Walking Dead Wizard

Chapter 49

Harry Apparated the four of them back, the dead buck they'd found within half an hour and killed, the rattlesnake, who had helped them find it and was now snuggling wrapped around Harry's neck, hidden from view and of course Daryl who had one hand wrapped around the buck and another in Harry's hand. Something that had surprised him, usually Daryl just handed over his wrist, it was the first time he'd actually held Harry's hand, he couldn't help but think about it being a big deal for the reserved hunter, he felt stupid for it though, like a girl who'd just seen a sign that their crush liked them back minus the squealing and fawning of course.

As soon as he had Apparated them he began to look around, using his magic to detect if anyone was nearby, only relaxing when the spell informed him that other than him and Daryl the forest was free of anyone well within a certain radius of course. Except possible walkers, he hadn't tried the spell to see whether it detected them with the spell. So Despite that they both kept a weapon in one hand, the other was reserved for dragging the deer corpse back to the prison, which was directly across from them.

"Let's get going, we've still got a lot to do today," Harry sighed, he wasn't looking forward to seeing what had become of Fort Benning, truthfully, all those people…military and civilian the thousands of people all gone, sure he'd seen a lot of walkers but Fort Benning was probably crawling with them, thousands of them, and he was going to have to be careful, there were so many cars, vehicles, helicopters and all that probably filled with gas not to forgot quite a few underground tanks too, it was like one big civilisation onto itself.

Daryl grunted in agreement, and easily enough between both of them they dragged the deer back home, the tarp they had easing the way, preventing any damage to the corpse. It was Big Tiny and Axel who spotted them first, they had a habit of watching the surroundings of the prison when they were outside, now more so he'd imagine considering what he had told them yesterday about the new threat they'd learned about. Hangover or not they would probably be a little bit more paranoid from now on and Harry actually preferred that to them getting too comfortable and caught unawares.

By the time they'd crossed the road dragging the corpse, both men had opened the first gate and were quickly jogging to the other and opening it with enough room so Daryl, Harry and the deer could fit through. The gates were hard enough to open without opening them all the way when there was just no need. As soon as the duo was in, the gates were once again closed tightly - faster than usual, yep definitely paranoid.

"Thanks guys," Harry said, giving them a nod, before they each grabbed a part of the tarp they weren't holding and lifting it up between the four of them they had less weight to carry and it went smoothly they never took the things inside, they were gutted outside, otherwise the stink would permeate the air. Carol had been learning, mostly just with the squirrels and rabbits they found, she'd never dealt with the bigger animals, but she had been watching Merle teach Luna, listening to his suggestions and things like that so she could do it one day. They dropped it down near the front of the prison doors.

"Whatever you do, don't let Anubis get any of the left over bones, they make him constipated," Harry informed Carol, knowing that she would be near him all the time, since she did not leave Sophia's side unless they were inside the prison. "Just remove everything he can eat from the bones and the organs." they didn't have a vet to take care of Anubis so he really had to take care of him the best he could.

"That's fine, I'll make sure to discard them where he can't get a hold of them," Carol agreed easily enough.

"Thanks," Harry said, "Are you sure you should be up?" he asked Chloe, his eyes concerned causing her to relax a little, she honestly didn't know what was expected of her. For days now they'd been holed up in a cell just eating and sleeping, regaining their lost strength, not locked in though, this was the first time she and the kids had come down, and nobody seemed ready to bite their heads off.

"I couldn't stay in bed anymore staring at the same three walls," Chloe said sheepishly.

"You definitely all look better, has anyone shown you where to collect some clothes?" noticing they were still in the clothes they had been in when they first got there. Seeing the woman blinking in obvious confusion, "We have a large box of clothes, all different sizes that have been collected from homes or shops when we are scavenging. Take at least three sets of clothes for each of you, so you have something to wear that is clean there is a laundry basket at the side of the cell put your stuff in there, in a few days you'll be drafted in to help with the chores around here, which is mostly, cooking, cleaning, killing walkers or laundry, when you aren't training that is." he still had an entire trunk full of clothes as well, but they didn't need it yet. Chloe and the two boys had obvious bathed, and she had definitely brushed and washed her hair so there was that.

"I can show her where they are," Amy volunteered, hearing the conversation as she passed them, with a bundle of small carrots in her hand.

"That's great; can you show….Patrick and Luke the games and books in the library?" Harry struggled momentarily to remember their names.

"Sure," Amy said nodding quite happily, handing the carrots off to her sister, who grunted but said nothing. "Follow me, my names Amy by the way, don't worry if you forget a few times!" she said cheerfully, mostly looking down at Luke, the eight year old boy, who looked overwhelmed and very, very shy. Luke just nodded a few times before looking at his feet. Amy just smiled at him; he knew the boy would come out of his shell the longer he spent here in safety.

"Has anyone seen Luna?" Harry called out, daylight was being wasted.

"She's doing the dishes," Big Tiny commented, as he sat down, wiping the sweat from his brow, he'd been killing walkers along the fence for about an hour, in fact he'd just finished when Harry and Daryl had returned. He had greatly disliked killing walkers especially at the beginning; it's probably why Harry put him on walker-killing duty more than the others.

"Thanks, oh and you might want to fill in the others about the meeting since they weren't in attendance!" Harry called back, as he jogged into the prison, the walls which had once been coated with blood and a concrete colour, greyish, were now done a lovely cream colour, Luna had brought a bunch of paint tins back and the girls had drafted in Axel, Oscar and Big Tiny into helping them paint everywhere, they were truly making it into their 'home' as it were.

Harry didn't see the harm in letting them make it a little nicer to live in, it gave them hope, happiness and also something to do. This had never been intended as a permanent residence, but somewhere along the way it had turned into one.

Minerva had a network of wizard and witches in different countries, mostly Order members, those who had been stuck on the outside were constantly on the outlook for others of their kind, saving as many as they could, and just lately Dennis had gotten in touch through the book, and Hermione was actually going to ask him if he could go to Washington, to send them the results of all the different countries CDC's to the computer she had made work with magic. Fleur, Bill and Charlie were already making their way to the French CDC, although why he had no idea, it was probably already gone. With the maps Hermione had created, Minerva could pin point exactly where everyone was. Maybe one day…he would be able to see the others again, Merlin seeing them through a mirror wasn't enough, but they were alive, that was all he cared about, that was all that mattered.

"Hey, Harry, did you have any luck?" Luna asked, as soon as she saw him, he looked deep in thought and she wasn't sure if she'd get a reply.

"Yeah, there's a deer outside," Harry answered after a few moments, shaking his head as if to get rid of whatever he was thinking. "Ready whenever you are Merle."

Merle grunted, giving a nod of agreement, he'd had a real hankerin' for a decent bit of meat for a while, but he didn't move just yet, the buck could wait a while longer. Darn tootin' it was awesome to watch Luna perform magic, even something like watching dishes clean themselves or dry as they were doing now.

"Do you have those Runes for testing?" Harry asked after a few minutes of silence, his lips twitching in amusement watching Luna cheat, probably at both washing and now the drying. They'd been working on it together, but Luna had done quite a bit of the runes on her own, she was the expert and much better at it than him.

"You aren't going after that guy are you?" Luna asked her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"What?" Harry blurted out, blinking at her uncomprehendingly. "No! Of course I'm not, what made you think that?"

"A Leopard doesn't change its spots," Luna pointed out, relaxing, that had been genuine she knew Harry well enough to know when he was telling the truth or lying.

"Funny," Harry grumbled, "I never went looking for trouble it always found me,"

"Oh really?" Luna said dryly, "I assume you just magically appeared in front of Quirrell or the chamber, or on the Black lake in front of hundreds of Dementors? You are extraordinary nosy, you think its up to you to solve and do everything, I'd be surprised if you haven't thought of killing that guy even in passing to be honest."

"Well I had to do what I had to do, I wasn't about to let Hogwarts get closed down and end up back in the hands of my magic hating relatives," Harry sneered the words out; he hated acknowledging them as relatives. He loathed the very ground they walked on, but they were no longer his problem, they hadn't been since he was seventeen years old. Hearing someone approaching he rolled his eyes, "Can you get them for me?" not mentioning magic.

"You're coming with me," Luna said, grabbing Harry and both of them gave Carol a grin as they passed, heading straight for the cells, Harry was obviously up to something. Now it wasn't what she originally thought so she would like to know what it truly was. They made quick work of the stairs as Luna entered her 'bedroom' and began to rummage around in her trunk. "Do you want all of them?"

"Keep one, if I don't use them all I'll give you them back, that's if they even work," Harry conceded.

"Where are you going with them?" Luna asked pulling out a red velvet bag, which had smaller red velvet bags with the crystal runes in them.

"I'm going to see a place, empty it out, just in case we ever need it, I'll be putting it under the Fidelius Charm so that it can't be taken after I've emptied it out." Harry confessed. He knew if he didn't tell her she would keep annoying him for an answer, plus she would be the first to know…well third but same difference, when they got back she'd be told the secret, if anything happened to him she could take them there.

"Will it work with Daryl?" Luna questioned, her brow furrowing, he was a Muggle; he didn't have magic, could he still become the secret keeper? The magic books didn't cover questions like that, and it was quite a curious situation.

"It should, guess I'll find out," Harry said, smirking wryly, "If not I'll just have to bring you next time."

"Where is this place?" Luna queried curiously.

"Not too far," Harry reassured her.

"Do you want me to come? An extra hand will help," Luna said she would always be there for Harry when he needed her that was what friends were for.

"If you want," Harry said deciding that yes, he'd like an extra wand to help, especially if it kept Daryl safe, what he was doing was risky, if anything happened to him he would feel better knowing there was someone to help get Daryl to safety. "Bring your broom." he added sliding the runes into his pocket and left Luna's cell and went to his own to grab the map and rolled it up and got ready in record time.

It was time to get them a base, a real base, Fort Benning was about to be resurrected from the walker infested pit it had no doubt become. He swiftly began to jog, ready to get this over with; Luna would know where to find him. He'd literally just stepped outside when he was asked a question.

"You're going out again?" Mira asked, eyes slightly worried, wondering if they were hunting that man down, from all she knew about 'Harry Potter' it was exactly what he would do, but everything she read wasn't true and Harry had made that clear to her.

"Yes, we won't be long, so don't worry," Harry stated confidently, more confident than he felt at any rate.

"Dinner will be ready in a few hours," Carol said from where she stood, just as worried as Mira.

"I'm comin'," Merle said, bloody arms crossed from where he sat gutting the deer, as Luna walked behind Harry, it was obvious to see she was going too, he glared daring them to argue with him, he wasn't letting Luna or Daryl go without him there to back them up.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Harry said, smirking deviously, wondering how Merle would fare on a broomstick.

Merle didn't relent, he was goin' with. Although seeing the look on Harry's face did make him pause inwardly, wondering what the hell he was planning. He trusted him, with his life, with good reason, Harry had proved himself more than trustworthy, especially sticking with two rednecks who he knew would have left him in the dirt if it meant getting away, even Harry had told him he knew the only person he'd risk his life for was his brother and he understood. It wasn't quite true anymore, he would risk his life for Daryl, Luna and Harry, if he let anything happen to Harry he would lose Luna and that wasn't acceptable to him.

"You better hurry up and get your stuff," Harry sighed shrugging his shoulders, "Carol will you be able to…?"

"Of course, it's why I've been watching," Carol said before Harry could even finish, plus the worst of it was already over, Merle had removed the innards the eatable organs had been put into Anubis' bowl and he was munching on them at her feet as if they were his favourite thing in the world.

"Here," Luna said, handing over Merle's sword and guns, with a smug air of satisfaction around her, she'd known he would want to come, she might not know everything about him but she knew enough. Harry laughed at the look on Merle's face, it was utterly comical, he would soon realise that Luna was able to get a good read on people.

"Do you need help?" Andrea asked her tone more than just a tad hopeful.

"Hell no, we're not taking all the best fighters we have with us leaving everyone undefended," Harry replied immediately. "If anything happens they'll need you." Andrea had come a long way from the way she used to be, and he knew she'd do her utmost to keep them safe if anything did happen when they were away. Not that much would get a chance, the wards would alert him and he'd be back before anyone could properly launch an assault on the prison. Neither she nor anyone else other than those coming with him knew that titbit although he was sure Mira probably had a good idea.

Andrea stiffened her spine determinedly; the meeting yesterday flashing through her mind, making her realize the truth to Harry's statement. She still felt disappointed that he didn't trust her enough yet to let her make up for what she'd done that day. She couldn't say herself what she'd been thinking and Harry had been right to be angry at her kicking and punching at the walker instead of taking care of it, she'd put everyone in danger. "I won't let you down." she said determinedly.

Harry nodded curtly, and began to once again make his way out of the prison, inwardly grumbling at having to walk ten minutes before he could Apparate safely. It took time away from what he could be doing, he honestly had no idea what he was going to be getting into, but he would do his best. It was all he could do.

"Harry you can stop now!" Luna called, staring at Harry's back concerned, he was starting to space out again, although not for as long as he used to, at least according to Merle.

Harry stopped suddenly, blinking in confusion, wondering why Luna was telling him to stop only to realize they were well away from the prison. Turning around, shaking his head, he knelt down and spread the map out, before he began to move the map, using his wand as a pointer, it was the only way to get the map moving, Hermione had done her due diligence with it, knowing he was with no-magicals. He spent a good few minutes trying to find the base.

"There," Harry said, pointing towards it, "Now we need somewhere we can Apparate safely to, somewhere nobody will be, either in the base or nearby. Preferably somewhere high, where the walkers can't get." tapping his wand the base came into view, it truly was a wonderful invention; it was just too bad that you couldn't tell where the walkers were.

"Holy hell, you want to put that place under the Fidelius Charm?" Luna gaped, her eyes wide, "You are completely in over your head! Do you know how much magic that would take?"

"It doesn't matter, once it's applied that's it, can you imagine living there? It will certainly be more comfortable than a prison, plus there's more than enough room for everyone, there's hotels there, houses, barracks, the list is endless, its like one big community onto itself, with the wards I do plan on putting up…no more worry about walkers, no more worry about anyone scrupulous finding us, we would quite literally be in the safest place in the world."

"Well, what about on top of a tower? I mean there's bound to be one at least, there won't be any walkers on top of a tower, they'll have fallen off…" Luna suggested immediately, the thought of a permanent place that was truly safe made her cave.

"There's only one thing, you won't be able to take Merle," Harry pointed out, "Daryl's got used to Apparating, but the first time was bad…he would have hurled off the side of a flat surface with a wall at the side of him never mind a tower where it will be slanted."

"I think I can take it," Merle grunted, feeling insulted.

"Merle even wizards and witches find it difficult to Apparate, you feel like your insides are being squeezed through a tube, you land at the other side feeling dizzy and disorientated, enough so that you wouldn't be able to keep a grip of your equilibrium and will fall, I'm not just saying this for the sake of it, Luna was sick the first time." Harry said seriously, he wasn't about to let anything happen to Merle because he was being a stubborn ass.

"What if I Apparate him around here a few times?" Luna suggested, "Let him get used it? When he can be side-long Apparated without a problem then we do it?"

"Make sure there's nobody around first," Harry nodded it was a decent plan, "We'll stay here and go through the map, see if we can find a better alternative to a watch tower,"

There we go! So I'm going to need you help! I've never been good at coming up with names for things, whether its shops or other places...when the Fidelius charm is cast it will need a new name :D can't stay fort benning sooo all and any help is really, really appreciated here! I definitely don't want it to be the Order of the phoenix or anything like that haha! I'm not even sure if they'll ever use it...tbh but i did decide in the beginning of the story to do it but the muse went away but came back with a vengeance lately :D plus its a way for the four of them to be together away from everyone :) any suggestions of high up platform that there will be no walkers on so they can get started? i've been doing a bit of googling but obviously you can't see the place properly for security reasons i'd assume! either that or i'm just pants at looking things up! R&R please