OMINIX

CHAPTER TWELVE-RETURN TO HOGWARTS

We all sat around thinking of what to do next. Lily's body began emitting an odor. Sirius got up and gently covered her body with a sheet.

"The thing is," Sirius said thoughtfully. "We don't know where Brittany has gone to."

"I think I have an idea," I said slowly. "What would you do? I'd go back to where it all began."

Sirius turned his eyes onto me.

"That makes perfect sense," he said nodding. "She'd probably return to Hogwarts to where it all started. But what I don't understand is why she started this whole thing."

"I've been wondering the same thing," Hillary replied. "What would she have gained from starting an epidemic basically."

We all sighed.

"I think we'd better get back to Hogwarts. We need to find a cure for Remus," Hillary continued swallowing.

"But how? The train is gone," Sirius said. "Remus destroyed it so none of the infected would get into the Muggle world."

Hillary closed her eyes and then re-opened them.

"I'm thinking of only one way. No one would ever think possible,"

Sirius and I exchanged looks.

"Horses,"

Hillary, Sirius and I left Remus' flat and headed just outside London, where there were stables.

We entered the barn. Hillary told the owner that we needed three horses.

The owner got three horses: a dark bay mare with a blaze and one white sock, a liver chestnut gelding with a blaze and four white socks, and a dappled grey gelding.

I went over to the liver chestnut and stroked his neck.

He arched his neck around and gently nipped at the sleeve of my shirt.

I grinned.

"He seems to like you," the man said smiling. "Will you be riding English or Western?"

Sirius seemed totally confused.

"Erm, English," Hillary replied quickly.

The man got three deep rich dark brown saddles with pads. He handed us each one. I first slid the pad on the horses' back and then lifted the saddle up on top of the pad just below the withers.

I bent down and reached under the horses' belly for the girth and began fastening it. Once the saddle was on, I waited for the bridle.

Sirius was looking confused so Hillary quickly tacked up the dappled grey for him.

Once the bridles were on, we mounted the horses.

"So how long will you be gone for?" the man asked.

"Just a day or two," Hillary replied softly. "We've got a barn where were going. They'll be taken good care of."

The man nodded.

I shifted my weight in the saddle and gathered up the reins.

I clicked my tongue and the horse began moving. Hillary came up on my left, and Sirius on my right as we began leaving the stables.

"Do either of you have any idea how long it will take for us to reach Hogwarts?" Sirius asked nervously as the dappled grey lowered its head and sneezed, forcing Sirius to come out of the saddle a bit.

"A few hours," Hillary replied. "Why are you so nervous?"

I felt myself smiling. My horse was happily walking along, occasionally prancing.

"In case you haven't realized this," Sirius said annoyed. "I'm not used to riding horses. I'm a wizard remember?"

"So?" Hillary replied. "Laura and I are witches."

"When I was little, my parents gave me riding lessons," I replied sheepishly. "I'm also used to the Muggle world."

"So have I," Hillary replied. "Been around Muggles. Relax Sirius, just let the horse do the work."

Finally, Sirius managed to get control of the gray.

We teased him as we crossed dark green moors. The weather thankfully was holding and the sun was shining brightly in the sky.

The horses snorted and three puffs of steam rose up from their nostrils. Oddly, the weather began getting chilly. Luckily the rain had stopped and the ground was soft and muddy.

The horses' hooves made a soft 'thunk' in the mud.

Night fell. We used our wands to light the way, praying that a Muggle wouldn't see three floating lights in the darkness and freak out.

About two hours later, we saw the dark shape of the castle looming a head. It was eerily silent. No lights were on in the castle at all.

"I don't like this," I whispered pulling back on the reins and the horse came to a stop. Hillary and Sirius stopped alongside me as well.

"It's eerie," Sirius commented.

"We have to continue," Hillary said looking at us.

"Where can we put the horses? So they're out of harms way," I said rubbing the neck of my horse.

"By the Forbidden Forest," Hillary replied as she nudged her horse and the horses began walking.

We reached the forest and dismounted the horses. Hillary conjured three blankets and we placed them over the horses so they wouldn't get cold. As the horses happily munched on grass, we headed toward the castle.

My heart was pounding in my chest. I was terrified.

Suddenly, a gray dog appeared blocking the entrance into the castle.

"Remus," Hillary whispered as she froze in her place.

The wolf was rain soaked, which gave it an even more evil and sickly look. The wolf snarled and bits of clear saliva dripped from the bottom jaws.

"He made it back here too," Sirius whispered. "Should I change?"

"No," Hillary whispered. "I don't need two more people I care about infected."

I pulled out my wand and aimed it at the wolf.

The wolf snarled and lowered his head as if he was going to charge. I stood my ground.

"Laura, be careful. This isn't Remus," Hillary whispered terrified.

The wolf charged.

It jumped on me, knocking my onto my back on the muddy ground. From the force, I slid a few inches on my back.. The wolf stood over me both front paws pinning my shoulders to the ground.

It lowered its snout and parted its jaws, snarling.

The smell was horrible. It smelled more like a wet dog that hadn't bathed in weeks...months even.

The milky white eyes that were once Remus' haunting jaundice eyes were now locked on me and filled with emptiness.

"Remus...please," I whispered. "It's me...Laura."

The wolf continued to snarl.

"Remus...please...it's Laura...remember?" I continued in the same soothing tone.

The wolf lowered its lip covering the white canines and incisors.

"Please remember," I pleaded.

The wolf picked up one paw off my shoulder...then the other and it sat on its haunches beside me.

I propped myself up onto my elbows. Hillary carefully stepped over to me and crouched down.

"Are you okay?" she asked keeping her eyes on the wolf.

"Yeah," I replied as she helped me get to my feet.

The wolf just kept watching us.

"Remus?" Hillary asked tentatively.

The wolf got up and began growling again before it took off into the darkness.

"You were lucky. He remembered you just before the disease took over again," Sirius said.

"There's hope," Hillary said firmly. "Let's go."

We headed into the castle.

The air inside the castle was thick and damp. We pulled out our wands and lit them.

"Didn't Dumbledore say they were on the third floor?" Sirius whispered as we began silently heading for the staircases.

"Fourth," Hillary corrected him.

We silently began creeping up the stairs. We hit the third floor. Suddenly, there was a lot of noise from down one of the corridors. We moved our wands in the direction. About 70 infected students and 10 teachers were staggering toward us.

"GO!" Hillary shouted as we tore up the last staircase.

We lunged through the door that separated the staircase from the fourth floor corridor. We locked it behind us.

"Freeze," a voice said in the darkness.

We froze. A light came on. Professor Dumbledore, Professor Xander and Professor Adams, who taught Muggle Studies, were there with their wands lit.

"They're not infected," Professor Dumbledore said. "It's Miss Willis, Mr. Black and Miss Mason."

The teachers relaxed.

"How on earth did you get here? The train was destroyed," Professor Xander asked.

"Horses," Hillary replied brightly. "There's three of them tied by the Forbidden Forest."

Professor Dumbledore went over to the window and peered out.

"Yes. There are. They seem fine," he replied.

He turned to us then.

"Where's Mr. Lupin?" he asked realizing that Remus wasn't among us.

"He's infected," Hillary said quietly.

"Oh dear," Professor Dumbledore said quietly.

"But we think Brittany knows a cure. Have you seen her?" Sirius asked.

"No," Professor Dumbledore said shaking his head. "We have no idea where she is."

"We've got to find her and get her to tell us," Hillary said as she punched a fist into her opened palm.

"How?" I asked.

"Bait," she replied. "Me."

"You can't!" I cried. "There are infected out there! Suppose one of them bites you?"

"It's the only way," Hillary replied. "I know she'd come to me."

"I'm afraid that I agree with Miss Willis," Professor Dumbledore said gravely. "We have to make sure that she's safe."

"I'll go," Sirius offered.

Sirius was looking at Professor Dumbledore meaningfully. I think he was thinking of changing into the black dog.

Professor Dumbledore nodded.

Hillary came over and gave me a hug.

"I'll be fine...trust me,"

When she released me, Sirius hugged me next.

"We'll be right back okay?" he whispered.

Professor Dumbledore put a hand on my shoulder as I watched Hillary and Sirius disappear back into the staircase closing the door behind them.

HILLARY.

Once we were in the staircase, Sirius changed into the black dog and stood close beside me.

"Brittany! We need to talk!" I shouted into the darkness.

I heard Sirius growling beside me as black wolf appeared with the same haunting blue eyes that I've seen before.

The black wolf vanished and Brittany stood in its place. She had her arms folded over her chest.

"Y-You are the black wolf?" I stammered confused. "I saw you in a vision."

"Yes," Brittany smiled. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I want a cure for Remus," I snapped. " And I want the truth."

Brittany's smile broadened.

"Fine," she said and unfolded her arms.

"The reason why I came back to this time was to start the war," Brittany replied. "I work for Lord Voldemort."

My lower jaw dropped. I glanced down at Sirius. He was looking back up at me with those big brown eyes.

"Lord Voldemort got a hold of a Muggle virus called the E virus from a local Muggle lab. He gave it to me to use. He wanted all werewolves to be infected as well so they could turn on the Muggles and infect more that way. But the plan went better than expected. The Muggles were infected first then the werewolves. It was supposed to be a war on all Muggle kind...the fact that things turned out this way was an added bonus." Brittany replied.

"He also wanted all witches and wizards to be demolished as well. This new virus would do the trick. It affects the nervous system, making the 'subject' angry and violent. It's transferred through bite through the bloodstream." Brittany continued. "I am basically the messenger."

"You're sick," I snarled. "Is there a cure?"

"Just one known cure. You need the Ebuts flower," Brittany replied. "But it grows only on the barren side of Mount Olrot in Antarctica. That's enough for now."

With that, Brittany changed back into the black wolf and snarled.

Sirius snarled back and before she lunged at him, I grabbed him by the fur around his neck and yanked him back through the door. I closed it and locked it behind us.

Laura ran straight for me and threw her arms around me and hugged me.

"Did you find anything out?" Professor Dumbledore said ignoring Sirius who was now fiercely licking Laura.

I relayed the message to Professor Dumbledore.

"Good God," Professor Adams said covering her mouth with her hand. "This was all planned!"

I nodded.

"What about a cure?" Professor Dumbledore prodded gently.

I told him about the flower and Antarctica.

"Ah yes," he said quietly. "I've heard of that flower. It's supposed to be Muggle version of a 'miracle' cure. It cures anything that will ail a witch or wizard."

"Is there a way to get it?" a first year Slytherin asked nervously.

"There is," Professor Dumbledore said nodding. "But it would require strength and agility, not to mention being able to Apparate."

I frowned. We've been learning how to Apparate but we're not ready for that just yet.

"I don't know how to Apparate just yet. What if I went the Muggle way?" I suggested.

Laura was sitting on the floor playing with Sirius.

"I?" Professor Xander asked wide-eyed.

"I'm going to do this for Remus," I said firmly narrowing my eyes. "After all, we did sort of bring this on."

Laura looked terrified.

Professor Dumbledore came closer and stood in front of me.

"I think the only way you'd survive is not in human form," he said meaningfully glancing at Sirius who was playfully tugging on Laura's robe hem.

"Return the horses and then go from there. I'm ordering Sirius to go with you," Professor Dumbledore said.

At that, Sirius' ears pricked upward and he froze in mid tug, which allowed Laura time to tackle him.

I nodded.

"We'll make sure nothing happens to Laura or the rest of the students. The Muggle CDC should be here at any moment so you'd best go now," Dumbledore continued. He pulled out his wand and waved it at Sirius. A bright yellow harness appeared on Sirius with large pockets on either side.

"They're filled with food. Once you change, a harness will automatically appear on you."

He waved the wand at me but nothing happened. Only when I changed into the wolf.

I nodded.

"Come on Sirius," I said to him.

He released Laura and followed me out back into the staircase. We could hear Laura's protesting cries behind us. I felt awful leaving her behind but she would be much safer here than out there.

Sirius and I hurriedly left the castle and I mounted my horse with Sirius sitting on his haunches in front of me on the saddle. I grabbed the other two horses' reins and began leading them.

About 3 hours later, we returned to the stable and I handed the man the reins.

"Were are your friends?" he asked.

"Um, back home. Thanks for the horses," I said quickly.

Sirius and I headed outside and once I was sure it was safe, I turned into the white wolf.

A black harness appeared on me the same as Sirius, only there was an extra pocket for the flower.

It buckled under my belly and went around both shoulder blades and around my rump. Sirius looked at me.

We had a very long journey ahead. We trotted alongside one another and began the journey.