Disclaimer:

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

Title: Zombie Hallows (Working Title)

Posted Date: September 14 2023

Inspiration: Dying Light, Dead Space, Walking Dead, World War Z, The Last of Us

Tags: Survivalist Harry, Soldier Harry, Muggleborns / Halfbloods vs Purebloods, Zombie AU, magical prejudice

Pairings: TBD

If one had to describe the scene about them, they would say that it was the very picture of the apocalypse.

Brick and mortar buildings were damaged from years of wear-and-tear, showing obvious signs of something crashing into them and leaving a gaping hole for the weather and time to do their job. Some of the smaller buildings were covered in the vegetation that had gone wild, making them hard to spot. For other areas, whatever vegetation was there has dried out and turned ash-white from both the flames and the ashes of whatever was burning. Vehicles were left abandoned, flipped on their sides or completely wrecked from pile ups or crashes. And perhaps the most dreadful were the sight of corpses left all over the place, some with broken limbs or bleeding from open skulls. The variety ranged from the elderly to the young children barely five years old.

And as if it was not morbid enough, there were the walking dead that moved around them.

All were in various states of damage, ranging from the simple cuts and bite marks on different parts of their bodies to full on dismemberment of limbs. Some were even missing jaws and ears from whatever had ripped them off, and a few were showing mild signs of decay with flies hovering about them. There were a couple of corpses dragging themselves on the ground having lost their legs, one having entrails trailing behind with the stomach ripped open.

One of the zombies was shambing around an alleyway, letting out minor groans through the half exposed mouth as it moved with a limp. A few pops had the zombie moving into the alleyway, the muscles slightly tensing in anticipation for possible prey. It ended up getting its head sliced off and bouncing off the floor a few times while the body collapsed with a few jerks. From the shadows, a group of guys came out with weapons and some make-shift vests that made it look like they grabbed whatever they could from the bargain bin. One of them took out a stick and waved it at the corpse, causing it to spontaneously burn on the spot. The sudden increase in illumination placed the group under the light, showing them to be a group of young men approaching their twenties and carrying a fair amount of gear between them. The foremost person came forward to check on the body that had stopped twitching by that point and was reduced to ashes moments later.

"That was a little close for comfort." One of the others at the back remarked with a shake of the head.

"We could have picked a better spot, but time is wasting." The foremost person checked his watch before looking back up. "Wayne, mark out this spot for temporary apparition. Justin, where is the substation and the last known coordinates for Team 9?" One guy brought out a spray can and painted on the wall of one of the buildings, while another brought out his map and a compass to check the placement. He also brought out a stick that looked like a typical magical wand to move about his hand.

"Substation is roughly 20 blocks from where we are. It is not that bad if we have a straight route by East Avenue, it should take only 10 minutes at most. But if it is choked with the Zekes or vehicles, we will need to take a roundabout route, and that could take us the better part of an hour at best, if not two." The map user replied while pointing out the spot marked on the map for the substation. "Last known location of Team 9 is roughly one click away from the substation, around the residential office high-rise." The designated leader hummed at this.

"Let's recap. Team 9 was sent to secure the substation to get power and for future development of the area. Last intel from them spoke of them having to take the longer route due to a pileup on a road junction somewhere in front of us, likely the one leading to East Avenue based on Justin's description. It has been 3 days since then, so our mission is to find any signs of Team 9 and ideally get the substation. Questions?"

"Should we head to the substation first? Perhaps they are there but hunkered down." One of the others asked.

"We need to head there anyway to secure the facility. Hopefully Team 9 is there and alive." Wayne waved his hand to indicate his completion of the task, the paint glowing lightly in the dark. "Okay, move out." The group stepped out of the alleyway and into the light, revealing them to be from different walks of life. Most appeared British, with one having a possible Irish background. Their leader was a tall man with short messy black hair that covered part of his forehead, green emerald eyes that showed wariness, and a stern expression that has seen a lot in the years despite his youth. The guy looked about before looking up. "Let's take the high road." With that statement, the group vanished before appearing on the roof almost silently, the group lightly crouching with their guns up as part of their training.

"Where to, Justin?" Justin looked around before pointing to the very tall building in the distance, the glass windows reflecting the light of the evening sun.

"That way, Harry. That is the building they were headed to, and the substation is near there." The now named Harry nodded as he checked the timing.

"We better get there before sunset. Let's move out." and so they moved on, sticking to the rooftops to get to their location faster while avoiding the zombies on the ground, making sure to keep out of sight and applying the scent removal charms on themselves to avoid attention.

Harry suddenly stopped roughly a block away from the high rise with a raised fist, getting the group to stop. He pointed to his ears before motioning to the side past the rooftop. Two of the members broke off to slowly make their way to the edge of the rooftop to see what was going on, and tensed briefly before making their way back with notable haste.

"One of Team 9 is down there, tied to a post and kept away from the Zekes. I can't tell who it is." The Irish member spoke with agitation. "There is a Death Eater with him." That got the team riled up but silenced by Harry who raised a hand and had narrow eyes from the news.

"Only one? Not logical." Another member muttered as he adjusted his helmet for the possible fight.

"Seamus, Wayne. Are there any identifiers about the Death Eater?" Harry asked.

"Only that this is one big fellow." The other one answered the query. "The Team 9 member is tied on a post above a pile of bodies, and this guy was towering over him." Harry hummed at this.

"How many Zekes are down there?" Seamus paused to gather his thoughts.

"Less than 15 are closest to them. There are a few wanderers but not close, and no mutants." He replied with Wayne nodding. Harry looked to the building in the distance and then to the ledge of their current rooftop before checking his watch. They were cutting it close with the sunset, but if that was actually a Team 9 survivor, they needed to save him.

"Carter, get your rifle out and check on the Team 9 member and Death Eater along with any possible signs of a trap. Wayne, you and Seamus find a spot on the opposite end to cover the blind spots. The rest of us will prepare to secure the area to make sure no Zekes get near to us. If that guy is alive, we take him with us." Harry gave out his orders and the others moved except for Justin who stepped next to him.

"What if he is bitten?" Justin asked quietly.

"We will cross that bridge when we secure him." Harry answered while preparing his rifle. In the distance, he could see Seamus and Wayne preparing on their end, and Carter had his rifle out and trained below, the rifle being the type that would have people commenting on him wanting to compensate for something with the size and type of ammunition it uses, if not for the mess that their world was in. Harry looked to the others to see them prepared before taking a breath.

"We go on three. One, Two, Three!" The group popped to the ground level just as the sounds of muffled gunshots filled the place briefly before the Death Eater had his head blown up and some of the Zekes shot down. Most went to take out the rest and secure the place while Harry and Justin rushed forward to the restrained member to check on him. A quick glance at his condition showed that he was in bad shape with signs of dehydration and mild starvation, and he was clearly bleeding by the side. A quick wave of their wands proved the man had no bites, and another had the man removed from his restraints and Justin to catch him in his arms with a grimace.

"He is definitely in bad shape. We gotta get him to safety." Harry nodded and motioned to the others to head back to the rooftops to regroup. With another pop, they landed back on the same rooftop only for the rescued member to drop to his knees groaning and blood coming out. "Shit!"

"Stabilise him as much as you can." Harry spoke while the majority looked about them with a silencing ward set to keep the sounds down. That said, their rescue might not end in happiness given the amount of blood that was soaking the shirt.

"P-Potter." The man coughed out blood. Harry dropped to a knee while keeping a minimum distance for a shield to be erected just in case the victim turned in the middle of the conversation and attacked him. That happened too often for his liking.

"Max, what can you tell us?" The man took a slow breath at his query.

"Team 9 was going to find and secure the substation, but we were forced to take a detour because of the pileup." Max spoke slowly as Justin tried his best to heal him with bandages and bottles of questionable looking liquids. "We got attacked by Death Eaters on patrol. At first we held our ground, but then we had those idiots from the other side, the ones called the Order." A few of the others growled at that name. "They kept interfering with our fight, stopping us from taking out the Death Eaters. We got overrun by them and the Zekes, my team! They were!" Max coughed violently at the agitation before calming down from the spell placed by Justin and Harry.

"I woke up tied up to that post, and those bastards were taking their time with us to see who would break. Tanner and Blake, they were thrown to the Zekes. I saw two of the Order getting stabbed a few times before being thrown away as well. I was the last one when you guys came." His breathing was getting shallow, and Justin's shaking of his head was an answer to Harry's unasked query. "I know I won't survive this, I have a favour to ask of you."

"We will grant what we can." Harry answered firmly. Max smiled faintly at that.

"You always were a man of your word." Max breathed in deeply and let it out. "The Death Eaters and the Order do not know our reasons to be here, so the substation should be clear. You need to secure it quickly though, those bastards have been trying to expand their territories."

"We will do that." Harry nodded. Max slowly reached for his neck to grab the dog-tag worn there. With a weak tug, he pulled it off and reached out to Harry.

"Help me find my teammates, they deserved a proper sendoff. And make sure I don't become one of the Zekes." Max pleaded with his strength failing only for Harry to reach out to grab his hand tightly.

"We will find the rest of Team 9 and make sure you guys get home." Max's eyes started leaking tears and he gave one last smile before expiring, leaving his dog-tag in Harry's hand as his own dropped to the floor.

"He's gone." Justin exhaled while the others briefly paused in their guarding to lower their heads in respect to their fallen comrade. Harry used his wand to clean his hand and the dog-tag before placing the item in one of his pouches. With a motion to get them to pull back, Harry raised his wand to the air and swirled it around, a few sparks coming off the end before a stream of fire came out of it and wrapped around Max to lift his body out the floor. The body caught fire quickly and within a few seconds, turned into fine ash that got moved into a small jar conjured by Justin while the others saluted as one for the sendoff. When the ashes were finally collected, Harry helped to seal the jar, etched a symbol on it before shrinking it and stowing it into the same pouch as the dog-tag.

The sombre mood got broken by an unearthly scream that echoed about the area, sending chills down their spines.

"Screamer!" Carter called out to the others who immediately looked for the Zeke to take out, knowing they had minutes if not seconds before the horde came upon them. "By the gargoyle, the church at ten o'clock!" All turned as one to the direction of the Zeke that was letting out another shrill scream next to the statue, the signature flapping of the flayed skin around the chest helping to spread the noise.

"Take it out!" All of them aimed and fired off shots and spells at once, the vast majority hitting their target enough that it got shredded almost instantaneously despite the distance. The brief glint of victory got drowned out as they heard the thundering footsteps in the distance with the vibrations making the loose items fall off around them. "Move!" Harry yelled at them and they proceeded to jump over the remaining rooftops and then apparated to the road where the high-rise was standing.

"Into the building!" The group ran into the high-rise, with Seamus sealing the doorway with one of his explosives that broke the walls and sealed it with some quick cement. They then apparated to the highest floor they could get to that was not broken and cleared the path to the east wing as the building shook violently before Zekes smashed into every available opening to flood the ground level and quickly ascended by body piling on each other. With a curse, Seamus dumped a canister as they passed around the corner, and within seconds it blew up the walls and corridor spectacularly enough to block off the access.

"In here!" Justin slammed into what looked to be a conference room for the rich and famous, quickly did a check before letting the others come in and slamming the doors shut with a spell to seal them shut.

"Barricade those doors now!" Harry called out to the others while helping to shift the heavy table to them. Between the lot of them, they managed to pack all the heavy items to block the doors with a couple casting reinforcement spells on them and the surrounding walls.

"It won't hold for long." Dean spoke grimly as they secured everything just as the sounds of the dead arrived by their side and started to bang against them, likely sensing their presence behind the locked doors.

"We only need to get to the other building to start up the generators and put up the fencing to force them back. Maintain that for the night, and we can get out by morning." Justin took out the map and pointed out the route. "Look, we are practically next door to the substation. We just need to take the high road." Harry looked out the window and saw the 4-storey building in question.

"Is that the one?" Justin looked to where he was pointing, used his wand to check and cheered loudly.

"Yes!" Harry crossed the room to look outside to gauge the distance and for any stragglers. Distance-wise, it was possible for some running and certainly for apparition, but there were Zekes gathering downstairs and were beginning to pile on top of each other to find them. He would give them 5 minutes tops before they reached their level.

"Anthony, see if you can get to the building and drop a ZeeBee to clear it out." Anthony looked and nodded before vanishing for a few seconds and returning with the target building glowing green and some dark smoke coming out of the broken windows.

"Justin, grab whoever you need to build the barriers and reinforce the walls while the ZeeBee is up. Carter, go with them to start the generators." Justin quickly grabbed who he needed and the group vanished as the vibrations were getting stronger. Harry quickly vanished the glass and fired off several rounds at the Zekes outside to slow them down before using the special rounds to collapse the inhuman towers. "Seamus, how many explosives have you left?"

"Still a good number, but not for this horde." Seamus winced at the answer and the sounds of the walls getting hammered. The wall with the doors was already showing cracks from the impacts despite the reinforcement applied to them.

"Let's leave them a gift then." Harry said grimly. "Avoid collapsing the building if you can, but if need be, make sure the building drops in the opposite direction of the substation."

"Got it! Dean, help me out!" The two got together to create whatever concoction the guy could create while the others continued to reinforce the walls and doors as best as they could.

"Harry!"

The young man grabbed the radio from his belt and answered it while firing outside the window at the Zekes. "Give me good news, Justin! We are running out of room here!"

"Walls and fences are up, but Carter is having issues with the generators, so we are using the Lightning Runes for now to power the defences, but we really need them running and we could use more help to put up the top cover here!"

Harry cursed as he paused to drop a bombardment stone down below to disrupt the latest tower, only to almost fall outside when the building shuddered violently before tilting to one side. "They are breaking through!" One of them called out as a hand managed to break through the concrete wall with more cracks appearing.

"Seamus!" Harry called out as the rooms by the sides of the conference room exploded with the Zekes pouring out of the windows and the building rumbling harder.

"We got it rigged, but it needs to be manually activated here and this building will collapse all over the area with all this shit going on!" Seamus answered with the different bottles and cans containing his explosives set about the room and a central controller in his hand.

"Hand it to me! Everyone else, head to the substation now!" Harry rushed to grab the stone from Seamus while the others did as he said. Thankfully he was more than fluent with Seamus's equipment so his hands automatically went through the steps of powering up the device before his thumb prepared to press the rune. His ears caught the snap of the reinforcement charms breaking and his eyes snapped at the doors and walls that were now breaking and arms were flailing about. The roars of the Zekes also told him that the ones outside were coming through.

"Harry, we are putting up the barriers, get your ass over here NOW!"

"Adios, amigos!" Harry pressed the rune and apparated right before the leading Zeke could grab him. He appeared on the rooftop of the substation right as the whole level of the department building blew up in spectacular fashion and then the bisected top half leaned over and crashed on the streets below, followed shortly by the foundations that shook the entire area and effectively scared off the other monsters out of the general region. Harry saw the incoming cloud of dust and debris and went to take cover behind the structure housing the rooftop entrance. The cloud was about to reach the building when the barrier finally came on in time to block the debris from hitting the building and in turn him. Harry used that chance to strengthen the general rooftop and add a personal barrier for himself for the eventual kickback before hunkering down as the expected kickback came forth to force the debris away from the building, and in so doing, force the structure to experience double the gravity for a few seconds. Harry gritted his teeth to handle the force before it eased up and the glow of the barrier faded away to let him see the area around him if he wanted to.

Harry took a few moments to breathe while waiting for the vibrations to calm down. Once his heart rate went down enough, Harry walked out of his cover and moved slowly to the ledge while the door at the rooftop opened to show Justin and Seamus coming over with a rolled up wire fencing.

"Christ, you are a mad man at times!" Justin shook his head before coming over to check on Harry. "Any injuries or bites to look at?"

"No bites, but my tailbone is definitely needing some cushioning." Harry winced while rubbing his sore point. The trio paused at the ledge and watched the dust cloud settle enough to behold the devastation that came from the collapse of the department store building. Rubble filled the roads that had car alarms blaring and some of the fire hydrants spewing out water to flood the area. The guys knew that it was only a matter of time before the Zekes from the neighbouring areas got over the sudden explosion and returned to this spot. They needed to get the substation beefed up on the defences along with securing the facility and general area quickly.

"Has Carter gotten those generators working?" Harry asked as he slowly stretched his sides.

"Yes, thankfully the breakers only tripped so he just needed to reset them. Based on the stains, only a few Zekes were in the building when the ZeeBee was launched, so we are safe from possible attacks within. Dean is directing the others to check on the windows and walls to make sure none are compromised, Wayne is going over the barriers." Seamus answered while admiring his latest explosive work with a critical eye. "Hmm, more nitroglycerin next time." The others just ignored him and focused on what to do.

"I see. For now, focus on the substation defences, install the UV lights around the entrances and nearest corridors, and prepare a spot to hunker down for the night." Harry pointed to the buildings by the sides. "I doubt we have time later, but at the least, we should consider taking the two buildings to better protect the substation and for a landing spot for future arrivals before leaving. Maybe even possible quarters to live in."

"Got it, tomorrow though." Justin turned his head westwards with a frown. "We got two incoming storms heading our way." And he was right on that description. The first was a thunderstorm that had been brewing for the better part of the day, but in some twisted manner, decided to hold off until now to rain on their progress and possibly hinder their return to their base. The second storm came in the form of a tidal wave of Zekes shrieking in the distance as they came rushing in the distance, attracted by the loud explosion and the collapse of the department building. Harry brought out his binoculars and checked them, cursing at the sight of the numbers and other variants available.

"Dammit! Seamus, rush back down and tell the others to speed up reinforcing and securing the building. Cover or brick up all windows for 2 levels at least if not the entire building, and seal up all the vents and holes. We have necromorphs inbound!" A particular inventive vocabulary met his reply as Seamus rushed to do as he said. "Justin, help me secure this rooftop. We need to make sure we don't have flyers coming in." Justin rushed to the air conditioning unit on the roof and manipulated the available material to cover it up with thick concrete around it while granting a few holes for ventilation. Harry grabbed some metal stakes etched with runes from his bag and went around the roof to stick them into the rooftop, focusing on the four corners and sides. With a swish of their wands, the two got the fencing up around the rooftop and reinforced it with additional protections to keep them up.

"This will have to do." Harry brought out one of the lightning runes and connected it to the fencing, watching the wires glow slightly with arcs of electricity coming off before fading away. With a press of the control stone in his hand, the metal stakes glowed green with the light extending to the entire rooftop and the immediate level below them.

"Just in time." Justin grabbed his rifle as the screams of the Zekes were getting audible even if they were still a few miles out. "Let's get off the roof." Harry agreed and they moved to the door, shutting it and reinforcing it with spells and two metal poles by the side. They continued downwards while helping to check the windows and areas for possible weaknesses, ensure the UV lights were connected and ready to turn on, and then sealing the doors behind them for the time being. They hit the ground level to find the others gathered there with a few setting up the barricades about the main doors.

"How are we doing?" Harry asked as he looked at the thick cable coming out of the door supposedly leading to the basement and the generators turned on.

"Generators are active, the power is stable, all windows are bricked up or secured, UV traps and wards are active." Seamus reported. "Anthony set up the backup generator just for this building and we are finishing up on the set up here to keep the generators running. We also have the scent removers going on high to stop our scents coming out."

"Doors are secured." Evans called out as they finished up placing a giant rebar by the middle of the doors, secured at their ends on the walls for added stability and security. "We don't have the means for the full works, but this should hold until the morning."

"Good." He barely finished when the howls of the Zekes reverberated in the area followed by the building shaking hard. All of them grouped together with wands and weapons pointed around them while Carter flipped the switch to turn the first set of the UV lights on to be on the safe side. Dust dropped down from the ceiling and loose items hit the ground, but the walls and doors held and their wards have yet to detect any intrusion. It was a nerve-wrecking few minutes that felt like hours as the monsters tested the integrity of the building just passing by to get to the wrecked area. Eventually the vibrations slowed down to nothing, but they could hear the growls and screeches from the Zekes and possibly the necromorphs checking the area for flesh, and there was the possibility that the undead could sense their presence.

"Fuck waiting till morning. Let's get going like now." Dean's remark was welcomed by all. Harry would want that but had to be practical about the situation.

"This is what we will do before leaving. We must first secure this floor and the basement at least to make sure future returns are not bothered by those creatures. Decide which spot for the apparition handling and for decontamination. Once done, take your rest and food until we are ready to leave. I will contact homebase on our situation, someone please help with observation." Harry pulled out his radio while Justin came forward to help with the lookout and the others went to do as he said.

This was going to be a long wait.

Author's Notes:

This would be my take on the Zombie AU, complete with the different variants I can think of from the various games and movies out there.

General premise I am thinking of would be the first British civil war getting out of hand with Voldemort / Senior Malfoy performing a ritual to get rid of the muggles and selected enemies only for it to backfire and blowing the Statute of Secrecy big time with zombies coming out of the woodwork. Somewhere along the lines, Death Eaters became synonymous with necromancy cultism by the muggles.

With the Statute getting destroyed, muggleborns and muggle-raised half-bloods are left out to hang with the purebloods going deeper underground to hide their society. Most would be fine with groups forming communities, and these guys will embrace technology and military tactics, but there will be tensions between muggleborns / halfbloods and the purebloods. So you can expect some of the normally friendly characters want to kick the shit out of each other.

Not sure if I want to do the Horcrux plot since this would be very AU. I can say that Dumbledore's Order is going to be a menace to Harry's crew.