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Chapter Text

Merle's POV

       The loud 'SLAM' of the door slamming closed echoed throughout the front lawn of a little rundown trailer park as a familiar 5'9 chronically vulgar man rushed inside the trailer he and his brother had fixed up once they escaped from their abuse ass of a father.

  "DARYL! Getcher ass out here, we need to leave, NOW!" His already loud voice carried through the small two-roomed single-wide trailer as he busied himself by grabbing all of the large duffle bags they used to carry the hunting equipment they used when they had long stays in the woods and cramming any needed essentials that they had around the trailer, even stuffing various weapons and cutlery into them before zipping them up and started filing up another.

         "What is it now." His younger brother asked annoyed as he walked over to him wondering why Merle was frantically stuffing whole cases of bullets, different sized and purposed blades, fire starters, lighters, and lighter fluids, matches, cigarettes, and water bottles into any kind of bag they owned even taking out the heavy-duty trash bags until it was filled to the brim.

  Ignoring his younger brother's questions for now Merle threw a few backpacks at him while ordering him to go around the house and attached garage to gather everything he thought would be essential to surviving like nonperishable food, their hunting equipment, weapons, tools they would need to fix the truck or motorcycle, his toolbox with all his little bits in it, etc. "Hurry yer lily-white ass up Daryl I want to be out of here and on the road as soon as we can."

        Starting to worry about the strange way his brother was acting before shrugging and doing what he asked. Jumping slightly when loud banging and moaning was coming from the front door and sides of the trailer, eyes widening in surprise as he saw hands leaving bloody smudges on the small peephole window and the glass of the windows next to the door. Coming out from the other room when he heard the banging Merle cursed like a sailor when a familiar male face poked into view. The man he could only just recognize as his neighbor had a rather large chunk of his cheek torn out exposing cheek muscles where the skin was torn off and bloodied gums with red-stained teeth snapping at thin air as its now white hazed bloodshot eyes focused on them, with others quickly following their companion as he grappled at the window.
    Not even saying a word both brothers turned away from the sight and Merle started gathering as many of the heavy bags over his broad shoulder as he could before telling Daryl to grab the rest as he opened the back door leading to the garage he and Daryl had built onto the trailer themselves. Placing down the bags at his feet he started packing them around his motorcycle in the trunk bed of Daryl's truck, with it being a pretty slim bike it left a lot of room to fill with the bags as their tents were already put up in the keystone toolbox along with most of his mechanical tools. Daryl copied him once he finished filling the rest of the bags and brought them to the garage quickly helping his brothers pack them in faster as they needed to get out of there as fast as they could before those things outside surrounded their exit.
      Once they were done with that they quickly got out a few bungee cords and strapped them down so they couldn't fly out or slide around the back. Hoping in the driver's seat Daryl started the truck as Merle hurried to open the garage door and get back to the truck as fast as he could. Seeing that a few of the walking corpses had already made their way to the back and were headed towards them with shambling footsteps he quickly booked it back to the truck and slide into the passenger seat of his brother's reasonably clean truck as Daryl slid into reverse and pulled out of the garage, hitting a couple of the closer ones as he did so. Just barely managing to strap in his seat belt before Daryl rounded the trailer and plowed through two more corpses, grimacing as a severed hand splattered the window shield with rotting blood before sliding off as Daryl accelerated down the familiar dirt roads.

  Turning to his older brother as much as he could while driving now that they were out of immediate danger Daryl asked, "What the f*ck was that!" With a freaked-out expression which was surprising to see on a Dixon's face, usually, not a lot could even surprise them with the sh*t they've been through and seen done since they were young. But this mess was an exception as he only ever saw sh*t like what just happened in horror movies about the undead.

         Huffing an exhausted breath as he sagged back into his seat with his hand over his face in an attempt to both ward off an oncoming headache and try to process what just happened over the last hour or so, "That, dear baby bro is exactly what those news people have been saying it was." He answered tiredly still trying to get over the shock of seeing his best drinking buddy being torn apart by one of those freaks when it came out of nowhere before taking a chunk out of his shoulder from behind and dragging him down to the floor with its dead weight and unnatural strength. Screaming as more joined the first from the busted back door, as surprised and lightly buzzed he was still coherent enough to use his friend's screams as a distraction to get away before adrenaline pushed away the rest of the fog from his head with only the thought of running to get his younger brother and getting outta there running through his mind.

        Daryl's eyes widened in recollection when he said this before refocusing his gaze on the road before them, "I thought they were just trying to sell fake news for an early Halloween scare or something." He said in a daze before he noticed they were passing by two bodies on the side of the little dirt road they were on with their entire torsos ripped open exposing their ribs and insides to the world, slowly reanimating as they started twitching while still clearly dead.

        Watched the two bodies warily as they sped past them before closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger while saying "Me too little bro, me too."

~

        The two brothers stuck to themselves and took to little known roads when they could and off-road trails when they couldn't avoid being caught up by a potentially dangerous roadblock with panicked drivers on one of the larger roads or by walkers as they were more than likely to go after the larger and louder gathering of warm meat. They mostly kept themselves fed by cooking through what they could stomach of the meat they already had and smoked what little game meat they had into a tough protein-packed jerky. Then once that ran out, with squirrels and the occasional rabbit in a stew with what little wild vegetables and herbs they could find to preserve the canned food they had.
    The mini hunts for the rabbits and squirrels kept them occupied on their way to a refugee camp in Atlanta they heard being advertised on the little battery-powered radio they had for entertainment before all the channels became nothing more than static with the occasional emergency broadcasting that repeated itself every hour or so. Their days were then filled with trying to avoid any town or encampment they came across along their way as the former had long since been overrun with walkers and the latter didn't like the idea of accepting two untrustworthy rednecks into their fold, especially since Merle almost bit the head off one such camps leader for making a degrading remark towards Daryl specifically. Along with making sure all their equipment and tools were in good condition and well cared for as there was no way of knowing if they would be able to replace them in the uncertain future, and hunting small game around the area they were camping in at the time. At least two months later when they grew bored of hunting the smaller and in their opinion easier game and decided to try tracking down a deer to entertain themselves and turn into jerky later. Deciding to set up their camp underneath a good-sized rock formations cliff a bit further into the woods than they would usually venture when hunting small game after they found a relatively fresh deer trail close by.
   They were taking their time tracking it down to thoroughly enjoy the much-needed longer hunt and were looking for signs of the deer in the brush of a clearing with a few nice sized boulders centered in the middle covered with green moss and creeping vine leaves when they were ambushed by a small horde.
    They were looking for any signs that the deer had decided to munch on the small shrubbery surrounding the rocks when they started shambling their way through the trees at the edge of the clearing and startling the concentrating hunters.
      Merle's eyes widened when he saw how many were coming at them from all sides before pushing Daryl behind him to provide cover as they both started shooting them in the head with his gun and Daryl's trusty crossbow before they got too close, then he switched to his miniature machete. Cursing as they started to get close before they even got through half of them as he stepped forward to stab one through the temple as it got close while using his gun to shoot another coming at his side. Not even twitching as he heard the 'Twang' of his brother's crossbow firing and the air displacement of the bolt as it flew past his shoulder and into the eye of another one coming close to him. Though he did narrow his eyes when he noticed a different set of arrows join in with his brother's bolts from in front of them and take out the stragglers in the back.
   Keeping one eye on the general line of trees he thought they were coming from he helped finished off the last of the walkers with a few quick stabs of his blade and turned his full attention to the trees now that the immediate threat of the walking dead was done with. Stepping back and closed in front of his brother when an unfamiliar English accented voice called out asking if they needed assistance treating any injuries. Sharing a loaded look with his brother before each scanned the other down with their eyes for any visible injuries, both negatively nodded their heads. Watched with interest as a short, light-skinned young man with an unruly mop of black hair and a baby strapped to his chest in a black and green carrier dropped down from the trees when Merle approved of the Brit's approach. He was around 5'4 and looked to be what one would call androgynous with a slender neck sporting a black emerald studded choker supporting a small heart-shaped face with a widow's peak, squared jaw, and dark lashes that framed the greenest eyes he's ever seen on a human being and small pouty peach-colored lips that were quirked into a cute side smile. He was all covered by a short pitch black mop of hair that looked like it hasn't had a good brushing in its entire life and a slight undercut on the left side, dressed in a form-fitting short hoody that complimented his eyes and what little he could see of a dark grey undershirt on top of a pair of black stretch pants with a slight scale pattern to it, and knee-high black strapped boots.
  Giving a slight nod of his head when he cataloged the variety of different weapons he had on him when his attention was shifted to the baby, navy blue eyes softening as they were met with the curious baby's blue hazel eyes before they refocused their attention on the stuffed panther toy in their hands. Smirking, amused at being ignored in favor of a toy before glancing back up at their guardian's face to catalog their reaction to a 'dirty redneck' looking at their baby before being captured in a set of amused dazzling green eyes.
   He probably looked like a fool standing there just looking into the stranger's eyes but he couldn't help it, he was mesmerized by how deep the color of the green went only broken by different shades of green forming a crystalline pattern before it merged with the pupil.

    Only able to snap out of his daze when the accented voice asked, "Are you sure you uninjured? I'm Harry Black by the way," as the younger man stopped a bit before them with his voice confirming it was him talking to them from the trees, watching as he lightly picked up and waved the little kids arm at them as he also introduced them, "and this handsome little guy is Teddy."

       Merle couldn't help his snort of amusement at the ridiculous baby name,  "Did ya name your baby after a stuffed animal or are you pulling my leg." he asked while gesturing towards the now confirmed baby boy apparently named or more hopefully nicknamed Teddy with an easy grin. His eyes once again softened as the little guy reached out for his fingers and crossed his little arms with a pout when he couldn't reach them, "My name's Merle Dixon and this little gremlin next to me is my baby brother, Daryl Dixon." He introduced himself before gesturing behind him at Daryl who was giving him a dry, blank look to convey to him how much he truly appreciated his older brother calling him a gremlin as he leaned back against the large rock behind them. As usual around strangers keeping the crossbow that he'd given him when he'd bagged his first successful deer when he was 7, at his side.

      Now giving him another amused look the hot-looking stranger, Harry, answered his little quip, "No, his actual name is Theodore Edward Lupin. I just call him Teddy as Theodore is a bit of a mouthful to call a baby, and it was the nickname his grandmother gave him."  Before relaxing his stiff shoulder muscles much to both the brother's surprise as most people were either too wary or too suspicious of them to relax any muscle at all around them after they'd categorized them as the stereotypical violent redneck.
 
      Seemingly having decided on something in his head Harry asked them something that automatically put them on edge no matter who was asking them, "Are you guys also making your way towards Atlanta?" With a friendly tone and sheepishly hopeful expression on his face as he nervously carded his slim fingers through his hair, stopping to play with the relatively short hairs of his undercut while shifting his weight from foot to foot. All these things put together almost had him regretting his next harsh words, but even though he thought the newcomer has a pretty face and a cute baby he always had to be precarious about telling others such things concerning him and his little brother, such as where they are going.

      Now watch him with narrowed eyes Merle suspiciously spat out, "What business is it of yours where we're headed." As Daryl also narrowed his eyes and pushed off from his spot against the rock to stand next to him, ready to have each other's back as they always have.

    Both brothers were startled when the stranger answered them straightforwardly, "Well I was wondering if you guys wouldn't mind if I tagged along with you two as you seem nice enough and I'm going a bit stir crazy because the little guy here isn't much of a conversationalist yet and you're the first survivors I've come across so far." Without trying to butter them up first with flowery words. Which surprised the brothers at first as usual, people choose to beat around the bush when asking them for something which also usually resulted in them snapping at the person asking to get to the point. Furthering some people's views on them being the stereotypical violent and impatient rednecks.
       The brothers shared another loaded look between them before they took a better look at the weapons he was carrying. They could see he carried what looked to be a good quality short bow with a quiver full of the type of arrows that go to it sticking out one of the bigger side pockets of his large dark green hiking bag. Merle took a moment once he saw exactly how big and packed filled the bag was to quietly wonder how such a small person with only lean muscles was able to carry around the heavy pack a normal-sized person would find a little different to walk around with and the added weight of a small child on his chest before something in the back of his mind nudged him to carry on with his other thoughts and not dwell on how such a heavy thing was carried so easily by the short-statured Harry. Not able to resist the mental nudge Merle dismissed his previous thoughts before carrying on to a wicked-looking bo staff that seemed like it was concealing something in the middle, a small boot knife he could only just see the handle of and a nice sized daggers handle poking out from its sheave from behind him just above his hips. Then refocusing his attention on the little guy strapped to Harry's chest in a carrier and called Teddy, the poor kid, who was once again focused on playing with his toys with a cute little concentrated expression.

        That made him settle on a decision then and there as he couldn't with good conscience let the little defenseless baby be harmed if he could help it, even if his guardian did look like he was packing enough weapons on him to make a smart walker think twice before attacking.
  'But that doesn't mean I won't lay down the rules and conditions of joining tho,' he commented inside his head before gesturing towards Harry's bow, staff, and various blades as he asked, "If you want to travel with us then you'll have to know how to use those, cuz we ain't going to be carting around and catering to a pansy-ass layabout who can't pull there own weight around the camp as most people seem to think they have the right to." He sneered in disgust at the mere thought of coddling and kowtowing to someone when they could be ambushed by flesh-eating corpses at any time, Daryl nodding along from where he now stood beside him as he silently agreed with him as silent as a post virus graveyard around anyone new as usual because of their shitty upbringing.

       Harry only gave him a smirk before sassing back at him a quick, "Yes, I can use my staff and blades  quite well, the bow on the hand I'm just getting acquainted with but I'll tell you I can hit a squirrel clean across this clearing," before pausing to give them a cheeky grin, "and as an experienced medic I can most certainly say I'm healthy enough to pull more than just my bodyweight around."

     Merle was so shocked he froze as he thought, 'What kinda luck is this sh*t? Since when did we Dixon's have enough luck to come across a medically trained hottie with a mouth and baby on board in the middle of the original apocalypse.'

      With this thought in mind, Merle quickly recovered from his sock with a small disbelieving laugh before he finally relaxed enough to shake one of Harry's smaller calloused hands to 'seal' the deal before vocally welcoming them to his and his brother's merry little band along with christening Harry with his new Merle styled nickname, "Welcome to the Dixon's merry band of misfits then, shortcake." And smirked when he received a kitten glare once Harry registered the nickname he gave him, now thoroughly amused. Daryl just nodded his head as a way of greeting before he started gathering his bolts and their new group members' arrows from the heads of the thoroughly dead.

       "Come along then if you're coming with us, we were tracking down a deer for dinner and jerky before these uglies ambushed us," he informed him as he turned to head back into the woods in the direction the deer most likely ran off in before turning his head and asking, "Do you have anything you need to pick up or are you good?" as an afterthought.  Before he started waving at him and Daryl to hurry up when he nodded his head 'no'.

       "Just follow behind us as quietly as you can." He heard his brother tell him before Merle focused his attention back on following the trail the deer left behind.

~

         It's only been a few days since Shortcake, and Babycake, joined-up them and in his opinion, it livened things up and made their travels less boring. Since they'd gotten back from hunting down the doe he's been using every opportunity he's had to check out the hot momma, which he heard the kid call him once or twice when addressing him directly which he had thought was a little weird at first before getting over it with the thought, 'to each their own I guess. Using the little things like helping him to set up his heavy-duty tent to side-eye his nice figure through the hoodie and partially revealing stretch pants when he knew Harry wasn't looking. And repeated with many other instances though he also used these moments to scope out his range of personality, which was a mini hybrid of a firecracker and mother hen mixed with the tendency to keep quiet and observe like Daryl did, with one important thing that stood out amongst all that personality wrapped in a tiny 5'4 package was his rabid, possibly feral, protectiveness of Babycake, as they saw when he practically tore off a walkers arm and used it as a flimsy club to cave the poor bastard's head in when it tried to swipe at Babycakes and made him cry out in fright before finally finishing it off with a swift stab of his staff into the downed walkers exposed brain with a viciously satisfied gleam in his eye while they were all out scavenging from a gas station. That might be the first and last time he'll ever see one of the d*mned bastards try to get away from a living being instead of continuing to try and eat them.

        That being said, another thing that he noticed about the little medic, besides his hot body, was that he had some crazily strong instincts that were at their base well in tune with fighting on and surviving. Giving hints to Harry MF having some experience in a type of survival struggle before with an acute sense of smell, hearing, and sight paired with fast reflexes compacted into a deadly little package, which made him all the more desirable in Merle's eye as he's always loved it when his partner could fight alongside him, or even play fight with him without getting all huffy about it.
 
     Daryl has since been sending him amused looks ever since they had picked up the doc, having already known his type as well as the sole person in their small world that knew he, Merle Leroy Dixon, batted for both teams, and almost subsequently the real reason he was dishonorably discharged from the Marines. He had to keep the fact he was bisexual hidden to survive their bastard of a Pa while growing up and later on just became a habit to keep it to himself as a way to defend himself from others. Not that he let it stop him from bringing back the occasional male that caught his fancy and wanted a ride with one of the big bad Dixon men to a nearby hotel room of course.
        Going back to their resident momma bear, his baby was also something to ponder about. The little guy was almost always quiet when they were out on runs as if he knew he had to stay as quiet as a mouse when his Momma was up and moving fast, little did he know until later that it was the silencing bubble put around him by his guardian so walkers wouldn't be attracted to him if Teddy started babbling to himself during a run. But when they made it back to camp and after he's settled down a little bit he would begin to babble to them, mainly his Momma, about anything that caught his attention and ask him barely formed or comprehendible questions which Harry would patiently answer for him. At least he didn't mind it when either he or Daryl would bring back little stuffed toys for the little guys when they came back from solo runs as they had both fallen under the charm of the cute baby. Or that he and his brother were slowly but surely integrating him and his baby into their close circle reserved for each other as family in the hope that he wouldn't eventually leave them for something better.
      
       Then they stumbled across an abandoned quarry with fresh water running nearby.

~

         A week and three days into staying at the quarry after setting up a few tripwires tied together with a few cans with small rocks inside them to act as warning systems, Merle was given a major shock when an amused Harry placed a happily babbling and bouncing Babycakes in his lap, and allowing him, someone most people deemed as a no-good redneck, to hold and play with his precious bundle of joy who he had beaten a walker into a permanent death over with its arm. He and Daryl were both touched by the level of trust that Shortcakes seemed to have in them allowing them both a chance to hold and play with his precious Teddy before handing him back.
        Only passing him back to his Momma when he was all tuckered out with both Dixon sporting a small smile for the little guy and his guardian as he handed over the tired baby as they both nodded their heads at him in silent acknowledgment of his significant trust in them.

       Though like a true member of their family, Harry couldn't help not teasing them for long as he smirked at them with a conked out Teddy to his chest,  "So does this mean I can get one of you to change his nappies now and then from now on?" And busted out laughing as they both said 'hell no' with Merle shaking his head and curling his lip in disgust at the idea of changing a dirty diaper, he had enough 'accidents' and diapers changing to last him a lifetime when he had to do it for Daryl when he was born as their Ma sure wasn't going to do it.
        'Although I won't change a diaper, I'll sure do my damnedest to make so that he survives this,' he swore as he glanced at the laughing faces of his little makeshift family, 'that we all do.'

~

       Later on, after they all stood and witnessed the bombs being dropped on top of Atlanta by the military from afar and made their silent pact with each other while shakily making their way back to camp.
       Jumping to their feet a few hours later as newcomers made their way into their camp with Merle taking the lead position at the front as always ready to protect the little makeshift family he had made with Daryl, Harry, and Teddy while Daryl backed him from a few steps behind. Watched in approval as Shortcakes moved quickly to the trees on the other side to offer them support from the other side of the intruders while also protecting Babycakes from a higher advantage point like he did when they first met.
        Readying himself as he raised his gun from behind Daryl's truck to point at a deputy who stepped out from his cruiser with his hands raised in a strange form of irony.

End of Merle's POV

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Start of Chapter 3: The Quarry

       The newly arrived group of survivors jumped slightly in their skin before whipping around when they heard a 'thud' coming from behind them a split second after the strange man in front of them called out for someone to come out of hiding. Most were flabbergasted when they saw a relatively young-looking pretty stranger drop down from the trees behind them before their eyes widened when they caught sight of a baby strapped into a carrier on, what they think is, the girl's chest. Watching stunned to their core as she then quickly made her way around them to stand beside the two rough-looking men in front of them before finally turning to face them with a cheeky sounding "Howdy." As she cheerfully waved her pale right hand at them in greetings.

       Harry tried to muffle his snickers by covering his mouth with his hands as he almost doubled over at the stunned looks spread across the new group's faces, before recovering quickly with a straightened spine as he bit his lips to keep it all in as they one by one got over his sudden and shocking appearance. His attempts not working as some threw him withering glares while the others all watched him with differing amounts of amusement displayed on their faces and in their eyes before their mildly amused leader stepped forward to make introductions as all the rest of them stepped out from their vehicles.

      The officer, Shane Walsh, as he had introduced himself stood in front of his group as they all came closer to better introduce themselves, along with a woman who had a vague resemblance to his dear Aunt Petunia with that unsatisfied pinched look on her face as she stepped closer to the Deputy's side with a young brunette boy, the same who had peeked his head out the window, with blue eyes and a cute cherubic face at her side.

   Harry stood still as he and his two brothers focused with rapt attention as the officer started introducing the individual members of his group one by one.
   Shane gestured beside him to focus their attention on the women and boy beside him before introducing them by name, "This here is Lori Grimes and her little boy Carl Grimes," he said with a flash of remorse as he said the last name 'Grimes' before pushing it down the next second and continuing to the next person by indicating a nervously shuffling Asian male on the far right side of the group. "The young Asian guy at the end is Glynn Rhee, our most successful supply runner," said the runner flushing at the praise before lifting his dark head of hair to give them a small smile and a small shaky wave.
       "Our two blond sisters Andrea and Amy," the two blond-haired girls next to Glynn nodded as Shane said their names with the first one, Andrea, looking a good bit older than her younger sister Amy. Honestly, if Shane hadn't introduced them as sisters Harry would've pegged them as a mother-daughter pair in all regards.
      "The older male next to then is Dale, the oldest in our group and the owner of the smaller RV parked next to us," the elder man wearing ghastly Hawaiian beach-themed clothes and sandals waved with a cheery smile before he turned back to fuss over the two sisters like a clucking mother hen.
        "Next is Ed and Carol Peletier with their daughter Sophia," Harry wore a blank mask as the little family was introduced, if the pinched face woman named Lori reminded him of Petunia then this Ed would be what he imagined Vernon's long lost twin would look like in both appearance and mannerism. He pondered on this for not a moment more before dismissing any lingering emotions towards his 'beloved' family as he no longer wanted to dwell on them an further, now or ever again, as his primary focus was on building a safer future for him and his in this walker infested world. Instead switching his narrowed gaze to observe the battered woman cowering next to him. Carol reminded him of a scared mouse as she tried to control her body's tremors and shakes while shying away from everyone except her daughter Sophia who she kept behind her as if to shield her away from everyone's notice. These actions coupled with the amount of hand and fist-shaped bruises on her arms, neck, and a small amount on her face, all at different stages of healing made him realize that her husband, Ed, was physically abusing her and possibly their daughter who was still hiding behind her mother's legs. Felt a sharp pang of protectiveness in his chest at the sight of the scared child as she slowly tilted her head enough to look over her mother's sundress with bright curious eyes before shyly waving at him when she noticed his gaze. Gave her a soft smile as he waved back which then turned into a scowl when she hurriedly pulled her head back behind her mother when Ed shot her a dirty look. Glaring daggers at the despicable man's head with a warning growl echoing through his chest that no one noticed except the brothers who shot him curious looks before following his gaze to see what had him so pissed while everyone else was focused on the deputy who had continued talking and introducing people while Harry was focused on the little family. Gave Ed one more vicious glare before switching back to the talking Deputy as he made up in his mind a promise to somehow get rid of the garbage human being.
       "..., Jim, Jacqui, T-Dog, and the Morales," Shane finished off after a little while longer.
       Harry could already tell this domestic group wasn't going to take Merle's way of interacting very well, probably used to being around a large population before the virus that preferred to use proper social manners and flowery words instead of bluntly getting to business which also told him a few of them won't make it past a year if they don't shape up and not let a few choice words or insults get under their skin so easily.
      Rubbing at his chest in confusion when an unnatural cold filled it and slowly grew when the names 'Amy, ..., Jim, Jacqui,...' were said before abruptly disappearing. Mentally noting to himself to cast another diagnostic on himself later and out of view of the camp, which had his kind of frustrated as just before the newcomers had shown up and ruined it he had planned on informing the Dixon brothers of his and Teddy's magic that very night after dinner.

  'Now that plan's been shot to hell' he mentally pouted to himself now that he had to come up with another way to get the brothers away from prying ears to inform his new family members of magics existence in both him and Teddy who was likely to start showing accidental magic soon according to the books.

         Coming back to himself and shot an inquiring look at Merle on if he wanted to introduce them or if wanted him to, getting a nod of acceptance from their unspoken but agreed-upon pride/group leader. Harry took a half step forward and cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention before he started to introduce his newly found family with pride, "Hello everyone my name is Harry Black, or as Merle for some unfathomable reason likes to call me Shortcakes," shooting an exasperated glare at a very unapologetic looking Merle as he was now used to the nickname he was given by the big dufflebrain, "this big mug next to me is our lovable arse of a leader, Merle Dixon," he said while jabbing his thumb at the now smirking Merle, " and his younger brother and my other groupmate Daryl Dixon." Motioning towards an unsurprisingly silent Daryl who only inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment before excitedly raising both of Teddy's wiggly little arms in the air and waving them at the new group, "And this cute as a button little guy is Theodore Lupin or just Teddy for short." He finished off with a genuine smile he usually reserved for his little one and now the two brothers. Silently observing their reactions to his way of introduction and Immediately picking up the fact that most of the new group was smiling at the happy baby while others like Lori and Ed shot poorly concealed dirty looks at him. His smile took on a sharpened edge at this as he barely held back the urge to fully bare his animagus sharpened teeth at them as he warned them all with a pleasantly friendly tone, "Please do be careful when you are around him as he is but a toddler and can be harmed very easily and even if you've unintentionally harmed him, well let's just say I'm one very protective 'Mama Bear'."
    Smiling harmless with a dark sense of satisfaction several members of the other group visibly shivered at the implement behind his warning and the dangerous aura he gave off as he smiled. Several more made their mental notes on not getting on the androgynous girl's bad side as she stepped back behind her small groups' looking leader.

        Said leader snorted, "You'll better listen to Harry there kiddies, cuz he ain't joking I was there when he turned a walker into spreads with his bare hands when it took a swipe at the little guy, not that we wouldn't have done the same given the chance." He grinned ferally as they now shot fear-filled looks at his makeshift family, all of them ignoring his use of the pronoun 'him' for what they all thought was a female as they were distracted by their imagery of what he described.
      
   Exchanging semi worried glances with the other members of their larger group as they followed behind Shane as he directed him to the other side of the camp from the Dixon's. Though some individuals glanced back at the beautiful girl with heavy eyes as they disregarded his and Harry's warnings as complete nonsense, after all, how could such a small beautiful girl be capable of such violence?

~

       The three of them stood there for a few minutes later as they watched the other group make their way across the quarry before turning back to their camps. Harry merrily hummed to himself with pep to his step as he followed behind a smirking Daryl back to their tents with Merle following just behind them, both brothers drawing amusement from his perkiness. His merriness came to a halt the moment they reached them as he had to quickly rush into his tent to grab a clean nappy as Teddy was killing his temporarily animagus enhanced sense of smell. His green eyes watered at the horrid smell as he tried to turn his face away from Teddy while holding his breath as he quickly laid out a dry nappy, wipes, and baby powder as he set to work changing Teddy's stinky nappy on the changing pad he set out every morning for just this reason. The little worm always thought it was a game whenever he tried changing his diaper as he'd always try to wiggle away from his Muma before he could put on his new nappy. Quickly banishing the dirty nappy and used wipes from the privacy of his tent before the air he was holding in a burst from his mouth with a puff before sitting up the giggling Teddy as he put away the wipes and powder. Taking in heavy intakes of the fresh air outside as he left his tent and flipped his middle finger at the snickering brothers with a sneer as he walked towards them only to join them in a belly laugh as Teddy started making poot noises. Still chuckling as he grabbed the back of his chair and brought it closer to them before catching their attention as he glanced at the new group who were busy setting up campsites. Reading the look in his eyes both brothers glanced back at the new group before turning back to him and adjusting their seats so they could face each other better.
 
   Leaning forward a bit so he could rest his elbows on his knees Merle took a second to look both of them in the eye, "So here's what's happening. I know we were planning to stay here for at least a few more weeks to gather more supplies and scout out some maps but because of this new group we might have to leave earlier."

  Both Daryl and Harry nodded their heads along with him after he said the last piece before Harry snapped his spine up straight as the promise he'd made to himself popped back into existence in his head, "I agree that we need to leave before any trouble can arise from this new group but before we do that I noticed something as the Deputy was introducing everyone that I want to fix before we go," Harry spoke up before looking both straight in the eye as they looked at him curiously, "Have you noticed the little family he introduced at the beginning, the one with the overweight bald guy with his wife and the little girl? Well, I've noticed signs of physical abuse on the mother and distinctly hand sarm so I want to make sure their abuser is dealt with before leaving."

  The brother's eyes widened with realization as their minds brought up the image of the scowling overweight man and his cowering wife and child, "Well I was going to bring that up next but cha beat me to the punch Shortcakes. I was planning on catching the disgusting f*cker outside of the camp and giving him a good talking to and if he still carried on with his sh*t I was going to drag his ugly a** away from where his Lil girl could see and rearrange his face for him."

    Merle revealed before zoning out as he gained a distant glint in his eye that Harry would've missed if he hadn't been paying attention when Daryl added in his two cents, "Same as y'all I want to leave this joint as quick as possible but I also want to help that Lil girl, ain't no child deserves to be beaten on like that." with his steely look.

  Harry nodded his head with a satisfied grin as pride for his pride members swelled up in his chest at their willingness to help an abused child, "Great, so next time we see the fat lout we'll drag him into a corner and tell him like it is then and if he doesn't comply he'll learn why he should've listened in the first place. Though I want to remove Carol and Sophia from his toxic presence permanently if I can. I just need a way to do so without the others of his group going at mine and your backs for it." Both brothers sent him darkly satisfied smirks before focusing back on their main point and deciding that they would stay for at least a week or two to find a way to take care of the Ed problem and to scavenge for detailed maps of the areas around and away from Atlanta. They were determined to find a place they could fix up and ride out in for the long haul especially since Teddy would need a place to learn and grow, the details they discussed still ringing in their heads as they took a minute before dinner to relax the tension from the day out of their bodies.

  Not even five minutes later all three of them jumped in their skins as they heard loud yelling coming from across the quarry. The loud noise had them jumping to their feet and grabbing for their weapons as they were no longer used to such loudness after being secluded in the woods with only the sound of nature and each other. They were already halfway across the length of their camp before they realized that it was only the shrew looking woman, Lori, screaming at the older blonde Andrea about something to do with an organization as she flailed her arms about while still trying to point the others around her to different spots on their campground. Harry pressed the bridge of his nose with his fingers as he tried to comprehend the fact that this woman was making so much noise that could potentially attract walkers to them because her group members weren't following her rapid-fired directions correctly. Shaking his head as he looked over at the other two and saw the same thoughts displayed across their faces before looking back at the commotion, only to be surprised when he saw Lori was now glaring over at them for no apparent reason. Raising his eyebrow at this he then rolled his eyes as he dismissed the high-strung women as he made his way back to his chair and started on dinner all the while lamenting in his head how underprepared these people were for the new world that was now run by the walking dead.

   Snickering when he heard Merle say, "Well ain't she a wannabe Queen Bee."

~

        The next day Harry sat outside his tent playing a little game with Teddy that always seemed to delight him no matter how many times they played it as he would always giggle and shriek whenever he covered his face behind his hands and tried to imitate him whenever he said "Peek-a-boo," but always sound like he was saying, " Pee-ah Boooo." His adorable imitation always drew a smile out from Harry as he couldn't help but be happy whenever he was with Teddy. He loved moments like this when it was just him and Teddy focused on each other even though he was also keeping an eye on the other group that just arrived in the late afternoon yesterday.
        Especially keep an eye out on their reactions whenever Merle walked over to one or more and prodded at their edges to find out information on the group dynamic as well as scouting out what made them tick as a group and what got a reaction out of them as an individual by using his crass language, blunt manners and mostly offensive nicknames to his advantage. Daryl had left a little bit earlier to continue tracking the deer tracks they found yesterday before the shock of the bombing had them making their way back to their camp. Usually, they would have gone together with how far the tracks went away from their campsite and it was safer these days to travel in groups rather than going out solo in case something happened and is supposed to be back later today if not tomorrow. Now they had to leave at least one person behind to watch their camp now that there was a group of unknown characters camping so close to theirs, and while the brothers knew very well how much he could take care of himself Daryl still went hunting by himself and left Merle behind with a secretive smirk as an extra protective shield for their weakest family member, Teddy.
         Merle came back to them as the sun fell behind the tree line with no sign of Daryl which likely meant he would be back the next day and shared the not so surprisingly easy gather surplus of information he'd gathered about the group and its members with Harry, just goes to show how easy it is to pull information from someone once you've gotten them riled up enough.

   Shane was the one in charge of the other group evidenced by the way most of them followed his orders as they believed with him being a part of the police force he could somehow lead them out of the hell they found themselves in. His attitude and the way he presented himself told all three of them the deputy was used to receiving the respect and compliance his job offered him and would have a hard time if that control over others was somehow taken away from him. These things also told them they probably won't be getting along too well with Shane for long, as much as they were okay with doing small things and providing meat for them to keep the peace they weren't part of their group, and none of them would take being order around by Shane to well and he'd probably like the response he'd get back.
   He also seemed to have let that type of power get to his head which was an issue for them especially when they spotted him reclining in his chair on top of the nice older man named Dale's RV with his shotgun laid across his lap while everyone else busied themselves with the various chores he listed out for them. Merle also expressed to him with visible aggravation in his hand gestures that when we weren't sitting up there with the excuse of being a lookout he was not so discreetly following behind Lori into the woods for half an hour or so to do what only Merlin knows what while also taking the shotgun with him, this groups seemingly only line of defense as none of the others seemed to know how to throw a proper punch to save their lives.
    The last bit had Merle starting on what he'd gathered on a said woman or the resident wannabe Queen Bee as Merle likes to call her, Lori Grimes.
  Of who seemed to think her only job in the group was to stand around and yell out orders much to the annoyance of them who could hear her across the quarry, which had Harry secretly adding a silencing charm keyed to her voice so it wouldn't be able to draw in any nearby walkers, and the other members of her group. Merle remarked how much she reminded him of one of those goody-two-shoes prissy b*tches that thought if they lived in a nice big house instead of a trailer or apartment then their sh*t don't stank. She seemed to take a personal liking to order around the other women of the group as well, often telling them to clean the laundry, wash the dishes, pick up whatever trash was laying about to 'clean' up the quarry as if she forgot they used to live in modern society where it was encouraged for girls to become something more then housewives or maids which seemed to be what she was making them into. And as Merle said before when she wasn't doing that she was dragging Shane behind her into the woods and irresponsibly leaving behind her ten-year-old son Carl. She seemed to be neglecting to fulfill her need to be over people and chasing after Shane as the poor boy was drawing into himself more and more every day as he was forgotten by his mother as she chased after her power ticket.
   So far that was the most Merle could gather about the two but both he and  Merle had a feeling they'd probably learn a lot more about them before they left

   Harry's lips curled up at the edges when Merle was then informed of the fact that the majority of the other group thought he was a girl because of his androgynous face and short stature. He wondered what was wrong with these people's eyes as sure while he knew his choker hid the majority of his Adams Apple there were still other masculine features of his that couldn't be explained away by his only slight androgynies like the barely noticeable stubble he got in the morning that was usually spelled away while he was bathing and the complete lack of breast. Exasperatedly rolling his eyes at the lack of observational skills in this new group as his lips curled further into an amused smirk as they were the first to outright think he was a girl before shining his fanged pearly whites at Merle, "Well that's a first, though maybe ill play into that image a little as my Father, Godfather, and honorary uncle were all legendary pranksters so this will be fun and give us some entertainment while we're here. Who knows maybe some will grow a pair of eyes while I'm doing so." Both snickered as they imagined the possible looks they'd sport when they find out before Merle continued.
    The after-mentioned kid, Carl Grimes, was a sweet little ten-year-old who tried to keep himself active by either exploring around the quarry with the other kids or helping the adults with the camp chores to distract himself from his absent mother. He also seemed to have made it his little mission to distract Sophia as well by mainly playing games with each other or reading the comic books and fairytales they'd stored in their supplies before they left their respective homes at the beginning of the apocalypse as they both tried to ignore their respective parental problems. But it could only go on for so long as Sophia would eventually be called back by Carol whenever she feared Ed wouldn't like her being around Carl for so long the last two days. Harry frowned at this information as he felt a ping in his heart for the lonely little boy before he started planning on how he could settle him into their group, perhaps permanently if his mother doesn't shape up soon. He made a note of it on his mental soundboard before he focused back on Merle as he went down the list of names and the information he had gathered on them each.
        Glynn, or Chinaman, as Merle likes to call him was a nice enough kid that was always asking if anyone needed anything while he was out on a supply run including them. Harry thought he reminded him of a first-year Neville who was at the time still meek and insecure in his true worth but had a sharp mind for strategy and a compassionate personality. Those traits alone were enough to have Harry wanting to bring him into their group when they left so he could make sure he survived and both he and his panther loved the thought of having someone even relatively close to Neville's protectiveness for his friends and planning in their group as both a protector and beta. He brought the idea up to Merle with the points that he just thought of after explaining who Neville was and his contributions to the battles Harry participated in, the muggle version for now anyway, as both a medic and Captian figure. This information had Merle contemplating hard as he kept glancing to where Glynn was running around the camp once again asking if they needed anything before nodding his head with a sigh, "Fine Shortcake, we'll try to bring your Chinaman into the fold but I'm not making any promises. He might not want to go through the apocalypse with two rednecks and a crazy British medic with a baby on board."

Harry smirked as he started coming up with ways to convince Glynn to join them, "Don't worry I'll make sure he'll want to come with us. He looks like he needs someone who cares about him anyway." He shrugged before giving Merle a questioning look, "You do know he's Korean though right?"

Merle only gave him an answering smirk that soon turned into a shit-eating grin after he caught sight of Glynn heading their way, just then coming within earshot of their conversation, "Yeah I know he's Korean but that's not the reason I'm calling him Chinaman. I've had some Asian-American friends before, I just like messing with him a little to toughen him up a little so he won't get too hurt too badly by the actual assholes out there that'll call him a lot worst than Chinaman and do a lot worst then give him a light shove to the shoulders now and then." He directed the last part at the frozen Glynn from where he stood beside them with a look of realization flashing in his widened eyes.

Harry gave Merle a sly grin when he realized what he was doing before he shifted his attention to Glynn, "How are you doing today Glynn. You're not running yourself ragged are you mate?"

The questions seemed to have snapped Glynn out of his shock as he then sent Merle a wide-eyed searching look before brightening up again at whatever he saw with a sheepish grin before he snapped his gaze to Harry and looked him in the eyes, "Yeah I'm good, thank you for the concern though. A lot of the others don't ask me how I'm doing." He stated embarrassed with flushed cheeks.

Harry frowned at this, "Well they should since you do so much for them. Let me tell you right now Glynn if you start feeling like you need a break without being bothered or start feeling under the weather you can come over here and sit with us. You need to rest sometime or you'll burn out soon and trust me when I say I know what I talking about." As he gave Glynn a stern scanning look. "Here sit down for a little bit you look paler than usual."

Glynn spluttered out a few flustered excuses as to why he couldn't sit down right now before caving in as Harry just stared unblinkingly up at him with a stern unrelenting gaze with one of his black eyebrows raised, unimpressed with any of the flimsy excuses to not take a break. Merle howled with laughter as he then sat down in one of the chairs in between them with a cowed look which gained them a few disgruntled looks from the other group before he settled and gave Glynn an amused smirk, "Hey Chinaman you might want to listen to Shortcakes here, we didn't want to tell anyone in case they start getting ideas but he was an experienced field Medic before all this so you might want to follow his advice there."

Glynn started sputtering as his eyes went wide once again before staring at Harry with a look of awe that overpowered the confusion of Merle referring to Harry as a male. Snorting Harry only gave Glynn a kind smile before asking him further about his day and health. The three of them had a fun time talking and joking with each other before Glynn groaned twenty minutes later as to he stood up and asked them if they needed anything with a relaxed smile as he had to get back to his duty of the day or he'll start getting antsy. Writing down their very few and simple requests on a little notepad he kept them in his pocket and left back to the other camp after thanking them for the relaxing twenty minutes and promising to come back and sit with them sometime later.

Harry grew his eyes away from the retreating Rhee's back when Merle hummed and commented, "He is a nice kid, a bit too geeky for my taste but nice." Before giving him a heated amused side-eye as he grinned, "And you're a rather cute mother hen."

Harry gave him an unimpressed look as his lightly tanned cheeks flushed red before scoffing at a still grinning Merle before he moved on to continue their earlier discussion.

    The elder blond sister, Andrea, was supposed to be a civil rights lawyer before all of this as she licked to rightly brag about, she reminded him a bit of a certain bushy-haired creator of 'SPEW', and a firm believer in feminist rights that already had her butting heads with Lori as she tried to make all the girls do the chores while the men 'guarded' them by sitting around and watching them. Even going so far as to snap at those who even tried to convince her to go along with Lori to keep the peace within the group while the only ones able to try, her sister Amy and Dale, got her to do some of the more muscular chores like gathering and chopping wood.
         Amy was both younger than Andrea by what seemed like a few decades, with Andrea being in her thirties and Amy still in high school, and she was like the polar opposite of her sister as she had a bubbly and sweet personality and she would readily help those in her group when they needed help with something.
        T-dog, or Negro by Merle, was like the nice older brother figure of the group and the most active around the camp after Glynn who was the main one that did the supply runs as he was the one that did most of the heavy lifting and wood chopping as he was the only one of the other group that used to regularly work out and built muscles.
    Dale was one of the oldest members and was mostly left alone when it came to doing any work around the camp which he mostly ignored with a jolly cheerfulness as he welcomed them all into his RV whenever they wanted to talk or take a break as he was treated as the advisor of the group because of his age. Which didn't sit right with Harry as it only reminded him of a certain meddling old goat along with the proven fact that age doesn't always mean they were wise or knowledgeable.
       Ed as they already knew was an abusive a**hole that had him and Merle both want to hurry up and deal with the disgusting man evener they get a chance.
        Carol brought up mixed feelings of sympathy and disgust within him. The sympathy because he had been in a similar position before with his uncle and knew the negative effects of abuse from personal experience but he felt a strong sense of disgust for her as well whenever he spotted dark bruises on her daughter's arms. As a mother with a young daughter that she adored she still stayed with an abusive husband that she had to shield her daughter from without fighting back or leaving to live a better life. His thing was while he knew the feeling of helplessness and vulnerability from being abused but he also knew the strong protective instincts of a parent and he knew that below the top layer of the meek abuse victim there was a fighter, a survivor something she had to be to have lasted this long in an abusive relationship. Harry then made a mental note to get Carol by herself so he could talk to her as he softly hummed to himself with a far-off look.
       Sophia reminded him of himself when he was younger and still unaware of magic only he's glad that at least he only had his uncle and aunt that abused him with the secure knowledge that both his parents had loved him greatly, enough so they both died while making sure he survived as he would do for his Teddy. Quickly added another note to help her if Carol didn't even try to listen to what he had to say and planned to cast a mirroring hex on Ed so he could feel all the pain he causes his wife and daughter after Merle finishes.
       For some strange reason every time he heard the names Jim and Jacqui he felt an abnormal chill go through his body, he figured it had something to do with both seeming to have had lost all hope or willingness to live evidenced by the way both seemed to go through the day with almost mechanical movements and dead glazed eyes that spoke more than just shock. Which raised a couple of red flags for him in his head as he had seen this kind of eyes before during the midst of the war when people around him started to lose faith and slowly died inside. Though this degradation affected the host in different ways he had witnessed some of the more negative ways they can go out as some decided to save others the burden of choosing and made them accompany them to the afterlife by suicide bombing themselves in close quarters with others allied or not. Worried about this outcome Harry then mentioned it to Merle who gained a glint of worry as his eyebrows scrunched up before he swore to keep a close eye on them in case they tried something fishy.
        Merle couldn't tell him much about the others besides their names and what they did around their camp as the group was newly formed and not a lot was known about the others nor were they willing to divulge the information they did know to him.

       Nodding his head in silent thanks for the information that would help him navigate through the other group easier before and taking the sleepy Teddy from Merle's lap after Glynn left Teddy decided he wanted some bonding time with Merle and had sat on the man's lap small back to large chest playing with his plushies up until now. Smiling down at the softly snoozing Teddy as he walked with him in his arms the short distance to his tent to settle down for the night after waving goodnight to Merle before slipping under the tent flap.

~

         A few days later after they made sure the other group wouldn't be getting any ideas that they could make themselves at home with their supplies all three of them went on a short hunting trip together to relax like they usually did before the Atlanta group had come along. Harry also wanted to use this chance to finally tell them of his and Teddy's magical abilities.

With that in mind and a silent Teddy secured to his chest in his carrier, he stopped the other two and half hours out of camp after they'd caught a few squirrels and rabbits and silently led them into a nearby clearing, only showing his nerves for the upcoming conversation by fidgeting with the straps of Teddy's carrier. Ignoring the questioning and somewhat worried looks the brothers were directed at him for now he instead asked them to sit on one of the large stumps that were clustered in the middle of the clearing.

Shifting his weight from left to right he nervously ran his shaking hand through his unruly black hair to try and calm his nerves, "Well, um. I have something to tell you two that may affect how you think of me as a person."

At his nearly stuttered out starter a look of realization flashed across the brother's eyes as their mouths opened slightly in a silent 'oh' before Daryl sent Merle an amused side-eyed look. Merle merely rolled his eyes before refocusing on the still nervously shifting Harry who was beginning to bite his lip, "Is this you tryna come out to us that you're gay. Cuz if ya are then that's alright, ain't no reason for ya to be anxious now especially with me being bi." His admittance gained him a startled look from Daryl which made him shrug before taking in Harry's wide-eyed look.

A blush covered his lightly tanned cheeks as Merle's admittance settled in his mind and forced out a strained giggle that he tried to cover up with a cough, "No Merle t-that's not what I'm trying to tell you two but it's reassuring to know you accept my sexuality wholeheartedly"

This had their smirks evaporating from their faces as they once again settled into two worried frowns, "Well then what is it. Normally not a lot bothers you." Daryl asked finally.

Nodding his head Harry took a deep calming breath before, "Well I've been wanting to tell you two something for a while now, but when the new group appeared it ruined all my plans of telling you that night but now that I have you two alone... Well to put it simply, Teddy and I are Wizards."

With this admission, Harry stood at his full height and just stared challenging at the two shocked brothers. After a few seconds the two, mainly Merle, burst out laughing, "Bwahaha. That's a hilarious way to say your bent but as I said before we don't care. And I think it's a bit early to say Teddy's a wizard too." Merle got out between bouts of laughter as he wiped away the tears gathering at the corner of his blue eyes.

Pouting out his lips with narrowed eyes now that he knew for sure they didn't believe him, "No, guys I'm serious. Watch." He instructed them sternly with a pointed glare when they started snickering when he summoned his holly wand to his hand with a simple flick of his wrist. They'd quietened down their snickering at his glare but still held obvious amusement in their eyes and the corners of their mouths only for it all to be wiped away the next second as they now sat in silence with wide eyes after Harry seemingly pulled a full-sized trunk out of his choker and used it to prop his feet up on after he transfigured the stumps they were sitting on into three comfy armchairs Now they just sat there staring gobsmacked at him as he once again just stared back at them challengingly with a nervously worried frown.

Quickly coming back to their senses they just stared at each other in silence as they contemplated this new dynamic within their group with slackened neutral looks that gave away nothing the owner was thinking. After a few more minutes Merle trailed his eyes away from where they were looking into Harry's to Teddy who was contently playing with a thick children's book about animals and the alphabet to the things that seemingly came out of nowhere. Realizing that the chairs they were now sitting on were real as he placed more of his weight on it and ran his hand down it before looking up once more.

"Okay." He shrugged as he already subconsciously knew that this, whatever it was wouldn't change what he felt towards the smaller man and his baby, that of family and hopefully not the platonic kind in the future. He also knew Daryl felt the same as he had also grown rather close to the smaller male and was beginning to see him as a younger brother.

Now it was Harry's turn to be shocked as he stared unblinkingly at the other two, one of which was once again smirking, "What the bloody hell do you mean by 'OKAY' I just told you I was a wizard and showed you something that by your standards should be impossible." He exclaimed in relieved disbelief at the two amused brothers.

"Well, this magic mogo stuff you just did. Have you ever used it on us?" Merle asked in return for Harry's confusion. At his firm negative he further explained, "Then what should we care that you're a wizard with magic. If anything we're pretty damn glad that someone in our group has something in their arsenal that'll help us survive this sh*thole at least a little better than others."

Harry stared stunned still at his smug smirk for a few seconds before shaking his head and slumping backward into his comfortable chair now that the adrenaline had left his body exhausted.
Snorting soon after as he cracked his emerald eyes open once again to look at the two buffoons he now called his family, "You two are the strangest thing I've ever come across, but luckily for you, I like the strange and have claimed you two like family." He said with a weary smile as a wave of warm emotions surged up in his chest that almost had his eyes tearing up before he caught it with a grin of his own.

The next few hours were then filled with him explaining to the two enraptured Dixon brothers about the wizarding world's existence, customs, and culture, its and his recent history with Voldemort, what he could do with his trained magics, and how he had a mega-market worth of magical and muggle supplies stored in his choker separated into different trunks and bags. Which had him relocate them all into his housing trunk to further relax so he could tell them the next confusing bit of information, how he wasn't from this world and instead came to it from a surprise attack and the only other case of world travel known to his world.

Once he was finished with this he let them settle the new influx of mind-boggling information as he had them follow him into the kitchen and made Daryl hold Teddy while he made them all a simple lunch of toasted sandwiches and watched with twinkling emerald eyes and a curled lip as Daryl managed to get Teddy to eat most of the vegetables on his smaller sliced wedges instead of just picking them off.
A few minutes later and now contently full of delicious sandwiches, Merle stretched his arms around his back with a groan, well aware of the eyes glued to his stretching and poping muscles, and spoke up for the first time in a few hours which was a rare occurrence. "Welp, I gotta say you have one hell of a story for your life but that still doesn't change the fact we see you and the little one as a family. Now more than ever since you trusted us with such knowledge about cha. But I gotta question, you said your godfather was something like a dog shifting ani- something or another and that all wizards 'n witches could do it, then what's yours?" He asked, curious to know what animal represented his Shortcakes so much that he could change into them. He'd bet big money it was something of the feline variety.

Choking lightly on the bit of sandwich in his mouth at Merle's sudden question, which had said man snickering at him, before giving him an annoyed glare, "Well, not all wizards can shift as most don't even try after they find out how much work is put into it and the ability's called 'animagus.' And I'm a large black panther that I haven't found a name for yet."

Merle's navy blue eyes were twinkling with smug interest at his correct guess of it being a feline, "Will you show us?" He asked excitedly.

Shrugging, Harry put down the remaining half of his last sandwich and tapped into the napping consciousness in the back of his mind, and transformed into the large panther that was his animagus. He was a relatively large panther standing at Merle's waist on all fours with large white outlined green eyes and a distinguishable white mark on his right shoulder in the shape of a slanted lightning bolt.

Now standing from the kitchen chair he'd been sitting on to inspect the gorgeous creature before him. Squatting down so he was level with the panther Harry's green eyes before slowly raising his hand in a cautious petting motion which had Harry responding with the positive motion of butting his head against Merle's forearm. Merle's blue eyes were now brighter than they ever were as he subconsciously muttered the word, "Beautiful," under his breath.

Eyes widening as Harry let out a loud rumbling purr before he realized what he had just muttered with a slight blush before replacing it with his trademark smirk as he grew confident enough to hug the purring panther before him while an amused Daryl looked on with Teddy still in his lap. Humming to himself as he considered the name that just popped up in his head while running his fingers through the thick soft fur that was as black as night. "Whatcha think about the name Ebony?"

Jumping in his skin as the fur he was just petting and playing with slowly receded and the bones underneath both fur and skin shifted from the agile and larger ones of a panther to the sturdier and smaller ones of the young man now grinning up at him from where he was almost sitting in his lap as he was now running his fingers through soft human hair.
Raising one eyebrow at this he simply picked the grinning Harry up, which gained him an adorable squeak, and settled him in-between his legs and rested his chin on top of Harry's head as he looked up at his snickering younger brother who then handed Harry the grasping Teddy who was calling for his "Muma."

Harry only grinned widely at his new position as he clenched Teddy to his cloth-covered chest before answering the inquiry, "I like the sound of it now that you've mentioned it, and I think my panther likes it too as he's been puffing up in the back of my mind since."

Merle just smirked down at him, "Then it's official the panther's Harry's name is Ebony."

Harry raised an amused eyebrow with a snort, "Panther Harry's?"

Shrugging Merle only answered, "Hey I'm technically right the panther is you."

Harry only rolled his eyes before reluctantly knocking off Merle's arms from where they were around his waist and stood up with Teddy cocked on his hip and headed towards the living room with what was left of his sandwich after giving Daryl a side hug as he went by him.

Once the two brothers were alone Daryl turned to give his brother a deeply amused look before drawling out, "So is Teddy gonna be ma nephew for real or what."

Rolling his eyes once again at his brother's teasing before playfully punching him in the shoulder as he stood up, "Hopefully so little bro, hopefully so." before strutting past him as he began snickering.

Not seeing Harry in the trunks comfortably furnished living room he occupied himself by watching the moving pictures above and on the mantelpiece the unknown strangers in the frames only waving or grinning widely at him from their place in the middle of one of the light green walls when he heard movement at the entrance of the trunk before Harry slid back in from where he'd been outside.

"We should probably be getting back to the camp soon if we want to have enough time to start skinning and tanning the hides while the sun's up," Harry answered the questioning look he was getting from Merle as he slid back into the trunk. Getting a nod from the larger man before turning and going back to the kitchen to get Daryl as Harry climbed back out and waited for the other two to follow him up before placing the trunk back in his choker and undoing the transfiguration on the stumps. Looking back at the brothers once he was done and gestured for them to go ahead with a smile as he followed behind them as they carried a good amount of rabbits and squirrels on their back to camp to share with the other group, mainly so the kids could eat.

~
 
Soon after they reached camp, Teddy had to be put down for a nap. The last half hour of their trek back to camp had him snoozing away on Harry's shoulder. He tuckered himself out by repetitively asking the three of them about their surroundings and insisting he walks alongside them before he started rubbing his eyes, ready for a nap. So when his already tuckered-out little body was laid on top of a spare sleeping bag, he was out like a light.
Harry grinned as he carefully bundled him up with a soft laugh and carried him a short distance from the workspace Merle was setting up for them underneath a small cluster of trees near the camp to provide shade from the high noon sun while they worked. Daryl had already left to fetch a bucket of water to drench the hides. Gently placing his precious bundle beneath the shade of the closest tree to said workspace along with a mild cooling charm, he extended to the area along with the plastic tart that he, Merle, and Daryl would be working around as an afterthought. The only sign that Merle gave to the sudden coolness around him was a small shiver before setting two five-gallon buckets in front of the three foldup chairs at the edge of the tarp. One already had the catches from earlier in it while the other was cleaned out to hold most of the editable bits along with a large metal bowl next to it.
Standing with a small groan once he was sure Teddy was comfortable, straightening his spine with a satisfying crack before rotating his sore shoulder muscles as he made his way over to where Merle was waiting for Daryl to return with the water.

"Looks like troubles brewing," Merle said with a nod of his chin in the direction of the other camp once Harry was near enough.

Green eyes narrowed as he looked behind him in the direction indicated and frowned when he spotted Lori Grimes marching her way towards them with her eyes set firmly on his being.

His brows furrowed in confusion at the look being directed at him before looking back at Merle with one raised in inquiry. Turning around to face her head-on when he only received a shrug in reply and watched as she came right up to him with her hands on her hips.

Harry thought she looked like she was imitating what one would imagine a disapproving teacher on an old sitcom would look like with her arms now crossed in front of her with a pinched look across her face as she began tapping her foot. The thought itself amused him but Lori herself only made him raise a brow with an unimpressed twist of his lips.

Seemingly realizing that he wasn't going to be the first to say something Lori huffed with a glare as if he had committed some type of immoral sin.

"Exactly where have you been all day young lady? Do you have any idea how irresponsible it was of you to ignore the things that needed to get done around camp to go gallivanting off in the woods, with two rednecks at that," She sniff before she leaned forward enough to where her face was barely five inches away from his own, "Especially with such a young child? What if something happened to him while you weren't paying attention fooling around the woods and doing god knows what with them when there's plenty you could've done here." She said while flailing her arm around her.

Harry was already irritated with the obnoxious woman but knowing that she brought his precious cub's safety into question that irritation quickly skyrocketed to full-on righteous anger. His lip pulled back into a subconscious snarl at the egotistical woman who seemingly held no respect or gratitude for him and his group's unneeded contributions as she completely disregarded the fact they'd just brought back a good haul of meat that'll probably be one of the main ingredients in the food keeping her and her group fed tonight and possibly even early tomorrow morning if they have enough left.
Now he felt as if he was barely holding back his temper by the skin of his teeth before calming himself with a deep breath, "First of all, get out of my face before I do something you really won't like." He said as he gave the self-entitled woman a glare that practically spat fire at her as she visibly paled and took a subconscious step back from the pissed-off being in front of her.

This reaction from the insufferable woman who was just spitting poison at him served to give him a deep feral sense of satisfaction before he finally laid in some hard truths about herself, "Second, I don't know who or what you think you are, but to come over here to our side if the quarry and try to reprimand me for helping my group provide everyone with fresh meat is seriously downright ungrateful of you especially when we don't have to, we just choose to for the sake of the children in your group," He retorted with crossed arms, "And to try and insinuate that the only thing we do out there is fool around without any thought of needed chores or my supposed disregard for my son's safety is highly insulting from someone who's only role seems to be sitting in her ass and barking orders." He finished before gesturing behind him at the amused and smirking Merle and curious Daryl, who had just come back and looked as if he wanted to jump in and help him out but held back due to curiosity and the trust he had in Harry to take care of himself. "Besides if there anyone I would willingly listen to it when it comes to orders would be the two 'dirty rednecks' behind me first and foremost before any of your lots, as I trust them to have a reason to and have our groups welfare in mind while doing so. As you do not as you seem to think it's crucial to have fresh lemonade and a clean face than anything else even though you expect everyone else to do it for you." He sneers sharp enough to rival his old potions professors as he stepped right into her bubble as she did him a short while ago only without the advantage of being taller but even more menacing. "With that in mind, you have absolutely no business sticking your nose into my business and think you can tell me what to do with my child. As I've noticed you've been mighty neglectful of yours lately. I can't help but feel sorry every time I see that poor boy's face every time you brush past him to go bark at someone for not doing something or another or being Shane's lapdog every time you not so subtly disappear into the woods with him. So think twice when you say I've been doing nothing but 'gallivanting' off in the woods with no regard for chores or my kid when that's exactly what you've been doing since you've got here." He snarled as she drew in on herself before he stepped back out of her bubble.

Throughout Lori had steadily gained a red angry flush in her neck, cheeks, and ear tips as she grew more and more embarrassed at the fact someone had stood up to her and told her about herself when she was now used to them going along with whatever she wanted to keep the peace around the camp, but not Harry. Especially not when she insulted him, Merle, and Daryl along with his parenting skills. Now embarrassed that nothing had gone the way she planned, Lori once again tried to gain some control over the whole situation even though Harry had just literally told her point-blank what he thought of her. "Well, you could've left all that strenuous work to them and stayed behind to help out with the real important things around our camp. There's still plenty of stuff to do without you following behind them whenever you get bored. Besides what I do with Shane is none of your business and Carl is perfectly fine as he is, he knows his mother is busy." She sniffed haughtily as she tried to regain her composer for the potent embarrassment from earlier.

Harry, Daryl, and Merle could only stare dumbfounded as she had just repeated what Harry had just straightened her out for. Harry could only shake his head in bewilderment with a tired sigh before giving her a narrowed eyed look, "Look lady, I don't know who you think you are but to me, you're only being a highly hypocritical woman with a misplaced sense of superiority because you somehow wormed your way into the deputy's pants. Lording the fact over everyone's heads to get them to do the 'chores' when you have only washed the laundry once and it was mainly yours." He raised one of his eyebrows as his earlier rage faded in the face of the sheer bewilderment he felt at the entitled woman's thought process, "And I don't know where you got the misguided idea that just because we're sharing a campsite that we've automatically joined Shane's little group under his leadership when we were here way before you pulled up. The only reason we even agreed to let you stay, and again, give your group a portion of the meat we catch and bring back almost daily is because of the children in your group." He said while giving her a stern look with a disapproving frown.

This time his message must have somehow gotten through to her as she turned completely red before spinning around with a huff and storming off to her tent. All the while complaining loudly about disrespectful youths and their disregard for their elders thinking they know everything. Harry could only roll his eyes in exasperation as he could hear her whining with his sensitive hearing as he watch her back marching her way through her side of the camp while calling for Carl. His earlier words must have gotten to her after all he thought as she glared back at him before jerking close the flap of the tent she shared with her son.

Snorting to himself as he turned back to his group and made sure his and Lori's little spat hadn't disturbed Teddy. Once sure he once more he made his way over to the two dazed-looking brothers and took the chair to the right of Merle's. Pulling out his wickedly sharp hunting knife as he looked over the two with a raised eyebrow as they remained still in their seats staring off into space with a distant gleam in their blue eyes.
Mentally deciding to let them come back to themselves on their own he took one of the rabbits and pulled it towards him on the tarp with easy access to the buckets and single bowl. Spotting the earlier retrieved bucket of water nearby he then dunked the dead rabbit into the water and pulled it back out once its fur was thoroughly drenched. 'Wow,' he thought, 'At least half their body mass must be made up of their pelt if that's what they look like wet. Not so cute and cuddly looking once you get them wet, more like a drowned rat with big ears.' He mused to himself as he made the necessary incisions along the wrist, ankles, and nape as the brothers had shown him.

The two brothers seemed to snap out of their daze when he was halfway through pulling the pelt from the rabbit. All the while grimacing at the unusual slimy feeling of the cooled blood that he was still unused to and was now pouring out of the small cuts he accidentally did when skimming the knife underneath the pelt. They didn't say a word as they grabbed their rabbit to the skin but Harry had an idea of what they were thinking so intently of by the uncharacteristic softness around their eyes and upturn mouths coupled with the warm gleam that had replaced the thoughtful vacancy from before.
They continued to work in comfortable silence with the feeling of being surrounded by their comrades. As they worked each one of them was able to gradually release the built-up tension in their shoulders as the only sound made for the next hour or so was that of their work, the nature around them, and the bustling of the other group.

An hour or so later Harry didn't even fight the strong impulse to yawn as he stretched his blood-crusted hands above his head until he heard his shoulders pop. Signing in satisfaction as he brought them down and rolled his now satisfyingly burning shoulders before endlessly banishing the blood and viscera from all three of their hands after a quick look around to make sure no one was watching them. After that, he also used a neat little standardized spell he'd learned at the beginning of his studies to become a Medi-Wizard that banished all harmful bacteria and germs from the surface of their skins leaving a fresh cool feeling behind as it also cleaned away all the dirt and grime from the directed area.
The brothers only nodded their heads to show their gratitude before Merle handed him the large bowl of fresh meat along with two other clean ones and asked him to cut them up. Nodding his head he placed the filled bowl on top of the other two stacked ones and set them on the seat of the chair he was using as he moved them closer to Teddy while the other two cleaned. Merle and Daryl slowly gathered up the edges of the tarp until it formed a clear sack filled with all the drained blood, uneatable guts, organs, heads, feet, and intestines before securing the top with a good few tight loops of strong twine. Watching them do so had his face turn a bit squeamish which Merle noticed as he gave him an amused smirk before carefully slinging it over his shoulder and carting it off somewhere in the woods to dispose of it with a shovel. Harry only rolled his eyes at the older man's antics before taking the first squirrel ribcage on top and began removing the meat from the tiny bones and cutting it into bite-sized chunks. Slowly working through the bowl as he watched the remaining brother take the pelts over towards a makeshift rack to spread them out before slathering the fleshy side with a salt solution the two brothers had concocted over the years. He continued to watch with curious eyes as Daryl left them facing the sun to come to help him. Noticing his curious look Daryl explained what he had just done as he grabbed a slab of meat and said it would take a few days to tan if they continued to put the salt solution on it.

His innate curiosity quenched for now Harry took a glance over at his godson to check on him once more to see he was still napping. He and Daryl made quick work of cutting up the meat with Daryl having done it all his life and Harry was always good with a blade. It was only a few minutes after he last checked on Teddy so when he got up to go take one of the bowls to the other group it startled him a bit to see his cub who he had just checked on-off the sleeping bag and was instead peering around his chair with wide curious eyes. Placing a hand over his speeding heart before he cleared his throat from where he had choked back a startled yelp from when he'd turned around only to see his little gremlin staring up at him. 'That's it,' he thought with a bemused smile and wary eyes, 'He inherited something from Remus other than his looks. Merlin it's going to be a challenge raising a mini marauder.' He snorted before placing the bowl on his chair so he could pick Teddy up and place him on his hip.

"Now what's gotten you up and about besides the need to scare me half to death." He asked the giggling mini mischief-maker. The noise drew back the attention of Daryl before he made his way back over from where he was placing more firewood in their campfire. As much as he would deny it anytime you ask him the gruff man would always have a smile ready for the youngest member of their group as they all have a soft spot for Teddy.

Giving him an amused look as he reached them and booed Teddy under the chin and on the forehead to gain another round of delighted giggles, "Need me to take their share to them while you check on him?"

"Would you please?" He asked as he gave the other man a grateful smile as he watched the younger Dixon pick up both large bowls, placing theirs on the small makeshift table they made of an old tire and wood slab next to their campfire, and took the other to the other groups cook, which was usually Carol, though sometimes Shane occasionally cooked as well it was mostly when they grilled. ''Hm, Uncle Daryl's going to need a haircut soon if he doesn't want it hanging around his eyes," Harry told the still giggling toddler as he made his way to his tent once he figured out Teddy needed a nappy change with the sleeping bag rolled up under his other arm. 'Though if he doesn't want to I'm sure I have a few hair ties in one of my bags.'

Once he was inside his expanded tent Harry placed the sleeping bag to the side and sat Teddy on the changing table before summoning the necessary items from his choker and got to work changing Teddy's nappy, banishing the soiled nappy and wipes after he was done.

Gave his little boy a little mischievous smile as he leaned forward to tickle at his exposed sides with the very tips of his fingers, the slant of his mouth growing wider at Teddy's continuous chant of, "No, Muma, no," in-between high pitch screeches and giggles.
Pausing his attack a few seconds later to draw Teddy's attention to him, "Now we know why we shouldn't startle mummy to death right my mischievous munchkin." He teased before planting kisses all over his little face. "It's not nice to go scare mummy right little one?"

Once Teddy calmed down a little he gave him a heart-stoppingly bright smile before saying, "No Muma."

Luminescent green eyes softened and gained a besotted look as his inner maternal nature flared at his cute little cub's happiness before planting one last kiss on his forehead. "Thank you, Teddy." Which was received with more giggles before he allowed the tiny hands that grabbed his face to maneuver it so that Teddy could plant his slobbery kisses all over his cheeks and forehead.

Now extremely happy with his close bonding time with Teddy, Harry then placed him on his newly shoe-covered feet and let him toddle after him once he left the tent with a laundry basket at hand.
Once outside he clocked that Daryl had returned and had already started on his infamous squirrel stew. Giving him a nod and a small comfortable smile as he lifted his head to glance back at them. Holding up the empty basket as Teddy clenched the material of his pants leg in his tiny fist once he reached him and asked, "Got any laundry you want to take care of?"

Daryl nodded his head before he stood and vanished into his tent. While he waited Harry began to slowly make his way around their small camp with Teddy toddling along behind him and allowing him to help pick up any rags or clothes left outside before Daryl reappeared with two medium-sized mounds of clothes in his arms. "If you'd mind," Daryl started, "I also grabbed a few of Merle's as well."

"That's fine. I was going to ask if you knew if he had any that needed to be washed anyway." Harry reassured him as he held out the basket for him to deposit the clothes in.

Nodding his head once more as he did so, "Thanks, been meaning to get them done but ain't been able to find the time yet."

"I don't mind, especially when I'm going to go do mine and Teddy's anyway."

Nodding, Daryl walked back to the slowly boiling pot after patting Teddy on his tawny brown head when he toddled over to say hello. Placed a feather-light charm of the now full to the brim basket before swooping down to pick up Teddy and place him on his hip once more with the basket cocked against his other side. He started to make his way down to the lake after calling back to Daryl to let him know he was leaving now with the bouncing Teddy shouting back, "Ba-bye Unca Daly, we going to the lake!"

Daryl yelled to be careful as he waved his hand at the excitable toddler.

A few minutes later he reached the nearby banks. Harry set both the basket and Teddy down before casting a monitoring charm around the immediate area around their spot on the bank. Once he was satisfied no one would be able to sneak up on them without him knowing he transfigured a nearby rock into a padded mat for Teddy to play on with his toys as he refused to let his little boy help him wash the clothes in the cold water and run the risk of him catching a cold.
Once Teddy was effectively distracted with a few of his favorite toys, Harry got to work and began casting the few laundry charms he knew by heart he learned from Andromeda and from living as a selfless bachelor as he refused to get another elf after Kreacher died. Within seconds the air was filled with that one would expect from a Disney movie as clothes zoomed through the air, splashing to and from the water as an invisible force scrubbed them clean and then deposited them folded next to him in different piles after he charmed them semi-dry to not draw attention from the muggles when he made his way back.
This scene continued for a few minutes before the monitoring charm alerted him of the fact Merle was approaching his position a few yards away. Knowing that it was only Merle he didn't even look up when he breeched the tree lines and froze at the bizarre yet magical sight. He stood still like that for a few moments before shaking his head and moving on a bit downstream from him to let the flow wash away most of the muck left on the tarp before taking a scrub brush and taking care of the rest. They completed their respective work within a few seconds of each other with Harry magically drying the tarp so it wouldn't be so heavy to carry back before picking up Teddy. Once he was done placing all the now clean and freshly folded clothes into the basket and reversed the transfiguration on the rock he walked to where Merle was waiting for him and followed the taller man as they made their way back to camp just as the sun was beginning to set.

~

Ever since their little spat a week prior from now. It seemed that every day since then had some instance or another where Lori would come to him and start another. Only this time it was usually about something he was doing. Which nowadays consisted of checking on the animal traps near the camp and systematically checking on the status of his wards and the warning bells he and the Dixon's had put up the first day they moved into the quarry. He would also help out around the opposite camp from time to time with the help of Carl, Teddy, Sophia, Glynn, and sometimes even Daryl. Though he had mostly only started to do that as a way to help out Carl it was also a good way to get closer to the few people he had taken a keen interest in such as Carl, Carol, Sophia, and Glynn. It was also a good way to keep an eye out on the embarrassingly unattended children of the group as, except for a very browbeaten Carol and inexperienced Glynn, most of the 'adults' of the group thought it was perfectly fine to leave vulnerable children by themselves unsupervised and unprotected when there was a very large and prominent threat that could strike them at any time, day or night.
To get back on track, lately, she also seems to be focusing on his 'inadequate' parenting skills by arguing that he was possibly doing permanent damage to Teddy's childhood innocence and mental state by dragging him around everywhere he went. Including when he brought him out into the woods with him or when he kept him close by when they skinned the poor animals they brought back. Harry would've given her some credit for those thoughts if he didn't know how she's been ignoring Carl's existence and was just doing it as a way to get at him for some reason, and the fact that Teddy was just fine. He's already explained the fact why he was doing so as a way to keep him safe. It still didn't seem to satisfy the irritating woman, even seeming to become a favorite to point out when she came at him for one thing or another.

"I'd rather him become desensitized to what and how we eat now while he's still young, as opposed to later," He pointed out the reason for his actions when she first started in on him for it. "And it's a great way to keep him safe and protected while also having the added benefit of teaching him important life skills he'll need in the future." He would say only to be ignored.

She even went a step further by remembering she actually had a son and would continuously brag on and on to whoever would stand still long enough to listen about how well she raised Carl into a fine young boy with good grades and how good of a mother she was compared to most young mothers her age. The last part usually followed up with a smug look towards him as she made sure to have these conversations within earshot of him. Most would praise her much to her open satisfaction and would shoot him uncomfortable looks whenever they realized she was intentionally targeting him. The rest would only send him and Carl sympathetically concerned looks that only served to rile up both his and Ebony's temper, who was growing more and more affectionate towards Carl the more he hung around them.
These looks mostly just served to piss Harry off as the majority of them would only act to be concerned about how this was affecting the younger boy by doing absolutely nothing to help one of the youngest members of their group, only giving superficial apologies whenever he came near.

'But then again they turn a blind eye to Ed and his ways so what exactly was I expecting of them again?' He sneered before continuing with the rest of his day even if he did grumble in his head about the blindness of most people. This instance only served to strengthen his good impression on both Glynn and Carol, as opposed to the majority as they at least tried to help the young boy along with him, Daryl, and sometimes Merle. While his impression of the rest soured just a bit more.

He noticed Glynn mainly licked to have heated and deeply informative debates with Carl on differing superheroes, something about an Ironman/Batman vs a Captain America/Superman, different cinematic studios, and comics. All of which the two had a lot in common as they enjoyed discussing these a lot. And knew a lot about as showed by how they both had his, and anyone within earshot, head-spinning whenever they went at it.
Carol, he saw simply liked to supervise as both Carl and Sophia played whatever game caught their fancy at that moment while she folded their laundry.

Harry and Daryl couldn't do much else than the other two were doing so they would mostly just ask the boy to help them out with different tasks around camp. Sometimes even followed him to help out the other members of his group with whatever assignment they were having trouble with.
Most would gladly accept the extra hands to get their job done with as Lori would usually hound them for not getting it done in a timely matter even if she offered no help, most of the time hindering them from getting it done promptly. Though some would politely reject their offer due to the fact Lori would raise even more of a fuss because they accepted their help. Lately, Lori would disregard anything they'd done as damaged or broken if she even thought Harry helped them even if she'd previously found it satisfactory beforehand. Whenever this happened Harry would just shrug it off as he didn't care before carrying on with whatever else needed his attention with the promise to see Carl again soon.

Soon usually meant he would see him later on the very same day during one of his now favorite parts of the day. Ever since he introduced Carl to Teddy, the mobile toddler had been adorably fascinated by the older boy and would try to constantly follow him around whenever he spotted him nearby when he could. Harry mostly enjoyed this heartwarming sight during the afternoon when he, Daryl, Merle, and sometimes Glynn would sit around and discuss contemporary plans for the following days, mainly where and when the next run should be.
Though Daryl and Merle used this time to subtlety drill the younger man on his rather impressive extensive knowledge of the area within and around the city of Atlanta. Harry would mostly just keep an ear out for any interesting bits of information slipped but kept the majority of his attention on his cub as he toddled as fast as he could after Carl in their own little mismatched toddler version of the two games 'Tag' and 'Hide and Go Seek'. It was rather entertaining to watch as the older boy allowed the younger to chase him a short distance at a time before pretending to hide behind something obvious to let Teddy find him. Smiling in amusement as each time Teddy 'found' Carl he would act surprised to an exaggerated extent much to the obvious enjoyment of the young toddler.

This playful game would continue well into the afternoon before Carl had to leave as it was during this time of day that Lori remembered she had a son to at least pretend to look after. Still, each time he did so both Harry and Teddy would mirror each other with a rather large pout and their arms crossed together, much to the kick-off of both the brothers even if they were growing attached to the older boy.

Harry would eventually shake off his disappointment as they gathered around the fire and shared interesting tidbits about their day as whoever's turn it was that night cooked dinner. Tonight it was Merle's turn as he listened closely to the three most important people in his life shared their day while he started cutting seasoned meat and vegetables into cubes before skewering. Smiling as Teddy started telling them about his day in this new nightly tradition of theirs.
Of course, they already knew about Lori's seemingly deep grudge against Harry this last week or so, but each time Harry told them what the banshee-like woman did each day and his response to her fits had both brothers laughing with a savage pride for their spitfire doctor.

"You know she probably only does it ta make ya look bad in front of the rest.
," Merle shrugged when they turned to him after speculating why she would be acting in such a way. "She seems to be one of those who can't stand not being in some position of power over others. So when you stood ya ground with her the first time it must have rattled her chain a bit. So now she's trina do damage control swing it back at you." He explained at Harry's curious look before turning back to flip the kebobs he had over the small flame pit they cooked over.

Humming could be heard as Harry considered what he said before shifting Teddy to his other leg on his lap when the other started to go numb. "You probably have a point there Merle." He agreed mostly due to the majority of Lori's hostile behavior only taking place in front of an audience each time.

This revelation did little to change the happy mood around them but it did have them release another round of amused chuckles as the new light shed on her actions. Before almost completely discussing the woman from their thought process as they continued to swap stories even while they ate.

Two of these four individuals passed most of the time sending little looks at the other here and there whenever they thought no one was looking. Both were completely obvious to the fondly exasperated younger Dixon who could see all this from in-between them with barely suppressed laughter. Daryl could only shake his head at the two idiots before focusing back on the food and light chatter that filled the air around their comfortable little bubble away from the others.

~

SLAP!

The unmistakable sound of a harsh slap rippled through the surrounding area as those who stood on the sideline gawking stood stock still, shocked by the sudden act. They had followed the sound of their local harpy to watch the drama unfold once again in their midst. They had just arrived a short distance away from where they were standing. Just in time to hear her say some rather harsh things about Harry's parents, Teddy, and their upbringing that had acted as the trigger to make Harry's last shred of control, snap.

They all generally regarded Harry to be a generally misunderstood, if a bit fiery, young 'lady' that didn't like to resort to violence, a contradiction to those 'she's', with. But today, they've just witnessed what happens to those who push 'her' too far by attacking 'her' family. Personally, most of them thought it would've happened a lot sooner and commended 'her' on 'her' sense of self-restraint.

Daily, Harry had to mentally and spiritually hold himself back from hurting the woman. Even went so far as to try to walk away from her on numerous occasions but the insufferable woman kept following him. Seemingly unable to realize that he was on his last thread of patience when it came to holding himself back from physically hurting her.

While normally Harry held within him ample enough tolerance to rival that of a true Saint. In those few scant moments, it took Lori to finish her outlandish tirade against his late Mum and Dad, and that mile-wide streak came to a halt. When Lori had called Teddy an obvious mistake made by reckless youths that were allowed to happen by 'her' equally irresponsible parents. His vision bled a dark enraged red and his hand had raised to strike before she could even realize what was happening.

And now presently, Lori has fallen to the ground sporting a reddening left cheek and watering eyes. He watched on with cold uncaring eyes as she slowly raised her hand to tentatively skim her fingertips along with her now throbbing cheek as she stared up into icy green orbs.

Harry couldn't even muster up an ounce of remorse for striking the wretched woman. If anything at all, he felt a savage sense of joy to finally be able to release the built-up frustration in that single hit to the face. In reality, he might as well of punched her as the site of the blow was slowly but surely turning into a well-formed bruise.

The dumbfounded silence that followed afterward allowed him enough time to collect his thoughts and bearings before the others could fall out of their horror-filled daze.

Now most of them that had stood to the side were yelling at him for striking her when they could've come to a better solution than violence. And yet as they did this, they dared not come any closer as Merle had come to loom over his back like an unimpressed drill sergeant. Having moved to come back him up in case they tried something with him for his justified retribution. Leaving Daryl behind to keep Teddy safe back at their camp.

Most of these actions he had been most obvious to after silencing those protesting with a terrifying scowl that almost had him growling if he hadn't caught himself. Before finally registering Merle was guarding his back with a look on his face that just screamed 'try me'.
This gesture in itself from one of his recently acquired family members helped him to calm down from his rage-induced state of mind. The red haze that had clouded his vision slowly faded away before he was able to refocus his attention on the horrendous example of a human being before him without the need to cause further damage. The basic influence of Ebony begins to peek through him physically by providing him the slitted glowing eyes of a pissed-off feline.

Now that he was in a relatively calm state he realized that the loud rumbling background noise he originally thought was his mind doing was Ebony's loud thundering growls. Their jointed emotions had allowed additional feline attributes to shine through in an unnoticeable partial form of his animagus shift. Blunt human nails sharpening into dangerous claw points, along with elongated canine fangs, and the before mentioned inhuman slitted green eyes that nearly glowed as they bore down into Lori's watering dark brown ones.

Slowly, as to prevent himself from slipping into parseltongue, he informed Lori exactly what his opinion of her latest tirade was with barely anything other than cold hard fury. "It doesn't shock me in any regard that you do not possess any respect for the deceased. But I would highly advise you to keep your filth-filled jaws off my late parents and child." He snapped off as he slowly stalked closer as she tried to back away. "I may be young and a bit new to the whole parenting thing but Teddy is mine in every way that matters. I care more for his safety and happiness than even my own. He and the Dixon's are the closest things I have to a family so keep them out of whatever unknown discord you have with me or you really won't like the consequences." He ended with a death glare.

With that finally said and done with, he gave those around him one last glare before twirling around on his heel and heading back to his and his family's side of the camp.
Merle lagged somewhat behind, frozen still and amazed by Harry's public familial claim over both him and his brother. But caught up with the fuming brunette not even a split second later sporting a rather large delighted grin with a bit of smugness shining through as was Merle's fashion.

They had barely even reached it past the edge of their camp when they were postponed by the welcomed voice of Glynn calling out for them to wait up from behind.
Harry twisted his head to glance over his shoulder to watch as he jogged the rest of the way over to them with slight apprehension in his expression.

Having paused where they stood once they heard his forced call out to them they waited in silence as he caught up before Merle spoke up first and asked him what he wanted.

Glynn hassled for a bit as his face steadily grew flustered as he began to ramble out his reason for stopping them, "U-um, I had just gotten back from a short supply run when I caught the end bits but I-i um j-just felt the need to apologize for all you have to put up with Lori and the rest. I know it isn't right or fair but there's nothing I can do about it but try to apologize. N-not for them themselves but their behavior, especially Lori's." He confessed as he averted his eyes as the second-hand embarrassment grew stronger. Instead grew drawn to a suddenly very fascinating patch of grass. "There's nothing that she can do or say to excuse her behavior, but just watching her makes me feel so embarrassed that I feel you need an apology from someone at least." He finished as he hesitantly lifted his grey saddened puppy eyes to meet Harry's emerald ones.

Harry's felt his gaze soften up a bit before loosening up some of the built-up tension in his shoulders now that he knew Glynn wouldn't harp at him for his earlier actions. Allowing a sigh of relief to escape him as he raised his hand to run his fingers through his messy locks before looking back at Glynn, "You're fine Glynn. Except for her, I don't hold anyone accountable for Lori's actions, let alone you. You have been the only one to accept us for our real imperfect selves, so even if I did hold someone accountable for her actions you would be the very last one. But, that timid and semi trusting personality of yours is going to get you in trouble one day" He replied before holding up a hand to halt Glynn's protest, "You are a good guy Glynn, truly you are, with a big heart and clever mind. But with how things are nowadays with martial laws in its true form that's going to get you in a lot of trouble one way or another if you'd not careful enough." Harry explained as a few of his past experiences he was cautioning Glynn of came to mind, "I do appreciate the fact that you don't hold the whole thing with Lori against me and even care enough to come to apologize for her out of polite respect for me. Nevertheless, that type of attitude can be taken advantage of along with other things. But luckily for you, I'm not like that, so thank you nonetheless."
Lightly patting his shoulder before pulling away from their little huddle to follow Merle back to their camp, "Come over sometime tomorrow." He called over his shoulder as he went, "You are one of the few people we can stand in this entire place and we enjoy having you around to bounce ideas off of and your input on some things. But for now, I'm going to go wind down for a bit." His earlier horrible mood slightly raised with the subtle quirk of his lips.

Once he was close enough he immediately rescued the giggling Teddy from his Uncle Daryl for a much-needed cuddle fest. Burying his nose into the baby-fine dark brown hair on top of Teddy's head as soon as he settled next to Daryl. Who took the initiative to throw a warm arm across his tired shoulders before pulling him to his side.
Now there was most definitely a smile on his face at the display of affection from the usually dour man. They remained that way in comfortable silence before Merle set himself down on his other side and passed him a bottle of apple juice. One of his more favored muggle beverages since it was highly unlikely he was ever going to find pumpkin juice or Butterbeer here unless he finds a way to make them himself.

He accepted the small offering with a quiet thanks. Harry took the chance to look around their relatively small camp as he broke the seal on the bottle and shared most of it with a delighted Teddy. All the while feeling that while he may feel relatively calmer than he did originally he still felt like he was too cooped up. He could feel himself beginning to get antsy where he sat, being so close to the main cause of his irritation.
With that in mind, he gave what was left of the juice to Teddy before saying what he was feeling out loud, "Thank you, Merle, Daryl. If you two hadn't been here to back me up I don't know what I would've done. But would you two mind if we go inspect the traps now? I'm beginning to feel twitchy just sitting here."

Merle snorted as he rolled his eyes in exasperation, "You should know by now you ain't gotta ask if you wanna come with us. It's about that time anyway and heck, we all might need time away from this god-awful camp and their nosy pansies to cool down before we all snap. All these busybodies are starting to piss me off especially that crazy b*tch Lori." He declared before smacking his shoulder as he stood up to go grab what they would need with Daryl following behind him.

Harry just fringed in relief before similarly going to grab his baby carrier and placing Teddy in it for the first time in what felt like weeks. Luckily it already had expansion charms woven into it as it resized itself to allow Teddy to fit inside quite snugly.
After double-checking that he could still reach the majority of his blades around Teddy and had his magically enhanced steel staff at hand he proceeded to follow behind Daryl as he led their little group through the now-familiar paths through the woods with Merle following up the rear behind them.

Harry's nerves and mind appreciated the peaceful hush of the enveloping woods as they made their way through the small trails they've made to their traps. Along the way, Daryl took the opportunity to shoot down a few passing squirrels as they made their way through the underbrush.
To be honest none of them had any real objective in coming out here other than relaxing their nerves away from the drama of the larger camp. After a bit of time, a listless Teddy started squirming in his carrier to be put down. Which now led to them taking turns holding his tiny hand as they strolled through the somewhat open paths with the toddler letting out a giggle now and then. Not that any of them minded too much as they all adored the little fella. They passed most of the time away by searching their surroundings and answering the many, many questions Teddy asked them whenever something caught his interest. It amused him as it seemed Merle and Daryl in particular were rather enthusiastic to answer any of his inquiries with sometimes startling thorough and rather comical answers. Merle, as the senior hunter among them, possessed a vast well of knowledge on a lot of things, and as if he somehow sensed this. Teddy would stick close to him and ask him most of his questions. Excited by this newest delightful development in his little man, Harry would sometimes pitch in with what he knew along with Daryl. Primarily whenever he asked a question along the lines of, "Can I eat it?" And explained to him why he could or could not eat whatever greenery he was pointing at. For special cases even explained to him why he could only eat certain parts either raw or safe to eat once cooked.

They stayed on the main path for a while before diverging into small trails to prolong their stay in the woods where they were finally finding some peace of mind for the first time in what seemed like days. Shortly after making their path through one such deviation, they came across a very familiar clearing. It was the very same clearing where Harry had first shared a very important part of himself with the two brothers.
Harry could barely stifle the rising feeling of disbelief as the corner of his lip started twitching before he jogged over to one of the more shaded logs, flopping down beside it with a tired yawn as all the emotional baggage of the day finally hit him. Having released the pent-up frustration he had been holding back earlier had at first felt relieving but now it just left him feeling tired to the bone.
Tired enough that he hadn't even noticed it when the two brothers made their way to sit next to him until he nearly leaped out of his skin when they sat down on either side of him placing Teddy on his lap as they did so.
Harry groaned before hauling the giggling Teddy closer to his chest as he squirmed around until he found a nice position. Ignoring both brothers' amused snickering as he did so. Cracking open an eye to glare openly up at the still snickering Merle. Slightly annoyed that he was still snickering, Harry gave him a quick jab to the ribs, only to receive an amused snort instead and a flash of a crooked grin.
Merle scooted down until he lay with one leg spread on the ground and one bent at the knee as he used one of his forearms as a pillow while the other rested on his rifle beside him. Harry could sense Daryl doing the same on his right side as he stared down at his partially relaxed facial muscles of Merle with a quirked eyebrow before letting out a snort. Just know realizing just how much the new group was bothering them all as this was the first time since they'd showed up that he's seen either brother relax like this.
With a flick of his wrist, he summoned his beloved holly wand to his palm placed a few well-placed cushioning charms on the dirt, and softened wood around them. The brothers only raised an eyebrow at the new soft texture around them before settling. Once done with that he set up his now customary protective barrier and detection wards a few paces all around them. With that done he joined them on the ground with Teddy carefully hugged to his chest.
The small clearing fell into a restful quietness with only the occasional sound of chirping birds as they flew around searching for food around them, being the only disruption to the otherwise quiet peacefulness.

Before long Harry was fighting a losing battle with his drooping eyelids. And just before he dropped off to sleep he heard Merle say, "Go ahead you two, I'll keep a lookout while you two catch a little shut-eye."

~

Later, once they had returned to the camp with just a few spare hours before nightfall, Harry was sitting around their campfire overseeing the stewing wild vegetables they found and brought back with them. He had taken to watching with morbid amusement as Daryl instructed a green-faced Glynn on how to skin squirrels.
Snorting to himself as he remembered when his curiosity had gotten the best of him and led him into a few similar predicaments. Just as Glynn had when his curiosity had led him over to where he spotted Daryl already halfway done when he had come over to check on them once they got back. Shaking his head with a small smirk when he heard Merle start chortling at the poor Asian boy who had gotten in over his head with his curiosity. But they had to hand it to the guy, no matter how queasy he looked while doing it he was still respectably powering through the grisly hands-on skinning lesson.

When they had first arrived back at camp Glynn had waited for enough time for them to settle down to cook dinner before walking over to see if they were okay. Ignoring or at least not visibly minding the looks he'd gained from certain individuals in his group for doing so. It was Daryl's turn to cook today so he had started preparing the squirrels they'd gathered while harry helped out by keeping an eye on the vegetables when Glynn's morbid curiosity had gotten the better of him.
This led to them now, all three of them trying to hold in their laughter at the visibly grossed-out former delivery boy. After a while, it seemed neither Daryl nor Merle could hold it any longer and burst out laughing at Glynn's retreating backside as he hurried over to his side of the camp for dinner once released from Daryl's clutches. "It'll be a marvel if he comes back after that, " Harry snickered into his palm.

Merle merely chuckled, "He should get used to it now rather than later, especially if he wants to hang around us."

Harry nodded his head in acknowledgment of the truth of that statement. If you wanted to hang around the Dixon's for more than a few short seconds you had better get used to their blunt and sometimes insulting way of putting things how they see them. Uncaring to who's feelings they hurt with their honesty, a trait Harry thought highly of and respected them for.

~

Since then, as they had expected the members of the other group, with the few exceptions like Glynn, Carol, Sophia, and Carl, seemed to avoid him and his like the plague. This development didn't bother them in the slightest though. They were relieved for the break they got from the more insufferable members of the other group. And it was considered a break as none of them were foolish enough to believe that the drama was over with, no matter how much Harry scared them all off.
But for now, the main one was trying her best to stay the farthest away from him with the help of her other camp members. Of whom seemed to believe that she was blameless now for no apparent reason other than her crocodile tears.
However, they did still have to interact with each other from time to time as they continued to provide the other group with fresh meat. Mostly for the kids, if they didn't have kids in the other group they most likely wouldn't have bothered in the first place.

On one such trip to hand over a good portion of the squirrel and rabbit meat, they had obtained to Carol, who was one of the only ones they could approach without some type of drama. Both Daryl and Harry were making their way back when he spotted Carl out of the corner of his eye. The slim 10-year-old was leaning with his back against the end of the old man's, Dale's, RV that was faced away from the rest of the group and out of sight. However, what caught his eye and yanked at his heart were the silent tears streaming down Carl's flushed cheeks. This sight alone had his own eyes beginning to burn before angrily wiping them away with his sleeve. Daryl only took one glance at him as he stormed past him before his blue eyes widened in alarm before dashing after him.
Harry cursed as he reached him and decided then and there that if Lori couldn't be bothered to look after this beautiful little boy then he will. He'll become his oldest adopted cub and Teddy's older brother.

Startled by his approach Carl's head shot up from in-between his knees with wide eyes before he began to quickly wipe his swollen eyes and nose from where he had been sniffling.
Stooping down on his hunches he gently pushed away both of Carl's arms and transfigured a napkin out of sight from in his back pocket before gently lifting Carl's chin as he began to gently wipe away the mess on his face. Once his face was clean, he bundled him up in his lap and sent a worried and highly uncomfortable Daryl to brief Merle on the situation. Now curled up in Harry's warm lap from where he sat cross-legged against the cool metal of the RV. Carl finally allowed the dam to break as he latched his thin arms around Harry's neck and buried his face into his collarbone as harsh sobs escaped leaving him breathless.
Humming a lullaby softly under his breath as he hugged the sobbing boy to his chest, rubbing at his back as he softly rocked them back in forth, imitating what he would do to calm Teddy. All the while ignoring the moisture gathering on the fabric of his shirt-covered collarbone as he hugged just a little bit tighter. He sat there for what felt like hours, just comforting the small boy with calm reassurances that he wasn't going anywhere as he rubbed his back until the emotionally drained boy fell asleep in his lap. The longer he looked at the small swollen face that was resting on his chest the more the rage and disgust he felt for Lori grow even more, to the point of outright loathing her. Sighing, Harry transfigured another napkin and soaked it a little with aguamenti before wiping it down Carl's face and pushing his floppy brown hair away from his now puffy and painfully red eyes. Surveying the area around them to make sure no one from the Atlantian group was around to see him cart the sleeping Carl back to his camp. As there was no way he was leaving the painfully neglected boy by himself as it was now evident that he didn't have a responsible adult looking after him. Once again casting a quick look around as he cast a notice-me-not before slowly standing up and carrying the tear-stained boy back to his camp. Merle and Daryl were already waiting for him with Merle holding Teddy close to him on his hip. A smile filtered its way across his face at the cute sight before carrying Carl into his tent. Going past Merle as he did so who gave him a nod and gave Carl a sad worried look as he went before hitching Teddy higher up on his hip.
Carefully nudging his tent flap open and slipping in, opening his sleeping bag and laying the tuckered-out boy inside it. Gently tugged off Carl's shoes and socks and tucked him in. Once done he kneeled on one knee next to him and ran a few diagnostic charms on the slumbering boy. Relieved when it only came back with a few minor bruising and scrapes that were normal for young children to get when playing. Lightly wiping a cooled rag around the boy's eyes to help with the swelling and puffiness due to crying so hard for so long. And just as an extra precaution Harry placed the charmed cool rag to remain over Carl's eyes to help take the edge off the headache he was also likely to have when he woke up. Once more tucking in the light covering around his small body before slipping out to let him rest in peace.

Once outside of the tent Harry glanced up to see both brothers hovering close by the front of the tent, acting much like the mother hens they refused to admit they were. The amused smile he now sported only grew when a disgruntled Daryl deposited a happily chattering Teddy into his arms. Looking down at the adorable toddler had Harry feeling like his insides were going to melt into a rainbow-colored puddle of goo before he managed to shake himself from such disturbing thoughts, "Teddy," he called for his attention, "How do you feel about having Carl as an older brother?" He asked him seriously as he watched his tiny face for any slight shift of emotion. To be honest he wasn't all too worried about Teddy having a negative response to the idea as he already knew how much the younger admired and looked up to the older boy. But he was still interested in seeing the different emotional fluctuations that overtook Teddy's face when he finally registered what the question was about. He was rewarded a second later when a shockingly loud ecstatic squeal left his tiny throat and almost burst Harry's eardrums. Chuckling through his pained expression from the sharp throbbing from his poor eardrums. Both brothers laughed at his misfortune as they hadn't been near enough for his squeal to have affected them much other than startling them by its shrillness. Which earned them both a withering glare as he kicked the nearest in the shin before they carried on with their day as if they weren't waiting for Carl to wake up to check on his emotional state.

~

Ever since then, the little ten-year-old started to follow him around wherever he went. Not that Harry could blame him if he were in Carl's position back then and dealing with the realization that his mother didn't seem to care for him as much as he thought. Had he ever had anyone be kind enough just sit there and soothe him as he had for Carl when he was at his lowest he would've latched onto that person too.
Lori on the other hand, as evidence of her carelessness, failed to even notice the fact that Carl hadn't returned to their shared tent since that day.

This development seemed to amuse the brothers as they put it, 'It was like he always seems to have two little ducklings trailing behind him everywhere he goes.' The ducklings are Carl and Teddy.

Glynn was also a new growth to their side of the quarry after he asked and gained their permission to move his tent over to their little group. Lori hadn't liked the fact that he wouldn't spurn them as the rest did and instead held them on friendly terms.

Despite these new additions, they all settled into a comfortable routine together even if they did have a few minor blips along the way. They had learned to never leave Glynn alone to cook as the poor bloke was worse than Neville was when it came to making potions with Snape hanging over his shoulder, on a good day. Harry was just relieved that he couldn't make explosions by blowing up the pot with wrongly mixed muggle cooking ingredients, right?
...Great now he's got himself worried.

Anyway, this altered routine continued uninterrupted for a week and four days along with Harry taking an hour or two after lunch to train Carl, and later Glynn, in self-defense. For Carl, he mostly taught escape maneuvers he could use until his underaged body grew tall enough to reach the walkers, or attackers, heads without bringing them down to his level. Glynn knew most of the basics and just needed some fine-tuning to the attacks he already knew. Mainly how to put more force in his punches and how to hold the handle of a blade to have a better grip so he wouldn't lose it to a walkers skull. Once they realized what he was doing both Merle and Daryl also joined in and started teaching them what they knew in not only fighting but tracking as well.

Glynn brought it to his attention and remind them of the fact this virus hadn't spared anyone and there were child walkers out there as well, quite a few in fact. So they began to teach Carl how and where to aim at the head and what could be used to kill a walker. After that, they began teaching them how to topple their opponent to the ground and gain the advantage along with what to do if we're cornered and or outnumbered. They taught them that unlike what they've most likely seen in movies and such, fighting isn't all about using your fist. Sometimes it's better to retreat and the legs and great footwork are a huge factor in surviving any fight.

Later, when they thought they were ready they brought weapons into play. Both Glynn and Carl were given a medium-sized military blade after they instilled all the safety precautions that came with them. With the added guarantee that if any of them caught one of them playing with them in an unsafe manner, well they wouldn't like the result. Both had received the blades with wide-eyed awe before they quickly nod their consent to the Dixon's and Harry's warnings.

They'd take both Glynn and Carl down to a cleared area close to camp where they could practice relatively uninterrupted. Harry left most of the instructions to one of the two more capable brothers while he sat on the sidelines with Teddy, often shouting out encouragements and corrections to both boys. Even making a fun game out of asking them how they could make a weapon out of a randomly called out object. Even drawing the brothers into it with a few different interesting responses. Due to this they even taught them how to make a versatile weapon from pretty much anything around them. They directed them through the short progress of making and using a handmade slingshot.

"Can one of y'all tell me why we chose to give you slingshots instead of guns?" Merle asked when they finished their first session.

Both Glynn and Carl glanced at each other before Glynn stepped up to answer, "Because it's more versatile with ammo by being able to use almost anything. And as opposed to guns it's practically silent and won't draw unwanted attention to us."

This made Merle nod his head to applaud Glynn's sensible answer, before Harry spoke up from the sidelines, "Good answer, but not only that. Slingshots don't need a lot of strength and energy to use. Take my bow for instance," He said while bringing his short bow to his side and drawing it to their attention. "It takes a good bit of arm and shoulder strength to even drawback and holds it while you aim, see try it." Allowing both Glynn and Carl to try to draw the string. Both were able to after some time but they weren't able to hold it for more than a few seconds. He chuckled at the looks of disbelief on their faces before accepting his bow back and reclaiming his comfy spot on the sidelines with Teddy.
After that little demonstration, they both took to the slingshot like a fish to the water after seeing how much easier it was to use than a bow and arrow. Their aim getting closer and closer to a bullseye with every shot.

~

It showed what kind of mother Lori was when it took her a few weeks worths of time for her to finally notice her son's absence in her life.

But by that time Harry had already staked his claim on the young boy. So when the insufferable woman finally came storming over to them one morning while they were in the middle of training, none of them were impressed. If anything they were frustrated and defensive of their youngest addition as they grouped in close together with a worried Carl at their center.

"Don't worry Carl," Harry said, his fury concealed as he handed the younger boy Teddy, "Nothing's going to happen, so do me a favor and hold onto Teddy for a moment." As he strolled up to the front of his little group to deal with the newest issue the woman had with him.

Seeing all of them standing together in a group stopped Lori in her tracks before she mentally dismissed the defensive postures to continue in her ego-fueled rampage.

"What do you think you're doing with my son!" Lori cried as she drew near enough to try reaching around the horrified Glynn to grab for Carl's arm.

Only met by both Carl stepping back and Merle firmly grasping her wrist before she could reach Carl. Before casting her arm aside as if it were diseased, "Clearly what you should've been woman."

Lori glowered up at him as she cradled her arm to her chest as if hurt in some way. "CARL!," she raged, "Come here!"

Harry glared back at her as he felt Carl come to huddle against his back with Teddy pressed between them. He could reel Carl shake his head as he refused his mother's demand. The others closed in around his back so Lori wouldn't get a second chance at snatching Carl from their midst. Lori grew more outraged the longer she waited for Carl to respond to her demand.

"What have you done to my son!" She exploded once her limited patience ran out with a redding face.

Harry didn't respond as he watched the infuriating muggle with an unreadable cold look. His resolve hardening even further to do what he was about to do after sparing a glance behind him at the quivering child after he felt a small wet spot begin to form on the back of his shirt.
One deep breath later and Harry was facing Lori with a look so harsh it would've made any Black proud, "Nothing at all. All I've done to him was be there for him when his 'mother' was too preoccupied to care. You know, if this was the old world I would have taken your sorry behind to court for such gross neglect of a minor." He spat as he drew near her. "It took you three weeks. THREE WEEKS, LORI! To even realize he hasn't been around your camp, eaten dinner with, or even slept right beside you." He spat the harsh reality at her. The validity of his words only served to make her even more incensed as opposed to feeling any slight form of remorse. Her face was now bright red, enough so that he could make out the fading yellow and purple-tinged bruise across her cheek. 'Probably how she convicted the others so well' he mused, 'it must've looked quite nasty, oh well.' He shrugged as their opinions of him were no salt off his back.

"And with that in mind how on earth could I have been able to let him go back so you can ignore his wellbeing even more. At least with us, he doesn't have to worry about being alone and ignored, instead he's learning vital survival skills that will save his life one day." He snapped as he bore his teeth into a wide wolfish smile as a brilliant idea struck him.

"Carl, come with me please." He said as he calmly wrapped the boy in a one-armed hug as he led the way back towards the camp, the others following close behind.

"Where do you think you're going! I'm still talking." Lori screeched from behind them as she quickly followed after them, soon in plain sight of everyone.

Harry ignored both her and the various wary eyes that watched them as they made their way to Carl's old tent with Lori baying at their heels the entire time.

"Go get the rest of your things," he urged Carl towards the tent entrance as he took Teddy from him and placed him in Daryl's startled arms. Carl looked uncertain at first before he glanced behind him at the still raging Lori who to this moment hadn't paid any attention to him after he refused her. And then looked to Harry who was waiting patiently for Carl to decide on what he wanted to do. Only giving off a soft sympathetic smile when he saw him glance up at him before his eyes grew a determined glare as he marched into the tent.
From behind them, he could hear Lori as she sputtered before he turned to face her. She must have attempted to reach for Carl again because both Merle and Glynn were blocking her way to her formerly shared tent. "You can't just do that! He's MY son." She raged still trying to reach around Merle. "CARL!" She yelled when it became obvious that none of them were going to budge for her.

"You might as well give it up lady, you're not getting past us." The walking talking brick wall that was also known as Merle taunted, "You've been oblivious to his wear about for the last three weeks, during the said time we've practically adopted the boy. So unless he wants to come back by himself he'll be remaining with us where he will be looked after properly." He declared with a sharp glare as Glynn fell back to help Carl carry the rest of his things to their camp.
Harry smiled as he saw this happen, he couldn't help it. He was glad Merle had taken the initiative to decks their claim on Carl as one of theirs. Carl, who had also heard everything, was happy that Merle accepted him and was practically glowing as he followed Glynn back to camp. Harry chuckled as he followed behind them, giving Merle a soft nudge to the side when he passed him by as thanks. Which was quickly returned with a playful grin as he and Daryl followed after him, leaving the shell shocked Lori frozen where she stood. Merle quickly caught up to Carl and, after taking the only pack he was carrying, laid an arm across his small shoulders, "Welcome to the family Kiddo."

~

They left the remainder of Carl's things at the opening of Harry's tent to sort out at a later time, as the sun was already beginning to set. Because of this, it was decided between the original three that before they did anything else, they had to talk with both Glynn and Carl.
With that in mind, he directed Carl to sit at the fire while he waited for Merle and Daryl to corral Glynn over with the incentive that they had something to talk about. Taking a moment to glance at both Daryl, who still had squirming Teddy, and Merle, he turned to face both Carl and Glynn. To save time he explained how they wanted them to be a part of their group, but they operated as a family. To be precise Carl would be one of the kids with them going with the motto 'it takes a village to raise a child, especially when you're trying to survive.' And Glynn would be seen as a younger brother/uncle.

Both Carl and Glynn took this in very well and even looked happy about it, even if both seemed to gain a little redness in their eyes.

Harry allowed them time to settle themselves with this knowledge before bringing up another important topic. They planned on leaving the quarry behind for good within the next few weeks to search for a safer location to fortify and live in long term.

Initially, Glynn appeared to be a little nervous about this plan to leave the perceived 'safety' of the quarry. But quickly came around to the idea after he reminded himself that they were the only ones that saw him as more than a grocery boy to send off on life-threatening supply runs by himself all the time, for even the most trivial of things. And, if he were to believe in their words, thought of him as family. So after weighing all the pros and cons, told them his decision. He would gladly be their little brother if they would have him, and wouldn't let them down.

Carl, on the other hand, seemed to be divided between wanting to and not wanting to go and seemed to be on the verge of having a panic attack. If Harry hadn't quickly pulled him into a comforting hug and reassured him that he didn't need to make a decision now. That even if he decided he didn't want to go, he would still think of him as family and wouldn't treat him any less for the remaining time. Though he did warn him not to tell any of the others without their permission as they didn't need them to make up a commotion about it.

Smiling softly when Daryl placed a bouncing Teddy on Merle's lap so he could give Carl's floppy mop of hair a good noogie. "You heard him, little man." Earning a well-needed laugh from Carl.
They settled down afterward and ate their dinner with a good bit of chatter and good-natured ribbing, as an excited Carl kept asking the two older brothers about several things about their regime.

Once full and now exhausted, Harry took Teddy from where he had fallen asleep on Glynn after being passed around to bond with everyone like usual and beckoned the droopy-eyed Carl to their tent for a good night's rest.