Notes:

I played around with Axel's character a little bit, making Big Tiny have the water pistol story and Axel both younger and in for grand theft auto.

On Whom the Pale Moon Gleams

--

"It's happened." Harry's voice was quiet but carried through the common area of the Big House. All the adults were gathered, the couple of kids including his own little siblings Raz and Jamie were asleep, completely unaware of the drastic changes that had just rocked their world. Because in their little slice of the world…not a whole hell of a lot had changed beyond all of the gates going into lock-down at once.

Sirius and Remus stared in pride at their son – and at this point loath as they were to admit it for fear of marring James's memory, Harry was more theirs than his.

Harry had grown a lot in the last six years. He had the strong V-build of an Olympic swimmer with wide shoulders, strong arms, a chiseled chest and stomach, meeting lean hips and long strong legs. He'd stopped shooting up when he matched James's height of six-foot even, leaving Sirius two inches taller but less muscled with his lean build and Remus an inch shorter but more massive with his were-strength. And smart. Merlin he was smart.

Whenever Remus or Sirius would start to doubt, start to wonder, Harry was there to kick them back on the path. He tore through his high school education and then regular college, managing to pack in as much as possible about medicine before the world went to hell.

And, in the end, it did.

After a couple years, the two elder wizards had questioned if the future trials Pandora foretold would really be all that bad.

Harry, maybe due to his friendship with her daughter, never had.

He'd stayed the course when they'd doubted or gotten lost in the humdrum of everyday life and the joy of their two young children.

Raz was three now and Jamie two.

And they were going to grow up in a world where the dead came back to life and were hungry.

Remus watched with pride-tinged-worry, Sirius much the same, as Harry addressed the handful of adults they'd let into their little village before the world came crashing down. There was no doubt, not among any of them, that it was Harry who was the leader here. Oh, they knew that all three of them made decisions, they'd seen that for themselves. But Harry'd been tested in the fires of Voldemort and the Tournament, this respite as they waited for the other shoe to drop had merely been that to him when Siri and Remy got comfortable: a rest.

Now it was time to fight and survive once more…and Harry was going to make sure they did just that.

"What is this, Hadrian?" One of the two women, both wives who had met and married two of their single workers, asked. It was Sarah, a small quiet blonde married to their foreman Max, a big bruiser who had a gentle hand with horses and people alike, who'd spoken up. "What's doing this?"

Harry sighed, running his hands through his shaggy black hair. He'd grown it out since they got here, letting it fall half-way down his back before he started cutting it. It suited him, made him look like the old-time Lord and warrior he really was at heart – despite his dip into healing and medicine.

That was a necessity.

Anyone who ever saw him spar sword or wand against Siri could see where his heart really laid.

"A virus." Harry blew out a breath, shaking his head. "There were…whispers." He decided with a nod. "Rumors before school let out for the summer that there was a new viral contagion spreading. It started slow, somewhere in South America…but it didn't stay there. And it grew faster and more contagious with every day." His eyes hardened. "From what I could unearth before I returned it was only a matter of time before it went airborne. That means," he folded his arms, staring everyone including his dads down. "NO one goes outside the wards. I altered the first ward-line to add a contamination field, anyone carrying a virus of any kind will have it eradicated from their system. It should," he eyed them as they moved fractiously. "Keep the dead out…but we have to be cautious nonetheless. Any system can get overloaded and fall…"

"It's best not to make more trouble." Remus finished with his low, soothing voice, settling a couple of their people who were unnerved. "We know what we are." He added. "Who we are. We knew something was going to happen but this…" He shook his head. "Who could predict this?"

"Zombies." Declan, the youngest of their workers shook his head with a bitter laugh. "I used to love horror flicks but now? Knowing…?"

"Too right." Sirius agreed with a grunt. The pure-blooded Lord had taken to muggle films like a duck to water.

"The important things now." Harry held up a hand before they could get off track. "Is stay the course. We maintain the fences, keep the gates closed, man the farm, and wait this out."

"How certain are you that it's plausible to do that?" Max asked, not out of any kind of insubordination but more wanting to be prepared. "Wait? We're stocked here." He said, the others agreeing with nods and rumbles. "We have our own doc," he smiled at Harry. "And all of us are good with weapons – or at least enough to deal with these zombie-things. We can maintain this place and live off the farm for years…but not forever." He shook his head. "Eventually we're going to need new seed, new breeding shock, hell." He laughed ironically. "For us humans too. This isn't a colony that can survive and repopulate after the dead have picked the land clean of the living."

"You're right." Harry agreed easily. "But we won't have to."

"What do you mean?" Rob, a tough, short red-head that reminded Harry too much of Charlie Weasley asked in his gruff baritone.

"Five to eleven years." Harry said to everyone's confusion before enlightening them. "That's how long it takes a body in the ground to decompose beyond the possibility of movement if they've been reanimated somehow or are braindead except for primary survival functions."

"Walking, eating." Remus added, a light dawning in his worried amber eyes.

"Exactly." Harry nodded. "I don't know what this virus does but I do recognize putrefaction from the couple on the news before the networks went down. They're decaying. And eventually they'll reach the point they can't walk or even crawl. The brain will decompose beyond what this virus can animate."

"Five to eleven years." Rob's wife Sharla narrowed her eyes. She'd been a science teacher before she fell for a hardworking carpenter who eventually moved them out to the sticks. Now she mainly worked around the farm with the others and helped teach the Black children and Max and Sarah's twin girls and lone son who were five and four respectively. "With exposure and Georgia's weather we're closer to the five, places like Canada and New England will be closer to the eleven."

"Right." Harry nodded, pleased that they were following his thought. "The only problem is the fluid that comes with decay and putrefaction is filled with bacteria, viruses, fungi…" He grimaced. "It's toxic, long story short, to both plants and animals. We'll have to kill and burn as many of these things as we can safely without getting taken out ourselves or else we risk poisoned groundwater and land that's no good for farming."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Sean, the last member of their group and the other singleton commented. "Do supply runs so we don't run short, kill what we can, and hunker down."

"That's pretty much it." Harry said with a sigh, a weary look on his handsome face. "It'll be safest if us three," he waggled a thumb between himself and his dads. "Do all the runs. We have better senses and me and Dad Siri can make good time in our other forms if we have to."

"I don't like it." Declan objected, which being the youngest Harry thought he would. Declan was only twenty-one while Sean weighed in at twenty-five, Rob twenty-eight, and Max thirty-five with Sarah thirty and Sharla at twenty-three. It made for quite the spread when you added in his dads in their early forties, Harry himself at almost twenty-one, and the kids five, four, three, and two.

"I didn't think you would." Harry nodded, acknowledging his complaint. "But as was already pointed out, we're already lean on numbers – especially for how big this spread is. We're going to have to add in patrols around the various fence-lines in addition to other duties, and cut back on how much we use the gas for the equipment doing more by hand. Believe me," Harry gave a small smirk. "There will be more work than we all can handle…even with magic."

Sirius, who had been mostly quiet, pointed out something Harry had yet to broach with the others.

"What about the prison?"

Everyone save Harry and his dads froze at that.

Having a State Penitentiary next door had been one of the harder selling points both Rob and Max had dealt with when it came to Sarah and Sharla.

That it housed murderers a mere handful of miles away wasn't any kind of boon to the area, and the reason the three wizards were able to buy such a large parcel of land in the first place.

"You don't think…" Sarah turned horrified eyes towards her husband. "They just let them go, do you Max?"

"Doubt it." Sirius grunted in answer before Max could sooth her. "If anything they either put everyone down or locked them all up, threw away the key, and went the hell home."

"Or both with the military bombing entire cities." Harry sighed, heart hurting at the blatant and useless loss of life. "Either way…it's too close to leave it." He turned sad green eyes on the two women. "I don't suppose you two are up for babysitting tomorrow so we wizards can find out for sure…one way or the other…"

"Well." Harry said grimly as two of the three wizards stared down at the prison. Sirius had stayed behind, the trio having a family meeting after the others returned to their homes and deciding that unless it was a large operation like securing the prison, only one of them would leave at a time. It was simple math: if something happened requiring magic to fix it, like say with the wards, they needed at least one of them home-bound to deal with it. Or call whoever it was that normally handled those things. "Normally I don't mind admitting when Padfoot's right but this…" He trailed off sharing a horrified look with Remus.

Remus silently cast a Homenum Revelio to see if anyone in there was still alive, lighting up a central part of the prison with a small glow. He narrowed his eyes. "Less than a dozen." He estimated based on the size and brightness of the spell feedback. "But more than one or two."

Harry blew out a breath, knowing what their next move would be. He'd hate to say it but it would have been a lot easier to deal with if there wasn't a living soul in the prison. One Fiendfyre and it would be over with, no fuss no muss.

"We're going to have to breach it." He said, setting his jaw and unsheathing the sword at his back. Remus was a helluva better shot with a bow than Harry, having already cleared the perimeter between them and the fence then summoning the arrows back. "Clear as many as you can with Bombardas to the head." He decided that would work best at the middle range. "Then I'll use a Fiendfyre to clear the courtyard. Once we're inside it'll be Bombardas or swords as we move through the prison."

"Which first?" Remus asked. "Survivors or walkers?"

"Walkers." Harry said resolutely. "If there's one thing the war taught us it was that there's nothing more dangerous than man. I'd rather we take out the known threat before dealing with an unknown one."

"Lions or lambs." Remus said philosophically. "Anyone will kick or bite if cornered. And locked up with the walking, biting, dead is one hell of a corner."

"Agreed."

With that they apparated down onto the top of the guard tower, Harry dealing with the walker inside with a Bombarda, leaving Remus to start clearing the walkers stuck between the two fence lines as he looted the tower, stuffing weapons in one bottomless bag, food in another, and anything else like med kits in a third. This was their first raid/supply run and he was testing out what would work best. With a group of people including kids, and several capable of giving birth, it was important to stock all they could. He even cleaned the blood from the moveable furniture before shrinking it down if it had salvageable metal or wooden parts. Harry was leaving nothing behind to chance since he still planned to raze the prison once they cleared it.

It was too close for his comfort. He didn't want to chance a dangerous group of survivors claiming it and moving in a couple miles from his doorstep. No thank you.

Better to remove the temptation than allow it to sit and fester and with the prison the only other dwelling within ten miles, that gave Harry and his family one hell of a buffer zone.

And one that he desperately needed if he ever wanted another good night's sleep.

"Clear." He called out to Remus, his werewolf papa swinging inside from on top of the tower in a move made possible thanks to his supernatural strength and agility. If nothing else, six years off the poison Snape called the Wolfsbane Potion had given him back his youthful demeanor and abilities. Running with his pack was nothing to sneeze at either for keeping Moony happy.

At peace for the first time, Remus and his wolf were content and no longer sought to do damage to whatever they happened to come across.

With careful steps they descended the tower, searching the office at the bottom and adding a few granola bars, bottled water, and a fire extinguisher and emergency axe to their haul.

"Ready for this?" Remus asked his pup as he rested one hand on the locked door.

"Are you?" Harry smirked, rolling his sword in his offhand and twirling his wand.

Remus rolled his eyes, commenting that his pup was spending far too much time with his mate now that college was done for.

With a laugh, the two blasted the door open and set to work, Remus staying behind Harry as he sent off controlled waves of Fiendfyre to clear the courtyard, the elder wizard taking out the few that were out of range of Harry's cursed fire as the younger man walked slowly and steadily towards the main entryway doors. One of the most dangerous and uncontrollable spells in existence in their former world, even for a wizard as powerful as Harry it took total control and concentration to use it the way he was. Turning and trying to catch every undead with it would do nothing by fray his control and have it taking everything in its path…including the prison they were there to raid and the prisoners they – might – be setting free.

"Clear!" Remus called firmly as they reach the steps to the prison, not seeing or smelling any remaining walkers.

Harry canceled the spell with a relieved sigh, he hadn't done magic like that and on that scale in a long time. "There will be more around the building." He cracked his neck and shook out his shoulders. "We should clear them and then search the outbuildings before we breach the prison proper."

"First we rest." Remus corrected, eyeing his pup. "Fiendfyre is no joke, you need to stop and recharge a moment." With a flick of his wand he locked the prison doors in case any walkers were drawn by the noise they'd made thus far. "Fifteen minutes and a juice and scone." He decided digging into the pack strapped to his back. Like Harry's trio of bags on his belt, Remus's backpack had multiple compartments all with extension and featherlight charms. One of which held their supplies in case it took them all day to clear the prison.

Knowing arguing was futile when his papa got that tone, Harry sat gracefully on the steps and tucked into the blueberry scone and orange juice Remus handed over, the werewolf sitting beside him and taking three scones to Harry's one, his metabolism being in high-gear with the full moon in less than a week.

"There'll be gas in the shop." Harry gestured over towards where the prison bus was parked. "Tools, oil, diesel, all things we need for our vehicles and the farm equipment."

"Mhmm." Remus agreed around his mouthful of juice. "There should be an armory in one of the outbuildings as well." He speculated. "And a barracks with riot gear and emergency supplies."

Harry nodded, his wild hair staying tight in its braid thanks to a spell Sirius had taught him years ago when he first grew it out. "And a cafeteria, infirmary." Harry rattled off, dusting his hands lightly on his dragonhide pants. "All things we'll need for the long haul."

"We're already stocked to last for years, Harry." Remus commented with concern, turning to stare at his son. "Unless…" He continued with understanding. "Governments topple." He closed his eyes in realization. "When we first talked about this years ago something was said about governments falling."

The younger man nodded, waving his hands towards the abandoned prison.

"I'd say that time has come and gone…wouldn't you?" Harry's voice was filled with grief for the lives lost. "We discussed pandemic theory in my virology course. Something like this?" He said shaking his head. "With the speed it spread and the bombings, the riots? It cost billions of lives in the first month." His face was grim. "If we're lucky ten percent of the world population is still alive in five years. If we're not it's one percent. And less than half of that will make it through the max eleven years we talked about last night." Harry stood, ready to get to work. "We're stocked to outlast this thing, Papa." He admitted, eyes searching the yard. "But the world is gone. If we want to make it out the other side and have something worth living for we have to think long-term…no matter what fairy tales we tell the others so they can sleep at night."

"What was in that letter?" Remus asked himself under his breath as he trotted off with his son to clear and raid the outbuildings, the question plaguing his mind as he saw Harry shrink down the entire bus after cleaning it and picking the buildings clean of everything. Scrap metal, wood, weapons, supplies, raw materials, if it could be resources, reused, or repurposed, Harry took it. To Remus's eyes, by the time they razed the building there would be nothing left worth staying for anyway except the safety of the walls. And to his own surprise…he found himself okay with that, jumping in to help Harry break down a pile of sheet metal that was likely used for repairs.

Come hell or high water…Remus's family was going to be part of the world that was left after the walkers were finally exterminated.

Hours later, they were done scavenging the yard and outbuildings, having cleared another couple dozen walkers as they were at it, and were sitting on the steps again, this time having lunch and talking to Sirius over their enchanted mirrors.

"We recast the Homenum Revelio now they we're closer." Harry reported to his dad who was plainly showing worry while tucked away studying ward schemas in his study. Sirius was looking for something akin to the wards that used to prevent anyone with ill-intentions from gaining access to Number 4 Privet Drive, Harry's words about a containment ward having sparked the idea in his head. "There's five survivors and based on the map we found in the tower they're in the cafeteria."

"Probably locked inside." Sirius supplied. "Maybe a guard had an attack of conscience while the rest were culling the inmate population."

"Maybe." Remus nodded. "If they'd escaped in the chaos they would've taken off."

"Agreed." Harry nodded. "I'm going to see if I can find any hardcopies of the prisoner files. Veritaserum works a treat, but I'd rather not waste it if one of the five is a lost cause anyway."

"Careful with that Harry." Sirius, the formerly innocent convict cautioned. "We'll have enough blood on our hands from the walkers without adding innocents too it."

"I will be." Harry reassured him. "And I won't go off half-cocked. But if there's a murderer or a rapist in there…I'm not about to let them go free to attack us later when we make a run."

"It's your call pup." Sirius said rubbing his eyes. "Just…be careful. I don't want one of them to get a lucky shot off any more than I want you to take an unnecessary life."

"Love you." They both called out as Sirius was called away by Raz, ending the call. They finished up their lunch of sandwiches and more juice and water – Georgia summers were no joke and it was easy to get dehydrated – before packing away the containers and rising to their feet, ready to start the tedious work of clearing the undead and looting the prison.

They were right.

It was boring, tedious work after a while. Hours of growl, stab, loot, repeat. They had found a couple sets of keys in an office, along with the prisoner records Harry had wanted, as well as a wealth of fabric sourced from the prison warehouse that was filled with new uniforms – both inmate and guard – blankets, towels, sheets, etc. Most of it was cheap – but warm, including the flimsy shower shoes and slip-ons…but they could always be transfigured into something else or used for the animals bedding.

They took the entire library, knowing what was useless could always be burned for fuel or repurposed, and cleaned out the infirmary.

The sun was close to setting and they'd already had dinner when it was time to finish. There was just one place left to raid – the cafeteria with its handful of inmates. Remus and Harry debated leaving and coming back the next day, but really, the idea of having it done and over with was a powerful lure.

With that in mind, they sheathed their wands, took out their swords and a pair of handguns found in the armory, and unlocked the cafeteria doors.

Quickly they spread out, Harry nodding towards the doors that were locked with handcuffs. "Clear!" He called to Remus, the large area being free of the undead and the prisoners apparently held in what must be dry storage as the generators were still up and running with the cold lockers stocked.

"How do you want to do this pup?" Remus asked too quietly for the shadows they both spied in the dry storage to hear.

Harry set the files down on one of the tables near the locked doors, making eye contact with one of the men inside before hissing whispers erupted from the inside.

"Clear the area." Harry said, just as quiet as his papa. "We pick it clean the same as the rest, then we'll deal with them."

"Okay." Remus nodded, fine with that plan. "Your call…boss."

Harry gave a mock growl at the reminder of his new place in the hierarchy of their group. His dads were still his dads. But when it came down to it…it was Harry's call. Remus was just too humble and quiet after a lifetime of dealing with disdain and Sirius was still damaged from Azkaban. As a unit they were solid. But separately…one would waffle and the other be too impulsive. It just wasn't a good mix as all three of them had decided when the news came out and the subject was broached.

And Harry wasn't the scrawny teen or the tiny baby they once knew anymore. He was a man, a young, vital, strong man more than capable of leading. His name meant "leader" and a leader he was. The alpha of their little pack, and Moony was happier for it.

Eyes watched them through the window as the pair cleaned out the cafeteria, judicious use of Notice-Me-Not spells keeping them from seeing just how much supply-wise they were sourcing. Sometime later found them bag-less with only their weapons standing outside the locked doors and Harry whispering to Remus. "What do you smell Papa?"

"Fear." The wolf whispered back, eyes flashing. "A lot of it. And anger, hate." He shook his head. "But mostly fear."

"Alright." Harry narrowed his eyes as he focused on the door. "Break the chain and then get back: fast. I'll hold them at gun-and-sword point while you find them in the pile. If they lie about their names we can always match their pictures."

"Done." Remus nodded, darting forward and snapping the steel chain like tinfoil with his werewolf powered strength. The next moment found him with the files and aiming his shotgun at the door. It'd happened so fast the inmates inside hadn't had a chance to respond.

"Come out, come out, whoever you are." Harry called semi-mockingly when it seemed like the inmates wouldn't move at all. Then a voice was heard, a little higher than either man expected but definitely male.

"They's got guns on the door, Tomas." The voice said. "We better listen."

"Big Tiny's right, man." Another, lower voice said. "That's a M-4 in the younger dude's hands…it'll go through these doors like paper."

"Fine." The voice that must be Tomas answered, the apparent leader of the handful of inmates before it called out louder. "We're coming out, don't shoot!"

And out they came.

One big blonde guy the size of Remus, another even bigger black guy who seemed meek even as he towered over the others, a man around the size of Sirius but bulkier who was mixed race – probably some sort of Latin descent and black -, another of the same racial mix but much younger than the rest and smaller with it, and the last who walked with a strut and a handgun who was Latino.

"Hmm." Harry hummed taking in the straggler who was already puffed up. "You must be Tomas." He arched a brow as he kept his gun leveled on the biggest threat, ignoring for now the other men. "Got a last name with that, Tomas?"

"Martinez." The man growled, hand clenching around his gun, cold eyes focused on the M-4 pointed at his chest. It pissed him off something fierce that the pretty boy was ignoring Big Tiny and Axel in favor of focusing that weapon on him. And he was steady with it, none of the shakes he'd seen in the guards before they got locked in the dry storage. "What of it, puta?"

Remus stood up, a file in hand, drawing attention to the second man…who was even bigger than the pretty boy to the inmate's eyes. And more…drawing their attention to the shotgun that could fuck up more than one of them at a time. He spoke in an upper-crust English accent, much crisper than the muddled crisp/drawl Harry had after six years in Georgia.

"Tomas Martinez, 31." Remus stated, reading off the inmate's rap sheet. "In and out of prison since he was sixteen for gang-related activity. The first of which was an assault and battery on a fourteen-year-old girl."

The other inmates flinched at the ripe disgust in the man's voice as Tomas's face slowly filled with blood as his temper was sparked by the judgement being cast down on him.

"His sheet includes A , a rape indictment that was tossed out, and the last a life-sentence for a double homicide." Remus said lowly to Harry. "And that's only what they could prove. Additional time was added inside for an attack on both a guard and several fellow inmates. He's trouble. Dangerous trouble."

"We agreed then?" Harry asked idly as Tomas started to raise his gun shouting:

"No puta, the fuck we're agreed!"

Remus nodded once, and Harry pulled the trigger, shooting Tomas in the head before the man could get off a shot of his own.

"Here's how this is going to work." Harry explained as he focused on the other inmates as they moved away from him – and his rifle – as he went to collect the pistol and the spare clip from Tomas's cooling corpse. "You're going to tell us your name. My papa Remus here is going to find your file. Then we'll decide if you're leaving this prison with us – or joining Tomas. We clear?"

"Crystal." One of the unnamed men agreed after sharing a look with the others. "Oscar Gonzalez, 37."

With quick hands – and a wordless search spell – Remus pulled out the file and read it out. "Oscar Gonzalez, 37. Second-time offender, in on a five-year stretch for breaking and entering. The first offense was the same."

"Deadly weapon or force."

"Neither." Remus shook his head.

Harry arched a brow at the now-dubbed Oscar who shrugged, staring him down calm as could be.

"Never saw the point. If I got popped with a weapon it would add between ten and twenty to a sentence." Even his voice was calm and unshakable. "I got a family outside. They don't need me gone any longer if I can help it. I'm a criminal…not a thug."

Accepting that, Harry jerked his head over towards an empty table giving Oscar the wordless go-ahead to sit and take a load off before focusing on the youngest of the group.

"Andrew." His voice was shaky, still staring down at the blood pooling around Tomas. "Carter, 19."

"Andrew Carter, 19." Remus's voice turned grave as he read the rap sheet. "He's a rapist, Harry."

The gun barrel came up at the same time as Andrew's hands, the younger man blurting out. "It was a beef. She was seventeen and her Daddy didn't like me, I swear!"

"Remus?"

"The sentence was for a statutory." Remus said grimly. "But there's only one way to be sure."

"Go sit at the table next to Oscar." Harry decided. "We'll come back to you, Andrew."

Praying under his breath the youngest convict all but ran over to the table the other man pointed him to, ignoring the looks he was now getting from the other inmates. Tomas was supposed to be his new protector now that the world went crazy. With him gone, Andrew was out of his mind trying to figure out what to do next. He only hoped they didn't have a way to get the real story instead of the bullshit he just fed them…

The biggest of the men stepped forward next. "Jackson Michaels." His voice was higher than one would expect from a man that size. "28. Robbed a convenience store…with a water pistol. Everyone calls me Big Tiny."

Harry held in a laugh at that. It wasn't funny that he'd got sent up for armed robbery with a water pistol but at the same time…it was in a horrible way. Remus again checked the story against the paperwork, this time it checking out no problem with the case notes, Harry sending Big Tiny off to sit with Oscar, leaving only the big blonde left.

"Axel." He supplied. "Washington, 24. Grand theft auto."

"Checks out." Remus said with a nod.

"Well then." Harry said, still eyeing Andrew. There was something about him that hit Harry as wrong. A smug sort of cunning that reminded him of Lucius Malfoy. Veritaserum it was then. "Remus, I believe we're in need of a little Truth around here."

When the truth was out – both about Harry and Remus's abilities and Andrew's real past – and Oaths had been given not to reveal them in any way – all that was left of Andrew was a bleeding corpse on the floor.

He'd been in for statutory rape all right.

Of a thirteen-year-old girl who was the little sister of a rival gang boss.

And that wasn't his first violent crime…not by a long shot.

Honestly, after hearing about his crimes in detail, not even the gentle Big Tiny would want Andrew around if given the option.

Then as they raided the food Harry and Remus gave the guys the run-down on what had happened to the world, Oscar and Big Tiny taking it the hardest of the three, the wizards having figured that Axel likely didn't have any family from the little – very little – the quiet man said.

"So my wife, my kids, my mom?" Oscar asked for clarification.

"Either dead or found some sort of safe haven." Harry confirmed with no-little amount of regret. Big Tiny crying a little at the memory of his two moms. "It's estimated billions of people have died worldwide at this point based on the virology work up and how fast this thing spread."

"You a doctor or something?" Oscar eyed the younger man warily. He'd certain shot quick and smooth for a doc.

"Was going to be." Harry sighed. "I just finished my first year of med school and come home again from Atlanta when the worldwide outbreak hit."

"Which since they bombed Atlanta." Remus added, giving his pup a side-hug. "Was damned good luck."

"Potter luck at work." Harry joked back before sobering. "I'm sorry guys but your families, your friends." He shook his head. "Most likely dead by now."

"I still have to try." Oscar said, resolutely.

"In that case." Harry sighed, then dug out a duffle bag and a shrunk-down Humvee they'd found still in working order in the prison yard. "We'll set you up: some food, water, supplies, a couple guns and knives." He rattled off the others following like ducklings as they left the prison behind. "I'm going to light up the prison…it's too close to home to leave it empty. If you find them – one way or the other – I'll give you a map that'll lead you to the first gate. You'll have to wait there for someone to come and get you." He warned. "But as long as they're not dangerous to us or our people, you'll be welcome Oscar."

"Thanks man." Oscar nodded, eyes wide as Harry resized the Humvee and handed over the supplies. "You're good people. I'll be back…one way or another. Big Tiny, Axel, you coming or going?"

"Going." Big Tiny shook his head. "My moms were old, too old to escape this. They're gone. But Harry and Remus…it sounds like a good place they've set up. A fresh start."

"Same." Axel nodded. "A second chance."

"Well then." Oscar climbed into the Humvee and turned the key, smiling as it started with a roar. "Adios."

"Vaya con Dios." Harry answered as Oscar nodded and roared away. Turning towards the two remaining inmates, he said: "Go with Remus and keep a lookout, I'm going to light up the prison. Once it's done…we'll go home."

"Home." Axel mused staring at the blood-stained courtyard. "Been a long time since I had one of those. Sounds real nice."

"It does." Big Tiny agreed with a smile, in spite of everything that had led them to this point, a home sounded just fine to him.

--

All Credit Due to: Sifsshadowheart