DISCLAIMER: If I owned Harry Potter or TWD at the very least Harry wouldn't have married Ginny and Merle would have survived and preferably never been left behind in the first place.
AN: Harry and Teddy arrive a month or so into the already raging zombie apocalypse. Also to make it clear there is NO wizards or magical creatures in the TWD world in my crossover, the world itself has an untapped reservoir of replenishing magic but the event that caused wizards and creatures alike never occurred. So Harry and Teddy have almost an endless supply of Magic to pull from besides their own magical core.
Feb 13, 2011
Blearily cracking open his eyes with a pained groan as the sound of birds chirping all around him filtered through his brain as he pushed his aching and likely bruised back to sit up. Only to freeze midway as the events of yesterday ran through his mind as he hurriedly he probed around his unfamiliar surroundings with his magic to scope out any danger he couldn't see as he checked on the precious bundle still attached to his chest. Slightly reassured when he felt the warm weight of Teddy on his chest before running a few different diagnostic charms on him to make absolutely sure he was fine as he continued to sleep away on his chest, likely exhausted from being uprooted from Diagon Alley and sent to where ever they were. They had somehow appeared in the middle of a over grown grass filled clearing that was surrounded by trees and bushes with no visible man made trail paths. Relaxing only slightly as his magic came back negative on any nearby hostiles before summoning a potion from his choker that would help with his likely bruise covered back. Sighting as it immediately relieved most of the aches and pains coming from his back before casting a basic diagnostic on himself to gauge if any damaged had been done to him during their unexpected transit to the peaceful clearing. Seemed like the only thing he received were a few bumps and bruises but luckily nothing harmful and even then most of the damage was likely caused by landing in the clearing itself, he was just glad they landed where he took the damage instead of Teddy as such injuries would've probably killed his small godson.
Casting a few minor healing spells to disinfect and purify the skin around the scrapes and lathering it with a tiny bit of murtlap essence and taking a nausea potion for the slight nausea he was starting to feel and he was as good as new.
Standing up from where they'd landed in the middle of the clearing he made his way towards the treeline and took a seat under the early dawns shade before he woke Teddy for feeding and a nappy change. Banishing the waste afterwords along with the soiled nappy before placing the happily clapping and squealing Teddy back in his carrier and cuddled with him for a little while as he rested to regain his energy. Resting a bit against the tree while hugging him to his chest he began to contemplate what they should do next as his panther prowled around the forefront of his mind, discontented about something which had his paranoia rearing it's head. Deciding he'd rested enough and needed to know where exactly they were, as his gut was giving off a strange feeling, he cast a quick point me spell for the nearest town and set off with quiet footsteps and a silencing bubbled Teddy as he cooed and squealed adorably at everything they passed.
But, before he could even get a few feet away from the tree they'd been resting on something strange happened, or more like an unsteadily stumbling figure, with a foul odor emitting from even feet away from it, began to shamble its way out of the brush. And as the first bright ray of sunlight hit it's face and illuminated it's previously shadowed features he was horrified at the sight of an inferi like creature as it made its way slowly towards him before quickly shielding Teddy eyes as he took in the formerly male inferi. It was a bit different from the inferi he's ever seen before as it was operating out of water like the ones Voldemort had used to protect his locket horcrouxes, along with visible damage to its already decaying body. Evidenced by its torn out throat and torn off rotten bits of blackened flesh hanging from its exposed torso, to it snapping lipless jaws and glazed eyes. Though with all that it was VERY similar to an inferi, i
'If it went very wrong, as it was visibly decomposing, while inferis usually stay in a stasis like state once made,' he once again silently compared to himself as he cast a slicing curse at its brain stem and watched as it fell.
'Now what have I gotten into,' he cursed as he searched for the tallest tree he could find and levitated himself up by the back of his trousers to a sturdy branch high off the ground where he could get a general idea of where exactly he landed.
His emerald eyes widening into a horror filled stare when he spotted what looked like a moderately sized muggle town flooded with hordes of the inferi like creatures stumbling around the streets filled with wrecked vehicles, small fires, shattered glass from busted in windows and gore from both awakened corpses and feasted upon bodies.
After staring for a few minutes and shocked to his core at the grotesque sight before him that looked like it belonged in a muggle horror movie only more realistic, his panther's feral growl ringing through his mind finally startling him out of his shock.
Grabbing his firebolt from within his shrunken trunk and made sure Teddy was tightly secured to his chest before taking off in the opposite direction of the overrun town. Searching from a birds eye view for a safe place to set down and make camp while trying to figure out what the bloody hell happened.
After spending an hour and a half flying over a few more towns with the same problems as the last Harry landed his broom on the sturdier planks of an old looking tree house deck. The tree house itself was situated high off the ground in the middle of the wood and miles away from any of the towns he had seen so far. Temporarily deciding to make it his base for the time being until he could find something better to take shelter in away from anything that may do them harm.
Keeping a snoozing Teddy strapped to his chest as he began setting up strong protective wards along with detection and repelling charms around the base of the tree all the way up to the rafters of the treehouse roof. Once that was done he made his way inside the dusty room of the treehouse where it was obvious that it has been vacant for some time. Scanning the dust covered contents of the single roomed treehouse of he pulled his housing trunk from the fourth stud on his choker before going inside as the only things worth noting was the moth bitten red rug and curtains and a small chest filled with children's drawings. It was obvious the previous owner abandoned the treehouse to deteriorate back into nature after taking anything important to them when they left without looking back.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts of the possible theories on why the treehouse to abandoned as he walked from the reception room to the warm and comfortable looking living room and placed Teddy down on a soft fluffy blanket in the safety gated play pen near his favorite chair to continue his little flight induced nap with his new favorite stuffed black panther plush. Once activating the charm around the playpen he added to alert him to when Teddy woke up Harry shuffled his way past the small distance between him and his favorite arm chair and collapsed into it with a huff as his mind started processing the huge intake of surprises he was given the last few hours now that his body registered that he was in a safe place at the moment.
His mind whizzing with the different possibilities and scenarios that could've lead to such inferi like creatures overtaking so many towns and possibly larger. The conclusion he came to was that he needs to somehow get his hands on any type of information on as to what happened as with the amount of walkers, he decided to call them as they weren't inferi but at the same time were the walking dead, would've at least made the local news. And he would bet if it was this bad in so many small towns it would be ten times worse in any nearby larger cities as this type of thing doesn't just sprout up overnight even if that's what it seemed like to him.
Nodding to himself in agreement with his short term plan he contented himself with making an late lunch/early supper for himself and mashed up a bananas and a few strawberries in a smaller bowl with plain oatmeal and a small sippy cup of apple juice for Teddy. Later relaxing his still sore muscles in the lightly steaming warm bath with a happily splashing Teddy in his lap as he played with the yellow rubber duckies that used to fascinated a certain redheaded patriarch. Soaking only long enough to relax his back and shoulders before scrubbing himself and Teddy down with his kid friendly body wash and listening as he giggled as he washed and rinsed their hair. Tiredly grinning as he scooped the wet squealing monstrosity out of now cooling bath to dry of and slip him into his favorite onsie to sleep in after their tiring day. Dressing himself in a comfortable but loose pair of black night pants only before placing a yawning Teddy into his crib bed and watched as he quickly fell asleep in the beginning of his nightly bedtime story. Quietly slipping into his own bed and feel asleep while watching the crib illuminated by the magical fairly lights floating around the top and out of reach of the small toddler with his panther's loud purring being the last thing he remembered before he lost his half hearted fight with sleep.
The next day after a light breakfast with a still sleepy Teddy he once again strapped him to his chest where he promptly curled up onto his chest with his favorite plush and a tired yawn before stepping out of the trunk. Stretching to his tiptoes with a yawn of his own he promptly placed his trunk back in his choker while summoning his broom. With one last check to make sure Teddy was secure in his carrier he mounted his broom and kicked off in the direction he remembered the closest town was.
After a few minutes he covered the few miles in between him and his goal with the help of his beloved firebolt and just hovered a few yards above the towns highest rooftop when he arrived. A few of the walkers on one of the nearby rooftops noticed him as their growling and moaning intensified when they tried to reach for him to no avail as they tumbled and pushed each other off the rooftop. He did his best to ignore them with a grimace as he heard the cringe worthy sound of them hitting the concrete of the street below them. He flew forward a bit more to get away from the sight while steadily continuing to look for any hint of newspapers or flyers that could explain what happened and wasn't already ruined by the amount of gore and blood covering the road and store windows spread by half eaten bodies and said flesh eating corpses. Spotting a flash of off white paper in the corner of his eye as he hovered above a residential home across from a convenience store which resulted in him finding an untouched newspaper dispenser. His eyes widened with surprise at it still being full before summoning one to him through the slotted opening and checked for the right year if a few months late but the cover page showcasing a horde of the walkers reassured him it wouldn't be an issue before turning around heading back now that he had what he came for.
Touching back down on the treehouse deck he pulled back out his trunk and headed straight to the plate. to put down a sleepily grumbling Teddy who was rubbing his eyes with his small fist while hugging his black feline plushies to his chest.
'Poor cub, the displacement must have tuckered him out more than i expected,' he mused before taking a seat in his favorite deep brown arm chair and taking out the shrunken paper from his hoodies pocket. He read through what must have been the last few months worth of reports of people coming back from the dead and eating people in a horror movie like fashion with the reported cause coming from a mysterious virus that started somewhere in Europe and quickly spread to the rest of the world. The symptoms most people who contracted the virus experienced intense dizziness, nausea and blood clotting before eventually dieing with a high fever before reanimating with a ravenous appetite for the living with differing times taken to reanimate, the shortest reported to be a few minutes while others a day or two at most. Harry read all this with a frown as his mind whizzed with different possibilities before conjuring up the conclusion the virus was most likely airborne to have been able to spread so fast as if it was only bites and scratches that transfered it would've been a matter of quarantining the infected within an enclosed area with easy trackability but what caused someone not bitten or scratched to suddenly turn he didn't know as he would have to actually observe the process first. The newspaper also went into further detail on how the military had taken to gunning down multiple uninfected civilians and entire families suspected of hiding an infected family member with little evidence or urging and at the same time setting up large military ran refugee camps in different cities across the USA with the closest listed in the paper, and subsequently him and Teddy, being in Atlanta, GA.
Scrunching up his brows at this influx of information as confusion set in as he had not heard anything of the sort going on before especially since the supposed start of the virus beginning in Europe, and sure while the Wizarding World was largely separated and ignorant of the events going on in the Muggle World caused by most of the wizards and witch's not living there being largely uninterested in their actions. Still any major or mass continental impwere still reported on as it had a chance of affecting the wizarding world to, and with the level of importance this virus held the news would've spread across all of the Wizarding World. And the dates were all weird as he was just shopping in Diagon Alley yesterday while having heard of nothing pertaining to this virus and the paper says Europe had been overrun for a month or so now while at the same time having been printed a month before the date of his attack.
This had a sinking feeling settling in his gut as none of this made any sense only to freeze as an idea had a violent shudder racked up his spine as the terrifying thought of world displacement came to mind. There had only been one true case study of it in the early 1700s when a strange wizard appeared in the middle of a high class wizeadmont meeting with no sign of aperaition. After being apprehended by nearby aurors the wizard was questioned under veratiserum by unspeakable as to where he had come from and how he had broken through the extensive wards surrounding the building and highly protected room he had appeared in and during which it was founded that he was somehow from an world alternative from theirs. As the wizard revealed his world had both minor and very few major differences to their world history, with their ministry building being in a different location in the foreign wizards world. After which the wizard was placed in the ministry's mystery departments protective holding rooms as they tried to find a way to send him back and after a few unsuccessful attempts, as the wizard lost a week's worth of memory prior to arriving in their world, spread across several years he eventually died of old age as he was already in his late middle ages, for wizard's anyway, when he had arrived. It was also never proven that his was the only other alternative world out their as the choice theory came into play. A few had tried to create different ways to travel to a different world now that they knew of their existents but all were unsurprisingly unsuccessful, until now that is as all the clues pointed towards it.
A violent shiver made its way down his spine at the horrifying thought of being stranded in a completely different world with no way back, and no way to test for ways back even if he had the knowledge to do so if that was the case.
To try and reassure himself that it wasn't the case he spread out his magic as far as he could, which was quite a few hundred miles as he was one of the most powerful wizards of his time, and came back with nothing. Absolutely nothing of any sort of magic pinged, not an artifact, ward, creature or even plant could be felt for hundreds of miles in every direction except for the planet's own wild magic. It was as if the event that gave birth to magical life never happened in this world as not even the most common and wide spread magical plants could be felt, and the only thing he could feel being the planets massive and ancient feeling reservoir of Magic as it continually circulated the planet.
Calming himself down from the oncoming panic attack by slamming up his oculus shields with deep breaths, he sat their with his eyes closed for a few minutes as he listened to the calming sound of Teddy's breathing before calmly summoning the nearest copy of this worlds magical and muggle history from whatever it laid before he summoned it to his hand as he stepped out of his trunk with a quick charm to alert him if Teddy needed him. Closing his eyes for a quick second as he stood still on the aged planks of the treehouse, even if his gut was feeling him it was true he really needed the confirmation. Opening his eyes and pursing his lips as he found only a thick muggle history book lay in his hands before skimming through it. Staring unseeing as the proof of his displacement stared back at him from the harsh white and black inked pages of the hard covered book that likely came from a nearby school.
Only snapping from his trance like state a few minutes later he and blinking his now dry eyes at the sound of Teddy's charmed alarm alerting him that the one almost two year old had rolled near the gate surrounding his playpen. Turning around he stepped back into his trunk and made his way to the playpen holding his still napping godson. Fixating his gaze on the still growing like a weed one year old, now the sole reason why he would still continue on even though they were now living with in a world in the middle of an apparent zombie. Crouching down on his knees as he adjusted his small body into a more comfortable position back in the middle of the blanketed playpen with his plush as strong protective parental instincts started roaring back to life in his frozen veins now stronger then ever since there were multiple dangerous threats present outside the walls of his trunk only now they were both alive and dead. Nothing mattered to him in this new world more then Teddy, and he would decimate anything that tried to harm his cub. His panther's feeling of agreement swelling up from deep inside him as it's instincts started merging with his own.
After spending a few days within his trunk to destress by playing with a now fully energetic and mobile Teddy, he decided they needed to get a move on if he wanted to find other survivors along with a safer place to settle down in. As even though he wanted to, and could, stay with in the security of his trunk where they were and ignore the outside as much as he could. He knew that sooner or later he would have to have social contact with someone closer to his own age other than a barely two year old that could only say basic words unless he wanted to slowly drive himself crazy as even if he was a recluse it was in his nature to make social contact. In addition to that, while Teddy is his top most priority, he was still in the learning stage of how to talk and keeping him isolated from others had the possibility of stunting his mental growth.
So with that in mind he strapped an excited Teddy who was squirming up a storm and babbling nonstop on his chest and placed a stinking charm on his favorite panther toy to his hand so he wouldn't accidentally drop it during the flight. With that done he stepped out of the trunk, shrunk it down and placed it back into his choker, and took down the charms, wards and other protections he had placed around the tree house temporarily before setting off.
Finally up in the air he headed off in the direction of the refugee camp listed in the newspaper as there was a good chance he would come across someone if he went that way. Hopefully he didn't run into any, unsavory, persons on his way to find company. As with the way this world was right now the old laws of the world have come back to play and sadly most survivors or leading bodies are likely to be of the more dangerous kind, the kind who were already engaging in the old law of the weak vs the strong way before the apocalypse even started. Such laws were most likely to be taken advantage of by the desperate yet power hungry or the psychotic now that there was no government to punish them now. Lucky though, that Harry was one of the strongest, especially when it came to protecting him and his from others, and in this world he had an unforeseen advantage over them all.
Along the way to the Atlantan camp he stopped by a few sports and camp equipment stores he spotted from above to pick up believable muggle supplies that he could charm to be more lightweight and durable as most of the actual supplies he had in his choker were of the magical variety with only a few believably muggle things thrown in. So in order to prepare for his future company, at least until he found someone to confide his and Teddy's magic with, he pulled one of the larger forest green hiking bags on his back after casting a bottomless and feather light charm on it before stuffing it with anything he thought they might possibly need at while in the company of non-magis. Adding in two rolled up black colored sleeping bags, a camouflage patterned waterproof two person tent, a battery powered hot plate which he would adjust to conduct off his magic later, ten packets of water purifying tablets, a few cases of water bottles, he also added a pair of light weight steel plated elbow protectors to his arsenal. Deciding that it was enough for now he added a few non perishable food items before zipping it up and summoning the rest of the stores supplies that he couldn't reasonably carry himself, at least the muggle way, into one of his remaining empty studs to sort through later. Taking a moment to take stock of his person he checked to make sure the spells and runes were still fully functional on his clothing which is still held the appearance of a green hoody, black scale patterned stretch pants, and knee high steel toed strapped boots which had a small knife hidden in it along with another dagger he had strapped to his back partially hidden by his hoodie, a short bow and quiver filled with a few arrows which he had slung over his shoulder next to his new bag, along with a steel boa staff that he was going to pass off as a walking stick as it could twist off into a spear like short sword, Making sure everything was fully functional and not damaged once more set out again he shifted Teddy, who growing bored with the continues flying they'd been doing but content with the constant physical contact he had with his favorite person, as he played with a enchanted ball that would zoom in different directions but close enough for him to reach and make several different musical noises when caught much to his wriggly delight under a mild silencing charm. The joyous year and a half year old currently wearing a clean little red shirt covered by blue overalls and socks as he sat back to chest with his godfather in his carrier kicking his little legs and letting out a few adorable screeching giggles each time he managed to catch the little blue ball whizzing by his head and body. Shaking his head with an amused Huff as he watch his little godson while working to put away or place in their bag whatever he thought they might need from his supplies which mainly consisted of things for the little tyke like nappys, wipes, clothes, etc, before working to make them a light lunch to keep their energy up with Teddy being spoon fed a small bowl of pureed vegetables.
Continuing on with their journey they were a little over halfway to Atlanta when he slowly pulled his broom to a stop midair much to the excitement of Teddy as he wiped his little head this way and that to take in the scenery, smiling down at him as he pulled back slightly to check the map along with a quick compass charm to find which way was north, he quickly estimated he only had about 25 miles to go till he hit the edge of the city of Atlanta.
Just as he was beginning to wonder how far into the city he would have to go before they came across the refugee camp he heard the distinct sound of a struggle, with some rather creative swearing thrown in by a gruff male voice, from where he sat just above a large patch of trees in the air. Curious and wanting to at least catch a glimpse of the first survivors he's encountered since arriving he inch his broom forward after placing a reversed silencing bubble around Teddy so the little one wouldn't have to hear the sound of violence so early while he was distracted by playing with his toy.
Coming to a stop a few yards away from where the commotion was originating, hovering near the tree tops so he could peak past the branches without the worry of being spotted by anyone on the ground to watch and observe as two dark haired middle aged men fought off a small horde of fifteen or so walkers with a few well placed knives and, more interestingly, in the shorter man's case a crossbow as they were slowly being backed up against few large boulders set in the middle of the clearing the walkers has them ambushed in.
Seeing this he tentatively decided on giving the two men a helping hand as he lowered himself to crouch down on a nearby tree branch that would offer just enough coverage while not obstructing the movements of his bow, carefully drawing back the string after he'd put away his broom and aimed down. Quickly being able to short work of six walkers further in the back of the horde nearest him, the dead going down faster as his arrows joins the bolts from the shorter man's crossbow.
A few minutes later after one of the mans crossbow bolts spears through the last walkers head he watched with tensed muscles as the two men's attention shifted to scanning the general area he was crouched in likely trying to spot who had added them from the trees now that the immediate threat of being eaten by walkers was gone. Warily observing as the taller and most likely older male stepped in front of the shorter crossbow wielding man in order to partially shield him while not obstructing the path of his crossbow if needed before calling out to them, "Do either of you require any medical aid?"
Quietly observing the two men's reaction to his enquiry as they seemed to exchange a quick conversation with their eyes only before both men cautiously nodded their heads in a negative fashion, all the while trying to pinpoint exactly where the predominantly british accented voice had called from. "Then do you mind if I come a bit closer to you?" He asked as their gaze narrowed in on the exact spot where he was still crouched down on the branch waiting on their next move that may mark them as either a friend or foe.
There was moment of silence as the two men shared another quick eye conversation before the taller one stepped forward to answer with a rather cocky confidence to his voice, "Yeah, but don't try to pull anything funny, wouldn't want to hurt our helper now would we." The cautionary threat clear in the mans voice which has his panther brisling. Quickly shaking off the after affects of his panther's shared emotions before grabbing ahold of the branch below him with a firm grip and carefully swinging down to the ground branch after branch after placing a light precautionary cushioning charm on Teddy and him, the former enjoying the fun of swinging down from a tree with a bright cheery smile as his godfather climbed down from the tree like a monkey.
Landing softly next to the tree trunk he readjusted Teddy in his carrier while secretly removing the silencing charm before making his way through the small field now littered with the corpses of walkers, silently taking in their more detailed features now that he was close enough to see more then their base coloring and gender. Now that he's had a good look at them they were obviously related in some way, brothers being the likely possibility due to how many features they had in common with both having deep set eyes with differing shades of blue but both still startling in their intensity, stocky builds only with the younger being on the leaner and shorter side, while still being taller than him, and different mixes of sandy brown hair that was turning a deep brown from dirt and grim and the elder beginning to get a speckle of short grey hairs. The latter making the taller male look older then he probably was as his short chopped hair made his sandy brown hair look almost white along with a few harsh lines around his mouth and forehead he also had a broader build then the younger with wider set shoulders and chest, with a more defined and boxer jawline peppered with white, grey, and brown stubble with striking cobalt blue eyes that watched him with a hardened wary look hidden behind his cocky attitude as Harry drew closer to the two. The younger had a similar build but shorter and with less bulk in the shoulders and chest, darker hair styled in a chopped close the head bob and a shade or two lighter bright blue eyes, that seem to naturally squint, compared to the elder that watched him in a similar fashion.
His shoulders tensing in defense as their eyes finally caught on Teddy, only to slightly relax them once again as his seeker trained eyes allowed him to see the exact moment both brothers seemed to soften their stances and muscles ever so slightly at the sight of the happy Teddy strapped to his chest, who was also curiously taking in the two men as they slowly drew closer.
"Are you sure your uninjured? I'm Harry Black by the way," he decided to introduce himself once he paused a few feet away from the two men before raising a bubbly Teddy's hand to wave in greetings, "and this handsome little guy is Teddy." He finished with Teddy now starting to babble at them using real words and unintelligible noises to communicate one he heard the sound of his name. Able to catch the flashes of amusement over both brothers faces as the stared at him and Teddy with small smiles, which were really more of a quirked lip then anything, as they were obviously charmed by the cute baby.
The taller beginning to smirk cockily as he spoke once again, "Did ya really name your baby after a stuffed animal or are you pulling my leg," while gesturing towards Teddy with an amused grin that flashed teeth before returning to the amused smirk smile as the little one reached for his fingers with both hands as he stretched out his little arms and pouted adorably when he couldn't actually reach them, "My name's Merle Dixon and this little gremlin next to me is ma baby brother, Daryl Dixon." The newly revealed Daryl giving his elder brother a dry look for his name calling before dismissing him a role of his eyes as he leaned back against the large rock side behind them while still keeping his crossbow in his hands but lowered at his side.
Harry had to blink a few times to clear away the confusion he felt as he was now close enough to register the strange accent the elder brother Merle had. Even his panther who had settled down from the earlier threat as he had been pacified by their non threatening reactions towards Teddy, tilted his head curiously at the deep drawl that came out with every word Merle and possibly Daryl spoke. 'Is this what they call a southern drawl,' he mused with an amused smirk of his own.
"No, his actual name is Theodore Edward Lupin. I just call him Teddy as Theodore is a bit of a mouthful to call a baby, and it was the nickname his grandmother gave him." He answered with a shrug as he started to relax much to the brothers clear surprise, apparently not used to someone they just met being able to relax at all around them. Which was really a shame as his gut was starting to tell him they were good people despite the rocky exterior they portray themselves as. As evidenced by the way they reacted to the presence of Teddy within the first few minutes of meeting and exchanging names with them.
Deciding that they would be a good option to provide the company he'd been looking for he asked them, "Are you guys also making your way towards Atlanta?" With a sheepish grin as he raised his left arm to ruffle and play with short hairs in the back of his head that he had shortened into a undercut on the left side and back shortly after he left the treehouse, leaving the rest in a short untameable mess as usual while wondering if he could actually tame it a bit if he let it grow out like he read in some of his ancestors journals. So far all of the Potter journals he's read had the same problem he's had with the apparently cursed Potter hair that would break any and all combs run through it and was to thick for brushes, at least until they let it grow past their shoulders as it then suspiciously straighten out only to become untameable again if cut shorter then the shoulders. Personally when Harry first read this he was really skeptical especially when he read that one of his ancestors suspected that it was a family curse placed on them by a ex girlfriend, but he didn't see the harm in trying.
Narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the question asked Merle spat out, "What business is it of yours where we're headed." Daryl also narrowing his eyes as he pushed off from his spot against the rock to stand next to Merle as they both wonder what his intentions were.
Smiling even more sheepishly before stating his true intentions as bluntly as he could, being able to tell that they wouldn't appreciate any flowery words or stalling, "Well I was wondering if you guys wouldn't mind if I tagged along with you two as you seem nice enough and I'm going a bit stir crazy because the little guy here isn't much of a conversationalist yet and you're the first survivors I've come across so far." Smiling just a bit wider as the brothers eyes widened at his blunt way of speaking to them and actually telling them his true intentions behind why he asked where they were headed. Their eyes now starting to catalog his form all the way from a now quietly playing Teddy to all of his visible weaponry, bag and outfit.
Finally settling back on his face Merle gestured towards his bow, staff and few visible blades as he asked, "If you want to travel with us then you'll actually have to know how to use those, cuz we ain't going to be carting around and catering to a pansyass layabout who can't pull there own weight around the camp as most people seem to think they have the right to." He sneered in disgust as he remembered how some people acted outside of the comforts of their homes, such as some pampered gals his camping buddies would sometimes bring with them, much to his annoyance. Daryl nodding in silent agreement from beside him still not have yet to say a word and leaving Merle to act as the leader and mouth of the two brothers.
Smirking back in amusement as he was not at all insulted with the questioning before he sassed back at him, "Yes, I can use my staff and blades quite well in fact, the bow on the hand I'm just getting acquainted with but I'll tell you I can hit a squirrel clean across this clearing," he winked cheerily at them with a grin before cheekily adding, "and as an experienced medic I can most certainly say I'm healthy enough to pull more than just my own body weight around." Letting out a snort before he started crackling in amusement as the brothers choked on air at the word 'medic', Teddy looked up from where he was busy playing with one of his toys possibly wondering why he was laughing before joining in on the merry act as any child would, adorably giggling along with his beloved mummy.
Recovering from this shock Merle also joined in, chuckling as he finally relaxed his large frame now that he wasn't immediately suspicious of this attractive newcomers intentions, his arms falling loosely beside him from where he had them crossed as he straightened up before extending his hand to shake Harry's, "Welcome to the Dixon's merry band of misfits then, shortcake." Only smirking as Harry scowled up at him from where he was still shaking his hand for the nickname, his height being a sore subject for him as he'd seem to have stopped growing at 5'4 but he already has a feeling that it was all he was going to get out of the taller man, before stepping away from him. Daryl only offering a nod of his head before he started gathering his bolts from the heads and necks of the walkers, though he did do him a favor by gathering his arrows as well and handed them to him as a sign of good will.
"Come along then if your coming with us, we where tracking down a deer for dinner and jerky before these uglies ambushed us. Do you have anything you need to pick up or are you good?" He asked him before continuing on into the trees when he answered with a negative, him and Daryl closely behind.
"Just follow behind us as quietly as you can." The low and gruff voice of Daryl can finally be heard by him before he stepped in front of him in order to track the deer with his older brother with Harry following close behind them with near soundless footsteps. Watching and observing how the brothers used broken branches, hoof prints, and trail marks to effectively track the deer down.
Not to long after they found the deer quietly grazing in a small grove of wild flowers and high grass they returned to where the Dixon's had set up their campsite with a decently sized doe carried across Merle's back. Evaluating the cozy little area underneath a small rock formation as he relieved himself of his bag next to the campfire and carefully switching Teddy's strap to be placed on his back so he could help Daryl roll out a plastic sheet to lay underneath the doe after Merle hung her from an already prepared hook. Both brothers waving him off afterwords so that they could clean and skin the animal without distraction, he instead opted to watch from one of the foldable chairs he had with Teddy on his lap, only disrupting their process with the occasional question that they didn't seem to mind answering after they figured out he was actually interested in what they were doing. His eyes fixed with fascination as they first bled it with vertical incisions down both the front legs and jugular while having an empty bucket underneath to collect the draining blood so they could empty and bury it later on along with the uneatable bits far away from the camp so natural predators, like his panther who was almost salivating at the sight of fresh meat, and walkers wouldn't be able to follow the scent of it into their camp.
During which the brothers helped him set up his and Teddy's tent before dragging both the tarp and bled dry deer over by the fire where Daryl started making a base for soup with vegetables while Merle started actually skinning and gutting the deer before handing his brother a few strips of meat to cut up and add to the stew. Wanting to use his time productively while they were doing this Harry started taking out some of his blunted arrows and blades and began sharpening the tips, offering to do the same with some of Daryl's bolts and giving him some of his smaller arrows in thanks for the meal who took them with a grateful twinkle in his eye.
That night he settled into his cushioned sleeping bag with Teddy and a full belly of delicious venison and veggie soup that he had helped cook by offering up some of the herbs spices he had on hand that would help with the taste of the stew while also adding in a bag of his white jasmine rice, he quickly fell into a light slumber as Daryl took up the first watch for the night.
Subsequently after already being with the Dixon's for a few days he started picking up on more of their characteristics and personality traits, finding that he shared most of their base characteristics and liked most of their other traits expect for their unhealthy habit of smoking cigarettes whenever they deemed they needed their fix of the cancerous stick. He also noticed that like most brother the Dixon's shared quite a few similarities while also having their own individual differences that made them unique to each other.
Merle he noticed, has a more of a very straightforward in your face personality as he doesn't like to mince his words just to make you feel better with a drawn out speech when he could get out how he feels with a few, if crude or potentially vulgar, quick words on the matter but this doesn't necessarily mean he didn't care about you if he likes you enough just very subtle in the way he shows he cares. For an example, once in a while if he was out scavenging in one of the smaller towns nearby if their wasn't much walkers around he would try to bring back things he thought they might like, like extra arrows and bolts for Daryl's crossbow and his bow, a carton of cigarettes that he found and divided up between himself and his brother, and a new soft brown wolf plush for Teddy which he immediately started playing with.
Daryl on the other hand, while much quieter then his brother outside of hunting and tracking, was much the same as his brother when he finally chose to speak only less crass about it, most times, and more observant. He to would bring back little things for their small group; such as motor and vehicle magazines for Merle, a book or two on hunting and tracking for him, a small deer plush for Teddy, and a few choice reading materials for himself.
'All we need now is a black dog plush and his set would be complete,' he snorted in amusement at the unintentional irony. Another, more endearing, characteristic about the two brothers is that they were super protective of each other, Merle more so than Daryl but not by to much, and surprisingly they were slowly beginning to accept both him and Teddy into that tight circle of protection after spending almost half a month in their company.
So with that in mind and his merging protective instincts still making him keep Teddy close to him at all times, he was now allowing him outside of the baby carrier to play and crawl around the baby mat cover ground next to him with his little collection of plushies surroundings him. His trusting actions not going unnoticed by the startled brothers especially the very first time he did it as they to had definitely noticed how very protective he was of Teddy, like the time he hadn't been able to put up his usual notice me not charm around Teddy while all three of them were moving camp and had come across a small horde while out scavenging a nearby gas station and one walker in particular had made a swipe at the startled Teddy and made him cry. Needless to say that a furious growl was ripped from his throat and he'd already ripped the walker to shreds before he even consciously registered his actions and made the brothers regard him in a new light before they had to book it back to Daryl's truck when the rest of the horde were drawn to Teddy's crying. Once he had carefully vaulted into the back of the truck he had curled himself around the still wailing Teddy in order to soothed and comfort him while Daryl got them away from the grasping hands of the horde. He could remember he had been a might snappish for the following two days and had actually taken the brothers by surprise when he'd growled like and animal at them from deep in his throat whenever he deemed them to close for his frazzled nerves to handle at the time. Ever since then the two had learned he wouldn't put up with anything targeting his child and not to piss him off unless they wanted find a rather large chunk of flesh missing from their bodies. The later of which was what strangely had them start bringing him and Teddy into their fold as he'd impressed them with his viciousness and willingness to cause harm without guilt of doing so, they also seemed to like it when he didn't mind their strange ways and would participate in any verbal sparing they pulled him into with good humor and a smirk.
Slowly at first they started offering to teach him how to hunt and track of which he new the basics of from the books he'd gathered in his library and the ones Daryl would bring back for him, starting him out by getting him to accompany them whenever one or both went out hunting and told him to pointing out things he knew and patiently explained what he got wrong and corrected him as best they could on what to do when tracking and hunting. The soon picked up the fact he was a diligent student with worryingly silent footsteps, a sharp eye, and excellent aim with his bow even able to bag multiple rabbits and squirrels by shooting them in the eye for a quick death when usually new hunters aimed for the body of said animals. After they've deemed that he new enough to be able to track by himself a few days later they allowed him to take the lead for a bit in order to see how he did. Later moving on to how to quickly and efficiently clean and skin his catches, pointing out ways to see if the meat would be good or spoiled and diseased by checking the coloring of the liver of the animal, how to pull the entire skin off with a few cuts to the wrist, ankles and neck of the animal but warned him that it was better to first drench the fur so non of the stray dirty hairs got on the meat and made it easier to come off in one piece. All while Teddy was with him under a silencing charm to not scare off the animals they were tracking but allowing him to listen in whenever they were talking, and effectively learning new words and animals it made a bubble of pride swell in his chest when he learned Teddy knew the names of and could identify squirrels, rabbits and deers even if he did slur the words when he tried to say their respective classification which only made it all the more adorable to him.
Eventually during one of these hunting trips they came across a deserted quarry a few miles out from Atlanta with its own little river running down the hill a little ways away that they quickly decided to move their camp to just to be near the fresh water and game it would draw to it. Quickly unloading their tents and other supplies from the back after they scouted out the area surrounding the quarry better while making sure they wouldn't be ambushed in their sleep by walkers or other survivors by setting up their three staged warning systems around the camp consisting of three invisible trip wires attached to a series of cans hanging up in the trees surrounding the perimeter of the camp a few kilometers out with a few yards in-between each wire to alert them how close the intruder is by how loud the clanking sounds will be when touched. Harry also put up his own special kind of warning system via a minor and unnoticeable protection ward to alert him of anything and everything that even came close to them and would give him an estimate of many were with the first disturbance that he set up after excusing himself to use the loo and check on Teddy's nappy, idly wondering how in Merlin's name was he going to potty train him out in the woods with two muggles he was just starting to really trust.
A week or so into staying in the quarry and growing even closer to the Dixon brothers, he decided one night when they were just sitting around the campfire with their dinner in hand and enjoying each others idle chatter and Teddy's marginally comprehendible babble as he played with his toys, to see how they'd react if he let them hold Teddy. With the plan in mind he caught the happily babbling Teddy's attention before beckoning him to him with a wide smile as Teddy slowly stood up on his still unsure leg muscles and slowly toddled his way over to his mummy, capturing the Dixon's attention as he did so as they've very rarely seen a baby just learning how to walk. Smile turning into a grin as he swooped the adorable little tyke from where he toddled over to his knees to hold him above his head with a laugh and exited squeal from his cub before lowering him just enough to kiss him on his cubby cheeks that were showing off adorable little dimples as he laughed before standing up and very carefully depositing him in a shocked still Merle's lap. Looking him dead in the eye to convey his message to be carful with his precious bundle or else before moving his hands away and replaced them with Merle's shaky ones to support Teddy on his lap by holding onto his sides. Both he and Daryl were stunned silly by him even allowing them to hold Teddy as usually he would keep the infant close to his side when not being carried in the black and green carrier he usually always wore, before realizing with a gust of air that this was probably a test to see what they would do with a baby and if they messed this up somehow Harry would probably never let them hold the almost two year old again. They both watched in stunned silence as he moved away to pull his foldup chair near them before sitting down and watching them with a raised eyebrow and amused smirk as Merle was forcibly snapped out of his shock by Teddy bouncing up and down on his knee to show he wanted to play while also looking up at him with dazzlingly pure blue hazel eyes that shockingly look to have specks of gold in then. Merle not really knowing what to do as he wasn't to sure if he did something wrong with the infant that he wouldn't lose his head via an enraged Harry, uncomfortably glancing over at said person and his still shocked brother for help with a small frown creeping up his face as nervous sweat beaded on his forehead. Realizing he wasn't getting any feedback from the observing Harry nor his momentarily useless brother he hesitantly placed his forearm around the back of Teddy's torso to support him as he slowly bumped his leg up and down to help him bounce a bit higher to the very obvious delight of Teddy. Slowly gaining confidence from that and with a nod of approval from Harry he began to periodically bounce Teddy higher and higher sometimes even lifting him above his head for a split second like he saw Harry just do before he placed him in his lap, each time gains a squeal and batch of laughter from the sweet little youngin that was slowly but surely making him grin.
Daryl watched all this with an amusement quirk of his brow after he got over the shock of seeing his gruff and tough older brother actually enjoy playing with a comparably smaller kid on his lap and a wide grin. After a few minutes of watching the arguably cute sight and enjoying the sound of Teddy's laughter as he was carefully bounced on Merle's knee he was given another shock when his now amused older brother carefully passed over Teddy to him after Harry indicated him to. Sitting still as stone as he looked down at the little human being now sitting on his lap and steadily getting frustrated by the lack of bouncing he was receiving from the new person, snapping out of his daze just before Teddy started crying by Merle's cuff of laughter and seeing he was about to cry awkwardly imitated his brother as he to started bouncing Teddy on one of his knees, Merle snickering as he did so.
A short while later a tuckered out Teddy was passed back to a pleased Harry with Daryl also now sporting a small smile softly as he brought the dozing little boy over to him. Both brothers silently nodding their heads at him in thanks and acknowledgment of his trust in them.
Harry now smirked back at them as he held a conked out Teddy to his chest as he leaned back so he could comfortably rest on top of him as he jokingly asked the brothers, "So does this mean I can get one of you to change his nappies every now and then from now on?" and burst out laughing at the interesting mixture of disgust and scandalization on their faces followed shortly after by loud 'hell no's' from both the brothers. Tears of mirth now running down his painfully grinning red tinted face as he tried to hold back another round of laughter as he placed Teddy back into his padded carrier and leaned back into his chair to enjoy the slightly crass comedy show that was Merle as he basked in the warmth of the fire and company that he now trusted completely. 'Only thing to do now is to tell them about his magic,' he thought as he started planning out when was a good time to tell them.
Afterwards it seemed this major show of trust from Harry had then completely folded Harry and Teddy within their close knit circle that formed with Teddy now at the center as the youngest and most vulnerable member of something that was slowly starting to feel like family, something that would make them want to protect each other at all cost.
Two and a half days later.
Two days later while they were in the middle of tracking down a good sized deer together further up the hill, they were all startled by the thundering sound of bombs going off in what seemed like the direction of Atlanta, of which they had decided not to continue on to after all. Instead choosing to survive through this together outside of Atlanta as all three of had an uneasy feeling at the thought of going to Atlanta, and without any real reason not to trust their gut instincts decided to stay in the quarry until they could find a safer, more secured place to set up for the long haul.
Moving to higher ground on a high up cliff side to get a better vantage point to see what was going on and were horrified to see military commissioned choppers dropping live bombs onto the city of Atlanta and likely where the government ran refugee camp was located. Along with this horrifying sight what little speck of hope they had this would somehow end and still have some form of a justice system in tact blew up in smoke. Still wth the image etched into their minds they gave up the hunt for the day and silently supported each other back to their camp. Still reeling at the fact the world they knew before the virus really became a thing of the past in their spirits and leaving them in this world filled with real flesh eating zombies where they'll have to look out for each other even more so then they already have been as it was now likely the real crazy's of the humanity would run wild and unstoppable. Sharing looks filled to the brim with words left unspoken as made a silent pact with each other, that they wouldn't leave each other behind and that no matter what happened they would stick together and protect each other first and foremost with a napping Teddy once again at their center.
That Afternoon
Later on that afternoon after they'd just got over the shock of what they'd seen and were relaxing around the campfire as Harry reheated and added to last night's potluck they were all startled when they heard the sound of multiple engines coming up the path leading to the quarry. Quickly getting over their shock they all jumped to their feet and took up defensive positions around their small camp, Merle took on the lead position with a gun and knife in both his hands as both he and Daryl ducked behind their truck with Daryl standing close behind him as he held his crossbow at the ready. Harry on the other hand ran across the quarry to the opposite tree line with Teddy strapped into his carrier and protective runes on high gear after casting an invisible barrier around his two muggle brothers, and climbed up one tree further back and crouched down on a branch out of sight with his bow at the ready with a notched arrow just waiting for a sign that he needed to provide backup from the rear while also covering Teddy from harm with the thick trees. His panther also stood at the ready to spring forth in a partial shift consisting of claws, teeth, ears and tail if need be at any given moment. Watching with an anxious tension as a navy blue, white and tan police cruiser pulled to a stop at the beginning of the quarry followed close behind by four more cars with one small RV and a larger one.
Narrowing his eyes as the wards alerted him of the 23 people mixed between the vehicles and braced himself as a tall and broad shouldered man sporting a mini black afro wearing a deputy's uniform stepped out from the drivers side of the cop car which probably belonged to him. Keeping his main focus trained on him as he stepped from the vehicle with his hands in the air, which was almost comical if it wasn't a tense situation to see the tables turned to where the Dixon's were the ones playing as the cops and an actual cop had his hands raised in the air for them as he stepped out of his vehicle. Sensing that the largest threat to them would be the deputy out of the twenty or so people still in their vehicles, so he kept his arrow trained on the back of the deputy's head as he looked out for any sign of movement from the vehicles.
There were a few minutes of tense silence before the deputy called out to what he though was the only two people in the quarry, "Whoa there you two we don't mean you any harm. We were at a road block when we were heading up to refugee camps when we saw them drop the bombs," he paused for a second with narrowed eyes when that didn't get them to lower their weapons at all, "We would really appreciate it if you could share the quarry with us at least until it's safe." He finished with a firm note in his voice.
'Is this a**hole really trying to telling us that he and his group are going to move into the quarry whether we liked it or not,' all three seemed to think at the same time and bristled up in indignation at the audacity of these people just coming into their camp and just telling them what they were going to do, 'Well we'll just see about that bucko,' as the only thing stopping them from chasing them out of their campsite right then and there being the fact they had no idea what kind of weapons they had in the vehicles.
They tentatively started to point their guns and crossbow down at the ground except for Harry as he was left unseen in the trees behind the intruding encourage and still had his bow trained on the deputy, Shane Walsh as he had introduced himself and ready to fire at a moments notice when a small mop of fluffy brown hair curiously popped out one of the windows of the cruiser before a thin brunette women, probably his mother, pulled him back in.
The brothers shared a filled look between themselves before quickly glancing towards where he was crouched while Shane turned sideways to look behind him at the small boy in his cruiser.
Merle pursed his lip at the sight he finally fully lowered his gun barrel to his side before he stepped forward, "Alrighty then we'll let'cha stay on the other side away from us but only because you got a youngin with ya," Merle allowed with a dissatisfied scowl mirrored by his brother at his side. Turning away from them he called out in a loud voice to the opposing treeline much to the shock of the mismatched group coming out from their vehicles and wary suspicion of Shane, "It's alright shortcakes you can come out of the tree now, ya little monkey." He teased. "These people are going to stay in our quarry for a bit."
Said monkey snorted, amused by the wise crack as he swung down from the branches and lightly landed on his feet with a giggling Teddy. Smirking at the surprised expressions on the new people's faces as they watched a young adult with a little baby strapped to their chest in a baby carrier swing down the branches of the trees behind them with a bow and quiver on their back. Quickly drawing into themselves as the new arrival passed them to stand beside the two men they originally thought were the only ones here.
Having fun skipping up to the amused brothers and stood next to Daryl a bit behind Merle and, still sporting an amused smirk of his own, cheekily waved with a badly accented, "Howdy."