"My fiancée is pregnant! You have to let us go you just have to!"

It was difficult to watch as Cedric Diggory begged the guards to save Cho who was weeping hysterically in his arms. Judging by the size of her stomach, Cho looked about six months gone. Whatever possessed her to enter such a competition in the first place?

I felt Luna inch closer to me, pressing her shoulder into mine. On my other side, my sisters stood, the three of us exchanging furtive, fearful glances.

"As it states in the consent form of which you all voluntarily signed," the triangle guard announced in a flat, electronic voice, "refusal to participate in the games will result in your instant elimination."

I shivered, now understanding just what it meant to be 'eliminated'. I still had the blood of the deceased spattered all over my tracksuit, after all.

"My unborn child didn't sign it, though!" Cedric pleaded, his voice choking, "and if you kill my fiancée then you take an innocent life! Please, I beg of you to at least let her go!"

"Refusal to participate in the games will result in your instant elimination," the guard repeated without a shred of empathy.

Hermione Granger ran forward now, falling to her knees in front of the guards. "Please! Just let us go. I'll hand myself back over to You-Know-Who if you just free me from this hell!"

"Hell?" Dennis Creevey scoffed behind her, his arms folded lazily across his chest. "You think this is hell? At least in here we stand a chance of winning something, unlike out there where my entire family is dead and I have nothing to look forward to but working out how to pay off my debts as well as where to get my next pussy fix from."

"I have a wife and child at home," Bill Weasley sobbed. "Please. If I don't make it back to them, then the bank will surely take our house-"

"There seems to be a misunderstanding." The triangle guard interrupted. "Let me remind you that we're here to give you a chance-"

"A chance?" Ron Weasley spluttered, driving his hands through his hair. "We play some kids games and you shoot us! You want me to choose that?"

"This is just a game."

"Killing everyone out there was a game to you, huh?" Roger Davies yelled.

"They were simply eliminated for breaking the rules of the game. If you just follow the rules, you can leave this place safely with the prize money we promised."

"Just keep your damned money!" Penelope Clearwater screamed, her face streaked with blood and tears. "I don't care! Let me just go home, that's all I want!"

Murmurs of agreement rose amongst the remaining players. My eyes met Draco's who, like me, remained stony and silent. Swallowing, I looked away.

"Consent form clause one:" the triangle guard announced, silencing the room, "a player is not allowed to stop playing."

"Come on! You think you'll get away with this, huh?" Fred Weasley snarled. "The Aurors will come - they'll bust in here any minute now."

"Consent form clause two:" the guard continued, ignoring him, "a player who refuses to play will be eliminated."

"Consent form clause three," Harry drawled loudly, casually wiping the blood off his glasses with the sleeve of his tracksuit, "if the majority agrees to stop playing the games are allowed to end. Or am I wrong?"

A long pause.

"You are correct."

"So, let's vote on ending this." Harry said, replacing his glasses on his nose. "The majority wishes to leave this place, then everyone gets to go home, right?"

Another long pause.

"Alright, as you wish. We will take a vote to decide on the termination of the game."

Everyone began murmuring as the guards set up the voting system. It seemed the main feeling was that of relief, but I didn't feel it. No. The idea of going back to the sewers and having to sell my body just to eat was something I couldn't stand to contemplate. I risked my life all the time being out there. As much as I loathed to admit, Dennis was right - at least in here we risked our lives for a chance of a handsome payoff.

But then a tightness formed across my chest as I looked from Luna to my sisters. I didn't want them to die. I couldn't allow any of them to risk their lives.

"You can come home with me," Luna whispered in my ear. "Daddy won't mind. He's always saying the place is lonely."

"I couldn't do that to you," I murmured stiffly. "These people I owe money to... they'll target you."

"And so you're just going to carry on living with the rats in the sewers?" Parvati hissed, her eyes flashing defiantly. "No, we get out of here and we stick together. Padma and I have found a place. It's not much but it's better than the sewers. And then we can find Mum and Dad-"

"Are you kidding?" Padma cut it. "Parvati, we are living in hiding with no magic. To be able to find Mum and Dad we are going to need a substantial amount of money, not only to pay off our debts, but to somehow crawl ourselves back into society so that we no longer live in fear of being killed for who we are... or more accurately are not."

We all glanced up at the giant Niffler bank which was filled with shiny gold Galleons, casting a warm golden glow over us.

"We need that money," Padma continued fiercely, "otherwise we go back out there and die anyway."

Parvati started weeping and trembling. "But I just can't- the idea of it..."

I knew what she meant. Seeing all our school friends get killed in such a bloody and violent way... it was worse than the war. But I also knew what Padma meant as well. What choice did we have? Either way we were facing death. At least this way there was a chance.

"If you should like to keep playing for a chance to win the grand total of up to ten million Galleons, then press the green button. However, if you wish for the games to end, and go away with nothing, then press the red button. Voting will be done in number order, starting from the highest."

Luna was first to vote. She glanced at me and I gave her a mere nod. I didn't need to look to see that she voted red to leave.

Player 453, Oliver Wood, was up next. After staring up at the Niffler bank full of Galleons, he voted green to stay.

One all.

The votes went on, the shock being that it was running pretty much fifty-fifty.

The Weasley twins both voted red to leave. As did Hermione and Ron. Harry Potter, in a surprising twist, voted green to stay. He kept his eyes averted from the crowd as everyone gasped at his unexpected choice. It had been him, after all, who had pushed for the vote.

"Player 199."

I stepped up to cast my vote, my eyes switching from red to green, green to red. Should I stay or should I go? Remain, leave, remain, leave?

Holding my breath, I reached out and hit the button.

Another one for leave.

Because in reality? No, I couldn't do this, I couldn't subject the people I loved to compete in this sick game.

To the surprise of almost no one, Draco Malfoy voted leave too. He stood behind me, his breath noisy and rasping behind my back. A part of me wanted to turn around and catch his eye, but a bigger part of me couldn't bear to look away from the scoreboard.

It was Padma voting stay that floored me the most. She really wanted to put us through this shit? In tears, Parvati followed behind her but voted leave.

In the end, the deciding vote was on Dumbledore. One hundred in, one hundred out. What would he go for?

He looked at me. He looked at me hard, in fact. Those pale eyes penetrating mine as though he were trying to read my mind. Feeling uncomfortable, I turned my face away.

When he pushed the red button to leave, there were mixed emotions.

I wasn't sure what mine was.

However, thanks to Dumbledore, we were free to leave.

Free to go back 'home' to hell.

*****