Walking Dead Wizard

Chapter 44

Three nearly four weeks had gone by, and the prison had undergone an immense change, between all of them they were working from the crack of dawn until it got dark. They had electricity, thanks to Oscar who had been assigned to work in that area before the apocalypse. The back up generators were run with diesel something else they had to get when they were out scavenging but nobody was complaining, they also could actually take a shower now and no longer smelt rotten to do that they'd had to go to a hardware store, the first three they'd hit had been pretty much empty but on their fourth attempt they'd successfully gotten everything they needed for the moment. The most disconcerting things for the women in the group was how used to the smell they had gotten.

Harry stood in front of the prison, thinking on the past few weeks, and yes he knew how long it had been, the others did too. Harry had brought in a calendar and marked it every day during breakfast whether he was the one to cook or not. It was astonishing how much could change in a short time, but given the close quarters and the relief that they no longer had to continue running every day, and had somewhere they could settle down, and actually have conversation - all while working for most part admittedly, it made for changes that truly were for the better - they grew closer, stronger as a unit and they would need to remain that way.

Hearing a childish giggle, he turned just slightly, observing Mira with Andre, his lips twitched. She had taken his word to heart and had ensured Andre was always watched. He was grateful for it; he'd already had to keep a child safe because neither Lori nor Rick had seemed inclined to. The thought of that sweet innocent boy walking around a walker made a shudder run up his spine. No, in the past it had taken a village to raise a child, now it would be that way now too. Andre was too young to train right now, but Mira had joined in, or rather he had ordered her to do so. She was decent enough with a sword (probably harnessed out of sheer need during the outbreak) but shooting was a problem, but she would get there, Carol was too, becoming quite a good shot, although she still had a long way to go, Sophia helped along no doubt, Carol didn't want to be protected by her daughter, she wanted to do the protecting. There was always going to be a sense of competition, a desire to be better, but Harry kept it as minimal as possible, even Andrea had settled down, no more thoughtless acts (yet), no more desire to be better than everyone else. She had grown comfortable in her own skin and seemed content with her place in the group and he hoped it continued.

"He's growing so quickly," Mira commented as she moved to stand beside Harry, he had been avoiding her, or at least she'd assumed so until the others told him he was a bit anti-social, a complete contradiction to what she expected but the war must have changed him. The wizarding war had helped Harry prepare for this world; there was no doubt about it. Maybe one day he would relax and actually live a little. The more she observed him the more she wondered if he had ever lived at all. The irony wasn't lost on her given the title he was known by all over the world.

"The nutrition potion I put into the soup will have helped that," Harry revealed, everyone's soup, but only those who needed it would be affected. He'd did it mostly for her and Andre, they had been skin and bone when they were first introduced, Mira more so, due to the fact she had been giving the little boy more of what she found for them to eat.

"You make potions?" Mira's breathing hitched, how had she not tasted it? Thinking back, trying to remember if she'd had soup the first few days and she could remember yes, they had, all of them had actually. She knew her potions, so she was torn between shock, mortification and annoyance at his pronouncement.

"I haven't had a chance yet, but I cleared out the apothecary at home before I came here," Harry answered honestly, wondering at her hitched breathing, was she feeling envious or just missed being able to discuss magic in general? He would find somewhere to brew and ward it to the max so nobody could see it.

"But you plan to?" Mira asked her voice hushed and hopeful.

Harry blinked and turned to stare at her, "Yes, we'll need them sooner or later." he would rather be prepared than caught unawares. The cold Andrea had, had been passed on to Dale and Amy, being in close quarters well lets just say it was better safe than sorry.

"Can I help?" Mira enquired a hint of pleading in her voice, seeing the look on his face, "What? You don't think squibs can brew potions?" she asked bitterly.

"Do not tell me what I think," Harry stated sharply, green eyes glowing in annoyance, it tapered off slightly at the fear in her eyes, damn it, he hadn't meant to scare her but he'd be damned if he let anyone presume to know him. Especially someone who had obviously only ever heard tales of the Boy-Who-Lived. He was, nor had he ever been the man or boy they portrayed him to be. "It's just been my experience that most squibs prefer not to have any association with the magical world and yes, that includes potions. Squibs do have magic, just not enough to access it with a wand, so yes I'm very aware that you can brew potions."

"Oh, sorry," Mira apologised, "I'm just not used to…" she trailed off he knew without her having to say more.

"Yeah, well, I'm not them, and the sooner you realize that the better, although I'm sure we'll get our wires crossed at one point or another." Harry said wryly, giving her a smirk. "Have you brewed often?" he then asked in pure curiosity.

"Yes, it's how my father and I made an income well other than what he had in his trust vault," Mira explained, "He taught me everything I know, he even bought the books here when he was eleven." all that was gone, she'd had to leave her home and things behind and run for her life, her little home had been overrun by walkers, if she hadn't maintained that underground tunnel she would have been gone. "Nobody knew they were buying from a squib of course," now that would have guaranteed the business going bust. Such things no longer mattered, money wasn't the currency of this realm whether it's Dollars, British pounds or Galleons, no guns and food and medicine were now the currency one went by.

"Alright, but I'm still looking for somewhere that's safe," Harry informed her, not elaborating due to the fact Andrea was approaching.

"I understand," Mira nodded, not only did he need somewhere to brew away from prying eyes, it needed to be somewhere that wouldn't be affected if there was an explosion.

"That's the garden watered, they're looking a lot better now," Andrea said, looking relieved. They had dried up a little, but since they'd put large containers outside to catch any rain that fell, unbeknown to them Harry sometimes added to it if they were getting a little low, they were able to water the plants and trees without too much trouble. They'd been left to dry a bit too much while they were busy getting the prison into some semblance of normalcy, so they could live comfortably.

"Everything?" Harry asked they wouldn't produce anymore after they were done now that it was winter, but it had helped them eat healthy for the past month so he couldn't complain.

"Yes," Andrea nodded, idly removing the gardening gloves she had on, shaking the soil from them at the same time.

"Good," Harry answered.

"I'd like to come out with you tomorrow when you and Daryl go scavenging." Andrea asked stiffening her shoulders knowing it would be a fight to get him to agree. He was overprotective, didn't like too many people going hunting, Merle and Luna obviously went together, as a couple they would want alone time. Harry usually went with just Daryl, who better to have your back than a fellow hunter? A few times they'd all gone; he always denied them when they offered, far too protective.

"Why didn't you go with Merle and Luna?" Harry queried puzzled.

"They were gone before I got a chance to catch up with them," Andrea revealed, Harry and Daryl had been on watch last night, so Merle and Luna went scavenging. The nights that Merle and Luna were on watch, Harry and Daryl went. Sometimes it was just to hunt for animals other times it was to scavenge. They always brought back good hauls, the soaps, sanitary towels and toothpaste had been a very welcoming sight for them all.

Harry chuckled, "I sincerely doubt they're getting much of anything done," they were in their utterly horny stage of their relationship, he had threatened Merle a total of twenty times since their relationship began, he knew what Merle had been like and he didn't want Luna hurt, even though she could look after herself, he loved her, and wanted her to be happy, and wasn't going to allow anything to make her unhappy. Luna had called him 'the most annoyingly overprotective brother ever', she'd repeated it a few time since, he'd always considered her a sister, but to be teasingly told that by her had made him feel happier than he had in a long, long time.

"Too much information," Andrea cringed, she honestly didn't understand what Luna saw in Merle Dixon, although admittedly he had calmed down a bit since they'd started dating. He wasn't as crude as usual, no he just saved it all for Luna, who just seemed amused and came back with as good as she got. It was kind of funny to hear them sometimes, the sarcastic retorts flowing back and forth. He was still volatile, but not the way he had been back at the quarry, the drugs probably majored in that. She still thought he would abandon them if he had to, to save his own skin. Maybe time would prove her wrong, in fact she would love it if she was, for Luna's sake, but a leopard didn't change its spots. She had to remind herself that they had gone looking for Sophia, they didn't need to, but they had, perhaps the gruff exterior hid something more.

Mira laughed a little at the look on Andrea's face.

Breathing out softly, flexing slightly, that was the wards strengthened for this month, "Just because you aren't overly fond of him, it doesn't mean it's not entitled to be happy, however it can be found in an apocalyptic world." truthfully he was envious of Luna and Merle, they had the guts to go for what they wanted, he never could, never would be able to. He would content himself with friendship, it was even more important now, if he even dared to reveal his feelings Daryl wouldn't react well and both brothers would probably become intolerable because of his…sexual orientation. He wasn't going to let himself be put down, not even by the brothers, no matter how fond he was off them and he would leave, which would make Luna feel split in half, he didn't want that. "Now I best go and deal with those walkers," they were all grappling at the fence, cut off from their food and growing angrily because of it.

Harry stalked down the path, there were many knives and sharp implements hanging from the fences, they used them while training and were there in case of an emergency. Whether they found a weakness in the fence, his wards came down; someone deliberately let them in there were so many possibilities his war mind had come up with. Unsheathing his knife he began the ardours task of getting the walkers in the head through a linked fence.

"You should slow down, son," Dale commented as he joined Harry, the homemade spear implement was his weapon of choice as he joined Harry. "You need to take a break, all this work isn't good for you." he never settled down unless it was to eat or sleep, they'd all tried to get him to take a break but he never did.

"Ah, but life is always going to be on the fast track now, Dale, just a different fast track than people are used to." Harry commented as he thrust the blade through the walkers head. "If we don't do what we can to secure this place completely…then we're going to be on the run looking for another place again and doing it all over from scratch, it's not really something I want to do. For better or for worse, this place is decent enough."

"For one so young, it's disconcerting that I cannot argue with your logic," Dale sighed in resignation, it was true and he had no refute for that statement. Thrusting the spear through the eye socket and the walker fell with a thud.

"Now we both know that's not true," Harry snorted wryly, "You're not one to shy away from what you think, and despite the fact it's annoying I do respect you for it at least the fact you speak up, not the subject in which you chose to speak up about."

"I am grateful for what you're doing for all of us," Dale said as he dispatched the second last walker, as Harry finished the last one off. He was keeping Amy and Andrea safe, he would always be grateful for that; he loved those girls like they were his own. His wife had miscarried and they'd found it too hard to try again, he couldn't imagine loving any child more than Amy and Andrea.

"Did any of those jumpers…I mean sweaters that were brought in fit you?" Harry asked, glancing at Dale who was once again in those Hawaiian shirts he preferred. He couldn't be warm in those, the weather was quite chilly.

"No," Dale commented, waving the spear off to the side, trying to get rid of the blood spatter and brain matter off it. He didn't like being complimented, but that was something Dale had come to realize over the course of the last month. The girls especially had continuously thanked him, glad to be safe, and Harry had continued to brush it off as if it were nothing.

Harry nodded, noticing Daryl coming around the side so made quick work of getting the gates open for him.

"Dale do we have a wrench?" Harry asked, moving away, he knew Daryl would close the gates.

"Yes, quite a few actually," Dale commented, he was in charge of all the tools, which were kept in a large toolbox, one in their home and the other in the RV both boxes had everything they could conceivably need for any job.

"Thanks," Harry called, it was time to get his own project done, which was to get those bunk beds out of his cell, he wanted a proper bed but one wouldn't fit with them inside. If this place was going to be there's he wanted something to be his for as long as it was. He'd spent his childhood in a damn cupboard and teenage years on a rickety old bed with springs digging into his back; he just wanted to do something for himself. He hated that it felt wrong, but he was doing this for himself, he'd done all he could for the others to make it easier for them, it was his turn now.

"Hello, Carol," Harry said giving her a genuine smile as he entered the 'cafeteria/kitchen' which was where Amy, Carol and Axel were currently washing and drying the plates, which were miss matched to the extreme but nobody cared. "Axel, Amy," giving them a nod as he walked over to the little niche under the stairs and dragged out the toolbox.

"Is everything alright? I can help if you need someone strong," Big Tiny said in his usual soft voice.

His voice definitely didn't fit someone with the big stature that Big Tiny had (he was never called anything else and never revealed his name despite the fact they all knew it due to the fact they'd seen his prisoner file), even more than ever Harry saw him as a Hagrid. He was extremely hesitant still about killing walkers and that was a month of defence lessons under his belt. The three guys who had been in the prison to begin with were fitting in quite well, their willingness to help any task that required doing also helped along the way. They didn't slouch off; they worked just as hard as everyone else. "No, I don't think I'll need help but I'll let you know if I do."

"Alright," Big Tiny said in agreement as he moved over to Axel and began to quietly talk to him.

"Here, you didn't eat much at breakfast," Carol said, handing over an apple to Harry, giving him a pointed look.

Harry accepted it with a grin, Carol had truly taken on the role of the mother to them all, she even did it with Daryl and Merle, while Daryl had warmed to it Merle still grumbled. Giving her a nod he walked out with the wrench over his shoulder biting into the apple, too bad she hadn't made cookies today, now she made the best cookies.

It didn't take long for him to reach their cell block, Big Tiny, Oscar and Axel had continued to use the other cell block, Mira and Andre were in the main one with Harry and the others next to Andrea and Amy. Clambering up the stairs, Harry entered his 'room' and methodically began to remove the screws (with the aid of magic making it easier) from the floor keeping the bunk exactly where it is. He wasn't exactly sure how he would get it down the stairs but he'd manage somehow.

He had just removed the first of the four when something barrelled into him, a wet tongue licking at his neck. "Hey, boy," Harry said grinning, flipping the screw into the unused sink, and leaving the wrench on the floor before scratching and petting at Anubis who had been outside with Sophia. If Anubis wasn't with him he was always with Sophia and Andre. He assumed Anubis may have had an owner with kids and was protective of them, or it was just something he chose to do with them anyway. He wasn't very knowledgably about dogs, just what he saw and observed. Scratching at his belly, he heard moving around down stairs.

"Sophia is that you?" Harry called.

"Yes, Harry, mum asked me to get everyone's laundry," Sophia called up; the large basket at the side of the stairs was for clothes. "Come on Anubis!" Sophia called. She wanted to get her chores done so she could read the books Harry had brought especially for her back from scavenging. He'd promised when she said she missed reading, after seeing all the child books he'd brought in mostly for Andre to be read at night.

Anubis didn't move causing Harry to laugh a little, "I think he's going to be staying with me," he informed her, knowing without looking she was pouting.

"Traitor!" she muttered quietly, shaking her head, as she began to drag the basket out the cell block and back to her mum.

Harry who heard laughed, as he patted at Anubis, before picking up the wench, trickling his magic through the screw then beginning to unscrew it. The crunching of food was the only thing other than the grinding of metal to be heard in the room, as Anubis ate his kibble as Harry continued his work. All the vegetable seeds had been planted, at the back of the prison nearer the water supply that and it wasn't so obvious people were there. He had been reading all the books he had in hopes of finding a spell that would work, one that would make the prison look empty, but not to his own people, but there was nothing, if he put that spell up they'd probably think the prison had been overrun. He and Luna were trying to come up with an idea that would work out, so far they hadn't had any success whatsoever.

"Need a hand?" Daryl asked, as always the hunter was extremely quiet in his approach.

Not quiet enough since both Anubis and Harry had heard him, admittedly only just it was difficult to be unheard when it was metal you were moving on and had heavy boots on. "Not yet, although I have no idea what the hell to do with it, I was thinking one of the empty rooms, never know when they might come in handy." Harry admitted straining to get to the other screws.

"You want to help others then?" Daryl asked, leaning against the wall, watching Harry closely. "Carol spoke to me about it earlier."

"About helping people?" Harry asked, slightly surprised, it had taken Carol the longest to warm up to the others, although if he wasn't mistaken she had a little crush on Axel. "Well…that's unexpected,"

Daryl snorted nodding wordlessly in agreement, knowing what Harry was thinking about without needing to have his abilities.

"Was she serious?" Harry couldn't help but wonder out loud.

"She says she knows I can tell a good guy from a bad guy," Daryl admitted, and he could, he was shocked that she'd actually been observing him back as he observed the others.

"Technically you tell when someone is lying to you," Harry corrected her misconception, "And what do you think?" he doubted he would ever leave someone if they needed his help, as long as they weren't the wrong sort. It would be easy enough to see if they were but it would take more than just his word...or at least he'd assumed so, judging by Carol's statement, maybe not. He wasn't the hero he used to be, but he wouldn't damn anyone to a lonely existence trying to get by in this apocalyptic world. Not to come across people who were really bad and end up dead.

Only time would tell.

"It's a good idea," Daryl shrugged his tone impassive as if he didn't really care either way.

Harry peered out from under the bed, giving him a pointed look, letting him know he wasn't fooled by his nonchalance. "I never brought it up because I didn't think anyone would be amendable to the idea." Harry mused sliding back under moving to the other side of the bed and getting that last screw (they were more like bolts really) and before long the bunk was no longer bolted to the floor. Now Merle wouldn't like it, tangible proof that Daryl wasn't exactly like his brother - maybe the others would finally see that as well.

Mpreg or not? sudden I know but would you like a miniature version of Harry/Daryl walking around? his own little ass kicker :D WHICH by the way won't happen until the end of the story it's just something I'm thinking about but i know a lot of you won't like it - definitely not writing another story though LOL not until this one and a lot of my other stories are finished...saying that now wait until season 7 premiers :O so worried about it! and dont worry not saying anything more spoilers ;) especially for those who aren't caught up yet! :D and sorry the chapters not productive much just a show of what's been happening...R&R please.