Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Twin faces look up at me from the footrest behind the drivers seat. Both children are young, maybe two or three years old but I doubt any older. Both have wide frightened brown eyes and tear-streaked red cheeks. Both have short soft brown curls half hidden under pale mint green knit caps. One has a blue binki in its mouth while the other has a grey knit rabbit clutched just below its chin.
I open the door wide and kneel down, curling my shoulders a bit so that I'm level with them. The last thing I want is to frighten them more than they already are. They press together, leaning a bit further from me but neither make a sound.
"Hello there," I offer in a gentle voice, "My name is Harry."
Neither answers but I dont really expect them to. I do the only thing I can think of, I talk. I tell them about Surrey. I tell them about my classes from gradeschool. I tell them about my first trip to the zoo and all the animals I've seen, just not the magical ones.
Its a heavily edited version but again, I dont want to frighten them. I talk for what feels like an hour. Its difficult to tell time now, since I dont have a watch and time seems unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
The talking helps. The twins relax even if they still watch me warily. I stand back up, I need to check to be sure that we are still safe and we are for now. A few dead ones are stumbling towards us from further down the road but we have a little time.
I ask the kids, "Would you like to come with me? I promise to look after you and help you find a safe place."
They're young still so I dont know how much they understand but when I reach for them they dont fight. Pulling them out of the car I can finally get a better look at them. Both have on soft black leggings and long blue shirts with matching purple hearts on the lower left side.
There is a backpack in the back seat that I assume is theirs so I grab it too. Then I transfigure some yarn, found during my scrounging several cars back, into little vests with leashes. The leashes are attached to my belt so that I wont risk losing them while we travel.
The one with the rabbit whines, tugging at the vest so I transfigure a sock into a rabbit similar to the one she's already holding and attach it to the vest. She hugs the new rabbit, no longer looking upset. For the other girl I transfigure another sock into different animals until she finally reaches for the brown monkey.
With them sorted, its time to get moving. Two 'bombarda' explode the stumbling dead ones before they can get close enough to be a threat. More are wondering along further away so we do need to move.
I try to walk, encouraging the girls to follow me and they do take a few steps before digging in their heels. The one with the rabbit calls for "Momma" while the one with the binki reaches her arms up, fists opening and closing to ask me to carry her.
Okay, so letting them walk wont work. What other options are there?
I look over the car but it has nothing to help. The dead are getting closer and I really need to get these kids away from here. The nearest two cars dont have anything useful but a grey minivan does.
The minivan has a wide flat back with a single stroller folded closed and a small plastic wagon, barely big enough for one to ride in. The wagon is really too small, just a toy, but a bit of transfiguration melds the two together to create a low pram/wide wagon. I make an enclosed canopy with cloth draping over the sides to hopefully block out the more horrifying sights.
The girls go into this easily. A few random small toys from the minivan, along with some little bags of snack crackers will hopefully keep them content. A few more 'bombarda' curses drop the last of the dead and now we can go.
I start pushing the girls along the road heading away from the city only to hesitate. I check the backpack that I pulled from the car they were in only to sigh in disappointment. The only thing in the backpack is some school books and comics, nothing belonging to the girls.
They need supplies. No, they need people that will know how to look after them. I dont know if they still need bottles or if they're old enough to eat normal food. I dont know if they need nappies or if they can potty on their own. The rumors that the Dursleys spread meant that no one in the neighborhood would let me near their little ones so I just dont know what to do.
So... Where do I take them? Do I risk moving closer to the city to find supplies for them? Do I search for homes or stores? Do I search for survivors?
I wish that I had someone here to help me but, like usual, I'm on my own. Well, better to have and not need than to need and not have so finding supplies is the most important. Hopefully I will be able to find someone along the way that can help me with them.