As it should have been told:

Disclaimer: I do not own anything having to do with Harry Potter. I am not making a profit from this story or anything like that. Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling. This particular layout for the characters is mine.

Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, how would you survive? Would you find love? Peace? Hope? What is there that makes the world carry on in spite of itself? Story inspired by Jayu's bonfire challenge on Portkey.

A/N: I am currently looking for a beta, if anyone is interested, please email me!

Challenge requirements: "On a midsummer night, in the light of the flaming fire, their eyes met. This is their story, as it should be told"

Specifications:
-Au universe - no magic, no Voldie, not a single wizard affiliated member

-H/Hr only couple

-No Neville/Ron/Ginny/Draco/Luna, any other friend

-Everything takes place in the night, always with light of the fire

As It Should Have Been Told: Adjusting

The old storyteller hobbled his way outside again. Today had been a long day, and he was sure that some of the other camp members must be ready to hear a tale.

As he hobbled out, he saw the same girl with frizzy brown hair from the night before seated. She shyly smiled at him, and he returned her grin. Obviously, at least one person was ready to hear a story, and he knew the one that she wanted.

He sat down on the chair reserved for him, the storyteller, the passer of knowledge from one generation to the next. It was nigh impossible to carry books around with them. So, it was only natural that someone was entrusted with the telling of stories.

He chuckled to himself; he knew exactly where to begin. He cracked his knuckles and adjusted his seat, "I've decided to continue with last night's unusual request." He gazed at the crowd with a solemn look upon his face. "We've been following the short tales, the stories of the ones who were before time of abandonment. Now, it is the time for stories of those who survived. For it is time for our world to change again. It is time for the Abandoned, and the greatest among them were the Sleepers…"

Harry sat down next to the fire. It wasn't "dark" yet, but it was getting colder. He wasn't for sure if it was the lack of radiation getting through the ionosphere, or if it was the changing of the seasons.

It must be nearly autumn by now. He counted out what season it should be now. He defeated Voldemort in mid-summer. It had been a little over a month since then. So, it must be September.

He sighed forlornly. He couldn't help but think that the world should be a little sadder at the loss of Hogwarts.

He looked around at the bustling people. Could it have been only yesterday that he was so alone? He scanned the crowd, and he caught two chocolate brown eyes staring into his from across the fire.

Harry smiled at her, and she walked around the fire to him. She leaned close and whispered in his ear, "Did you have a good day?"

He just shook his head, "Actually, I had a brilliant day. I got to meet some very interesting blokes." He cocked his head, indicating somewhere off to his left.

She looked in the indicated direction and smiled, "Oh, you thought they were interesting?" It was the group of musicians from the night before. "I hate to tell you this, but they are the most boring people I know!" She stood up straight and winked at them, to let them know she was joking. Jeffrey, the man that she had danced with the night before winked back.

It was amazing, the difference she felt between yesterday and today. Yesterday, she had been tired, cranky, and grumpy. Yesterday, her body hurt in ways that she had never thought possible. Yesterday, she had been alone, and last night, her entire world had changed! Harry was back!

Since the loss of her family, and the Wizarding world, she had no one. Of course, she had met people, but no one from before the 'incident' knew her. Now, she had her life back. Well, it might not be the entire thing, but she had Harry. And, her life had been centered around his for years now. It was almost as good as having the whole thing back.

She broke from her reverie and asked the musicians if they minded her kidnapping Harry. Jeffrey, who assured her that he didn't mind it a bit, nudged Harry. Hermione grasped Harry's hand, and the two were off.

Harry couldn't resist asking Hermione some questions. "Where on Earth are you taking me?"

Hermione hid her face. She just kept pulling him along by his hand. "Don't give me that voice. We just got to a new town. Where do you think that I would take you?"

Harry understood her intentions then. He planted his feet firmly into the ground, entrenching himself. "Are you kidding me? The world virtually comes to an end, and you are dragging me off to a library?" He released her hand.

She slowly turned and looked at him, her hands on her hips. "And, what's so wrong with that? Yes, I'm taking you to a library. We have no real knowledge of what's going on." Her voice was filled with emotion by this point. "We have spent the last six years in a school whose library didn't cover anything going on in the rest of the world. We need this. We have to figure out how it backfired!" Hermione's voice started shaking. "We have to figure out how to fix it!"

Harry ducked his head in shame, "You're right, Hermione. We need to figure out what's going on. We've spent too much time thinking of things in only the Magical way. This Muggle library may hold more information than I originally thought."

He was pleading with her now. He didn't want her to be upset with him so soon after he got her back. She was his rock, and he needed her to stay strong.

He lowered his voice an octave, "Hermione, please don't be mad at me. I was stupid, and I wasn't thinking about the current situation." He turned up the charm. "Please, forgive me. I'm not Ron."

She wiped away the few angry tears that had rolled down her face and smiled at his comment, "Okay, you're forgiven. Just, don't make snap judgments like that again. If you need to question my opinion, question it. But, don't treat me like I do not have a plan." She took a deep, calming breath and continued. "This is much more important than what went on at Hogwarts." She smiled at him, "I promise that I won't make you study for something frivolous again."

Harry smiled at her reassurances. It was something only Hermione would think of reminding about. "Hermione, none of the things you made me study were frivolous topics." Her grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. "As much as I might have hated it at the time, you making me study has saved my life more times than I care to count."

Hermione couldn't help but smile. He was finally acknowledging her actions in the past had helped him. "Well, that's great! Now, let's go to the library. I want to read up some more on what might have happened. I know that quite a bit of the information will be classified, but it might help us to figure out how to proceed if we have some basic knowledge about the topic." She tried to turn and lead the way, but Harry stopped her.

"Harry, what's going on?" She asked hesitantly before he pulled her into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him and ran her fingers along his back.

He sniffed. His emotions were getting to him. "I just wanted to thank you." He pulled back and looked her directly in the face. "No matter what happens, you're always there. You've always been there. I just…never realized how much it meant to me before."

This time, it was Hermione's turn to pull him into the hug. "And you've always been there for everyone else. You never manage to look out for yourself." She curled into his chest and let him wrap his arms around her. She balled her fists up and murmured for awhile. She finally pushed him away. She looked up at him. "Tell you what, from now on, I'll watch out for you, and you can watch out for me. We'll let all of these other people sort things out for themselves."

Harry laughed. It was a good laugh, a hearty laugh. The laugh of a man who had lost everything and found that he still could survive. It was a contagious laugh, and Hermione couldn't help but join in.

After what seemed like hours, but was more likely a few minutes, the two managed to control their laughter. Harry assured Hermione that he would do his best to watch out for her, and ignore the rest of the world, but he didn't think she really believed him.

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and led him through the firelight to the library. He dutifully followed the flickering figure until they reached the brick building.

She led him inside where Ms. Smith was already gathering what books she could from the children's section. She was one of the former schoolteachers on the council. She waved at them, and Hermione continued to pull Harry along as she waved at her over her shoulder. Harry just shook his head. His Hermione was on a trail.

She went in and found the old card catalog system. The library had been updated to use computers, but the librarian had kept the old system for sentimental reasons. It never hurt to remember the past, and it was definitely working out to their advantage. Hermione found the location of the books that she wanted, and the two were off.

They laughed and joked as Hermione loaded Harry down with books. They would read them later, by their own campfire.

The laughter stopped though when they heard a whimper coming from behind a grouping of shelves. Hermione handed Harry her books and gestured to him to be quiet. She stalked quietly around the shelves, and caught a glimpse of brown hair that ran around the corner in front of her. "Don't worry," Hermione whispered quietly. "I won't hurt you. I just want to get to know you." She kept up her slow pace as she continued talking to the young child. "My name is Hermione, what's yours?" She stopped in front of the shelf that the child was hiding behind.

"I'm Lucy." A little girl stepped out from the opposite side of the bookcase that Hermione had been watching. She was dirty, her hair was greasy, and her limbs were covered with scratches. Hermione could see that this poor girl had had a hard time of it.

"Why don't you come on out here, and I'll get you something to eat." Hermione extended her hand and the little girl took it cautiously.

"The angel of the deep had found them. They were closer in number now. The Sleepers were now coming from everywhere." The storyteller lowered his arms. It was done for the night. Tomorrow night shall be interesting.

Author's Note: I know that it has been forever since I've updated, and this is a fairly short chapter. But, I couldn't help leaving it here. I felt like it was the perfect place to end it. I really need at beta reader if anyone is interested. And, I need 9 more professions/names to fill out the council. Please leave a suggestion in the review. These are the current council members, excluding Harry and Hermione.

Eric White- the annoying man who could never take what she said at face value. That said, he was a very competent man who had been mayor of a town.

Rose White- the insipid wife of Eric White. She felt she had earned a reason to be there because she had married Eric.

Abigail Smith- a former school teacher, who had traveled all over the country. She was very knowledgeable about many different topics.

Benjamin Wright- formerbutcher. He managed to make sure that there was plenty of food for everyone. At each stop off, he found any livestock that had been abandoned, and he prepared anything he could from them. He also ransacked the abandoned grocery stores. There were still plenty of canned goods on the shelves.

Agatha Barret- was a tailor.

Arthur Barret- former farmer. Gathered any livestock found along the way.

Chester Mitchell- was a nurse. Now the medical professional of the group.

Norman Nelson- both teachers, and had been trying to get some kind of school started during the long walk. He had been a Math teacher.

Karin Nelson- she had taught Science.