Ron Weasley

I don't know if I can take this.

I'm staring at the girl I love laying on the ground, a knife in her chest. Knowing that she won't survive. 

Ginny squeezes my hand tightly. Neither she nor I has shed a tear. Not yet, at least. 

Harry, who's sitting on the other side of Ginny, is frozen. I see the horror on his face. But I won't try to comfort him. I haven't forgiven him yet. 

Annabeth's face looks just as stricken. She kneels next to her friend, and whispers something that the cameras don't pick up. Their eyes meet, and Hermione says something back. I can't hear it, but her lips are easily read. 

I'm sorry.

Then her eyes close.

Annabeth is crying; her tears fall onto Hermione's face, and I imagine that I see a flicker of movement there. 

Ginny buries her head in my chest, unable to watch any more. I just sit there, not able to do anything more than stare at the screen. 

When I glance over at Harry, I see the cold mask he's been wearing fall away. I see the heartbreak he feels. I see the single tear that rolls down his cheek. 

Our eyes meet, but he quickly turns his head away. I can't say I blame him. Neither of us wants to start an argument right now. 

I don't feel the pain yet. I'm numb; in shock. I know soon it will come crashing down on me, and there's nothing I can do but wait. 

Annabeth Chase

It feels like a dream. Well, a nightmare. Unfortunately, I've had enough of those to know that this isn't one.

This is real. Real, and painful, and cuts deeper than anything ever has. 

Hermione was closer to me than anyone. Anyone, that is, except Percy.

Oh, gods. Percy.  Will he take me back? Or is it too late? 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Victor of the Fandom Games, out of District 1, Annabeth Chase!"

I hear the roaring of the hovercraft above me, and look up. Normally, it would lower an arm of sorts to take the body. Not this time. 

It lands, and people flood out of it. Hermione's body dissapears in the mayhem. Then they come for me. 

I don't fight them. I let them drag me onto the craft, where I'm taken to a room that looks like a doctor's office. A woman in a white coat is there. She shoos out the attendants - avoxes, I suppose, considering I haven't heard a single one of them speak a word - and then turns to me. 

"Take your shirt off," she instructs. I do so.

She frowns as she examines the wound on my chest. "This is from Peter, correct?"

I hesitate. I wonder if it would be advantageous.... "I don't know," I lie. "I can't remember."

The doctor sighs. "That's unfortunate. Well, I might as well tell you. Peter raped you when you went to the Cornucopia."

I do my best to look shocked. "He... did?" My voice shakes, and it's not entirely an act. Remembering that moment is not easy. 

"I'm afraid so. We would have eliminated him immediately, if there weren't so few tributes left. He was one of the top three picks for victor."

I don't say anything. 

"We're going to have to operate on you immediatly," the doctor tells me. "The wound is badly infected."

I hadn't been paying close attention to what she was doing with her hands. Before I have time to react, she jabs a needle into my arm and I slip out of conciousness. 

Magnus Bane

The summons to the capitol comes at a very inconvenient time. I'm trying to use one of Alec's steles to perform a tracking spell when I feel the pull. 

Elara is very powerful. Her whisper powers are far-reaching. Nowhere in this country is out of her range. I have tried every spell I could find that might block it, but all have failed. I am bound to her, as is everyone. 

I drop the stele on my desk with a sigh and make a portal, stepping through it quickly. 

I come out in the building that houses the tributes. The medical center, her voice tells me. I go there. 

"What do you need?" I demand of Doctor Paige, who is pacing in front of a closed door. 

Her eyes light up. She comes over to me, and in a low tone whispers what she wants.

My eyes widen. "It's very dangerous. It could kill her, or him."

"We haven't got a choice. That kid is the key, Magnus. We're counting on you."

I sigh. "Fine. How long until the operation?"

"We need it done now."

I take a deep breath, and enter the room. It's going to be a long night. 

When I exit the operation room, I collapse into a chair. I used up a lot of magic in there. It could be days until I have my strength back. 

At least the operation was successful. For now, at least. If her body rejects it... they could both die. 

Although I'm exhausted, I can't just sit here. I stand up and walk down the corridor, having actually no idea where I'm going. 

I stumble upon a passageway that requires a passcode to enter. I have enough magic left to short-circuit the keypad. I wonder what's in here...

What I find is a corridor much like the others. These doors, though, are not locked. 

In the first room, I find a blonde boy, pacing up and down, muttering to himself. "Tommy... please... you're not dead... you promised...." 

His accent is British. It takes me a moment, but I recognize him as the boy from district ten who was reaped. The dark-haired boy, Thomas, volunteered for him.  I wonder why he's here. 

"Newt?" I say tentatively, remembering the boy's name. 

When he looks up at me, his eyes are wild. "You. Have you seen Tommy? Do you know where he is? He promised he would come back. You promised. Please, Tommy. Please."

The boy sinks to the floor, crying. 

He's insane. Must be. Is this the phsych ward or something. Wondering what I'll find, I move on to the next door. 

A boy with black hair sits on a bed in the center of the room, facing away from me. I can't hold in the gasp when I see the runes that mark his skin. 

He whirls around, and I stumble back, hardly able to take in what I'm seeing. 

The boy's eyes widen in confusion. It pains me to see how thin he looks, and that his eyes are bloodshot. I hope he hasn't been crying because of me. 

When he speaks, all I hear in his voice is sadness and hurt. "Magnus," he greets me. 

I can't help it. We've been separated for much too long. I take him in my arms and kiss him slowly. He doesn't resist. 

"Hello, Alexander," I sigh. "We have a lot to talk about."

Malec Reunion! Yay! This chapter is unedited so sorry for any mistakes but y'all know how lazy I am. I'm sure you want to know all about the surgury, but it wouldn't be any fun to tell you everything now. You'll just have to wait and see. *me laughing like a maniac; knowing what I'm going to put you through* Thanks for reading!