A/N: Thanks for all the fav every one. For those of you who asked, yes this is a fic partially based on the original idea of Robert Kirkman - The Walking Dead comic. It will take a different approach though. So rest assured that the story will revolve around survivors of the zombie apocalypse in a Harry Potter's way (no cross over with the original, Sorry Rick, I love you but you're so not gonna show up in this fic).

Have fun reading ~

CHAPTER 1: MISTAKE

Several weeks ago...

Harry put down the Daily Prophet on his desk and sighed when he saw the news about a new victim of Hunter, the serial killer whom Auror Department was aggressively pursuing. This was the fifth consecutive case during the past month and all the victims were hit by Cruciatus spell, tortured to death. What's worse? Their legs were hacked and they were all dressed weirdly as goblins in those old fairy tales. Even more audacious, the culprit sent a letter to the Auror Department, taunting, calling them useless trash and even challenging the team to catch him if they could. That letter drove Kingsley so mad that he ordered the Auror Department to go all out and arrest Hunter, be dead or alive. Since Team A, headed by Harry was working with Japan's Ministry of Magic on an international case, this serial murder case was assigned to Team B, headed by Ron, who was nominated by Harry for the position of team leader - Auror Department, specifically handle criminal affairs in London.

Harry sighed, suddenly worried for Ron. Not that he didn't trust Ron, but this was such a big case and he wondered if Ron would be able to handle all the social and media pressure now that there was a new victim. So Harry decided that he would pay a visit to team B, catch up with the investigation and might as well invite Ron and Hermione for lunch. Hermione! Hermione! Hermione! Just the mentioning of her name was enough to make his stomach flutter. Since Harry had spent a whole week on a business trip in Japan, he couldn't manage to see her and Merlin knew how much he missed the girl.

Harry was sure that by this time, Hermione would probably be burying her head in the laboratories of St. Mungo's hospital and developing a new drug or some sort of thing. He was so relief that day when Hermione had chosen to become a pharmacists rather than a physician instead. He acknowledged that physician was no doubt a noble profession, but it also meant that she would be more busy and exposed herself to a higher risk of infection with all those patients in need of emergency care at the hospital every day. That was not to mention of the news he heard lately. There seemed to be a strange disease going around the suburb of London. Apparently, some kind of virus was the cause of a decline in patients' immune system, making them weak, pale and have a violent tendency to attack and bite people. Even though they were just rumors and so far no solid evidence had been presented to prove its authenticity; Harry couldn't risk having Hermione become one of the first victims should it spread to London. Perhaps he would remind her to be more careful at lunch time. He thought then reached out and grasped his jacket on a hook; walked out of his office to Ron's.

"Good morning Mr. Potter " - Dennis, a rookie just joined Auror Department recently greeting him with a smile when Harry pushed through the door into team B's office.

"Call me Harry!" - He smiled back and patted Dennis - "Where's Ron ? "

"He is questioning a suspect in Hunter's case."

"New lead? " - Harry turned his head and asked .

"We caught this guy around the crime scene of the fifth case and Mr. Weasley suspected that he is an accomplice of Hunter."

Harry nodded, then walked to the two sided mirror which was placed in the interrogation room and specially designed so that Aurors could monitor the interrogation from outside without the awareness of the suspects inside. On the other side of the wall, Ron was aggressively banging on the desk and threatening him with an angry posture, forcing him to confess. After a while, Ron changed his tone and softly convinced the guy to switch side, be a witness and receive mercy at Wizengamort court. Harry stood still, observing for a while then he frowned and sighed. Ron had always been like this, unscientific and too emotional. A few minutes later, Ron opened the interrogation door and pushed the suspect to Dennis, asked that he would be held in custody.

" Harry ! " - Ron stepped forward, hi-fived his best friend " What brought you here, mate?"

"Seriously, Ron! Don't ask me that question when your office and mine is only a wall apart." - Harry laughed - "Well actually, I was going to invite you and Hermione for lunch... and also to learn more about this case."

"Too bad, mate! I've just got some tips from that suspect. The guy earlier's name is Alex Moreno, an accomplice of Hunter. His role is to dress victims in those weird costumes and dispose the hacked legs somewhere else. He said that Hunter was born with Achondroplasia, a kind of short-limbed dwarfism and was rejected to join the Quidditch team because of his modest height. Given that he was discriminated against, Hunter's hatred grew toward the Quidditch players and became his main motive for these murders. All the victims had one common trait of being over 6.2ft tall. After killing the victim, Hunter would leave the crime scene then call Moreno to the site and clean up the site, so technically speak our little friend here does not know the identity of Hunter since they have never met face to face. However, there are few times he caught glimpse of a dwarf standing near the scene of about 4.9ft."

"What else did he tell you?" - Harry frowned, his voice low.

"He also said that every week Hunter will go to "The Mermaid" bar which is quite near to the stadium, a favorite spot of Quidditch players, to pick his next prey. Today is exactly a week since his last case so I want to set up a decoy to lure him out." Ron snapped his fingers, obviously proud with his plan.

"No! " - Harry stressed, startled the redhead- "Definitely no! First, it's too dangerous..."

"I'll do the undercover work, Harry. I'm 6.2ft tall and also a Quidditch player of team Auror London." Ron interrupted Harry.

"Then all the more why you cannot do this! Second reason, Ron, is that... the guy was obviously lying." - Harry shook his head, then raised his hand, motioned for Ron to stop and listen to what he was about to say - "I watched your interrogation with him earlier and honestly, I did not believe Moreno's confession was due to your coercion. In fact, that guy repeatedly touched his ear, scratched his chin and pointed his feet towards the door the whole time. When a person is lying, except a pro, their conscience will find themselves guilty, and suddenly have the need to cover their mouth with movements such as scratching their chin, nose or touching their lip. Similarly, the guy clearly wasn't interested in whatever you promised in there, not to prosecute him for example. If any he was acting and kept touching his earlobe or scratching areas around his ears. Not to mention that the temperature in the interrogation room was neither hot nor cold, but Moreno kept a constant posture, crossing his arms while his legs crossed, pointed towards the door. It represented the desire to get out of that room. Ron, you said that he willingly confessed, if so why would he want to leave here? Wouldn't he care if Hunter extracts revenge on him? Finally, I believe he lied because he kept glancing his eyes to the left. Scientifically, Ron, human eyes will glance to the right when people recall a memory or an event and vice versa when they're thinking or imagining something. With that, I can conclude for sure that what he said is absolutely not reliable. Now, there are two reasons as for why he had to do so: One , he lied so he could get out of here as soon as possible; but since he'd confessed his involvement in the case and were bound to get justice punishment, I don't think providing witness tips would help him lift the penalty so that leaves us with the other option, he wanted to divert our direction for a conspicuous reason which I think is an important factor for you to reconsider that decoy plan."

"Whoa! Hold on! You think too much, mate! What you said wasn't possible because prior to the questioning, I'd already slipped some of the Veritaserum into his coffee." Ron waved his hands, looked at Harry as if the guy had just been slammed to the head or probably read too many of those Muggle detective books.

"Veritaserum isn't an absolute method. Hermione told me that one of her colleagues in the lab has recently developed an anti-truth serum. However, they are still working on the test phase so there are only a few got hold of this information. If Moreno did know and use the anti-truth serum prior to the interrogation, we could trace backward, short list and investigate on those who could have taken a sample of that serum. Plus, we could also conduct further investigation on the background of this Moreno guy as to why he had to lie..." - Harry was pretty determined but the redhead was just as well stubborn.

"Harry! Harry! Relax, mate! You're testing me, right? The whole anti-truth serum whatsoever is just a test for my deduction ability, right? 'Cause I've never heard Hermione talking about that thing even though I'm her fiance. Don't you think she would share this new development with me before anyone else? I mean ... if that thing even existed. Ha Ha! I won't bite the bait, Harry. Don't worry! I'm pretty confident that I can solve this case. I've just got promoted, you know. So I need to gain some achievements to earn the respect from my subordinates and impress Hermione too. Who knows, this could be the best wedding gift for Hermione, huh?! She will be so happy and proud of me then. Honestly, I bet she wouldn't be able to find any other guy who loves her as much as I do." Ron rubbed his chin, laughing while Harry was a bit startled when her name was mentioned.

"T-that's why ... Ron ! You got to be careful for.. Hermione. There's only one week left until your wedding, mate. What if something happened to you... " - Harry hesitated, stammered - " ... what about Hermione ...? "

"Then you will take care of her for me!" - Ron stated the obvious, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder with an entrusted look that made his friend's eyes widened and frozen on spot - "Oi mate! What's with that face? Don't tell me you think she's a bad choice! You know what, Hermione wouldn't pick you even if I didn't exist. Not to mention that even if you wanted to, you could never have her heart because I've already owned it. Ha Ha !" - Ron laughed, did not notice that Harry had just swiftly wiped a drop of sweat on his forehead. For a second there, the thought of Hermione belonging to him made his heart beat frantically as if it would have jumped out of his chest. Luckily, Ron did not notice his reaction and walked right out of the office, not forgetting to flash a grin at Harry - "I'm gonna work on the decoy plan. Enjoy your lunch with Hermione. Tell her I'm sorry and that... I love her !"

Harry nodded, half confused, half worried that Ron was risking his life on this case. But what could he do? The guy's grown up and had his own choice, whether it was right or wrong …

-o-

"Hermione! Have some salads ! " - Harry hastily put some vegetable and tomato from his steak plate to Hermione's without waiting for her answer. He knew she wouldn't object and was pretty sure that her next move would be to cut half of her fish, sauced with mulberry, and put it onto his plate.

"Eat more fish, Harry!" - She frowned and complained. "You need more nutrition. How is it that everytime you came back from a business trip, you looked thinner? "

"That was work, Hermione, and you know fully well that there was no competitive eating there? How was I supposed to get fat?" Harry protested and instantly got shot by her cold glare. Doing the wise thing, he immediately switched topic. "Well, um ... I was going to ask Ron to join us for lunch, but he was busy and asked me to tell you that he's sorry! " - Harry recounted, deliberately omitted a small detail that he deemed was not necessary.

"Uhm! Work is more important." - She added calmly - "Besides all the arrangements for our marriage have nearly been made. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny took care of the details so Ron and I don't have much left to worry. They chose our wedding attires, invitations, restaurant, flowers and even the make up artists... so well...uhm...pretty much everything." - Hermione let out a happy laugh. So dry that it burnt his heart badly. So bad that he dropped his fork and looked up into her sparkling somewhat soulless eyes. This wasn't how he had imagined Hermione's wedding. Somewhere in his wildest dreams while they were on the run for Horcruxes, he saw her eyes wet with tears, jumping in joy when the proposal ring was put into her finger. He saw her running around try on different wedding gowns, tasting dishes, choosing invitation cards. He saw her arguing fiercely with her fiance on one of the ideas for their ceremony then ending their fight with a sweet make up kiss, and finally ... he saw her wearing a white wedding gown, walking down the aisle, hand in hand with her groom and happily exchanging their vows.

She would have been vibrant and full of life. Not like this. Shouldn't be like this.

He knew it was a fake smile .

She knew he knew.

And he knew she knew he knew.

But just like other times and just like all these years, they both chose to turn their backs on the truth. He winked, smiled at her - "You're really happy, Hermione! Look who's the bride here? You don't even have to lift a finger. Everything is already taken care of and all you have to do is to wait till the ceremony."

"Right! As if it were someone else's wedding, not mine." - She laughed sarcastically, joining him though somewhere in their jokes and laughter, Harry couldn't help but felt bitter. Then as if that ridiculous play hadn't quite reached its climax, Hermione decided to add in a tragic ending, "By the way, you still decided not to attend our wedding? You know what, Ron told Mrs. Weasley that he wanted you as his best man while he was sure that Ginny would make a beautiful bridesmaid. If you could reschedule your business trip to France , perhaps you coul- "

"Your wish or Ron's? "

" ... Ron's. But what's the difference anyway? " She hesitantly replied, avoiding his questioning eyes.

"No! Nothing!"' - Harry shook his head. "No change in the plan!" - He shrugged, quickly replied. His answer was plain and calm as if he already knew the question in advance and prepared the answer beforehand - "You two will get married as planned with just a minor change as in whom shall be your best man. I just cannot change my schedule." - Very briefly, Harry refused her. He knew his limits and at what point could he tolerate. Sometimes he even wondered if Hermione was too insensitive or was she really that heartless making such offer - "Anyway ... you two have my best blessing." Harry winked, attempted to cover the awkwardness with his grin .

Hermione nodded , knowing she couldn't change his mind. "Thank you ." A subtle tinge of anxiety appeared on her beautiful face as if Hermione was confused, not knowing how to react to what he said and whether she should be relieved or disappointed. However, just like him, she had become good at hiding her emotions and the conversation was quickly changed to a different topic - "While we're on this work topic and since you're pretty busy, don't you think you should have spent more time with Ginny. Take today for example, you should have asked her for lunch, not me."

"Ginny ... ? " Harry repeated, quite surprised when Hermione suddenly mention the redhead, his girlfriend of five years. Despite what Hermione said was true and that it was no doubt duty of a boyfriend, the thought of visiting Ginny had never crossed his mind since he came back to London. Damn it. He almost forgot the redhead. His eyes stayed dead on track for a few seconds, thinking back to the constant equation in his mind, 'Harry's free = go look for Hermione'. Since he couldn't tell that to his brown hair friend, he conjured up an excuse - "Well uhm... you know that Ginny's the main collaborator of the Squibbler so she's quite busy so er... Anyway, we did...do spend some quality time with each other so you don't have to ... um ... worry! There are many exciting items on our agenda! "

"Many huh? ... It sounds fun! " - Hermione shrugged plainly as if she was not really excited to hear the rest of the details.

"Of course! " - Harry replied with a grin, determined to play well his role of a best friend. Fortunately Hermione stopped tormenting him with their talk about marriage and Ginny; she changed to safer topics such as the rumor she heard of a strange disease somewhere, about the new book coming out and the concluded that Harry should reduce the frequency of business travels as she worried for his health…a lot. Their lunch ended with a decision to next go see a new movie at a Muggle cinema. Since they know fully well that the Weasley had no interest in such Muggle technology, the two decided not to invite Ron and Ginny .

Harry knew that these private moments with Hermione would soon come to an end and the time they would have for each other would be greatly reduced once she became someone's wife. That thought fueled Harry's determination to cherish these precious moments. He'd have a nice dinner with her and then this piece of memory would blend into the million other pieces of memories between them, forever buried deep at the bottom of his heart.

After watching the movie, they went for a late dinner and walked home together, all the while discussing the movie content. She blamed him for falling asleep during the movie (a romantic type of all sorts) which embarrassed her, while he teased her for being too quick to tear when the male protagonist died. He complained that if the heroine had fled to a safer place when the hero asked, he wouldn't have been distracted with her safety which wouldn't have led to his death. Hermione, as always, remained firm on the opinion that chasing away your lover was a bad idea, and if it were her, she would have stayed and fought with her man till the very end, be it dead or alive. The two continued their debate until they reached Hermione's flat and yet to decide who won the argument. Harry wished her a goodnight kiss on the cheek, said goodbye and did not forget to promise her they would continue this discussion next time.

Even when Harry had returned home and climbed into bed, he couldn't help feeling that the whole evening had just passed by a mere second ago. The flowery scent on her hair still lingered somewhere on his shoulder and it made him feel so good. Harry smiled.

That day would have been a beautiful and perfect day until a blue flame lit up in his fireplace and Dennis appeared with a frightened face, stammered at the coming news .

"Mr. Weasley's in... trou-trouble!"

To be continued ...