"Who the hell are you?" Merle snarled, sounding extremely defensive as he aimed at them, his entire body tense ready for the confrontation. He stood in front of Luna, keeping her out of their line of sight, and they had been looking at her and he did not like it at all. Who knows how long it had been since those fuckers had seen a woman? Or what they'd done to end up in prison, he was taking no chances.
"You alright, Harry?" Luna whispered, kneeling down beside him, trusting Daryl and Merle to keep an eye on those people, no prisoners.
"Why don't you come out of there?" Daryl said, crossbow raised, "Slow and steady." he warned them.
Harry stood up not caring that he felt wobbly, he wasn't going to remain kneeling when there was a potential threat in the room. His watchful gaze watched them moving calculating what he could about them in the mean time.
A Hispanic-American man came out first, and the others followed, three of them African-American and a single Caucasian-American. Quite a mixture of ethnicity, and they'd survived together in the kitchen of a prison while the world went to hell. Each of them had some sort of weapon, the, what Harry would bet was the so called leader of the group; the Hispanic had the gun which made him quite probably the biggest threat there at the moment.
"Who are you people?" the Hispanic asked his gun aimed at them, but Harry, Daryl, Merle and Luna just held their own weapons steadily, no sign of fear or panic that someone was aiming a gun at them which did take some of the wind out of the mans sails.
"You don't look like no rescue team," Axel said his arms crossed defensively, almost as if he was protecting his slightly burnt hands.
"That's far enough," Daryl warned them, finger at the trigger of his crossbow.
Harry laughed almost really amused, but there was a hint of bitterness coating his voice. "Is that what you've been waiting for is it? Let me inform you how deluded you actually are, there is no help coming, there never will be." especially not for prisoners even if this shit did blow over soon. Sad but true, they were low down on the totem pole.
The prisoners looked at each other almost completely confused, wondering to themselves what on earth was going on.
"Today's your lucky day fellas," Merle said sarcastically, smirking at them.
"You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia," Daryl added.
"You're free to go," Merle finished.
Harry sniggered quietly; he hadn't seen them like that since the damn apocalypse had truly started. Well when Merle wasn't high on drugs anyway, they'd often finished each others sentences like the twins, but it was only when they were feeling particularly vindictive.
"What the hells going on here?" the Hispanic, Tomas demanded, Harry observed that he didn't do well when the situation wasn't truly in his control.
"That's none of your damn business," Harry stated still gauging them.
"Don't be telling me what my business is!" Tomas argued, aiming his gun at Harry who just smirked, even after what he'd seen he still raised his gun at him?
"Chill man," the biggest prisoner, big tiny said, being aggressive he knew wouldn't get them any answers. "You heard them, we're free to go, and why are we still here?"
"Yeah, I gotta check on my old lady," the prisoner, Oscar said.
"A group of civilians breaking into a prison you got no business being in, got me thinking there ain't no place for us to go." Tomas said.
"Smarter than you look then," Harry stated, "At least somewhat smart, otherwise you wouldn't have killed in cold blood." his voice was cold and harsh, showing a side to Harry that nobody had seen since he went up against Voldemort.
"We'll just be leaving now," the prisoner Axel said, trying to placate the situation knowing how Tomas would take those words and trying to prevent the inevitable bloodshed.
"Hey, we ain't leaving!" Tomas spat out in anger.
"You ain't staying either," Merle spat right back. Glancing quickly at Harry, how did he know about this man supposedly killing someone? There was no denying that he was right, since the man didn't even try to defend himself once.
"We ain't leaving; this is my house, my rules. I go where I damn well please." Tomas argued acting all tough with a gun in his hand.
Harry sighed, hand outstretched, summoning the gun, from Tomas, surprise and confusion written across his face as his gun was forcefully removed from his grip. There, that was one less risk right now, he didn't want the chance of him hitting anyone, and he didn't have his trunk with him. "My house, my rules," Harry corrected him, green eyes glowing powerfully.
"What were you doing in here anyway?" Luna asked, drawing their attention to her.
"A big riot broke out, ain't seen anything like it," big tiny said, his face showing just how bad it had been even after all this time.
"Attica on speed, man," Axel said, still hugging himself. "Then we heard about dudes going cannibal, dying, coming back to life? Crazy."
"One guard looked out of us, locked us up in here," Tomas added, his entire attitude had changed in the time it took for Harry to summon his gun. Cold and calculating, he would kill them and take over what was rightfully his; he just had to be careful about it. There was only four them, five of him. "Told us to sit tight, threw me this piece, and said he'd be right back."
"That was the last we heard from..." Axel started.
"Shut up," Tomas told Axel giving him a look.
"We were thinking that the Army or the National Guard should be showing up any day now." Oscar explained.
"There ain't no army," Merle grunted. Despite the fact they didn't have a gun he was still on the defensive, they still had weapons after all.
"What do you mean?" Tomas scoffed, causing Merle to grit his teeth and clench his fists as if he wanted to pummel the guy's teeth down his throat.
"There is no government, no army, no police, welcome to the apocalypse gentlemen is started without you," Harry stated wryly. "Everything's gone."
"For real?" Axel asked paling drastically.
Four faces just stared at him, not bothering with a reply.
"What about my moms?" big tiny asked, his gaze on the floor.
Harry stared at the giant man, that question alone just made Harry think of Hagrid, a big loveable giant. Sighing softly, "I'm sorry, the chances of her surviving is very slim, I would summarize half the planets population is already dead, more dying by the day. I suppose someone should explain everything to you, especially before you go out there. When people die they come back their reanimated corpses eat anything in sight, from animals to humans, a single bite or scratch is enough to awaken the virus and slowly kill you. Then you will reanimate yourself, there's only one way to kill them, by destroying the brain. Whether you are bitten or not, when you die, you will come back unless someone puts a bullet in your brain. The virus is airborne, the CDC's are gone, the army, the marines everything gone, all communications are down, internet and phone, there is no way to get in touch with people. The walkers, which is what we call them, gather in herds, so be careful." this man was in prison for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.
"And my kids? And my old lady?" Oscar questioned looking stricken.
"People branded together in a bid to survive, we aren't the only group out there, there is a slight chance they've made it this far," Harry informed him seriously. So Oscar was in for breaking and entering, his choice of friends would have been odd if not for the fact he could clearly see Oscar was associating with them out of the need for survival. He held no real loyalty to Tomas, in fact he seemed to like big tiny most out of the group. He had no qualms about letting at least two of those prisoners remain behind although if they wanted to remain behind they'd need to have their memories wiped he wasn't going to have the others learn about his magic.
"Ain't no way," Tomas argued.
"Believe what you want, you'll be out there soon enough to see for yourself first hand," Harry stated calmly.
"The prison is ours!" Tomas argued.
"Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement so we all win?" Axel once again trying to interfere.
"I don't see that happening," Tomas stated, Andrew nodded from where Tomas and he were shoulder to shoulder agreeing with him.
"Neither do I," Harry stated.
Andrew and Tomas launched themselves at Harry and Luna respectively, in an attempt to have all five prisoners join in and overpower the four newcomers. Harry atomically lifted his gun and shot him in the head to defend himself, Tomas' confident sneer didn't have a chance to diminish as the body hit the floor. Luna was the one Andrew was going for, and it wasn't something Merle was prepared to allow; he fired his own gun, and before Andrew could cause any damage his dead body hit the floor. Luna managed to sidestep the body so she didn't end up crippled under him.
The other three prisoners hadn't even moved from their spot to defend the others or even get involved in the brawl.
"Now you listen, I will not put up with any attempts to take this prison, it's ours," Harry stated sharply to the three remaining prisoners. "They would never have walked away, and even if we got them beyond the fence they would have gotten back in and put the rest of my group in danger, and that is something I will not tolerate." his tone booking no arguments. They were homicidal, dangerous and hostile.
"What about us?" Axel asked warily.
"Wait there," Harry warned them, gesturing for the others to follow him to the other side of the room. Luna despite the fact she was listening was keeping an eye on the prisoners.
"How did you know about him?" Merle asked eyes narrowed thoughtfully, pointing towards the dead body of Tomas.
Harry leaned against the wall, "I can read minds," he informed Merle honestly, "Before you ask, no I've never read yours, or your brothers, just the folk that came to the quarry, and anyone else we come across. The fucker was thinking of ways to kill us all, mostly me, to take over the prison. He was homicidal and dangerous; he would have killed us given half the chance. The only reason he hesitated was because he wanted answers and because he wasn't sure what he'd seen, he thought it was some sort of projection, despite the fact he burnt his hands on the metal cage."
"What about them? Can they be trusted?" Luna questioned.
"Axel is in for armed robbery despite the fact he used a fucking water pistol. The police fucked that case up and despite the fact the gun they got in the end didn't match the description he was sent down. He should have gotten a new lawyer." Harry explained blankly, "Oscar is in for breaking and entering, big tiny is in for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people."
"And those two?" Daryl asked, relieved beyond belief that Harry hadn't read his mind.
"Murder, two Andrew got away with, third he was caught, and he was actually quite sneaky and probably would have posed more of a problem than Tomas. Tomas murdered two people and went down for their murders, no chance of parole." Harry replied his tone revealing nothing.
"Is there anything you can't do?" Merle grumbled.
"I can't conjure food," Harry said simply. Before adding, "I'm not being solely responsible for what happens to them. It's not just me that would have to live with it." he couldn't kill them, they'd never killed anyone, it was different with Tomas and Andrew they were cold blooded murderers without conscience.
"We grew up with people like them, they're degenerates not psychos." Daryl said, in his own away defending them.
"I agree, there's one thing I have to do before anything gets decided," Harry said, with that he flicked out his wand, Luna nodded, her own wand out and two were stunned before they knew what was happening, Axel tried to run and was stunned in the back.
"Harry's going to make them forget they saw magic," Luna explained seeing the confused quizzical brows going on both the Dixon's faces it was quite comical and she thought it was rather cute.
Daryl's gaze sharpened when he heard Luna's words, watching Harry closely, observing what he was doing, listening to what he was saying. It was almost as if he was commanding them to forget what magic he'd displayed. He was telling them that they'd killed the walkers outside then barged in, finding them, the prisoners, yanking the gun from Tomas before he could hurt anyone. He repeated it three times, on each of them, as magic left his wand, it was subtle and he would have missed it if he wasn't paying attention.
"I need somewhere to put them...somewhere secure until a decision is made," Harry said, sighing tiredly, wincing in agony as he stood.
"I've got it," Merle said, dragging Axel out of the smaller room and into the cafeteria, and out of sight.
"What's wrong?" Luna asked.
"My bow was embedded in my back with the weight of you three when we stopped," Harry admitted, his side was actually beginning to throb painfully, the adrenaline had made all else insignificant until now. "I've been hurt more here than I have been in months, maybe it is a bad idea to be here." he added wryly.
"Let me see," Luna demanded, moving around the back of him.
"I don't think so," Harry stated, turning around so she wasn't at his back. He noticed that Daryl was dragging one of the other prisoners out of the room.
"Harry let me see, I need to check the damage, its better here where I can fix it then bloody going back to cell block in agony!" Luna narrowed her eyes; she wasn't going to give up easy.
His compound bow clattered to the floor, hissing in agony as he raised his hands to draw his top up so Luna could see his back. His posture was ridged, and wasn't surprised when Luna suddenly inhaled sharply. She hadn't seen his back before, Ron and Hermione had, and they'd been in close quarters for a year, so of course they had. He wasn't self conscious he just didn't want anyone to see them if he could help it.
Luna swallowed thickly at the sight, it wasn't the bruising that was horrifying to her, although it was bad, and his entire back was one big giant bruise. There were scars years old all over his back, thin pale lines now, but they spoke of things that no child had to endure. She'd known the Dursley's hadn't treated Harry right, but this? This she hadn't known about, no wonder he hadn't wanted to show her his back. "Hold on, I have a bruise salve in my trunk," she said quietly, close to tears but never letting them fall.
Quickly finding her trunk she unshrunk it, glancing at the doorway to find both Merle and Daryl watching for only a second before they both backed out as quietly as they came. She was glad for that, Harry wouldn't want them gawking at him. Thanks to Harry her nice new trunk was now extremely organized. She quickly found what she was looking for and stood back up, breathing shakily, she began to slowly and methodically put the salve all over the bruised skin. Feeling bad for every single flinch her touch elicited but she knew it was better to get it done now and not wait for it them to fade normally. "There, I won't put too much on, I don't want it staining your clothes." now potion residue definitely wouldn't come out with a flick of their wands.
Daryl paced outside, knowing and seeing was two different things for him. Harry's back held a lot more damage than his did, the urge to track the fuckers down and make them pay was strong, although he did get vindictive satisfaction in the hopes they were bitten alive by walkers. They deserved no less for what they'd done, stupid dumb-asses. Just like his father was a dumb-ass. Who the hell beat up on a kid with the powers Harry had? They'd been alive when the world went to hell, Harry had said that much, if he'd had the powers Harry had he wouldn't have let his father away with it. He would have killed him; he wasn't sure what that made Harry that they lived.
Merle watched Luna from where he stood in the other room, managing to get a glimpse of them both. The world was fucked up, who in their right mind abused someone with powers like Harry? He would summarise that it was the first time Luna had seen Harry's back judging by the tears that were forming in her eyes but not falling. She was strong and beautiful, why the hell would she even think about being with a broken down redneck like him? He wasn't good enough for her, he knew that, but it didn't stop him wanting her. Merle froze at his own thoughts, blue eyes going wide, for the first time he actually realized what he felt for her.
"Stay still," Luna murmured quietly, as she delicately put his top back down over his back, honestly, Harry got hurt way too much and way too often. "There," she said, "Why didn't you tell me how bad it was?"
"What's the point?" Harry said, "I'm not the only one who's had a shitty childhood Luna, we've all suffered in different ways."
"I think you should continue using magic to get the rest of the prison done, it's just too dangerous to have help, we barely made it and we work together really well." Luna said.
"I agree," Daryl said, leaning against the door.
"I would prefer that myself, but Andrea will do something really stupid if she feels as though she's being kept from helping." Harry pointed out, Daryl handed him his bow just before he bent down for it. "Thanks," he said, not putting it behind his back, instead he just let it hang like a handbag on his shoulder.
"Oh she's like you used to be, is she?" Luna teased him, grinning widely.
"Funny, but yes," Harry conceded, cocking his head to the side to concede her point.
"How about guarding the prisoners?" Merle suggested, it would keep her busy and make her feel useful as they got everything done.
"I suppose that could be arranged, depending on what everyone thinks, where are they?" Harry asked realizing he didn't know.
"Out there," Daryl told him.
"Let's get out of here before they wake up then," Harry said, grabbing his own water bottle and filling it back up. Luna handed him hers and he also filled with one up before wandering out of the room and putting the water bottles through the door and Merle locked it again with a chain and padlock. Everywhere else could be investigated in time. It looked like a little prison cell or sorts, why it was there was anyone's guess.
"What about the food? Should we bring it to the cell block?" Luna queried.
"Nah, it would just mean bringing it back and forth, we'll have the prison done within the next few days if we do what we said, I suppose we could take enough to last us a few days?" Harry winced as he shrugged, damn he would need to remember how bloody painful it was to move.
"I got it," Merle grunted.
"Wait, there's no need to carry it all," Luna said spotting a cart, quickly jogging over she removed the stuff on it before moving back with it. Merle and Daryl quickly put things on it, and then they were gone, closing up the area so nothing could get in. Merle paying more attention to Luna, trying to figure her out, or figure out his own feelings more accurately.