The Hogwarts Games (First Draft)

Chapter 25 - Riddle Me This

Chapter 25 - Riddle Me This

The cannon fired for Zabini.

"What just happened?" Skye whispered.

"If I'm not mistaken," I begin, gulping down the lump in throat. "I've just convinced Georgia Flint to betray and eliminate her controlling, abusive boyfriend that she thought she loved."

"Huh." was all she replied with. I jumped down from the tree, careful not to touch the Bulbadox powder left on the floor.

"I have to go, Skye. Flint is right, there's only four of us left, and I can't risk circumstances. It might boil down to just the two of us. I won't have the heart to hurt you." Or anyone left, I added as an afterthought.

"I get it." she said simply. "Take care of yourself, Missy."

"Back at you." I replied with a smile and ran off into the woods.

A horribly girlish voice echoed through out the forest.

"Good evening, tributes!" Umbridge said over the P.A. "This is an announcement introducing your one and only Feast. Now, a Feast is ..."

I drowned out the next few words. I knew what it was. They had something we really needed. They would have it placed somewhere in the open. It was bait for a bloodbath. We would all be driven to fight each other to get what we needed.

"... is guarded by a Sphinx."

Wait, what? Damn me for not listening.

"You are all missing people terribly, I know it. So we had everyone who regarded you as important in their lives write a letter. Those letters are in small pouches with your initials on them. Find the lake with the Sphinx. Answer her riddle correctly or she might eat you!" Umbridge chuckled haughtily. "Or maim you horribly at the most. Answer it right and the letters are yours. We will issue an hour of truce so you can read them. That is all."

Letters from our friends and families. Hour of truce.

My legs broke in an aimless sprint. I followed my gut. I had no clue whatsoever where it is or how long I would run for, I just needed something to numb my mind. Something to take me away from this arena from hell, just for an hour. The letters were my way out and my way to ensuring a sliver of my sanity was still intact.

Screams and growls were heard in the distance and my eyes perked up in alarm. I ran towards the dissonant noise.

I sprinted desperately, swatting away branches that reached out to hit my face. I'm pretty sure some of them have, leaving faint, crimson scratches on my cheeks. No matter. I just kept running, the screams were getting louder.

A female voice was snarling one word over and over as a girl's scream was pleading for safety.

"Incorrect. Incorrect. Incorrect."

"I know! I know! Get away from me! Someone help!"

Even though our conversation was brief, it was very recent so I could figure the person out.

"Georgia?!" I yelled in the direction of the voices. I burst through the trees and saw Georgia pinned down by the Sphinx's.

"Whoa." I whispered, stopping dead in my tracks. "I guess nothing is mythical in this place."

First thing I noticed was the head. It had the delicate features of a woman with startling red eyes and pale lips. It had a bronze-like complexion and her hair was a flowing copper mane. It's neck was coated in a golden fur which was connected to a lion's body. It had a sleek golden coat, splattered with mud and its claws we're splashed with crimson blood. It was approximately the same height as the Chimaera.

Georgia's panic-filled eyes met mine. "Crawford!"

I sprinted towards her in hopes of being her rescuer.

"Crawford! Help! Crawf-"

But to no avail.

A horrible snap was heard and Georgia moved no more. The Sphinx left Georgia's limp body and sat on its hind legs.

"You must answer the riddle to gain entry." It said to me with a monotonous tone.

I said nothing.

"You must answer the riddle to gain entry."

"I understand." I croak, still staring at Georgia. The ground turned into a viscous liquid and Georgia sank in with a look of peace I didn't see in her before. It was as though she was sleeping.

A cannon fired.

The Sphinx lifted a paw towards me.

"Place hand here."

I did so. The fur felt soft like the silky material my dress was made out of. Tufts of its fur was, however, covered by crusts of mud and/or blood.

The Sphinx shivered and purred softly. I looked up at its face and saw that the eyes were no longer the same colour as the blood it spilt but a soft, sea-like blue. The colour reminded me of two of the boys in my life who I regarded as family.

The Sphinx no longer spoke with a monotonous quality in its voice but instead, it was musical yet eerie.

"If your answer is incorrect, then I have orders to eliminate you."

"Understood."

"Then prepare for your riddle." it said with a finality.

I waited.

"What is always given but never returned?

What is blissful but yet it hurts?

What do you deny and then accept?

Around the one, what turns you inept?

Two words, the reality of it all

No words can measure how hard you fall

What makes you think of yourself with doubt and hate?

What must you act upon before it's too late?"

I repeated the riddle in my head again and again.

'What is always given but never returned?' I thought to myself. 'What is blissful but yet it hurts? Life? You cannot return your life and it has its ups and downs and the downs often make you doubt or hate yourself.'

I lifted my hand away from the Sphinx and paced, my brow furrowed with concentration.

'But it can't be "Life". Two words, the reality of it all. My life?'

I glanced up and saw the Sphinx with its chin parallel to the ground, its eyes fixed on something in the distance.

'No, that's not it. You don't deny life. There's no choice in the matter. Around the one what turns you inept?'

Inept. My thoughts turned to Peeta. He was ever so clumsy around Katniss. Too bad she couldn-

That's it!

"The answer," I said turning to the Sphinx. "Is unrequited love. Love that is given by one person but not returned by the other."

The Sphinx bowed its head to look down at me.

"Correct. Pass." The Sphinx stood on all fours and sauntered away, revealing an entrance to a temporary sanctuary.

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Sorry about the delay! Got past my Writer's Block eventually :D

Thanks to the people who commented on this novel. It's such a confidence boost to know that you enjoy what I've written. Therefore I present you with cookies! *hands cookies out*

As well as The Hogwarts Games, I've got another story up called "Express Yourself". Please check it out and let me know if it's worth continuing. I'm not so sure at the moment.

Thanks again!

D xox