A/N: I'm really happy that so many people enjoy this story. :) Thank you all for the nice reviews and all the alerts!

A big thank you to uoduck for proofreading this chapter.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Daryl looked down at the peaceful sleeping face and gently brushed a strand of hair away. She hadn't always been this calm and relaxed when she rested. He still remembered how she had fallen asleep in his arms that day, when she had killed the cop.

Hermione had broken down in his arms, unable to hold back and cried herself to sleep, while still wearing that haunted look.

Daryl hadn't been able to find any rest that night. His own emotions had been still all over the place, the fear of losing her still too real.

It had taken some time, months even to get finally over the almost panic like fear of losing her, but still, even today, there was this need inside of him that had to make sure that everything was safe and secure for them. That nothing could happen to take everything away from him. Daryl knew that a great piece of him would die along with her, if he ever lost Hermione. All that would be left behind would be a shell of a man.

Whenever they had been faced with any dangerous situation, this fear was a constant part of him. It pushed him forward to fight harder and protect her at all costs. No matter what. No matter from whom. Anyone who stood in his way or posed a threat had to be handled with.

The once happy mood, they had in the last two days, was completely gone in the morning, after Hermione's almost being kidnaped by a freaking cop. Daryl hadn't been a fan of cops in his life before the dead had begun to walk, but this had taken his dislike and distrust to a whole new level.

Hermione had been quieter than usual and it worried Daryl to see her like this.

Especially, when she had a hard time creating her Patronus spell at dawn. The only thing she was able to produce was a whips of a light, which began to frustrate Hermione. Knowing what the spell consisted of, Daryl had taken her mind off by simply pulling her into a deep kiss. He didn't know how long they were making out, when he gently pulled away and got her to smile a little bit at him. He felt a deep relief seeing that small smile on her face and soon enough the spell had worked again. She quickly informed both wizards of what had happened the previous night and of their plan to be on their way again, since staying any longer was just too dangerous.

Afterwards, the kids had woken up, and Hermione and Daryl had tried to explain why they needed to be on the move again, without revealing too much of yesterday's events. Luke, Molly, Scorpius and Andre hadn't liked the idea one bit and became upset at the information. Hermione tried to calm them down and explain that staying was too dangerous for them, promising that their parents would come soon and that nothing would happen to them.

With the help of Teddy and Beth, they quickly left the place. Both teenagers packed anything they would need, like food, blankets, pillows, medical supplies, dishes and anything else that could be useful for them.

Now, they were back on the road, with the kids a little behind them. Together with Hermione, the two of them made sure that no danger met their group. It was the usual way, he and Hermione took their journey with the kids. Beth and Teddy, carried Scorpius and Andre most of the time. Luke and Molly were carried by Hermione and himself, if they get too tired to walk and when the time for a break was too soon for the group.

Things were quiet, only the occasional walker from time to time, which they quickly took care off. They were about to take a break, when they spotted a group of men coming towards them. Hermione and Daryl instantly raised their weapons at them, as they kept walking.

"Teddy, Beth, take the children and walk a little away from us," Hermione ordered them. Thankfully, they did as they were told.

"We'll kill them, if they're dangerous," Daryl stated quietly. He needed her to know the option they had and that she would need to be ready to do so. He wouldn't take the chance with the children or Hermione's safety. Looking closely at the six approaching man, it looked like they wouldn't have any other choice.

"I know," was all Hermione said. He glanced at her for a moment and saw the gun aimed at them with her left hand, while her wand was in her other, next to her leg.

When the group began to spread, Hermione quickly shot close to their feet and said, "That's close enough."

"Well, look at here," spoke the oldest guy from the group, trying to appear confident that he wasn't even holding a weapon, compared to his other men. Daryl trained his crossbow at the old man, while Hermione had a close eye on the others.

"I'm claimin' her," someone snickered, which made Daryl tense at the words. "She's hot!" He glanced at the lanky guy with a black beard, knowing that he would be the first one Daryl would kill today. Hermione on the other hand, looked calm and collected, holding the weapon steady in her hand.

"Hold up," the older man spoke up and took another step, and Daryl ordered in an angry voice, "Stay the fuck where you are, man!"

"Okay, okay," the man said and held his hands up, and still didn't seem a bit worried. "I'm sure we can help each other. A woman, who's skilled with weapons and a bowman. I can respect that."

"No, thank you," Hermione spoke up.

The man cocked his head to the side and looked at them close. "You think you both could stand a chance against us? With so many of my boys here, they can easily drop you two several times over. Then we get the others right behind you. That what you both want?"

"Hell yeah," a balding fat guy spoke up, "I claim the blond boy, bet'cha he's really sweet."

Daryl's hand tightened on his gun. He would rather die than let one of these fuckers touch these kids. He heard a magical crackle next to him and he didn't have to look at Hermione to see that she was getting furious. Hermione quickly moved and aimed her gun at the fat guy, which immediately made everyone else raise their weapons at the two of them.

"What did you say?" Hermione asked in a dangerous voice.

The older man just shrugged and found the whole scene somehow funny. "Well, Dan has a special likin' you see."

The men next to him laughed at his words.

"Teddy, I want you to cast the strongest shield you can make and do it fast, as soon as I tell you. Beth, tell the kids to close their eyes and hold ears," Hermione explained calmly, but Daryl could still hear the shaken anger in her voice.

Another man laughed, "What'cha gonna do, pretty girl? Taking us all down?"

"NOW TEDDY!" Hermione shouted and one swift moment, when all attention were on the kids, Hermione disarmed every man on the field, with a wide wave of her wand. Daryl didn't wait for anything else and quickly killed the black bearded jackass and then the leader next him, with an arrow at their head. Hermione began to shoot at them quickly killing the other three, and injuring the fat guy. The whimpering motherfucker tried to run away and Daryl shot another arrow on through his leg, making him fall to the ground screaming. Hermione and Daryl closed the distance between them. He quickly stepped on the injured leg hard, making him scream more, until his voice was magically cut off, before the children could hear this.

"Ya like hurtin' lil' boys, huh, ya piece of shit?" Daryl asked angrily and kicked the fat shit on the ground, not expecting him to answer his questions, as he continued to beat him.

"Be grateful, that we don't have the time to make you pay," Hermione spoke and pointed her wand at him. "But I will make you suffer your last moment on earth." Without warning Hermione cast a spell at the man's dick and the man's mouth opened in a silent scream. It was a cutting spell he had seen her use many times before.

Daryl took a step away from the man, knowing that Hermione wasn't finished with the bastard and he was right. Hermione aimed her wand at the man and swiftly cast the same spell she did to the cop, just the night before. Daryl slowly walked to her and pulled her into his arms. He made her turn around, not wanting her to watch the piece of crap die. He didn't want her to have another night of restless night.

Her body begun to shake and he tightened his arms around her, just as he felt his shirt getting wet from her tears.

"He wanted to… was going to…" Hermione cried into his chest.

"I know… I know," Daryl spoke calmly, as he glared at the dying man. "But he didn't. We stopped them all…. They can't hurt anyone anymore."

Hermione nodded into his chest. A moment later she calmed down and pulled away. Daryl leaned closer and kissed her quickly, "Come, we need to get to the others."

She nodded again and glanced one last time at the fat asshole, who was losing more and more blood on the ground. Teddy and Beth looked visibly relieved and shaken, as they walked back to them. The kids had all their backs turned around and held up their hands against their ears, while Beth stood, holding a gun close to them. Teddy slowly lowered his wand, which had been raised in the air and ended the spell.

Daryl and Hermione stood before the kids, cutting the view behind them. "Hey, everything is all right now," Hermione spoke calmly.

"Are the bad men gone?" Luke asked fearfully.

"Yeah, they're all gone. Don'cha worry, lil'man," Daryl said next to Hermione.

"But we want you to do something for us, ok," Hermione continued and tried to smile at them. "We are going to carry you all for a bit, but we want you to close your eyes, until we say that it is fine to look again."

"Why?" asked Scorpius with a frown.

"Cause, we're playing a game," Daryl spoke up. "Want to see who can hear the first owl wins the game."

"But I thought owls only fly at night," Molly said confused.

This time Teddy answered the kids, having picked up what they were doing and said, "There are a few owls that fly during the daytime as well. Magical owls do that, for example."

The kids eyes brightened at the thought of a magical owl. Hermione smiled at Teddy, for his quick thinking. Even Beth cut in and further explained the game by saying, "And you can hear those day owls only if you close your eyes and listen very carefully."

Soon enough, they were on board. Hermione placed some spell on the kids to make carrying them lighter, before she picked up Luke. Daryl took Molly, while Beth carried Andre and Teddy, Scorpius.

After making sure the kids had their eyes closed they swiftly walked past the dead bodies on the ground, not sparing them any glanced. Daryl did look at the fat jackass and noted that he was finally dead, which was still too good for someone like him.

The rest of the journey was much more calm and the new train tracks gave them a bit of a higher ground. The open streets were just too dangerous, with the car and the group of crazy men. And anyway, Harry's and Draco's group had mentioned that they follow those train-tracks as well, that showed a way to place called Terminus.

While they were walking, Daryl kept an eye on Hermione. He knew she was strong and powerful, but it didn't stop him from worrying about her. The kids had fallen asleep, after half an hour of being carried.

When the sun began to set, Hermione informed Harry and Draco of their position and that they were safe, leaving out the group of men they had come across, before they set up the tent and wards around them. Daryl kept watch, while they prepared dinner and took care of the kids inside the tent.

Hermione walked out with a plate of food and cup of drink and sat next to him. Daryl leaned closer and gave her a gentle kiss, thanking her, before he began to eat. A stew, which he knew she would always add a few drops of a special potion mixture, to make it more nourishing. Added with the spices, she had in supply, the stew always tasted good and kept them a long time on their feet, without feeling exhausted or hungry too quickly.

Daryl made quick work of his food and put it to the side as soon as he was finished. Hermione hadn't said anything yet and he began to worry about that.

"Hermione?" Daryl said, getting her attention, even though she was sitting right next to him.

"I've never felt this… rage in my entire life," she finally said still not looking at him.

He couldn't bear see Hermione this distraught and quickly pulled Hermione into his lab. Wrapping his arms around her, while she rested her head against his chest. A moment later she continued, "The thought of Scorpius near that vile creature… I wanted to hurt him. Really hurt him."

"You did," Daryl added calmly, "and so did I. He deserved it and so much more."

Hermione nodded against his chest, but didn't say anything. He knew Hermione. She was one of the most kindhearted people he had ever met, one who still believed in the good side of people, that there was still something out there for them to make it through this chaos, the world had turned into. Daryl could guess that she was beginning to doubt everything she had believed in, that they still had a chance for a better place. While he was a pessimist by nature, not trusting people easily or when he secretly doubted that they could have a peaceful life, he never wanted for Hermione to feel this way. He never wanted her to doubt their 'happily ever after'.

It was one of the reasons why he fell in love with her. He loved the hopeful side of her, something he never could do for himself, and now, seeing her in this much emotional struggle, begun to hurt him too. He didn't want her to lose hope for a better life together. He needed her to believe that things could turn for the better.

A few hours later, after they had watched over the campsite, they heard a sound outside the ward. At first, Hermione and Daryl had believed that some walkers were around, but then Draco, Rick, Carl, Michonne and Hershel appeared in the distance. Draco was holding a wand, until he stopped and looked around trying to see where their camp was. Hermione had quickly walked out of the wards and hugged each one of the group, before leading them towards their place and inside the wards.

It had been an emotional greeting. Andre and Scorpius rushed to their parents, crying not to leave them again. It even broke his heart seeing them like this. Beth and Hershel's greetings went down in a similar way. As the families spent time with each other, Daryl had noticed Hermione going off with Molly and Luke to one of the small rooms in the tent and holding them tightly. He had seen how saddened those two had been, when they saw Andre, Scorpius and Beth returning to their parents.

Hermione had taken the time and stayed with those two kids. It was like she instinctively knew what they needed or when they felt sad. Seeing them huddled together, Daryl knew right there and then that she would be an amazing mom. He loved her compassionate side. He loved everything about her. The soft and caring, as well as the strength and fierceness side, no matter what happened or what others thought.

Hermione was and would always be his woman.

It was an hour later or two, when Rick and Draco came out of the tent and sat close to him. Rick spoke about heading towards Terminus, where he believed the other survivors of their group would be heading and it was in Harry's way.

Daryl nodded in return and said, "You think it's safe there?"

Draco frowned and Daryl knew right then that the blond man was equally suspicious about the whole Terminus place. That's what he liked about the wizard. In a way he was similar to Draco, not trusting everything and everyone, while trying to see through some people act.

"Not sure yet," Rick answered. "But we don't have much of a choice. The others could be there."

Daryl nodded at his words. He would talk to Hermione about it and see what she has to say. Daryl trusted her the most and knew that her instincts about certain situations were always a spot on.

"On the way back here, we saw the group of men you've killed," Draco stated bluntly and out of the blue. Rick tensed next to him. He kept his voice down, as he continued, "Don't even try to deny it. I recognize the spell Hermione used on the guy a little further away from the others… I know this particular spell all too well… I have never seen Hermione kill a human being, not even during the war. So what happened? Why the bloody hell couldn't you stay at the house, until we came?"

Daryl felt uncomfortable about sharing this information with anyone else. He knew that Teddy and Beth had heard their talk after she killed the cop and they had definitely seen them kill the other men that had been dead on the ground.

"Ask her," Daryl said, after exhaling heavily. He didn't want to share Hermione's darkest moments with them, even though he knew they had a right to know.

Before Draco could protest, Hermione walked out of the tent with Michonne in tow. Looking at Daryl and Draco, before she sat next to Daryl's free side.

"Hermione," Draco began, but Hermione cut him off, "I heard what you asked, Draco."

She took a deep breath and pushed the few strands of hair behind her ear that came loose from her single braid.

"The night before we left the house, a herd of walkers attacked the place. My wards held them back. Daryl and I went to kill the walkers. At some point we separated to make quicker work of them, when I was attacked by a man and put in a trunk."

Several people exclaimed in shock at her words. Daryl placed an arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

Daryl continued, "I took off after her and saw the car get away… thought I was too late, that I lost her…" Daryl broke off, not able to shake the fear from his voice.

"I used my magic, freed my self and stopped the man, who was also a police officer from Atlanta."

Everyone's eyes widened at that and Rick asked, "Maybe he was impersonating one? Pretending to be a cop?"

Daryl could see that this possibility really shook him deep.

Hermione turned towards the sheriff and said, "I used Legilimense on him, a mind reading spell. It allowed me to enter his mind and see his memories, thoughts, basically everything that is him."

Daryl knew that this was still difficult for her to talk about, but she continued. She explained what she had seen in the man's mind, what he did to the women he kidnaps, the trap the house was to lure people in and that there were a whole bunch of more cops in Atlanta. Some of them would try to come looking for their missing colleague and they didn't want to risk being found by them.

"What happened to him?" asked Michonne tightly. Her hand had tightened around her sword.

"He's dead," answered Daryl for Hermione, not hiding his own anger. "Got what he deserved."

There was a moment of silence as they watched a walker passed them. Michonne stood up slowly, with a hand on the hilt of her sword ready to strike, but the walker passed them, without seeing or hearing anything. She took her seat back next to Draco, after the walker was out of sight.

"What happened to the men we came across?" Draco asked again, calmer this time. "We haven't always been friends, Hermione, but I know that this isn't you. I have never seen this side of you, not even during the war. Something must had happened to make you act like this. Please tell me, why did you kill them?"

Hermione's hands balled in fists, when her hands began to shake.

"They appeared out of nowhere," Daryl spoke up. "I know these kind of fuckers. Always were trouble and dangerous. Worst sort of men you can come across… Hermione and I got the kids a little away from us, while we aimed our weapons against them. Then they began to talk shit… wantin' us with them and claiming…" Daryl broke off at the memory, when he felt his own rage coming back full force.

"Claiming what?" Draco asked and looked between the two of them. Michonne and Rick tensed at the word.

"Claiming me first," Hermione continued in an angry voice. "As their property to do with what they wanted. Daryl and I knew that we couldn't let them near us and not let them go free. They would have followed and attacked us, not that they had planned to let us go in the first place… and then… this disgusting, filthily creature looked at the children, where Teddy and Beth kept them away… he looked at Scorpius… claiming him… and the other men laughed… they simply laughed…. explaining that he likes little-" Hermione broke off, not able to finish it.

Draco lost all color in his face and jumped to his feet. Michonne followed soon. Even though she was equally angry, she and tried to calm him down, letting him know that his son was safe.

"It's my fault!" Draco declared in what sounded like panic. "I should have killed them. Should have never let them go. I knew that they were dangerous."

"What?" Daryl asked confused.

Rick took over and explained how the group had found them, and while everyone was out looking for supplies, Rick had been alone in the house. He had made it out, after killing on of their man and then Rick's group took off.

"It's not your fault," Michonne tried again, holding Draco's face in both hand. "We couldn't have known what they were up to."

Daryl didn't even want to imagine how the blond wizard must be feeling. Shit, Daryl knew that if Hermione hadn't been with him, that he wouldn't have been able to save those kids from them. Daryl stopped the thought immediately and shook his head, trying to get rid of the possible horrific outcome. It was like they had dodged not a bullet, but a freaking bomb.

"I told Teddy to place a protection shield around the them and that the kids should close their eyes and hold their ears. They haven't seen anything," Hermione continued after getting control on her emotions. "We made quick work of the others, but not on that disgusting creature."

"Did he suffer?" Draco asked in a hate filled voice.

"Every last breathing moment," Hermione vowed coldly.

A/N: Did you like the new turn of event? Let me know what you think :)

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