All recognisable characters belong to either J.K Rowling or Robert Kirkman and AMC

All around the Chamber there were flashes of different coloured light and the cracks of spells hitting their targets. Tonks lay unconscious on the ground, Mad-Eye Moody trying to revive her while simultaneously firing hexes at several Death Eaters. Remus and Kingsley were sending jinxes at another group while guarding the five teenagers behind them. Hermione and Ron watched out for Harry, who was duelling Bellatrix alongside Sirius in the centre of the Chamber by the Veil. The insane witch was cackling as the man and boys spells were cast aside with a flick of her wand, only to be returned with her own more lethal curses.

Sirius cast a quick shield as a deadly cutting curse was aimed at his throat, "is that the best you got?" he taunted his cousin.

Bellatrix threw him a sneer that Harry thought would make Draco Malfoy proud and fired a stunner at the two. Taken off guard, the red spell struck Harry in the chest and he felt himself get thrown backwards. Time seemed to slow for everyone else. All the other members of the order could do was watch as Harry fell back into the black veil that hung in the archway. Sirius gave a strangled yell and made a grab for his godson, ignoring Remus' yell at him to stop. The Order members, the Death Eaters and the teens were powerless to interfere as Sirius grabbed Harry's arm and was dragged by the boys weight into the Veil as well. The blackened curtain waved slightly as the two disappeared.

The teenagers watched hopefully, praying that their friends would step out from the other side of the archway, that it was all a clever plan to take Bellatrix by surprise. But there was nothing. Only a few seconds of silence as everyone looked at where Sirius and Harry had stood moments before. The only thought that ran through any of their heads was 'what happened to them?'

The first thing Sirius noticed was the heat. He could feel the burning rays of the sun hitting him, causing him to sweat in his wizards robes. The second thing he noticed was that he was laying on a hard gravel ground, stones digging into his back. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was fighting alongside Harry at the Department of Mysteries.

Harry!

Sirius' eyes snapped open. He was momentarily blinded by the sweltering sun that beamed down on him until he turned his head at a groan from behind him. Harry was laying a few feet away, rubbing his chest where Bellatrix's stunner had hit him.

With a groan of his own, Sirius climbed to his feet and, feeling years older than he was, made his way over to the teen.

Harry frowned up at him, "what happened?"

"I have no idea," hauling him to his feet, Sirius checked him over for any injuries. Finding none, he bent down and picked up the two wands that lay on the ground behind them. Handing Harry's back to him, he took in his surroundings.

They were stood in an ally way in what was clearly a muggle city, three sides of the ally blocked off by tall, bricked buildings. The only way out lead to an empty road.

Harry made to step forwards, only for Sirius to pull him back.

"I'll go first. You never know who or what might be out there."

Harry rolled his eyes, but allowed Sirius to take the lead.

Wand held out in front of him, Sirius stepped out into the street. Broken glass crunched underfoot as he took in the city buildings that towered around them.

The place was deserted. Rubbish littered the pavement, spilling out of overturned bins, rot growing on waste food caked to the floor. A car was laying a little way away, balanced on its roof and its windows missing from its doors, which hung half open. The surrounding shops had their doors off their hinges and windows busted open, the contents inside completely looted.

"What the hell happened here?" Harry stepped forward so that he was standing next to Sirius, his green eyes wide as he took in the desolate street.

"I have absolutely no idea," Sirius wrinkled his nose, "do you smell that?"

Harry sniffed the air and frowned, "smell what?"

"It's like something rotting."

"I don't smell anything. Is this some super sense thing that comes from being an animagus?"

"Probably. OK, wherever we are, it's clearly in the muggle world," Sirius immediately took charge, pointing at the remains of the car, "but it isn't London, that's an American licence plate."

Harry frowned at him, "how do you know that?"

"Took Muggle Studies. Peeved my mum off royally. I think we should find ourselves a change of clothes each before we do anything, our robes make us stand out like a sore thumb. There should be a clothes shop around here somewhere."

"Do you have any money?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "no, but it shouldn't be too hard to knick some." Seeing the frown on Harry's face, he shrugged, "I'm a convicted murderer on the run from the law after breaking out of the most heavily guarded prison on the planet. And you have been aiding me for two years now, I think we've both thrown caution to the wind."

"Fair point. Then what?"

"Back to England. I'm sure there is a house with a fireplace we can floo from somewhere around here. Just pray that MACUSA doesn't find us."

"MACUSA?"

"Magical Congress of the United States of America. Basically the American Ministry. We really need to teach you about the workings of the magical government if you want to be an Auror," Sirius began to make his way out through the street, wand lowered but still in his hand. Harry copied him as he followed. They only had to walk about a hundred feet before they reached the end of the road. The next street took them both by surprise. Whereas the street they arrived in was empty besides the wreaked car, this street looked like something out of a disaster film. The first thing they both noticed was a tank parked in the centre of the road. Rubbish cluttered the ground, army Jeeps parked at every corner. Posters had been attached to the walls and vehicles, phrases such as 'The End Is Nigh' spelled out in bold letters. Windows in the surrounding shops had been shattered and the insides looted. Harry noticed something that look suspiciously like blood coating the ground near them and turned to speak to Sirius, only to see his godfather had covered his nose and mouth with his hand and a look of disgust on his face.

"Please tell me you can smell it now?"

"Harry sniffed the air again, and this time could definitely smell something rotten, "yeah now I can."

Sirius seemed to hesitate for a second, before stepping forward towards the tank, "it's coming from over there," he said, his curiosity overcoming his disgust slightly.

As the two made their way to the giant army vehicle, Harry spotted a newspaper on the ground and quickly grabbed it. "Hey Sirius, listen to this. 'It is vital that no one approaches a person or persons who are showing symptoms of the infection. Everyone must stay in their homes until the US. Army has arranged an evacuation point in your area of residence. The symptoms include: discolouration in the skin, little motor control, little awareness of their surroundings. Signs that you may be infected include: burning fever, weakness in limbs, trouble breathing and on occasion, regurgitating up blood."

"Sounds pleasant," Sirius was frowning at the paper in Harry's hands, only to turn his attention to the tank as they reached it.

Harry looked up when he heard Sirius swear very loudly.

Hanging off the edge of the tanks roof was a body. A man, fairly young looking, dressed in military uniform, with his skin turned a pale grey. There was a tear in his face, the flesh of his cheek missing to reveal muscle and yellowed teeth. That wasn't even what was most disturbing. When Sirius spoke, the body moved. It turned its head towards them and dried, milky eyes snapped open to stare sightlessly. Then, it began to growl, reaching out with uncoordinated arms towards them.

Sirius stepped forwards and waved his wand over its outstretched arm. His frown deepened, only to quickly be replaced with fear. He waved his wand again, only this time there was a sudden loud bang as the man's head proceeded to explode.

"Sirius!" Harry's eyes widened in shock as skull fragments and brain matter fell to the floor with a loud splat.

"I'll explain in a minute, first, we need to get out of the open," Sirius was looking up and down the streets, wide eyed and pale. Grabbing Harry's arm, he dragged him down towards an old hole-in-the -wall clothes shop, the only one with its windows still intact, "wait here." Sirius disappeared within the darkness of the building, leaving Harry standing dumbly outside in the empty muggle street in his Gryffindoor robes and wand still clutched in his hand. There was a few minutes of silence before Sirius reappeared and gestured for him to come in. "Sorry, but I needed to check that there was nothing in here. That man back there was a zombie."

"A zombie?" Harry asked in confusion, "why would there be a zombie in the muggle world?"

"You would be surprised how often it happens. Normally some Aurors deal with it and obliviate any muggles who might get involved, but that clearly isn't the case here. I would have thought you would have learnt about them in Defence Against the Dark Arts by now."

"Professor Quirrell mentioned an encounter he had with one once, but everyone in my class is convinced that he was lying about it."

"Right, well, they are basically the same as the bad muggle films say they are. Rotting flesh, eat people, very stupid. Spread the infection through bites and scratches. There's no cure."

"And you're saying there has been an outbreak here?"

"Yes. I'm surprised the American Ministry hasn't done something about it," Sirius fell silent for a moment, eyeing the entrance to the shop like he expected a dozen zombies and Aurors to charge in at them, before shaking his head, "lets get changed, then find ourselves a fireplace somewhere. I've got some floo powder left over to get back to Grimmald Place from the Ministry, I know the spell to connect the fireplaces. When we get back, I'll let Dumbledore know of the situation here. Then it's his problem."

"Sounds good to me," Harry said, with a grin identical to Sirius'.

The two quickly changed into the few choices the clothes shop offered them, Harry was pleased to note that Sirius was much better at dressing like a muggle than some other wizards he had encountered. Then, both clad in jeans and a short-sleeved t-shirt each, they made their way out into the muggle world again.

A/N, this is my first ever Fan Fiction, so please rate and review.