It didn't take much for looking for Daryl to find Harry; he was sitting amongst the debris of what had been the prison wall. He knew magic had a hand in stopping the shell before it came into contact with the building; the damage wasn't severe enough for the tank to have been working at full capacity. If it had been the damage would have gone through and through. He'd seen a sniper rifle round go further than the blast from the tank had. It was quite impressive what magic was capable, although nothing had yet to beat the fire spell Harry had used a few times, it was magnificent, he could feel the charge in the air when he use it. Although the tank explosion definitely took second place, he was glad he had looked over just as the magic shot out of Harry's wand and shredded the metal to smithereens.
Daryl made his way over, stepping over the debris and sitting directly behind Harry, who glanced at him in surprise, his green eyes were duller than he'd ever seen them and Daryl found he didn't like it at all. He shouldn't be so damn caring about what everyone else thought, if they didn't come, didn't accept magic then that was on them, you'd think he'd know he couldn't save everyone...well he did, he just cared too much about saving those he could. He would say it also had something to do with his upbringing. He had almost lost Harry, and he was still reeling from that, uncaring of what anyone thought anymore, not even his own brother, he wrapped his arms around Harry, who leaned into him with a sigh.
Sensing that Harry was still confused at the turn of events, he murmured quietly, "They know," at least anyone with a brain probably did, and it wouldn't surprise Daryl if some of the idiots in there didn't comprehend it.
"What?!" Harry said a little loudly, "What do you mean they know?" how could they?
"You were dying," Daryl stated sharply, his voice showing just how shaken up he was, "I kissed you, doubt anyone cares, magic is probably the bigger secret they sorta latched onto."
"Go figure you'd do it while I was unconscious!" Harry sighed shaking his head; "Now I wont get to see anyone's reaction." he teased him, handing over the lighter and smokes.
Daryl scoffed out a laugh, accepting the smokes he sparked one up, noticing Merle and Luna from the corner of his eye, she must realize they needed time to themselves and he was grateful for that. Not that they'd get much time on their own, they'd be bothered before too long, but he would make sure they took a few days to themselves once they got to the Fort. They'd need it, especially sleep before they got back into a normal routine again.
"I couldn't let anything happen to Sophia," Harry said softy, feeling guilty for what Daryl had gone through, it had obviously shaken him, enough that it showed in his voice, now that rarely happened. The last time he'd heard it was when Merle had been left on that bloody roof as walker bait. "I still don't know why or how she ended up on the outside of the prison gates." a frown appearing on his face as he realized it for the first time.
"Had a gun on her, forced her to come out," Daryl informed him a dark scowl appearing on his face. "Says they'd shoot her,"
"Ah, well I suppose that makes sense," Harry nodded, enjoying the feeling of Daryl hugging him, the last time they'd done anything like this it had been the other way around. He was slowly getting used to being attentive to him, in a physical way, since Daryl did pay attention, to absolutely everything. It meant the world to him that Daryl was gaining the confidence to touch him, although the fact he was doing it in public did blow his mind. It took his mind of everything that had happened however temporarily the respite was. He knew he would have to go back in there and face the music, the endless questions once the shock had really worn off.
"Stop worrying about it," Daryl grunted, "They don't deserve you or your protection if they can't accept you for who you are." sensing the inner conflict. It irked him rotten to see it; it wasn't something he was used to seeing from Harry. He was always confident, self assured, to see him so worried about it annoyed him and set him on edge. He and Merle had been in a whirlwind of Harry's magic before, after they gave him the drugs to ease the pain, and they hadn't turned their backs on him, just backed away until he woke up and the magic stopped. They hadn't even known him then, he'd just been a stranger, if anyone had a right to judge it had been them right there and then. Despite knowing magic, Harry had never actually gone on to explain it the way he had (not until after the quarry) to the others, they'd just accepted it, asking a few questions about it here and there usually after seeing him using magic to protect everyone and get them out of trouble - or away from groups of scavengers, all that before the quarry. Then when Shane and the others came he stopped using it openly, not trusting them, that had made Merle incredibly smug. That an educated Brit would trust 'rednecks' over normal suburban folk.
"I wish it were that easy, Daryl," Harry said with a small smile, "This place...if another group comes by and I'm not there...they'll be lining up like pigs for the slaughter, I know how that feels it's mostly Carol, if she doesn't come then Sophia wont, and I cant see Carol accepting magic, she believes in her bible, and it says that magic is evil,"
Daryl snorted, but his silence spoke volumes.
"You know I was planning on telling them, and I stupidly thought they can handle anything that comes their way, I taught them well...this was just one big fucking wake up call." Harry said staring around blindly at the place he'd settled into for the past year. "There's always going to be someone out there more dangerous with more weapons that make Randall look like a fly buzzing in our ear." he shook his head in self derision, he was an idiot for thinking otherwise for even a moment. Regardless of whether they chose to come with him or not...he would still feel guilty if anything happened to them.
"That's their own problem," Daryl growled low in his throat, he wasn't going to let Harry take the world on his shoulders, he could take a lesson from Merle and hopefully some selfishness would stick. Flicking the butt away, most of it had been wasted but he didn't care right now.
"It is," Harry acknowledged, "I just wished this would listen to this," Harry gesturing to his heart then his head.
"You're too soft," Daryl muttered, he and his brother were going the same way, although if they left right now neither he nor his brother would care as long as Harry and Luna were with them. Survival was their number one priority, saving those who would seek to use Harry while scorning him was definitely not on the list.
Harry laughed in genuine amusement, "I used to be even softer," he would have died for a stranger, but that wasn't him anymore. He was going to leave even if the others didn't come, he'd feel guilty yes, but he wasn't going to risk Daryl, Merle or Luna by staying here when they had somewhere much more secure and permanent set up for them. They would never have to move again, their sanctuary would be permanent and it was perfect for their needs.
The attack had firmed his resolve, but part of him wished he'd done it sooner.
Harry didn't want to move, despite the nip in the air Daryl was extremely warm, it was as if he had his own furnace, that and he was too damn comfortable although his arse was going numb. He didn't want to ruin the moment; these moments with Daryl were extremely rare. Despite the desire to know what was happening, Harry had refrained from putting an eavesdropping charm in the room, they need to sort out their own thoughts, and he'd know the verdict soon enough.
-0
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Sophia snapped standing up, staring at Rick in disgust, "Being a bit of a hypocrite aren't you, Officer Friendly?" She sneered the last words causing everyone in the room to blink at her in shock; she was emulating Merle with one hundred percent accuracy. "You kept something even more vital and shocking from all of us...something that could have killed us!" Andrea and the rest of her group all gazed at her torn between shock, pride and awe. For the first time they were beginning to realize that Sophia was growing up, she was no longer a child by any means. Not that they hadn't been thinking that over the past year as she was trained in every possible way to ensure she was a warrior, someone who could defend themselves in this world. Sophia was always soft spoken, polite, but nobody had ever just disrespected Harry before, so they couldn't say whether it was a recent change or if she would have done that a year ago.
Rick glanced at Carol expecting a reaction from the woman, one that would see the Sophia reprimanded for her attitude. What he saw was not what he expected at all. Carol looked relieved, happy even and it surprised and confused him. He would never have allowed Carl to speak to someone that way, especially not an adult. Obviously they had gotten less civilised spending time with the Dixons.
It was in that moment Carol knew her daughter would be just fine, no matter what life threw at her, nobody would ever treat her disrespectfully, and she would never end up with a man like Ed which had been her greatest fear before the outbreak. Not that Merle, Daryl or Harry would allow anyone to hurt a hair on her head, and it was in that moment she realized how stupid she was being. So what if he had magic? It could be said that her god had magic as well since nobody could just walk on water, part seas and turn water into wine...clutching her pendant, if that made her suddenly unwelcome in the eyes of the Lord then so be it, her daughter was more important. If what Harry said was true about this new place, then her daughter was paramountly protected in ways she couldn't yet conceive. Even if she hadn't wished to go, her daughter did, if she ripped her away from a man she loved as a father figure, looked up to, respected, Sophia would never forgive her.
In the Quarry they'd been constantly on edge, with Lori and Shane dictating everything they did, surviving by the day...but for the past year they'd been safe, happy, her daughter had grown into a young woman with the help of the men surrounding her.
"You wouldn't understand," Rick said talking to Sophia condescendingly. "I couldn't be sure that crazy doctor was telling the truth, and until I knew I wasn't going to worry everyone about it."
"That was never your decision to make," Andrea stated sharply, "The adults at least had a right to know even if it was a slim possibility."
Oscar, Axel and Big Tiny listened while trying to understand what was being implied. One thing they were beginning to realize was why the hell they'd split in the first place. Some of the got on, but others were antagonistic; their personalities didn't mesh at all. Even now Rick was trying to take over the group, they weren't blind to it. They did believe wonder if the others realized what he was up to. Not that it mattered to them, magic or not, they didn't care, they would follow Harry, he had given them a home, a safe place. Big Tiny might be hurt that it had been kept from them, but at the end of the day after seeing his back they'd began to comprehend why he kept it hidden. Each of them all knew abuse in one form or another, but nothing like Harry had been through.
"I'm in agreement with Andrea," Dale nodded; a permanent frown seemed etched on his face. "If something had happened to me during the night and I turned with everyone unawares...I could have bitten people, that is inconceivable." he was an old man, something could have happened, as healthy as he was, the stress his body was going through at the Quarry well, it could have had serious consequences. Even more frightening was the fact he'd slept on the RV floor while Andrea and Amy shared the bed - it would have been the people he cared about most who suffered. He gave a tense smile to Amy who gripped his hand tightly, obviously his words had scared her a little, which hadn't been his intention.
"I kept it a secret for barely a month!" Rick protested it hadn't even been a month for god's sake.
"Doesn't make Sophia any less right, it's hypocritical to go down that road, my god man! Harry just saved all your lives and you're disrespecting him behind his back!" Amy argued, staring at all of them pointedly. "He got severely hurt doing it! He brought you all back here to safety, and it's thanks to that your wife survived giving birth to her daughter! Are you forgetting Hershel had to give her a C-Section? Without it she would have died!"
Rick flushed in embarrassment and shame, he was grateful to Harry for that, don't get him wrong, that wasn't being called into question, he just needed somewhere where his family was going to be safe, the more people he had on his side the better chance of their survival. He needed people to help him keep his family safe and fed. He was a leader, a cop, it was his duty to help others, with somewhere safe he knew he'd be able to properly protect and feed everyone. With a safe place to sleep they'd get stronger, more capable and more determined. This was the best chance he was going to have to get what he wanted, most people there had been in his group originally anyway and he trusted them to an extent than say complete outsiders. "That is not being called into question here," Rick said, "I am grateful for what he did."
"Then act like it, instead of trying to take over," Oscar snapped, speaking up, he honestly didn't want to sit here if they were going to start demeaning everything Harry had done for them just because they found out he had magic. "What does him having magic matter? It's like judging someone for having red hair or blue eyes! It's insane!"
"Isn't he dangerous?" Patrick asked, his voice low sounding incredibly lost.
"NO!" Sophia protested, Harry wasn't dangerous.
"We all are kid," Axel corrected him, "This blade can cause just as much damage as magic, it's the intent behind it," Axel said, unsheathing his blade for a few moments before replacing it.
"You can't say that, you have no idea what he's capable of," Beth said wide eyed.
"But we cannot write him off as evil on something you don't understand, Beth," Maggie pointed out, more open minded than her sister. "They've done nothing but protect us, help us when we asked and saved us when we didn't." noticing that Glenn had not spoken up about anything, he was slouched in his seat as if he hoped to disappear. He did seem grateful for her words for some reason, and it set her on edge, what was Glenn hiding? Had he already been aware of Harry's magical abilities? Glenn had never been able to lie, frowning when he refused to look her in the eye.
"Amen," Andrea muttered shaking her head.
"It's not natural though is it...I mean why haven't we met someone like them before?" Jimmy pointed out, his bitter vitriol gone in the face of the horrific scars he'd seen on Harry's back. Nobody deserved to be hurt in such a way, not even for having magic. His earlier words had shocked him, making him feel guilty as hell, made him question his own anger...had he been jealous? Knowing what Harry was capable of had him scared of that he had no doubt.
"Glenn? What's wrong?" Maggie asked him concerned. "Did you know about Harry having magic?" despite how quiet she asked that, everyone heard and glanced over causing Glenn to cringe at the attention.
"Son?" Hershel queried in surprise.
Glenn licked his dry lips, glancing around the room his heartbeat shooting through the roof, "My sisters...were...are magical, they attended Ilvermorny magical school, when the outbreak happened and got worse, we began to make our way to the magic school, they were sure Ilvermorny would protect them from the walkers, I got separated from them, and soon found Shane and the others..."
Neither group knew what to say about that titbit of information.
"Non-Maj's aren't allowed to know about magic, the only exception is immediate family," Glenn explained, brushing his hair back before replacing his baseball cap with a shaky sigh. "My sisters couldn't even tell their boyfriends, they'd need to be married before they could reveal it, they hated that rule,"
"But why?" T-Dog asked baffled, he knew what it was like to be judged just for his skin colour, so for him to even think of judging Harry felt wrong. He didn't understand why Rick was being such a dick, the others were all correct; he had no right to disparage Harry after he'd risked his own neck to save them - save what must seem like their ungrateful hides.
"Because of this," Glenn said bluntly, nobody missed his glance at both Rick and Jimmy. "They were hunted down and judged because of their abilities. The witch trials, they hid themselves, hid magic."
"And also stopped innocent people from burning at the stake, most of the people burnt weren't magical," Mira added having heard the end of the conversation as she entered the room again, a large box of her possession in her hands ready to leave when it was time.
"What are you doing?" Michonne asked; seeing the box, Andre was trying to get down to go to Mira, which she allowed.
"I packed my things, I'm going with them," Mira said strongly, she would not be talked out of it.
"You have this magic DNA? Does that mean if you were to have a child it might have magic?" Hershel questioned, wishing he had known sooner. Glancing briefly at Mira, having heard her speak.
"Might," Glenn admitted warily, fearing that Maggie wouldn't want to be with him because of this huge secret he'd kept from her for so long. "It's a very slim chance,"
"Harry's leaving so soon?" Andrea tensed, as hurt as she was for him keeping it a secret, she had no intention of remaining behind with Rick. She'd been through that before, it hadn't worked, and judging by the state of them she was glad she had made that decision to follow Harry, Daryl, Merle and Luna that day.
"You know Harry as well as I do, when he does he sit around after making a plan?" Mira pointed out wryly. Scooping up the child into her arms, kissing him on the head softly, she really hoped Michonne was going to come with them.
"Good point," Amy added, she so wanted to see what else Harry could do other than blow up tanks and track people or even make an animal out of thin air. She wanted to know if he could make other animals for them to eat, purely out of curiosity since it wasn't as though they were hungry, they never went without. Sure their rations got smaller over time but they always brought something back when that happened.
"We all goin' then?" Big Tiny asked, he didn't want the group to split up, they worked so well together.
Oscar and Axel scoffed at the absurdity of the question; course they were all goin' ain't no way the group would stay with Rick.
"But doesn't that mean we'll have to go out there again?" Patrick asked, eyes wide, panic taking hold of him.
"Only for a little while," Sophia said, patting his shoulder calmly, "Don't worry, Harry, Luna, Daryl, Merle, mum and everyone else will keep us safe." remembering how scared she used to be all the time, especially when she'd ran from the walkers and ended up lost and alone.
"Depends on where it is," Dale said, he too wasn't looking forward to a long trip to safety again. "I cannot think of anything nearby that has all those things Harry said there is."
Mira opened her mouth before closing it, grunting in frustration, of course she couldn't tell them, and she wouldn't be able to give them a clue. She wasn't the Secret Keeper of the place, only Harry would be able to tell them.
"Dad, can we go with Harry?" Carl asked retaking his seat, stroking the Ferret which he had been doing with the others until they'd lost interest. Andre had gone back to his mum and Sophia joined in the argument. Carl had just been content to pet the animals both dogs and the Ferret. Seeing the look on his dads face he pushed on, "I want to go with him!" he stated demandingly.
Rick stared at his son his heart sinking, he didn't want to say no to his son, but he didn't want to go with Harry. He wasn't going to risk his family by joining his group. He could be dangerous; he wasn't going to take his word for it.
-0
"I guess we should head back in," Harry sighed, stepping on the butt of the second cigarette he'd just smoked. He could name a million things he'd rather do. Like stay here with Daryl in peace and quiet for as long as humanly possible. He stood up only to have his arm grabbed causing him to turn back around and stumble closer to Daryl, giving an 'Oomph' when his hips were grabbed and he was suddenly straddling Daryl. "Hmm, maybe not yet," he admitted, his green eyes beginning to shine again. He wrapped his left arm around Daryl's shoulder, and his right hand began to stroke down Daryl's face, the extent of his own feelings overwhelmed him sometimes, like now.
Moving closer, Harry' lips hovered over Daryl's, seeking permission, he had promised to go at his pace, he'd already broken that promise once by snogging him senseless after getting the fright of his life when a walker appeared when they were cleaning out one of the houses in Fort Benning. For a few moments Harry feared he had pushed his luck, and then such thoughts were erased from his mind as Daryl leaned the rest of the way his hand gripping the curve of his neck.
The kiss was desperate as their teeth, tongues and lips clashed pouring all their feelings into it, since neither was very good at talking about much. A shudder gripped Harry's body as Daryl's hand slid up his body, stroking his skin around his hip. Tightening his hold around Daryl, Harry moaned wantonly, by Merlin for someone who seemed so inexperienced Daryl was one hell of a kisser; he'd say that for him.
Eventually the need for air became too great as Harry ripped his mouth away, pressing his mouth to Daryl's neck, kissing his throat and shoulder as arousal shot through him, a sensual shiver flowing through him as he felt Daryl running his fingers up and down his spine. He could feel the affect he was having on Daryl, and by Merlin it made him feel undeniably smug that he could elicit such a response with so little work. Then again the same went for him too, they were inexpiably drawn to each other, and one touch from Daryl could make him feel weak in the knees. Whether it was just because of the unexpectedness of it, or if it would always remain that way he didn't know.
Daryl continued to touch him as if he hadn't before, paying a lot of attention to his chest, where he had been shot earlier. Harry sucked on the delectable neck in front of him; thanking Merlin he hadn't been hunting or fixing the RV or any other car, as much as he loved Daryl he wasn't about to kiss or lick a trail up his neck with oil or dirt on him. Which he gleefully did, grunting slightly as the arms tightened around him, trapping him in his arms.
Abandoning the neck, Harry thrust his tongue into Daryl's mouth, mapping out and exploring shuddering as those callused hands glided over his chest feeling as though they were everywhere at the same time as he distractedly tried to remember each and every feel of those hands on him. The heat was becoming intense; the urge to complete what they started was overwhelming them both. Regretfully they couldn't, not here, not now, especially not in the open.
So very reluctantly they slowed their ardour before stopping completely, both of them panting harshly, their breath mingling together as they forced their bodies to come down of the high (something all boys became experts at through puberty after quite a few embarrassing occasions no doubt).
The marks Harry noticed were already purple; a small undeniably smug smirk appeared on his face at that. Daryl grunted at him, already knowing what had caused the smirk in the first place.
"I can remove them if you like?" Harry offered, refraining from kissing them, he knew if they started again he would not be able to stop himself this time. He'd came so close to completion, so close that it had hurt to think of the most disgusting things to regain control of his libido. Now he was sexually frustrated on top of everything else, not a good combination at all.
"Nah," Daryl said, shaking his head, he didn't care what people thought, and Harry shouldn't either. "S' alrigh',"
"Come on then, the quicker we get this done the better," Harry said, his intention clear in his heated gaze, soon, very soon.
With that they both got up, Daryl rolling his eyes at the furrow of Harry's brow, he didn't understand why he kept getting worked up. It would be at the height of irony that nobody cared about his soddin' magic and all came. As they wandered back in they found that Merle and Luna hadn't gone far at all, they were sitting conversing quietly while Merle smoked both of them sitting on Dale's lawn chairs.
Both of them stood when they heard the other two of their main group rejoined them.
They face the others together, strong, and united no matter what went down.