Chapter 34: The End?
I've run out of things to write, so I'm going to end it here for now. I might come back to it. However, that is not likely. It isn't one of my better stories. Feel free to continue, rewrite, or fanfic this. Just drop me a link so I can read it.
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"Doggyman, there is being bad men at the wards. They is not getting in, but they is being having wizards," Dobby said as he popped in. He was pulling on his ears in distress.
"Get the kids and elderly out of here," Sirius yelled, waving his wand and cutting off the music. "I want half of you in the air, the other half follow me. Anyone under fifteen and over forty-five get out," he said, barking orders, making everyone scramble to comply.
"We'll need vehicles," Guillermo said, wanting to run and gather the elderly that had come. The rest were already home. "The healers will stay," he added, waiting for a response. He was poised to run at the first sign that he had the go ahead.
"Take as many vans as you need," Sirius said, waving him to go.
And go he did.
"How do you want to do this?" Kingsley asked, waiting for orders.
"Sirius, what about me?" Harry asked, worried that he'd be left behind, even though he was fifteen.
"I want everyone between fifteen and twenty-five in the air," Sirius ordered, thinking the kids would be safer up in the cars. "The rest come with me," he reiterated, moving towards the front of the tent.
"That makes more sense," Daryl grumbled, moving to follow Sirius. He was twenty-six. His brother fell in line with him, both already packing. They never went anywhere without weapons.
"Get your guns, people," Merle yelled, knowing there was an armory here.
There was a mad rush to get armed, then those assigned went to the car tent. Lori, being the only pregnant woman, went with the kids. Rick found Michonne and they went with Sirius. It was all hands on deck and they made an impressive sight storming down the hill at the people who were trying to break the wards.
"Who the hell are you?" Sirius asked as they got close enough. There standing right outside the wards was a man and fifty others. They were all armed to the teeth with guns and wands.
"You took all my resources," the man in front said, his eyes a bit crazy. Ten of those men were wizards. "I want them back." He was snarling, like a rabid dog.
"That does not answer my question," Sirius stated, miffed that the man was being obtrusive. He was concerned about the wizards, especially the ones trying to break the wards. He just hoped they held.
"I am Negan, and these are my men, the Saviors," the man answered, waving to the men he mentioned. They all snarled and were ready to start firing at the drop of a hat.
"You are saviors of nothing," Sirius replied. He shook his head at the audacity of naming someone that. It was worse than Death Eaters. At least with the latter you knew they were evil.
"Those communities were mine," Negan stated, almost yelling.
"Now they are mine," Sirius rebutted. Not sure why he was arguing with a crazy man.
"We protected them," the man stated, like it was true. And in a way it was, however, he also abused them.
"You conned them you mean. Your so called offered protection was just a mask for coercions. You weren't protecting them. You were using them. They are now safe and well cared for," the leader said, waving at the healthy people behind him.
"I look out for my people," Negan said, with a smirk. "They do what I say, and they get what they need," he added, that crazy look still in his eyes.
"You'll never get through my wards," Sirius said, hoping it was true.
"My warders say different," Negan said, nodding to the two who were trying to bring them down.
"Sam, Mac, stop the warders," Sirius ordered, lifting his wand, and firing a warning spell at Negan. Just a stunner for the moment. He wanted the man to take his subordinates and run. They really couldn't lose any humans. This man might have children that could save the world. However, he wasn't going to let him cause harm to anyone under his care.
Negan, having been warned, ducked and fired back with his gun, which almost made it passed the wards. The bullet was slowed down enough to be ineffective, but it did get through.
"Leave," Sirius said, giving the man one more chance.
"No, I will take over this compound and these people will serve me," the crazy man said, giving the go ahead to start firing. And the battle ensued.
Spells and gunfire flew from both sides. Though the wards were keeping the enemies' fire out.
It was a massacre. Sirius had over two hundred people to the man's fifty. None of the other side survived. The wards however took a beating. They would need a day or so to recharge. That meant patrols would need to happen.
"Check on the other sites," Sirius ordered the people in the cars. They just flew off at his command.
"You know what this means, right?" Merle asked, watching the bodies be banished.
"No, what?" Sirius said, tired from the long day of celebration, and then the letdown that they couldn't finish on a good note.
"People know where we are," the redneck said, scratching his chin with the barrel of his gun.
"Good, maybe that will bring more survivors," the weary man said, then he turned and started handing out assignments for watch.
"That also means that all those like the Governor and this Negan will show up too," Merle stated, watching everyone move around to get situated.
"Then we'll face them, just like this time. We have to, if there's going to be any humans left," Sirius said, turning to head back up the hill. "If they are smart, they'll research first. That way I won't feel so shitty about gunning them down like nothing."
"We could go and recruit from other communities. I mean not everyone under people like Negan want to be there," Merle stated, thinking out loud.
"I said it before, we are not the police of this new world. If they want to leave, we'll accept them, but I'm not going to start wars over it," the leader stated, making a final gesture with his hand. He never turned around, just kept on walking.
"Jest sayin'," the redneck said as he spit tobacco on the ground.
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The next day Harry called Hermione to see how things were going. And to tell her about their holidays and the attack.
"Hey, Hermione," Harry said, when her face appeared.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so glad you called. So much has happened here," she said in one breath.
"Oh, what?" Harry asked, waving Sirius and Remus over.
"There was an attack last night," she said, her face a mask of concern. "They almost got through the wards."
"Wow, really? The same thing happened to us," he said, looking at his dogfathers, who also exchanged glances.
"How odd," she said, her face turned to contemplation.
"Was it Voldemort?" Sirius asked, nudging Harry to the side a bit.
"Yes, he wants Hogwarts for himself," she said, then shook her head, and added. "Well, I should say wanted. He's dead."
"Finally," Harry said, then asked, "How?"
"Well, we've restarted the Floo system, so when he attacked, we started Flooing the students out and some fighters came to help. It was Neville who dealt with Voldemort," she said, her face a mask of wonder.
"Shy Neville?" Harry asked, also in great wonder.
"Yes, it seems that he had grown up since we last saw him. He no longer listens to his grandmother," she explained. "He told me that St. Mongo's was over run and everyone there turned to zombies. Including his parents. Because of that, he had to take up his title, which is really meaningless in the long run, but it gave him the confidence he needed to grow up."
"Wow, I am completely shocked," Harry said, then turned to Sirius, "Do I have a title?"
"Yeah, but like Hermione said, they are completely meaningless now," his godfather answered, rubbing his chin.
"I guess," he shrugged, not really wanting to be all lordy. "So Voldy is dead, huh. Does that mean that Dumbledore is going to stop bugging me?"
"I really wouldn't know," she said with a shrug. "He hasn't said anything to me." She turned her head to the side, and then turned back with a smile. "Mum says 'hi'."
And with that the conversation turned to light stuff. Sirius and Remus went to do damage control after last night's battle. That and to complement everyone for their fast responses.
When Harry was finished talking to Hermione, he went to find his godfather. He found him in his office and asked, "Can we get on the Floo? Maybe contact the schools here in America. I'm sure some of our magicals know how. Mac was an Unspeakable, he has to know how to set it up."
"I'll ask him," the man said, getting out his mirror and calling Mac. "Can you set up the Floo? I'm sure we have powder," he said, looking at Harry's hopeful face.
"I think so. Maybe in the wizarding tents. I never thought to do so. What with everyone behind wards," Mac confessed. "How about you send a mirror to the nearest school, and we'll start there."
"Good idea," Sirius said, thinking on which was the nearest, probably the one in Massachusetts. Ivermore? Or something.
There was a bit of back and forth between Ilvermorny and them, and soon the Floo was connected, but only voice for now. They were still in negotiations. At least they now had connections.
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Merle was right, they did start coming. It was like the community was a beacon of hope. There were people showing up as singles and groups. The wards were now over half the city, which led to wide areas being completely free of zombies. More and more showed up until they started trickling off. Like there were no more survivors without a place to stay.
Teams still looked, and everyone still had to do self-defense nightly. Mostly because there were still those like the Governor and Negan. Men bent on ruling the humans of the world. Not to mention the ones that the wards didn't let in.
There were also many of the magical enclaves that protected both magical and non-magical alike. Hogwarts was one of those places, as were the schools around the world. So, the human race was not lost, just endangered. The ones in the USA were all connected now, along with Atlanta.
Schooling was started in Atlanta with the help of those schools. Everyone was taught both magic and normal. The non-magical were taught what magic was and what it could do. Everyone had to do the basics, math, English, science, and so on. They were hoping that one of this generation would discover a cure.
As it was, they were still banishing the dead. Funerals were not a thing, but wakes were, sans bodies.
Sirius lifted the chastity wards, after letting everyone know. There would soon be more babies than Lori's, which was a little girl. Rick finally left her, at the request of his son, and was now dating Michonne.
The Governor had tried to attack the campground, thinking that that was where everyone lived, since it had the most traffic. He didn't get far and lost most of his 'army' to Sirius, who made a good argument that they shouldn't be fighting. Basically, he told them if they could get through the wards they could stay. Not everyone liked the Governor, so it was rather easy.
The Governor took those that didn't leave him back to his compound and tried to rally them into fighting the larger group again. Shane killed him and took over. The group decided to try and find more like-minded people. Vowing that he would come back someday to get Lori and his child.
They disappeared and were never heard from again.
Zombies still numbered in the billions, and Sirius made sure that everyone he could contact knew that if someone died, they needed to be beheaded, or banished. It was the only way this would stop until someone found a cure.
As for Atlanta, well it was the utopia that Sirius had wanted it to be.