Diana Potter and the Hunger Games

No Stupidity

Diana gasped like she was coming up for air in water, sticky sweat coating her body. She threw the blankets off her and rushed to the bathroom, upchucking her dinner into the toilet. Once her tremors stopped, she leaned back against the wall. Her nightmare had been awful; she was forced to re-watch her brother's death, then her own death in the Games.

On shaky legs, she stood and rinsed her burning face with cool water from the sink. Diana stared into the mirror until her appearance blurred and swirled. She massaged her temples, knowing she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.

The train was silent save for the occasional bump on the tracks. Diana weaved her way through compartments until she arrived in the one with the plump sofa. She laid down on it and stared out the window, watching dark shapes run together.

Diana missed her friends more than she thought she would. She wanted to tell them all about the adventure she found herself in-an adventure she caused and despised. What had she been thinking? She could send her Patronus, but then she'd have to explain why she left. Diana couldn't even explain it to herself, let alone anyone else.

Guilt worked its way into her body. They probably thought she ran away forever.

Technically, she had.

The door opened and Haymitch came in. The way he walked without sway told Diana he wasn't as drunk as he was earlier. His eyes zeroed in on her, brows shooting up in a silent question.

Diana wondered how awful she looked. "Nightmare," she muttered, sitting up slowly. An ache started at the back of her head, causing her to flinch. "Why are you awake?"

Haymitch sat at the end of the couch, bringing his legs up. He crossed his arms and shrugged.

Diana eyed his bare feet before glaring at him. "What do you want?"

"Answers."

His silver eyes, completely sober, roamed over her. The suspicion was obvious, and Diana hated it. All she wanted was to experience something different, something that might take her pain away. Fearing for her life seemed like a good painkiller. She turned away from him, clutching her legs up to wrap her arms around them. "I have nothing to say. I'll get my facts straight, like you said."

Haymitch blinked, a perfectly built mask hiding any emotions he was experiencing. He got up after a moment and left without saying a word. Diana stared at the spot he had occupied, wondering what she could do to curve the Capitol's suspicion. Re-creating her entire history seemed like a good place to start.

~*~

"Good morning, Diana," Seamus said as she made her way into the dining car. He had a big grin on his face and a gleam of hope in his eye.

Diana smiled at the boy as she took a seat beside him, noting the lack of their mentors. "Feeling better, Seamus?"

He nodded, an enormous piece of toast in his mouth. Diana chuckled as she loaded her plate with food. Ilvermorny primarily had cuisine from Europe, but it seemed so did the Capitol. She poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip before digging into her scrambled eggs. Her nausea from last night had long since faded, leaving her stomach to rumble with hunger.

Fifteen minutes later, Haymitch walked in with Titus, speaking in hushed voices. They ignored both tributes as they sat down, Titus' blue wig almost falling off. After they had gotten their food, Haymitch looked between Diana and Seamus. "Look, kids, the Hunger Games are no joke. You mess up once you die. Got it?"

Diana met Seamus' gaze as he nodded. That little piece of hope had been squashed. And at that moment she knew she had to protect him.

"Good. Now, we can talk about who gets which mentor. It's me and Victor of the 10th Hunger Games, Lucy Gray Baird. Who wants who?" Haymitch asked, his mouth full of muffin.

"Could Lucy Gray mentor me? You're drunk all the time," Seamus said, picking at his toast.

Diana tried to hide her amusement behind her mug when Haymitch's ears grew red. He nodded stiffly, pointing at the door to the left. "Yep. She's in the other compartment. Go talk to her."

Seamus grabbed two more pieces of toast and sent Diana a smile before leaving the dining car.

Titus grabbed his plate and followed Seamus, letting out a string of giggles once the compartment door slid shut. Diana snorted, ducking her head and wiping her nose in case anything had flown out. When she finally looked up, her eyes watering with unspent laughter, Haymitch was watching her with narrowed eyes. His hands tapped the table impatiently. "Are you done?"

"Oh, come on, that was funny. Titus sounds like a hyena..." Diana took a bite of her eggs, wondering if she had said too much.

Haymitch just rolled his eyes, leaning back into his chair. "Are you willing to ally?"

"I'll stick with Seamus. No one else."

"Do you have any experience with weapons?"

Diana did. It was called a wand and the words: 'Avada Kedavra'. But, of course, she couldn't tell him that. "No," she muttered, feeling for her wand under her jacket.

Haymitch gestured to the butter knife on the table. "Throw that-" his hand moved to a wall "-at that."

Diana grabbed the knife, weighing it in her hand. It was not as comfortable to hold as her wand, did not relax her as soon as it settled into her palm. She followed Haymitch to a spot a few feet from the wall.

"Now, throw it how you think it's supposed to be thrown."

Diana dropped her hand to her side, turning to him with her lips pursed. "Really? What's that going-"

"Shut up, Diana. Just throw it."

Huffing, she turned back to the wall and parted her feet where she thought made sense. She pulled her hand back and threw the knife. It buried itself halfway into the wood with a 'thunk'.

Haymitch went over to investigate, then pulled the knife out of the wall and twirled it expertly in his hand. "Not bad. During training, work on knife wielding." He circled her, the knife still spinning over his knuckles. "You're fit, so you could get away with avoiding hand-to-hand combat until the very end. That leads to my next question: how well do you know how to survive in the wild?"

All of Professor Smith's pointless lessons about Muggle survival were paying off. Diana wondered if he worried they'd be found out and forced into the Games-or if he didn't have faith in MACUSA or the other wizarding governments. "I know how to find water, which plants are edible or poisonous, how to build a fire with only a few sources." Well, that last one was a lie. But she could easily use wandless magic to make a fire under that guise.

Her mentor backed away, sitting back down at the table. "Good. You'll need it."

The morning sun disappeared from the train car. Diana stumbled to the window and looked out to find the train barreling through a tunnel. A second later, she was hit in the face by sunrays. Diana squinted and looked at hundreds of different colors on towering skyscrapers. Professor Smith had shown them many photographs of the Capitol, but nothing compared to seeing it in person. It was absolutely beautiful.

Haymitch cleared his throat. Diana turned back to him, watching as he poured brown liquid into his coffee. "Listen, be lovable, friendly. Make them think you love being a tribute. And don't say or do anything stupid. You're already going to be in the hot seat after the Reaping."

"No stupid stuff." She remembered most of the Potter family doing something stupid within their lifetime. Hell, she had already done enough stupid to last her descendants generations. If she even lived to have children.

~*~

A/N: Hi, all! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and if you, do I'd appreciate a review! Or constructive criticism! I hope you all have a Merry Christmas or a happy holiday!