A/N: Thank you all for the amazing reviews and response to this story! You all are just awesome. Thanks to uoduck who beta reads this story. You are just amazing!
I'm changing the timeline here a bit, cause in the TV show it was still summer when they went to prison attack, so were the negotiation with the Governor was and now, at the end of season 3, people begin to wear warmer clothes… which is kinda confusion. I checked on the Television Show Timeline on the Internet and found out that between the time of their rescue mission from Woodbury and the final attack on the prison was only 10 days in between. It's also confusing that when Season 4 begins everything is hot/warm again… So, I will just keep my timeline, which I think will work out in the end.
Enjoy!
Chapter 20 - Forgotten Past
26th May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA
Harry
It had been 12 days since Harry had left Fort Polk to find his family. He wasn't sure if enough time had passed to consider such feat as believable or even possible, due to the lack of clear and safe roads and, to the muggle's knowledge no way of contacting Hermione or his children. Harry sighed as he held the Iridium Satellite Phone in his hand, wondering not for the first time, if he should call them now or wait. Hermione was next to him, as well as several others of the group. Originally, he had planned to call them a few days later, at least let two to three weeks after he had left the base, but the way things were going and the ever growing threat to his own family and this new group, he had little choice to do anything else.
Even though the military back up wouldn't be able to reach them in time for the battle with the Governor. Hermione still needed to get to Washington and without a military protection, Harry couldn't safely get them to Washington, especially when he never had been there previously by magical or non-magical means. They couldn't apparate there, even if Hermione had visited the state several times in the last years, it was just too dangerous and unsafe to travel magically.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice pulled him back from his thoughts and made him look back at his best friend. She looked worried and anxious about the upcoming call. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, sorry," he quickly assured her. "Let's do this." And without another word, Harry pulled out the antenna of the phone before he turned the phone on, while still being inside the prison facility. Ford had told him that the best way to use the phone would be outside with the antenna up towards the sky, but due to the threat they were currently under, Harry didn't want to risk Hermione out in the open. So far, the Governor thought Hermione was gone, which was an added bonus to her safety, which he wanted to keep that way.
The screen immediately lightened on and Harry dialed the number Ford had saved up for him. Oddly enough, Harry's heart beat frantically in his chest. Too many emotions were running through him as he held the phone to his ear. It took a moment before the phone began to ring. Somehow, Harry had believed that Ford would have immediately picked up or as soon as he called, but upon the third ring, and forth, Harry began to worry.
What if they wouldn't pick up? What if something happened? Were they all gone?
But before he could work himself into a state of panic, someone answered the phone and spoke from the other side, sounding frantic, "Hello? Hello?"
"Here- Here is Agent Harry Potter. Who is speaking?" Harry asked tightly, trying to hide his worry.
"Agent Potter! Thank God, you are alive! Is Dr. Granger with you?"
Harry frowned. The voice sounded familiar, but couldn't place it. He needed to be sure to whom he was talking to. "Identify yourself!"
"Yes, sorry. It's Specialist Matt Wilson. Remember?" Harry sighed in relief and confirmed his knowledge about him, before the IT-guy continued, "It's damn good to hear from you Agent Potter. We tried to call you once, but the phone was shut off. Is-Is Dr. Granger with you? And… and your kids?"
Hermione looked a little excited and smiled at Harry as he looked at her. Everyone inside the cell block looked hopeful at Harry.
"Yes, I've found Dr. Granger. She is here and safe, as well as my kids."
"Fucking-A! Yes! Finally some good news!" Matt exclaimed happily, before he spoke to someone to get Sergeant Ford and the General.
"Where are you right now, Agent Potter?"
Harry explained where they were and Rick helped them by giving the name of the prison facility, which was all the Matt needed to locate them. At some point, Hermione had leaned forward and listened on the phone as much as she could, which looked like to be enough to hear the conversation.
That's when the Sergeant Ford took over the phone and exclaimed happily, "Fuck me sideways Potter, you're still alive!?"
"Sergeant Ford!" Hermione gasped out in a shocked voice. Several others looked amused, shucked or shook their heads. Carl and Teddy only snickered in the back.
"Is that the Granger there!? Damn girl, you can't imagine how fucking great it is to hear that stuck-up accent of yours."
Hermione only shook her head, appearing a little flushed at Ford's words, but not able to hide her smile, as she said, "It's good to hear from you too, sergeant."
"Holy fucking shit! How the fuck did you find them, Potter?" Ford asked not hiding his astonishment.
Harry, Hermione and Daryl had come up with a plausible and believable story that would make sense to them, while keeping to the truth as much as possible. Harry explained that he had come across Rick's group two days ago on his search for his kids and Hermione and found out that they had found his children. They had taken Harry in and Teddy had told him what happened to Hermione, that she had been kidnapped on the attack, while he gave him the washed up version of how Teddy and Jon could escape. He and this group had rescued Hermione and two of their members.
Ford kept cutting in about more specifics about the attackers, Rick's group and more about Hermione's health, which Harry assured them that she was fine except for the mild bruises and injuries which the group had helped healing. The General of Fort Polk had joined them during his explanation and cut in his own questions.
"We are safe for now. The attack was led by a self-proclaimed Governor, who runs a whole town, around 70 people. They do pose a threat and want to retaliate for freeing Dr. Granger and two of this group's people, who had also been held hostage and tortured… The Governor killed Lieutenant Welles several days later, sir," Harry added afterwards. He spared a glance at his best friend and saw Hermione's face falling at the mention of the man. He could clearly see the guilt in her eyes and knew without a doubt that she blamed herself for the lieutenant's death.
"Fuck," Ford cursed angrily in the background.
"What does he want with Dr. Granger, agent?"
"He knows about NOVA and wanted the formula. Dr. Granger didn't give it to him though."
"Good," the General sighed in relief. "How is your current situation, agent?"
"The prison is secured. The fences are strong and tight. We have weapons to defend ourself and end this with the Governor, without risking the lives of the children, anyone who isn't able to fight, including Dr. Granger as well," Harry assured him, earning him a glare from his best friend. "We are currently working to power-up the whole facility, so that we have electricity again. Not sure when it will be ready to run, though." He would also need to recharge the phone that way. From what Ford had told him, the talk time of the phone was a maximum 4h and on standby for up to 30h, which was the reason why he would turn the phone off after the call.
"I trust you will be able to handle the situation with this terrorist, Agent Potter."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. I'll coordinate a team to evacuate you as soon as possible. I trust you to complete the mission to get you and your family to Washington safely. Can you check in with us in two days, Agent Potter? It will give us enough time to organize everything and update you on how we are going to operate this mission."
"Yes, sir. Sir, is it possible to evacuate this group with us, they are-"
Before Harry could tell him of the number of people they had, the General cut in, "Negative, agent. To send a team to get you, Dr. Granger and your two kids is already hard to guarantee the safety as you have seen. Added civilians, even if they know how to protect themselves, would only endanger my men and your own safety. I can't risk that."
"Then I would request a small team to stay here with this group as an added safety and protection, sir. This is the least we can do," Harry added with a hard voice. He had asked Rick previously to the phone call about added security and assured him that he trusted these soldiers. They were good, loyal and brave men that would do anything to protect each others. Rick had agreed in the end and accepted the added help if it was given.
The General didn't say anything for a moment. Harry could hear a sigh from the other side of the phone, before the General spoke again, "I will see what I can do, Agent Potter."
"Thank you, General Pierce. I will call in two days," Harry said relieved, as he said his quick goodbye and closed the phone. Everyone looked somewhat hopeful during at the end of his conversation. Rick looked at Harry and nodded gratefully at him.
Hopefully, they will find a way to solve this mess soon. Even though, he looked forward to get to Washington and finally end this hell the world had turned into, a part of him didn't look forward to leaving this group behind. He glanced at the tall man with the crossbow who leaned against the wall, and met his sky blue eyes, feeling an odd sense of… sadness.
27th May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA
Hermione
Two long tables were set up in the cafeteria, which Hermione and Harry had previously magically cleaned. The tables were utilized for various cauldrons and a work bench, while another shorter table supported professional ingredients box, a magical cabinet that several drawers in various sizes. It held so many different types of ingredients, that Hermione was able to brew countless potions. Although, she had noticed that her supplies were beginning to get down, since she was unable to purchase the ingredients like she used to.
Several people had offered to help Hermione, but she refused. Not even letting Teddy assist in the preparation due to the sensitivity and even risk of instability of the potions if handled wrong. One potion could even turn highly volatile, if she did one step wrong or the brewing wrong. Only skilled potioneers, who possessed a mastery in this subject approaching these types of potions and that's why Hermione was brewing them alone, in order to finish them safely. While she was able to do those potions, never would she have thought that one day, she would actually brew something like that. These potions weren't exactly legal, but not dark or of evil nature, either, more of a grey area. Depending more on the way how it would be used.
Together with Harry, Hermione had set around the complete cafeteria safety wards, just in case if anything should go wrong. Harry had been notably nervous, knowing that even with the protecting spells around the table and room, Hermione wouldn't be protected. He only left, after a long talk, assuring him that everything would be fine, did he leave.
By now, she had been working for around three hours and would probably take another four to five hours to finish every potion. Occasionally and without meaning to, her eyes would glance at the direction where the storage room was located, which made her grimace in disgust and every time. She tried not to think of Axel's words on how he and three other inmates had used it as a bathroom facility, but it didn't work.
Rick and Merle accompanied Hermione and Harry to the cafeteria to make sure that everything was still safe. Merle offered to stay outside, while she worked, to make sure all was right. She tried to tell him that it wasn't needed and that it would take hours to finish them, but he insisted and stayed outside. She still wasn't sure why he would do something like that. That man was just puzzling.
Hermione recalled the talk the group had about the upcoming fight with the Governor and it was decided to let him come to them. They knew the prison facility better than the Governor and while they would go in blind, Harry and Hermione could secure this place with potions prepared traps or spells to conceal their cell blocks and force them to walk into a certain direction, while the others suggested snipers on several spots all around the prison and other lines of defense.
She sighed worriedly, as she pulled another ingredient from a drawer that had been under a strong stasis charm, a Bloodroot plant. She gently pulled two white petals of the flower, before placing the remaining of the Bloodroot flower back under the stasis charm and into the drawer. She couldn't help, but worry and wish for the umpteenth time, that this situation was finally over, as she meticulously cut the petals in slices.
28th May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA
Harry
He knew that this Governor was bloody metal, but this just took another level of craziness. Harry glanced at Daryl, who shared the same incredulous look as he did.
"Yeah," Merle spoke as he looked down the pit. "Told y'all, didn' I? A hole filled up with walkers. He's gonna use them on us, when he attacks again."
"Shit," Daryl cursed and took a tentatively step closer to look down. "Damn, man."
"I know," Merle commented as he looked around. "People at Woodbury got a lil' restless and then wantin' to be involved in the Governor's business. Of course he ain't likin' tha'. Wanted them to stay in the dark. So he thought to pull somethin' like an ancient arena show and wrestlin' with the biters. To entertain them an' get them all distracted. It worked," Merle shrugged, before he added, "Thought it was fun."
Harry recalled the arena show when he, Maggie and Rick had rescued the brothers. He could only shake his head at the memory, still at disbelief how stupid people could be.
"Yeah, well. Let's get tha' burned up, before they show up," Merle commented, as he looked around, probably trying to find something to create a fire.
Without any warning, Harry raised his wand and cast a powerful fire spell down into the pit with the countless undead.
Harry wondered, while he watched the undead burn, how things would have turned out, if Merle hadn't informed them about this place. The Governor would have probably tried to use these things against them again, like he did during his first attack at the prison. Merle had described him as a mastermind manipulative and sweet-talker and on top of that, he could be ruthless and obsessive in his fixation, which fits what Hermione had said about him.
According to Merle, the Governor wasn't the strategical brightest or most creative one to coordinate an attack. That task fell mostly upon Merle's and some other guy called Martinez. They were the ones to come up with battle strategies for attacks and fights, as well as, were in charge of the security and defense of Woodbury.
Merle believed, since knowing how Martinez and the Governor worked, that they would either attack on both sides, trying to surround them, or attack in the front line. Maybe place several snipers around as well. Merle gave them detailed information on how the Governor would act, the members who he would call fighting, including kids, what type of weapons they had and what he would do and say to the people in Woodbury to make them fight and die for him. It sickened Harry. With the ammunition the Governor had, he had enough power to go through that plan and cause damage.
The three of them watched silently as the undead inside the pit quickly burned down to ashes, only a few bones were still visible, as the fire began to grow smaller. Harry knew from experience that the last remains would be gone in a few moments as well. Suddenly, they heard a car approaching.
"Shit! It's them!" Merle hiss as he rushed towards the car, closely followed by Daryl. Harry stopped them as an idea came to mind.
"Wait," Harry said. "If we take off now, they will hear us and know we were here or follow us. Don't make a sound," it was the only warning Harry gave before he cast a strong Invisibility Charm over them and the car, as well as a Muggle Repelling spell and a moment later, two cars pulled up. A light yellow off-road car and a military truck. At a close inspection, Harry could see that it had several bullet holes in it, confirming his suspicions about the origin of the car. Harry's hand tightened around his wand as he watched both cars park next to a what looked like horse trailers.
A Latin and Afro-American tall men walked out of the military truck, followed by two three other people from the other car and quickly walked towards the pit, as smoke was coming out, cursing heavily.
"Fucking hell," a young man cursed as he looked down the smoking pit. "How did this happen? Did we drop an oil lamp or something?"
The Spanish man looked around, trying to see any disturbance, before he answered the young man, "Naa, man. This isn't caused by some accident. Someone came here and set them on fire."
"What? Who would do something like that?" another asked. Harry noted that the Latin and Afro-American guy looked tense, yet stayed calm while the other three didn't hide their emotions.
The Latin man looked around suspiciously, his eyes glance unseeingly over them, "Not sure. Let's get out of here."
"The Governor won't be happy about it," said the same young man.
"Yeah, don' think we'll get new bites ready in two days," a middle aged man absently commented.
No sooner did he said it, as everyone climbed into their cars and left.
Harry waited for five minutes, making sure that they had left and just to be safe, cast a quick Homenum Revelio spell around them and when it came clear, he dropped the spells around them.
"Nice trick, boss," Merle commented with a grin.
"Who was tha'?" Daryl asked his brother.
"The Spanish guy s' called Martinez, now the right had of the Governor. The black guy s' Shumpert. He's the main guard at Woodbury. The others are just civilians, ain't havin' a clue of weapons or fightin'," Merle explained and climbed up in the backseat of the car afterwards. "Shoulda' have killed them while we had the chance, boss."
"Then we would have lost our timeframe, Merle," Harry rebuffed the man. He knew that if they had blown their cover by killing these men than the Governor would have attacked much sooner, probably immediately and they hadn't been ready yet.
Dary's blue eyes lit up with understanding as he looked at Harry.
"We have two days, before they'll attack us," stated Daryl in a serious voice.
Harry nodded silently, as he walked to the car. If he was honest with himself, he was a little surprised that the Governor would attack them so soon. However, thankfully, they had most of the things prepared. It just gave them still enough time to get everything else settled and prepared.
29th May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA
Harry
The whole morning, Daryl seemed a little off to Harry. Something must have been bothering him. Harry took a moment to decide if he should ask him what's on his mind or just leave him alone. In the end, Harry's curiosity got the better of him and he walked to the slightly taller man.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked and looked at him closely. "Don't tell me there isn't anything, cause I can tell that something is clearly bothering you."
Daryl looked at Harry nervously, while at the same time not able to meet Harry's eyes. Daryl bit the inside of his lower lip, which immediately drew Harry's attention. It sent a warm and yet nervous feeling through his body, seeing this action.
"I told Merle about the deal the Governor gave Rick, about Michonne and Hermione," Daryl began to explain, which snapped Harry out of his hazy state. "Said that the Governor was crazy about Michonne though. Wanting her the most and would leave them alone. Don' know why I told him. Wasn' important anymore. I told him, we ain't doin this shit. Ain't us."
Harry's shoulder tensed at the information and a sudden uneasy feeling came over him. He glanced at Hermione, who was with the children and Carol. He told himself that she was safe, with the kids. He wouldn't let anyone hurt them again.
"Do you think Merle will do something stupid?" Harry asked and getting the point, as he began to have an uneasy feeling about it.
Daryl shook his head and glanced at Hermione, before he met Harry's eyes. "Merle wouldn' hurt your friend. Not after he tried helping her… and she's your family. He ain't that stupid."
Harry frowned, but nodded in understanding and hoped that Daryl was right.
"What about Michonne?" Harry asked, and gazed around the cell block, trying to find the woman. The last time he had seen her, was with Glenn. Michonne had done so much already and helped his children. He owed it to her to make sure that she was safe.
"Not sure," Daryl admitted worriedly. "I'll keep an eye on him."
Harry nodded and said, "Let me know, if-" He broke off as his wand in his hand suddenly vibrated in warning. Daryl, who had seen this sign previously, cursed heavily.
Without another word, Harry quickly apparated out in the courtyard at a hidden spot, but then the vibration of his wand stopped. Confused he looked around the outside fences, not seeing anything.
"Is something wrong?" Glenn asked closest to him.
"Not sure," Harry admitted, before he looked at both Glenn and Michonne. "Keep your eyes open. Someone triggered one of my wards, but now it's gone."
Harry didn't wait for them to confirm and apparated inside the tower, startling Rick in the process who almost raised his weapon at him.
"Sorry," Harry apologized and looked outside the fences.
"Did something happen?" Rick asked confused.
"My ward triggered. Probably, two people, but then it was gone. Came from this direction," Harry said and pointed at the bushes.
"You think they're here?" Rick asked worriedly, before he raised his sniper riffle and looked through the eyepiece, observing the area.
Harry shook his head and said, "The trigger spells I've placed are on the roads and they are still up. I'll know when they got past them."
Harry looked around and saw a few other people coming from the prison equally prepared to fight, but nothing happened. Everything was quiet, well except the undead looming outside the prison and against the main fence.
"I could go out there and check," Harry offered, when they didn't see anything.
"No," Rick said. "Could it be a false alarm?"
Harry frowned, not sure if something like that happened. Maybe it was a walker or a human who just turned previously. Spells were still not fool proof.
"Maybe. Sorry," Harry sheepishly said. "Thought someone was there."
Rick shook his head and told him that it was all right, better prepared and ready than sorry in the end. Harry went back to the courtyard and explained that it was a false alarm, many looked relieved at that, but Daryl frowned in confusion. He remained quiet as he followed Harry, who began to check on the wards again, just to be sure everything was still all right.
30th May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA
Daryl
He knew that staying with Michonne was his way to make sure his brother wouldn't do something stupid. He also knew that Hermione was safe from Merle, especially, when he voiced out that he wouldn't let her get to the Governor again. Merle was sure that this time he would take off the kid gloves and torture her until she was dead, no matter if she gave him the formula or not. This alone left Daryl worried, but what Merle had said afterwards about what the crazy-shit would do to Michonne, had left him speechless.
Daryl hadn't told anyone about it. Not even to Harry, even though he had been tempted to. Daryl had only revealed, the reaction his brother had upon hearing the deal he gave Rick.
Daryl couldn't seem to be able to shake off the worry that began to grow in him. After he saw the reaction his brother had, he knew that he should have kept his mouth shut. It hadn't mattered anyway. And yet, a part of him, wanted to share the secrets they used to have, as well as their trust. There had been a time when Daryl only could trust Merle and now, it was somehow gone. Daryl had realized that when he had glimpsed a calculated glint in Merle's eyes. It left him worried and on edge. Especially, when Merle began to tell him about the possible deal and the chance it could give them, as well as what the man would have done to Michonne, once he had her.
Daryl wasn't sure how long he walked through the corridors of the prison, looking for his brother, when he heard a noise coming from the laundry room.
"Merle, you down here?"
When he was only met with metal clinking, Daryl raised his crossbow, walked forward and called out to Merle again. Even though they had cleaned the majority of the prison from walkers, he was still on his guard.
"Hey, little brother," Merle greeted him as he leaned against some working bench cabinet.
"What the hell?" Daryl exclaimed as he lowered his weapon and looked around, trying to figure out from where the noise had come from.
"I was just about to holler back at ya," Merle said, not moving from that place, until Daryl took a few steps closer and found nothing suspicious behind him. There was only old junk. Merle explained that he was looking for some drugs and making lame ass jokes on how it ruined his sweet life up, which annoyed Daryl even more.
He hated it when his older brother took this shit. It changed him. Made him even unpredictable. Merle would do stuff he wouldn't have usually done in the first place. It was worse than alcohol and he knew how much Daryl hated it. For a brief moment, Daryl wondered if there was a magic thing that could help Merle getting down from that shit for good or immune to drugs.
Daryl changed the topic by asking, "You wanna come help? Gonna set up a few stuff up before Harry can do his magic."
Merle chuckled humorlessly, "Ain't pegging you for following orders. Who says that his shit will even work? And what if it ain't?"
Daryl took a few steps back from Merle and passed in annoyance.
"You used to call people like that "sheep", little brother… What happened to you?"
Daryl looked back at him intently, as he asked something that had been on his mind for too long, "What happened… with you, Hermione, Glenn and Maggie? Why did you let that happen?"
"I've done worse," Merle admitted almost ruefully. "Ain't proud of it, but things are different now… you need to grow up… Your people look at me like I'm the devil."
"Ain't true, man," Daryl immediately cut in. "Many understand. The others will forgive you in time."
"Y'all too bleeding do-gooder. Thinkin' that y'all can just win this war with some voodoo shit, while you still have a way out."
"We ain't doin this, Merle. Michonne stays."
"Cause y'all don' have the balls to do it, right?… Yeah. People do what they got to do or they die."
Which explained why Merle did what he did to survive. Daryl knew if he had been with his brother and not gotten separated in Atlanta, nothing like this would have happened. A part of him was feeling guilty about it and another angry that Merle simply didn't come back to the camp they had, or hadn't simply searched for him. For all he knew, Merle didn't even look for him, which was another thing that hurt deeply. But deep down, a more hopeful part of him believed that Merle simply didn't want to find him dead. Like he had done, when he had reasoned with himself that he didn't want to find Merle turned into one of those walkers. No matter how shitty Merle was, he was his brother. His family. Like this group.
"You can't do things without people any more, man. This group… We stick together and do what's right."
Merle only scoffs at his words without meeting his eyes, "Maybe these people need somebody like me around, huh? Do their dirty work. The bad guy… There is always someone in a group who does the dirty work."
He knew his brother had done some bad shit even before the walkers had shown up, but he knew that deep down Merle was good. There were still things Merle wouldn't cross.
"Yeah," Merle continued. "Maybe that's how it is now, huh? How does tha' hit you?"
Daryl just looked at his brother. He wasn't always good with words or feelings. He knew he loved him and would do anything to protect his grumpy ass, even if it kills him. Daryl remembered the things Merle did to him when their parents were shit-holes to them. How he would take him out, show him how to fight or use different weapons. He wasn't perfect, but he was his big brother, who tried to protect him from any asshole who gave them shit.
"I just want my brother back," Daryl admitted slowly.
Merle smug face immediately dropped. It was replaced with sadness and Daryl could see his eyes filling with tears, as he stammered, "Get out of here, man."
They had never been really able to express their own emotions and feelings to one another. Never said how much they cared, loved or meant to each other. It was simply given. Sometimes, Daryl wished he could just say it. Say that he had missed him in the last year. That he kept thinking about him, wondered if he had survived, wanted to tell him that even if he was an asshole most of the day, he still cared about him… loved him… but he just couldn't. Never having said something like that to anyone at all. He couldn't even remember telling his drunk ass parents about it. It was a foreign concept to Daryl.
Merle looked away and Daryl looked nervously between him and the ground. A part of him felt foolish for saying it and another was relieved. Without another word, he left and walked out. He knew that Merle would need time to come to terms with it. Daryl was sure that Merle would figure out how to fit in the group and if not he would help his brother.
He didn't know how long he sat there, deep in thoughts when Harry sat next to him. The wizard was silent and the two of them just watched the outside of the prison, as the others finished up their work. He knew that Harry would set up some magical traps around the prison and use those stuff Hermione had made, which were according to her, really dangerous. She had described them how it could be used to everyone who would stay behind. It still baffled him, seeing all this magic and he wasn't sure if he would ever get used to it.
"Is everything all right?" Harry asked after a while.
Daryl didn't know what it was about that man that made him feel so close to him. He barely knew him and yet felt he could trust him with anything. Tell him anything, without being judged or getting the pity eye, like many other do. Carol had been the only one who could understand having a difficult life, but still there were some things when he had told her about his life that she couldn't hide her… sadness or pity from him, which instantly shut him close again.
"I worry about Merle. He ain't… He feels like we don' want him… see's himself as an outcast," Daryl snort suddenly and glanced at Harry, who looked a little confused at his outburst. "He would kick my ass and call me Darlyna, if he knew we're talking about his feelings an' ask if I needed to paint my nails or braid my hair."
Harry chuckled at the image. Both stayed silent for a while.
"I know he ain't a saint and made mistakes, but…"
"You care. He is your brother. Family," Harry finished for him, which made Daryl look at him and nodded.
"Yeah," Daryl confirmed. "He isn't perfect, but he… tries to do the right thing, even if it's not seen right away… When we were kids an' our parents shit-ass drunk, he would make us some sandwiches, grabbed a pair of cokes and took me out into the woods for the night. His way of camping… Think I was four or something."
"Sounds like someone I would have liked to grow up with," Harry said after a moment of silence. Daryl was surprised and it took him a moment to conceal his emotions, but Harry must have seen it anyway, when he added, "I didn't have a good childhood either. I was adopted by my aunt, when my parents were murdered by a psychotic wizard. I was treated like a slave and beaten as one, hardly got anything to eat… They made me live in a cupboard, under the stairs, while their son had two bedrooms. Everything changed when I turned eleven and got my invitation for the magical school, where I would be spending the entire school year at a magical boarding school… I thought I was dreaming. Up until then, I didn't even know I was a wizard. Strange things happened around me and that's why my relatives kept calling me a freak, since I could remember."
Daryl didn't know what to say. He knew how that felt and had experiences some of the shit he did as a kid. He didn't want to imagine how his childhood would have turned out, if Merle hadn't been there most of the time.
"When my old pops got batshit drunk he would whip out his belt and beat us with it. For no shit. When Merle was there he wouldn't let him near me. Sometimes took the beatin' that was meant for me… When Merle turned sixteen he became more involved with his friends and in trouble, which got him in juvi."
He barely remembered his mother anymore. Merle hadn't been there when their mother died in a fire. He was in juvenile detention, while Daryl had to deal with their drunk ass father on their own. Then he got lost in the woods when he was barely twelve years old. His brother had been in juvie again, when that happened. It had taken Daryl nine days to find his way back and his fucked up father didn't even notice that he was gone.
"Later, he signed up for the army," Daryl continued as he pushed away the old memories.
Harry raised a surprised eyebrow at that, which made Daryl only chuckle in return, "Yeah, I know. Didn't last long. Wanted to show everyone what a big shot he was. He wasn't bad though, learned a lot of things, until he punched a sergeant cause he said something about our family… still not sure what it was. The court nicked him up for sixteen months. Don't know what changed, but after he came out, he found me, packed my stuff and took me away. I was still a teenager. Our pops didn't even look at us, when Merle and I got my stuff out… just wanted the TV and the beer. Haven't been separated ever since. Not until Atlanta."
After a moment of silence, Harry said, "In time, I'm sure Merle will prove himself part of this group. I think someone like him, needs to… face and accept his mistakes. Like he did with you, after seeing what he did wrong… Sometimes an apology helps and sometimes actions speak for themselves."
Daryl snorted at the thought of Merle saying sorry to someone in this group. He barely did it to him and only when he really screwed up. "Yeah… he ain't the type to-"
"Daryl, Harry!" Rick called suddenly. Both turned around and stood us as he came closer, while he carried a sniper riffle across his bag. "Have you seen Merle and Michonne? She wanted to come to me, half an hour ago, talking about some ideas. Went through the prison and Merle is missing too. They've gone."
"Damn it!" Daryl cursed and quickly explained to Rick that he had told Merle about the deal, as he led the three inside and into the same room he had found his brother.
"He was in here. Said he was looking for drugs. He said a lot of things, actually," Daryl said and looked around for any clues of his brother.
"Like what?" Rick asked
"He said we didn't have it in us to do it. To give up Michonne," Daryl said, as he walked them further into the room and found a ripped out bedclothes, which he remembered seeing it with his brother in the last day as he put random stuff in it. "Yeah, he took her here, then they stood up."
"Bloody hell," Harry exclaimed next to Rick.
"Damn it!" Rick hissed angrily. "I'm going after him."
And before he could say anything, Harry already objected, "Daryl and I will go, Rick."
"You can't track for shit," Daryl added, but Rick wouldn't hear it, as he said, "Then the three of us."
"No," Daryl cut them off. "I will go alone. Plus, when we come back here, you need to be ready."
Harry looked at him with determination and said, "You track down your brother and we will fly with my broom. It will be way faster than on foot and less dangerous. I will go with you, Daryl. If something happens, I can get us out of there quick."
Daryl knew he was right and it meant a lot that he would risk going with him. He simply nodded at the wizard and said that he would meet him outside the gate and disappeared with a pop. It was still strange to see him do that on a daily basis
"Damn wizard," Daryl mutter under his breath, halfheartedly. "Don' tell the others yet. Give us an hour or two, Rick," he added and with one last glance at him left the building. He rushed towards the entrance and before he could even reach it, Harry popped up out of nowhere with a broom. He had only seen it once.
"You sure you can fly that, with me on it?" Daryl asked nervously.
Harry only grinned at him, which sent another odd feeling through his chest. Harry simply said, "Sure, one of the best flyers in my school." Harry swung his leg over the hovering stick. Daryl gulped nervously and followed him on the broom, sitting behind him. To his surprised, just when he though he would sit on a stick, he seated on much larger place. It felt a seat of a bicycle.
"I will cast a Disillusionment Charm on us. Do you know which way he went?"
Daryl nodded, and pointed to his left. Even behind the fences, and all those walkers out there he could, he could see both footprints clearly, which leaded into the other side and into the forest and also from the stabbed walkers, which looked like the work of his brothers. Harry quickly did the spell, twirled his wand stick over them both and he felt an invisible cloak sensation over them, as if someone had thrown a sheet over them.
Without warning Harry took off, which made Daryl instinctively he grab on Harry's waist to steady himself. It was a little awkward as he could feel his face heating up, but Harry didn't say anything, as he flew over the walkers, unseen by them. They even flew through the forest and a little lower on the ground to make him see which way his stupid brother took.
Things got easier when they came upon a clear road. Harry put the broom down and let him see the tracking signs better and afterwards they took off again. They flew over a road, a motel like place where more dead walkers and shortly after they saw Michonne walking down the from a road.
Harry quickly went down and pulled off the magic, which made Michonne jump like crazy in the air. It would have been a funny moment, if the situation wasn't so dire.
"Where is my brother?" Daryl immediately asked. A cold feeling spread through him as he added. "You kill him?"
Michonne shook her head and said. "He let me go."
He breathed a sigh of relief at that, and listened to Harry's asking about Merle's direction, which she pointed out.
"I will be right back, Daryl," Harry said and with a small warning to hold tight, he grabbed Michonne's arm and quickly disappeared with a pop. Daryl held the broom in his hand and looked at the direction of his brother, when suddenly Harry appeared back with the same sound of pop.
"Let's go," he said, took the broom from Daryl's hand went towards the car. It took them a few minutes when they spotted a car blaring with loud music, getting all the attention of the walkers. He drove slowly, while the walkers followed him. What the fuck was he doing?
He didn't know he spoke out aloud, when Harry answered, "He's leading them somewhere, but why?"
Daryl looked up and could see where he was heading. "Shit, he's going to lure them to the Governor I think."
"Alone?" Harry exclaimed incredulously. "Bloody idiot. Hold tight, Daryl," was all he said when he moved forward stopped the spell just as they dropped a few feet before the approaching car. Merle immediately stopped and jumped out of the car and ran towards his brother and Harry.
"What the fuck are ya doin' here?" shouted Merle as reached them.
"What the fuck, man? I told you we ain't givin' Michonne up, but you dump ass fucker just did what you thought right."
Before Merle could say anything, Harry said, "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to go."
"No! I need to do this!" Merle protested, smelling of alcohol, which only pissed Daryl more off. "I'm almost there, man."
Harry pushed without saying the broom in Daryl hands before he grabbed them and teleported them on damaged red roof, which was a few feet away. Merle cursed heavily as he tried to regain his bearing. Daryl wasn't a fan of this kind of magic, but he had to admit that it was useful. He nodded in thanks at Harry, who stood between the brothers, while he cast the same spell over them to make them appear invisible.
"Watcha talkin', man," Daryl focused back on what his brother said as soon as Merle stood straight again.
"The Governor. He'll try to come from here, like I said before. So, why not cut his way short. Make it unsafe for him… I-I need to fix what I did," there was a desperation in his voice that he hadn't heard before.
"This isn't some suicide mission, Merle," Harry said, as he did some magic to the car and made it silent, when more and more walkers began to appear out of nowhere. Merle instantly began to protest and say the same nonsense about needing to do this, when Harry shook his head and did another magic that made a huge glowing stag came bursting through. It attracted the walkers immediately and some of them walked towards it.
"Holy shit," Merle commented. "I think I had too much."
Daryl noticed that the walkers tried to move towards the magic stag, while Harry explained, "It's a Patronus. I will tell it to go towards that direction you've said these people would be in and lead them there, before it disappears. I will also cast a temporary concealing charm over them, which won't hold long though. Not with so many of them. I think it will last twenty minutes to half an hour tops. It should be long enough for them to reach the attackers and still stay for a bit invisible. But we are going back now! Hold tight," he said and did the same teleportation magic. It was a shitty feeling the first time, like someone sucked you through some tight tube and put you on a roller coaster, but doing it twice was just so fucking much worse.
Daryl barely registered being back in the prison's court-yard, which was surrounded by metal plates that Harry had placed just for this purpose.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and knew without having to look up that it was Harry. Daryl was bent over, holding himself upright by gripping his knees. He glanced at Merle, when he heard his brother throwing up. The clear view of Merle wasn't helping him at all. Daryl quickly pushed himself upright and forced his queasiness away. Harry grimaced at the sight and as soon as Merle was done, he vanished the vomit with a wave of his wand.
That's when Daryl noticed Rick and Michonne, who had been waiting for them and Rick looked pissed. Couldn't blame him for that. Michonne, on the other hand, looked calm and not even upset, which wasn't something he had expected.
He watched Merle standing up, while he cursed about the, "damn voodoo magic lift way," when he noticed the glaring group. Daryl was pissed at Merle. Maybe more than ever.
Merle swallowed and looked between Rick and Michonne, "Yeah, alright, I screwed up. Big time…. Thought I was goin' to help, doin' the stuff no one had the balls to do."
"We were never going to give Michonne up," Rick retorted angrily. "And if you hadn't left her halfway out to return back to us, it would have been your ass on the line."
"I get tha' now, officer friendly. I get tha'," Merle sighed heavily. "I messed up… tried to fix what I did wrong…. So, yeah… I screwed up."
Daryl knew that this was Merle's way of an apology and he hoped that Rick would see it that way too. He waited for Rick to say something, but all he did was stare at Merle angrily, until he said, "It's not me you need to apologize, Merle."
Merle blinked a few times before he sight and looked at Michonne, who to his surprised, looked kinda amused at the whole thing, "Aligh', my Nubian Queen, hit me as hard as you pretty little hands can do. I'll blame my lack of sanity on the missin' drugs and some post trauma bullshit I've got from bein' the right hand of the Governor. I thin-"
The punch came out of no where and hit Merle square in the face. It threw him off and made him fall to the ground. He had honestly not seen the punch coming. She had been standing still, while Merle moved closer to her during his speech, as she smiled a little at him, before she punched him.
"Fuck! Mothe'fuckin' shit hell!… Ugh… Al'righ'! Al'righ'!" Merle exclaimed, while his nose bled like shit. It looked clearly broken even from where he was standing. "I dese'ved tha'! Was an asshole!"
Daryl snorted at his words, while everyone had an amused look on their faces.
"We good now?" Merle asked as he stood up and tilted his head back. "Don't think ma p'etty face can handle anothe' hit."
Michonne chuckled at Merle. "Yeah, we're good."
Rick only looked back at Daryl, who nodded at him and watched the sheriff go back in, followed by Michonne.
"Damn, man. She has one mean hook. Betcha can betta punch than you, little b'other."
Daryl glared at him as the remaining three followed Rick and Michonne inside.
"Wanna try?" Daryl suggested.
Merle snorted before he winced and moaned in pain, which made Harry chuckle in return. Merle glared at Daryl and Harry as he said, "Tha' 'eally hu'ts, man. Think she b'oke my nose."
"You deserved it," Daryl commented and was relieved that his brother was here and alive, even if he had a broken nose in return.
"Yeah, yeah," Merle moaned as took the cloth Harry gave him, which Merle held under his nose.
"Hermione can fix it up, in no time," Harry said, as they came upon the stairs that led them inside the prison.
"Knew I liked kitten for a 'eason. Hell of a woman, tha' one!"
Harry smiled at Merle deviously, "Don't think you will like the way she will do it. It will hurt like hell before it heals."
Merle looked a little green and for a moment Daryl worried that he would throw up again, but then his older brother looked straight at Harry and said, "Fine! I dese've tha' too, but tha' it for today! Still gotta some ass kickin' done."
30th May 2012, West Georgia Correctional Facility, Newnan, Georgia, USA
Hermione
Hermione knew the moment the couple returned back into the cell block that something must have happened between them. Especially, when they were smiling this much, despite the situation they were in. And soon enough, Glenn and Maggie announced their engagement to everyone. Many had been surprised at the news, with the exception of Hershel, who just smiled happily at the couple.
"He asked me for permission," Hershel commented with a smile next to her. "Couldn't have asked for a better man for my Maggie."
Hermione could see the happy tears in his eyes. She gently rubbed the elderly man's shoulder, as he held Jon in his lap. She could only imagine the emotions he must have been feeling right now. When things calmed down and most of the people had hugged the couple, Hermione approached them and giving them a tight hug.
"Congratulations, Glenn, Maggie," she said genuinely happy for them. "I'm really happy for you two." They thanked her in return, giving her bright smiles. Hermione couldn't help herself and patted Glenn's smiling face proudly, which earned several people, including Maggie to laugh at her action. Despite the rocky start with Glenn, he was beginning to feel like a brother to her. There was just something about him that oddly reminded her of Ron and Harry. The little goofy behavior she had glimpsed once in a while, when he felt carefree, the bravery he showed to protect those he loved and the stubbornness he could hold. Maggie was similar, but more daring and outgoing and the only one who could get through to Glenn, if she wanted. In the end, both were a strong couple and fitted each other perfectly.
Shortly after the announcement, Rick returned back with Michonne and both were quickly informed about the upcoming marriage.
Harry suddenly showed up and asked her, "Could you come with me? Merle's nose is broken and it needs fixing."
Hermione frowned at the information, knowing full well that Harry could have fixed it easily. Hermione quickly agreed and went to take the little bag with the muggle based potions before she followed Harry outside the cell block.
Merle was sitting on one of the metal chairs at the table, Daryl stood a little behind him, not appearing much worried about his brother state. Hermione didn't say much as she sat next to Merle and faced him. She hadn't had much chance or opportunity to talk to Merle and neither had she seen much of him actually. Sometimes she found him looking at her with this unreadable look, before he would turn away or leave. She had wondered if it was guilt, worry or something entirely else. Hermione had come across enough people, who had a hard time expressing their feelings and the walking undead didn't help matters. She could imagine that these two brothers were among those people. Even Harry had a hard time expressing his own feeling and guilt, especially, after the wizarding war and finding out how many people had died because of it. Sometimes, things just needed time.
Hermione focused on the task at hand and looked at Merle's face up closerly.
"Watcha think, kitten. Can ya make me all p'etty again?"
Hermione chuckled amused, still in a good mood from the happy couple's announcement, as she pulled out her wand and cast a silent Diagnostic Spell over his face. Reading the results she said, "You have definitely have a broken nose."
"Yeah, y'could say tha'."
"Do you feel dizzy? Any nausea? Headaches?"
"Na, just nose hu'ts and b'eathin' is diffi'ult."
Hermione nodded and pulled out a potion and transfigured a piece of paper that was on the table to a spoon.
She turned back towards Merle and said, "I'm going to fix your nose now, but it's going to hurt."
"Al'igh', no p'oblem. Dese've tha' for being an asshole."
Hermione looked confused at Harry, who simply shrugged his shoulders and said with a hint of a smile, "He's making amends for being an idiot and having been manipulated by some creep. It's his way of saying 'I'm sorry', I guess. Michonne was the first one he 'officially apologized' to… and that's her way of accepting it."
Daryl snorted, while Merle said rather in a defying and awkward way, "Yeah, yeah… Come on kitten. Have yer way with me, befo'e offica f'iendly shows up, don' wan' the man gettin' all pissed at me and gettin' him all jealous."
Hermione blinked and could feel herself blush at his words. It didn't help that Harry and Daryl were snickering in the back.
"I-I- I don't know what you mean. Who is officer friendly?" She knew too well who he referred to, since she had heard Merle refer to Rick that way previously, but she guessed denial would work too.
"Yeah, su'e… Whateve' ya say, kitten," he grinned at her despite the broken nose.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at the man. She swiftly pointed her wand at his nose and hissed the incantation, "Episkey."
A loud crack of the nose could be heard, just as Merle screamed quite profoundly which left her blinking at the man, as more blood seemed to pore from his nose. Hermione pointed her wand at his face again and Merle was about to stand up, when Harry pushed him back to his seat. She cast a quick healing spell that would heal the burst blood vessels in his nose and soon enough the bleeding stopped completely. For a moment she felt guilty for causing so much pain and if she was honest with herself, she might have accidentally, on purpose, not really intentionally cast a really strong healing spell on him. His nose looked even more straight than it had been originally. But when Merle began to say another round of almost explicit curse of being a prostitute and doing a 2-for-1 deal, Hermione lost any trait of guilt and glared at the man before her.
She saw Rick, Michonne from her peripheral vision and was sure that some others had joined them as well, to see what the commotion had been.
"Honestly, Merle! There is no need to be so vulgar about it. It isn't as if I had broken your nose… well, technically, I did re-break your nose to set it right magically, but that's beside the point. You're healed and your nose is fixed now," Hermione said in her what Harry would describe as McGonagall scolding voice.
She filled up the spoon with muggle Blood-Replenishing Potion and held it for him and told him, "Here, take this. It will replace the blood loss you've had and fix you up in no time." Hermione then cast a quick Scorgify spell on his face and then clothes, after he drank the potion.
Hermione put the potion bottle back in the bag, while Merle kept asking his brother how his nose looked now as he tentatively touched it.
"Like a nose, Merle," Daryl said with a roll of his eyes at his brother's attitude.
Hermione grabbed the bag with the muggle based potions and walked back into the cell block. By now almost everyone had returned, except for Russel, the new addition to the group, who was still in the maintenance room with Oscar and Axel. They made sure that the engines and machines were well protected when the attack occurred.
Russel, who was a mechanic was confident that the could fix the damage on the machines in given time. Oscar also had a little knowledge, which he had learned during his stay in this prison and Axel was just quick to assist and help wherever he could. All three were good people and it helped that both Axel and Oscar kept Russel mostly occupied and away to give Hermione and Harry the time to set up the spells around the facility. Up to now, everything had gone as planned.
To have back electricity and probably water through the pipeline would be a really good thing. Hermione and Harry didn't mind conjuring water for the group, or any other spells that could help the group. Not even Teddy was bothered by it. The only thing they needed was electricity in order to be able to charge the satellite phone.
On the third day after initiating the contact with Fort Polk, the charge of the phone went empty. Unfortunately, there were no reliable spells to recharge the phone without risk of damaging it. So far, the General had talked about sending a team in a week to their given location, which would take up to 2-3 weeks if everything went according to plan. After everything had been settled, the General had asked if Hermione could give the formula over the phone, which they would then send to the team in Washington and anyone else who still operated.
It was easier said than done. Reciting the complicated formula and all the steps and approaches, would not only take hours, but also only someone who had knowledge about this field of science could, without risk of missing a step, could be trusted with it. Thus far, she hadn't been able to give the NOVA-137 yet, due to the low level of phone charges. It wasn't the way she had imagined getting the formula to Washington, but as long as they could recreate NOVA she was fine with it. Even by getting the formula through the phone, Hermione was still needed in Washington to work in the lab and help the team to reproduce NOVA, due to the short staff of scientists.
She hoped that there would be given another way to send the formula to Fort Polk or Washington sooner.
"I need to talk to y'all," Rick suddenly said, halting her trail of thoughts.
Hermione walked back out from the cell room that she shared with her son and stood next to Harry and Teddy. Jon was still content in Hershel's arm, as he played with his dragon plush. Everyone was there, except for Oscar, Axel and Russel. No one said anything and watched Rick. Many of them looked anxious and worried about their situation. The happy feeling about the engagement of the couple seemed to have gone by now. Even Hermione could't shake off the feeling of dread, while she put an arm around Teddy, who leaned closer to her.
"When I met with the Governor, he offered me a deal," Rick began. Hermione's looked at him and saw the glances he gave to Harry, Hershel, Daryl and even Merle.
"He said he'd leave us alone, if I gave him Michonne."
Hermione gasped horrified and Teddy's arm tightened around her. Several heads turned to Michonne, who looked calm, despite the news. It could only mean that she had already known about it. Hermione's mind instantly went to the things that the monster had done to her and the thought of giving Michonne to him terrified her. She tried to reassure herself that this didn't happen, wouldn't happen, as she regained her composure, she looked at the others. Many of them looked equally horrified at the suggestion.
Rick looked down at the ground, as he spoke, "I had thought about it… to keep us safe." The guilt and shame were clear in his voice.
"But I couldn't… wouldn't do something like that… That's not us," Rick said strongly as he looked at everyone. "I was wrong not to tell you… and I'm sorry…. Some of you know what I said last year, that first night after the farm, it can't be like that. It can't."
Hershel, his daughter, Glenn, Carl and Carol looked quite surprised. Daryl was a little harder to read as he looked at Rick, waiting for him to continue.
"What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are, it's not my call. It can't be. I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good, because we are the greater good. We're the reason we're still here, not me. I've realized that."
Hermione glanced at Harry and saw his shoulder slumber a little in relief. She recalled the similar words and accusation Harry had given Rick, after the secret meeting with the Governor. Hermione had a feeling that Harry's words had made an impact on Rick after all.
"This is life and death. How you live, how you die, isn't up to me. I'm not your Governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together. We choose us. We choose what's right and wrong. We do this together."
Many looked relieved at his words and nodded in return. Hermione looked closely at Rick and knew that it mustn't have been easy to admit his own fault to everyone. She knew how it felt to take such a burden of responsibility with them. She had seen in the past how Harry had suffered from all these expectations from him to save the wizarding world from a monster they had created. She couldn't imagine the burden Rick must have felt all this time for this group. The guilt he must have felt and the blame he took upon himself for every loss and failure of safety.
His bright blue eyes met Hermione's for a moment. She smiled gently in return, silently telling him that he did the right thing.
A/N: I had really fun writing this chapter… How did you like it?
The next chapter will be the last for season 3 (yay!) and it will be badass.