Here is everyone's answer to what is wrong with the girls. I hope that this explains everything that was left unanswered in the last chapter.
Please enjoy.
James was the first one to make it into the Infirmary Wing corridor. All the Quidditch practices that year had built up his legs, allowing him to outrun the taller Ben and Remus but just barely. Peter was about half a hallway behind them, huffing and puffing like he was about it die. James took a skidding turn and started sprinting towards the figures sitting on bench at the end of the hallway, his robes billowing behind him, seeing as they were undone in the front.
"Sirius!" James shouted.
One of the figures looked up from the bench outside the Infirmary. Sirius's eyes were red and bloodshot. Huddled into him was his little brother, Regulus. The younger boy had his head burrowed securely underneath Sirius's arm while the older boy held him close. Gryffindor red and Slytherin green clashed but for a moment they were just two brothers terrified for their only connection; their big sister.
"Sirius," James started again, panting and frantic, "We just found out."
"Lily explained what happened. What's wrong?" Ben asked, fear in every word.
Sirius swallowed loudly, "They don't know yet. They just sent for Healers from St. Mungo's. Madame Pomfrey had to put them to sleep to stop the pain." He said in a hallow voice.
"There was so much screaming," Regulus said in a meek voice, shuddering under his brother's arm. Sirius pulled his little brother closer to him and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. Ben sat down on the other side of the young boy and he placed a hand on his back in silent comfort while James did the same for Sirius. Remus sat down in an opposite bench and Peter sat down beside him.
"Did they say anything else?" Remus asked.
Sirius shook his head, "They don't know what it is! Sissy is in so much pain right now, guys! She can't bloody see! Did Evans tell you that? My sister's bloody blind!" He said angrily. His usual calm and cavalier attitude was now replaced with sheer panic and worry for Ursula.
"What about Elyse?" James asked, trying to distract Sirius from getting himself sick from worry, and trying to find out what happened to his other friend currently behind the locked doors.
Sirius shuddered, "The coughing; it was horrible. She was coughing up a lot of blood. When Pomfrey came out to tell me that they knocked Ursula out, she was covered in blood. I don't think she can breathe right." He added in a horrified whisper. The impact seemed to be settling in him as his mind had time to process what had happened in the last couple hours.
"God," Remus muttered and covered his face with his hands while his elbows rested on his knees.
The group was silent a moment. They could hear chatter coming from inside the infirmary. The voices could not be distinguished, but they were talking frantically. James kept on running his hand through his hair, panic settling in the pit of his stomach.
"It has to have been whatever that black smoke was," James finally said, breaking the silence. "It wasn't some damn trinket."
The rest of the boys just nodded while Regulus looked at the older boys confused.
"Someone needs to tell McGonagall or Slughorn. They would probably know what it is." Ben said.
"We can't tell them! They'll a-a-ask from the whole story and – and –and we'll all get in t-t-trouble!" Peter stuttered.
The looks on the rest of their faces were thunderous. James jumped from his seat and glared Peter, "I think some detentions are worth Ursula's and Elyse's lives, Peter!" James shouted.
Peter physically recoiled and started whimpering about how his mother would be angry with him. James looked ready to strike him down with a curse from his wand. He knew enough dark curses from growing up with an Auror and a Healer for parents but his hate for Dark Arts kept him from doing anything. His hazel eyes were still snapping when he regarded Peter with one last withering look, "What the hell were you thinking saying something like that Pete?"
Peter never had the chance to answer because Dumbledore appeared around the corner moving extremely fast. Some would consider it a joy, but it was much to smooth for that. There were six healers from St. Mungo's following behind him. When they got to the end of the hallway, the healers burst through the door.
Ben was able to sneak a look into the infirmary. Elyse's body was still convulsing with each cough, even though she was knocked out by a potion and silenced with a spell. She was turned on her side so she wouldn't choke on the blood she was coughing up. Ursula was pale white and she was rocking her head back and forth, her mouth open in a silenced scream.
That moment would never be wiped from Ben's mind.
He was brought out of his shock when Dumbledore spoke.
"Boys, you must tell me if you know what is wrong with them. It could very well save their lives."
The story fell from James's lips. He never said anything connected to them knowing of Remus's condition but spun it as they were trying to get some new potion ideas from pranks and they thought that Slughorn would have all the good books in his private store. He didn't go into the exact details of the 'prank'. He did explain however, that Elyse knocked over a vial of black smoke and the smoke got directly into Ursula's eyes while Elyse breathed in a good amount.
Dumbledore didn't even stay for the end of the story. The second that James explained how each girl got in contact with the seemingly harmless black smoke, Dumbledore's already oddly serious eyes, widened and he looked…scared. It was a look none of them had ever seen on their fearless Headmaster's face.
He didn't even stick around for the rest of the story. He turned on his heal disapparated out of the school
"That's not a good sign is it?" Regulus asked meekly.
Ben shook his head, and gently rubbed the young Slytherin's back.
"No, Regulus, it isn't."
"I thought n-n-no one could apparate in or out of Hogwarts?" Peter stuttered, recalling a fact Remus told him endlessly when he asked how people always seemed to disapparated and apparate around the school; namely teachers.
"He's frickin' Dumbledore," James said bitingly, "He can do whatever the hell he wants."
They sat in silence for only a minute before Dumbledore reappeared with an elderly woman and another man. Ben's eyes widened with terror when he saw the trio, as did James's. Sirius was still staring at the door. He only blinked when the trio opened the door and disappeared into the infirmary.
"Who was that?" Remus asked Ben and James.
"That was Perenelle and Nicolas Flammel." Ben said in shock. "She's a specialty healer, one disease to be exact."
Remus seemed to deflate when he heard that. Calm seemed to fill his system. Dumbledore got the expert to help his friends. They would be fine.
"What disease?" Peter asked.
Remus's ears perked up as he wondered what disease it was exactly.
James was the one that answered. He was pale as a ghost and his hands were shaking, "Flammel's disease." He said, his voice shaking just as much as his hands.
"What's so bad about this disease? I mean, we have the expert with them right now?" Remus asked, terror starting to inch its way back into his body. Sirius swore loudly while Regulus paled considerably. As a matter of fact, tears started to fall from the younger Black's eyes.
"It's Flammel's disease." Regulus whispered horrified through his tears. His silver eyes were wide and fearful as he tried to wrap his eleven-year-old time around this situation.
There are certain diseases that only wizards and witches can get. They for some reason only affect those with magic flowing through their veins. Most diseases have cures; simple potions that fixed what was wrong in a matter of hours. Some are more serious that do require stays at St. Mungo's but even then they are considered treatable if they are caught in time. Then there was Flammel's disease.
It was considered the most deadly Wizarding disease. It could attack the bodies in three ways. One way was through a skin. If you had an open sore or a small cut when you came in contact with the disease, it would get into your blood stream and destroy your magic and eventually destroy your insides. The second way was called The Rasp. If you breathed in the pathogen, then it would settle in your lungs and eventually it would give you a coughing fit where you would start coughing up blood. The disease would then start to spread and then it would attack the heart. You could die within days, not even realizing that you had the disease; only assuming you had a simple cough before it was too late. If you were lucky enough to survive your voice would never return back to normal. It would become raspy like you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. The last version of the disease is the most obvious to spot. It is appropriately called Thestral Eyes because eventually your eyes turn all white. It starts first in the pupil, turning first into a swirling grey, white, and black. It causes extreme pain to the sufferer and will cause blindness if it is not treated within a certain window. If it isn't caught the disease spreads back into the brain and there is no going back from there. It is almost certain death.
Perenelle Flammel had a passion from a young age to find a cure for this vicious disease for her father died when she was just a young girl of The Rasp. From that moment on, she dedicated her life to finding out the cure. It was through assistance from her husband and her prolonged life; she was able to find a cure for the disease in the mid 15th Century. It took about another hundred years before the disease was almost completely wiped out in England and most European nations. So Perenelle would occasionally go assist when an epidemic struck a South American, African, Asian, or North American Wizard Community, but those occurrences were few and far in between.
She had been most shocked when her good friend Albus showed up in the middle of her living room claiming two students contracted the deadly disease. But now as she collapsed into an infirmary chair and looked at the two now still girls, she couldn't believe that he wasn't lying. The two girls definitely had the disease.
"Are they going to be alright?" Minerva McGonagall asked, her face betraying all the worry she had for her two Gryffindors.
Perenelle did answer right away, "I do not know. We have fixed what is wrong, but damage could have already been done. From what Albus told me, they came in contact with the disease almost twenty-four hours ago. Most adults die within that time frame."
A look of pride flashed across Minerva's face and she straightened her back even more straight than it naturally was, "Of course they defied the standard; they are Gryffindors."
Albus and Nicolas chuckled softly. Perenelle turned towards her friend, "Albus, have the parents been informed?"
Albus nodded his head, "Elyse's mother and father are currently being transported to the school which is a difficult task because they are both muggles. We sent an owl out the second they were admitted to the infirmary, but Ursula's parents have yet to respond."
"What about her brothers?" Nicolas asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the door.
"If you don't mind," Perenelle said softly, "I would like to speak with the boys. I can probably answer more questions than you can."
Nicolas chuckled, "Are you insulting my intelligence? I'll have you know I am one of the most brilliant minds in the world!" His tone was very light and his eyes were twinkling with laughter. When Perenelle walked past him, she patted him on the head, "You keep telling yourself that, dear."
When she opened the door, she was taken out of the world or medical success and light bantering into heavy silence and pure dread in the air. The second the remaining boys saw her sitting there, they jumped up.
"Are they okay?" The red haired one asked immediately.
The two black haired boys looked up at her with different levels of fear and daring in their eyes, the oldest one looking at her as if he was daring her to say that his sister wasn't okay. The younger one looked absolutely petrified. There was another boy, a messy, black haired boy with glasses covering up hazel eyes. He didn't look like he was related to either of the ill children but there was hidden panic, worry, and guilt in his eyes.
She smiled kindly down at them, "I'm not going to lie and say for sure they will make a full recovery, but I can say that they are stabilized and in much better condition than they were earlier."
The boys sagged with relief. The one with glasses smirked at the rest of them, "I told you sorry lot they were going to be okay. And you guys were worried, psht." He rolled his eyes.
Perenelle smiled at the young boy. The two brothers looked immensely relieved. The older one tapped the other black haired boy on the shoulder, "James, go find Remus so he can update everyone up in the Tower again."
She got the distinct impression that James was usually giving out the orders, but for some reason, he had no qualms about following his friend's orders. The bespectacled boy nodded once, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his slim nose, "I might stop by to help Peter with the food. Merlin knows he somehow found a way to mess it up."
He started down the hallway and disappeared quickly. The red haired boy didn't look as relieved as the other two boys.
"You said," he began slowly, "that you don't know if they will make a full recovery. What will be wrong with them?" He asked.
Perenelle sighed and tried best to think of how to put it gently to the young boys. She was saved from having to answer by the arrival of three adults.
Alphard Black was leading the way with two awed and terrified people behind him. The look on Alphard's face was one of complete worry.
"Where is my niece?" He demanded the second he got to her.
Perenelle looked past him at the clearly muggle couple.
"You must be Elyse O'Brian's parents. You can all follow me."
She led the three adults into the infirmary and closed the door behind them with a click. Sirius, Regulus, and Ben were the only ones sitting outside of the room now. The sun had just set behind the horizon so the corridor was dark.
Sirius got to his feet, stretching his arms over his head as he yawned. He then turned a little ways to look at his brother, "You're going to want to get back to your common room. There's nothing we can do sitting here all night." He noted his brother's apprehensive look. He sighed, "You heard Healer Flammel. Ursula's going to be fine. I'll send Evans to the dungeon to get you if anything changes alright?"
Regulus nodded and staggered to his feet. As he passed by Sirius, his older brother pulled him into a quick hug, "She'll be alright, Reggie. Trust me." He whispered comfortingly to him.
Ben watched the exchange with a smile on his face. Ursula would be ecstatic when she woke up and saw her brothers acting like true brothers again. But that thought hit him like a million bricks. He waited for Regulus to disappear around the corner before he began to talk.
"Sirius, what if Ursula isn't going to be 'okay' when she wakes up?"
Sirius scoffed at that and started meandering down the hallway, "She'll be fine. They've got the best healers in the world with her right now."
"But what if they were too late and something is really wrong? What is Ursula does lose her sight permanently or Elyse loses her voice?"
Sirius stopped and turned to look Ben straight in the eyes, "Listen to me; Sissy and Elyse are going to be okay. They got treatment before any damage could be done."
"How do you know that?" Ben asked, exasperated that Sirius wasn't listening to what he was saying.
The other boy's eyes turned cold, "I just know, alright? Stop acting like nothing is going to go right. They. Will. Be. Fine." He accented the last four words, leaving no room for argument.
While Ben desperately wished to believe Sirius, part of him was saying that they underestimated the black power before, who's to say that won't do it again. He felt partially responsible for their sudden illness and almost, possible deaths. Sirius's eyes softened as he realized where Ben's thoughts were taking him.
"Ursula wouldn't have wanted you to beat yourself up over this. Now start acting like a Gryffindor or I might just have to feed you to the 'Puffs."
Ben chuckled as the two made their way to Gryffindor Tower for a good night's sleep. They just turned the corner when suddenly Sirius disappeared from next to him. There was a loud splat and sudden laughter. Ben looked up from his fallen friend to see James, Remus, and Peter laughing their little butts off.
They had set up a trip wire around the corner. Sirius had literally just walked into their trap and landed face first into a giant bowl of vanilla pudding. James was shaking with laughter.
When he was finally able to control himself, he looked Ben in the eyes, "Turns out Peter messed up."
He paused a moment.
"It was supposed to be chocolate pudding," James shuddered at the mention of the personally detested dessert, "but Remus forced him to switch to vanilla."
"Never waste chocolate; it's a sin." Remus said vehemently as he pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket.
Ben was practically doubled over with laughter as he took in Peter almost peeing on himself from laughing so hard, James shying away from the chocolate bar, Remus munching on said chocolate bar like a rabbit, and Sirius dripping vanilla pudding down his robes. Some things would never change, even in the hardest of times, Ben realized. But he couldn't shake the feeling that it was still incomplete. They needed Ursula and Elyse back and they needed them back soon.
So there you have it. I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. Please leave your thoughts in a nice little review. It would be highly appreciated. Also, I have a question for all of you. Now this this story is over 100,000 words and not even close to being done, do you think I should break up the story. Keep First and second year A Black and White Story: Book 1, and make third and forth A Black and White Story: Book 2. Let me know what you think. Your opinions will be taken into consideration. Thanks.
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