never thought she'd end up loving him.

But then again, I never thought that any of this would happen. I never thought I'd see my best friend and love of my life be reaped for the Fandom Games. I never thought I'd watch her fall for Harry and I's former nemesis. And now, the things they're saying...

"Ron! Snap out of it!"

I jerk my head up to look at Harry. "What?" I ask, irritated.

"Are you okay?"

He asks me that, every day. Every day, I tell him yes. But the truth? "No," I say bitterly. "Who would be?"

My best friend puts his hand on my shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong."

I don't mean to yell at him, but I do. "You bloody well know what's wrong!" I shove his hand away. "Would you just stop acting like everything's bleeding alright? Because it's not!"

I see tears pooling in his eyes behind his glasses. "I know," he sighs. "I worry about her too."

"You don't get it! You don't love her the way I do!" I realize what I've said too late. I spent the last few months trying to convince everyone that I was over her. Now he knows the truth. I hang my head.

"You really think I don't know that you still love her?" Harry scoffs. "I've known you for ten years, Ron. I can tell when you're lying to me. I know that you're miserable, and you have been ever since she broke it off. I know you spend almost every waking moment thinking of her. But face the facts, Ron, there's nothing you can do right now."

"I just-" my voice cracks. "I should have been there for her. Not stupid Malfoy. I never should have let him have his chance with her. And now she's carrying his child-"

"Ronald Weasley!" he snaps. "Those are nothing but rumors! Do you honestly believe that Hermione would sleep with the ferret? Bloody hell, have some faith in her!"

"But it all adds up, Harry. The secret whispered conversations, the talk about names... It makes sense."

My friend scowls. "Believe what you will, but I refuse to accept it until I hear the words out of her own mouth."

I hate myself for believing the rumors, but I do. And I hate myself for still loving her in spite of it. I worry, though, about what Harry will do if it turns out to be true.

Sebastian Morganstern

My eyes seem to be open, yet I see nothing. I don't feel anything on my ears, but I don't hear a sound. My senses seem gone altogether.

Am I in a coma? I shouldn't be. It was predicted that Fowl would try to kill me. I knew that was going to happen. It shouldn't have done anything accept knock me out temporarily. Perhaps there's been an unforseen complication.

Come on, Jonathan. Wake up.

The darkness is trying to put my brain back to sleep, but I fight the urge to succumb. I have to wake up. I'm too important to the plan.

Elara is counting on me. The entire operation will have been useless if I fail now.

Gathering all the strength I can muster, I push through the blanket of blackness and find myself in a white room. It doesn't take me long to see that it's not a Capitol hospital. I must be in the deserted districts.

A figure sits in a chair next to my bed. He has black hair, olive skin, and stares into space.

"Nico?"

His eyes widen. "Sebastian! You're awake."

I sit up, still a bit groggy. "We're in the Destroyed Districts. How?"

"I convinced them that you needed immediate medical care."

"Didn't I?"

He looks away. "You weren't in that coma when you came out of the Arena. I put you in it."

"You what?" I shout.

Nico winces. "There've been some... complications. It was necessary that I get you and your sister here immediately."

"What do you mean, complications?" I growl, jumping out of bed.

He looks frightened of what I will say as he speaks. "You know how the spell Magnus Bane cast on Clary said true love's kiss would bring her out of the death coma? Well, we weren't able to collect Jace Herondale on schedule. It was more than a week after Clary 'died' when we got to your district. Jace was already dead."

Oh, this is very bad. "Suicide?" I ask quietly.

"Yeah."

This was not anticipated. Without Jace, I may not be able to get Clary back. "What the hell took you so long to get to him?" I demand.

"We were occupied with... other things. There have been some unforseen developments in the Arena."

"Such as?" He doesn't see how important this is.

"Peter has been causing some problems."

"I don't give a fuck about Peter, di Angelo! What could possibly be so important-"

"He raped Annabeth."

I stare at him.

"Hermione's pregnant," he adds.

I groan. "Is Annabeth okay?"

"She has a bad concussion, amnesia, and the gamemakers drastically lowered the temperature in the arena."

"Are they trying to kill the favorites? What are they, stupid?"

"They're not trying to, Sebastian. It's Peter's fault."

I sigh. "I warned Hayes not to do anything rash. He's causing too many problems... He'll have to be eliminated as soon as possible. I'll talk to Elara-"

"You can't talk to her."

"What?"

"There's no way to get a message to the Capitol," Nico sighs. "Trust me, I've tried. But everything is monitored here."

"Which district are we in?" I ask.

"Fourteen."

"Seriously? You brought us to the haunted one?"

"Dude. My dad's the death god. Of course I brought us to the haunted one. And it's easier to shadow travel here because of the... well, the death."

I roll my eyes. "Well, can you get us out of this hospital? No, on second thought, take me to Clary."

The son of Hades shrugs. "Not much to see, but okay."

He grabs onto my arm and we fade into the shadows. We reappear in a room that looks a lot like the one we just left. Except in this one, the bed has someone in it.

Clary looks small and frail, lying there with her red hair fanned out around her sickly pale face. When I put my finger to her wrist, her pulse is very weak. Please don't die on me, Clarissa.

"There has to be a way to wake her up," I murmur.

Nico looks uncertain. "She's lingering on the edge of death, Sebastian. I can feel it. Her soul wants to be free."

"Have you talked to Bane?"

"The High Warlock is very busy."

I scoff. "Yeah, busy doing that Lightwood kid. Send a message that I want him here in an hour, and no later."

"As you wish."

He leaves through the door, and I turn back to my sister. "Please wake up, Clary," I whisper. "No one on the Other Side is worth dying for. No one needs you the way I do."

Oh, did I say Sebastard was dead? I lied. I mean, if you read Artemis Fowl you should know that Neutrinos aren't actually deadly. At least Clary's alive too, right? Well, sorta. Except Jace is dead, sooooo.... Hehehe. More will be revealed soon. Bye.