Project Wildfire

by Alice1985

Hermione, a renowned scientist and potions mistress, had been invited to the annual American Conference of Healer and Potioneer in Louisiana, before the world ended and the dead begun to walk. All alone and with no means of getting home, Hermione has to fight to survive, while trying to find a way to stop the walking dead. (Begins Pre-TWD)

20. Chapter 19 - Building Trust

A/N: You guys are just amazing! Wish I could give you all a big hug for all the great reviews, and everyone else who put the story on their favorite, following or C2s lists. Thank you so much.

A big thank you goes to uoduck, who takes the time to beta read this story. You are the best!

So, this is a more happier chapter with a little group fluff, but there is still drama going on in this chapter. Ok, enough with the teasing… Hope you enjoy the next chapter!

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Chapter 19 - Building Trust

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23rd May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA

Harry

"Are you sure, Rick? I could come with you," Harry offered, as he watched him get the car ready.

Daryl stood close to him, equally worried about the man.

"Carl could stay back, I'm aware that he knows how to use a gun, but it's not safe for a kid out there," Harry continued a little frustrated. The thought of a child joining him on a hunt for weapons made him worried.

Rick turned around and Harry could see how he clenched his teeth in frustration. Something, Harry noted was a habit of the man whenever he felt particular rilled at something or angry.

"What my son does or not, is my business," Rick said tightly before he took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Carl needs to be prepared and be ready for the world outside of here. I won't let my son become weak or unprepared."

Harry's eyes narrowed and his shoulder's tightened at his words, "Are you saying my son is weak and that's why he got shot?"

"What? No, no, that's not what I…" Rick sighed and shook his head. "That's not what I was trying to say. Carl offered to come with me and I accepted it, because I need him to be prepared. I want him to survive… even if I'm not there anymore. I need him to become strong, independent and understand the world out there…. There is a chance that I won't survive this… the attack or something else. Who knows when you guys will go to create this NOVA cure. Even if you have done it, all the danger won't be miraculously gone. There will be still danger out there, be it human or walkers."

Harry nodded after a moment, accepting his words and even understanding him. He had blamed himself for Teddy's injuries, for letting him get hurt in the first place. Rick was right and Harry would have to prepare Teddy for a dangerous world as well.

"I still could come, give you another hand. Magic isn't the all around solution, but I can help, with or without magic. I've done-"

"No, I want you and everyone else to stay here. If they decide to attack us again, I want as many people here to protect our people and this place. I'll take Carl and Michonne, get a feel on her…need to know if she can be counted on. Tyreese and Sasha are already working and helping around the prison. They do look like honest people, but I want you both to keep an eye on them, and Daryl, make sure Merle doesn't cause problems with anyone."

"Got it," Daryl said as he nodded gently. Harry looked back at Daryl, who stood a little taller than himself beside him. He could see that the mention of Merle in such a way still irked him.

Harry looked back at Rick and sighed in defeat. "Fine. Do you have some sort of communication device to keep in contact? Just in case you need us."

"No, we don't."

"Alright, give me a moment. I will see what I can do," said Harry and without another word, he turned around and walked back inside.

He found Hermione with Teddy, who was sitting with the most of the people at a table. As he got closer, Hermione excused herself and walked towards Harry, looking worried and asked, "Is everything ok?"

"Yes. It's just Rick still insists on going. He's set on it. Bloody stubborn that man. However, the only thing we could do is find a way to contact us, if he needs help. Do you know anything that could help them to stay in contact with us?"

Hermione frowned a little, before she swiftly walked into her cell room and grabbed her beaded handbag. She swiftly opened it and put her whole arm inside, but then frustratingly pulled it away and grabbed her wand and called, "Accio Babyphones."

The bag shook a little until it spit out two familiar looking blue baby walkie-talkies, which brought him an instant smile on his face.

Hermione returned the smile, as she explained, "I had them actually in my other bag, for safekeeping when Teddy found them too 'baby-ish' a while back. Remember, how Teddy loved to talk to me over these things when I was away or at work? Merlin, still can't believe he's grown so fast."

Harry smiled fondly at the memory, and took the devices, who still had some magical stickers on them, and the name written 'Mi Mi' and 'Teddy-Bear'.

"They are still in a good condition and should work like they used to."

Harry's smile widened, before he pulled her into his arms and kissed on the forehead and said. "You are simply brilliant, Hermione. Simply brilliant."

He turned and left the cell block and was about to walk out, before he turned around, kissed a surprised Teddy's forehead who looked a little sheepish and another kiss on a squealing Jon, who smiled even further at the attention.

Harry quickly walked out and held two baby-phones up for Rick as soon as he reached them and asked, "Do you want Mi Mi or Teddy-Bear?"

Daryl snorted at Harry's words, and Rick only blinked in confusion.

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23rd May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA

Hermione

Even though Teddy had been up and about, walking around and joking as if nothing had happened, Hermione still worried over him. She had already cast the Diagnostic Charm twice over him and assured herself that he was truly well and recovered. He would still need a few days to completely heal, without using any form of magic so that he wouldn't exhaust himself further, but as far as she knew, Teddy would make a full recovery… and yet, she couldn't help herself but keep an eye on him.

Harry had barely slept the previous night, as he sat on the transfigured chair next to Teddy. Even she hadn't been able to rest, despite being truly exhausted. Her injures still hurt and weren't completely healed, but she couldn't bring herself to rest.

In the end, both Harry and Hermione had transfigured a comfortable L-shaped sofa that took over the rest of the space in the small prison cell and dosed on and off the whole night. Jon was content to sleep next to Teddy, cuddling against his uninjured side.

It was before dawn that Teddy had finally woken up, waking Jon in the process, who in return called out the teenager's name happily, which woke up both, Harry and herself. Before Hermione could even move, Harry almost flew out of his chair and pulled Teddy into his arms, followed by Jon, muttering things Hermione couldn't make out, while Harry blinked furiously.

It had been a tiring, but a relieving morning.

"Teddy, rest a little. You shouldn't be walking around," Hermione scolded gently, as she fed Jon an apple, which she had stored in her beaded handbag and put under a stasis charm a while ago. They still had a few bottles of water, some dried foods and protein bars in their bags.

Her eyes glanced at the sliced fruit on the table. It had been given to her by Walter, when they had found an apple tree in one of the abandoned house's backyard, a few days after they had left Fort Polk. There were only a few apples left on the tree and Walter had insisted that she take them for Jon and Teddy. The other soldiers didn't object to that and made sure that she got a handful of the fruit, which she had put in her's and Teddy's backpack. It was the last apple now. A sad feeling settled onto her remembering all those who had lost their lives. She couldn't help wonder how Seth, Walter's son, handled the news of his father. She hadn't asked Harry yet. A part of her was afraid to do so. Walter and Seth had a very close father and son relationship, something many people at the military base had actually admired… she could only imagine how the news of his father's death must have been devastated him.

"I'm fine, Aunt Mione, really," assured Teddy, getting Hermione's attention. She pushed those thoughts and feelings away and focused on her godson. Looking back at him, she could clearly see that something was bothering him and therefore Hermione only raised an eyebrow in response at the teenager, silently telling him to continue, which he did after he sighed, "I just worry about Carl, that's all."

Hermione smiled gently, "He will be fine. If something happens, your dad will go to them."

Teddy nodded in understanding, before he frowned and said, "Maybe I should have given him my wand. Just in case."

"Carl wouldn't know what to do with it, Teddy. His magic isn't strong enough to properly defend himself. Not yet anyway."

Teddy nodded, as he finally sat next to her, before he grinned excitingly and exclaimed, "Still can't believe Carl is a wizard!? It's just brilliant! Now I can teach him all the pranks and spells Uncle George showed me and all the other cool things."

Hermione smiled at Teddy's excitement, as he rambled on about the things he wanted to show and teach him. But Hermione knew that it wouldn't as easy as Teddy believed it to be. First, Carl would need a wand that properly worked for him, which would be properly the hardest thing to do. Afterwards, Harry and herself would need to see how strong his magic was, figure out a way to teach him only the essential spells and charms, while building up his magical core and strength in order to be able to cast powerful magic. And time was not something they truly had on their side.

Especially, when the time came to leave for Washington, which could be in a few weeks, after Harry made the call to Fort Polk in the next days.

Hermione didn't voice out her concerns or worries and simply listened to Teddy's plans. They were soon joined by Beth and Sasha asking more about the magical joke items he mentioned. Even Jon who kept munching on the thin sliced apple, while he looked excitingly at everything.

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23rd May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA

Harry

Daryl walked next to Harry as they checked out the wards at fences. Harry could have done the work by himself, which he told Daryl, but the man wouldn't hear of it. Harry glanced sideways at Daryl, wondering not for the first time, why he felt he could trust him. Harry wasn't someone who could easily believe or put his fate in someone, but there was just something about Daryl that made him go with his instinct and trust him.

"And you're sure it'll work? Writing that stuff up on stones?" Daryl asked, after Harry explained the new approach to protect the prison.

"Yes… Hermione talked with someone from my home. He is an expert in breaking curses, but also knows how to take protective measures, in case things would become dangerous. We plan to talk to an expert on warding later, but from what Hermione had found out in her books, is that writing certain runes on specific stones aligned around the complete prison facility and with the right spell, which Hermione and I will perform, we will be able to create stronger wards. It will be like a magical translucent wall. It's not the most powerful form of warding magic, but it's still strong enough to protect this place. The wards I've placed around here won't hold forever and aren't that strong. During an attack they can without and hold up for an hour or a few maybe, depending on how strong the attack is and to keep them up its peak, I need to strengthen them at least once a day or they fall."

"That's why you're re-doin' them now," Daryl concluded, understanding why it was necessary to find a better solution.

Harry nodded, before he stopped turned towards the fence and cast another layer of ward. "I'm not an expert in warding and only know the basics, but Hermione told me that rune wards can hold much longer than simply casted wards. They can hold for months, maybe a year if not longer, depending on the stones, the runes that are carved into the stone and what type of wards are placed. The one she has in mind would also be invisible to the eye, which is a good thing too."

Daryl nodded next to him and Harry could feel his eyes on him as he cast another layer of magic on the ward.

"Then how will ya both know if they it's still up? The wards I mean, since they are all invisible."

Harry looked back at him and was a little surprised at the attention he paid to what he had said and a little impressed as well.

"Another rune stone will be with us at all time. It's like an alarm system if you want to call it. From what Hermione told me, this one will constantly glow when the wards are up and strong. If for instance, some of the ward areas gets weaker, we will see it on that stone, it will fade and flicker, which would tell us that something is wrong. If the wards fall, the light would go out completely."

Daryl nodded in understanding, as both walked silently a little further away, until Harry could cast the next spell.

"When do you think you both can do it?"

"Not sure. Hermione is still researching and consulting with a few people on the runes, the layout, spells and what type of stones we would need… So a few days maybe. Hopefully, we'll find them around here," Harry explained. He knew that if they didn't find those specific stones around here, that he would have to ask Neville or Professor McGonagall to send those stones here, but that would be the last resort for them. Harry didn't want to rely completely on Professor McGonagall or Shacklebolt. He would try to find a solution by himself and then and only if he failed to find anything, would ask for help. The situation with the Governor didn't make things easier either. Harry knew that as long as the Governor was in the picture, posing a threat to this group, that it would be much harder to work on the security and find the stones.

"You trust Hermione a lot, don'cha?" Daryl asked after a moment of silence, which made Harry glance back at him, a little confused at the strange question and not understanding the strange tone in his voice, but answered anyway, "I trust her with my life. Hermione saved me more than I can count."

"And you two never… hooked up?"

Harry chuckled at the thought and shook his head. He smiled when his thought turned to Hermione, "No, absolutely not. As I said before, Hermione is like my sister to me, my best friend. She kept mothering me throughout the school years, telling me to do my homework and fixed my clothes. She even repaired my glasses the first day I've met her on the train. She always put it upon herself to… take care of myself and Ron." At his confused look he explained more quietly as his smiled dropped, "He was my other best friend who died… Anyway, Hermione… she never gave up on me though, even when I was an arse to her at some point or refused to take her advice, which had been most of the time always right. She is the most loyal person I've ever met… and I don't know what I would do if I lost her as well… She is my family, as are Teddy and Jon."

They walked in silence, until Daryl said after a moment, "Family is important, I get tha'."

Harry smiled at him and was about to ask Daryl about Merle, when suddenly the baby-phone in his back pocket gave of a static sound before someone spoke, "Mi Mi here, anyone there?" It sounded like Carl's voice.

"Teddy Bear here," Harry said and activated the baby-phone connection, which made Daryl chuckle in return. "Are you lot alright?"

"Yeah, dad said to let you know that we are on our way back. Should be there in about 2 to 3 hours."

"Any problems on the way, Carl?"

"No, all's good. But we're bring someone with us. Seems ok."

Daryl frowned at the information, which Harry could only share. "All right. Stay safe and if you need help or are in danger, let us know."

"Will do, Harry. See you later. Over and out, Mi Mi," Carl said and closed the microphone out, which still made it possible to Carl to hear him.

"See you soon, Carl," Harry said and spoke the code word to deactivate the baby-phone, "Over and out Teddy Bear."

Daryl's frown was still in place as he stated, "I'm sure they had a reason to bring someone with them."

Harry nodded before he replied, "Probably. Either way, I will get a feeling of him when they return."

"Rick wouldn't pick up a guy who could be dangerous to us. He ain't that stupid," promised Daryl and Harry just hoped he was right about it.

Both returned silently back to their work, wanting to finish the wards, before they informed the others of Rick's return. Harry was glad that Rick was open to help others, something he could relate to, but came to realize how dangerous it could be if shelter was given to someone dangerous. The line between what is right and wrong and who is good or bad had became increasingly blurry.

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23rd May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA

Hermione

"I don't know when the last time I sat on a couch was," said Sasha, a pretty Afro-American woman, who sighed in delight and snuggled further into the chair that had been placed against the wall side in the corridor of their cell block. "This feels so good, I could sit here all day long. God, I love magic! Wished I could do that."

"She would magic herself all weird things, like nail polish and make-up and such things," Tyreese teased his sister who protested in mock outrage, which made Hermione and Hershel chuckle. Hermione sat between Sasha and Hershel, with Jon in her lab, while Tyrese sat on another smaller couch next to his sister.

Jon said some random baby words that made either absolute no sense or were the only few words he knew how to speak. He was currently telling something to Hermione about the magical baby book in her hand, which was charmed to give off colorful lights and low-level sounds of animals. Hermione explained each color on the page and asked Jon then to point her the specific color she had mentioned.

Hermione knew she was a sucker for eduction and knowledge. It was important to her and she would make sure that Jon and Teddy, would still learn something. Teddy was currently reading a book on Magical Protections and Shields, something he did quite willingly, which wasn't always the case.

"Your son is absolutely handsome," Sasha spoke next to her, which made Hermione turn around and smile proudly at the woman.

As if knowing they were talking about him, Jon turned around and smiled shyly at the woman before burying himself in Hermione's chest, which made everyone else around them laugh at the display. Hermione kissed his forehead and rubbed his back soothingly.

"Can he do magic, too? When do kids get their magic, or can use them?" Sasha asked next curiously.

"Oh, uhm… Jon isn't magical."

"Oh, is that possible?"

"Sasha," Tyreese scolded his sister.

"No, it's fine," Hermione cut in, and explained, "It is possible for magical parents to have non-magical children, or more accurately called squibs, because they do have some magic, but not enough to be considered a witch or wizard. Their magic is too weak, almost non-existent compared to a witch or wizard. A magical child shows signs of magic between the age of five until eleven. Jon is not magical, though."

Jon looked up at Hermione as soon as he heard his name and smiled brightly, which made Hermione bend down and pepper him with kisses. Jon giggled in delight.

"I don't understand," Sasha said confused, "you just said that a child shows magic until the age of eleven, how can you know that Jon isn't a wizard too?"

Hermione looked towards the woman and explained, "There are spells to determine if a child has a magical core, it's like a magical base within your body, similar to an aura. A squib, or any magical child and adult of course, have such a core within them. Jon doesn't have it, because he isn't my… biological child."

Sasha and Tyreese blinked in understanding.

"Your adopted him?" Hershel asked from her other side, which made her look at him.

"Yes and no," Hermione answered truthfully, as she stroked Jon's soft dark brown hair. "In the beginning, when everything broke out, I was alone in Louisiana attending a conference, I couldn't travel back to England nor could I take any flights out of the State. In the upcoming days after the global wide outbreak and… difficulties I've faced, I made my way to a military base, where I could find shelter and maybe brought to a facility where I could work on the unknown disease that was responsible for these uncontrollable outbreaks and find a solution. During my journey there, I… came upon a woman and a baby. I heard Jon cries first though… There were in a tough spot and I helped them. The woman, Jon's mother, she was bitten and tried to find a safe place for her son to survive, looking for people to take him in. She didn't have anyone left. Her husband had died in a war months before the outbreak. I… I promised her that I would take care of her baby… which I did since then."

"That's a noble thing to do," Hershel said after a moment of silence.

Hermione shook her head and said, "Anyone would have done it."

"Maybe," Hershel replied gently. "But many would have simply given the child away, once they've reached the safety. I'm sure you could have given the boy to another family at the military base and yet you didn't."

Hermione's heart picked up its speed at the thought of giving Jon away. She unconsciously tightened her hold on Jon, who leaned back into Hermione.

"I couldn't have done that," admitted Hermione gently. Even if she hadn't given birth to Jon, he was her son. She didn't care if he was magical or not, Jon was hers and that's it.

"I bet he will be a ladies man when he grows up," Sasha spoke teasingly and tipped his nose affectionally, which made Jon smiled up at her with his wide blue eyes. "Oh, a heartbreaker alright."

Everyone smiled or laughed at the display and made several people turn towards them with a smile. It was a calm around the prison, despite the looming danger. Harry and Daryl where outside, reapplying the fences and looking out, Oscar was sitting outside before their cell block with Merle and Axel, which for some reason had surprised a few people, including his brother. Beth stayed with her sister, while Carol fed Judith, who had woken up half an hour ago. Glenn wandered around the prison for some reason. Coming and going from the cell block, checking the corridors and looking for any weak spots outside the prison building.

He walked back inside their cell block towards the stairs, when Jon pointed his finger at Glenn and said, "Mama humma owie."

Hermione frowned at the Asian boy, who still had a bruised and swollen face. Apparently, he refused any sort of treatment, be it magical or muggle and only did the barest thing of disinfecting the wounds when Hershel insisted. Harry had told her later on that it was because of some sort of self-punishment for what the Governor did to his girlfriend and himself.

"Yes, Glenn has still his owie," Hermione gently confirmed with a frown.

After a moment, she turned towards Hershel and asked,, "What's his last name?"

"Glenn Rhee, why?"

"Cause I'm going to give him a scolding before I treat his wounds," Hermione said with a firm voice, before she spoke gently to Jon, "Mummy will go make Glenn's owie away. So there is no more owie." She placed him in Sasha's arms after she kissed him once more.

"No owie," Jon stated.

"That's my smart little boy," Hermione said proudly, before slowly stood up, ignoring the still lingering aches in her chest as she Accio-ed her beaded handbag from the room, which caused several heads to turn towards her.

She glared at Glenn and said, "Glenn Rhee, I know we barely know each other, but I am sick of seeing your beaded bruised and swollen face, bearing the colors of a rainbow as if a drunken Troll used you for target practicing and that's saying a lot since I've had an encounter with one when I was eleven."

"What?" Glenn asked confused and a little intimidated, as Hermione stood before him, which she was partly glad of. Glenn was almost a head taller than her, which didn't stop Hermione from standing tall and glaring at him. By now everyone stopped doing whatever they did and were watching them.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Glenn as she snapped in irritation, "My son, keeps pointing out that you are hurt and I refuse to let him see you like this anymore. He has seen enough injured people. I will heal your face and you won't object about it. Either you sit on your own free will, Glenn Rhee, or so help me, I will make you and you won't like how I will do it."

Glenn blinked quickly, opening and closing his mouth several times, that made Hermione narrow his eyes at him until Teddy commented, "I would do what she said, mate. She used the full name, that's never a good sign."

Hermione turned around and glared at her godson, whose smile immediately dropped and quickly went back inside the cell room.

Hermione faced the Asian boy again and asked, "So, what will it be?"

Glenn gulped and looked around nervously, before he met her eyes and answered nervously, "I'll… I'll sit?" He quickly sat on the stairs, which lead to the second level in their cell block.

Hermione smiled satisfied with the answer and said, "Good decision." She patted his face gently and almost felt guilty, when Glenn winced in pain. Almost.

"You should have healed this days ago, Glenn," Hermione scolded a little, as she pulled out a bottle and a thin star shaped can. "Who knows what kind of long term damage this could have caused. Did Harry check you for any head trauma?"

"No, I… Hershel looked me over when we returned," Glenn said tightly. "I didn't… I couldn't." Glenn couldn't seam to find the right words to finish his thoughts, but Hermione could guess what the issue was.

Hermione sighed a little before she spoke calmly and so only he could hear her, "I know how you feel… being defenseless and helpless to stop… things from happening, but this is not your fault, Glenn."

Glenn frown and his face tightened in anger, "But I should have been able to do that, I should-"

"I had magic on my side and I couldn't do anything, Glenn," Hermione cut him off letting her own anger and frustration show. "Don't you think I don't keep thinking about all the things I could have done differently? I sent my children away, not knowing if I would ever see them again. It… it made me… I felt like a failure, weak and stupid for letting my guard down."

The anger left Glenn's eyes almost immediately, and was replaced with the same feeling Hermione shared. Helplessness and regret.

"Keeping your face the way it is, battered and bruised, won't make things better, Glenn," Hermione spoke softly. "It won't change anything, except hurting you, which in the end is letting him win and that's the last thing you should do."

Glenn nodded in understanding and let Hermione work on him.

"Good, now tell me where it hurts the most. Do you feel any dizziness or nausea? Difficult eyesight? Headaches?"

Hermione made quick work of Glenn's injuries that could mostly be healed with Star Grass Salve, which reduced the swellings and tissue damage. A little bit of Essence of Dittany was used to heal the cut on his eyebrow and the back of his head, which closed the small wounds instantly. Thankfully, there wasn't any permanent damage on his head or even chest, which had healed mostly, but given him the salve anywhere to apply it himself, or let his girlfriend do it, which earned her a blush from the Asian boy.

Glenn looked much better after Hermione was finished. She couldn't help, but pat his face affectionally afterwards. "Now you look all handsome again," Hermione said, which made the young man blush even more. Just then Hermione really noticed how young he must be. Probably just in his earlier twenties.

As Hermione walked back towards Jon, while she strapped her beaded handbag on her jeans, Maggie placed a hand on her arm, halting her for a moment. "Thank you," she said in relief.

From what Hermione was told, Maggie and Glenn were a couple, who had been distant ever since their return. Beth had explained that Maggie was upset for the way Glenn was acting and that it was a side of him, which Maggie didn't like. Hopefully, her interference had put some sense into Glenn and the couple would be able to overcome their obstacle.

"Your welcome, Maggie," Hermione responded with a smile of her own.

The atmosphere lightened up even further around the prison after healing Glenn, especially when Hermione went around and magically cleaned their cell block and the one Tyreese stayed with Sasha, Merle and Daryl. She couldn't remember how often she had cast the Scourgify charm on the floor, walls and ceiling, until all the dirt, grime and dried up blood was completely removed and deemed it clean enough for even Jon to play or crawl around. Even the air smelled fresh, once everything was much cleaner.

Carol and Beth especially looked relieved at the help and thanked her profoundly. Hermione had offered to cast the Cleaning Spell on other things like clothes, dishes and pots. Well, more insisted actually, after they looked unsure to accept the offer. She could see how difficult it was for them to go day by day without having the basic needs covered. Cleaning, while it sounded mundane, was still something very important, especially for their survival. Therefore, Hermione cleaned the spare clothes and those they were even wearing, before she went and helped Carol and Beth with the small set up kitchen. She was completely exhausted afterwards.

It was a few hours later that Harry and Daryl walked back in and informed them that Rick and his group were returning, bringing also a new addition to the group. This had surprised many, but most of them just looked relieved at the news, except for a few who looked more worried, like Glenn and Merle.

When things calmed down, Hermione swiftly cast a quick Sourgify charm over Harry then Daryl, cleaning clothes and themselves. Daryl looked completely taken aback for a moment before he thanked her almost shyly with a nod.

"We should make dinner. They will be hungry when they return," said Carol who stood up and went towards the little kitchen.

Hermione looked at the elderly woman with concern and asked, "Do you feel well enough to work, Carol?"

She smiled at Hermione and said, "I should ask you that, Hermione. But I'm fine, really. Barely feel any pain anymore."

Hermione nodded and went to help her, before she was told to sit by the short haired woman and when she explained to a confused Harry what Hermione had done in the last hours, he had made sure that Hermione sat on a chair nearby. Harry offered to help in the kitchen, while Oscar, Tyreese and Sasha went out to keep watch over the fences. Jon stayed happily with Hershel. Both seemed to enjoy each others company, especially Jon who sat on his lap and let the man read him a book. Maggie held Judith in her arms as she slowly walked around their cell block.

"Isn't there a kitchen at this place? We would have more space to prepare dinner," Hermione asked as she watched the little group gather around the small makeshift kitchen.

"Well, there is one," Beth answered for Carol as she joined them.

"But I wouldn' suggest goin' there," Axel said as he took the heavy pot from Carol's head, while he gave the woman a smile.

Hermione frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"Axel and Oscar were with two other inmates almost a year long inside the cafeteria, where the kitchen is also located," Carol went to explain with a hint of a smile at Axel, who looked sheepishly away. "And well, there was no bathroom, just a cool room."

Hermione cringed in disgust as she finally understand the reason why they avoided the kitchen. Several people laughed at that and even Harry looked sick at the information.

"Well, we will figure something later out about that," Hermione said hesitantly.

"Don't count me in," Harry immediately said and began to help as well. Hermione silently glared at her best friend.

"I mean it, Hermione. I won't go near that place," Harry insisted, half pleading half determined. Hermione just narrowed her eyes at him and chose not to say anything else. There would be time for that later.

Beth, Carol and Axel went about to get the few canned food out, when Harry's eyes suddenly widened.

"I can't believe I forget about that. Wait here," Harry spoke hurriedly as she darted into their cell room. Before Hermione could ask anything, Harry returned with his black backpack.

Everyone was looking at him in, when he explained, while opening his backpack, "On my way to find Hermione, I came across a small family who tried to get into a grocery store and were surrounded by the undead. So, I helped them and got them inside. The shop had been almost untouched and many things were there. At first I took a few supplies, not to raise suspicious as to why the shelves became suddenly empty. After the family left, though, I went back and… well… almost raided the place completely… and any other store I came across on my travel."

Everyone's eyes had widened when Harry pulled cans after cans of food out of his bag, placing them on the table and even Hermione was completely surprised and walked closer. There were all kind of different food there, canned vegetables, fruits, meat or spam as the label stated, stew, soups, followed by packages of rice, pasta, flour, even boxes of instant backing mixtures, sugar, spices, candy, chocolate, tea, coffee and sauces and so much more. Many of the food had years left before they expired. The canned fruits were the only one with a shorter lifespan, which could be prevented with a spell to prolong the expiry.

Everyone was speechless and delighted at the supplies and Carol pulled Harry immediately into a hug before she kissed his cheek, making him blush at the gesture.

"You amazing, amazing man. Thank you. Thank you so much."

Harry smiled sheepishly and scratched his head, as he said, "Your welcome. I… uh… have much more inside. Should I place them somewhere? A room maybe?"

Carol thought for a moment before she said, "Could you keep it inside your bag? With the situation we are in, I think it's best to keep safe in your bag. I will just take those supplies out and put them away that we would need in the next days."

Harry nodded in return and agreed with her, before Carol asked about what else he had and how much.

"My God, this will help us for weeks, maybe even months," she said while she looked at the supplies happily.

"Do you have any baby formula there?" Beth asked as she looked at the coffee milk powder.

"Sorry, no. Jon is already eating solid food and the family I met had a baby with them. I let them have all the baby formula."

"Maybe I can do something with the milk powder," Carol suggested, while she selected the supplies she would need for now to make dinner.

Hermione spoke up, next to Harry and offered, "I can ask someone to send dried baby formula to us, by magical means. I gave them to Jon as well and they are perfectly healthy. If you like, I can make sure that we get supplies of it. It would take a few days though."

Several people looked relieved at that. Carol quickly accepted the offer and Hermione promised to make the call later on.

"How does that magic transportation thing work?" asked Glenn as he looked over the food as well.

"It's a little difficult to explain," Hermione began, thinking for a moment of the best approach to explain it. "It's like teleportation from one place to another. Similar to what you have seen Harry do with himself. All types of teleportation have their space limits. Magical people can't apparate, which we call a human teleportation, from here to another state, without seriously injuring themselves or worse die from it. To travel long distances that way, you either use a portkey, which also has it's limit, or a floo network that let's you travel via fireplace or for very long distant, like from Britain to America, via travel-network from inside a Magical Traveling Department in a governmental building to another. I traveled that way when I came here before the outbreak and shut down all magical traveling ports. Harry here, used very old, almost outdated means to come to America, which was by a magical boat," Hermione haltered and looked back at Harry with a frown, before she asked him, "The boat's still in Louisiana, isn't it?"

Harry nodded not hiding his own disappointed look, "Yes, didn't want to lose more time to get the boat and find you, since the last location I had of you was in the middle of the state."

Hermione smiled a little at Harry and squeezed his arm, silently telling him that it was fine, before she turned towards the group and continued her explanation, "Magical transportation of goods are similar to a person transportation. There are spells for short distance up to another district, not further then another town. For long distance transportation, they use either a special made portkey, which would allow a transportation from one state to the next and closest country or state. Anything further than that, would have been going through the a special section within the Magical Traveling Department inside a governmental building…. And well, since the outbreak, every magical governmental buildings have been shut down."

"Then how is it possible to transport anything," Beth asked.

Harry took over and explained, while Hermione took her seat back to sit down, "Shortly after the lockdown, two of our former professors worked on a way to transport items safely for long distance, which Hermione and many other witches and wizards needed. They succeeded, but unfortunately it came with several limitations. Magical sensitive items, supplies that can easily expire, especially fresh goods or fresh potion ingredients, potions or prepared food can't be transported. They either become wasteful or unstable, which can be dangerous, even with the strongest protection magic on them.

"Certain supplies can therefore be safely transportable, such as clothes, books, or some dried goods, like spices, a few dried potion ingredients and even dry food like rice, flour, noodles, and something similar. At the moment from what we know, our wandmaker and several professors from our former school are trying to figure out a way to safely transport wands and other fresher supplies that would be needed in potions. It could help many people if they find a way to do that… especially, since not many know how to fight without a wand and without it… well… yeah."

Hermione looked down at her hands, as Harry said those words. She knew he didn't mean to point it out to her, but she knew he was right. Without a wand, she was useless in a fight. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Harry's worried face. She gave him an assuring smile, silently telling him that she was alright, but the look in his eyes told her that he didn't believe it.

Harry didn't say anything on that matter and began to help Carol, along with Axel and Beth make dinner, after Harry put away most of the supplies and left still a table full of groceries.

"If you like, we can teach you how to use a weapon or fight," Maggie offered as she put Judith over her shoulder rubbing her back gently.

Hermione turned towards the woman and smiled gratefully. It wasn't something she had thought she would need, since she had relied on her wand and magic. The thought of using a gun or even learn how to fight physically made her a little nervous, but also something that settled her nerves and the more she thought about it, the more she came to accept the idea of it.

"I would like that, thank you," Hermione replied with a smile. She would need to know how to fight the muggle way and maybe letting Teddy learn to defend himself that way would be a good thing too. She would talk with Harry about it and together they would decide what type of training they could arrange for the teenager.

---

23rd May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA

Harry

After Harry helped with dinner, by conjuring clean water or opening the cans of food, he was made to go by Carol, explaining that Harry had also done enough and should rest. Together with Beth and Axel, Carol prepared the food and took over the small kitchen. Harry easily gave in and let Carol reign over the kitchen. He could clearly see that this task somehow calmed her. The longer he had watched her, the more Harry realized that there was more to Carol than met the eye. He had noticed the close friendship between Carol and Daryl in the last days. At first he had thought that there was more going and the thought had quite stirred an unfamiliar feeling in him that he couldn't explain, which only calmed down when he was sure that all that was between those two was a close friendship. Something akin to what he had with Hermione.

A moment of watching Beth and Axel taking orders from Carol, which they had followed quite accurately, Harry chose to return outside and waited for Rick's return. But before he left, Harry had reminded everyone of the vow they had taken, due to the soon to be new addition to this group.

Yesterday, after the talk with Rick about Carl and after informing the group, Hermione and Harry explained about the magical vow they had to take in order to safeguard the knowledge of their magical world and what they were. At first, several were confused and worried about the spell that would be placed on them, until Hermione explained that it was more or less harmless.

Essentially, the magical vow, would ensure that the person who gave the oath, wouldn't be able to reveal the secret, be it on purpose or accidental. Any attempting to do so, would make it impossible in any form or means and would be punished with headaches or nauseous. The more they try the severe the pain will be.

A spell that had been invented almost a century ago and has been ever since executed and performed on parents of muggleborn witches and wizard or when witches or wizards married a muggle in order to keep their world and all knowledge of it hidden. They could only talk with those who also took the vow, knew about magic as well or when they met a witch or wizard. The spell would recognize those patterns.

In the end, the group had accepted it. Rick was the first to go, followed by Daryl and Hershel. Soon, everyone took the vow, even Merle did after expressing his distrust about it at first.

Harry and Hermione were more than relieved after they had performed the spell on every member, except for Carl, who would need to learn to keep his ability a secret. Hermione had given the young teenager and all those who would listen a brief, yet detailed view about their world, which had fascinated many. He was glad that things begin to look better, even with the threat that hung above them.

With a last smile at Hermione, Harry and Daryl were about to walk back out, when suddenly Teddy joined them. Harry noted that his son still held his side with one hand, something that worried him greatly, but Teddy assured him that he felt fine and that it ached only a little. Teddy swiftly changed the topic and pleaded with him to let him come with them, saying that he was going stir crazy if he was longer inside the cell. Harry had chuckled at his son's desperation and had agreed in the end. Daryl had left shortly after, saying he wanted to catch up with Merle and talk with him about a few things. Harry knew that there was still an animosity between the brothers, due to the past mistakes of Merle.

Harry had kept an eye on Daryl's brother and noted that he kept mostly to himself, by staying in the background, observing his brother and the group mostly. Sometimes, when Merle thought no one was watching him, Harry caught a glimpse of something akin to regret or sadness in the older man's face. Sometimes, he would do sometimes strange, like go outside and watch the fences, while most of the group or everyone ate inside, only to come later and get what was left behind or when Daryl put some food aside to him. Other times, Merle would place the fallen metal plates back at the fence around the courtyard, which led into the prison building. And yet, on the other hand, Merle didn't stop from leaving some smart ass comments about what they should have done, like running away or giving a half-assed apology to Michonne, and later on, a few hours after Andrea had left to Glenn and Maggie, not that Glenn was easy to accept the apology nor the reason he gave them, from what Harry had seen. But it did take off the edge and tension between him and the group.

Merle had yet to talk to Hermione, though. He either didn't know how to justify how he hadn't helped her better or simply was too afraid of Harry to come near his family. He was sure that sooner or later this confrontation or confession would come and Harry didn't know how to feel about it.

Merle was a complete contradiction and puzzling for Harry to understand. Merle tried to fit in and yet isolated himself the most from the group. Still, he informed everyone with what they were dealing with, how the Governor thought, worked, operated his little wanna-be soldiers and how heavy they were armed. The way he spoke about the Governor could have misinterpreted for bragging, but Harry could clearly see from his demeanor that he was fearful of the man and what he was capable of, which Merle believed everyone was not taking serious enough.

"Did Carl tell you who this new guy was?" Teddy said next to him as he sat on the stairs of the prison, pulling his mind back to the present. Harry wouldn't let him wander off, while he was still healing.

"No, he only said what I told you. He is probably a muggle and you know what this means, don't you?"

Teddy's shoulders slumbered in defeat and nodded as he said, "Yeah. No magic, keeping my shifting in control and watching out what I say."

Harry smiled sadly at his son and brushed his hair before he sat next to him. "I know it's annoying, but our safety and secret comes first. That we have told so many muggles about us is already a risk, even with the vow."

They were only magically forced to keep magic a secret, which didn't ensure their physical safety. Harry trusted this group, but having more people brought into the secret was just too dangerous.

"I know… still sucks, though," Teddy muttered gloomily.

Harry placed his arm around Teddy's shoulder, before he tried to cheer him up, "I'm sure Hermione and I will figure something out where we can still practice your magic, once you get back on your feet, get a clean bill of health from Hermione and Madame Pomfrey… also, after we will worked out the problem with the crazy people."

Harry was also thinking of talking to Hermione about expanding Teddy's magical defense and classes to muggle protection. Fighting with weapons and muggle self-defense. Harry didn't like the though of his son having to know how to use such weapons, but the last two days had only proven even more that it was important to be able to defend themselves in any means and form, which would increase their own survival.

Teddy nodded smiling at the thought of training again, which made Harry chuckle at his son. Both stayed silent and watched Sasha walk along the fences with her brother, Tyreese next to her.

"Dad? You didn't call the base yet, did you?" Teddy asked, which made turn back towards his son.

"No, not yet," Harry answered truthfully. "I will call Sergeant Ford in a few days and let him know what happened and where we are. They should arrive in a few weeks afterwards though. Shouldn't be longer than that."

"But what about the people here?" Teddy asked confused, sounding a little worried. "We can't leave them here like that? Can't they come with us?"

"It depends on how many men the General is willing to send, but I don't think that we are able to take them with us."

When Teddy was about to protest at this, Harry quickly continued, "We won't leave them defenseless, Teddy. Hermione and I are working on a ward system that can hold for months, maybe even for a year. We will secure the prison magically and by other means before we leave. I'm sure we can also find a way to stay in contact with everyone…. I don't want to leave them behind, but we need to go to Washington to end the constant rise and danger of the undead. This is the most important task."

Teddy nodded in the end, while he frowned at the information.

"INCOMING CAR!" Tyreese shouted from across the field, which made Harry jump to his feet and look in the direction. It was Rick's car.

"Go back inside, Teddy. Let the others know that they are back."

Teddy quickly nodded and walked back inside, just as Harry pulled out and pulled out his gun. He watched Tyreese jog the little distance that was left off towards the main gate. The wards, Harry had placed, would only allow anyone from the inside to open the main gate, while anyone from the outside wouldn't be able to do so.

Harry stood a little away from the stairs that would lead into the prison, as he watched the car entering the facility. He needed to see for himself that this new guy wasn't dangerous for their people or had been sent by the Governor to infiltrate the prison. Harry's left hand absently brushed on his jeans pocket, where he had put a vial of Veritaserum and its antidote, just as Daryl and Merle came into view jogged his way, as soon as they had heard Tyreese's call.

The car was driven by Michonne, next to her sat Rick, with the other two sitting in the backseat. Merle quickly jogged towards the last fence and opened it to let the car in, before he closed it.

With the gun loosely held in his hand and a wand hidden in his wand holster, Harry waited for them to get out. He had already spotted the new guy, who looked to be in his late twenties or earlier thirties, which was difficult to see with all the dirt covered on his face and clothes. He looked nervous around within the car and only got out when Rick opened his door, telling him to get out.

Rick immediately turned towards Merle and asked, "Is he one of them?"

"One of who?" the man asked confused and a little fearful.

"Na, ain't seen that one before," Merle answered Rick as he looked the man over.

Rick nodded shortly, before he looked at Harry and asked, "Could you… do the same thing you did with this Milton guy?"

"Sure," Harry agreed, grateful that Rick wasn't blind to the possible danger the newcomer could pose and quickly pulled out the vial of Veritaserum, keeping it hidden in his hand.

Rick turned towards the nervous looking man and said, "Your going to sit there and take what he will give you." He pointed at Harry and the man even though he was repeating that he wasn't any danger to them nor would hurt anyone, did comply in the end and sat on the stairs.

Harry showed the vial of clear liquid and told the man to open his mouth, which he did after Harry assured him that it wasn't poison or something like that, that it would only show them if they could trust him. The man hesitated, even after he agreed to do what he was told and as soon as the third drop of the potion hit his mouth, he had a characteristic vacant look on his face, caused by the effectiveness of the Veritaserum.

Harry immediately began to interrogate the man, without waiting for the others, "What's your name?"

"Russel Smith, my friends also call me Russ," came the monotonous voice.

"Are you by any form inflicted with the Governor, a man from Woodbury."

Russel frowned at the names as he responded, "Never heard of Woodbury. I'm not really familiar with the governors of this State."

"The Governor, whose name is Philip and is the leader of Woodbury," Rick specified.

Russel shook his head and said, "I don't know a man by that name or heard of him. Never heard of Woodbury."

"Are you here to cause us harm? Spy on us?" Harry went on.

"No. I would never harm anyone and I don't have intentions to spy."

"What do you want?" Daryl's voice spoke.

"Shelter. Friends. Survive. I just need help. I've been alone for months, being in the woods and always on the run. I want to stop running. I want my sister back. She died a while ago. I want my family back and I want-"

"Ok that's enough," Harry cut him off before he could tell all the things he wanted. "Are you willing to fight and protect these people here."

"If I have to, yes. I don't know how to fight really."

Merle snorted from the back and said, "Ain't that cute, watcha can do then? Knit a scarf?"

"No, I can't knit. I'm a mechanic. I know how to fix cars. Worked in a small factory to repair and maintain the engines and devices, made sure they worked right. I also can cook, well not good enough, but its eatable. I can clean, read, do complex math, also-"

"Ok thank you," Harry said and looked at Rick, waiting for him to say something. From what Harry could tell the man was harmless and could help around the prison.

Rick was quiet for a moment before he spoke, "How many walkers have you killed?"

Everyone looked confused at that, but waited for Russel to continue.

"I don't know anymore. Too many, already," he answered after a moment.

"How many people have you killed?" Rick asked next.

"Four people."

"Why?" Rick asked as several people moved closer to pull out their weapons.

"To protect my sister and myself," Russel answered in a lifeless voice.

"What happened?" Harry asked instinctively. He didn't advocate murder, but he could understand defending themselves, which several people seem to interpret differently.

"Once we were hiding in the woods, when two men found us. They attacked us and wanted to kill me and take my sister. I killed one with my knife in his heart and I slit the other man's throat, who tried to rape my sister. Another man I killed, when my sister and I went through the deserted homes to find food. He attacked us and tried to kill me. I don know why he did it. My sister used a frying pan, knocked him up before I killed him. The fourth man I killed, was when three men attacked us. We run and tried to hide. Biters had been everywhere, which made it difficult. One of the men had been taken down by a group of biters, but the other two found us. I fought off the one who attacked me, my sister killed her attacker and I killed mine. He had injured her with his knife, stabbed her in the side. She died slowly afterwards and I killed her when she turned," Russel explained as he silently cried at the end. It wasn't unheard of that even with a Veritaserum, emotions could be pulled through, especially traumatic events. The pain was clear on his face.

"Why did you shout for us to stop and take you with us? Weren't you afraid that we could be bad people? What were you thinking?" Rick asked clearly confused, while his demeanor had relaxed somehow.

"I was afraid, still am. I just didn't want to be alone anymore. Didn't want to run all the time. I hoped to find a group, normal people, kind people who would take me in. If you and your group showed any craziness, I would have sneaked out and left at night and if I had failed, I knew I would die. Something that would have happened either way, if I was out there or here, I think."

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Harry said, "I think we can take him in. He looks harmless. Let him stay in the other cell block with Merle, Daryl, Sasha and Tyreese. I already informed the others that magic isn't to be mentioned to this guy. So, if no one has anymore questions-"

"Hold on," Tyreese cut in confused. "You just mentioned magic and used some magic drops on him, won't he already know?"

Harry recalled that both siblings hadn't been there when he had interrogated Milton.

"No, he won't. I will replace the knowledge of magic and that I gave him the Truth Serum, with an alternative version of questioning. All he will remember is that he told us all the things he just said on his own free will. Don't want to erase his mind, if it's not absolutely necessary."

Rick and Daryl nodded at each other and when Rick said that he should do it, Harry didn't waste any time and gave Russel the Antidote to the Veritaserum, before he cast a spell to modify his memory. Something he used to do whenever muggles were involved in magical cases, altering what they had witnessed.

A moment later, after Harry finished the memory spell and put away his wand, Russel blinked in confusion and wiped away the remaining tears. "I don't know why I said all that," he confessed a little confused.

Harry suggested gently, "Sometimes, people just need it to get it out of their system."

Russel nodded and looked nervously around. Harry noted the wide eyes of Sasha and Tyreese, who stood a little away, before they relaxed again.

Rick explained the rules in the prison, the situation they were in and what would be expected from him, but the man only nodded in agreement. He looked more relieved that he was allowed to stay, than about the upcoming threat. Russel accepted everything and thanked them repeatedly for taking him in, as they went inside to introduce him to the group. Daryl lead Russel into the building with Carl and Sasha tagging along, while the others went back to the car to pick up the supplies of weapons, which had been put in the trunk.

Harry frowned when he spotted a red patch on Rick's shoulder and asked, "What happened to you?"

"Nothing. A misunderstanding. Will explain it later."

Harry nodded and he advised Rick to let Hermione heal it, which would need to be done quickly and before it could get infected. Rick agreed to do that and went towards the car to pick up a smaller of the three duffel bags before he walked inside the prison.

Harry's eyes caught a bright orange colored backpack, those that are used for hitchhiking in the woods or mountains. His confusion must have been evident on his face, as Michonne mentioned that it belonged to Russel, when they had picked him up after they had gotten stuck in the road. Russel had run towards them, after they had at first ignored the man on the highway. That's when Rick had suddenly changed his mind, held him at gun point, took his backpack and cuffed him inside the car, while asking all kind of questions from where he was. They had left him in the vehicle when they went looking for weapons.

Harry glanced at Rick, just as he disappeared into the prison and wondered for a moment, if he would have left Russel on the road to fend for himself. Whatever might have happened to change his mind, Harry was glad about it.

If there was one thing Harry knew about war and survival, due to his past experience and the current battle the have with the undead and humans alike, was it to never give up and that no one would survive or win this alone.

---

24th May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA

Hermione

All day long, Hermione could almost feel the tension around the prison. Many looked worried and anxious of what they could do in order to secure the facility and defend themselves. Everyone had been in Cell Block C, except for the new addition, Russel, who had been left to sleep in the other cell block.

Harry had suggested various defensive and offensive magical means in order to help. Depending how they wanted to approach the upcoming attack. Hermione also offered to create various potions that could be helpful in the attack. She still had many ingredients in her beaded handbag, several of them under a stasis charm to keep them fresh and viable. She could create potions to be of a more destructive nature, or that could create fumes upon destroying the bottle. With fumes there were numerous possibilities available, resulting from disorientation, anxiety, render the attackers unconscious, or worse kill them, which was something she refused to do. Hermione had reasoned that probably the majority of people in Woodbury didn't have a clue of who the Governor truly was. Merle had, to her surprise, taken her side on this.

It was helpful to understand the madman due to the insights Merle gave them. He predicted that the Governor would launch an attack, after he armed and trained the people in his town for war, which would take several days, maybe a week but not longer than that.

Much to her dismay, Harry had offered to set up trigger wards close to Woodbury that could help them by informing them about their arrival. Daryl and Merle went with Harry in the end, to give him backup and the right direction from where the Governor would probably come from to reach the prison, which was where they were right now.

Hermione couldn't stop worrying about Harry and the two brothers ever since they had left. She tried to busy herself by taking care of Jon and Judith, making sure Teddy was alright, but thankfully Carl kept him occupied. She had found them sitting together in the new cell room next to hers, which Teddy shared with Harry. Both teenagers talked about Hogwarts or their families, from what she had occasionally heard coming from that direction. .

Hermione sighed as she watched Jon play on the ground on the play pad, while he played around with his animated toys and colored in his drawing book. Thankfully, Rick and Harry had made it clear that this cell block was a no go for Russel, not without an invitation, not before meal times and such. She was grateful for their privacy, which made many things easier on them. Hermione sat on the ground, next to Jon and was trying to calm her nerves. It usually would have worked, whenever she busied herself. But today was just not her luck.

Rick entered their prison cell block, walking straight towards Hershel who looked confused at the sudden approach. Hermione watched them walk toward a secluded corner. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but whatever Rick had told Hershel, made the older man's eyes widen in surprise. Both men looked tense while they talked back and forth, until Hershel nodded in the end. Rick said something else that made Hershel nodded shortly, before Rick walked away.

Hermione frowned at the exchange, as she looked back at Jon who gave her his stuffed toy, upon looking at her. Hermione smiled at her son before she kissed him on his forehead and returned to play with him, while her thoughts returned at the strange exchange. Something unnerved her about it. Hermione shook her head and blamed it on her nerves being fried up and worried because of Harry.

She was so deep in thoughts of her best friend, that she didn't hear or see someone approaching her, until he stood right in front of her. Looking up, she saw Rick holding Judith in his arms, smiling a little down at them.

"How are you holding up?"

Hermione returned the smile and said, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? How is the shoulder?"

Rick smiled even more and Hermione forced herself not to blush under his gaze. She recalled the events of yesterday, when he returned with a stab wound to his shoulder. Hermione had swiftly taken over and to her dismay, had actually ordered him to take off the shirt in a rather demanding way and when he failed to do so fast enough, Hermione had, to her mortification, simply cast a spell to take off the shirt magically, instead of simply opening the cloth at the place of injury.

Fortunately, the wound hadn't hit any major artery or lung. Only after treating his wound, did she realize what she had done and to her further embarrassment notice just than how much she was touching or looking over his firm chest, making her blush and stammer furiously afterwards. Harry, who had watched the whole scene didn't hide his amusement, while Rick, thankfully, simply smiled and she could have sworn even blushed a little. Hermione couldn't recall the last time she had felt this embarrassed. Afterwards, Hermione had quickly left afterwards, explaining that she needed to take care of Jon, which earned her a chuckle from both Harry and Rick.

"The wound is gone," Rick said, stopping her trail of thoughts, as he slowly kneeled in front of her on the play matt. He cradled Judith in his arms and Hermione could see the little baby's face, who looked up curiously.

"Thank you again for that and what you have done for this group so far. I hadn't found the chance before."

"There is nothing to thank for, Rick," Hermione said, meaning every word of it.

Jon suddenly grabbed her leg and arm to help himself to stand up. His bright blue eyes were glued on Judith. Rick who saw that, laughed at the toddler and simply brought his baby girl closer to Jon, who touched Judith gently, before he broke into a bright smile and offered a magical animated teddy bear to Judith, which Rick gently took.

After a moment Rick spoke again, seeming to see the worry in her eyes, "They will be fine. I trust Daryl and I've seen what Harry is capable of, and Merle… he is too loyal to his brother.."

Hermione smiled gently and nodded silently in thanks, hoping that he was right.

---

25th May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA

Harry

Something was off, since he returned from setting up the trigger wards yesterday. Shortly after his return, Rick had talked with Daryl alone somewhere and both of them became all secretive and quiet about it. Not telling him what it was about, and now, Daryl, Rick and Hershel went off to somewhere to find specific medical supplies to stock up their supplies.

Harry had offered to help, telling them that he had knowledge about many of those things from being on the supply run when Hermione was still working on NOVA, but they wouldn't hear about it, finding excuses and reasons not to take him with. Even several others from his group were confused about the whole thing, but stopped arguing about it, once Rick said it was his decision. It had pissed Harry off greatly.

Now, they had been gone for almost two hours. Harry would give them another hour before he would try to follow them by the given locations they planned to see. In the meantime, he went to finish resetting the wards around the prison, something which was becoming tiresome. Thankfully, Hermione had still a few pepper-up potions that helped him recharge his energy. It wasn't an ideal solution, but would do for now and until they figured out how to set up the rune wards around the prison.

Hermione had wanted to help, but Harry had put his foot down and flat out refused. Even though he knew that she was completely recovered by now, he just didn't want her to tax herself. Therefore, she was inside and began to brew various dangerous potions in the cafeteria, which they could use for offensive or defensive means, while the others in the group checked and prepared the weapons Rick, Michonne and Carl had brought with them, two days ago.

Harry sighed in relief, when he finished up the last spell for the ward and looked around the almost deserted prison field yard. Only Michonne, Glenn and Maggie were outside, spread around the yard.

"You ok there?" Michonne asked who walked towards him.

Harry hadn't yet figured out the most mysterious member of this growing group. She was strong, brave and fearless, no doubt about that, but Harry had noticed that he never came closer to Hermione whenever she was with Jon or Judith, which could mean that she either doesn't like small children, or had experienced a traumatic event regarding them. He recalled a situation when a soldier returned to Fort Polk and had failed to save a small child during a supply run. The girl hand't been older than five or six, from what Harry had been told by the others. This soldier had then witnessed right before his eyes, how the child had been torn apart by the undead, something Harry didn't even want to imagine. The thought alone had caused Harry to sent a cold shiver down his spine. Afterwards, the said soldier had avoided all contact with any children and had not been able to be near them. He applied to guard the wall and safety around the base, to defend the compound from there on.

Harry shook the gruesome memory away and looked back at Michonne, "I'm good. Just worried about Daryl and the others."

Michonne nodded and walked silently next to him as he led them back towards the courtyard.

"If they don't return in the next hour, I will go after them," Harry informed her.

"I can come with you."

"Thanks, but no. Someone needs to keep a cool head around here."

"And you think I have that?"

Harry looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "More than many people do."

Michonne snorted at the thought, but remained quiet. Harry glanced around and noticed that the two of them were alone.

"Where are Glenn and Maggie?"

For the first time, Harry saw Michonne actually lips twitch into a small smile, as she said, "Saw them… making out in the outside storage room."

Harry blinked twice before he chuckled in return. He looked into the direction she had described and saw the slide door of the storage almost entirely closed.

Both walked quietly next to each other, when Michonne suddenly said, "I'm sorry you know." At Harry's confused look, she continued, "For the way I acted when we were rescuing the people from Woodbury."

Harry nodded at her words, before he said, "You were angry and rushed into the danger. I know that. Been there, done that actually. People died because of my own actions. Had I thought things through or didn't let my emotions run with me, things would have turned out differently… So, there is nothing to be sorry about. I get why you acted the way you did… just don't do it again."

Michonne nodded and Harry noticed the tension leaving her shoulder.

Just as they reached the last fence, leading to the courtyard, they heard Daryl's motorbike engine loud and clear, followed by the sound of an approaching car..

"Finally," Harry sighed in relief and looked around to see if anyone was watching him, before he instructed Michonne to wait where she was. Harry quickly apparated towards the main fence, killed the nearby undead outside the fence, as he opened the main gate magically, as soon as Daryl reached him. After closing when Rick drove through, he shut the gate and apparated towards the second fence to let them drive in.

Harry made sure all the fences were closed and secured, before he apparated inside the courtyard and waited for the approaching car and bike. The sound brought the attention to several people inside the prison. Carl quickly came out, followed by Teddy, Beth and Merle. Maggie and Glenn showed up as well, while quickly tugging at their clothes. Beth and Maggie quickly hugged Hershel, while Harry went to open the trunk, only to meet with emptiness. He frowned at that and looked back at Rick, who had a faraway look on his face, with his jaw clenching for some reason.

Harry's suspicion came ten folds as he watched Daryl closely and even Hershel looked worried.

"You didn't go for a supplies run, did you?" Harry stated in a hard voice as he looked from Rick, whose jaw had tightened even more, to Daryl, as he looked away and Hershel who couldn't hide his guilty expression.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" Merle asked confused and turned towards Daryl. "What is he talkin' about, little brother?"

Daryl didn't say anything and looked at Rick, but remained silent. Maggie turned towards her father and began to ask him of what they did and where they went, but he didn't answer her, when Hershel faced Rick and said, "You should tell them, Rick."

"Tell us what?" Glenn cut in, beginning to become upset himself. "What's going on here?"

Rick finally said in a tight voice, "Let's get inside. We'll talk there."

Confused and worried, the group followed Rick inside. It was dangerous being in the open, even with the shield Harry had placed, weren't fool proof and not absolutely strong.

As soon as they went in, Harry walked towards Hermione, who was in her cell room with Jon sleeping on the bed. She looked puzzled at his behavior and opened her mouth to say something, when Harry cut her off by turning towards Rick and asked again, "Where were you, Rick?"

Rick stood in the middle of their cell block, with most of the people around him, except for Axel, Oscar and Russel, who were probably still in the mechanic room of the prison to work on the engines.

The sheriff took a deep breath and said, "Yesterday, when Harry, Daryl and Merle went out, Andrea showed up."

Everyone, except for the other two he had mentioned, everyone looked surprised or confused about it. Glenn and Maggie instantly shot questions at him, but Rick ignored them as he continued, "I was alone outside, keeping watch when she showed up, outside the fence. She came asking about a way to settle this with a treaty. Just talking between the Governor and myself. I decided to give it a shot."

"You did what?" Harry almost shouted in anger. He absently noticed Hermione quickly placing a Silencing spell around her cell room, to keep Jon sleeping. Usually, he would have apologized, but he was just too overwhelmed by his own anger and the idiocy of that man.

"Have you lost your bloody mind?! Meeting with that lunatic on your own and on top of that, you risked the two lives of your people?"

Rick glared suddenly at Harry and said angrily, "This is still my group. My people and I have the say here. I decide what we do."

Several people looked uncomfortable about Rick's declaration, but Harry became even more pissed and took a step closer, not caving under his hard glare. He had met more dangerous and crazy people in his life. It would take more than that to make him fearful of someone.

"A leader doesn't have to decide on everyone's behalf, decides what's right or wrong, nor is he a god among people not to do any mistakes. Who do you think you are dealing with here? What are we to you, Rick? Mindless Puppets? Chest pieces? Are you doing all this for the greater good?"

Harry felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and before he could pull away, the voice stopped him, "Harry, please calm down. He is not…" Dumbledore was left unsaid. The older Harry became, the more he saw how the previous headmaster's involvement in his life and events that had played out. He, and many others, had been manipulated over the years. Left in the dark and weak, which cost had cost the lives and suffering of too many people. Something he swore to himself that would never let happen again.

"I'm sure Rick had his reasons," Hermione concluded nervously.

Everyone stayed silent when Harry moved away. He noticed that several people looked worried, but also shared his anger as they looked at Rick.

"I did what I had to do," Rick explained after a moment. "I had to give it a chance, see if we could find another solution, even if it meant risking our lives."

Harry wanted to snort at the idiocy of this plan, but stayed quite instead.

"So, I met this Governor. Sat with him for quite a while."

"Just the two of you?" Merle cut in.

"Yeah," Rick answered hesitantly.

Harry turned to glare back at Rick and pointed out, "It didn't work, did it?"

Rick's jaw clenched. His eyes hardened as he looked down for a moment before he responded by looking back at everyone, "He wants the prison. He wants us gone… Dead. He wants us dead… for what we did to Woodbury… We're going to war."

Most of the people looked fearful at the final clarity of the situation sank in, while a few others steeled themselves for the upcoming fight. Hermione moved towards Teddy, who stood next to Carl and calmed both boys down. She touched both of their shoulders and spoke quietly to them. The way he knew Hermione, he was sure that she was giving them a little pep talk, those she used to give him whenever he felt helpless or when they were in any dangerous situation.

Harry absently heard Merle say to Daryl, "Can't believe ya went along tha' dump ass plan. Shoulda have attacked or taken off while we could… really motherfuckin' dump ass plan, little brother."

Harry looked closely to Rick and had a feeling that this wasn't all that had been going on between him and the Governor. Call it a hunch or Auror instinct, but something was missing. If the Governor would have wanted war and their death, wouldn't he have simply moved along right then and there and killed Rick, Daryl and Hershel.

Harry moved closer to Rick and told him tightly, "I want to talk with you, Rick. Now."

Rick looked directly at Harry and nodded after a moment. Both walked out without a word to the others. They silently went towards the bridge that lead to to the other side of the prison.

"Why didn't you tell us about this? Is this the usual way you work things out? By keeping secrets and attempting to solve things with a half arsed plan, damaging the trust this group has build in the last few days," Harry went straight to the point. He was still too angry about the way Rick had handled the situation.

Rick sighed as he looked from Harry towards the courtyard of the prison.

"I knew if I told everyone about this plan, they would either have stopped me from meeting him or tried to find a plan to attack him. I figured that you, Glenn, Merle and Michonne would be the one among them who would have killed him immediately and therefore open up a war between us and them. The others would have tried to stop me from going there."

He looked back at Harry intently, trying to make him see reason as he continued, "I had to try, Harry. I'm sorry that I didn't tell y'all, but I had to try. See if there is another way out of this. Without bloodshed and losses."

The anger slowly left Harry at these words. He could hear the honesty in his voice and that he meant well.

Both remained silent, even when Hershel joined them. Harry stood a little behind them and didn't mind Hershel tagging along, as long as he would get the full story about what happened today.

Rick was in deep thought, when Hershel spoke up next to Rick, "The group's taking it as well as can be expected. Merle, Michonne and Glenn are convinced we should hit first. Carol, Hermione and I think we should take our chances on the road. We're in this together. So if we stay and fight, so be it."

Harry admired the loyalty and strength of the old man. Even with a leg missing, he was still ready to fight. Rick nodded and spoke after a moment, "He gave me a choice. A way out."

Harry instantly straightened at his words and looked at both men. Hershel seemed equally surprised and waited for him to continue.

"What does he want?" Harry asked tightly. Rick turned around and faced both Harry and Hershel and said, "Michonne… Hermione… Told him that Hermione and you had already left. He's probably out there scouting the areas now… He wasn't happy about it, but negotiated that he would use the treaty in exchange for Michonne. "

Harry's heart beat furiously in his chest as his hands balled in fists at the thought of Hermione being in the Governor's clutches again. Even the thought of Michonne anywhere near him filled him with rage. Rick's jaw tightened, making the muscle pop.

"He'll kill her," Hershel stated incredulously.

"And then kill us anyway," Rick confirmed with a nod. "But what if he doesn't? What if this is the answer?"

"He won't let us live, Rick," Harry cut in. "That bastard will kill us anyway. This isn't about winning a war or battle with our capitulation, he wants to see blood."

Rick nodded at Harry's words and said, "That's why I need them to be scared. To be able to fight."

"They are," Hershel commented gently.

"Good. 'Cause that's the only way they'll accept it."

Harry sighed when he recognized the doubt in Rick's eyes, and said, "I hope you don't consider his deal, Rick. The Governor is a liar and that's beside the point. Michonne doesn't deserve this… to be handed over for slaughter. You saw what he did to Hermione and that was his way of asking to work with him, her cooperation… I don't want to even imagine what he would do to Michonne."

Hershel nodded and calmly said, "She saved my life. And Carl's. Glenn, Maggie. Hermione. Teddy and Jon, even Judith's. If she hadn't come here with these kids, we never would have known they were taken. Harry wouldn't have found us and probably many more would have died. She's earned her place, Rick."

Harry agreed with Hershel on that. He knew that if Teddy and Jon never had left the first hiding place before they met Michonne, Harry would probably had only rescued Hermione, not being aware that there could have been other prisoners at Woodbury, which could have meant their death.

"Yeah… Yeah, she has…" Rick agreed with a nod. "But are you willing to sacrifice your daughters' lives for her?" he asked and looked at Hershel, before meeting Harry's eyes. "Or your children, your best friend?"

"No one is going to sacrifice anyone, Rick," Harry cut in angrily. "This is a group. Our group. Michonne is part of it. She is one of us. Would you give up any other member for a half-arsed change of survival? Carol? Daryl? Maybe Glenn? Do some people have a higher priority and worth than others?"

"Of course not," Ricked sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Your right… Michonne is one of us now and we won't give up on anyone."

Harry nodded, feeling a mixture of relief, anger and worry at their situation. It wasn't the ideal solution for them and a part of him had wished that Rick had succeeded with the meeting between him and the Governor. In the end, it showed what a sick minded crazy bastard he was, who needed to be gone for good. There was only one way out of this. He knew it, as did Rick and Hershel.

Harry looked back at them with hard determination and declared, "Then we will have war."

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to show you all how the group handled the new addition, the influence of magic and how the trust was building within the group (which also takes place in the events of S.03 Ep.12-13). It's a little more fluffy and less angsty or dramatic than the previous chapters… but don't worry, the next chapters will be filled with lots of drama. I hope this gave you all (y'all… lol) a better inside of the dynamic of the group and people.