In Hunger (Ch. 1)

This is a Hunger Games xover. Not sure how long it will be. The first one or two chapters are more for setting it up, but after that I’ll start adding the smut and whatnot.

In Hunger

Chapter 1

Harry groaned as he slowly picked himself up from the ground. Getting into a sitting position, Harry looked around. Nothing but forests. He shook his head, once again cursing his friend, Hermione.

When it became clear that Harry would have to risk his life and take on Voldemort, she was rightly worried. Harry was only a teenager. How would he possibly be able to take on the Dark Lord himself? Her answer came when she was granted access to a Time-Turner in their third year. She immediately began studying it, hoping to find a way to give Harry more time to study and practice. It took a decent portion of the year, but she finally figured out how the little objects were able to affect time. After that, she took another several months to research and develop an object for him to use.

She gave him the metal bracelet to test out at the beginning of their fourth year. In theory, Harry would travel back in time for one week before meeting back up with the timeline. She had given him an expanded bag with plenty of food and a large notebook full of useful spells that she had compiled during her many trips to the school library. Harry was to use that time to study and practice while testing out if the device worked properly.

She told him that there was just enough Time Sand in there for five trips. The last trip would automatically bring him back to the correct point in time. That way, if something went wrong, he would be back in five weeks at most. Harry had no reason to doubt her. She was the smartest person that he knew, besides Dumbledore.

He should have asked more questions. When he first used it, he went back in time over sixty years! Not only that, but he remained there for eight months. He didn’t even stay at Hogwarts. It had somehow taken him through both time and space and deposited him in Southern Africa. After that, the bracelet went off again and dumped him in China in the 1500s. He was there for over a year.

Harry didn’t dare mess with the bracelet or even take it off. If he did, he might be stuck there when it did finally go off. He still had a little faith in Hermione, so he guessed that the final trip would place him back at his normal time, or at least he hoped. Until then, he carried on with the plan. He continued studying her notebook and even learning from any magical that he happened to come across. His trip to China had actually been a major boon to him. He appeared relatively close to a magical community that was happy to teach him all that they knew. Unfortunately, the language barrier was difficult to overcome. He was just getting the hang of it when he was taken away.

That’s when he was deposited in this forested area. He tried to stay positive and told himself that this was the third trip. He’d only have one more before he got to go home. At least that was the plan. Taking a deep breath and standing up, he checked himself over. He had his bag and his wand.

He made sure that no matter what, he always had his bag and wand on him. It would be a disaster if he lost those along the way. Thankfully, he had learned how to shrink expanded bags while in China. Since then, he kept his wand in it when not in use and attached the small bag to a string, and wore it as a necklace. Unshrinking and opening his bag, he pulled out his wand and leather wand holster that he had personally made. Attaching it to his forearm, Harry nodded his head in happiness. At least he didn’t disappear while showering. The thought scared him. Because of this, he always kept several changes of clothes in his bag. Hopefully, this place had better clothes than ancient China did so that he could replace them. First, he needed to find out where and when he was.

Since there were too many trees around, he couldn’t apparate by sight. He had luckily been taught the trick while in China. Apparently, it had been invented only fifty or so years before he arrived. Sadly, magical brooms were one thing that didn’t exist in China, at least not in the 1500s. Removing his wand from his holster, he waved it and began slowly floating upward. He rose and rose until he was fifty feet or so above the treeline. Looking around, he saw nothing but trees until he spotted a large fenced-off area far in the distance. It was too far to get a proper look so that he could apparate. Using his wand, he figured out that it was Northeast of his position. Lowering himself back down, he began walking in that direction. After a few hours of walking, he stopped and ate lunch. Another rule that he followed was to make sure that he always had plenty of fresh food inside of his bag.

Once done, he packed up and began walking again. After another few hours, his feet were really starting to hurt. He floated himself back up and found that he was close enough to see a clearing just outside of the fencing. Picturing it clearly in his head, he twisted and disappeared with a pop. Only a second later did he reappear just outside of the fence. Making sure that there was no one around, he peered in through the fence. In the distance, he could see a sort of run-down village that was drab and colorless. Harry quickly apparated to the other side. Once there, he Disillusioned himself so that he could explore without having to worry about getting seen.

As he got closer to the houses, he could see that he was correct. All of them were in bad shape. It looked like everyone here lived in abject poverty. The one good thing was that between them and the fence, he could tell that he was closer to his time. In truth, he was a bit sick of living so far in the past.

The people that lived there appeared equally run down. Most, if not all, looked similar in appearance. They had dark hair, dark eyes, and an olive-colored complexion. Sometimes it was hard to tell. Many of the men were coated in black powder, and judging from the smell, it was coal. The women in this area looked dirty as well, likely from working hard around the house.

Harry continued to walk around and listen for any clue as to where or when he was. He found that he was somewhere called District 12 and more specifically, in an area called The Seam. Apparently, the Seam was where the poorest workers lived. He also heard people talking about a place called the Hob, and a few talking about somewhere called the Merchant’s Section.

Occasionally, he would see people dressed in futuristic, white suits that others seemed to be afraid of. They were called Peacekeepers and would walk around with guns. He guessed that they were a police force of sorts. Harry couldn’t really get a beat on where in the timeline that he was. It was obviously in the future, but how far, he couldn’t tell. He also couldn’t tell exactly where he was in the world. From their accents, he figured that he was somewhere in the US.

Continuing to walk, he eventually made it out of the slums and into some sort of trading area. People were selling and trading what little items that they had. A lot of it had to do with food or alcohol. Hell, if he lived in that shithole he’d want a drink as well, so he wasn’t surprised that the booze flowed heavily. He could see that people had to be careful in this area. Pickpockets were seen prowling around and looking for an opportune time to strike.

He spent the next couple of hours searching the area. He went through the Merchant’s Section that seemed to be filled with blonde-haired, blue-eyed people that were better off than the people in the Seam. He eventually came upon an area called the Victor’s Village. What they had won at, he didn’t know, but the place appeared nearly empty. Walking up to the front steps of one of the large houses, he sat down and thought. Whenever he appeared in a new place, he preferred to stay in the area. He would visit other places sometimes but always came back to the area in which he appeared. He didn’t know if it mattered to his device or not, but he preferred to not take any chances.

In Hunger

Harry had taken over a small house in the back of the Merchant’s Section that was very close to The Hob. It had been empty for a while because the previous owner had run afoul of the Peacekeepers. Harry happily used his magic to take possession. Not trusting anyone there, he quickly put up some wards for his own peace of mind. The main one misdirected people who went there with the intent to do harm or cause trouble. The place had some decent furniture, but he’d try to find better at some point in the future. Having enough food for a few months, he wasn’t desperate yet, and he didn’t plan on getting to that point. He chose this house for a reason. There were better houses that were empty, but this one was out of the way and close to the Hob. He planned on opening his own little black-market trading business.

After a week or so had passed, he had learned more and more about the place. He was indeed somewhere in what was once the east of the United States, coal-country to be precise. Through natural disasters, the water levels rose until this was the only habitable land on the planet, or so they said. He still didn’t know how far in the future that he was, but it was quite a ways based on the technology that was present. Harry would warn his friends about this whenever he made it home and plan for any future family that he would have. He had already taken a history book and put it in his bag to show proof to Hermione.

The books said that there were twelve Districts after the thirteenth was destroyed during the latest war. They were all ruled by the Capital of this land, which was named Panem. Because of the rebellion, each District was forced to offer up two children to fight to the death in some game. Harry was horrified by what he read. Immediately, he had a very clear dislike for the Capital and its supporters, including the Peacekeepers.

From a technological standpoint, the Capital sounded amazing. Not only that, but it was where most of the best products were. If Harry wanted to run a good black market business, that was where he needed to go. Once there, he could easily apparate back and forth. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just hop on a plane and go for a visit. The only way there was by train. Thankfully, one was scheduled to come through in a few days, and Harry would definitely be stowing away on it.

Harry knew that any trading that he did was unnecessary. By taking from the Capital and trading to the people in District 12, he would be losing money … if he actually paid for the stuff … which he wasn’t planning on doing. But he didn’t care. He only wanted something to keep him from getting bored. He didn’t need the money, because he could steal anything that he needed. However, the idea of taking from the wealthy cunts of the Capital and giving to the poorest of the Districts seemed like something that was worth doing. Now he just needed to wait for that damn train.