Would You Like A Hand?

9 | to die

Days passed as they fell into routine: Hermione leading the way, Draco waking her up every hour when it was her turn to sleep, and heavy silence throughout the day while lighter talks happened at night in some building or other.

Draco wondered where she was leading them; she hadn't known that she was in Muggle London, so how did she know where to go?

But she hadn't wanted to answer him, so he hadn't asked more than twice.

He learned of the undead's tendency to avoid natural areas from Hermione when she had taken to walking through a park rather than the road. Curiously, he had (quietly) asked about her decision; he had thought it was just because the road was littered with rubble and trash.

She corrected him; he expected no less from the brightest witch of his age.

But, of course, this world wasn't forgiving. On this particular day, the two former students were once again in a deeper part of town, scavenging the stores.

They found themselves in a rather large commercial area, where a mall resided on one side of the road, and smaller, individual storefronts lined the other side. A big grocery store could be seen another two blocks down beside what looked like a fast food place.

"Is it a good idea to go into the mall?" Hermione asked quietly, and Draco looked to her in surprise. It was the first time she had asked for advice on where to go; he gave it some thought before answering.

"It would be dangerous, I think. There are likely undead wandering around inside, but there would be a lot of useful things to grab."

As if on cue, a tortured, raw scream sounded from inside the mall.

Another one answered it outside, and Hermione decided she didn't want to stay out in the open. She made way for the shopping center, hoping she wouldn't regret her choice.

As the two allies got closer, they saw multiple undead wandering around in the parking lots. Their screams rang out every so often, hurting nearby human ears.

"How will we get in?" Draco whispered; they were at the edge of the lot, standing behind a car and scouting out the area.

"If we set fire to one of these cars or cause an explosion, the sound will draw the undead to it and hopefully they'll catch on fire while they're at it," Hermione explained easily.

"So we should pick one that's not close to the entrance," the Slytherin boy raised his wand at a small blue car and counted down before releasing a Confringo, prompting the two to make a run for the building.

As Hermione had expected, the cacophony of sound that came with the blown up vehicle that was two rows away from their spot lured most of the wanderers away from the building.

As the students got closer to their goal, they neared some of the undead that were straggling behind. Some of the stragglers heard the students' pounding footsteps and turned their way. Running and casting at the same time, they decapitated and burned their enemies away and rushed into the nearest store entrance.

The door opened up to a clothing store, and Hermione quickly scanned the indoor area for any more undead as Draco blocked off the path. A weak groan lured her gaze to the side of the store; a dead - teenager? - crawled towards her, and she instantly incarcerated it before setting it on fire.

She tried not to think about it's face or appearance - obviously female; long, stringy, tangled hair; missing part of her jaw; limbs twisted at various odd angles; blood everywhere.

Hermione dashed around the clothes racks and shelves to check for other wandering beings, glad that the sun was still out to shine light into the room. Meanwhile, Draco magically moved random objects in front of the glass doors and windows. The sunlight gradually got blocked off by his arrangement, but there was still enough streaming in to aid their eyesight.

After clearing the medium-sized room of two more unthinking zombies, Hermione silently and magically rearranged the other end of the store. She formed a blockade with tables and shelves, obstructing the path into the mall.

She turned around to see Draco walking up to her. Before he could ask anything, she said, "This is our chance to change clothes."

He raised an eyebrow. Of all the things to care about... clothes?

"I mean," she expanded on her statement, "We're in no rush, right? We've got all the time in the world. Might as well change into new clothes when we have the chance."

He shrugged, not caring, but still agreeing with her.

She added, "Just a warning, I'm gonna change on the spot as I pick out my stuff. If anyone still cares in this kind of world."

And then, as she walked away, she said almost jokingly, "Don't look this way."

As if anyone did still care in this world.

Draco almost wanted to smile at that.

The two looked through their respective sections of the room, grabbing durable-looking clothes.

It was going well, really, until Draco had absentmindedly looked over to Hermione.

His attention hadn't been caught on the fact that she was half exposed, pulling on a new shirt - it had been caught on the undead man right behind her.

How had it been so silent?

Draco knew even as he raised his wand that he would be too late to help her.

The bloody, broken man lunged toward her.