Thanks to: Cal, SiriusSunday, Colin Creevey, New post yay, ChakraKitty, Cortana and RandomGerman for reviewing! And for all the supportive things people said

Questions:

Hogan wants to save Wyatt? What the heck?
Wyatt is one of them and he's pretty useful, he also could get them all killed if he caves under torture

Did Varanian really go THAT long without eating?
Yep

How is he (Varanian) still alive? Power of insanity?
He survived being burned alive twice, he's pretty resilient

Are they (Antonius and Cassia) at Plymouth? Is this Plymouth?
No, not only are they not in Plymouth but Scorpius isn't either. The new base is too small so Gray is divided between three locations: Hogan's house (where Scorpius is), the Embry's house (where Michael is) and the new base (where Brutus is). The Embry's house is in Plymouth, the other two locations are not. Cassia and Antonius only know where the Embry's house is since its where they came from so that's where they're going

Do they (Antonius and Cassia) even know where they're going? Do they know how to get to where they want to go? Or are they just wandering the country aimlessly scanning every last inch of it till they find it?
They do know where they're going, or at least Cassia does because she's the one who can look at maps in towns and has access to birds

Is Agnes ok? Is Agnes gonna be ok?
She's not really okay right now, she already struggles with self esteem (she was bullied in muggle school about her face) and looks up to Michael so to hear him say that was extremely hurtful and she's still pretty upset. Whether she'll be okay eventually, who knows?

Do the potions they give him (Lysel) help him or are they what actually make him sick? Could it be he doesn't need all these other potions either? ARE THE POTIONS THEY KEEP HIVING LYSEL ACTUALLY THE REASON HE IS ALWAYS SO SICK?
Interesting theory but no, the potions do actually help him and they're not the reason he's sick. All werewolves are weakened around the full moon and for Lysel's its just so bad because he's so young and is born a werewolf so has more connection to it, he had to go through transformations basically since birth and its a massive toll on such a small body. Most werewolves don't even take the other potions, they're really just things to basically strengthen different aspects his body so he can survive. As a side effect some contribute to his being ill (especially since he doesn't always respond to things the same way a human does) but in general he would be worse without them (he could still die from this) and the younger he was the more crucial they were to his survival, he wouldn't have lived to his first birthday if Hogan hadn't created this regime for him or spent hours healing him after

Could u male Lysel super cool by letting him turn into werewolf at will outside of full moon?
Even if he could do that he wouldn't want to, transformations are painful and dangerous for him

Would Sal still be crazy if she had been allowed to go to hogwarts?
Probably not actually, there's a lot of variables but if she'd just gotten to be normal and accepted she'd probably just be normal and wouldn't feel the need for world domination

Are molly and scorpi us gonna be ok?
Maybe

Will scorpi us see her (Molly) os ruined because of her big raped?
No

What exactly went through Atticus' mind when fighting Sal?
He was thinking Brutus would step in and stop her. She trusts Brutus and he could've gotten close to her and subdued her (as he does later in the book), that's why Molly saw this time as being his window because he could've stopped her all along. Atticus just thought his brother would step in and stop her in order to save him

What is the name of Varanian's child?
It doesn't have a name yet

"Well, I hope you're happy," Marigold grumbled which snapped Wyatt from his thoughts.

He cocked his head to one side – he had to because he was missing an eye – to see as the Head Healer came back into his quarters, he'd been letting him stay there since it was easier then him needing to fend for himself for the week and allowed him to recover. Wyatt was feeling better, his wounds had healed up and Marigold had fed him so he could build his strength back up. He was still concerned about his missing eye, he'd been doing his best to get used to working around it – he had plenty of practice since he'd mostly had to stay as a lizard, it was safer – and had managed some recon but it was still pretty bad. He supposed he couldn't complain though, Marigold couldn't heal himself so he still sported half-healed bruises from the beating James had given him and the prisoners were even worse off.

"This is it," Marigold told him as he reached the desk Wyatt was on, putting down a vial of what he'd come to recognize as Wolfsbane. Marigold and shakily poured half of it into an empty vial before swallowing nervously, "I take this and I should be all set for the full moon tonight, if your theory is true anyway. If not I'm damning myself to a life of lycanthropy all for nothing."

Marigold glanced at him as if expecting him to comment on it, Wyatt wasn't sure what he'd say even if he could say anything Marigold would understand while he was still a lizard and he thought Marigold was just stalling anyway. He hadn't been able to think of a better plan all week and neither had Marigold, his crazy idea remained their best idea. Marigold sighed and quickly downed one of the vials, his face screwed up in disgust.

"For the record, that stuff tastes absolutely disgusting," Marigold complained, Wyatt did his best to look sympathetic. The healer sighed, "Well I better go give Sebastian his poison, try drown whatever's left of my taste buds. Get yourself ready, it shouldn't be too long before James calls it a day."

Wyatt nodded, suddenly feeling rather nervous as Marigold left with the still half-full vial. He hadn't realized how close they were to the full moon, well he knew it was tonight but time was moving treacherously fast. He was eager to get on it but he was also terrified, he knew so many things could go horrifically wrong and it could end in spectacular failure. He erm… he decided just try not to think about that right now, he should think of something more positive. Like how if it all went well he could be eating gummy worms at sunrise, delicious.

He couldn't do much else besides wait, they'd already agreed he should stay put until James left as it was pointless to risk capture so close to the full moon whereas when James left he'd take a bunch of Shadows and it'd be safer to navigate. Usually Wyatt wouldn't worry about it but now he was down an eye… it was crippling as a lizard, their eye position meant he lost an entire half of his vision and the vacuum of darkness to his left made it harder to navigate. It was also pretty disconcerting. He stretched his legs and wings around the room for a bit then tried to take a nap, he wasn't sure if he succeeded but he'd been not been sleeping well so he thought it was logical to try rest.

"Absolutely not!" a familiar and very unwelcome voice shot out suddenly from the Hospital Wing, making Wyatt panic that Marigold had been found out somehow.

He flew out to investigate and confirmed James Sirius Potter as the speaker, the sadist was standing there in his black robes glowering at Marigold with his dark brown eyes. He looked a lot like his brother - and by extension his father - but also very different.

"You're supposed to be making sure the werewolf kid lives so he can join our werewolf army," James continued whatever he'd been saying testily, "There's no reason to check on the prisoners, I'm the judge on whether they're hurt bad enough to require healing."

"I'm sorry, when did you go through three years of Healer training?" Marigold snapped in a sardonic tone that James didn't seem to appreciate as he immediately punched Marigold, Wyatt cringed as there was a crack and Marigold's head shot back.

"You don't need training, common sense is all you need to judge this. I'm not an idiot," James snarled as Marigold clutched at his nose, blood drops slipping through his fingers. Marigold didn't look deterred though and surprisingly met the murderous gaze, Wyatt kinda hoped he'd back off though lest he got himself killed and their plan was ruined, "Show some respect to your superiors, if you didn't want to work for us you shouldn't have stayed behind like the pathetic coward you are. Now get back to the job you're supposed to be doing you Slytherin scum, I'll be back in the morning to see whether you manage to save this kid or not."

On that note James stalked off out of the Hospital Wing, jerking his hand in a following motion as he did so and Wyatt realized it was directed at Yannis standing near the door. Wyatt sighed regretfully as Yannis obediently followed, he would've liked to save him too to repay the help he'd given but unfortunately James kept his slave close so he wouldn't be there. Some other time, stopping the Shadows would free all of the slaves after all.

He heard Marigold grumbling under his breath and noticed the Healer passing him to get back into his office, still clutching his nose. Wyatt spared a glance to Sebastian to see the poor kid looked exhausted and was seemingly asleep before following Marigold, the Healer was now trying to stop his nosebleed. Wyatt looked around to reassure himself they were alone before transforming back, making Marigold jump for a second which had him move his hand to reveal his now crooked and probably definitely broken nose.

"Want some help with that?" Wyatt asked, he was no healing expert but fixing a broken nose was a simple enough spell he could do. Marigold sighed and handed over his wand – they knew where Wyatt's was but hadn't gotten it back yet in case they noticed, were holding out until the last second – to use, "Episkey."

"Thank you," Marigold muttered as his nose slotted back, taking back his wand the second it had though he didn't look particularly pleased.

"What was that all about? We don't want to risk anything when we're so close."

"I only asked if I could check on the prisoners, James doesn't let me treat them properly and we need them stable before we leave," Marigold answered irritably, crossing his arms, "And I know we don't want to risk anything but do you know what it's like as someone who dedicated their life to healing people to know innocents are being tortured a few floors below you? To be forced to treat those people only enough to keep them alive to continue suffering?! Do you know-"

"I get it! It sucks!" Wyatt cut him, holding up his hands in a gesture of stopping Marigold from going on a rant, "But you don't have to put up with it anymore, just relax."

"I am relaxed!"

"You sound relaxed," Wyatt quipped sarcastically and Marigold threw him a glare but nonetheless took a deep breath as if to calm himself.

"Well, be ready," Marigold grumbled, "It's not that long before Sebastian transforms and the majority of Shadows are leaving now."

"Okay, I'll get on scouting them out."

Wyatt transformed back into a lizard and flew off, having to try be careful to compensate for the drop off of his vision as he tried to cling to every nook and cranny he could to stay out of sight. People were indeed leaving but his focus wasn't so much on them as on who was staying, after all he'd still need to take them out so they wouldn't stop them. They'd need to do it discretely to remain undetected as much as possible so knowing which ones remained and where they were stationed would obviously be helpful, they'd also need to move as fast as possible because they checked in every two hours so that would be their window.

After all was said and done, there were six guards remaining: two guarding the cells, two guarding the Hospital Wing and two patrolling. Wyatt checked around but they seemed to be all that was left, to compensate for the lesser numbers the Inferi seemed closer to the entrances then usual but still just the six in pairs which he thought he could take by surprise. He followed the patrolling ones for a while, picking up the pattern of their route before returning to the Hospital Wing. Sebastian hadn't transformed yet, Marigold was sitting with him though.

"- your chest is going to hurt a lot," Marigold was telling the poor boy gently, Sebastian evidently was awake now and looking rather afraid, "Your ribs are still fragile and some will probably break but I should be able to heal that quickly, I know it might be hard but try to stay as still as possible. The less you move, the easier it'll be and the less damage. Do you understand?"

"I think so, I'll do my best," Sebastian nodded, still looking tired despite sleeping all day, "In case I don't make it though, I wanted to… to thank you. You've been so nice to me and you tried so hard to save me, even stayed behind to help me. I don't deserve it and you didn't have to but you still did, you're a good person and I wanted to thank for you everything you've done."

"I… erm… it's just my job," Marigold stammered out, his face flushing red in embarrassment at Sebastian's gratitude, "And of course you deserve help, you're a good kid."

"If I do live I'm going to be a part of their werewolf army and they'll make me hurt a lot of people," Sebastian pointed out, blinking back tears. They hadn't told him of the escape plan, was hard with the guards outside, "That's hardly good."

"It's like you just said, they'll make you, it's hardly your fault they're monsters who'll take advantage of you," Marigold told him firmly, "Okay?"

"Okay," Sebastian muttered, wiping at his eyes and Marigold's expression was kind as he patted him awkwardly on the shoulder as if to try to comfort him. Sebastian seemed to take this as an offering for a hug as he leaned against Marigold, the Healer reluctantly putting his arm around him.

"It'll be okay," Marigold assured him gently, "Just trust me."

"We're shutting this door now that it's almost time!" one of the guards called down to them before sealing the large double doors into the Hospital Wing, which was actually helpful.

Wyatt swallowed nervously, he hoped it would go well. Marigold had Sebastian get undressed and put the pajamas aside so they wouldn't be torn up when he transformed, though he let Sebastian stay under the blanket and waited by his side patiently. It wasn't long before Sebastian cried out in pain as the full moon's light filtered through the window, he threw back the blanks and Wyatt caught a glimpse of the poor kid's horribly scarred chest before he started to transform. The papery thin skin was all distorted in a way similar to Varanian's burn scars and he could see the shape of the fragile ribs beneath, his nipples and belly button were also nothing but the same scar tissue now as well.

Sebastian started screaming as his body started morphing, he seemed to be doing his best to stay still as Marigold had said but the transformation was still contorting his small body. Well, his body was rapidly becoming not small as it violently stretched and bulged while hair sprouted over every visible patch of skin. There was a sickening snap as his chest expanded, some of the ribs jabbing through and Sebastian howled in pain now he was a werewolf.

He looked pretty awkward lying on his back on a bed he was now larger than, Marigold didn't seem fazed as he started waving his wand rapidly over Sebastian's chest with a look of intense focus. There was a crack as his ribs started slotting back into place, the skin healed over. Marigold kept waving his wand but the pain Sebastian was in seemed to have eased, he went quiet and the tension left his face. After a few minutes Marigold breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his wand.

"There you go, Sebastian, you're stable," Marigold told him, a smile creeping onto the corners of his mouth and Wyatt also allowed himself a sigh of relief while Sebastian rolled onto his side, "You're okay."

Wyatt took this as being the perfect opportunity to transform, now the doors were closed for once not only did it mean the guards couldn't see them but they also wouldn't be able to see Marigold putting up a charm against eavesdropping so they could speak freely. Sebastian jolted in surprise at his appearance but for once Marigold seemed to expect him, Wyatt glanced at the door and Marigold cast his wand at the door to stop the guards from hearing. Sebastian's now golden eyes were wide and glancing between the pair of them in confusion.

"We're escaping, Sebastian," Marigold explained to the werewolf quickly, "We're not going to let them put you in their werewolf army."

"We have to wait until they check in again, it'll give us the longest window to act," Wyatt reiterated and Marigold nodded as he understood the plan already, "Fill Sebastian in and just be ready, I'll get my wand then take out the wandering guards after they check in then I'll come back and we'll take out the two outside. There are two at the dungeons but I'll take them out when we all head down there to free the others, it'll save a bit of time that way. Okay?"

"Okay."

Wyatt transformed back into a lizard and glided across the room, squeezing out of the window as he'd have to go around with the door still shut. He didn't mind, it was painfully cold but nothing he couldn't handle as there were plenty of things to use for a grip until he got to another open window to get back inside. Now he retrieved his wand because he'd need that to take the guards out, it was unguarded and they were just tossed on a random table haphazardly. He also grabbed his father's wand and Sebastian's, he hadn't seen the others' wands enough to recognize them and there was extra wands presumably from the dead or something so he couldn't just take them all.

He then scouted around and found the moving guards - he considered them the biggest threat – and followed them, waiting for them to check in again and listening to them mostly complaining about being stuck in a castle with a werewolf while James got to relax safely far away. Eventually they did check in though, which they did via summoning a Specter to go between all of them then leave to pass on the all clear. It was now or never.

Wyatt swallowed nervously and jumped down, transforming back into a human and hitting one of them in the back with a stunner. The other one started to turn as they noticed their partner fall but not fast enough to avoid Wyatt's second stunner, he breathed a shaky sigh of relief as they both went down without issue. His heart was still racing and his palms sweaty, for all the practice Varanian put him through he still hadn't much experience with real combat and a lot was riding on him not screwing up. It was okay though, two down and four to go. He took the wands off the guards and levitated them into the nearest room, conjuring ropes to bind and gag them to slow them down when they woke up and for good measure put their wands in the next room he came across to hinder them further.

He then transformed back into a lizard and returned to the Hospital Wing as he'd said, Sebastian was now out of bed and just sitting on the floor while Marigold paced. This time the Head Healer did jump when he turned back while Sebastian seemed to expect it.

"Two down, we have to move," Wyatt told him quickly as they were on the clock now, "Open the doors, I'll fly over them and hit them from behind when they're distracted."

"O- Okay," Marigold stammered out as Wyatt gave him no time to reply, already turning back into a lizard and getting into position. Marigold flicked his wand to make them able to hear again and cleared his throat nervously as he approached the doors, "Um… hello? Soul Eater people? I… I um… really need assistance with something."

"We ain't going in there with no dog," a voice called back from the other side of the door as if indignant at the suggestion, "You're on your own."

"But that escaped prisoner you asked for is here! He's stealing medical supplies!" Marigold hissed.

The reaction was instantaneous, they seemed to scrabble to get the door open quickly. They rushed in while Wyatt flew over their heads, transforming back as he landed on the ground behind them. He sent two stunners spiraling into their backs, they hit the ground at Marigold's feet. He quickly took their wands and levitated them to a nearby room, binding and gagging them as well. He put the wands down in the Hospital Wing as Marigold ushered Sebastian over.

"The others are probably in rough shape, Sebastian can help carry them back if they can't walk and it'll be good practice for later," Marigold said to him and Wyatt nodded, that sounded fair enough.

"Okay then but stay back until we take out the guards, right Sebastian?" Wyatt offered to the boy who nodded himself so he turned back to Marigold, "Distract the new guards again and I'll hit them from behind, seems to be working pretty good."

"Okay."

Wyatt transformed back into a lizard and landed on Marigold's shoulder because the Head Healer could walk faster, the Head Healer who was clenching and unclenching his fists nervously as he walked. Sebastian plodded along behind them until they drew close enough to the corridor with cells that Wyatt worried his footsteps would alert them, he held up a hand to tell Sebastian to stop and the werewolf complied. He scampered off of Marigold to give himself time to get in position, leaping from wall to wall to gain height and was crawling across the ceiling by the time he was in the corridor with the guards. He got onto the other side of them and braced himself as Marigold approached, the guards both drew their wands and one turned it on Marigold who held up his hands in innocence.

"What are you doing down here?" one of the guards growled at him.

"I'm worried about the prisoners, I want to check-" Marigold started to answer but he didn't finish his sentence as Wyatt transformed back and stunned the last two guards from behind, "Well that was easy."

"That's called getting the drop on someone," Wyatt pointed out, breathing a sigh of relief as he took the wands off the guards while Marigold took the keys, "I'll remove the enchantments from these cells, you take care of these guys and get Sebastian."

"Okay."

Wyatt took another breath and turned his attention to the enchantments that would trigger if the cells opened, he wasn't the best at this but Varanian had covered it and the enchantments weren't that strong. Undoing some's enchantment was kind of like picking a lock, you had to make extremely small and precise wand movements that were slightly different for not only every spell but each caster. You had to do the counter enchantment then do the original backwards or rather variations on them, you had to go by feel as vibrations or a tug on your hand meant you were going off track but it was also the only way to know if you went off track. Every time you went wrong you have to repeat it, go too far wrong your progress would be lost and you had to start with the counter again but if you went even further wrong you'd not only fail but would alert the caster someone was trying to break their enchantment. And that was just 'simple' enchantments, skilled wizards added layers to the base enchantment you had to get through which was extra wand movements they made up you had to go through in reverse. Permeant enchantments could be complicated, thankfully they were difficult to pull off and James' magical ability clearly in other areas. And people thought Transfiguration – which was by far the easiest kind of magic in his opinion, and the funnest – was tough? Rudy thought it was fun but Rudy also thought Math was fun, Varanian also liked it but he was freaking Varanian-

"Done," Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief as he lowered his wand, feeling the enchantment break. When he wasn't focusing on his potential failure, it was a lot easier to just go with the flow. He glanced at Marigold who had evidently done as asked as the guards were gone and Sebastian was there, the Head Healer moved by him to unlock the door with the keys.

He hadn't realized how much he'd been both dreading and hoping to get his father first until he saw it wasn't his father's cell, it was actually the Korays. Pollux and Auriga were sitting by the door, not that he'd know that if he didn't know them. Auriga's hair had been shaved off completely and her face was badly swollen from bruises, blood seemed to have trickled from her nose and mouth then tried. Her brother fair a bit better, he still had his hair but had a black eye and a fat lip still. They both also looked underfed but were otherwise okay, as he approached their father the Astronomy professor he was sorely informed the kids could be in a much worse state.

Unlike his kids the professor lay on a table thing, not only shackled down but nailed. His limbs had been stretched until they were completely dislocated and twistedly broken, his nails were gone and blades had been shoved in their place in the digits he had left anyway. He was shirtless, showing off the expansive assortment of half-healed cuts, fresh cuts and scars covering his torso along with numerous burns, all of which were distorted by the patchwork bruises staining his flesh. James had also peeled a lot of the skin off his left hand and wrist, a bit on his shoulder and the soles of his feet. Wyatt had to cover his mouth to stop himself vomiting, finding he was shaking now. And this could've been him, there was no way he could've possibly resisted breaking. He wasn't that strong. Koray hadn't even had the option of caving to end his pain because he was innocent, he didn't know a thing.

"Today we're going to be looking at Saturn, often remembered for the prominent rings surrounding it," Koray spoke out of the blue, under his breath and in a hoarser voice then Wyatt had heard him use. He blinked in surprise at the odd topic and glanced at him, despite the horror show his body was his face was pretty completely untouched bar the beads of sweat on his brow though his eyes were closed, "Of course it's not the only planet to have rings, the other gas giants – Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune – also have rings but we're not looking at them right now. Can anyone tell me how many rings Saturn has?"

"Um…" Wyatt tried to remember but he'd usually slept through the class and copied homework off Rudy, "No idea."

"That's absolutely correct, take twenty points to Slytherin."

"I'm sorry, what?" Wyatt wondered in bewilderment, he wasn't a Slytherin and he was pretty sure 'no idea' wasn't the correct answer-

"He's feverish!" Marigold snapped and Wyatt tore his eyes away to see the Healer had come over, the kids were getting shakily to their feet in the background no longer bruised, "He's not even aware you exist, isn't it obvious?!"

"Oh right," Wyatt muttered, feeling a little dumb in it seem a little obvious in hindsight that Koray was out of it. He was still babbling on about astronomy to himself, he didn't seem aware of them or anything. He was also shivering, Wyatt realized.

"Ugh, this is exactly what I was worried about! James wouldn't let me heal him, I knew something was going to get infected and now he's burning up on top of everything else!" Marigold complained angrily, looking livid as he took out his wand which he waved over a barbed nail, pulling it out and Koray shuddered but otherwise seemed unfazed, he didn't even pause in his rambling, "Would you help me? We need to remove these nails to get him out of here."

"Sure," Wyatt agreed but regretted it, pulling barbed nails out of a human being made him feel pretty sick. He also tossed aside the guards wands while he was thinking about it, and to buy time of not having to do that. At least he thought he understood why the whole situation pissed Marigold off so much from a Healer's perspective, he wouldn't want to be in his position.

"My sister went to go get the wands," Pollux informed them as he came over, his navy eyes gazing at his dad solemnly.

"Why don't you go wait outside then? You shouldn't have to see this."

"Why? At least he's not aware he's in pain right now," Pollux pointed out sadly, the professor was indeed still chattering on aimlessly about stars still, "Not like James didn't force me to watch him torture my dad, or beat my sister, or hear by best friend being tortured because I'm too weak for him to hurt directly."

"How long has he been feverish?" Marigold asked of the teen as they finished up the last of the nails, Wyatt waved his wand to unclip the shackles. Shackles which had rows of spikes on the inside, the bloody holes where they'd been digging into Koray looked pretty infected. James needed to die, like for the good of the world he just needed to not exist anymore.

"Just today. He was drifting in and out of consciousness for a while then he started… this," Pollux explained and gestured to his dad, Marigold was now running his wand over him in movements Wyatt recognized vaguely as some diagnostic spells. The teen's eyes narrowed darkly, "James got annoyed and went to go torture someone else, it's not fun for him if my dad's too out of it to be in pain."

"Okay. Sebastian, can you come over here?" Marigold said and Sebastian plodded shakily over, "He can't walk so I'm going to levitate him on to you so you can carry him, I'll then walk back with you so I can start treating him. Or stabilizing him as much as possible for the escape, it'd take too long to heal him properly right now. Wyatt, you work on freeing the others and I'll send Sebastian back to help carry them when he drops him off. Pol, walk back with them when he's carrying Byron so he can carry you too if you get too out of breath because Byron is the lightest. Alright?"

"Sounds good to me," Wyatt agreed and Pollux also nodded though he eyed Sebastian warily.

"Okay then," Marigold muttered, seeming slightly surprised as he'd expected them to fight him for some reason and handed over the keys to Wyatt, "Let's do it."

Marigold pulled Koray up into a sitting position while Sebastian turned around so they could access his back, he was as tall as Marigold now so should be able to handle carrying Koray. It wasn't like their whole plan was riding on it or anything. Marigold levitated Koray onto Sebastian's back, showing off that Koray's own back was just as if not more brutalized then his chest. Koray just slumped forward despite continuing his rambling, still not aware but Sebastian was doing okay. Marigold gave a relieved breath and headed out with Sebastian, the werewolf moving relatively slowly which Wyatt wasn't sure was from the weight of a fully grown man or deliberately done to stop him falling off.

"So what's the plan?" Pollux asked of him as they also left the cell, "For after this I mean, Marigold already mentioned not having much time."

"The plan is… um… well I'll tell you later when everyone's together," Wyatt decided, not wanting to go over it numerous times as they'd need to explain at least a second time to Auriga - hopefully more unless the others were also feverish – as it was a pretty crazy plan that could still fail horribly.

James had only put up the one enchantment for all three cells so he just had to use the key, his apprehension and hope for freeing his father next had only increased but he'd just open them in order. He took a deep breath as the lock clicked open and pushed the door open, it slowly creaking open to reveal it was Byron Knight not his dad. Relief and disappointment washed over him again, his dad would be the last one then.

Byron somehow seemed in worse and better shape than Koray at the same time, he was completely naked but he wasn't nailed to a table, instead he was hanging. He had hooks in his arms and different length stumps – to Wyatt's understanding the teen had lost his legs years before so James was actually innocent of amputating them – suspending him, every inch of his flesh was black and blue like he'd been used literally as a punching bag and he was buried in welts from whippings. He lacked the… 'creative variety' of sadistic wounds - for lack of a better word – then Koray but had seemingly more extensive injuries just from beatings and whippings, least from what Wyatt could tell in his unprofessional opinion.

"Please… Please, no more," Byron whimpered weakly and slightly slurred like it was hard to speak, his voice also hoarse and speaking showed off the rows of broken teeth. His eyes were either squeezed or swollen shut, tears were streaming from them, "James… Please, no more… Please."

"Byron!" Pollux called out, sounding pleased to see his friend and Byron struggled to open his eyes a crack in response.

"P- Pol?" Byron wondered shakily and Wyatt was glad he was more with it then Koray.

"We're gonna get you out of here, we're escaping."

"We are?"

"Yeah, we are," Wyatt confirmed and flicked his wand, making the chains extend so that Byron was on the floor so he wouldn't fall when they removed the hooks.

"Wh- What about James?" Byron asked, every syllable quivering in fear as he pushed his trembling body into a sitting position, "If he catches us…"

"He's not here, doesn't even want to risk being in the same castle as a werewolf on the full moon," Wyatt explained, both he and Pollux crouching to be on eye level while Byron started pulling the hooks out of himself, "He cut back the whole staff and we already took them out, Sebastian will back to carry you to the Hospital Wing in a minute so Marigold can help you."

"Or… you could just kill me," Byron suggested, stunning the both of them and they both seemed to have the same idea as they grabbed the hooks away from Byron as he broke down crying, "Please. I don't… I just want to be dead."

"Of course we're not going to kill you!" Pollux snapped angrily and Wyatt bit his tongue, his friend talk to him seemed to make more sense, "You can't just give up, what about your brother?!"

"What about him?" Byron croaked, still shivering as he tried to cover his nakedness. Wyatt conjured a nice warm blanket around him to give him some warmth and Byron wrapped it around himself tightly and protectively though continued sobbing, "H- He's better off, I'm just a b- burden to him anyway."

"You know that's not true-"

"Just because Kenelm is nice about it, it doesn't m- mean it's not true!"

"Byron-" Pollux started to say and tried to reach out to his friend but Byron flinched violently away.

"Please, Pol," Byron begged desperately, "I can't… I can't do this anymore."

"Okay, look," Pollux began, showing visible restraint, "You've been through a lot and you're hardly thinking straight right now, let's just focus on getting out of here alive. If you still feel like this when we're safe and you're reunited with your brother and you've had some time… well, we'll talk about it then. Okay?"

"Not really," Byron sniffed and squeezed his eyes shut again while Sebastian poked his head in the door, "Nothing is okay anymore."

"Sebastian!" Wyatt called the honey-colored werewolf over and Byron tried to open his eyes again, he glanced back to him, "I'm going to need to lift you onto his back, okay?"

Byron gave a vague shrug and closed his eyes again while Sebastian came over and got into position, Wyatt lifted him up carefully – though the teen still tensed – and placed him onto Sebastian's back still in the blanket. The teen was pretty light and if Sebastian had evidently succeeded with Koray he should be fine, Byron looked more securely on his back too as he was consciously holding on.

"Okay, you lot head back and Sebastian, return as soon as you can," Wyatt told them, Sebastian and Pollux nodding as they left.

Wyatt took a deep breath when he was alone again, now for his father. He left the cell nervously and went on to the next one – well actually it was opposite Koray and Byron's in between then – where his dad was, biting his lip and desperately hoping his dad was somehow better off than the others had been. His churning stomach had wedged itself into a knot, he had to remind himself to breathe as he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

His dad was again in a different position to the others, he was in the center of the room with his hands – which were missing several fingers and looked badly burned - shackled over his head to force him into a constant standing positon. Standing on hot coals, the crimson tint glowing eerily in the poor light. He was shirtless but his pants looked in infinitely better condition than Koray's, his head was hung with his white-gray hair hanging over his face but the torture seemed contained more to his chest. He also looked like he'd been used as a punching bag and his back was buried in bloody crisscrossed whip welts, a few burns too except his dad was… well, bigger than the others and James seemed to have taken advantage of this as his dad had numerous chunks of fatty flesh had been carved out of him.

Wyatt gagged, feeling sicker than he had all night. He forced it down though, he still had a job to do and that was aided by recalling his father had never liked him being squeamish. Instead he whipped out his wand, sending a bust of wind to blast the coals far away from his dad. The older man might've been asleep as he started to raise his head then as Wyatt approached him to get him down, conjuring a chair quickly as he didn't think his dad would be able to stand.

"Wy- Wyatt? What are you doing here? Wh- Oh my boy, your eye," his dad wondered in shock as Wyatt reached him, lashing out with a cathartic Acuta to sever the chains holding him up, "You need to get out, go, save yourself. Why would you come back when you got free?"

"I never left," Wyatt informed him as he sat his dad down on the chair, his beady black eyes staring at him like he'd never seen him before, "I couldn't leave without saving you, saving everyone."

"Well that's ridiculous," his dad spat, surprising him and surprising him even more were the tears in his dad's eyes, "Screw everyone else, save yourself. Leave me, leave all of us! It's easier for you to escape alone, get out of here."

"No, Dad," Wyatt insisted, starting to feel annoyed again. He'd never have thought his dad could possibly get on his nerves in this situation of all situations, "Since when did you care about leaving innocent people to suffer?"

"Since I want you to live!" his dad yelled at him, the tears growing in his eyes, "The only thing that's been keeping me sane is the knowledge you got away, that you and your sister were safe. Or at least not fucking here. I don't want you to selfless right now, I just want you to survive."

"Well you raised me better than that," Wyatt scoffed, folding his arms, "Since when did I ever do what you want anyway?"

"Never!"

"I can't believe you're mad I'm trying to save you, if my plan works and we all get out alive what-"

"You came up with the escape plan?!" his father interrupted incredulously, "You need to stop doing that and save yourself."

"So because it's my plan it must automatically be bad?"

"Your ideas are usually pretty crazy."

"My plan is not crazy!" Wyatt insisted defensively even though it was a lie but that was beside the point.

"Alright then, what is this plan of yours?" his father questioned of him quite calmly, probably knowing full well that the answer would only prove his point.

"The plan is beside the point," Wyatt reiterated aloud to dodge the question, "What matters is for once, can't you just have a little faith in me?"

"How can I have faith in you? You spend all your time sleeping or lounging around eating jelly beans-"

"Gummy worms! I lounge around eating gummy worms not jelly beans, honestly."

"Whatever it is! The point is you're lazy, you insist on wasting your potential so why should I have faith in you? Just save yourself, Wyatt."

"I don't know, maybe because I'm trying?" Wyatt pointed out irritably, "And you might as well stop complaining because it's too late to just save myself, Marigold and I are in too deep. We've already taken out the guards and got the others-"

"Marigold is helping you? Ugh," his dad complained, rolling his eyes in disgust, "Now your plan has even less chance of success."

"What's wrong with Marigold?"

"He's a jerk and a coward."

"Maybe he just doesn't like you because you left him to die one time."

"If you're a staff member of a school you should be willing to die for the students," his father pointed out remorselessly, "Kids come first, you can't be selfish or you shouldn't be here."

"Well there's kids here too, Dad, you're not the only prisoner," Wyatt told him truthfully and his dad sighed heavily, closing his eyes.

"I just… I just want you to be safe, is that too much to ask?"

"Yes, yes it is. Also… you know I'm twenty-six, right?" Wyatt wondered, prompting his dad to open his eyes and make to answer but jolting in shock, "What?"

"Th- There's a were-"

"Oh, hey Sebastian," Wyatt offered as he turned to see the boy had finally returned, probably taking longer because of Pollux's lung damage thing making him slower to walk. He waved the kid over, "Sebastian's going to carry you to Marigold."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," Wyatt confirmed brightly as his father continued to look at him like he'd gone insane.

"This is crazy, Wyatt, people don't ride around on werewolves."

"We live in crazy times."

"I'd rather walk."

"Alright then, get up and walk," Wyatt offered him calmly, knowing full well his father couldn't walk on his badly burned feet. His dad and Sebastian both glanced at those burned feet, his dad sighed.

"Fine."

"Okay, I'll help you up then when Sebastian's ready," Wyatt announced triumphantly and Sebastian turned around beside them, allowing him to more easily maneuver has dad onto his back, careful to try not aggravate his father's wounds as much as possible. Sebastian seemed to be doing okay though despite his dad being the biggest of the people who needed to be carried, he thought he looked more strained then he had for the others but he wasn't sure. At any rate, Sebastian just needed to get him back to the Hospital Wing as it was unlikely they'd make the smallest carry the heaviest.

"I don't like this," his father grumbled as they headed out of the cell, clinging to Sebastian in terror like he expected to fall off at any moment.

"Oh, get over it. Sebastian's the one who doing the hard part, and doing a great a great job I might add," Wyatt said, aiming the last at Sebastian who he gave an encouraging smile to that was returned. They were still walking fairly slowly though, "You doing okay?"

Sebastian nodded.

"Do you want to try running the rest of the way?" Wyatt asked, ignoring his father's horrified gasp while Sebastian merely cocked his head curiously, "You're going to have to run as fast as you can through the Inferi carrying people – probably not him but still – so it'd be good practice for you to see what it's like. Plus, the faster we do this the better."

"What?!" his father shrieked.

Wyatt wasn't sure if it was in response to running now or the revelation it was to get through the Inferi and wouldn't know as Sebastian – seemingly taking his suggestion to heart – ran off. His dad's wail of terror as he rode off on a werewolf continued to echo in the empty halls of Hogwarts long after they'd left his sight, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. For some reason, he thought his dad would absolutely hate roller coasters.

He headed back to the Hospital Wing on foot, finding it strange to be casually walking through the corridors he'd spent the past few months incognito in. And also feeling saddened. He couldn't wait to leave but he also didn't want to abandon Hogwarts, the school that stood for so much and had had so many die to defend it in the last war. He impossibly wished they could take it with them somehow and not just leave it here to rot in the dark.

They'd free it eventually, they had to win the war after but… still. He supposed he was getting ahead of himself though, after all they hadn't even successfully left the castle yet. Things had gone okay so far but the moment of truth was coming up, whether Marigold would retain his mind or not. And even if he did, it still remained to be seen whether they could make it through the Inferi and make it back to Gray. He had no idea how far the anti-apparation area spread… He defended himself to his dad but he was right, it was crazy and this could still fail horribly.