Flash Fiction Month 2016

Day 9: Lurking (HP/HG)

Katniss crouched low in the underbrush, watching as the Career pack guffawed their way into the clearing.
Clove was imitating a whimpering girl while Glimmer pretended to stab her in the throat. The boys were laughing at them. At the edge of the group, Peeta and another girl stood awkwardly apart from the coversation. The girl... It took Katniss a moment to place her. Hermione Granger, District 9. She was tanned and lithe, probably from her work in the grain fields of her home District. The Careers probably picked her up for her magic abilities, raw as they were. Katniss recalled seeing her blast a boy clean over the Cornucopia during the bloodbath of first few minutes, using only the thin wooden wand she'd found among the spoils. No doubt the magic wielder could be a dangerous enemy.
Her stormy eyes swept the clearing, taking in every leaf, every twig. Her gaze danced over Katniss' hiding place, and for a moment the archer willed her heart to still, in case Hermione could sense it.
And perhaps she could, because those eyes settled on her own for just half a second. The flicker of recognition in them was unmistakable.
Katniss tensed, got ready to move. She'd have to be fast to escape the Careers, and she didn't have the element of surprise now that the young witch had seen her.
"We should find somewhere else."
Katniss' eyes widened. The squabbling Careers stopped, turning to her.
"What was that, witch girl?" Cato asked.
"You weren't planning on camping here tonight, were you?" Hermione asked. "I mean, look at the place." She gestured around. "This whole clearing is ringed with bushes. Anyone could sneak up and ambush us during the night. We'd be better off if we found somewhere with less cover for our enemies."
The other five looked at her as if she'd gone mad.
"That'll leave us more exposed," Glimmer pointed out, swaggering up to Hermione, who was easily half a head taller than her. "What are you trying to pull?"
"Don't you think less cover will make us more formidable?" Hermione asked, cool and collected. "No one can sneak up on us, and we'd be showing off exactly how powerful we are."
She gestured to the machette on Cato's belt, the bow in Glimmer's hand, and the bandolier of knives slung across Clove's chest.
They exchanged glances, considering Hermione's argument. Katniss' mind was racing as well. What was the witch doing? Why hadn't she exposed her the moment she saw her, let the Careers take her out?
"Alright. But if we get attacked -" Cato drew his machette and levelled it with Hermione's throat. "- You die first."
Hermione cocked an eyebrow, refusing to be intimidated.
The party moved on, the crashing of their footsteps eventually fading into the distance. Almost twenty minutes passed before Katniss dared to crawl from the bushes where she'd been lurking. Her mind was roaring with questions, the vision of Hermione's last fleeting glance burning in her mind's eye.
She found a tree and scaled it, settling for the night on a high branch. But it was hours before she was able to fall asleep.