Chapter 1
Harry James Potter and his twin sister Briar Rose Potter, left Wizarding England behind and moved to the United States, after passing their NEWTS, and due to the help of a squib teacher from the muggle world they were able to homeschool for their muggle education, passing it as well, they also took college courses. Harry mastered Defense Against the Dark Arts on his own having a high natural talent for it and became an excellent duelist, once in America he became a teacher at Ilvermorny. Briar became a Healer and Potions Mistress, becoming the youngest mistress since Severus’ mother. They were both on vacation traveling in their RV in the south when the outbreak started.
They were working on heading to their home that is set up as a safe place when Briar called out, “Stop!”
Harry stops and looks at her, “What is it?”
Briar looks at the hospital, “Can’t you feel it?”
He nods, “It’s full of walkers.”
She sighs and looks at him, “Just concentrate okay and you will feel it, I know you are more in tune with death, but just feel.”
He gasps, “There is a living soul in there.”
Briar nods, “Yes, he shouldn’t be, but he is, he’s in a coma. Come on let's go he’s going to need help,” she gets out of the RV and heads to the doors.
Harry sighs and gets out, “And everyone says that I have a saving people problem.”
“I heard that!”
The two walk into the hospital, Briar leading the way being able to sense the living easier than her brother. Slowly they make their way up the stairs to the third floor when Briar stops, pushes the door open, and walks into the hallway. She turns to the left and walks until she reaches a door with a hospital bed in front of it.
“He’s in here, and he’s very close to waking,” she moves the bed out of the way and steps inside and takes everything in, “he should be dead, but if he’s a squib it could explain why he is alive.”
Rick wakes up and starts to talk about spoons and a man named Shane, then he stops and looks around at his room. He struggles when he feels hands on him and falls out of the bed. He hears a distinctly female voice and a thud.
“Harry James Potter, who’s the doctor, me or you? It’s me, this man just came out of a coma, he’s disorientated, you can’t get all grabby like that.” Briar looks at his face with a chart in her hands, “I’m sorry Sheriff Grimes, Harry is the warrior to my healer, I’m Doctor Potter, and this is my brother Professor Potter, he teaches defense classes. Now I know you must be a bit out of it, but can you tell me how you feel?”
He blinks as he looks into the smiling face of a porcelain skinned young woman, with red hair and not the orangey red that some people have, but the color of rubies in the sun, and hazel eyes that he can’t decide if they are green or brown dominate because the color shifts in the light, he rasps out, “Side aches.”
Briar smiles, “Anywhere else?”, she supports his head to offer him a drink of water.
Harry looks around, “Are okay here, there is a group of walkers in the cafeteria.”
Briar nods, “Yep go do your thing I’ll ward the door.”
Harry nods and leaves, “And I will get the wards, you’re pants at them.”
Briar shakes her head, “Okay Sheriff…”
Rick interrupts her, “Rick, call me Rick.”
Briar nods and smiles, “Rick it is then, from your charts you’ve been in here about a month give or take a few days. You were shot in the line of duty,” snorts, “you and my brother would get along swimmingly. Now let's check the wound, and while we do that I will bring you up to date on what has happened across the globe since you’ve lost connection with reality.”
Rick, “You sure you’re a dr, you look awful young?”
Briar, “That would be because I was an apprentice back home, the school we went to gave us that option and I took it, learning under the school healer.”
Rick, “I didn’t catch your names.”
Briar, “I’m Briar Rose Potter and my brother is…”
Once again he cuts her off, “Harry James Potter, my mom was a squib, I am too, we kept up with the wizarding world.”
Briar sighs, “Well that makes this easier,”she begins casting healing spells on Rick.
Rick sighs in relief at the pain being gone, “Thank you.”
She shakes her head, “Not needed, I sensed you and had my brother stop. Now while you have been out, the world has changed. The dead aren’t staying dead anymore, the utilities stopped working around a month ago, and the world has gone bloody crazy.”
“Like a zombie movie?”
“Yes, but we call them walkers. They aren’t alive anymore, if you shot one it would still come after you to eat you, the only way to take one out is to pierce the brain. One scratch or bite and you turn, you die from anything but a head wound, you come back from the dead. Only the living are affected; those that are already dead aren’t coming back like in the movies.”
While Rick and Briar are in the hospital room Harry heads to the cafeteria, he stops at seeing the locked doors and smirks, pulling out his swords, casting a quick alohomora the lock opens letting him in. Slipping into the room Harry kills the walkers one by one, being ignored by them, because to them he smells dead. He is different though, his heart beats, he breathes, eats, he’s alive, he’s Death’s Master. He didn’t like that title at first, but with the way things have become, it’s handy, let’s him take these abominations out easily, because that is what they are, they are neither living or dead, he knows, he’s met vampires before and these guys are nothing like vampires. He makes quick work of them and clears the room fast leaving none standing.
“Phantom,” Harry whistles out and waits, a few minutes pass by and a herd of Thestrals walk in and start to eat the dead. “Now to clear this place of supplies,” he opens a trunk and summons everything that is of use in the hospital to him, organizing it in the trunk. He pats the Thestrals, one of the perks he enjoys is that he can call these guys to him to clean up the dead. Harry slowly works his way through the hospital to find that after getting Rick taken care of, his twin was doing the same as him. He smiles when she approaches him, hugging her close to him.
He looks them both over, “Ready to go?”
Briar smiles, “Yep, Rick just wants to stop by his house to see if his wife and son are still alive and if they stayed here or left for a safe zone.”
Grinning Rick says, “If that’s okay with you Lord Potter.”
Harry groans, “You told him.”
Briar grins and bops him on the nose, “Nope he’s a squib so he’s heard of you,” still grinning she walks out the door and to the rv.
Rick chuckles as he follows her out and across the lot. Harry shakes his head and follows the two. Once in the RV Harry gets back in the driver's seat with Rick in the passenger's seat giving him directions to his home. Driving by a park Harry shoots a walker that is crawling along the ground. As they drove Briar put away what they found, putting it in the way she likes it ordered, in a way that makes sense to her and only her.
Rick, “I’ve never seen an RV with such a nice interior, did you use expansion charms?”
Harry nods, “Yeah and then some.”
Briar calls out from the kitchenette, “It wasn’t an RV when we got it, it was an old Greyhound type bus that we bought and refurbished to our needs. Add in some magical work and we have what you see before you.”
Rick, “It’s very nice, and done up very comfortably.”
Harry smiles, “It’s all Briar’s handy work, she's the decorator out of the two of us. So you said your mom was a squib.”
Rick nods, “Yeah, or near enough. She could do potions well enough, nothing that required magic, she was able to go to a potions master as a tutor and then he employed her to make them for him.”
Harry looks at him shocked, “Guess things were different over here in America.”
Rick nods, “They were.”
Briar frowns, “Things were different everywhere, before everything went to hell in a handbag.”
Rick, “So any clue on how this started?”
Briar shakes her, “Not yet, everyone is infected though like I told you earlier, so we know that it is at least airborne. The CDCs across the globe are working on a cure, but nothing yet. The magical side knows nothing either, what we do know is that it hit France first, and it was on the No-Maj side at that. So more than likely it started there.”
Harry, “Protections and wards hold them off pretty well, runes work better. They are not magic resistant which has been a big help, lets us pick them off from a distance. Smells and lights are what attracts them, if you gotta get up close a silent weapon is the best to use.”
Rick nods and points out the last turn and they stop before his house, “What about noises?”
Harry, “They snarl and growl so they make their own noises, during the day they are usually pretty dormant, there are some exceptions like noises and the smell of fresh meat, sometimes extremely loud noises do attract them.”
They get out with Harry and Rick going inside the house. Briar stays outside to keep watch making sure things stay clear. The two guys walked around the house looking for Lori and Carl when they heard a pained yelp and a yell from outside. The two bolt out of the house to find Briar on her knees holding her nose, tears in her eyes. A man and young boy were beside her, the man was apologizing and scolding the boy at the same time.
Harry sighs and takes over the situation, kneeling by his sister and hugging her, “It’s fine sir, it was an accident. He thought she was a walker and only sought to defend himself.”
Briar nods, “Nothing’s broken, and I would rather him swing away instead of hesitating.”
Morgan nods, “Thank you.”
Duane, “I’m sorry miss.”
Briar waves him off, “It’s fine, no harm done.”
Morgan, “It’s going to be dark soon and not safe to travel, we have a place close by that’s boarded up, you’re welcome to stay there.”
Harry smiles and nods, “Thanks, I believe we will take you up on that offer.”
Morgan nods and leads them to the house, Rick asks about the family that lived there, and Morgan told him they were long gone before his family showed up. They talk about the walkers and learn what they can from each other about them, which was nothing new except when Harry told them that they will eat any kind of meat except where another walker has bitten. Briar nods, confirming it from what she has seen. At one point in the night a car alarm goes off and draws the walkers to it except for one, Morgan’s wife. He told them what happened to her, and that he knows that he should have killed her now that she’s a walker, but he hasn’t been able to make himself do it.
Briar was leaning against Harry, “It’s hard when it’s someone you know and love, but it’s not them anymore, not really, once they die their soul, the very thing that makes them who they are is gone. What we are seeing is just a husk, moving, until they completely rot away.”
Harry nods, “That is the best way to put it, the more mobile ones last longer, but the ones that can’t move around to eat, they are falling apart, but eventually they will all decay.”
Rick, “Like the one in the park by the bike, it looked like a skeleton with hair.”
Harry, “Exactly that’s pretty much what it was.”
Morgan, “What are your plans from here?”
Rick, “Going back over to my house tomorrow, find clues to where my wife and son may be, and then to the sheriff’s office.”
Morgan, “They may not be alive, lot’s of these houses have been ransacked.”
Rick shakes his head, “They left, looters don’t steal family pictures, but that’s for tomorrow,” nods his head at Duane and Briar both of whom are asleep, “we should get some sleep too.”
Harry smiles down at his sister who is using his leg as a pillow and covers her with a blanket, he leans back against the wall and closes his eyes to get some sleep. Morgan holds Duane close as he gets some rest for the night. Rick looks around the house and goes to sleep remembering his neighbors. Harry opens his eyes up and stretches out his senses, making sure that they are all safe for the night from the living and the dead. He looks at Morgan and Duane knowing that they will need to bring them with them, he and his sister have a soft spot for kids and wouldn’t leave any of them alone in this world. He remembers the first time they found a child that had turned, his sister didn’t talk for a week and did nothing but cried about how this wasn’t right. Then she vowed that every child they came across she would help even if she had to adopt them all. Taking a deep breath he went to sleep, it’s not like he needed it being immortal, but he enjoyed sleeping. He was only going to sleep for a little while anyways, he has some walkers to put down, but not Morgan’s wife he needed to be the one to take care of her.
The next morning Briar was the first to get things together to start cooking breakfast. She never could get herself out of that habit, she tried to break it, but it was too ingrained in her. She was pulling things out of her bag deciding on what to make.
Rick woke up and walked in, “If you want to wait, the sheriff's office has a kitchen that runs on a generator.”
She smiles at him, “Thanks, but it’s not needed, the rv’s kitchen runs on magic, I was just thinking on what to make, usually Harry and I grab quick meals, but this time,” she looks at Duane, “I want to do more.”
Rick smiles and nods, “A soft spot for kids?”
Harry joins them, “Yeah we both have that soft spot.”
Briar nods and smiles, “Duane what is your favorite breakfast food?”
Duane looks over at her, “Pancakes.”
Briar grins and heads to the door, “Pancakes it is then, I think I have some chocolate chips too,” she smiles as she hears a yes as she heads to the rv to start cooking breakfast.
Morgan, “She doesn’t have to do that.”
Harry smiles and nods, “She knows, but it won’t stop her even if you asked her not to do it.”
Rick stands, “While she’s cooking I’m going to go back to my house, look for any clues for where my family may have gone.”
Harry stands, “I’ll come with you.”
Morgan, “Same with us,” he and Duane stand.
The four of them head over to Rick’s house and walk inside. They look around and notice some food, clothes, and pictures missing, but nothing else. There are also some things knocked over here and there.
Morgan, “Looks like someone looted the place.”
Rick shakes his head, “Like I said last night looters don’t take pictures, they made it out.”
Duane, “The car’s still here though.”
Rick smiles, “That just means Shane got them out safely with his car. Shane’s my partner, we grew up together, brothers in all but blood,” chuckles, “ and then I married his baby sister, and he moved into our garage apartment..”
Harry smiles, “Well then that means we will definitely find them, it just may take awhile.”
Morgan, “They may have gone to Atlanta, they set up a safe zone there, the CDC is there as well.”
Rick nods, “Then we will head to the station and then head out and head to Atlanta.”
Harry grins and sets out a trunk, “Anything you want to keep.”
Rick looks around and nods, “Yeah.”
With a wave of his hand the belongings of the Grimes family begin to float, shrink, and organize themselves into the trunk at Harry’s feet.
Duane’s eyes widened, “It’s like Merlin packing in The Sword in the Stone, cool.”
Harry grins, “Wanna know a cool secret, Merlin is my ancestor. Now why don’t you see if my twin has breakfast ready while we wait for the things in here to pack.”
The little boy grins at Harry and heads out the door to the RV, and as he turns the corner he freezes upon seeing his mom’s body, it’s at the door of the rv. He stands completely still so as not to attract her attention, she may look like his mom, but she’s not, at least not anymore. Harry and Briar both notice the situation at the same time, Briar being closer and knowing that the door when opened would knock the walker away from the rv and that it would be kept from attacking him. The walker goes to attack Duane, so she throws the door open, knocking the walker back, and grabs Duane pulling inside the RV. At the same time the three men run and move around the RV, Harry holds Rick back and lets Morgan take the lead where he runs up to the husk that used to be his wife and takes it out.
Inside the RV Briar checks Duane over making sure he wasn’t bitten or scratched, he was fine, but before she sighs in relief she notices that he is in shock. She grabs a muggle grade calming draught and gets him to drink it, after that she wraps him in warm blankets and tucks him into one of the beds. As she is coming out of the room, the men walk into the RV, they reassure her that they are all fine.
“Duane’s fine, he’s just in shock, I have him all tucked away in the extra bedroom,” Briar says, she looks at Morgan, “it’s not safe going it alone these days, would you please come with us.”
Morgan looks at her, “Thank you for saving my son,” looks around at them, “I believe joining you would be for the best and the safest for my son.”
Briar smiles at him, “Good now off you three go to finish collecting what you need to get,” she shoos them off of the RV.
They grin and go out to get what belongs to Rick’s and Morgan’s families, which includes Shane’s belongings since he lives in the garage apartment. She takes a plate of food into the room for Duane and gets him to eat, then leaves him to rest. By the time the others make it back she has the table set for the four of them. They sat down to eat and discuss their next moves, heading to the sheriff's station and then to Atlanta. So after breakfast they find themselves heading to Rick’s office, Duane has calmed down and joined his father and the others in the main area of the rv. A few minutes later and they are at the station heading inside Rick offers the shower to Briar first while the guys clear everything that would be useful out of the building. Soon Briar comes out finding herself with nothing to do except wait for them to get done with their turns in the shower. It is not too much longer and they are leaving King County behind and heading to Atlanta.