CHAPTER 10: LES MISERABLES

Day 9

Things started settling down at the camp. No one used magic anymore. No one dared. Life passed by much quiet, much silent, but at least not hopeless. Not yet. There was no way the armies, alive ones at that, would lose to dead people, right? Not when both governments were working together, right? Right? He gave excuses, whatever he could think of to brush off a bunch of mathematical reasoning that Hermione had been saying which he deemed as a joke.

"Let's assume R0 is the first patient of the epidemic, then R0 is the threshold quantity of the infection . If R0 is less than 1, the disease will die out, If it's equal to 1, the disease remains epidemic in the population. And the more above 1 R0 is, the greater the epidemic. So to quantify the epidemic, we need to calculate R0. Let N be the population and β is the contact rate of infection, each walker will make βN bites in a given unit of time, and if γ is the recovery rate, we have the equation R0 = ( βN ) / γ . However, it doesn't take into account the natural immunity system or natural deaths every day and other factors..."

"Whoa-wait wait, Hermione. Speak English, please! I mean...erm... in a simpler and more direct fashion?"

"That is...Harry..." - She sighed, looking at him with sad eyes - "Even with heavy armed force, it would take London at most one week before it's completely overrun by walkers…"

He smirked, giving her a look as if she had lost her mind and pushed her back into the tent. She obviously needed to go to bed. Definitely.

Day 17

He caught him sitting by a mound as tiny as his hand. There was sadness clouding the innocence in his eyes which wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. It wasn't supposed to be there at all.

"Grandma! Grandma! We have warm sunshine today and the grass is really green. I'm taking off my shoes and rubbing my bare feet on the grass. It tickles. Let it be a secret between us, ok? For if Auntie Noodles finds out, she'll yell at me. She used to catch me running around in bare feet with the neighbor kids and warned me not to do so. She's still asking me the same thing these days...but for a different reason.

'You've got to run as fast as you could when they come." - Hermione said - 'Barefeet will slow you down.'

You know, there are many broken bottles and glass debris out there, grandma.

There's no 'you' in camp...and camp isn't as comfortable as home. But grandma, don't you worry about Teddy 'cause I have daddy and uncles and aunties to take care of me. Daddy said you went to heaven. It's a beautiful place and everybody is nice there, isn't it? Teddy want to come to your place too but daddy said now wasn't the right time. Then when I asked him when the right time is, he turned around with a sad and angry look as if he didn't want to answer my question. Is it bad to ask that, grandma? Did Teddy say the wrong thing?... I guess I have to say sorry to him."

Grandma, I miss you. A lot. And I hope I can see you tonight in my dreams."

The boy wiped away a lone tear on his face while at the same time, Harry also put up a hand to wipe his. He silently cursed this damned chaotic world for taking away the most precious things to him, one of which was a smile and future of a child who had to grow up in bloods and tears.

Day 20

He wasn't fond of the idea and he had always thought that either Hermione or Neville would step up and take the leadership of this group. They had been doing a great job back then at Hogwarts, so why not? But then again, for some unknown reasons (which according to Hermione was due to the 'auror's aura') people kept coming to him for advices. In the beginning, it was trivia things like how to setup the alarm wires, then came the arrangement of night shift, and task allocations in the camp, eventually it became bigger matters like determining the location for their next supply run, what weapons to bring along and what preparations to make; or even when they had conflict, people still looked to him as a judge.

Gradually, his voice gained more weight and Harry became the one person to make final decision for every matter in the camp for everyone including Draco and Pansy who didn't support the idea in the first place.

He didn't like it either. He didn't understand why (or more like he could but pretended he didn't because that would seemed too ridiculous). Besides, he didn't have any choice. These people needed him.

Day 21

The shooting practice yielded good results. Ammo wasn't unlimited but they couldn't train an army without any gun training at the very least. They used empty bottles as shooting targets and it turned out Luna was the best student of them all, exceeding even Harry's expectation...or of anyone's. So Harry gave her a sniper rifle and Luna officially became the sniper of the group. Draco still stubbornly refused to use guns in favor of his ridiculous bow for it was Muggle's technology. That stupid ferret even bet his life on his once fancy hobby: "archery"...Well, it wasn't Harry's place to say anyway. Draco wasn't bad with bows and he could survive out there provided that he didn't run out of arrows too soon.

Hermione wasn't an innate gunner. Even though she didn't achieve the highest score, her current skill "was enough" to fend for herself, said Harry. "Besides, you'll never get out of my sight anyway." He added then immediately regretted it the moment the words slipped out of his lips in fear of her vicious look. She had never liked the feeling of being inferior in any subject. And more importantly… she didn't want to be a burden to him.

Day 32

Harry and Draco suddenly disappeared during their morning patrol shift which worried everyone at camp so much that Neville had almost formed a search team. Luckily, the two were back by noon, both looked so bruised and battered that nearly caused Hermione a heart attack when she thought they were bitten by walkers. It turned out that...they got into a big fight just because of a seemingly tiny ridiculous reason amid this crisis time (Draco even complained that Harry purposely hit the wound on his left eye).

"He corrupted the bank accounts, Hermione. He was the one at fault."

"Let's not mention that it was ages ago and the guy had got his punishment from Lucius Malfoy...then Harry Potter...it wasn't as if you suffered a big loss from his action."

"How was it not? Didn't you know Teddy's toy-fund was greatly affected."

Upon hearing his could-not-be-anymore-stupid excuse, Hermione immediately stomped out of the tent, determined to leave Harry struggled with a bundle of bandages and antiseptic cream. She mumbled loud enough for Harry to hear "Someday you'll be the death of me. Someday you'll be the death of me." and completely ignored the miserable black hair friend who was grumbling weakly a few words in his throat "he called you 'mudblood'."

Day 40

Harry found an abandoned police car near the Highway. There was no sign of the living in said vehicle but in return, he found a radio. Who knew...Maybe he could get it fixed.

Day 42

For the first time in his life, Harry felt grateful to the Dursleys for having mistreated him and bossed him around doing house chores. Thanks to them, he had learned to fix quite a number of electronic devices in the house, including a radio.

He turned it on, tried to look for any radio frequency but all he heard was a mere long lifeless silence. No voice, no human, no...no one.

Harry let out a disappointed sigh.

Day 51

Nearly two months had passed and still, there was no help coming from the governments or any relevant agencies. Harry slowly realized and accepted the fact that it might be true...that no help would ever come. Hope was slowly fading away and Harry knew it would only be a matter of time before someone ended their life in this dark, merciless and suffocating world.

Day 53

He saw her sitting crouched on a big rock. Under the silver moonlight, something was sparkling in her eyes. Something like...tears. Her hands were quietly caressing the wedding band on her ring finger.

Just as dozen and hundred times before, he wanted to step up by her side, wrapped his arms around her and told her 'Don't worry. Everything will be okay'. But then just as dozen and hundred times before, he chose to turn away. He couldn't. Harry looked down to the hand that was clenching tightly the crucifix chain on his neck.

If even he himself couldn't take such pain, then he held no rights to give her any delusional comforting word.

Day 63

He looked up to the sky and suddenly realized that he had never seen a sky this dark. It was pitch black and quiet. There had been dark nights before but even then, lights were all over places, from the street lights to house windows to car beams that continuously cut through the darkness at every street corner and alleys; it had been like that until dawn came and brought with it days filled with hope.

What about now? What would be the difference if he opened his eyes still saw that crimson color of blood, still smelled that rotting and decaying of the dead? Every single day he'd got to stain his hands in blood, sweats and tears. Every single moment, he tried to get in as much oxygen as possible but it was just in vain...for air had never reached his brain, for all he ever did these days weren't what a civilized man would do. Everything was reverted back to the brutal days of primitive and instinct.

Suddenly, he got this funny thought that they weren't living. They were the most unlucky people in this world who were tormenting themselves with the survival illusion. They...who were waiting for death to come and claim their lives.

Rustle...rustle...

Harry heard footsteps behind his back. Without turning his head, he could still recognize her. Hermione walked closer to him and eventually settled down by his side, wearing the oversized shirt of his that she had borrowed for nightwear.

"It's got to be the hundredth time your son asked me to tell him the adventure of saving buckbeak before he agreed to go to bed." - She grumbled, nestled her head into his chest.

"I take it that the boy is happy and asleep by now, isn't he?"

Hermione nodded, let out a long tired yawn. His lips spread into a grin as the girl started falling asleep. Maybe that was all enough for life. Having someone running around, driving someone mad, then hearing that someone out, taking all the blame for someone's behavior. And maybe all he ever needed was the warm feeling of that someone.

The sun stirred, emerged from the cloud and painted the sky with its bright yellow color. A new day had come. It wasn't full of hope like the old days, but at least...there was no more traces of the dark night.

Day 77

They were lucky. They were really lucky. In days like these, a bank car full of cash was no match for a military car ladened with canned food. And what made it even greater was that the vehicle was overturned. No one seemed to made it out alive. So all the food was theirs to get.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Did he just think he was glad that no one survived the crash?

Harry cursed himself. Since when had this world turned him into a cold-blooded monster?

Day 79

Harry laughed out loud when Draco was voted to play the victim role in Hermione's first aid training class. The guy looked so miserable rolling on the floor struggling desperately in the wrapped bandages. But it couldn't be help anyway. Malfoy had got himself a handful of so-called 'enemies' with his cocky attitude. Besides, it could be good exercise for his muscle and a stress relief session for everyone. That much benefit was rather tempting and he couldn't see why not?

Then he suddenly looked up and met the mischievousness in her deep brown eyes which had been staring at him since ever. Harry winked back while she blushed and turned her face away looking as if she was caught red handed at doing something wrong. It couldn't be, right…? Probably she was blushing from laughing too much. She couldn't...couldn't have been looking at him that way, right?

Day 82

"My name is Harry Potter and I'm living together with about ten survivors in Birchanger Wood. We have food, shelter, and weapons. If you happen to hear this message. If you're one of the lucky survivors out there, please come find us and let others know of this message. Don't be afraid. You're not alone. I hope to hear from you soon."

He had built up this habit recently of turning the radio on every morning and regularly broadcasting said messages twice a day. Maybe he was doing something hopeless. Maybe all had died out long ago.

"But who knows, maybe somewhere, sometime, someone will be able to hear this message."

He smiled reassuringly, squeezing the hand of the brown hair girl sitting next to him. Hope, no matter how fragile it was these days, was still what they needed most.

Somewhere outside the tent, Draco's grumbled voice seemed to echo off as he walked pass by "Get a life, Potter!"

Day 94

"For Merlin's sake! Guys! Wake up! Wake up!"

The whole camp was awakened by Neville's scream in early of the morning. Harry jerked up from bed, grabbed the gun and shot out of his tent like a bullet.

"Walkers? Where?" - He ran up to Neville's side while others slowly appeared behind his back with guns in their hands.

The blond friend hastily shook his head - "N-no! Not the dead! It's the livings!" - He stammered pointing toward the front gate of about 100ft away. There were two men walking up to them. A tall man wearing white glasses and doctor's coat even though it was stained with dust and blood. The other was shorter and wearing a tattered black suit. Both were walking with straight postures and didn't seem to have been injured or bitten at all.

Harry stepped forwards, did not raise his gun up but still clutched it tightly in his hand just in case. It had become a rather bad but cautious habit of him.

"Hello!" - He spoke up - "I'm Harry Potter!"

"Oh, so you're Harry Potter, the one that we heard on radio?" - The tall one said, surprised.

Harry nodded, rejoiced and put the gun back into its holster - "Yes! It was me. So I'd reckon you've heard my message?" - Somehow, his heart was beating fast in an indescribable joy. Being able to meet new faces after all these time and all thanks to his effort made Harry feel really happy. There were survivors. There were still survivors out there and he was able to help them.

"I'm Steve Connor by the way. Here is Nathan Barry. We were doctors working in a hospital downtown London when it...all of this thing happened. We were trapped for a while and thought we were the only survivors out there until we happened to hear your message, Mr. Potter!"

"It was a miracle, indeed! Oh...I almost forgot, please come inside!" - Harry exclaimed and hastily made a gesture, inviting the two to their camp while stumbling over his words as they walked - "S-sorry...it's been a while since I last met someone. So you must pardon my manner..."

He joked and all laughed as relief spread through them.

Quickly Harry introduced everyone in the camp and they got to know each other after a few exchanges on their backgrounds. Hermione seemed to show most interest as their professions were pretty close to hers, both were in the medical field. Steve and Nathan also said that most of the big cities around here had fallen and turned graveyards by now. Even they themselves had been struggling fighting all the way to here.

"The existence of you guys give us hope. The Human race isn't doomed yet." - Steve said.

"Oh don't you worry! Creatures who aren't creations of Mother Nature's even though naturally created will soon destroyed." Luna smiled dreamily and seemed to not notice the surprised look in their new two guests'.

"Please don't mind her!" - Hermione waved her hands off embarrassedly and tried to change the topic.

That night, they had a celebration at their camp to welcome two newcomers. They even ate bacon with canned beans (normally it was mainly beans) and the men even opened a bottle of wine they got from a supply run. But of course, each person was only allowed to have a sip. It wasn't because of the limited alcohol supply, they just couldn't afford to get wasted after all - said Harry.

Steve seems to be a nice guy, well educated and very funny. He made Hermione smile a lot with his extensive medical knowledge. Nathan was more of a quiet nature and left the socializing thing to Steve. He did occasionally turned to Harry and asked about the arrangement at camp as well as how they had managed to survive for the last three months.

By 9 in the night, all fire was extinguished signaling the end of their small party. The group disbanded with everyone returned to their tent. Even though it wasn't a written rule, common sense told them not to cause any noise at night. Darkness had always been a good time for predators to come out and get their preys so it'd be better not to attract them at the first place. Harry showed Steve and Nathan their tent. Since they were newcomers, he intentionally let them rest for a day or two before assigning tasks to them.

-o-

The newcomers soon got used to works at camp after a few days. They also participated in the supply run and took watch as the rest. The whole camp was divided into three key positions that constantly needed to keep watch: the main gate, the food storage on the right side and weapon storage on the left. There were three shifts per day and it took 8 hours each. Women were often assigned to morning shift though.

Besides, Harry also gave each a gun and a dagger, specifically instructed that there should be no firing of gun unless the situation called for it. Ammo was to be preserved at all cost. Much to his surprise, Nathan refused the usage of gun, stating that he felt more comfortable with a scalpel while Steve immediately grabbed the gun but turned out he didn't know how to use one, which eventually took Harry sometime to teach him.

Because Hermione was only a pharmacist, she wasn't familiar with the treatment of patients as doctors were, especially in case of heavy injuries that required surgery at worst. Nathan promised to teach her how to perform some surgical techniques on the condition that she could find some models to practise. That was also the reason why Hermione almost screamed jumping up and down when Teddy held out a bag with five or six live frogs in front of her.

"Daddy told me to give you this. You love eating frogs? Ew ew ewwwww…!" He poked out his tongue in a disgusted manner.

"Harry Potter!" - She screamed out and went searching for him - "Since when have I told you that I eat frog, huh? huh?"

"What? Who told you so? Oh..." - He shut up, and threw an agony look at the five -year-old boy standing behind her - "Oh Merlin...please keep calm and hear me out, Hermione. I know that you're looking for something to practice dissection with Nathan so the frogs are there to serve said purpose. Not food. I promise. Definitely not food and I didn't tell Teddy so." - He explained hastily.

"Oh..." - She exclaimed softly - "Why didn't you say so sooner? That was...uhm...very thoughtful of you, Harry." - She smiled then leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his cheek - "But you could always warn me next time, you know. For mental preparation, I mean. One of the reasons why I decided not to pursue the Healer career was the fact that we have to perform experiment on animals."

She gave him a wry smile then ran back to Teddy and Nathan's place. Since Hermione was very smart, she quickly grasped the basic knowledge of dissection and could perform some small surgery. However, it was still child's play compared to the actual skills she would need to be more useful in this world.

The day after that, Steve and Nathan proved their roles in the group when the two volunteered to go on a supply run at an abandoned grocery store on the outskirt of the city and they did bring back a lot of food and supplies. According to the two, they had happened to find that place on the run out of the city a few days ago and the place was magically untouched, no looting or whatsoever. But at that time, they were under the pressure to find the camp and didn't have any time to stop by and scavenge the place. Now that they were safe and settled, why not going back to get more?

After that, Harry had no reason not to trust them and believed he had done the right thing by bringing to more valuable team members of the group. Steve even offered to help him with the radio broadcasting message to which Harry gladly agreed.

"It's all thanks to this that I got here. So I want to retribute the kindness and help save many more others." - He explained.

-o-

One morning after two weeks since the newcomers came, Steve frantically ran to Harry's tent and informed the news.

"I got signal from the radio from a group of five. They said they were taking shelter in Grantchester Church which is near the outskirt of Cambridge. They wanted to join us but had no means to since there are three children and two elderly people in the group who couldn't manage to fight back the walkers surrounding the Church. Plus they didn't have any vehicle either."

"Then we'll go get them." - Harry stood up, decided without any hesitation.

A rescue team was quickly formed. Harry, Draco, Neville and Luna were elected as team members. Steve would continue to keep contact via the radio while Nathan and Hermione were to stay at the camp as backup in case they needed someone to take care of the wounded.

"Why can't I go with you?" - Hermione pulled Harry to a private corner before he embarked on his quest - "Nathan's here and isn't that good enough? Why do I have to stay behind too?"

"You know why." - Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair

"Babysitting Teddy." - Draco grumbled, putting the bow holder behind his back as he walked pass the two with a face that couldn't be anymore displeased. The guy was obviously pissed that he, once again, got involved in a saving-people mission. Hermione frowned, turning her eyes back and forth between Harry and Draco until she threw him an accusing look 'is-it-true?'. From that moment on, Harry had made a promise to himself that he would Avada Kedavra the guy as soon as he got his hand on him.

"N-no-No...of course not! Don't you listen to him!" - Harry denied, even though that was part of the reason why. But more importantly, the last encounter with Umbridge made him feel uneasy to take her along. There was bound to be risk factor in every mission and the fact that Hermione was always willing to put her life at risk whenever it came to him which was the last thing he ever wanted her to do. And so Harry took a deep breath, trying to convince her - "I need you here, need you to make decision on my place when I'm not here. People rely on you and I rely on you, Hermione."

She nodded, still seemed reluctant to let go of him. Her hand subconsciously grabbed at his sleeves - "But Cambridge is... far from here, and...oh Harry...it's so dangerous."

"It's only 40 minutes drive, Hermione. And the church isn't in downtown Cambridge. It's located on the outskirt." - He shook his head, a smile twitching in his lips. Saying he wasn't worried one bit was a downright lie. Since the outbreak broke out, he had never been, never dared stay awa from her for too long. So this was the first time for Harry too and he was no less nervous than her. Harry wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, then used a finger to tipped her chin up - "I promise I'll be careful." - He grinned, trying to reassure her, totally unaware of her move for she suddenly leaned in and gave him a peck on his lips as fast as a shooting star which stunned him to no end. In that very moment, Harry felt as though his feet had been buried deep on the ground and turned rigid. Then once he opened his eyes, he was pretty much out of breath for the whole galaxy seemed to explode in front of him. It took him a good minute or so to regain his composure and kept his voice from trembling as he uttered weakly a question.

"Why?"

"For luck." - She replied, her tone was at a higher pitch than normal and her cheeks started turning pink.

He really didn't know how to react or what to say. She had held his hand in hers whispering 'good luck', had pecked him 'good luck', written a letter wishing him 'good luck', wrapped him in her bone-crushing hug saying 'good luck' but never in his lifetime that she had ever kissed him on the lips for 'good luck', well...at least not until now. He looked deep into her eyes finding that sweet cinnamon color was harboring an anxiety and fear of losing him. Her lips quivered unspoken words as if she half wanting to beg him to stay while the other half knowing that she had to let him go and do the right thing. He had never seen her this fragile, and Merlin forbid...this much adorable. She owned him, controlled every part and fiber of him with just her mere presence so he did the only thing he thought was right at that time.

Kiss her.

He pressed his lips on hers, deep and long. No tongue or teeth clashing. It was just a simple kiss. And unexpected one of that but loving no less.

Eventually he had to used up all his willpower to pull away from her.

"Why?" - She quivered.

"For double..." - He paused, then smiled at her again -"...luck."

Then he turned away. This feeling was definitely different from what he had imagined. The guilt and shame was still there. But it was less tormenting and was not that bad that he couldn't face Ron and Ginny. But more importantly, once again he found that lost heaven on her lips. A place he still remembered in the depth of his abyss of forgotten memories. A drug from five years ago that once taken, there would be no turning back. He needed her. He needed a direction, a milestone to remind himself of where to return and must return by all costs. Harry needed Hermione.

To be continued...