"Can I speak to you, privately?" The question is asked quietly not to draw attention. Harry pauses holding the toasted bread halfway from his mouth looking at the doctor, Jenner who had spoken.

The man had let them in after the desperate pleas from Rick seemed to reach him, Harry had been against going to the CDC, having seen the bombing he knew that there was nothing to be done.

Why would they have bombed the place if there had been an inclination that a cure had been even thought possible?

"Sure," Harry says confused, but willing to see what the man has to say.

Pushing his chair back he stands along with the doctor giving the Dixons a subtle nod, who had been listening letting them know he's got it handled. He doesn't notice the glance that Carol gives him and Jenner as they go somewhere away from the others.

They walk in silence, Jenner leading Harry towards the area he had led them all earlier when he gave them a run down on the virus. The click of their shoes echoing off the walls as they traverse through the stale halls. Harry can see the after images of all the chaos that has happened throughout this place, shades of people silently going through their death for eternity, only his eyes able to see their anguish as they end their suffering.

"-before all this?"

"Huh?" Harry says, shaking his head as he focuses back into the conversation.

Jenner gives him a bland smile, the echoes of humor trying to break free from the despair swirling within him.

"I said, what did you do before all of this?" He says, waving his hand in front of him.

"Oh," Harry sheepishly says.

"Well, I did this or that," he says not knowing how to say he didn't need to work, as death had gifted him with his inheritance from his old world, the potters weren't the richest, but his grandfather had gained a sufficient amount through his hair potions and intrust is a money maker.

"This or that?"

With a smile he answers "I mainly spent my time doing this program called big brother, big sister," his eyes unknowingly light up with sad fondness as he continues, "if you don't know, it's where you basically become a foster sibling for a child in need of some type of escape, or just to give a child a day of fun."

His mind goes back to the days where his only worry was finding the right thing to do to make one of his 'siblings' days a day to remember.Wanting to give children a life he was taken from even if it's more mundane than he'd like. Seeing the soft look in Jenners eyes, however slight it was, made him realize he had been rambling.

"Sorry, you don't want to hear about my transgressions from before, what is it you really want to talk about?" Harry asks as the man opens a door letting him go first.

"Yes, while I am fascinated by how generous you seem to be, especially towards children, we have more important things to speak about," Jenner says closing the door before walking to the wall opposite of them reaching towards the screen mounted on the wall, turning it on, showing a complicated diagram of what looks like-

"This is all of your blood samples, from the little firebird, to old one handed, do you see anything unique about them?" The man asks, turning back to him his stare intense.

Looking towards the screen he looks at the various lines of DNA coded before him, he doesn't understand what to look for but going by the man's expression he knows and expects the answer to be obvious. Harry leans towards the screen, his gaze catching a segment that seems to break a pattern that had been in place, looking to the next he sees the same mutation, if that's what he is seeing.

"They all have, is it a mutation.?"Harry reads the things again, wondering where his name is, a sinking feeling that he's about to hate the next words.

"Yes, as I've spoken to Rick, we are all infected with this virus, or I had thought we all were, but." The man spins with a flourish, pushing a button that changes the screen to show a single sample, his name flashing beside it.

"You, your dna doesn't have it," the man breathes out sounding like a pope in front of god.

"Wait, What!?" Harry says his disbelief is clear as he looks at his own DNA written before him.

"Exactly,"

"What, and how." The man speaks with reverence, though Harry can see the life breathe back into him turns back with blazing eyes. "Harry, this is going to sound crazy, but you might just be the key to saving humanity."

Feeling someone shake his leg pushes him out of the dream, memory opening his eyes he squints up as the shadowed form of Merle stands before him. Sitting up Harry stretches with a silent yawn wincing as he feels his aches cry with relief as he moves them from the uncomfortable position he had been in. Everything comes back to him, as he lets his mind wake up.

After speaking with Jenner about his next title as savior the man then revealed to Harry that the CDC was on a time limit and only had 12 hours at the most, dismayed that he wouldn't be able to find the cure, ignoring Harry's squawk as the man casually mentioned the building in endearing.

Harry had insisted the man come with them, but he kept denying, saying that he isn't of use, Harry wasn't so sure having stated that as well. Telling the man that he was probably the only person to have enough knowledge to even try.

When the man had said that there wouldn't be a lab for him to work with, Harry wanted to scream, but controlled himself, stating cynically that if it was his wife she'd have lived and tried, not have died without even fighting. Saying that even with the fear she had used her own body in service of humanity, asking Jenner if he wanted to just waste the faith the woman he loved put in him.

Harry can't help but feel smug as he watches Jacqui and Jenner help each other, having convinced the man to live and fight, telling him he's willing to offer himself like his wife did for the better of humanity, only if he were the one to solve it.

Giving merle a thanks for waking him, watching in amusement as he wanders back towards whatever he had been doing, clearly just intending to wake him and dip, walking towards the two he speaks, "Jacqui , love do you remember how many crates of MRE's we had been able to grab?" Knowing but wanting a reason to start a convo with them, checking in on his two most vulnerable, mindset wise.

He doesn't even want to think of Andrea, the woman who had stayed behind. The only reason she is here is because Dale had dragged her out barely cooking out himself if not for Harry pulling him with them with his magic as the blast went off.

Luckily the blast covered Harry's use of magic.

"Dale's Rv hold fourteen, while the truck is carrying thirty, along with the guns. I don't know how many merle has, given his bike and all, how are you sugar?" Harry grins at the old woman's sweet voice thankful for her still being here. She reminds him of Professor McGonagle.

"That's good what I thought we had, thank you." He starts, "I'm doing good, just sore sleeping in a cramped up space has never set with me," joking but serious, not the black though.

"I saw," Jacqui says, her tone filled with mirth as he flushes, Harry can't help that he stretches like a cat, it's just a part of him.

Turning towards their newly resident doctor, something Harry can't believe he's lucked out with,"Thank you, without your help weed would have never been this prepared, I'm sorry they had acted so animalistic," thinking on how ferocious they had gotten when he and Jenner had announced that they would need to leave, and should spins the remaining time scavenging anything that is over value.

Harry had gone personally to gather all of the weaponry before either Shane or Rick could get their sights, not trusting them to have so much 'power'. Leaving just enough to seem like the guards had taken what was available and fled. Harry had grudenly let them, not that they knew he would have stopped it if he felt the energy was worth losing.

"Know worries, I personally wouldn't have bothered with all of this," Jenner says if face more flush than it had been in the cdc.

Harry nods, thinking hauling so much is not worth the effort, but majority rules. "I agree, shits stupid, but what do you do?"

"You could just tell them to stop," the innocent voice of Sophia speaks, making him smile as he turns to the sweet thing, not seeing the gentle looks from two audience members.

"I could, but I don't think they'd listen," he says crouching to her level, bopping her on the nose before continuing, 'sides, they're to stupid to realize, and people don't like to be called stupid even if they are, so don't go telling them they are stupid, now"

"I won't!," she bounces her head barely missing his chin as she says," mama always says if you don't have nuthin' nice to say, then keep it in your head," she says, her adoration for her mother is adamant.

"Well you should keep listening to her, she's one of the smartest people I've had the pleasure of knowing," he says his gaze on the hovering Carol who seems to be holding back tears, making Harry vow to make her more confident.

——-

"Brother, 'we keepin him?" daryl ask, standing beside Merle as they watch the small man who has the strange hum around him.

"Tch, is the fucking sky blue?"

"we'd be stupid to let a gift like that slide by, the man has single-handedly-, shut the fuck up" merle snarled swiping at Daryl with his stump on purpose as his shit of a brother snorts at his shitty pun.

"Look at what he's managed to do, he's got a damn suicidal doctor following him like a damn puppy," waving towards the meek fuck who seems to think Harry hung the fucking Moon.

"Yeah, so?" Darlina hasn't always been the brightest.

"Look, if he can get some fancy fuck of a doctor to waddle around like a lost chick then what else do you think green eyes will manage to do by sheer happenstance." Merle says, his eye twitching when his brother fucking dares.

"Didn't know you'd know a big word like that brother?".

"You little shit!" He says pushing his brother with no real heat. Stalking off to check his bike, wondering when officer friendly and wannabe soldiers are gonna get ready to go.

The only reason he's not worried is because he doesn't see Harry tense, he hasn't said anything but he saw the small man stuffing things in his pocket that shouldn't have been able to fit.

The only reason he hasn't said anything is because he is curious on what he might find, and knowing the little minx, Harry would draw up his defenses should he push the man. Merle may not be known for his patience, but he has it when it's needed. He knows there was more to meet the eyes of Harry Black the moment he saw the lithe figure lift his nephew out of the blue truck standing by like a guard, as the two teenagers giggled off into the woods after setting up their tent.

The protective green eyes seared into his brain.

————

"Merlin, fuck!" Is the last words Daryl heard as Harry rushed into the woods after the little girl, who tugs at his fellow abused child self. Officer Friendly had come back without the little tight, not even thinking Harry had run into the woods after the girl.

Daryl isn't surprised having seen how protective the man is. Just worried he hasn't felt such a calm presence since his mother. He selfishly wants to contain the essence into a vial and wear it.

Daryl shakes his head about to head back into the woods despite the knight, but his arm is caught but the calloused hand of his brother, the only reason he didn't flinch, as much.

"Don't worry about them, 'arry will Keep 'em safe, don't go doing anything foolish like him, now" Merle states, Daryl sits back down setting his crossbow beside him, reaching to bite his nail he knows his brother is right, it's too dark, but he just can't help but feel useless just sitting here.

"Harry is different," Daryl looks towards his brother seeing the faraway look Daryl nods despite the fact that his brother isn't paying attention.

Unbeknownst to either Dixon both have experienced a magical encounter with Harry, Daryl had been coming back from hunting and was still tracking one of his escaped game, so he had been extra silent with his steps. And happened upon Harry as he shifted into the most beautiful white Tiger to have ever graced his eyes. The fellow predator within him felt a deep fascination swell as the man turned beast spirited away.

————

At the same time the very same tiger is currently curled around a shivering Sophia, both tucked into a small hunters shack found in the woodsthe name Greene inscribed on the door.

The flimsy door which keeps Sophia gaze, she can't believe a tiger had saved her, she was so scared, when those scary monsters tried to get her. She had trusted Mr. Rick, but he left her.

'Just like daddy would have' she thinks sadly only to jolt at the abrupt sound of obnoxious growly snores coming from the tiger curled around her small frame, the warmth and scent so familiar.

She doesn't know why, but Harry comes to mind, she wishes he had come for her, she knows he'd never abandon her, burrowing into the soft fur, she lets lull of the tiger's rumble to drift into sleep.

Never seeing the green eyes that creep open to mentally check the wards he hastily placed, only closing his eyes when he knows she's asleep.

Neither notice Harry's magic pulsating out of him while seeping into Sophia, Harry's worry and and high emotions along with his parental love for the girl kickstarts a change in her very being, causing her person to warp as her body goes under a blood adoption.

The magic in her body seems to quite literally spit out a gooey substance, as the essence of Ed disappears to be replaced by Harrys genetics. Sophia's hair seems to brighten as it shimmers into a shade not unlike Harry's former mother Lily potter. The gaunt look of her seems to fade just a little as a flush rises into her cheeks.

If one were to look into her eyes they wouldn't see her usual dark brown eyes, and in place they would see her irises bloom into greenish hazel speckled of gold glittering throughout.

The only one who sees is death who watches as his master starts his journey, he hopes his favorite is ready. The world won't wait for him to get it together, he ought to know.

'Such a silly boy he is' the omnipresent being thinks with a fondness that would scare a normal person.

A/n:

Okay, so Jenner living is a cop out I know, but I promise it won't be all roses and daisies.

Jacqui is just too sweet to kill off.

So both the Dixons are suspicious maybe leering at our resident wizard.

I hope Sophia's adoption isn't a dues ex machina

Or seen as a weak plot I thought Harry becoming a daddy would be cute. Never seen fics actually go through with it just make her see him as a father figure.

How would y'all feel about a Harry/Dixon sandwich?