Sorry it's so short, but my muse is currently all over the place.

Please Review.

***HP

Leaning against a large tree, Harry tiredly allowed his body to go limp as he sunk to the ground. It had been four days since he parted ways with Ezekiel and Sheva and he was no closer to finding his mate. He could feel the bond constantly tugging on him, urging to keep going, but he was just so tired and hungry. Without Sheva there to protect him, he had been too afraid to fall asleep, so now he was running on days with no sleep and hardly any food.

Dropping his head onto his knees, Harry allowed himself a moment of weakness as he started crying. He knew that he was tough and stubborn, but he didn't know how much longer he could keep going. He was physically, emotionally, and magically exhausted...not to mention scared shitless. Venturing to a different country on his own had been an extremely stupid idea. If he had been smart, he would have at least asked Remus to accompany him. As a werewolf, Remus knew how important mates were.

Scrubbing at his dirty and now tear stained face, Harry pushed himself back to his feet and continued down the road he had been following. He knew it could be risky staying on a road, but he needed to find a town or something, somewhere that had a store with food he could scavenge. He was also down to his last bottle of water, which wasn't good seeing as it was blistering hot out.

Of course finding a town or populated area meant more dead and more living. At this point he didn't know which was worse, the hungry dead, or the crazed living. Ezekiel and him had stumbled across a few groups of people who would have happily slit their throats or put a bullet between their eyes if it hadn't been for Sheva. Unfortunately though, if he wanted to eat, he had to go into populated areas.

His mind wandered, once again as it always did whenever he was feeling particularly lonely, if Remus and everyone else he loved back home were safe and doing well. He wished he could send an owl to Remus, but he had left Hedwig back home. It killed him that he would probably never see Remus, the Weasleys, or anyone else from home ever again.

Noticing that he was getting closer to a town, he tensed and started scanning the area. There were a lot more cars abandoned everywhere, some even with decaying bodies still them. Steering clear of them just incase they weren't dead, dead, but the walking dead, he silently made his way into what looked like had been a small, middle-of-nowhere town.

Harry's heart was pounding in his chest as he silently made his way down Main Street. The place looked pretty well deserted, he hadn't even heard a moan from a walker, but he knew looks could be deceiving. It was possible that when everything started going down, everyone in town packed up and left, but he doubted it. The dead had a way of just popping up when you least expected it and sometimes without warning. He couldn't tell you how many times he had almost been bitten by the dead he hadn't even heard or seen.

Still cautiously making his way down the street, he frowned when all he passed so far were a few medical buildings, an antique shop, a library, and a bar, no sign of a grocery store or gas station on this street. There was a bend coming up, hopefully, with any luck, there would be something useful around the corner.

Feeling a cold chill race down his spine, Harry wrapped his arms around his middle. Just a second ago he had been sweating, but now his arms were covered in goosebumps and he was shivering. The temperature hadn't dropped any so he wasn't sure what was going on. He also had this incredibly anxious feeling, like something big was about to happen.

Harry's wings started vibrating under his skin, the urge to release them was almost uncontrollable. Keeping them from erupting from his back was almost painful for him, he had never struggled with them this much before. Speeding up his steps to where he was almost jogging, he took the bend blindly without peeking around it first.

Harry couldn't hold back his scream when he ran straight into a small herd of the dead. Before he could register exactly what happened, multiple hands were grabbing and clawing at him. The hands were so strong and there were so many that he couldn't peel them off of him. Crying, he dropped down low hoping to break their hold on him.

Loud shots wrung out echoing off of the buildings, then stronger hands were pulling at him, dragged him away.

"Get the fuck up and run you stupid shit!"

Harry cried out when his arm was about wrenched out of its socket, but he did as the voice told him to do. Getting to his feet, he ran as fast as he could, the stranger who saved him leading the way.

"Get in, dumb ass!"

If Harry was thinking clearly he wouldn't be blindly following some stranger who was cursing at him and calling him names and who obviously had a gun since he had heard shots, but right now he was still in shock over almost becoming dinner for the dead. How could he have been so stupid? He knew not to just take corners or enter buildings without first checking to see if the coast was clear.

Hearing a door slam behind him, Harry flinched when he was pushed hard up against a wall. "Kid, how the fuck have you managed to survive this long with being so fucking stupid and reckless?"

Harry's heart was racing and his lungs felt like they were going to explode. He wanted to defend his actions, even though he had been fucking stupid, but there just wasn't enough oxygen in his lungs to talk. He was so shook up that he couldn't even properly focus on the man that was pinning him to the wall to see what he looked like.

"Kid, there were close to forty dead out there and you stupidly walked right into them."

"I get it, I'm stupid," Harry wheezed as his trembling legs gave out on him and he collapsed to the floor. "Y-You don't have to keep reminding me."

***HP

"Fuck, kid," Negan cursed as he ran a hand through his hair. What the hell had gotten into him? What the fuck compelled him to throw himself in the middle of a herd of the dead just to save some stupid kid? If you're going to be stupid enough to walk around blindly with everything going on, then you deserved to be become chow for the dead.

Harry placed a trembling hand over his pounding heart. "I'm sorry, I know I was stupid, it's been days since I slept or ate, but I know it's not an excuse."

Sighing heavily, Negan knelt down and grabbed the boy's arms then started inspecting them. "Were you bit or scratched?"

Harry's breath was literally knocked out of him when the man touched him. A bolt of hot electricity shot throughout his body, but it wasn't a painful bolt, it was actually quite pleasurable. Head now clear from his brush with death, he focused on his rescuer.

Negan dropped the kid's arm when a zap of electricity shocked him. "What the hell?"

Harry couldn't breath, but it wasn't because he had almost died and then had to run for his life. No, he couldn't breath because he had finally found him. After weeks of searching, hiding from both the dead and the living and being scared out of his mind, he had finally found his mate.

Negan tumbled backwards when the kid launched himself at him, wrapping his arms tightly around him and clinging to him for dear life. "Kid?" He questioned when the boy started sobbing.

Harry was so happy and relieved that he just couldn't control his emotions. Without thinking, he threw himself at his mate and held on to him as tightly as he could. He was safe now, everything was going to be okay, he was no longer alone in this terrible, scary, new world.

Negan didn't know what came over him, but he found himself patting and rubbing the teens back. He didn't know who the hell this kid was, and he wasn't normally the type of person to offer comfort, but for some reason he felt compelled to comfort the teen.

"I can't believe that I found you," Harry sobbed into his mate's neck. "Please don't ever leave me."

"Kid, I don't know you," Negan said awkwardly. "Hell, I don't even know why I risked my life saving you."

Sniffling, Harry pulled back and looked up at his mate, getting his first good look at him. The first thing that he noticed was that his mate was older than him...considerably older. His mate was old enough to be his father...with a few extra years to spare. He wasn't surprised though, he had always been attracted to older men, and being a submissive he would need someone older and wiser. The second thing that he noticed was that his mate was smoking hot. Like, holy hell was hot. Even the sprinkling of grey hairs throughout his head and beard didn't take away from his hotness. If anything, the grey hairs made him even hotter.

Negan raised a curious eyebrow, was the teen checking him out? The kid was an adorable little thing with huge emerald eyes and kissable plump limps, but the kid needed to be a few more years older for him to even consider thinking about him in such a way.

Harry's eyes scanned his mate from head to toe, taking in his black leather jacket and perfectly snug jeans. His magic was singing at finally getting to see his mate, and he was very pleased with the man magic had chosen for him. Oddly though, he could sense no magic in the man. He would have thought for sure being a creature that his mate would have at least been a wizard. This complicated things.

"Do you have a name, kid, or shall I keep calling you fucking stupid?" Negan said gruffly, getting back to his feet.

Harry went to stand up too, but he was hit with an intense dizzy spell. Vision going dark, he started to fall, but strong hands caught him and held him up.

Negan didn't like how skinny and pale the boy was, and he could tell by his dry, chapped lips that he was dehydrated. "Drink!" he ordered, uncapping and holding out a bottle of water he had in his pocket.

Harry didn't need to be told twice. Taking the water, his hands still trembling, he brought it to his lips and greedily drank. The water wasn't cold, but it was still refreshing and perfect.

"Easy there, slugger, you don't wanna go making yourself sick," Negan chuckled.

Finishing off the bottle, Harry wiped his lips, his face red from embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I have been nursing the same bottle of water for a couple days."

Negan pointed to the corner of the room where a couple cases of water were stacked against the wall. He had been holed up in this small hell hole of a town for a week now, but at least there was plenty of food and water to see him through. "Help yourself, but give your stomach a rest first."

Harry smiled shyly at his mate. "Thank you..for everything," he quickly added. "Thank you for saving my life and for giving me water."

"Truthfully, I don't know why I saved you," Negan admitted unashamedly. "I just acted before thinking."

Harry knew that it was their bond that forced his mate to help him, but since his mate was a muggle, he couldn't tell him that yet. "I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

"I'm sure you are, kid," Negan grunted as he turned away to look out the window. He knew that his time here was up, there were too many dead here now. The week long vacation had been nice, but it was time to move on.

"Are...are there any out there?" Harry asked nervously.

"A few stragglers, but we managed to outrun the herd. It's not safe here anymore, buckaroo, time for Negan to move on to greener pastures."

Harry smiled softly. Negan, his mate's name was Negan. It was different and unique, he liked it. "Can I please come with you?"

Negan opened his mouth to say hell fucking no, but he found himself getting lost in the kid's big green eyes. The last thing he wanted was a kid to look after, but for some reason he was finding himself drawn to the boy. "Fine, but you follow my fucking orders. I'm alpha dog here."

Grinning, Harry excitedly nodded his head. He didn't know what he would have done had Negan refused him. "Thank you so much, you won't regret this."

"Don't thank me yet," Negan grumbled. "If you slow me down or double cross me, I'll feed you limb by limb to the dead." Frowning, he turned away from the boy and his eager eyes. Just saying that he would feed the kid to the dead sent a strange jolt to his heart.

Harry quickly shook his head. "I won't, I promise. Please, I just don't want to be alone anymore."

Negan could understand that, he had been traveling alone for two weeks now. His cousin, who had originally been traveling with him, fell to the dead because he had been too fucking weak and too stupid to do what needed to be done in order to survive. This was no longer a civilized world.

Harry was still feeling weak and shaky, but he didn't want his mate to see and think he was unworthy of him. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he joined the man by the window. "Are we leaving now?"

Negan frowned down at the kid, he may be skinny and frail looking, but he had survived this long so he must be a tough little bitch. "We'll leave in the morning after you have eaten and had a decent night's sleep. You look worse than the dead out there."

Grimacing, Harry tried to straighten his hair as he wiped at his face, which he was positive was filthy, especially after his breakdown. He knew he was an ugly mess, he hadn't had a shower since he left the Dursley's. He had wiped off a few times in passing streams, and even once with Sheva watching his back he took a swim, but it just wasn't safe to go dipping naked in the water to wash off, there were too many dangerous people out there, not to mention the dead. Even though it had been a few weeks, he could still feel that truck driver's hands all over him. He never wanted to feel that helpless and vulnerable again.

Negan pulled out a cardboard box that he had tucked away in the corner. Reaching in, he pulled out a can of soup and crackers. "You're gonna have to eat it cold, Princess, can't risk alerting the dead to our location."

"Or the living," Harry mumbled as he popped the top off of a can of Progresso Pot Roast soup.

Negan nodded his head. "Perhaps you're not as stupid as I first thought."

"I'm not stupid," Harry defended. "I just haven't eaten or slept in days so I'm not exactly thinking straight."

Negan pointed to a mound of blankets. "When you're finished get some rest, I'll take first watch." Negan wanted to slap himself silly, what the hell prompted him to offer the kid his bed? What the hell was wrong with him?

Harry looked to the pile of blankets with longing. He actually wanted to sleep more than what he wanted to eat, he felt like he was about to pass out. "Promise me you won't leave me while I'm sleeping?" Harry asked in a small, and vulnerable voice.

"Damn, kid!" Negan swore when the teen looked at him with large, puppy dog eyes. Even if he had been planning on ditching the kid, which he hadn't been, after that look there was no way he could leave him behind.