The Grimes/Greene group watched, utterly disconcerted, as Harry was welcomed home by people that seemed to just keep coming, though in reality was only a dozen or so men and women, the kids and elderly sequestered until the Blacks were certain on how these new elements were going to slot into their lives.
He laughed and talked and hugged, showing a joyful, loving side to himself that they'd never seen before in full-force though there had been hints of it.
A guffawing laugh at one of Merle's crude jokes or Daryl's quiet snarky jabs.
Telling bedtime stories to calm down Sophia and Carl after a walker was killed during the day.
Bringing back toys or books for the kids on a run when others focused on only the pure necessities.
Yeah, there'd been hints of the happy, outgoing man who was slapping backs with a stocky redhead one moment and being locked in a headlock by one of his dads – the dark haired one – the next.
Pity most of them had never really bothered to get to know that side of him save for the Dixons and even they had never seen him let go like he was now that he was back among his own.
"Kill the fatted calf." Hershel quoted quietly. "My beloved son hath returned."
"What's that, Hershel?" Rick asked, blinking at the scene playing out.
"The fable of the prodigal son." Carol said, fingering her cross necklace. "That's what we're seeing right now: the return of the wandering son, long gone from home, but returned safe and beloved even more from the absence."
"Alright you lot." Harry laughingly shouted. "Shoo, y'all got work still to do before nightfall. We've got plenty of time for shenanigans later."
"Ooh," Sean played up, pretending to faint, fanning himself deliriously. "You promise?" His grin was salacious, lucky for him, he was too far away to hear the in-unison growl the Dixons let out at the open flirtation.
"Go on with you." Harry shoved him away in exasperation. "I've got business to attend to."
Laughing brightly, Sean and Declan wandered over to the trucks to begin unloading them, Remus moving to help with the heavy lifting via wand. A lot of it he would be banishing to the storage in the main house but some, like the tanker trucks, would have to be driven over to the in-ground tanks and pumped in after the safety of the contents had been tested. It wouldn't do to add contaminated fuel or water to their supplies and ruin the whole lot. Harry had checked himself of course, but they always checked and double checked the hauls from the supply runs as standard operating procedure.
"Remy was right about one thing." Sirius said eyeing the trucks. "That is one hell of a haul."
"If the tankers aren't contaminated, I think it's worth doing every run." Harry agreed with a firm nod in the direction of the line of trucks. "But either way, I'm definitely doing it with the dry goods from now on rather than moving things into my bag and going about it that way. I wasn't sure on the limits of the spell but I didn't have any problems with it."
"No." Sirius shook his head with a rueful chuckle thinking about the amount of power packed into that one body. "I wouldn't think you would have at that."
Harry just laughed the implication off, striding back over to the new additions, Siri handing him the Housing file while he was at it. Inside was a list of all the dwellings on the property – from the studio apartment above the stables to the main house itself – with a listing of who was living where as well as how much magical expansion each home could undergo and if any magical adjustments had already been done. Sort of like his RA's log from college…only much, much more detailed.
"We're going to give y'all a mini-tour of the vital areas y'all need to know off the bat." Harry started in before anyone could ask a single question. He needed a shower, a nap, hugs from his brother and sister, and some food before he dealt with anymore bullshit from any of these people. He was just tapped out from the last several weeks. He was due a break. "While we're at it," Sirius stood quietly at his pup's back, staring calmly over the group, sizing them up for the weak links – and the troublemakers – Harry had warned them of in his last message. "We'll get your housing needs taken care of. You have this afternoon to rest up and take a load off, get cleaned up, etc. Tonight there will be an introductory meal-slash-q in the mess hall with just you and the leaders of this outfit. Then tomorrow you'll be slotted into the work rotation."
Carol raised her hand with only a fraction of her former timidity.
"Yes?" Sirius asked, Harry busy studying the file in his hand and working out the housing situation in his head.
There were several empty homes and rooms to be had but Harry didn't believe in spreading everyone out only to have to pull back in later as others came along – and he was set that there would be others, as well as other buildings being built as time passed.
For one thing Harry really wanted some kind of outpost with living quarters added to the watch towers to make guard duty easier when the wards alerted him and he sent people to watch the walls.
The response time turn around alone would be worth the extra effort.
He also wanted to add an outpost to the former site of the prison since the damned place was still on the maps, someone would be willing to try for it sooner or later as the walkers fail to die out with time.
"How will the housing be decided?" Carol asked. Were they going to all be shoved together like at the Greene farm or…?
"Everyone have your packs?" Harry asked mildly, looking up from figuring out how he was going to handle that very issue. At the round of nods he spun, motioning them to follow.
"Mess hall is there." Harry pointed out the large-ish building. "It doubles as a meeting hall. For the most part people would rather eat in their homes together but we try and have one big group meal a week with a meeting after to discuss issues."
"Plus the single guys need to eat something real besides sandwiches or eventually they'll revolt." Siri joked but still being half-serious. Heh.
"And that." Harry chuckled, some of the others seeing the humor but others still too shell-shocked. "That's the gate to the main house, you have to be keyed in to cross it either for work or what have you." He waved a vague hand. "Inside that zone is the glasshouse, a couple gardens, the main house of course, etc. and so on." Pointing towards another massive building, this one an obligatory red, he said: "Main barn: houses livestock, feed, hay, the coolers for the DNA samples."
"What's that mean, Mom?" Sophia asked a now-blushing Carol.
"How they make baby animals." Carol said then hushed her daughter, trying to pay attention, many of the others chuckling a bit at the situation.
"Stables." Harry came to a stop at the neat and tidy structure. "Horses both for riding/patrol and working the crops fields. Which brings me to the first housing question of the day." Turning he gave the hand-holding Maggie and Glenn a knowing look, ignoring the frown on Hershel's face. "The stables have a studio apartment that's already furnished, it was where the foreman lived before he got married and moved into one of the houses on the land. If you two are interested…" He trailed off, leaving the offer open for them to accept or decline.
Hershel opened his mouth to speak, but a firm look from Maggie had him holding his tongue.
"We'll take it." Glenn nodded, truly thankful for the thoughtful gesture on their part.
"Great." Harry grinned, bouncing a little in place. "Everyone follow me up, since it's empty at the moment it's a good place to show you what all you can expect in the different housing options we'll be setting you up with. Most of the appliances and things are the same everywhere, only the size and amount of bedrooms and bathrooms really varies." He explained as he led the way to the outside stairs that accessed a small, pretty balcony with some pumpkin-orange mums still in bloom in the planters.
"This is lovely." Jacqui said with approval, touching one dainty petal gently and eyeing the painted-white wrought iron patio set under the canvass awning that kept sun or rain from ruining the seating area.
The other women in the group murmured similar compliments, Maggie getting a little chuffed over this place being hers – for however long it lasted.
Opening the door, Harry and Sirius stood back while everyone else filed inside, filling the living area pretty much to capacity.
"As you can see." Harry gestured to the far end where the half-wall over looked the stable proper and the horse stalls. "It's basically one large open room." He pointed to a pair of doors. "Closet/storage and a full bathroom with a modest hot-water heater." Opening the bathroom door, he flicked the pull-chain lightly that worked with toilet. "Most of the appliances and things like that run on permanent enchantments that my dads and I put in: the plumbing, water heater, food storage." He pointed one slender-but-callused finger at the lantern hanging down from the rafters. "Even the lights."
"What about the solar panels?" Rick asked, frowning at that.
"Backup systems." Sirius said, waving a hand. "Anything that runs on magic here has a backup that can be switched over to the solar system. Right now we're mostly using it for the wells and storing the rest for just-in-case. But the farm equipment is all mechanical and doesn't take magical adaptations well so we use it for those as well, the ones that don't run on diesel or petrol anyway."
Harry took over once again, drawing open the shuttered doors that hid the laundry area. "Crank washer and wringer, there's a community drying line in the courtyard or a retractable one you can use inside during inclement weather." Going over to the kitchen area he pointed out the wood stove which can also be used to heat the area as well as cook, and the enchanted food storage. "Frozen, preservation, and chill-charmed." He explained, showing them the labels. "They do what it says on the tin: preserve food fresh or cooked, keep frozen things frozen and cool, like a fridge."
"Okay." Andrea had to say. "That's damned amazing considering the times we're in. Modern science couldn't even preserve food like that and that was before the outbreak."
"Wonders of magic, lass." Sirius gave her one of his patented roguish grins, making the blonde blush bright red.
"Down boy." Harry said drily. "Honestly, I swear he's housebroken, but sometimes he can't help himself, might need to be fixed to curb his behavior."
"Oi!" Sirius squawked in protest, Harry not paying him any mind.
"Moving on." Harry ushered them all out save for Glenn and Maggie, taking a quick moment to show them how to remove and place the privacy shutters that came down over the half wall looking out over the stable proper. "Next stop the bunkhouse."
About ten yards from the stable was the building in question, the same sort of country architecture as the barn and stables but skinnier than either while keeping a good deal of length. Opening the door he read off a series of names.
"Dale, T-Dog, Jimmy, this is you." He motioned them inside. "Single men's housing. Four of the bunks are already taken, feel free to claim any of the empties. Bathroom, shower room, kitchen and dining area. Laundry facilities. All the comforts of home. The guys have a rotation to clean the common areas, they'll work you in, you're responsible for keeping your personal areas picked up and at least moderately tidy."
Those three dropped off, he ushered everyone along, though most were confused about why the Dixons weren't staying with the other single men…including the Dixons.
Still, Harry was keeping them moving and not paying attention to any attempts to grab his eye.
"You got this from here, pup?" Sirius asked as he saw Max coming their way, likely wanting to talk about the new work schedule they were going to come up with.
"Yep." Harry nodded, waving him off. "Go do management things. I'm a big boy, I can take care of housing on my own."
"Ta, then."
The next stop was a little farther in, closer to the main house wall than the outer wall unlike the barn, stables, and bunkhouse. It looked more like a house too, a big log cabin-ish thing but much too large to be a proper cabin as most thought of them. Still…it was made of seasoned logs and had that rustic feel.
"This is the Vatos house, where the refugees from the Vatos base in Atlanta live." Harry said as he led them through the front door. "There's two kinds of residents here: active elderly who were healthy enough to make the trip, and the orphans the Vatos had gathered up, most of them between sixteen and six, though there's one four-year-old who stays with our main teacher and her husband. Ms. Jacqui," Harry smiled gently at the older woman. "I think you'd be most comfortable here, around others your same age and ability. There's a lovely empty room overlooking the garden, and lots of hands to help with the chore roster."
"Thank you, young man." Jacqui, an active and tough woman in her mid-sixties, smiled gently as Harry showed her to the room he described.
"Your housemates will come around to meet you here in a little bit after you've had a chance to settle in." He told her, the others all waiting in the living area. "Rosalia is the "den mother" if you would, a bit younger than yourself I believe. She tends to wrangle the kids and put together the chore roster."
"That sounds just fine." With that he took his leave, showing everyone else back out as the group slowly dwindled with each assignment.
Eyeing who was left to place, Harry waffled a bit before coming to a decision, stopping first at a four-bedroom house between Max and Sarah's and Rob and Sharla's homes.
"How did you manage that?" Carol asked quietly. "Fitting a bunch of elderly and children in one home?"
"Magic." Harry said sardonically. "It originally was the biggest home we built outside of the main house: six bedrooms and three bathrooms intended for a large family situation. We expanded it to the max, put in a lift, ramps." He shrugged. "We made it work. The elderly have value just the same as the children are our future. Both deserved to be taken care of. Now it's a twenty-four bedroom, four storied, twelve-bathroom complex housing over a dozen children and an equal number of older folks with Jacqui's addition."
Turning the door knob, he gave the specs of the home: "Four bedroom, two bathroom; for Hershel, Beth, Andrea, Otis, and Patricia. Your neighbors are the Foreman and his family and Rob and Sharla who took in little Sasha from the Vatos group." He smiled a bit. "I hope you don't mind kids running around."
"No, not at all." Hershel returned his smile with one of his own. "This'll do, more than do."
Even if he was a daughter short at the moment…but he supposed he couldn't keep her a little girl forever…and at least that Jimmy was tucked away with the single men.
He was a good boy but Hershel had better things to do than chase him away from his baby girl. Hopefully some hard work and a crew to keep a look out will keep him too busy for tomfoolery.
Well.
An old man can hope, anyway.
Two houses down, on the other side of Rob and Sharla's was the last on this row, another set of empty homes on the other side of the graveled path waiting for occupation.
"There at the end of the way is the orchard and one of the equipment sheds, as well as the granary." Harry pointed out each in turn, though for the most part they were self-explanatory.
Walking them over to the last house on the row, a craftsman-style painted stormy blue with white trim, Harry again opened the door saying: "Carol, Sophia, and the Grimes family. This is you here. Four bedrooms, two bath, with room to expand or we can convert the office into a nursey when the baby comes, either way."
Carol let out an overwhelmed gasp as she walked into the entry way, the gleaming-white kitchen easily visible with the open main floor.
"Thank you Harry." She said tearfully, the Grimes' and her daughter all following her inside and leaving her to thank their guide. "This is more…"
"You're welcome, Carol." Harry said softly. "Word of advice? Don't let Lori bully you. Like I said before, here she has to pull her weight, and that goes for chores inside this house as well as outside of it. You have it in you to stand up to her: do it. It'll be what's best for her in the long run."
"I will." Carol nodded, straightening her spine as the three men walked away. "Thank you, again Harry. For everything."
Harry just nodded and closed the door, turning to face the stoically watching Dixon brothers.
"And us, Pretty?" Merle asked, at sea to what tricks the man had up his sleeve. "Savin' the best fer last?"
"Indeed." Harry said honestly, even though it came across a bit snarky and sassy. "Trust me: to avoid the inevitable bitching from Lori and one or two others, you don't want them knowing where you're bunking."
"Point." Daryl nodded shortly. It would be a lot harder for the others to come knocking on their door if they didn't know off the bat where it was.
Harry led the way back around to the courtyard, naming the other outbuildings as he went, and making sure to show Merle and Daryl where the machine shop was as well as the smokehouse and meat processing areas since he knew it wouldn't be long before they'd be itching to either hunt or get greased up from head to toe in some engine.
It wasn't until they reached the main house gate that the two Dixons caught wise to what exactly was going on. They weren't just bunking with the other hands, workers, or in some cases (as the Dixons would put it) strays. Harry was leading them to the big house itself.
He was trusting them to stay with his family not just his people.
And that meant more to the two brothers that've been looked down on and condescended to than Harry would ever know.
Stopping dead-center in front of the currently-open gate's face, Harry removed one of his daggers and sliced open his palm, waiting for the blood to pool before pressing it firmly to the center medallion which was etched with a simple howling wolf motif. The Dixons arched identical brows as he did so without flinching or showing any sign of pain, impressed despite themselves. That hadn't been an insignificant wound he'd slashed into himself.
Closing his eyes, Harry tuned into the ward schema, specifically the ones that surrounded the main house and the most heavily-protected zone. He could access the entire ward structure from anywhere within or touching them, but it was much easier to do in certain places if he was going to manipulate them at all, such as keying someone in. If he was going to tinker with them more than that, he'd have to use the main wardstone hidden within his actual home.
Feeling the click in his magic that let him know the wards were ready to accept new persons to be keyed in, he lifted his hand and had it cleaned and bandaged with nary a thought.
Spinning the dagger in his hand, he offered it to the brothers telling them: "A couple drops each is all you'll need, center of the medallion."
Shrugging, Daryl stepped forward first, using the razor-sharp dagger that Harry had cleaned before handing it over to nick the thumb on his off-hand before pressing it to the spot Harry indicated. After a moment he shivered, handing the dagger over to his brother, Harry cleaning it again with a flick of his wand.
"Got that grave-walking tingly feeling again, but worse." Daryl said, staring curiously at his thumb which after an Episkey from Harry showed no sign of the dagger jab.
"That's the wards, yeah." Harry nodded, healing Merle in turn and taking back the dagger. "You two are sensitives of some kind to all things Other as best as I can tell. Some kind of latent ability or some such thing." He shrugged, that was a puzzle for another day. Sheathing both wand and dagger he waved them on through the gates, both Dixons coming to a quick halt at their first real sight of what laid beyond the last gated wall.
"Welcome, Dixons." Harry said with a smile and a flamboyant wave ala Sirius. "To Castle Black."
"Now I fuckin' know what Alice felt like." Merle muttered to his brother as they followed Harry still shell-shocked by the place that was their new home. "This might as well be wonderland it's so far from our run-down cabin."
Daryl nodded, eyes taking in the tapestries and thick carpets, the heavy wood furniture, massive library filled with book. Crystal and gold and things he didn't have names for filled the place from top to bottom. What the fuck was he doing here?
"I know it's a lot to take in." Harry said as they came to the top floor. "And that's just the areas that those outside the family know about. Everyone else has no idea about the two basements and the storage areas, they all think it's up on the third floor – but really that's just empty bedrooms."
"That's an understatement, Pretty." Merle drawled. "You weren't kiddin' 'bout the castle, huh?"
"Nope, unfortunately not." Harry chuckled nervously, running one hand up and down his braided hair. "It was a case of practicality: castles were the fortification of choice for a reason for centuries; running smack-dab into a good dose of English eccentricity." He explained further. "Sirius comes from an old family. And I mean old. Manors and estates and castles, the whole nine yards. And he had the money to prove it. The kind you can't spend in a hundred lifetimes. So when it came time to design our new home, he wanted what he wanted and he got it no matter how many times Papa Remus or I told him things like, no, it's too expensive, or my personal favorite, you've gone barking mad."
"He prides himself on being barking mad, you know that pup." The gentle growl of Remus's voice greeted them as they crested the final set of stairs to the top floor and the family apartments. "And saying something is too expensive just gets you that glassy-eyed blank look, the same one he used to get during Professor Binn's lectures."
Remus nodded at the two new additions, having only gotten a cursory look at them before. Oh yeah. His pup had it bad for a pair of backwoods bad boys.
He was worried…and rather proud strangely enough…all at the same time.
Harry had definitely picked up on Remus's taste in men, Siri being the epitome of charming-but-naughty-bad-boy.
Though he supposed this pair seemed more the rough-but-gentle-to-loved-ones types.
"Family meeting before the intro for the new members, pup." Remus told him. "You have two hours to unpack, clean-up, and present yourself for sibling-snuggles in the living room."
"Sounds good to me." Harry grinned eagerly. "I've missed the little monsters something fierce."
With a wave at the awkwardly-hovering brothers, Remus ducked back into the master suite/apartment, leaving Harry to finish showing them around.
Merle couldn't leave that opportunity alone as he padded along down the hall behind the younger man. "Sibling snuggles?"
"They're two and three, shut your face." Harry tossed back, joking along. "I'll have you know I'm a champion snuggler."
"I bet you are at that, Magic Man." Daryl said under his breath, but not low enough to evade Harry's sharp ears, not that the other man reacted, well-used to ignoring things he shouldn't be seeing or hearing around "normal" people or just those who weren't an Animagus or werewolf…basically anyone who wasn't a Black.
"You're keyed in now, so you can come and go at will." Harry told them, opening the door to his apartment which was on the opposite side of the floor from the one his dads shared with the little ones. Raz and Jaime were still too young to move into their own rooms on the third floor, neither getting the spare apartment on the fourth until they were of-age or otherwise proved themselves responsible. "Just use a little common sense: mainly staying away from the basement areas, that's where we mostly use magic freely. I wouldn't want either of you to get blasted by some stray hex or curse while one of us is working off some steam or the kids is having an accidental magic outburst or something."
"No basement, easy enough, Pretty." Merle agreed hastily. None of that sounded like something he'd enjoy. Though he'd probably like to see what Harry meant by "blowing off steam" using magic. It sounded interesting…and hot. Very hot.
"And no matter what you hear." Harry sighed, not believing he even had to say this. "Don't go in my parents' apartment without invitation. Not unless you want to be scarred for life by the antics of two horny old dogs."
"I dunno." Merle joked. "They're both rather fetching for older men…"
Harry snorted, then winced, smacking the bigger man on the arm in retaliation. "Ew I have icky threesome Merle/Dad/Papa pictures in my head now you asshole. I need brain bleach…or an Obliviate."
"Sorry, fresh out." Merle chirped with an evil grin.
"Ass." Harry repeated half-heartedly before showing them around the apartment. "The castle has built in cleaning charms but you'll still want to keep your things picked up, in hampers or drawers, etc. Kitchen, breakfast bar, living area." He pointed each out in turn. It wasn't a massive space like some of the houses or the castle itself but still good sized. "My bedroom/bathroom/study." He nodded towards a door at the end of one hall then turned to the one at the end of the opposite hall. The space was open, with two halls on opposite ends, Harry's suite-in-a-suite on the same end as the kitchen with the guest suite off the living room. "And your new home away from home."
Daryl opened the door being closet, barely keeping his jaw from dropping at the sight of the "unused" guest room.
A mirror of Harry's own quarters, only without the personal touches, it opened into a sitting area complete with fireplace, with a tapestry showing a crest in ruby with a golden griffin centered on it, the couch and chairs in a darker red with pale gold threads, the rug on the floor the same but the colors reversed. The door on the opposite wall from the entry was already open, showing off a lushly appointed bathroom in creams and browns with a woodland mural over the garden tub.
Harry leaned one shoulder against the entry jamb, saying: "Merle to the left, Daryl to the right." Prompting them to move, each of them opening the door matching Harry's words.
He'd had his dads remove the study when he'd decided on bringing back the Dixons, fixing the space into a second bedroom.
Merle's was done in dark blues and browns with touches of cream and light grey to lighten it up. A king-sized bed, fluffy pillows, and a chest of drawers with a side chair catty-corner completed it. Daryl's room was arranged the same, only in shades of green, and having a rack for his crossbow hanging on the back of the door. Merle had a holder for his gun/sword belt.
"I'll let you guys get settled in." Harry announced, backing out of their new space. "The food chests will all be stocked if you're hungry now, dinner'll be in just under three hours in the mess hall."
"Alrigh'." They called out, words overlapping as they spoke almost in unison.
It was official. The Dixon brothers had actually died. They'd died and this was heaven, complete with their own hot-ass angel showing them around.
Alone in his own room, Harry walked over to his pack which Remus had brought up after emptying the supplies out of it save for his personal affects. A wave of his wand had it unpacking itself and his things flying into place. Bracing his hands on the back of his favorited arm chair that rested before the bare fireplace, he let out a shuddering breath.
It was over.
He'd finally gotten them – as many lives saved as possible – safely set up and settling in.
He could finally rest.
But, remembering the sheer awe and honest shock on the faces of Merle and Daryl when he led them to their rooms…he couldn't hardly stand it.
They were such good men under all the gruff and snark and goading.
Amazingly good considering the familiar marks he'd seen on each of their backs and all the shit they've taken for where and how they grew up.
He'd only been listening to it for a few weeks – they'd dealt with it their whole lives.
And yet for as much as Merle bitched and complained about helping "weak links" they just kept on trucking on, bringing in meat, running for supplies, doing everything they could for everyone else.
All for not one word of thanks.
A warm bed of their own and hot meal was the least they deserved.
And this was probably the first time in their lives they'd gotten it without fighting and scraping and still having it snatched away in the end.
It broke Harry's heart for them, that look neither brother knew they had when they walked into the sitting room.
The whole walk through his home, they'd been tense, waiting for the other shoe to drop despite their real trust in Harry.
As if they were expecting him to tuck them away in the attic like a mad wife or a dirty little secret.
Not install them in his own apartment with a mini-suite of their own and beds they didn't have to share with anyone not even each other.
Shaking his head, he put it aside to deal with later.
He had a hot bath and scrub-down to finish and a snuggling appointment to keep that he'd been looking forward to since he'd left for the Atlanta run.
"Alright everyone, settle down." Remus stood after the meal was finished and everyone from the new members of the estate were gathered up including the two kids. His own two were already tucked in bed with monitoring charms on them that would alert him or his mate if they woke for even a moment. "We know you're all tired from your journey and are looking forward to some quality sleep but there's some things we need to go over first."
"First of all." Sirius jumped in, taking over at Remy's signal. "Have any of you had trouble figuring out your homes, appliances, anything? No?" He tracked over the group, seeing blank faces staring back at him. Which in this case was a good thing. They were calm if a little disbelieving over the events of the day.
"Okay then." Remus clapped his hands together briskly, he spoke with his "teacher" tone that brooked no argument. "To answer the question still plaguing most of you: yes magic is real. Also, yes, myself, my mate, and all three of our children are magical. There are three others on the estate that are magic-sensitives but not having active magical abilities in their own right."
"No." Sirius said, cutting off some of the storm that he saw brewing once more in several eyes – particularly belonging to the pregnant woman. Harry'd warned them about her but it'd proven unnecessary – both he and Remus were old hands at sensing trouble, they'd had to be to survive one war and the start of another.
You didn't grow up with Bellatrix Black after all and not be able to sense crazy.
And Mrs. Grimes was a special cocktail of selfish, manipulative, and cunning that was one push from going over the edge.
"Magic isn't evil." He continued his voice bland but with a hint of exasperation under the charm that made several of them – mostly those more judgmental than thankful – flush and drop their eyes. "There was no offering up of souls to demonic forces or sacrifice of babies required – we were all born this way, every single one of us, the same as you lot were born with instincts that've kept you alive when others have died."
"That contract you signed." Remus arched a brow, his amber eyes flashing as he smelt a fresh wave of fear and grief. "Is a magically binding one. Those rules you agreed to?" He smirked just a tad. "Your blood will hold you to them. The rules are as follows: You pull your own weight, whether its helping with the elderly in the Vatos house, working on the farm, or hunting or running supplies. We're well-stocked here from good management and rationing. We'd like to keep it that way."
"Rule two," Sirius cocked a hip on the side of the table, Harry still seated at his place in the center as his dads spoke, green eyes not missing a trick as he alternated between working on the papers in front of him and watching the new estate members. "We don't fight our own. You gotta problem with someone? You take it up the chain of command or you leave it for the group meeting on Sundays after the communal meal. That doesn't mean." He laughed a little, eyes dancing. "That this is a pacifist commune or any such thing. More than once we've tossed a pair of hot-heads into a paddock and let them duke it out. But once the problem is adjudicated, it's done." His grey eyes turned steely. "There's no seeking personal or private justice here. We have a system that keeps order. You don't like it? We'll drop you, a rig, and some supplies a hundred miles away. End of story."
"Who does the adjudications?" Rick's hand shot up but he started talking before he got the go-ahead, which had the Dixons rolling their eyes at his back from their kicked-back spots at the rear of the mess hall. They were close enough to listen, but if they had any questions themselves they'd take it up with Harry rather than sidelining the meeting. "The contract said something about a chain of command and an ultimate leader but none of that's been explained to us."
"We'll get to that." Harry said idly, looking up with a steady gaze from his papers. "Let them finish with the rules first."
"Three," Remus took back over with a small nod at his pup. "Each family or unit is responsible for keeping their own area clean. We won't barge in and check on you, but every stick and stone on the Black Lands belongs to our family: you're renters in other words. Respect the property that has put a roof over your heads and don't make a mess of it."
"Number four, and this one is important for those of you who'll end up doing watch, runs, or hunts." Sirius pinned a couple of the men with his quicksilver gaze. "Several of us, as you've seen me prove, are capable of transformation into an animal form. As a result, the only game we hunt here is small game: rabbits, squirrels, quail, or large game like bear, deer, elk." He rattled off. "Between the two canine forms and the working dogs on the estate, we check and double check before we bring anything down." He arched a knowing brow at the large figure of Otis. "We don't want another accident like the one that had my pup performing an operation now do we?"
"What sort of forms?" Hershel asked, leaning forward eagerly. As a vet, he found the entire idea fascinating, the shift from species to species.
"You've seen Sirius's aleady, the show-off." Remus said with exasperated love in his tone. "His is a large black dog or Grim, with grey eyes, code name: Padfoot. I'm a large wolf with a sandy coat and amber eyes, code name: Moony."
"Moony doesn't come out to play often." Sirius warned sharply. "But when he does, don't bother him. As a wolf, the instincts are wilder in the transformation than my own. We don't want any accidents of either kind."
"I stick to the forest at night for patrols as Moony." Remus reassured the concerned mothers in the group. "But my other side's wildness brings us to the next rule: Curfew."
"Come nightfall." Sirius told them with a sigh. "Unless you've been assigned a specific job that requires otherwise, everyone is expected to be in their housing units. That way if there's an emergency or something, we don't have to waste time looking for stragglers. We also prefer that unless you're on watch or patrol or hunting that firearms are left in your homes. We're safe here between the walls and the protections we've put in place." He smiled. "And you've all seen what can happen because someone has an itchy trigger finger, I'm sure."
"And last but not least." Remus said with a grand wave. "We have a simple honor system here: what's yours is yours. This goes for property: clothes, weapons, etc. But also for things like fidelity and families."
This had Lori's cheeks flushed red with shame and rage, her hands clenching in her lap.
"Consider it a truncated Ten Commandments if you would." Remus continued, ignoring the fuming woman and the looks she was getting from all the rest bar her son. Her husband couldn't even look at her. "Don't steal, don't kill, don't covet." He shrugged. "The rules are simple and they're for the good of everyone. Be kind to others, help where you can, and you'll find yourself a part of our people in no time at all."
"Speaking of helping where you can." Harry said from his spot as his dads sat back down, their part finished. "You all should have seen – with a couple exceptions – a corkboard in the kitchen of your homes. Everyone find them?"
Nods all around save for Jacqui and the Dixons, which were the exceptions Harry mentioned.
"Good." He nodded once. "On one side is a chalkboard that's set up like a shopping list. It's linked to the one in the storage areas where we make up the rations for the week before handing them out. On the other is a calendar that should've been blank at the moment: that's the work roster. Each week on Sunday rations will be handed out here in the mess hall in the morning, most everyone will get the same things just in varying amounts based on how many people they're feeding, age, gender, activity level." He shrugged. "Y'all get the idea. If you find yourself after the first week needing less or more, note it on the chalkboard and someone will come and talk to you about it before the next week's rations are given out. And if you have any allergies or need something specific like say," he arched a brow at the Grimes family. "Prenatal vitamins, note that too."
"We'll do the best we can to accommodate everyone." Remus assured them in his gentle manner. "If there's a special day like a birthday coming up and you want to celebrate and bake for another example, that's easier than say, wanting to have a guys' night with a dozen bottles of Wild Turkey."
"Mark it down." Harry repeated. "And we'll discuss it with you." He shifted some papers, lining a couple up in front of him, ready to be done. "As far as work goes, we showed you all the main areas. Most of you will be reporting to either Max, Remus, or Sarah in the morning as follows:
Rick, Jimmy, Hershel, T-Dog, Otis, Patricia, Glenn, and Maggie: report to Max and he'll set you up with work around the farm.
Lori, Andrea, and Jacqui: meet at the Vatos house and Rosalia will have assignments for you there.
Carol, Beth, Sophia, and Carl: you'll be picked up by Sarah at Carol's house and shown to the school room. Beth you'll be helping with the younger kids, Carol wherever Sarah and Sharla need you, and you two." He pointed at the kids. "Will be going back to lessons."
"Aw man." Carl groaned lightly. "School."
"That's right my man." Sirius barked a laugh. "School. Everyone under the age of sixteen is required to attend lessons six days a week, at least part of the day." He gave a knowing smile. "Keeps y'all out of trouble."
"Chores for the youngsters are up to their parents or Rosalia depending on their situation." Remus explained. "But on Saturdays there's only a partial school day and we usually send them off to help with the animals, most of them like working with the horses or sheep, Max gives them some lessons and hands-on training for working with the livestock or on the farm."
"Like 4-H." Sophia said brightly bouncing in place.
"Exactly." Harry smiled at her, happy to see her perking up without the constant threat of walkers or her late abusive father hanging over her head.
"Dale," Remus said. "Harry says you've got some experience stripping down or working with machines?"
"That's right." He nodded, eyes shining for a moment. "I owned an auto shop before I retired."
"Then you'll be with Axel in the machine shop." Harry said, folding his hands easily over his stomach. "Y'all are bunked together so just follow him. He knows what needs doing."
"An' us?" Merle asked gruffly.
"Y'all are with me: runnin' supplies, huntin', working in the storage area and prepping rations," Harry shrugged. "Taking watch. Whatever needs doing outside of the normal work of the place, that's mine to handle. Now." He turned his head slightly to look over at Rick. "As far as the chain of command goes it's simple: y'all are assigned an area and a boss. If there's a problem while you're working or what have you and it can't wait for the open forum on Sunday, you take it to them. They'll take it to the Foreman Max, and he'll either handle it or kick it upstairs to us."
"We're not a dictatorship here." Sirius said, knowing that there were some hard feelings over how brusque Harry had been in getting them safe. "We'll listen to the problem and adjudicate it as best we can. But once a decision is made: that's it. It's done."
"What if y'all cian't make a decision?" Merle asked shrewdly.
Harry stood up, shoulders strong and squared. "Then I'll make one." He looked down firmly at Rick. "You wanted to know the leader: well here I am. And my word is final. Take it or leave it, that's the way we run around here. So:" he arched a brow. "You staying…or leaving?"
To no surprise, not a soul asked to leave, despite whatever grievances they'd had with Harry in the past. They all could see that this was a safe place but more than that it was a good place. A fair place if it all worked the way the three Blacks said.
And that was more than any of them had ever hoped to find in the world of the walking dead.
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All Credit Due to: Sifsshadowheart--AO3