Summary- An immortal Harry potter finds himself rather apathetic to the world around him. Mainly due to a combination of the death of everyone he cared about over the years and numerus betrayals by those he thought cared about him. Harry really thought he put his hero life behind him for a much more quiet, human free life. But what happens when one of his rare trips outside the isolate life he met himself he finds the world has gone to hell. That the dead are walking and eating the living. Has Harry really put his saving people thing behind him, and can he really leave the group he found to find for themselves?
Disclaimer-I do not own Harry Potter or the Walking Dead. Nor do I make any money off of either one of them.
This will have slash in it. The pairing is Daryl/Harry
AN- I really am trying on this chapter but keep drawing a blank and have no idea how to go forward with this so it was a hard chapter to get out. Especially has my mind has been ran rapid with other plot bunnies or honestly further idea for this chapter further down the line. It is just getting to those point in time that are dragging out.
Chapter Twenty
It had been a couple of days since Rick and Hershel arrived back in the farm with the young teen that Harry had found out was named Randall. Something Harry had found when he, with Rick anxiously watching his every move, gave some first aid to the teen in question.
During this time, several things had been found out rather quickly. Mostly from Rick who seemed to almost ramble as he tried to explain just what was going on and how they ended up with an injured teen in the first place. Like the fact that Rick and Hershel had only meet Randall when his group had attacked the two of them when Rick was trying to get Hershel to go back to his farm.
An attack which in the end, ended up with Randall being injured in a way that made it so he could run. Something that caused him to than abandoned by the group he was part of. Which was the reason why Rick had brought back Randell to the farm to begin with.
As he refused to abandon the teen in question like the other group had. Though for some reason despite the fact that Randell was close in age to both Maggie as well as Glenn Rick continued to call Randell a kid.
The fact Rick refused to leave Randell behind even though he was badly injured was rather noble. If you didn't take in account the fact that Harry could tell Randell didn't seem to regret attack Hershel or Rick, and the fact he was injured was because of that. Or consider the fact Harry knew Randell hadn't renounced his former group in the least bit. He didn't even seem to be inclined to willingly tell the others anything about the group in fact; even after being patched up.
Hell, the way the teen was looking at the farm with a greedy gleam in his eyes, not to mention the way he watched several of the members around said farm, mainly the females and sickeningly enough seemed rather focused on Sophia in question, made the hackles in Harry rise up.
Making his instincts all but scream at him to get rid of the threat and get rid of it before it could hurt his pack; something Harry knew was a carry over from his Animagus form. And Harry knew he wasn't the only one to notice this, as both Daryl and Merle were even more on guard than they had been before. Watching the teen with eyes of a hunter that was just waiting for its prey to make the wrong move.
At the same time, it seemed that Rick had noticed something rather off about the teen in question by this time as well. Or perhaps the fact that several members of his group didn't seem to trust the teen and were rather vocal about it made it so that Rick finally decided to get some answers out of Randell. Answers up until now he had been completely unwilling to give out.
Or to be more precise Rick had sent both Daryl and Merle to get answers out of the teen. Making Harry wonder if Rick had done it this way as a way to keep his hands clean and uphold the image of the good cop he had been trying to preserve. Letting some he knew wouldn't care do what needed to be done to keep his squeaky-clean image in the eyes of the group.
Something that, at least in Harry's mind, really wasn't needed at the time; not when you consider the hell that was going on. No what was needed wasn't a goody-two-shoe cop but a leader that wouldn't mind getting his hands dirty if it meant protect what was his; no matter what may need to be done.
When what needed now, or at least for the group, it was a plyer of support the others could look up to when things seemed to get too difficult. That they could lean on when they needed the help and could count on for the support they needed in this dire time. And Harry really wasn't so sure if Rick was this leader. At least not at the time he wasn't. In all honesty he could possibly grow into it such a leader but not without something really big happening to help ensure that.
As right now Harry felt as if Rick had already lost his fight, maybe even leaving it behind on this hospital bed when he had first woken up from his coma. Then again everything that was going on was a lot newer to Rick than it was to everyone else. So perhaps he hadn't left this utter disbelieving state the others had time to adapt to? Maybe he could find his fight again, even if it was just for his own survival and the survival of his family?
Who knew, all Harry knew was that Rick was trying way too hard to cling to way things had been in the past to the law and order that had once been in place, when it wasn't any use anymore. As there really were no laws or any real order into days' time and Harry got the feeling sooner or later that was going to be something that bit Rick hard. At least it would if he didn't learn to accept the world as it now was.
This was only further proven when Harry saw his reaction when Daryl came back out of his 'talk' with Randell with some blood on his hands; mostly his knuckles. Wiping them clean as he told a slightly disturbed looking Rick loud enough for the rest of the group that was around him to hear.
"If I were you, I'd get rid of the kid. His group aint no good and he's just the same. They come here, their coming here to kill and if they win the girls are all going to end up wishing they were dead."
This seemed to really terrify everyone who heard what Daryl had said, but instead of doing something to try and calm them down Rick seemed be ignoring it as he got into an argument with Shane. Ignoring all the questions that were being thrown his way by the others and ignoring the fact that Merle, Daryl, and Harry all were watching him trying to see just what he was going to do next.
Seeing this Harry directed some of his magic in his ear so he could hear just what this whispered argument was about. As he hoped it would be something about Rick taking in to account what he just been told or at the very least heavily hinted at from Daryl.
Only to feel a bit disappointed when he heard that both Shane and Rick were arguing over what to do with Randell after Daryl had said what he had. With Shane point being they should just kill him and get rid of the risk the teen offered. While Rick on the other had argued against it stating clearly.
"We can't be like that group Shane. We don't know if he is anything like them. He could just be a victim that was brought in to boost their numbers. He's just a teen and we can't be the judge jury and executioners about this without any prove he was part of what his group did. All we have is what Daryl said and the kid might have just said things like that because he was scared."
Harry hearing this bit shook his head a bit at Rick as he reminded him of, well him. Or at least him before the war really got bad. Before he had to deal with betrayal, death, and all the pain that came with War. All he could do was hope that Rick didn't have to go through nearly all the thing he had to, to learn that life wasn't nearly fair.
But Harry got the feeling that that is what it was going to take to make Rick prepared for this world. A feeling that only grew when he heard Rick pled with Shane that they could just take Randell somewhere and leave him there. That they didn't need to kill him that they didn't need to be killers.
Something that Harry knew would only aggravate Shane more than he already was as Harry knew that Shane, like several others of the group was already a killer, that he had killed to protect the group. As Shane, like several other of the group, had already learned that it wasn't only the walkers you had to fear in today's time.
No, some humans could be even bigger monsters then walkers every could be. That had been true before Walkers had even begun to show up and it would be true when they all hopefully disappeared. As a cop, or a former cop really, Rick would have realized this long before now.
Hell, Shane was close to become one of those monsters with how he reacted to something, and Harry got the feeling Randell was either one himself already or pretty close to become on as the look of utter disgust on both Daryl as well as Merle's face spoke that much in itself.
Though Harry did notice Merle seemed to make sure that he put himself between Randell's line of sight and Sophia. Again, making his hackles rise and after recalling just what Daryl had warned about wondered just what the two brothers had found out.
And that if it was what he feared it was he fully agreed with what Shane was suggesting doing and just putting the teen in question out of everyone misery for the safety of the others in the group. As well as anyone else the teen may run acrossed because if he did what Daryl hinted at and they simply let him go anyone he hurt afterwards would be blood on their hands. Or at least that is what Harry felt at the moment.
Unfortunately, it seemed that it wasn't going to go that way as Rick had managed to talk Shane into releasing the teen in question somewhere else far away from the farm. Making Harry curse in his head slightly and wondering if he should speak up before remembering that the conversation in question was both whispered and far enough away that Harry shouldn't be able to hear it in the first place. Not to mention Shane really didn't like him and would blow him hearing their conversation out of the water in the worst way he could.
So, for now all Harry could do was wait and see how things turned out. Something he felt highly unformattable in doing and he could see the same was for several others of the group, with the main ones begin Merle and Daryl who Harry could tell were debating following behind both Shane and Rick as the left with Randell. Most likely to permanently take out a threat to theirs.
Something Harry would certainly follow and help them out with if they did do so. As Harry wasn't going to let anyone threaten the children of this group. Especially not Sophia, who had long since grown on not only Harry but Daryl and Merle as well.
She was just too sweet not to have done so. Not to mention she didn't show any of the prejudice the rest of the group seemed to and always thanked the three when they helped either her or her mother; so yes she grew on them. And because of that they would always do their best to protect her and not let a threat like Randell seemed to be get ahold of her. Even if they had to do it on the sligh.
Or at least that was what Harry was thinking when the car door that Rick, Shane, and Randel had just gone in slammed open. Before Shane literally threw the still bound Randell out of it while spitting out.
"He knows Maggie. Hell, he knows where we all are, and he can lead the others of that damn group of his straight to all of us if we let him go."
It seems the 'message' both Merle and Daryl gave him earlier loosened his tongue a bit more than Harry thought and when the Teen saw he was being led to car with no idea where he was going to be taken, he blurted out even more information.
Information that made it so there was no way Shane was even remotely willing to let him go. Now Harry wanted to see how Rick was going to react to this bit of information. Just what was he going to do next.
Would he continue arguing with Shane? Would he listen to what Daryl and Merle knew about Randell? Would he think about the dangers that the rest of the group would be in if Randell did lead his group here? And if he did think on this just what would he do to prevent that from happening? Yes, Harry was highly curious just what Rick would be doing next.
Or at least Harry had been now he only found himself a little bit exasperated as he found out that Rick's choice was to have something close to a vote on what should be done. Yes, Harry could see that it was a decision that would go over well as everyone would get a say in what was done. And there was a reason a democracy was so popular. But there were also a negative to this.
One, not everyone in the group knew all the information about Randell so they wouldn't really know just what they were voting for. And then two, sometimes a chose that could be between a matter of life or death needed to be made in an instant and couldn't be made through something like a vote. As there simply wouldn't be enough time to be able to do so.
As a leader Rick should be more firm in his decisions and then be willing to pay the cost if he was wrong. Harry certainly had and it made him learn, but what Rick was currently doing was just pushing off the decision that he knew needed to be made. As if to say if this goes wrong it wasn't his fault, very similar to how he had Daryl and Merle do the dirty work of questioning Randell in the first place.
Sighing slightly at this Harry knew that he was being too hard on Rick, as Rick wasn't raised during a war, expected to make the important decision and instead was raised for the most part in a rather peaceful world. Not only that but he had also only been woken up in the currently hell for a couple of months and hadn't fully adapted to the world as it was now.
Beside the direction they were going was close to his home so it would be too hard to direct them there, even if Harry first had to expose his magic to them. Something he hadn't done yet despite knowing he needed to so in that regrade he wasn't much better than Rick so who was he to criticize the man?
As it wasn't like he was speaking up to make the decision he was asking Rick to make now was he? Even if at the same time the main reason he wasn't doing so was avoid the drama he knew that doing so would caused due to both Lori and Shane. That and because he knew that the majority of this group seemed to see Rick as the leader and considering how dangers it was right now there really didn't need to be any more drama than there already was.
Knowing this and knowing it really wasn't the time to get in such thought Harry turned back to the vote that was currently going on. Turning back just in time to hear Carol, who seemed to be growing quite the backbone now that she had her daughter back with her, ask Merle.
"How sure are you and Daryl about what Daryl said? Is Randell that big a threat? I have seen you putting yourself between him and my daughter and I know you wouldn't do that for no reason. So just how dangerous is Randell?"
Hearing this, Harry turned to face both brothers wanting the same answers Carol was asking for and at the same time respecting both brother way too much to try and read if from their minds; at least not without their permission. While at the same time not having the opportunity to be alone with Randell to get it from him.
So, all he could do was try and figure out what he could from everyone reactions and that was something that was rather difficulty given the fact Harry wasn't the best with human interaction due to the fact he often spent years away from all human contact. Luckily, it seemed that Merle had no problem answering Carol's question and he did so in his usual blunt way leaving no room for any doubts as he did so.
"Kid's sick in the head. Just like the rest of the group he's part of. And trust me he is part of the group. Took part of nearly everything they did. Enjoyed it too, liked the power it gave him. He's good at acting pitiful, I give him that. But I've met people just like him and they only regret it when they get caught and have to face the punishment. That's the only reason he's acting like he is. Like Darilna said, you let him go he's going to bring his group here and make a merry hell of the place." Here Merle spat to the side in disgust before finishing up what he had to say.
"And I'm keep you daughter out of his sight cause the sick fuck is too interested in her, if you get what I'm trying to say." This was met with a gasp of horror and Harry had to stop himself form simply apparating out of there and taking care of the threat that Randell was himself.
But he did promise no matter how this vote went he would be dealing with Randell one way or another and he could see the same look in both Merle and Daryl's eyes so he wasn't nearly as worried as he had been before. Knowing this, Harry relaxed slightly and waited to see how what had just been said would go down.
Harry found that he didn't have to wait long and despite the fact that a few members of the group didn't seem to want to believe what Merle had said. Mainly Dale who seemed to in the same world Dumbledore did and wanted everyone to have a second chance no matter what they did, the group as a whole all voted to put a more permanent end to Randell.
Something Harry was rather happy about. Though he felt that only time would tell if Rick had the guts to carry out the sentence he had given. If not, he knew three others, himself include, that would gladly carry it out if given half the chance. After all Harry sure as hell wasn't going to let a threat like Randell near those he had grown to care about. Not if he could help it.
A.N- I am not a hundred precent sure that I like this Chapter but currently my head feels like a rung out sponge so here it is. Also, next chapter should Harry do a large amount of magic to safe the others on the farm like putting out all the fire so he can safe the others and thus exposing his magic or should he keep it hidden a bit longer? What is your opinion on this?