When the others stepped inside, they were amazed to find how large it was, "It's bigger in here than it is on the outside," Glenn observed.
"Yeah, I did it with magic," Harry said, "This way, we can take fewer vehicles and conserve gas."
Some were a little wary about entering the RV, especially Andrea, but after some encouragement from Amy, she got in. The only ones that didn't get in the RV were the Dixon brothers. Merle didn't want to leave his motorcycle, and Daryl didn't want to leave Merle. Now that everyone was settled inside, Rick took the road that would take them to Fort Benning.
Rick, Shane, and Dale took turns driving and were making good time. They were thankful that they had seen only a handful of Walkers on the road. But their smooth ride was about to end when they hit a massive traffic jam. Abandoned cars were piled everywhere across both sides of the highway. The group had no other choice but to turn around and head back the way they came. But it would take a while to clear a path for the RV to be turned around.
In the meantime, Shane suggested that they look for more supplies to supplement what they already had. What they needed were shoes and clothes. At first, Lori objected, but she eventually saw the logic in it. Harry, Rick, Lori, Carl, Carol, and Sophia began scavenging to cars while Shane and the others started moving the vehicles out of the way so that Dale could turn the RV around. Harry would have used his magic, but some people were still uncomfortable with it.
As the survivors got to work, Merle and Daryl looked for any Walkers or people who could be dangerous. While the others were moving the cars, Daryl spotted a Walker ambling through the vehicles heading towards them. He aimed but then another one came around the car, then another. Soon the highway was filled with Walkers. He quickly grabbed Merle, and they ducked down behind a car.
Meanwhile, further up, Rick too had noticed the herd of Walkers and whisper yelled to the others to get under the cars and stay quiet. Carl and Sophia hid under a vehicle close to Harry and covered their mouths. Carol and Lori ducked under a vehicle together to wait for the herd to pass. Lori had to cover Carol's mouth to stifle her tears.
It felt like hours before the last walker stumbled by; everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Just as they were about to get out from underneath the cars, a Walker lunged for Sophia and grabbed her by the foot. She screamed and wrenched her foot free from the Walker's grasp. She slid out from underneath the car only to be confronted by two more Walkers. Panicking, Sophia jumped the divider and ran into the woods.
Without hesitation, Rick, Shane, Harry, and Carl took off after Sophia. Lori shouted for Carl to stop, but Carl ignored her and followed his dad and Shane. When they reached the bottom of the ravine, Rick told them that they needed to split up, "Harry, you and Shane follow the creek bed up, and Carl and I will go the opposite way."
Harry shook his head, "No, Dad, you three stick together; I'll be alright on my own."
Rick put his hand on his oldest son's shoulder, "Are you sure, Son?"
"Yeah, let's get moving; there's no time to waste."
Rick nodded, and he, Shane, and Carl took off in the opposite direction. Harry began making his way through the woods, then pulled out his wand and cast a point me spell. His wand spun for a moment, then pointed in the direction that Sophia ran off to. Harry ran off in that direction, following the creek bed. After a while, Harry slowed down when he heard the moans and growls of the Walkers that were only a few feet ahead of him. He came around the bend and saw that they were trying to reach Sophia, who had hidden underneath an outcropping. Harry quickly picked up several stones and threw them at the Walkers to get their attention. When the Walkers turned and started stumbling towards him, Harry quickly cast several cutting curses at them, decapitating them. When their bodies fell to the ground, Harry crushed their heads with his boot. He peered underneath the overhang and saw Sophia huddled underneath.
Harry smiled at the young girl and offered his hand, "It's okay, Sophia, they're dead. You can come out now."
"Are you sure they're dead?"
"Positive."
Sophia reached for Harry's hand, and he gently pulled her out of her hiding spot. The little girl hugged Harry fiercely and began to cry. Harry shushed her and reassured her that she was safe. He picked her up and carried her back to the road.
In the meantime, Rick, Shane, and Carl had left the creek and were searching the woods. They came across a deer, and Shane was going to shoot it, but Rick stopped him, and they watched as Carl walked towards the deer so that he could pet it. Suddenly a shot rang out, and the deer fell, as did Carl. Rick screamed and rushed towards Carl, who had been shot as well. At that moment, a portly man came out of the woods holding a rifle; his eyes widened when he saw Carl lying on the ground.
"I didn't see him! Oh God, is he dead?"
Rick checked Carl's pulse, and miraculously, Carl was still alive. Rick picked up Carl and ran back to the road, but the man told him that a farmhouse was closer. Rick demanded to know where it was and took off running in that direction. Shane pulled the man named Otis behind him, and they rushed off after Rick out of the woods and across the field.
Otis could keep up, so he told them to ask for Hershel. Rick arrived at the farmhouse and told Hershel what had happened, and they rushed Rick and Carl into the house. They laid Carl down on the bed and cut his shirt open. Hershel told Rick to get out so they could work on Carl. Shane made his way out of the room with Shane's help and sat down on the porch steps.
"He's going to be fine, Man. Don't you worry? Everything is going to be fine," Shane reassured his best friend.
Rick stared at his best friend with tears in his eyes. After a while, Hershel came out and told them that the bullet had broken up and that there were several fragments, "I need to remove them, but I don't have the equipment here to do it."
Rick held his head in his hands, then his head shot up, "Harry. Harry's a healer; he can help. Shane, you have to get back to the road and get Harry; he's the only one that can heal his brother."
Hershel looked at Rick and Shane, confused, "Who's Harry?"
"My oldest boy. He's a doctor too and has all the equipment he needs to help Carl."
Hershel nodded and looked at his daughter, Maggie, "Saddle a horse and head up to the road. Let Rick's son know what happened and bring him back as quickly as you can."
Maggie nodded and ran to the stables to get her horse. She quickly saddled the horse and rode away.
In the meantime, Harry and Sophia made it back to the others, where Sophia quickly ran towards Carol, and her mother hugged her tightly. She looked at Harry and thanked him profusely. Harry looked around and noticed that his mom, Daryl, and Glenn were missing.
"Where are the others?" He asked.
"They went looking for you when you took too long," Dale informed him.
At that moment, Daryl and Glenn rush out of the woods without Lori. Harry began to panic when he didn't see his mother, "What happened? Where's my mom?"
"Some crazy woman came riding up and took Lori. She said that Carl had been shot," Daryl explained.
"What?!" Harry exclaimed, "Where did they go?"
"Southeast, to a farmhouse," Glenn told Harry, "She said for us to go back and take a side road that would lead us to her house."
Harry nodded and ran into the RV and grabbed his back. He reached in and rummaged through it until Harry found his Firebolt. Pulling out his broom, Harry quickly mounted his broom and kicked off, and left. The others gawked at him as Harry took to the air and flew away.
"Did Harry fly away on a broom?" T-Dog asked.
"Yeah," Glenn answered, still staring up at the sky.
Harry quickly cast a tracking spell on Carl and followed it to the farmhouse. When he got there, Harry jumped off his broom and promptly put it back in his bag. Shane was sitting on the porch when he saw Harry land; he let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank God, you're here."
"Where is he, Shane?"
"Carl's in the house. Your dad is with him right now."
Harry nodded, and Shane led Harry into the house and into the bedroom where Rick and Carl were. Carl was pale and sweaty, his belly was distended, and Harry could see where the bullet had entered his body. Harry immediately knew that Carl had internal bleeding. Hershel was in the middle of taking Carl's blood pressure when he saw Shane enter with a young man who couldn't be older than twenty years old. Hershel's brow furrowed. He wondered what this boy could do that he couldn't.
Harry let Hershel finish taking Carl's blood pressure, then politely asked him to step aside, "I'll take over from here, thank you."
Harry took out his wand and waved over Carl's body, and did a diagnostic spell. Hershel and Patricia stepped back, not knowing what the boy was doing. After reading the report, Harry nodded and turned to his dad.
"The bullet nicked his artery."
"Can you help him?" Rick asked in a shaky voice. Hershel had already taken two pints of blood from Rick, and he was looking pale and weak.
"Yeah, Dad."
Harry waved his wand over Carl's belly, vanishing the bullet fragments. Then he laid his wand on Carl's stomach and said an incantation to stitch the bleeding artery. After that, Harry grabbed his bag and summoned essence of dittany.
"Accio dittany."
The bottle leaped from his bag and landed in his hand. Harry opened the bottle and took some of the liquid out from it with a dropper. He then put a few drops onto each wound. Hershel and Patricia gasped as they watched the injury stitch itself close. Then Harry summoned a few vials of blood replenishing potions and handed one to Rick.
"Drink that, Dad."
"What is it?"
"Blood replenishing potion."
Rick nodded and downed the potion quickly; he shivered at how bad it tasted. Then Harry handed Rick a Pepper Up potion to give Rick back his strength.
"What about Carl?" Shane asked.
"Well, since Dad gave Carl some blood, he's fine for now. But as soon as he wakes up, I need to give him the same thing."
Harry then cast a cleansing spell on Carl to clean him of the blood and sweat clinging to his body. The little boy sighed but stayed unconscious. At that moment, Lori burst through the door, "Carl!"
But when she saw Harry, she calmed down, "Is he alright?"
"Yeah, Mom, Carl's fine. You don't have to worry."
Lori let out a sigh of relief and hugged Harry, "Thank you, baby, for helping your brother."
"You don't have to thank me, Mom. I would do anything for you guys."
The whole time this is going on, Hershel and Patricia stand in the corner staring at Harry in fear. Finally, Patricia stepped forward, "What are you?"
Harry, who had barely noticed that they were still in the room, smiled, " Hello, I'm Harry Grimes, and I'm a wizard."