They Walk

Chapter One

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This chapter is unedited.

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Hogwarts;

Friday Night, April 11th 2013, 3 p.m.;

Transfiguration Professor Hermione Granger stood on the wall that now surrounded the school and the grounds. It had taken thirty people to build the twelve foot high, three foot thick walls two days of making while all the Rune students had scribed the permanency runes on the sections they transfigured. Twenty towers dotted the walls on each side of the fortifications. New Greenhouses had gone up as well and Professor Sprout and Neville were working on the greenhouses to produce food. Fifty head of cattle were on the back section of the castle along with fifty pigs. The female cows and pigs had been fed potions to make them fertile and all were expecting babies. Hundreds of chickens and turkeys had been rescued from the school's farm and moved to the school to keep them safe in new roosts built along the walls. Even the black lake was sharing its abundance of fresh fish to the twelve hundred and fifty refugees from the disease that was ravaging the outside world.

The children were still being taught by the teachers while the adults produced the food and manned the walls. Diffindo was the typical defense spell and it was aimed at the walker's heads. Around the front of the castle where the road to the former Hogsmead was, hundreds of the dead were drawn to the mighty castle because of its wards. Some reason the wards here in the United Kingdom acted like a lure to them. Many magical homes along with Diagon Alley, the ministry and Saint Mungos had been overrun by the dead but here at Hogwarts they didn't. Why they didn't know but Professor Flitwick thought maybe it was because the Hogwarts wards did not use any goblin wards. They would later learn it wasn't the wards but the five lay lines under the castle that confused them.

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Atlanta Ga;

Potter home, Bellview Ave;

Friday Night, April 12th 2013, 8 a.m.;

The next morning saw Harry cast the line of his fishing pole out into the lake as he looked around to make sure no dead were trying to sneak up on them. Teddy was in his chair reading one of his school books as Daphne sat in hers and wrote in her journal. Each of them had their weapons beside them as they waited on the people on the rim to do something. He had spotted the reflection of light off their binoculars as the sun was setting the night before as they spied on them. During the day he kept an eye on the ridgeline wanting to make sure they didn't try and come down to the valley floor. Daphne and he had also removed flats of canned beans, tomatoes, corn, pees, stew, corned beef and spam and placed it on the trailer like they had been stacked there. Several flats of pickles, salsa, and bags of chips and three bags of powdered donuts were added by Harry along with eight loaves of bread, canned tuna and mayo. While Daphne also hung several bags of onions and placed three twenty-five pound bags of potatoes on the trailer along with several cases of water and soda before the sun came up.

Harry looked at the large bass he had caught and started to remove it from the hook when he saw the vehicle coming down the road. Quickly unhooking the bass, he dropped it in the bucket containing five more. He knew he had time so he cast again as he waited for the truck to make it down to the base of the quarry.

The next ten minutes saw Harry catch one more bass that he dropped into the tote bucket he was using and then he picked up his rifle after placing his pole on the deck. Walking towards Daphne and Teddy who stood up as the truck came into view and he saw it had five people in it. Three in the front and two in the back as it came around the last bend where it slammed on its brakes before it hit the first barrier of cheval de fries. Leading his girlfriend and son to the second one, they had about fifteen feet between them. Sparky, Daph's Cocker spaniel was standing at her side growling.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked as the three men and two woman climbed out or hopped out of the truck.

"What are you doing here?" Shane demanded.

"What does it look like? Surviving," Harry replied.

"You can't stay here! You need to leave," Shane snarled out.

"Leave? No, we were here first," Daphne said her accent clearly showing.

"I'm the law, I am ordering you to leave," Shane said as his companions looked at him.

"I don't care if you're the Prince of Wales. We're not leaving," Harry said.

"What are you Brits doing here? Go back to your country," Shane said.

"I am an American citizen so is my girlfriend and son. So I have to say, 'no' to that order. Why don't you get in your pickup and go back up top and stay away from us," Harry said.

"If you stay here you have to surrender your weapons and supplies to us," Shane said as he stepped around the cheval de fries and walked towards the second line.

Harry looked at the man in surprise and couldn't believe the audacity of him.

"What did you say?" Harry asked.

"I said for you to surrender all your weapons and supplies to us you slimy Brit," Shane snarled out.

"I thought so," Harry said as he handed his AR-15 to Teddy, "Hang on to this, boy. I think war's just been declared."(1)

With a quick step around the end of the cheval de fries and he approached the man. Before the arrogant arse hole could say anything Harry swung his fists with lightning accuracy, Harry's fists came up and hit the man in the face, stomach and face again, forcing him back a second that had the former deputy sheriff spinning around to land in the dust.

Shane growled and rolled to his knees and stated to stand up when a boot connected to his face flipping him on his butt and bringing blood to his nose as it was kicked.

Harry moved in and kicked the man in the stomach, lifting him off the ground by four inches. His steel toed hiking boots forced the air from the man's lungs.

"Why don't you lay there and bleed for awhile.(1) You have no right to demand anything from myself or my family. Go scavenge or hunt your own food and stay the fuck away from me and mine," Harry snarled out and kicked the man again, flipping him onto his side.

Lori Grimes screamed and rushed to Shane to help him, "You beast!" she cried out as she saw the injuries that Shane had received.

"Beast am I? This redneck SOB tries to steal my legally owned weapons and supplies and I'm a beast. Why don't you take your entitled arse back to your truck and to the top of the hill where you stupidly set up base," Harry replied as he looked at the five interlopers.

Two looked like they were brothers or that's what they looked like. One was armed with a crossbow and the other had a rifle. The third man was in his sixties if he guessed right with a graying beard and mustache, he was wearing a fishing hat that had multiple lures in it.

"My name is Dale. Why do you say it's stupid we set up there?" Dale Horvath asked.

"You're out in the open. You have no defenses up there. While where I am at, I have cliff walls on two sides. A lake on the third and a road in front of me covered by cheval de fries that will impale anyone one of those dead that try to push through. Up on the ridge they will swarm you from all directions making you fight in multiple fronts," Harry replied as he walked back to Teddy and took his rifle back.

Dale looked at Daryl and Merle Dixon and he noticed that Merle was looking around with a cautious eye. He had mentioned he was in the army while Daryl was just out of school, "Merle what do you think?"

"He's right. If we get attacked on three fronts we would be overrun," Merle said as he pondered what to do.

"We'll be fine," Shane snarled as he climbed to his feet.

Dale quickly introduced each of them and Harry did the same.

Shane wanted to pull his pistol and shoot the slimy Brit but he didn't as he noticed all three were armed. He did notice all the food on the trailer and he wanted it. Hell he wanted everything they had even the truck. He was about to say something when he noticed that the man was watching him.

"Let's get back to the group," Shane ordered.

"Shane we need that food, we have children to feed," Lori snapped.

"You think you have the right to steal our food?" Daphne asked as she pointed her AR-15 at the woman.

"You could share," Lori snapped in reply.

"Yes we could. But you haven't said the magical word," Harry replied.

"Please, will you share," Dale said as Shane and Lori looked at each other confused, "My name is Dale."

"Yes, we will," Harry said as he pointed to the two men not doing anything, "You two, come over here. Teddy, Daph, watch them."

Harry led the two over to the trailer and said, "You can have a flat of Bush beans, Del Monte tomatoes, whole corn, and peas. A flat of the 38oz cans of beef stew, as well as spam and corned beef along with other items they had set out. I'll give you a bag of onions and two of the twenty-five pound bags of potatoes. Four cases of water and two of the coke should do it for you. I suggest you save the bottles to refill with rain water."

A plastic bag that was filled with elbow and butterfly noodles was offered, "I suggest you make stews and throw a bag of noodles in with the food. It will stretch further," Daphne said as she handed the bag to Dale.

Daryl and Merle set their weapons in the back of Daryl's truck and walked around the cheval de fries and over to the trailer where Harry loaded their arms with the flats of canned goods. It took them three trips but they had the food in the back of the truck.

"Thank ye'," Daryl said as he jumped into the back and helped Dale up into the bed.

Merle just nodded his head and climbed behind the wheel while Lori and Shane just glared at them before climbing into the truck.

Harry watched as they did a three point turn and headed back up the quarry road.

"We're going to have trouble with that Shane," Daphne said as she placed her rifle in the trailer and went back to her vegetables.

"I know," Harry replied as he headed back to the dock and grabbed the bucket of fish and carried it over to the table so he could clean them, "Get the poles Teddy."

"Ok, Dad," Teddy said and jogged out to the end of the dock and packed up the fishing poles and gear.

By the time Teddy returned to Harry, he was working on the fish. Teddy ducked into the trailer to get him a box of southern style Zatarain's fishfri to batter the fish while he set up the deep fryer to cook the fish. In the electric grill he set up, he started making a box of Zatarain's Jambalaya Rice with a cut up some of the Hickory smoked sausage he had gathered. The spiciness of the meat with the Jambalaya and the fish would go together. All three of them loved spicy food so Harry decided to make it that night. Three large glasses were added to the table along with plates and silverware to round it out. A gallon of milk with bread and butter would fill the meal out. Thirty minutes later they were eating.

Up above, Shane was watching the people down in the quarry vowing revenge on them.

Just as dark descended, Harry put a muggle repelling ward up that would prevent them above from coming down and trying to kill them. Harry also decided he was going to fly into Atlanta and see what was going on.

Harry looked down the street from the roof he was on. The small office building he was on oversaw where several hundred walkers had torn through several platoons of US Army soldiers that had been guarding a supposed safe zone. The fires from burning vehicles and burn barrels that had been set up kept the place lit enough that he could see what was going on. With a sigh, he pulled out several boxes of matches he picked up at a bar after he looted it of the booze and supplies he could find. He quickly laid them out on the wall in front of him. The three story building was just high enough that he should be able to take out quite a few of the dead. Using transfiguration on the matches he transformed them into razor sharp needles and made sure they were space an inch apart on the wall. Another charm called the designator was linked to the needles and then the heads of the walkers. With final sigh he started walking down the length of the wall hitting groups of the needles with banishing charms. The banished needles flew through the air at twenty-five miles an hour and through the designated walkers' heads, killing them instantly.

He waited for a bit and more walkers showed up and he repeated it again before flying down and checking for supplies he could find. Several pallets of MRE's and water were shrunk down and placed into one of the trunks along with any ammo and weapons as well as jerry cans of fuel and water. A lot of the weapons would need to be cleaned but it would give him something to do. By dawn he was heading back to Daphne after hitting several local bakeries and removing flour, cake flour, sugar, spices, yeast, lard and anything else they could use as well as some bread pans to make bread in. By the time the sun was up, he was back with Daphne where he took a pepper-upper potion inside the camper so no one would see the steam come out of his ears.

Once outside, Harry looked around and up at the rim where he noticed the thin stream of smoke going up into the air. Shaking his head he kissed Daphne and started helping her make breakfast which Daphne decided it would be hash, eggs, sausage and bacon with hot coffee to wash it down and milk for Teddy.

Teddy would help Daphne with her plants for the day which would be his herbology class and later inside the training trunk they had set up Harry would teach him charms and DADA. He would also refill the truck with fuel he gathered in Atlanta the night before and spend time cleaning the rifles and pistols he had picked up.

Shane was watching the camp down in the quarry as he had the people under his command working on chores. The biggest problem he had around him was the Dixon brothers trying to cause problems with moving. Currently they were scouting around looking for food and danger to the camp. Lori had the women doing laundry while Dale was on guard duty. Juan Morales and his wife Miranda were watching the children and making food from what they had been given. Angela and Amy was following the directions that Potter had given to Dale who had passed it on. Ed was over at his tent drinking beer he had brought with him while his wife Carol was washing clothes. The rest of the people in the group were gathering wood while Jim Fletcher was working on Dale's RV with the help of Glen and Theodore Douglas better known as T-Dog was organizing his van.

Shane was trying to figure out a way to get in the camp down below and disarm the Brit so he could get the supplies, plus he wanted that huge truck and camper. The problem was, even if he could get down there not being seen the damn dog would give him away. He would say this about the guy, could throw a punch. But then he did stand six foot four and must have weighed in around two hundred pounds but the girl with him, damn she was hot looking. He wasn't to sure about the boy as he was around fourteen but seemed to know what end of a gun was it and the ten inch knife on his hip was another thing as well he had to remember about when he ever decided to go after the truck and their supplies. Shane didn't know it but Harry was thinking almost the same thoughts but without stealing the supplies the group had. He was more worried about what they would do, and endangering Daphne and Teddy.

Merle looked over at his baby brother and grunted a response to his question but his mind was on the British guy they had met and how easy he took out Shane. He doubted that Shane noticed the tattoo on the guy's right arm. The tattoo was of a dagger with a pair of angel wings and a motto that said, 'Who Dares Win.' He didn't know what branch of the British military it was but it had to be some type of Special Forces. Merle would have been right as Harry entered the SAS at seventeen, right after the battle of Hogwarts and served for six years before leaving the military with a difficulty of opinion with one of his commanding officers. So mustering out he decided to travel and found himself in Atlanta where he bought his house. The rest was history for Harry as he took control of Teddy after the death of Andromeda back in two thousand and six and then meeting Daphne.

"What you thinking so hard about, Merle?" Daryl asked as he pulled the crossbow bolt out of the squirrel he had just killed.

"That Brit," Merle replied as he took the squirrel from his brother.

"What about him?" Daryl asked as he reloaded the crossbow.

"Guy was right. The rim is a death trap… also did you see his tattoo?" Merle asked as they started walking again.

"I agree on the rim as to the tattoo no I didn't. Was it important?"

"I think so. The tattoo was of a dagger with a pair of angel wings coming out each side of the handle. It had a motto as well that said, 'Who Dares Win' across the blade and I'm not sure what that means but think its special forces," Merle replied as he pointed to a rabbit that was munching on some grass.

Daryl lifted the crossbow and let the bolt fly, striking the rabbit dead as he thought of the motto. He knew he had heard of it before but couldn't place it. Gathering up the rabbit he decided he would ask some of the more learned people discreetly in the camp if they knew it when they got back to the camp.

Several hours later back at camp with the animals they had caught cleaned and bagged inside Dale's camper he made inquiries about the motto and it was Dale who told him that the motto was for the British SAS and it was their elite Special Forces units like the US Navy Seals for America or the Russian Spetsnaz. After a quick conversation with his brother, both decided to stay the hell away from the man and warned everyone but Shane and Lori after asking them not to reveal the information.

Night quietly fell and both camps settled into an uneasy peace while in the city of Atlanta, several groups of survivors were huddled together as the city died around them. One group was in an Atlanta nursing home while the other was at the Grady Memorial Hospital but there were other small groups huddled in the skyscrapers of the city.

1: Name the movie this quote comes from, it's one of my favs and seemed appropriate for the scene :D for a point. Also Jim's last name is never mentioned so I gave him the name of Fletcher.

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