Harry made his way to the hospital wing, knowing that the woman would soon wake up, the beauty of spells was that they were extremely accurate, true to his thoughts she hadn't woken up during the night or in the morning. The girls had taken turns staying up last night to keep her company, to make sure she didn't wake up bound, injured and alone. He had just showered after tutoring everyone, including Patrick, since nothing they'd said had gotten through he had personally found the boy and brought him outside and began to teach him himself. Going at a faster rate than Carol would teach them, but Harry didn't care at this point the boy was seriously getting on his nerves, unsurprisingly Patrick had failed each and every time, getting it through to his thick skull that he was sorely lacking and wouldn't survive in this world, then forcing him to watch as Sophia could keep up with him and sometimes even beat him. A girl younger than him had the ability to hold her own, yes it had irked Patrick and made him feel inadequate just as Harry wanted, and he'd go to any means necessary to ensure that the boy took up a knife and began training. He would see what happened tomorrow and whether Patrick would man up or not. Although he could clearly see that his words the day he'd mentioned his own life had affected Patrick, he wasn't as reluctant anymore.
"Hey, has she woken up at all?" Harry asked Carol as he entered the room, feigning ignorance on that subject despite knowing she hadn't, he had spells on her that would inform him immediately upon her return to consciousness.
"No, she's still asleep," Carol informed Harry, as she placed the book in her lap, slotting in a piece of paper she had evidently been using as a bookmarker. She glanced at the woman again deeply concerned, wondering if there was something wrong - surely she should have woken up before this?
"I suspect she'll be up soon," Harry commented, seeing her turning to look at him curiously, twinkling green eyes gestured towards the woman, showing that she was moving restlessly before settling again. "Could you bring up some food for her?" she'd need to eat something before or just after taking the pills.
"Of course," Carol said standing up immediately, placing the book on the table.
"Knock first," Harry murmured quietly as she passed, Harry took the chair Carol had just vacated and moved it back and sat down, so that he wasn't in her face when she first woke up. The spell had already alerted him to the fact she was coming around, so it was just a waiting game to see how long it took her to fully waken. Watching her with hawk eyes, observing each of her moves, he knew the second her eyes would open and he was proven correct. The panic and fear in them was to be expected as well as she sat up with a grimace of pain crossing her features. The next second she was fanatically tugging at the cuffs trying in a futile effort to remove them.
"Easy," Harry said, causing her to zone in on him, her brown eyes filled with suspicion, recognition and fear. "Your wrists are infected as it is, tugging on the cuffs will just make it more painful. There's water and pills on the table, the painkillers and ibuprofen will help you, someone is bringing you up something to eat, once we've made a few things clear I will remove the handcuffs, in which direction you head will be up to you." he informed her, catching her compete attention, "You aren't a prisoner here, if you wish to leave then you can, we'll make you up a pack and give you back your sword and let you on your way." making it abundantly clear that she wasn't going to be a prisoner or forced to remain. The recognition the woman exhibited made him curious and doubly cautious. He couldn't remember having seen her before; perhaps she had seen him while he was scavenging? He could sense that she definitely wanted to leave as soon as she could, part of him didn't blame her, part of him wanted to make sure she actually wanted to stay - it was obviously extremely dangerous out there, and going from what Luna said she could take care of herself somewhat, but against a large group? He couldn't save everyone and if she was determined then so be it.
Two quiet knocks on the door alerted Harry to Carol's return, he noticed the woman tense and automatically her free hand went to her side, her instincts were well honed.
"Come in, Carol," Harry called loud enough for the woman to hear but not to startle his guest, when no door opened immediately, Harry stood realizing she'd probably brought a tray, which meant her hands were currently unable to open the door. She must have used her foot to knock on the door, Harry twisted the knob and opened the door, letting Carol enter, which she did with a grateful smile. "Good afternoon, I've brought you something to eat and drink," she gestured to the tray in her hand, slowly making her way over and placing it on the bottom of the bed, still within reach for the poor woman. The eyes that were watching her weren't broken, this woman was strong, and she would recover from what happened to her Carol thought with assuredness.
"Thank you, Carol," Harry said, giving the woman a pointed look for her ignorance. The world might have ended but when someone gave you food, especially these days you should damn well be thankful for it and actually say as much. Although if she had been alone for the past eight months she probably had forgotten her manners, mostly everyone else has as well. A grimace stole across his features, men who raped were disgusting and if he ever came across any he'd kill them on the spot, they didn't deserve any say in this new world. They were weak cowards who took what they wanted regardless of anyone else's feelings.
Harry continued to observe her as Carol left quietly, she was assessing all possible exit points, but there was only one, the windows had bars in them, it was a prison after all and not easy to get out of. "What's your name?" Harry asked her, when she didn't reply he added, "It would be nice to be able to refer to you by your name,"
"Michonne," the African-American woman, now identified as Michonne replied after a few seconds.
"It's nice to properly meet you, Michonne, my name is Harry Potter," Harry told her, "You're currently in a prison that me and my people are using as a base. The reason for your bound state is because we don't know your state of mind. Considering we have children here I wasn't about to take any chances with their lives." he paused once before continuing, "We know what happened to you," Harry informed her softly, shifting on his seat to get more comfortable and leaning forward. "I understand if you don't wish to talk about it, but I would appreciate it if you could at least give a description of where you stayed the number of people there and how far you ran before my people came to your aid. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't for the fact I want to protect my people. In this new world, knowledge is power, just as lethal as any weapon."
Michonne stiffened when Harry revealed that they knew, but what eased her a little was the lack of pity in those startling green eyes.
"But first, you should eat, take the pills, then a shower where you can bathe, there are clothes, hygiene supplies and a towel in this drawer for you, hopefully the clothes will fit you." Harry said, with a gesture towards it. "We can talk afterwards, that is if you will help me." he sincerely hoped she didn't try anything; woman or not he'd have to take action. "I'm going to leave you in the care of Luna and Mira, they'll show you to the showers and bring you to the cafeteria once that's done." Luna would know better than to let her out of her sight, and would be able to use magic if she tried anything hence why he put Luna and Mira together.
Harry stood up, taking his time as not to startle her too much, removing the key from his pocket he approached her. "Try anything, and I mean anything, you will find yourself outside the prison without as much as a weapon." Harry informed her seriously, he had people who were relying on him so he couldn't take any chances. Undoing the cuff that was bound to the bed first then the one attached to Michonne's wrist. Slipping them into his pocket, they'd go back into his trunk when he had a moment to himself. "Eat, you're bound to be starving." although it looked as though she'd been able to take care of herself mostly, sure she was thin, they all were but she wasn't malnourished.
Michonne wrapped the bed sheet around her as she at up properly, never once removing her gaze from the man before her. That was until her grumbling stomach complained once more, her belly was completely empty and the temptation of the food called to her. What surprised her was the amount of food on the tray, there was enough there to feed three people. She knew even as she started eating she wouldn't be able to consume it all, but she would do her best. As anyone would, nobody knew when there next meal would be these days. She'd done well on her own until she had been caught by the so called 'Governor' and his thugs. Sensing Luna's magic near, Harry had one last thing to say, "Luna and Mira will wait outside for you to finish, give you some privacy, or as much privacy as we can afford with a stranger in our home come out whenever you are ready." with that he opened the door, ignoring the curious looks Mira was giving Michonne he closed the door with a click.
"She'll be out when she's ready," Harry informed them quietly, "She largely just seems confused, cautious and suspicious, so far she has no desire to harm us, I guess she took my word that she can leave whenever she's finished to heart."
"She can't go out there on her own again!" Mira protested through clenched teeth. It was much too dangerous, and this woman knew it better than anyone else surely?
"Regretfully it is not up to us, Michonne is a grown woman, who distrusts people and I can't say I blame her," Harry admitted, combing his hand through his hair which wasn't tied up for once. A tired resigned look on his face, he shrugged uselessly, he knew from reading her mind she intended to leave, and she was one determined woman by the look of things also troubled. "I don't need to tell you to be careful and not leave her alone," saying it anyway, with that he walked away, despite the disruptions he had things to do and daylight was burning. His weapons were lying on the table in the cafeteria so he headed there first. Not that he could go yet, he had to see what the woman would decide to do first.
Wandering down the halls, Mira's words from yesterday ringing through his mind, about Fort Benning, he couldn't deny that he'd miss this place but it was becoming far too dangerous around here. For all he knew there was two different groups, the one he'd seen a few times and the ones who had hurt Michonne, he would find out soon hopefully if she was able to help him. The only problem was taking everyone to Fort Benning when he had it completely secure and set up meant they'd have to be told about magic, about him being magical. Not something he was looking forward to but to keep them safe...he would do it. He'd gone months upon months keeping it secret now he was actually considering telling them. Snorting in amusement, he opened the door and wandered into the cafeteria, absently grabbing his guns and belting the gun holster around his waist.
"You aren't going out today, are you?" Carol asked sounding surprised as she watched Harry gear up. She quickly began to plate up food, chicken sandwiches, some crisps; Harry hadn't eaten today so she was going to make sure he at least ate something. "Eat before you go, you need food to keep you going and if you don't this will all go to waste, we'll have to put it in the bin tomorrow." keeping it any longer would be risky.
"I'm not going until after we've spoken to Michonne," Harry explained gratefully sitting down and digging into the food Carol just brought him. She would try to feed the world if she was able to honestly, sometimes she reminded him of Molly.
"How is Merle?" Carol asked, since last night they hadn't seen the man, not that she was surprised he had been shot and then refused to rest when it happened. He'd probably slept a lot later than normal, and everyone was making sure to keep quiet just to be on the safe side.
"He's doing a lot better," Harry nodded, "Nothing he's not used to; he was in the service before the world went to hell."
Carol blinked and gaped slightly at that piece of information, she was pretty sure nobody else knew either.
"Don't put the food in the bin if there's any left tonight just give it to the dogs, it will save the kibble for when we really need it." Harry added thoughtfully, completely oblivious to Carol's shock as he ate his meal. Although if he was honest he didn't think there would be all that much left, between them all they'd practically scoffed the entire lot. Since hunting was scarce the dogs couldn't get the innards of deer or whatever they managed to catch that day often anymore. Leaning back, rubbing his eyes tiredly, everyone had made theirselves scarce.
"Where are the kids?" Harry asked Carol after a few moments of silent contemplation at how life was going, asking without even checking the wards to see where everyone was - which he could do.
"With Big Tiny, Oscar and Andrea, they're all out back, keeping an eye on them," Carol explained knowing exactly what Harry wanted to know.
Harry nodded as he stood up with his empty plate, "Make up some food for Michonne, a pack just in case she doesn't change her mind." he told Carol, moving towards the sink and putting it in for the next person who was on washing and drying duty - which thankfully wasn't him. He heard light footsteps coming down the hall, and then Luna, Mira and Michonne entered, two relaxed and the third wary eyes roaming around for the first sign of danger and looking for a way out simultaneously. He's summarise that Michonne had been on the move almost constantly since the dead came back to bite everyone in the ass.
"You look a lot better," Harry commented as he moved over, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table, gesturing for her to take a seat. She did look a lot better, she was tall, taller than him and Luna, Mira was the same height, but compared to Big Tiny she was still significantly smaller. "Carol is making up a pack for you, that is, if you are determined to leave?" he questioned her.
She gave a nod to signify that yes, she was still going to leave the first available opportunity presented to her. She could see it looked to be a decent group, close ties, well efficient in working together from what little she'd seen. They had hot water, plenty of food, beds and security, but she knew things weren't always what they seemed. Although her instincts were crying out for her to trust them, and she normally trusted her instincts, they hadn't steered her wrong yet.
"Can you tell us a little about where you were?" Harry asked green eyes boring intently into brown.
"They have a fortified town in Woodbury," Michonne explained, "Their leader is called the Governor, he's cruel, cunning, savage and without mercy. He's highly intelligent and is a psychopath, he can fight, and he's a dangerous opponent without weapons let alone with. The Governor plays off a facade of a congenial man, but, in reality, is a volatile and depraved sociopath and a cold-blooded murderer. He's a smooth talker, and uses his manipulative abilities to coerce others into doing his own bidding. He has a daughter, she turned and he keeps her somewhere in his home probably restrained."
"You went to try and kill him didn't you?" Harry questioned shrewdly, his lips twitching just so. "But you didn't get the chance, you were either interrupted before you could get in after observing him or you were actually really close, close enough a few more steps would have seen you in front of him."
"First guess," Michonne murmured wide eyed at the fact this man could read her so easily. "They found me and I had to run, I didn't think I would get out of there but I found a weak spot and slipped by, they didn't even realize I was gone. That was until someone on guard caught sight of me, and then the whole group descended."
"How close is Woodbury, Daryl?" Harry called out, knowing that Daryl was in room. Nobody knew Atlanta better than the Dixon brothers, they'd been everywhere, living in one place to the next even the cabin he'd ended up with the Dixons in had been temporarily. The prison was probably the longest they'd been in one place, with a room that was their's although technically Daryl didn't have a room but that would change when they went to Fort Benning it wasn't a prison so he had no reason to decline a room of his own.
"Three to four miles out," Daryl answered from up above, sitting against the windowsill looking outside, his ever-present crossbow across his back.
"Luna's right, far too close," Harry muttered they could actually walk that far, albeit a bit of a trek, they were just out of hearing range so that neither his group nor their group could hear the gunfire that followed them around. "One last question...is this the Governor or someone with him?" Harry asked opening up the sketch he had made of the man he'd ended up crossing paths with twice, not that the other guy knew he'd been observed.
"Yes, that's the Governor," Michonne said, gritting her teeth, boring holes in the picture as if she could do him damage just by looking at the drawing.
Harry nodded his suspicions confirmed, he folded the paper back up and slid it into his pocket his people had memorized that face and would know he was a hostile if they ever came into contact with him. So it was just the one group, or at least the one danger at the present moment, it was good to know, but no less worrying, though. It was time to get Fort Benning up and running for real and take his people to safety before anything happened.
"Is there no way I can convince you to stay?" Harry asked, despite knowing it was useless. He suspected she would try to get at the self-proclaimed 'Governor' again, either that or just cut her losses, for however long it lasted before revenge would be once again on her mind.
"No," Michonne stated immediately.
"Alright," Harry sighed unhappily, "You know where we are if you change your mind." at least for now he corrected himself.
"There are some things in here, enough food to do you at least two weeks, a change of clothes, knives, a gun with six bullets and some sanitary items you might need." Carol said handing over a plain black bag that had been previously used a few times but not often. The bag was much too small to put anything in when they were scavenging.
"Thank you," Michonne said gratefully, feeling more herself, stronger now that she had made a decision and was once more in charge of her own fate.
"I'll take you out," Harry said smoothly standing and making his way around.
"Where's my sword?" Michonne asked cautiously, hooking the heavy bag onto her back adjusting it until she was comfortable. She didn't need to look to know there were a few tins in there; she knew the feel of them well, at least five to be sure.
"Outside, where it was dropped while my people got you to safety." Harry answered honestly; none of them had bothered to go out to retrieve it. In fact, nobody had been out front since Merle and Luna had brought Michonne in. Harry guided her to the entrance, opening the door and let her step out before closing the door. It was freezing today, more so than usual, he hadn't put a jacket on but he wasn't going to head back for all the time he'd be out before going back to get everything then head to Fort Benning and do what he could before nightfall.
Michonne abruptly stopped, closing her eyes grimacing in agony at the sound of a child's laughter. It sounded so much like her little boys, she knew it wasn't, he was gone forever and the hole he caused in her heart was still bleeding unendingly for him.
Harry watched her closely, wondering at her reaction, to Andre's laughter, he knew that laughter well; Big Tiny had him on his shoulders again. Then he remembered the results of the diagnosis scan he'd ran, she'd had a little boy before the outbreak. He couldn't imagine the feeling of losing your child in such a way, but unfortunately, it happened. Jim had lost his family that way; the walkers had dragged the child out of his arms and proceeded to eat the child in front of him. He glanced away uncomfortably at the tear that ran down her face, she definitely lost her child violently.
Michonne stiffened her spine, and began to walk again, that was until a very familiar voice called out "Mama!" closing her eyes in dread, it wasn't enough that she saw her boyfriend now she was hallucinating about her son? She wasn't sure how much more she could take.
Big Tiny stopped walking at that pronouncement, glancing at Harry as Andre made grabbing motions from his shoulder; obviously wanting to get to the woman they'd helped earlier. At Harry's nod, Big Tiny easily hoisted the young boy from his shoulders and placed him on the grass, he took off quickly, scampering towards the woman he had declared as his mama. "Mama!" he called again, an ecstatic look on his face.
Michonne turned around fully, her jaw dropping; he looked so real, her knees suddenly buckled from under her, as tears freely began to roll down her cheeks. Could it be? Could her son really be there? Then a very solid, heavy, body slammed into her, he was real, very real. A heart-wrenching sob broke free as she hugged her son close, rocking back and forth. For the loss, she had experienced, for the knowledge her son was alive, for what she'd been through these past days. The dam completely broke, burying her head in the crook of her son's neck; she held him and just cried. For the first time in months, she felt as if perhaps things would be alright. She would go through it all again just to know she would hold her son in her arms again. She cared little for the audience surrounding them.
"Another miracle," Amy said wistfully, it gave her hope that perhaps her parents were alive and somehow she could find them again, as hopeless as she knew it was, seeing families repeatedly reunited let her hold on to that hope. She felt a tear run down her own face at the sight of the reunion between mother and son. It was beautiful, even the hardened Dixon brothers were moved by the sight, not that you could tell unless you knew them really well.
"I'm going to make an educated guess that you've decided to stay?" Harry said raising an amused brow in Michonne's direction. There was no way she would walk out those prison gates with her toddler son in a tow, absolutely no way. If she even thought about it then he would take the boy and get her out of the prison, any mother who put their child in harms way by doing something so stupid did not deserve to be a mother. She didn't need to answer, it was written all over her face.
"Come on, let me introduce you to the woman who saved your son and has kept him safe from all harm," Harry said, gesturing for her to stand, it was best to let Mira and Michonne talk. "Mira?" Harry called out, waving her over, ignoring everyone else for the time being. "Why don't you find a room for Michonne? I'm sure you both have a lot to talk about." satisfied with the outcome, thank Merlin for Big Tiny coming around when he did. They had Andre in common and Michonne owed Mira for the life of her son. He was hoping that Michonne would continue to let Mira be a big part of Andre's life since she loved that kid. He'd seen the look on her face, bittersweet, happy yet saddened that Andre had his mother back. He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"Of course," Mira said quietly, "Come with me, I'll show you to our block," there were plenty of cells still going strong.
"What if she's a danger to us...you know just snaps?" Oscar questioned, and yes it was us, he was fully trusted with everyone here and it was an amazing feeling. Society had judged him when he was on the outside, alienated him, but this group? Other than the initial caution which was understandable given what they'd been through...things had been smooth. He would protect these people with his life, just as they'd do the same. He didn't want to see anything happen to them.
"We'll keep an eye on her like we do with all the newcomers," Harry said seriously, "She's been on the run since the outbreak started, her instincts are well honed, and she could be a very valuable asset. I very much doubt she's hurt anyone that didn't try to harm her in the first place."
"Will she be asked the same questions as everyone else?" Amy enquired.
"Yes, most definitely, that will wait until tomorrow," Harry stated, "Enough daylight has been wasted with nothing done, so I'm going to head off for a few hours, Axel, Oscar can you get the gates for me? Big Tiny keep an eye out, as for the rest of you get inside and keep safe." then just like that everyone quickly dispersed, doing whatever they wanted inside the prison which was all Harry cared about - that they were inside and safe. He followed after them, gathering everything he'd need.