DISCLAIMER – This story is based on the idea of the television program The Walking Dead. It was created by Frank Darabont. That doesn't mean I am going to use his characters. Time will tell, right now I'm just using the zombie aspect of it and such. The same could be said for the Resident Evil series.
DISCLAIMER 2 – Harry Potter is the sole property of JK Rowling.
DISCLAIMER 3 – This story contains slash. This means male on male and possible female on female. I do NOT go into specifics, but I do have them show love to one another.
PAIRINGS – Harry/Seamus, Hermione/ Draco, Neville/Luna. Others will be determined as the story goes along. This story will contain a neutral Dumbledore and Voldemort. This will also contain Weasley bashing as I love to do so.
NOTE – The characters will be OOC. This is fan fiction. If I wanted the characters to behave like Rowling portrayed them then I would write in her fashion. As I don't want to be sued for plagiarism, then the characters will behave as I want them to. If you want them to behave a certain way, THEN WRITE YOUR OWN STORY.
Chapter 8 – Wedding Bell Blues
The final days flew and the wedding was finally upon the Haven. Harry and Seamus slept in different homes for the night to follow some sort of tradition. Everyone knew that this wedding was anything but traditional. While they guys were trying to follow protocol, it wasn't easy when you had to stop to fight off hordes of undead from the fences of your protective zone. It also wasn't easy when the lives of everyone that lived in said zone was under your protection. Harry and Seamus never complained about their roles. Both young men just took it in stride and did what was expected of them.
Albus and Minerva stood in front of the dais where the ceremony was taking place. Everyone that lived in the Quarter was in attendance as this was an important couple to them. No one that lived in the community cared one way or another that both were men. To them, they were icons that deserved to be happy.
Harry and Seamus took steps one further, and asked each of the surrogate mothers to stand with them for the ceremony. At about two months along in their pregnancy, they were not showing yet though both glowed with the pregnancy like all expectant mothers do.
The ceremony began, and the two men were saying their vows when Hades appeared during Harry's I Do moment.
"Olympus knows that I love a good wedding as much as the next, but you all have trouble," explained the Lord of the Underworld at the frowns for his appearance. "The zombies have breached the south wall and are heading this way. They have begun to mutate and can be in the water. You are going to have more troubles than you started with as they are in the river and are heading this way. Harry, it's time for you to cast the spell you found in the Black Family library. Find an anchor and we can assist you once you cast the spell. The person has to be powerful in magic, but they MUST NOT be either you or Seamus. Heaven knows that a pissed off Persephone is never a good thing even if you are a god of the dead."
"The only problem is that I AM the only one that can channel that much power without being killed due to being so young still," argued Harry. "I love Lady Persephone, but I have to do this. I won't let anyone die because of this. I can be the catalyst for the magic. We just have to work with everything and make it flow smoother. You are a god. Can't you do anything?"
By now, everyone was wondering what they were talking about. Upon seeing their confusion, Harry quickly filled everyone in on the situation and where they all stood.
"We don't have the time to have a full meeting to discuss this," explained Harry. "We have to do this now. Basically, I am going to cast the ancient magic and lift our haven into the sky. Once I have it to a certain height, the gods will anchor it in the air until we can get the support build under it. Due to the lack of food, the zombies have been feeding off of each other. Now they are mutating into different kinds of zombies. Our safety now lies in the clouds as the zombies can't get to us there."
"We will still work on eradicating the undead, but we are no longer safe living on the ground," picked up Seamus. "There are others that can handle the influx of power, but we can't use them as there is a chance that they will die due to the AMOUNT of power that will flow. Albus can handle it due to his power levels, but due to his age, it will more than likely kill him. Severus and certain others in his age bracket can also handle it, but there is still the possibility to probability of death."
"The only ones from my age bracket that CAN handle both the power flow and have the power levels are me, Seamus, and Ginny," said Harry taking over again. "WE will not allow Ginny to go through that as it will have some side effects. There is one more option, but it is dangerous for them. Fred and George can handle it to an extent due to their twin bond, but if something goes wrong, we lose both and not just one."
"Add in that, me and Harry have a soul bond, and it makes us stronger," whispered Seamus. "Therefore, one of us has to do it. There is no other option. We can NOT in good conscious ask anyone else to risk their lives. We have a better chance of living through this than anyone else. If there were another way, we would listen and see if we can go with it, but we don't know of another way."
"Yes there is," stated Andromeda suddenly making a few jump. "Bella, Cissy, and I can do the spell. Being sisters that are as close as we are, we can handle it. Being Blacks by birth gives us more power as we have the old blood to use. A sibling bond is just as strong as a soul bond in some instances. We can do this safely if we all THREE do it together. This will lessen the possibility if death as there will be THREE of us sharing the burden equally."
"Make up your minds soon," stated Zeus coming into sight. "The undead are making further ventures into your territory. She is right, Chosen, when she says that the sisters can handle the influx and live. Hera stated they would be safe. Athena agrees with her. When the two of them put their minds on the same thing, you can bet it's a go. Please hurry. We are using precious energy to hold them back that we will need for something else."
With that being said, Harry had Dobby go and retrieve the spell. As it WAS a Black family spell, the sisters would have no trouble casting it. Even with the gods powering it, Harry was afraid for their minds and bodies when it was done. However, the Lord of Thunder and his wife said it would work, so he allowed it. Soon Dobby was back and the sisters were pouring over the spell. Draco, Harry, Nymphadora, and Neville would act as backup in case it was needed. All four had Black blood as well through their parents or grandparents. Augusta was on standby as was the rest of the older generation in case of an emergency.
Ginny and her air teams were already heading out to deal with the horde of invaders. Griphook and his group all worked to make sure that the Hyatt building would make its way up with the rest of the Haven. They just wanted to make sure that it would still be standing when they were done rising into the air. All of the other tall buildings were destroyed during the battle between angel and demon. The Hyatt survived the battle thanks to Griphook and his family.
Everyone that was anyone was worried about the amount of power that was going to be used to even lift the large area of land. While many didn't think much on it before the apocalypse, those that lived in the French Quarter, Marigny, and Uptown before then, knew just how much land was being lifted. In the time since the hurricane, they had cleaned out the area along the I10 and stopped when they got to the Crescent City Connection. They had started where Claiborne Street met the I10. This way they didn't take more than they could hold. Everyone knew that this was a LOT of land to lift. No one was complaining that they hadn't made it further than they did.
Soon the three sisters began chanting. The other Olympians joined Zeus and Hades and aided the two in giving power to the three sisters. Harry and Albus, along with Lucius and Severus watched what was going in with interest and concern. The magic was flowing quickly and was swirling around the three sisters who kept up their chant and allowed the gods to feed them more magic than they had in all their lives combined.
Slowly the ground started to shake as it began to rip from its foundations a good mile deep. Water from the River started to flood the area. Harry closed his eyes and began a new chant and Albus watched in awe as Poseidon aided him in making sure that a branch of the river lifted with the earth and flowed up into the sky. It wasn't long before they were a good half a mile high in the sky when the gods started chanting themselves to secure the place amongst the clouds. All three sisters collapsed in fatigue when their part was done. Harry and Poseidon worked a bit more to ensure that all forms of seafood would be able to flow with the tide of the River just as if it was horizontal instead of vertical.
Those that had cast magic were sleeping on the ground where they collapsed. Those that didn't cast the magic stood there in shock for a bit at the immensely powerful, but helpful spell, that had saved them once more. Ginny and her groups that were in the air flew into sight and grumbled to the others.
"It would have been nice to take us too," she complained. "It's not that I'm ungrateful, but it was hard to keep up with the rising ground as it was so fast and so far up. Though, I have to admit, that this is amazing. Is everyone alright here? Are you going to let them all stay lying on the ground or are you going to put them to bed?"
Her question broke many out of their awestruck expressions and they started to get to work to make sure that the four casters were comfortable. Others went with Ginny and Oliver and began to assist in cleaning out the undead from where they had gotten in. Those that had been flying before the ground lifted had to abandon the area as the ground was rising too fast for them to stay safely on their brooms and rise with it. The clearing out would be a long process as they had to check all of the area to make sure that no buildings and such were entered.
Hours later, everyone met back and waited while Harry and Seamus finished their wedding ceremony. When the ceremony was done, everyone went into party mode as they no longer had to worry about invasions. Those that had cast the magic were still a bit fatigued, but they were able to attend without upsetting those that were responsible for their health.
"I've heard of wedding bell blues, but I think this event will go down in history for the events that took place during the ceremony," remarked Severus. "You just had to be a Potter and not have anything normal could you?"
"Well," returned Harry with a smirk. "This was a prank worthy of the Marauders. At least you weren't the recipient of the prank Severus. You should at least be thankful that you are still wearing your boring black clothes and not something that escaped from the seventies disco era. Though if you keep running your mouth, I will forget that Poppy told me no more magic for a few days and fix that oversight."
This had the effect he was looking for as Severus snapped his jaw shut with an audible clack. Poppy glared at Harry for a moment before she turned to Severus with a thoughtful look on her face. With a flick of her wand, Severus was wearing bell bottom pants made of stretch velour. He had the matching top all in the Gryffindor colors. With a second flick, she gave him an afro before she conjured a mirror to show him her handiwork.
With everyone laughing, Severus vowed to get even before popping away to return to his home. Everyone knew that he would play with them and not be hated as he would have in the past. The relationship between Harry and Severus was as close to father and son as they could get without being blood related. Severus was fiercely as protective of Harry as Albus and Bellatrix were. About the only person who could beat Severus in protectiveness would be Seamus and maybe Petunia.
"So what are we going to do now?" asked Ginny a few days later when the group leaders were holding their weekly meeting. "What do we do now that we are up in the sky and such? We have to have some kind of plan. Many of us would get bored quickly."
"We are going to continue doing what we did when we were down there," answered Harry shrugging. "We are going to look for people. We are going to look for supplies. We are going to kill zombies. Nothing has changed with the exception of where we live and so forth. Brooms and dragons will fly just as easily here as they did there. The only thing that has changed is that we don't have to worry about being invaded by zombies anymore."
"We are going to make some changes," said Severus smoothly. "We have to be able to charm the vehicles to fly for people like Vernon who drives the buses and trucks that we use to gather the stuff when we need it. We are also going to need the teams to fly those that can get the electrical wires here so that we can still have the comforts we had when we were down there."
"My team is already working on both of those," chimed in Filius. "We already have three buses and two trucks ready for drivers. That movie the muggles showed us called Mile High gave me the idea. It wasn't that hard to do. With the affinity of magic the elves have, we have an easier time loading the trucks and so forth. The hardest part is getting scared people that we find to move fast enough to get to a "flying" truck than it is to load and unload food and clothes from department stores."
"We can also take many of the bridges and such from areas that don't need them anymore and make a road circling the Haven all the way to the ground so that those that want to can still drive," said Yaxley. "We can always make a heavy duty gate at the bottom so that the unwanted can't get in. Having a guard there will go a long way in making sure that we can house our trucks and such at the bottom and not have to worry so much. Thanks to the muggles, we have scooters for those that live spread out to be able to get from point A to point B.
"We have been having better luck finding cattle and such for food as well," reported Hermione while everyone nodded at the insight from Yaxley. "We have a huge flock of chickens for meat and eggs. Uncle Vernon did really well when he found that cattle ranch in Boutte. Some of our younger population has been put to work collecting eggs and helping with the feeding of the cattle and such. We are doing well there if nothing else. We still need to hit the coast and such from time to time to collect things like shrimp, crab, and fish, but the elves make that easier for us all the time."
"They really need to let us do some of that stuff," remarked Dudley with a smile. "We are alright with sitting and fishing and such with people watching us for zombies and so forth. All along the coast doesn't have lots of the undead walking around to bother us, so we can still go there and collect food. It's easier to sit there on the docks and fish than it is to try and get them out of the river anyway. I enjoyed taking my team to go gather food the old fashioned way."
"You need to start using boats," argued Betsy. She was the Dursley elf. "If you use a boat, we wouldn't have to worry as much about you as the zombies can't climb up the slick sides. It's easier for an elf to guard one boat full of people than it is for us to guard multiple people sitting and fishing. There is less danger to you if you are sitting in a boat than in the open. You are just being stubborn as usual."
"You know, we can get a flock of boats for shrimp and fish," mused Harry thoughtfully while others laughed at Dudley and Betsy. "There is nothing saying we can't clean up the abandoned boats and use them. They are technically for anyone alive to use. We can do that and make it easier for the elves to watch out over those that aren't up here. We will eventually work on taking back land underneath us to start moving earth to help hold up our land floating here."
"I am already on it," assured Neville. "I have a team that moves large loads of earth and has begun to stack it neatly underneath our area. From there, Griphook and his family are basically melting the earth together. My thought is that we can make it go straight up with small areas to store things in caves and such while we live. This will give us more space to work if we store unneeded supplies that are nonperishable somewhere else. Aunt Marge is out of room in the Brewery for any more supplies. She was forced to move things to the nearby buildings."
"Well done Neville," beamed Bellatrix smiling brightly at him. "That is brilliant on your part and that of your team. This will work and we can help out. I already have a team of one hundred going through our floating land and cleaning out anything hidden. Thankfully there aren't any undead in the Uptown area. We mostly just had the Bywater and Marigny invaded. They didn't get far thanks to some of our protections and protectors."
"I have an idea that I would like to put forth," stated Colin blushing slightly. "I was watching a program on the television a few days before we moved up here. Why don't we have an area not far from where we are and set up what we would call a sting operation?"
"What would that entitle Colin?" asked Albus with interest. "What would we need and what would we do for this operation. Also, we would need to know what supplies and so forth we would need to make it effective."
"Well, we would need an area that is about a block big," he explained. "From there, we would need Griphook and his team to surround it with metal fences like we have here. Now that we don't need them, we can just use what is already here and move it down there. After that, we just simply have a team going back and forth and sit inside of the area. With certain spells, we can attract the zombies with sound. Once they are pushing on the fence, one of us with magic can electrify the fence and kill hordes of zombies in one shot. We can do this for at least eight hours a day. Have a secondary team work on clearing out the dead zombies and we do it all over again. We can have the dragons burn the bodies. We can even have them doing air raids on the undead while we do that."
"This is a VERY well thought out idea," surmised Percy. "I have been looking for something better to do with my time. As we don't have need of a Ministry yet, I have been feeling left out. I can only clean and repair so much before I go crazy. I would like to be a part of this plan. I can even be a team leader. We would need at least two groups for this. We can use the idea as long as there is light out. One team can have the dawn shift, and the other can have the till dusk shift. That is roughly six or seven hours for each team."
"Make the teams consist of two wizards, two witches, two centaurs, five goblins, two dragons, five elves, and ten non-magicals," said Harry. "There is to be at least one person that has magical healing in each group. There is more than Poppy and Aunt Petunia here. Some of the healers from St. Mungo's Hospital arrived with the third caravan. We have plenty enough healers to go around. We are still growing and such, but we can spare the people to help now that the threat is less. Make sure that all teams that go to the surface have a full deployment of forces. We have the manpower. There is no reason to overburden some people and let others just flounder with nothing to do. I want ALL teams to be as protected as possible."
"We will make sure that your orders are carried out," Millicent promised, getting nods from everyone else. "I will make sure that each team has everything they need. From what some of you have stated, I seem to be a natural at making sure that each person and team has all of its needed supplies. You can count on me and Hermione. We are good at what we do."
Laughing at her promise and words, Harry let her get on with it. While it was a lighthearted comment, no one disputed her as between the two witches, they made a formidable team. Not only were they skilled at getting everything together, but they were both fierce combatants as well. He sat for a moment and gave thought to some of the other people in the groups as well.
"Have Daphne and Millie set up the Dusk Team with everything they need," he ordered. "Padma and Parvati can do the same for the Dawn Team. Hermione, I need you to team up with Terry Boot and do the same for whatever Neville needs for his team. Justin and Ernie can do the exact same job for Pomona and her group. This way, the distraction teams can keep lots of zombies away from the teams building up the earth under our city. Make it so."
"I would like for Hagrid and Grawp to have a group on the ground," said Seamus surprising Harry. "Before you all ask, this is to get more herd animals such as cows, goats, and sheep for food together. Who better to work with the animals than one who worked with animals all their lives? Being of giant blood, they have an easier time with the zombies than we do. Add in that when we are done with the road around the Haven to the ground below, Grawp and Hagrid can be the guards that live near the gate entrance to Haven. We will take that idea and make two gates. One gate will be down there where we will let trucks and such sit so that those that feel more comfortable driving rather than flying can go and get people and supplies. We have a second gate up here so that if the first gate gets breeched, we will have a second one."
"We can have a building made down there for the new people to stay until we are sure they won't turn," stated an excited Draco. "I think it would be great to have it there rather than up here so that we can make sure we stay safe. I case one does turn, I can get out safely and get assistance without having our haven threatened."
"I would like to team up with Fenrir and do some damage to our undead friends," interjected Remus suddenly. "You have a team of about fifty werewolves here. Three nights a month, we can head down to the surface and take the fight to them when we are in our wolf forms. We DO retain our minds to a certain extent even when we are transformed. Fenrir has less trouble than I do as he hasn't fought his inner beast all of his life like I have. During the day, we can hide in a safety spot. During the nights of the full moon, we can cause havoc for the zombies."
"I agree with Remus," declared Fenrir. "We can do this and it won't put the living population in risk during the phase of the full moon. We have been lucky for the most part since we got here, but we want to be able to do more to help. Not all of the wolves are magical. Some of them are mundane and have no magic. This gives them less to do as they can't wave a wand like Remus and I can. Of the fifty of us, only about fifteen are magic users. Let us help. It is part of the reason we are here. Once we establish the solidity under this floating city, we can house many of us lower in caves refurbished to make us comfortable there. Remus is a teacher so he needs to be up here for the younger magic users. The rest of us don't. This doesn't mean that he can't join us during the full moon nights."
"Well you guys are very capable individuals," agreed Harry. "I won't tell you no. I am just going to tell you to PLEASE be very careful. You guys and girls know that I worry about everyone all the time. I wouldn't be me if I didn't. You guys are my family and I want you all to stay safe. Let's see what can be done. I know that Remus has been training and can almost change at will now. I know that Fenrir has been wonderfully patient in teaching the magical werewolves to do so. I thank him for that. I know the non-magical werewolves can't change at will."
"We know you worry about us," responded Fenrir with respect lacing his words. "We appreciate you for that. We will be very careful when we are down there. I have been working with my pack very hard lately and I can tell you that we will be very effective. Like you, we are very conscious of the fact that though we are immune from turning into a zombie, we can be overpowered. Thank you for caring Harry. I think I speak for everyone that lives with you when I say that your care for us is well appreciated."
"By the way Harry and Seamus," called out Percy. "We have the Hotel St. Pierre ready for you to move into. With all of the work done, it is just a large home now. I know you guys wanted the girls to move in with you all so that they can help you with the children. We have everything set up. You just have to get Dobby and Winky to put the colors you want on the walls and such. Aunt Petunia and Aunt Marge worked together with Narcissa and Aurora to get the nursery set up. Congrats on the twin aspect for both of you. Four little ones will be running around at the same time."
"Twins?" asked Harry looking to Poppy who nodded. "We are both having a set of twins? This is so awesome. When did you find this out? This is the first we are hearing to twins."
"I wanted it to be a surprise," admitted Poppy frowning at Percy who blushed. "He found out quite by accident. Both women are having a boy and a girl. At this point, all four babies are very healthy. In about six months, you will be proud fathers. You might want to look for godparents soon. You will also want to start thinking about names.
"Alexander James and Crystal Leigh for my kids," decided Harry. "Gwen and I already talked about names. As for godparents, I think Severus, Luna, Hermione, and Draco if they agree. Alexander can have Severus and Luna. Crystal can have Hermione and Draco.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say we accept," said a smirking Severus as the girls hugged him in excitement. "I am looking forward to having another godson. Thank you for asking."
"Tiffany and I also talked about names," assured Seamus next. "Our son will be names Francis John and our daughter will be named Elizabeth Lynn. I think that a certain psycho witch would be great as godmother of our son and a certain friend of mine named Dean would be great as godfather. For my daughter, I think that Miss Weasley should be godmother and a certain elder Malfoy should be godfather. That is if they accept."
"You are just lucky that I am thrilled to be asked," warned Bellatrix. "I will however get you back later for the psycho remark. I resemble that statement. If I were you I would run. I think now would be a good time to get even."
Seamus turned on the spot and apparated away before she could get a good hex in. Harry and the rest all laughed at the play between them. For whatever reason, Seamus enjoyed picking on Bellatrix. She enjoyed playing right back at him. The two of them made a fierce team when they teamed up on people or enemies. Even Harry ran when they ganged up on him. Overall, life went on like normal for those that lived in the Haven.
AUTHOR'S NOTE – I think I will end this chapter right here. This story is coming close to being done. I knew when I started it that it wouldn't be as long as my other stories. I think I can get at least 2 more chapters out of this.