Chapter 2: Gone with the Wind
If you have read my stories before, you will know I have a bad habit of going back and adding to previous chapters. I did it again.
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"The fuck was that?" Harry said, after catching his breath.
"Yeah, that's what I've heard rumor about," the tall blond man next to Remus said as he straightened up and fixed his robes. There was a haunted look on everyone's face, like they now had proof of their fears and wish they hadn't.
"That was not an Inferi," the bald black man stated from his position next to Harry, looking around to make sure there weren't any more. "Is it magical?"
"It has to be, no magic killed it," the pink-haired girl said, looking like she had just brushed with death, her skin was so pale.
"No, it's a muggle disease, as far as we know," was the rebuttal from the blond man.
"What do you mean?" the busty redhead asked, looking just as bad as everyone else.
"It's a virus from what I've heard. Though, it will affect us too, we think. Some say it started somewhere in the jungles of South America, but I'm not sure. Anyway, as you saw, they are incredibly hard to kill. But, like young Harry did, you must get them in the head. It's the only way to stop them," the still unnamed blond said as he started walking to the nearest restaurant. He held his wand in a ready position. It appeared that 'fight' they just had had him on edge.
"Why didn't you then?" Harry asked, watching the man walk away.
"I didn't have a clear shot," the man answered, continuing on his way.
"Wait, how do you know this?" the pink-haired girl asked.
"It's unspeakable," the man said, still walking.
"Ah," came the collective acknowledgement. That explained everything.
"Why there? The restaurant, I mean," a busty redhead asked while she fell into step with him. She too had her wand ready.
"Best get the meat and frozen stuff cleared out. If this goes as bad as we think, the electricity is going to cut off soon and all that food will go to waste," the blond said, waving his wand to the door, and Harry heard it click open.
"Won't they just restock?" Harry asked, peering down the street and taking in the many restaurants lining it. If they were doing what he thought they were, then this was a jackpot street.
"Probably, but what I take won't be wasted. So, I'm going to put a statis charm on a bottomless bag and throw everything in the freezer in it. Probably the canned stuff too," the blond added, pausing at the door.
"Grab everything, or half of everything, but all the food. Who knows what we'll need later," the black man ordered, finally moving from where he had stood. His face was a mask of confused determination. Like he knew what he was up against but didn't like it or understand it. Still, they knew how to kill it, so there was that.
"Yeah, you're probably right. We can do the whole district before morning. Then take a day to relax until the portkey activates," the blond explained, pushing open the door with his hand, his wand shoulder high, just in case.
"Or not, we'll see how the night pans out. We might have to do more tomorrow," Sirius warned, getting nods from the rest of the group.
The still unnamed redhead followed the blond, her wand at the ready. The two slowly entered the building but heard Harry's next words.
"That is a really good idea," the teen said, nodding along. "Sirius, magic me up a bag or two, and I'll get the next joint. We should leave the grocery stores to everyone else. We'll just hit these and the fast-food places," he added, turning to his godfather, who looked a bit confused. Harry figured Sirius didn't understand the part where the electricity would be down, but he decided now was not the time to explain it to him.
"Sure," Sirius said, doing as asked.
Then Harry thought of shelter. If there was one thing he learned, being homeless, it was food, water and shelter were imperative to surviving.
"Hey, why don't you and Remus find an RV lot, or something, and shrink it all down. Maybe a car lot as well. We can use stuff like that to travel and as housing," he said, unlocking the door of a deli, making sure his gun was handy. He wasn't going to be caught flatfooted again and he didn't know any piercing spells. Well, he knew them, but hadn't practiced them enough to feel comfortable enough to use them. "Maybe when we're done here, we can hit the warehouse district."
"What's an RV?" Sirius asked, confused, like if he was going to steal one, he needed to know what it was.
"I'll show him," a pink-haired woman said, catching Sirius' and Remus' elbows and pulling them away.
"I'm going to hit that sporting goods store," said the last unnamed person as they went to put words to action. "Get all-weather gear, and stuff. Like you said, we might need shelter."
It took a better part of two hours to get the whole neighborhood cleared out. They left plenty of stuff for other survivors, but cleared out all the perishables, half the dining and cooking stuff, and most of the survival gear. They then went an did as Harry suggested and cleared the warehouses of half their merchandise.
They found everything you could dream of. Retailer warehouses were chuck full of everything one needed to survive, and a great deal of junk. They figured everything they could get their hands on might have a use, so they gutted half of it. It was a simple matter of 'Accio Half of Everything', then standing back and guiding and shrinking the rush of items into appropriate bags.
Harry was surprised that worked, until Remus told him it was all about intent. They needed to think about what they wanted, keep it firm in their minds and then cast. Harry was a bit upset that this wasn't taught in school, though he facepalmed at the fact that he had been casting magic like that his entire childhood. It was only going to Hogwarts that got him out of that mindset. Another reason to hate the school and its headmaster.
Everyone was amazed at all the stuff they were accumulating. Everything you could think of under the sun was flying into those bags. If they played it right, they would have power, food, fuel, and water. Everything they needed to be self-sufficient was there. Even stuff for growing, or feeding, food. Not to mention clothes, hygiene products, and other essentials that would come in handy later.
They, of course, knew that magicals didn't need all this stuff, but if they were going to help people, like Sirius and Remus were hinting at, they'd need stuff for non-magicals to survive on. That and having a solid item to work with, meant saving magical usage, that helped too. Magic was finite, after all. It wasn't an unending supply. If they could get away with little usage, it would make things easier in the long run.
They would have to sit down and plan carefully, but Harry was getting excited that they might just survive what was coming.
When all was said and done, the eight wizards were tired and magically exhausted. They Apparated to Sirius' house and collapsed on the nearest flat surface. Be it the floor, the table or the furniture, they just crumpled. Only to be woken up an hour later by the grumbling of the house elf in residence.
Sirius took exception to this and stunned the blasted thing. They all fell back to sleep.
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The group woke up the next morning still a bit lethargic. They had used quite a bit of magic the night before, and they were suffering for it now. However, they didn't get everything they wanted done last night, so there was still a lot to do, so after a quick breakfast, they all chugged Pepper Up.
"What do we need to do today? And where are we headed to? Also, I need to warn my friends, magical and non, about what's coming. I just need to know how bad it's going to be," Harry asked, firing off the questions he felt were important.
"Well, I'd like to get more supplies," Remus answered, standing next to the busty redhead. "We got a lot last night, but if it is the end, then I want to get as much as we can. Especially if we are going to help others. For what we've planned, we'll need more."
"I'll go with you," the busty redhead said, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks, Jessi," the werewolf stated, closing his eyes for a moment. Jessi and Tonks were the only women willing to put their hands on him. They felt he got the raw end of the deal and were bound and determined to make it up to him by touching him whenever they could. It was refreshing and calming. For too long he thought of himself as a monster, but these two ladies were making him believe he was a man with their gentle touches.
Even his own mum had stopped hugging him when he was turned. His parents still took care of him, and they loved him, in their own way. However, they feared him and never touched him after that day.
"Me too," the pink-haired girl said, eyeballing the other woman's hand for a moment. She then sighed and gave the girl a wink. She knew there was no rival there, just pure friendship on the redhead's part. Tonks, on the other hand, was crushing, big time.
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"Take Shack with you," Sirius said, nodding to the tall black man.
"I think Harry had a good idea, we should hit a few more of those warehouses," Shack said, picking up his coffee cup and draining the last of the steaming hot beverage. He then stood and made his way up the stairs to get ready.
Sirius knew that Shack and Tonks had told their boss, Amelia Bones, that yes Voldy was back, yes, he was a werewolf, but they feared that something worse was coming.
Black remember Shack saying that if he had it his way that he would just kill all the suspects and corrupt politicians and save Amelia the hassle. But Kingsley wasn't that type of cop, so Sirius knew that they were going to be around giving the head of the DMLE a headache. If she was smart, she'd bail and leave them to their fate.
He knew Tonks had told her parents, and they were going to get sanctuary in Hogwarts. But they were going to wait until this group left. Sirius had asked them to do that. He didn't want Dumbledore to intervene.
"Right, I'm going to see if I can't warn a few more people. Sirius, I'm going to need your Floo," the tall blond man stated, putting his hands on the table and standing up.
"Sure, Mac, no problem. Use the one in the parlor, it's warded six ways to Sunday," Black said, lifting his mug and attempting to take a sip of tea, only to realize that the cup was empty. He sighed and put it back down and reluctantly got up too.
"I need to get to my friends. The gang. They're in London. If what you said was true, they need to prepare also," Harry said, glaring at his godfather as if the man was going to deny him the right.
"We can do that," was all Sirius said, waving for the teen to join him. "Later though, I've got a few calls I need to make too. Why don't you write your magical friends and let them know? If nothing else, they can prepare as best they can."
"Good, right, I can do that," Harry said with a relieved nod. He too stood and went to the sitting room. There was parchment and ink there. "Wait, I told Hedwig to go to Hermione's."
"I've got owls, they need to get out," Sirius said, tapping his finger on his chin. "Tell Hermione to keep Hedwig for now, and we'll send for her. Make sure she understands what's happening, then tell her to grab her parents and get to Hogwarts. Use the Knight Bus. Tell her friends. So on and so on."
"Okay, that sounds good," the teen said, rushing away to do just that.
"Hey, Sam, why don't you see if you can buy some more supplies in Diagon Alley. Even today, it'll be too busy to steal out right," Sirius said, handing the last man a coin bag.
"Yeah, okay. Potions, books, tents, and things, right?" the last man said, shoveling the last of his eggs in his mouth, while holding out a hand for the bag.
"Yeah, and whatever else you can think of," the dogman confirmed, placing the bag in the reaching hand.
Sam nodded, tucked the bag in his pocket and left via the Floo in the kitchen.
They all went about their business. Remus, Shacklebolt and the two women left right away, while Mac spent most of the time Flooing people. Harry wrote warning notes to his magical friends and used Sirius' owls to deliver them.
Sirius was in another part of the house doing what Mac was, only he was talking to those in politics. Well, the ones that knew he was innocent. He hinted that maybe they should 'do something' about the corrupt ones. It was up to them how to take that.
He knew that Sam was having a dandy time buying out stores with someone else's money. He hoped that if Sam was asked why he was buying so much, he'd tell them the truth. Most won't believe him, but few would take him seriously and head to the bank. Sirius hoped to get as many people warned as they could.
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Little did they realize that the three that were warning people, were crossing messages. The Longbottoms received all three warnings. This made them take it seriously and they immediately went to work on securing their home. The first thing Augusta did, after ordering the house elves to prepare for the worst, was get her children out of St. Mungo's. If the end was nigh, she was having her family with her. It wasn't like they were doing anything to help her son and his wife.
When that was done, she and Neville Flooed everyone they knew that didn't have a place to hole up and invited them to clear out their own houses and join them. The Lovegoods were they first they contacted, and they took them up on their offer. They would grab everyone they could, including the muggleborns that Neville and Luna knew.
It was a chain reaction from there.
All the muggleborns had heard the unsubstantiated news reports, but with the warning from the magicals, they were scrambling to get resources. Many of them had friends that had manors that could be locked down. It was a mad rush to get to safety.
They warned their non-magical friends, who warned their parents, and everyone was panicking. Which was better than people like the Dursleys' who were doing nothing. Well, except resupplying their house.
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Later that afternoon, when he was done writing everyone he knew, whether they were friend or not, Harry sat by the door impatiently waiting for Sirius. It was going on three in the afternoon, and it would take a while to find the gang. They had to move often so the Bobbies wouldn't catch them.
Harry knew the general area where they usually crashed, but it would be easier just to spot one on a run.
"Alright, Harry, lets warn your friends," the dogman said as he descended the stairs.
"About time," the teen grumbled.
"Come on," Sirius said gruffly, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder and guiding him to the front stoop.
They Disapparated from there to an alley that Harry used many times in the past to hide from the cameras and people. It was quite secluded and tilted at an angle so you couldn't see the corner they were in from the street. Disillusioning themselves, they went in search for one of Harry's friends.
It took the better part of a half an hour, when they spotted a young girl with long blonde hair, styled in a tight plait. Harry canceled the spell and went to her.
"Sue, I need to talk to you guys. It truly is a matter of life or death," the boy said urgently, looking her in the eyes so she could see he was serious.
"Life or death, honestly?" the girl asked, giving him the hairy eyeball.
"It's true, I promise. I'll explain it all when we get to where you guys are hanging. Oh, and my godfather, Sirius Black, is nearby. He's going to follow us. Don't worry we're leaving England tonight, so we can't rat you out. I just needed to talk to you guys first," he hurriedly assured her when her eyes narrowed.
She sniffed in mild irritation. Harry knew she was on a run, and that this would set her back and the bosses didn't like late runners, still…
She seemed to make up her mind as she waved him to follow. So, they did. Many twists and turns later, they were ensconced in an abandoned basement. There were candles and flashlights everywhere, but only a few people.
"Okay, I guess this will have to do. I'll tell you guys, and you can tell the rest. If you want to warn the bosses, well, that's up to you," Harry said, taking a seat on a threadbare mattress.
Sirius reappeared and joined Harry.
There was an intake of breath that a noted criminal was among them, however no one said anything. Harry could tell they were still cautious, normal operating procedure for street kids.
"What did you have to say, Harry? Life or death, was it?" Sue asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Three others panned out around her; all were sitting facing their magical friend. There were fifteen runners in their gang, but it was daytime, so they were doing business. The three here had nothing to do for the day, and they were there to secure their hideout.
"I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll just be blunt. You might not believe me, but after what I saw last night, and what the adults told me… the end of the world is coming," he said in a rush of breath. "We don't know how, but the dead are walking," he added, looking at everyone gauging their reactions. "I saw one, I killed it. I'm not pulling your chain or taking the mickey."
At first, they just stared, then they laughed, then they noted that Harry wasn't, and they sobered.
"Wait, you mean those rumors are true?" a young Asian man asked as if demanding an answer that he wanted to hear. Not the truth, but something more believable.
"Yes," Harry said firmly. "Like I said, I saw a 'zombie' last night. Not even fire killed it. The only form of defense you have is headshots. But, if what we know is true, then this is going to spread like wildfire. It's a virus. Who knows, it might be airborne. You need to figure out how to stay safe."
"You said you were leaving," Sue said, leaning forward a bit. "Can we come with you?"
"I guess. I certainly have no problem with that, but you'll have to ask Sirius," the boy shrugged, and pointed to his godfather.
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"How many of you are there, and can you get to the other side of town by six?" Sirius inquired. There was no way he was going to let a bunch of kids fend for themselves, no matter how good they were at surviving. However, he wasn't going to kidnap them, but if they wanted to follow, who was he to deny them safety.
"There are three of us that will be willing to leave, and yes we can," Sue answered for them. Sirius figured she knew the dynamics of the group better than he, a stranger, did. "I'll leave a note or find Digger. He'll let the rest know. I wish there were a way to prove it."
"I do too, it would be so much easier," Harry sighed along with her. "The only thing you can do is tell them to keep their ears to the ground and be on the lookout if they don't believe you."
"Okay, back to you coming with," Sirius said, steering the conversation back on track. "Pack everything. We'll supply what you don't have but bring everything you can. However, I want to let you know that you will earn your keep. No one gets a free ride. Not even me," he said, looking each child in the eyes.
They, one by one, nodded their understanding. It was the way of the world after all, something they all learned at an incredibly young age. A fact that saddened the wizard, knowing that his godson had learned right a long with them.
"Here," Harry said, taking out a large sum of money from nowhere, even being his godfather Sirius didn't know how he did that, "take this money and give it to those who are staying. Tell them to stock up and go to ground. We have no idea how fast this will spread, but they might want to form some kind of group. The more people, the better. Tell them to get guns, knives, arrows, matches, lighters, food, water, tents, and whatever they think they will need."
"Try and talk them into leaving the island. It will be harder here, when there's nowhere to run," Sirius added, glancing at the wary children, who all looked terrified. He hated to do this, but they needed to know. It was better to be forewarned. "Are you sure you guys won't come too? What do you have here?"
"No, this is home," one of the boys said, getting up to leave. He needed to get the word out.
Sue took the money with wide eyes and handed the bundle to another boy she knew was going to stay. He took it, nodded, and headed out the window.
"Right, you lot, grab who's coming and meet us at the park near Grimmuald Place," Sirius said, putting his hands on his knees and standing. Harry followed suit. "Do you know where that is?"
"Yes," Sue said, standing up and grabbing some of the things laying around.
Sirius and Harry decided to see if those looting the warehouses needed help. They did. Working together, they cleared a good ten of them.
"We should hit a butcher store, or two, as well," Harry said, putting his arm down, therefore dropping his wand to a relaxed position.
"I'll do it," the pink-haired girl said, with a wink. "I know where most of them are. Since it's Sunday, they'll be closing soon. I can grab what I can and meet you at the house. I already told my folks what's going on. They're going to head for the castle tonight or tomorrow to warn Dumbledore."
"Why aren't we warning him?" Harry asked, looking at Sirius for the answer.
"He'd try to stop us," was the reply.
"Right, I'll just get going," Tonks said quickly and disappeared, as if wanting to get away from that can of worms.
"Thanks, Tonks," Sirius said sarcastically to the air. He was glad she volunteered, as he still had a bit of magic to do today, and he didn't want to deplete his reserves.
"So, Dumbledore?" the teen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Harry, I know you don't like the guy, and I'm not too fond of him either, but if the magicals are going to survive, they need to batten down the hatches, so to speak, or head to Hogwarts. I wanted to warn him yesterday, but he would have tried to stop us leaving," his godfather explained.
"Why aren't we staying at Hogwarts?" Harry asked, not that he wanted to, but it would be the safest place in Scotland.
"I'm not going to be locked up again, even if it is a huge honking castle. No, after Azkaban, I'm done being forced to stay in one place,' the older man said harshly, making sure that his emotions were on display so there would be no misunderstanding.
"Where are we going then?" the teen inquired, changing the subject.
"America," Sirius said brightly, all anger forgotten.
"America? Why there? We could just stay here in Britain. There are tons of places to hide out," Harry said. He seemed to be completely confused at the man's enthusiasm.
"I'm still wanted by the law, muggle or not. I can't stay here, some moron will try to take custody of me," the ex-prisoner said, shaking his head. "Besides, like I told your friends, this is an island. There will be nowhere safe soon enough. Only if those magicals, that are of the same mindset as us, help the muggles, well, I fear for them."
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Suddenly, Harry felt a small tingling on his chest. "Shite," he cursed, "Sirius, the leash charm, you didn't remove it," he hissed, rubbing the ache.
"I know, I was going to wait until it got bad. We're leaving at six, can you hold on until then?" the concerned man asked, putting his hands reassuringly on the teens shoulders.
"No, if I'm even fifteen minutes late, then I'll be transported there," Harry said, a bit angry and a bit whiney.
"Shite, you got the upgraded version. Dumbledore must not trust you at all. Okay, let's get back to my place and I'll break the charm," the dogman said with a sigh.
"How did we even leave yesterday?" Harry asked, a confused tilt of his head, still rubbing circles on his chest.
"There's a loophole in that charm. Sure, you have to be back at a certain time, but there's nothing saying you can't leave a minute later," the older man said, barking with laughter.
Harry, upon hearing this, dropped his hand, went to a wall and started banging his head on it, all the while saying, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."
This went on until the still laughing Sirius pulled him away. "It's alright. When my mum used the older version on me, it took me months to figure it out."
"Still," the teen said with a sulk.
They popped back to Grimmuald Place and Sirius took the charm off. "There, since we are here, Dumbledore won't know where to look for you. I'm sure he felt that," the older man said, looking around to make sure they got everything.
"Should I stay here, while you get my friends?" the tired boy asked. Fighting that charm was rough.
"Yeah, I have Kreature watching for them. When he lets me know they are there, I'll go get them. In the meantime, call your elves, and have them standby," Sirius suggested.
"Alright," was all Harry said. He turned and went to sit on the stairs, the only place left to sit. "Dobby, Winky, Slam, Dunk," he called, giggling at the name of the last two. From what they told him; his father witnessed a basketball game on a tv once and loved the term so much he renamed his elves.
Harry had no idea how that came about, but it was funny to him.
Four pops indicated that the elves had joined him.
"Did you guys get the manor cleared out?" he asked, looking at them. He noted that they all looked a bit different. Taller, smarter, and less devoted. Which to him was a good thing, he hated submissiveness.
"Yes, sir," they all said at once.
"Good, good. All the properties are locked down?" Not that it mattered, what with no one going to be around, but they were all he had of his family. Maybe, one day, when the world was in a better position, he'd come back. But for now, he'd follow his godfather.
"Yes, sir," they said again.
"Great, we're going to be leaving soon. I need you guys to hunt down anything you need to keep yourselves safe and healthy. Hide, it is imperative that you are safe. I'll call you when we get to America," he said, patting each elf on the shoulder to show he was proud of them. "You guys can pop that far, right?" he asked suddenly worried that it might be too long of a distance.
"We's can pop anywhere yous be," Dobby said, standing proud.
"Good, go find a good spot to hide, and wait for my call," Harry said, sighing in relief.
"Yes, sir." They all then popped away.
Harry sighed again and rested his head against the bannister. He would just close his eyes for a second. That's what it seemed like, when loud yelling jerked him awake.
"Sirius," he whinged, rubbing his eyes, thankful that being a werewolf fixed his eyesight, though he still had funny visions of a werewolf wearing glasses, "why is that portrait still there?"
"You think I'm going to take that hag? You're barmy," his godfather said, running up the stairs and closing the curtains on the portrait. He didn't even bother yelling at his mum, know it was the last time he'd see her. Harry was glad of that, that portrait was mean to his godfather, and even though Sirius hated his mum, Harry knew that her words hurt the man.
Kreature was waiting with the Potter elves, who had decided to hide here, so the whole house would shut down when they left.
"Are you ready, Harry?" Remus asked, looking down at the tired boy.
"Yeah, are my friends here?" he asked, grabbing the bannister and heaving himself up.
"Yeah, they're in the parlor. We're just waiting on you," Sirius answered, coming down the stairs.
"Well, let's do this," Harry said, with a bit more enthusiasm.
"Let's," Black replied, guiding the boy to the room where his three friends, and the other adults, were waiting.
They were all standing around a hula-hoop. When the three walked in and took their places, everyone reached down and grabbed a spot. They all had to stand sideways and put their left hand on the hoop, keeping their right free to hold weapons.
"I've already informed your friends on how to use this. We're going to put a sticking charm on yours and theirs hands. That way we don't lose anyone over the ocean," Remus said as serious as he could. It was no joke.
"Alright," Harry agreed, firming his grip. He and his friends all wiggled their hands when the sticking charm was applied. It was weird feeling. Like really rubbery glue.
"Ready, on blue," Sirius said, making the teens look at him funny.
"Green," Kingsley said, holding his wand ready.
"Pink," Tonks stated, taking the same stance as Shack.
"Purple," was Jessi's color as she glanced at the three non-magical kids.
"Yellow," Mac stated, closing his eyes for the dizzying trip.
"Red," said Sam, patting his robes to see if he had all his bags.
"White," Remus said, smiling at Sirius.
"and… Blue," Sirius said cheerfully, and they were off.