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Title: Last Days of Silence

Summary: "You do not scare me, Ginny. If anything, you fascinate me," he said. She was positive that in that moment she had never hated anybody as much as she hated him. AU's/one-shots, Sirius/Ginny

Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

Author's Note: So these are a collection of one-shot, mostly AU's, that I either feel I can't do a whole story about or have no desire to do a full story about. These are about my loves, Sirius and Ginny, and will be centered around them the whole time. Enjoy at your own risk!

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Zombies and Prisoners

It was a sharp pain that forced her eyes open, everything unfocused for a moment. The world spun before her, the sky and tree tops swimming in and out of focus as she gasped for breath. Then the pain came again and a sound- a groan- that sent a wave of fear through Ginny so strong that she forced herself to focus, made her turn to look around her.

Immediately she found the source of her pain and she cried out, not meaning to but so horrified that she could be so stupid to fall asleep without any protection around her. The face of the monster, the person, the dead woman before her was rotting and brown. Scrambling to her feet, Ginny reached into her pocket and grabbed her knife; a small thing, something she had used to slice loafs of bread for her mum. It was her only weapon, the only thing she had had on her before she had been told to run ("Run, Ginny! Run! Go!"), but it was a weapon nonetheless.

The zombie, the monster, the biter, had no legs. It was no real threat to her now that she was standing. She had been a woman at some point, Ginny noted as she circled the creature. A woman whose hair was now matted with dirt and blood. A woman who wore a ripped dress that at one point had probably been bright yellow. A woman whose eyes were lifeless and wide and dark. Ginny shivered, rubbing her arm where the zombie had reached out and scratched her.

"I'm sorry," muttered Ginny.

Then, without second thought, Ginny bent down and rammed her knife through the head of the zombie. Right away whatever had kept the monster alive died. The body stopped moving, slumping to the ground, one arm still stretched out to where Ginny now stood. If she hadn't woken up, if the zombie hadn't reached out and scratched her, she could have been killed. Or worse… bitten.

Bending down, Ginny grabbed her bag she had been using as a pillow and threw it over her shoulder. It was nearly empty. Before she had been told to run, to leave her family, she hadn't thought to fill it to the brim with supplies. She had only had a few apples in it and a half empty bottle of water. That meant for the past few nights she had been barely sleeping and barely eating. It had rained on her all through the darkness two nights ago but she had found some shelter under a fallen tree. Bugs had crawled on her throughout the night, however, and Ginny had been sure every drop of water was a zombie, a walker as her dad had called them. She hadn't slept.

To be honest, Ginny couldn't remember the last time she had slept a whole night.

And it seemed to be catching up to her. Her senses weren't as sharp as they were before. Her mind was muddled. She was slowing down. She was hungry and thirsty, all the time. All she needed to do was get to salvation, get to London where her family was, where it was safe and-

She hadn't heard the approach, so lost in her thoughts. It was a growl right behind her that caused her to turn. Ginny jumped up, out of the way, as another zombie tumbled towards her. One of its' arms smacked her in the chest and she flew backwards, her knife flying from her hands into the old leafs of the woods. Ginny screamed when her body hit the ground, whipping her head around to see that it wasn't just one more zombie that found her but multiple.

At least five.

They walked towards her, not fast but not slow either. Rushing to stand, Ginny looked for anything as the zombie who had hit her came closer. She should run but she couldn't, the crowding of the zombies too much. She felt the bubble of panic build in her, clouding her senses, she couldn't die out here , before she spotted a rock protruding through the leaves. Bending, she picked it up.

Just in time, too, for the zombies were now closer. Close enough that she could smell them, the stink of rotting flesh engulfing her as she adjusted her grip on the rock. One of the zombie's mouth was moving, biting as it moved closer, as if it could smell her, as if it could smell the life in her. With a shout, Ginny rammed the rock into the head of the zombie closest to her. The first hit did nothing, just dented the skull in, but the second made the beast fall to its' knees. Ginny had barely a moment to stare at it before she noticed two more coming.

Running up, she bashed the rock into the head of the zombie on the right, a tiny thing compared to the other two. It faltered, swaying where it stood, and Ginny swung around to hit the zombie next to it. The rock, slippery with blood, did its' job and the zombie fell as the skull was crushed through. Ginny watched, catching her breath for just a beat, as the zombie toppled over. But that second to breathe was enough for the zombie she had hit but not killed to grab onto her.

Despite being tiny, with the weight of its' body it forced her to the ground. She screamed, trying to keep its' face, its' mouth, away from her as it tried to bite, taste her. Using her legs, she tried to push the body away to no avail. Turning her head away from its' mouth, she saw that the other two zombies were approaching her. She had to get up, she had to get away, fuck, why didn't she just run-

The shot rang through the forest. The scream in Ginny's throat died as the zombie above her collapsed, unmoving. Cold liquid, dark like blood, leaked from the body onto her. Gagging from the rotting smell, Ginny pushed the body off of her and sat up quickly. Adjusting her grip on the rock she ran forward, slamming the rock into the head of the next zombie. Then, spinning, she turned her attention to the last zombie.

It had been a man at one point, this monster. A man who wore a suit and had blonde hair. Ginny stared into the zombie's eyes, pale blue, and was raising her arm to hit him in the head just before there was a slicing sound- and then the zombie's head slid off in a spray of blood.

Ginny gasped, tightening her grip on the rock, before seeing something behind the zombie's body as it fell. Something. Someone. A zombie? No. A man.

He stood before her, a bloody knife in one hand, a gun in the other. Long, black hair fell around his face and piercing gray eyes found her own. Ginny remained still, her breaths coming in gasps as she stared at the man. He was the first person she had seen in days who was actually living, breathing. She could see his chest rising and falling, could see the movement in his gray eyes as they narrowed, studying her back. He didn't say anything as he holstered his gun and pocketed his knife. Then he picked up a back pack he had been carrying and slipped his arms through it.

Shell-shocked, Ginny watched as he moved, kicking aside the body of one of the zombies and picking up her bag. Without a word, he handed it to her. Ginny turned, eyes following him, as he started walking in the direction she had come from. What the…?

Finally, almost ten feet from her, he stopped and glanced back at her.

"Were you bitten?"

Ginny shook her head as her hands ran over her body, double checking.

"No!" she gasped.

He nodded.

"You're going the wrong way."

She blinked and looked in the direction she had been heading. All she saw were trees, nothing out of the ordinary.

"And that shot will attract some of the walkers. We should get going."

Ginny took a step towards him then stopped.

"Get going?" Her voice was weak, low. "Get going where? London is that way."

The way she had been heading.

The man turned around completely to face her, his thick eyebrows perking at her words. A flock of birds flew overhead and Ginny frowned at the sound.

"London? You don't want to go to London," he told her bluntly. "It's the wrong way."

"Wrong way? The signs, the radio, it said salvation was in London. London, London is this way-"

Ginny could hear the hysteria in her voice and fought back the sudden urge to vomit. Cold blood drenched her clothes and she was tired, so tired. When was the last time she ate? How was London not the place to go? How… the radio said… her father had said to get to London.

"Dear girl, you're wrong. I've come from the city, barely survived. It's overrun, there is no one there left alive. And if they are they've hidden out. Won't come out, not even to help a survivor."

His words were like a punch to the stomach. Ginny grabbed her chest, heart hammering. The man shrugged, either blind to her struggle or uncaring.

"My family, they would have gone to the city. That's what the radio said, they said to go there." She found herself pointing in the direction of London once again.

The man looked as though he was trying not to roll his eyes.

"The radio is wrong. Perhaps weeks ago it would have been the best place to go, maybe then it would have been secure, but not now." He paused. "It is a wasteland filled with walkers. You go there and you won't survive."

"They're there, I know it," Ginny cried out, walking towards him.

This time he did roll his eyes.

"Then they're dead-"

"They're not dead!" The words exploded from her. "I'd know, I'd feel it-"

"What? Like magic?" His lips twisted horribly. "Love, when someone dies you don't feel it."

"You don't understand. I would know, they're my family, I just… I would know." She paused, her breathing labored from the horrible idea that he planted in her head.

What if they were dead? What if she was truly alone?

It couldn't be. It just couldn't. Her family couldn't be gone. They were in London. They had found safety. They were waiting for her. They weren't gone.

"Thank you for helping me back there," said Ginny after collecting herself.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny smoothed down the front of her shirt. Blood lingered on her hands afterwards but she ignored it. Catching the man's eyes, Ginny offered him a nod of her head.

"I appreciate it. Have a good day."

She turned, taking another deep breath, and started to walk in the direction he warned her against. A loud, bark of a laugh stopped her. Flinching as the sound echoed through the trees, Ginny turned her head.

"Have a good day? Hell, I haven't heard someone say that in weeks. And what would consist of a good day, exactly?" He was shaking his head, the laughter still lingering.

Then, as she turned around to face him completely, he threw his arms open as if in invitation and said, "What's your name?"

Her name…

"Ginny," she offered shortly.

He nodded.

"Sirius, pleasure," he responded, a smile lighting up his face. "I've been alone for a while. It's better to travel together, I'd say. How do you feel about that, Ginny? We'll protect each other, search for food together, stay away from the walkers?"

She frowned, though the idea wasn't an unpleasant one. He had just saved her. And Ginny had been by herself for days, days of silence and fear, and the idea of having a companion… a companion who just saved her life.

Ginny eyed him, taking in the gun holstered at his side, the handle of a knife that was tucked away in his waistband, a bag full of supplies on his back. All she had was a knife. A knife lost somewhere in the leafs. Sure, Ginny could probably defend herself for a bit longer. But she'd never find her family by herself. And she'd probably lose a bit of her sanity. After only days of silence, other than birds and the occasional walker, she was already feeling a bit mad.

"We have to find my family," she said as terms of agreement.

His eyebrows perked again and he studied her just as she had him. But Sirius didn't look her over for additional weapons or supplies. Gray eyes darted over her face, searching for something Ginny wasn't sure of. She wondered briefly what he was thinking before he nodded warily.

"Then we must find mine also," responded Sirius. "And you must promise to do everything I say. We'll need a plan to get back into London. We'll need supplies."

"Of course," Ginny said so fast she wondered if he heard her properly. "Yes, yes, we'll find our families together."

Sirius' gaze left her face and he looked up to the sky, brushing a hand over his forehead, smearing more dirt there.

"Night will fall soon." Ginny glanced up. He was right, the sun was barely in the sky. "We should find shelter. It won't be safe out here for long and we won't make it back to London before then."

She nodded again, a weight lifted off her shoulders as she walked up to him. He didn't move, though he seemed to be listening very carefully to the woods around them. If his shot had been heard by walkers they weren't making their way very quickly.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to go back to fucking London," Sirius cursed. "There were some abandoned houses about a mile back. Let's head that way, shall we, Ginny?"

They had only walked in silence for about twenty minutes till Ginny looked up at him. Feeling her gaze on him, Sirius glanced down.

"Yes?"

"Sirius," Ginny began.

He smirked as soon as he heard his name come from her lips.

"I-"

"Say that again."

She paused, confused.

"Say what?"

"My name."

Ginny opened her mouth, shut it, then shrugged.

"Sirius?"

His smile grew and he nodded.

"I haven't had someone say my name in… in a very long time."

Sirius took a deep breath.

"Yes, Ginny?"

She was smiling back at him, feeling oddly rejuvenated being in his presence.

"What were you doing before this all happened?"

Sirius' smile fell at that and he was quiet for a second. The only sound was their footsteps as they stepped on old leafs, the crackling and crunching causing shivers to race up Ginny's back.

"I was in prison, Ginny."

Her eyebrows rose at that and she stopped. Sirius sighed and stopped also, turning to face her completely. He waited for her response, wondering if this young girl was going to run away from him. She, Ginny, was all freckles and dirt and red hair. He wondered how she ended up here by herself, though the answer seemed clear.

"Well," she began slowly, chewing on her lip. "I suppose this is your second chance then, isn't?"

Sirius' eyebrows rose.

"You didn't… you didn't murder or rape anyone, did you?" she asked after a moment.

Sirius fought back a smile and shook his head.

"Wrongfully accused," he said. "I swear on it."

Ginny stared at him, looking past his weapons and shaggy hair and size. His eyes were honest eyes and his smile was true. Oddly she trusted this escaped prisoner. She smiled in response and continued walking. Sirius didn't miss a beat and followed after her. Together they headed in the direction Sirius had come from. Randomly he'd shake his head, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, wondering what he got himself into. Randomly she'd bite back a smile, feeling safer with this man than she had since before this had all happened. Oddly she felt like as long as she were with him everything would be okay.