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Wyatt made it back to the Hospital Wing, ending his train of thought. The prisoners were looking in better shape, Byron's bruises had been healed up and aside from a few scars looked a lot better. Pollux was sitting beside him – in between Byron and Koray's bed – as was his sister who'd returned, they also looked healed and were talking amongst themselves. He also noted they had their wands, Koray's was also sitting on his bedside table. Koray seemed to be sleeping but was under the covers so Wyatt couldn't see how much he'd been healed, he'd assume he was doing better though. His father was on the other side of Koray being treated by Marigold behind a curtain, Sebastian was lying down resting. Wyatt opened his mouth to ask how much time he thought he'd need before Marigold pulled back the curtain, now wearing a kind of satchel for some reason.

"There you are!" Marigold complained in exasperation when he saw him and came over, behind him Wyatt was glad to see his dad's hands were now bandaged though he looked grumpy, "Honestly, I'm working as fast as I can and you're just taking a leisurely stroll."

"Hey, I'm sure he came as fast as he could!" his dad spoke up in his defense which was… just weird, Marigold threw his father a scowl before taking has arm and moving him further away from his father to try be more out of earshot.

"So while you were taking your sweet time, I had to tell everyone about the plan and they think its nuts but the consensus is agreement."

"Really?" Wyatt wondered in surprise.

"Of course," Pollux spoke up and his sister nodded in agreement, "Pretty sure they'll kill us soon already if we don't just die, a longshot is better than no shot. I'm sure my dad would feel the same."

"Anything is better than James," Byron confirmed in a whisper.

"Yes," Marigold muttered as they essentially confirmed his agreement but pulled him even further away until they were in the corridor outside the Hospital Wing, definitely out of earshot now, "So I've stabilized everybody to the best of my ability in the time frame we have. And I do mean just that, they're not properly healed by a long shot and will need further treatment and long term support. Are you sure Gray has Healers? Preferably experienced ones not just kids since I'm going to be unable to do much for a few days, they won't remain stable for that long and some of them need to be properly seen to-"

"We have Healers, I promise," Wyatt assured him, halting Marigold's fast paced concerned rant, "Real experienced Healers not just kids."

"Well good, hopefully they don't suck," Marigold stated with a slight breath of relief, he patted his satchel, "I know you said Gray has supplies but I stole all of the Potion stock left anyway and I had Auriga grab all the spare potion ingredients too from the supply cupboard too, I don't see the point in leaving it all in their hands and you never know when you'll need it."

"Marigold, I didn't know you were such a thief," Wyatt wondered in amused surprise and the Head Healer averted his eyes as his face flushed scarlet.

"I- I don't usually do it, it's been a long time- The Shadows are evil, they basically stole this stuff anyway since they took Hogwarts by force so- Well it's not like they deserve this stuff-"

"It's okay, I wasn't complaining," Wyatt pointed out and Marigold nodded though he remained ashamedly avoiding eye contact, "It's actually pretty smart."

"Well erm… anyway, basically I'm saying its err… time for… um… well you know, the whole plan and… ev- everything. I can't… I can't think of anything else I need to do," Marigold stammered out, swallowing fearfully and Wyatt nodded in understanding, "Oh, except Sebastian's wand. Need that."

"Oh, I have that here," Wyatt realized and rifled in his pockets, quickly handing over Sebastian's wand. Marigold shakily put it into the outside pocket and Wyatt took a breath, "So how do you want to do this?"

"W- Well I erm… we should… we should go into another room," Marigold said, struggling to get the words out like he didn't want to be saying them, "I mean, it makes logical sense. We still don't know if this is even going work and if… if I… if I- I don't keep my mind, we don't want me to be able to go berserk on the others. And um… I'd prefer privacy anyway."

"Okay, I'll go get Sebastian," Wyatt offered gently and Marigold nodded mutely, still gazing off fearfully.

"Okay."

Wyatt headed back into the Hospital Wing, leaving Marigold to look petrified. Sebastian was still there, fidgeting anxiously now but he detoured to go to his dad. He might as well give him his wand while he thought of it, he put his father's wand down on his bedside table.

"You know he's not going to do it, right?" his dad pointed out, "He's a selfish coward - pretty typical of Slytherins - he's not going to sacrifice his humanity. The kid will be on his own and he can't carry everybody, you should save the kids and yourself since you can be a lizard-"

"Dad, can you just wait like ten minutes? At least try to be nice to the only person who had nothing to gain and everything to lose from helping, you can say I told you so then or apologize for being wrong," Wyatt complained at him irritably, not seeing the point of causing friction in the group. They were on the same side, what else mattered right now? They should give each other the benefit of the doubt, they needed to have faith in each other or they'd fall apart. He didn't care what else his father had to say on the matter and instead turned on his heel, walking back over to Sebastian, "Come on."

Sebastian somehow managed to look even more terrified then Marigold as he plodded along with him, his head hung low. Probably not keen infecting someone with lycanthropy but what choice did they have? His dad had been right about Sebastian being unable to carry all of them, he didn't even think Marigold could've done that. Actually, he was kind of concerned they'd be able to carry everyone even with Marigold. Marigold was very spindly, he was tall for sure but… well, he was a stick, and his limbs were twigs. They made it back to Marigold and he shakily led them down the corridor – they had guards unconscious in the closest room – to an empty room, Sebastian whimpered unhappily and Marigold started pacing frantically like he was trying to calm himself.

"Okay, okay, okay… okay, okay," Marigold started rambling as he paced.

"Take your time," Wyatt offered gently, not wanting to push him.

"We only have a limited amount of time!" Marigold shrieked.

"I know but just… when you're ready."

"Okay, okay, okay," Marigold continued, looking like he was trying very hard but failing miserably to not look panicked, "Okay, okay... So when… If it works, I'm thinking I'll carry the adults and Auriga then Sebastian can have Pol and Byron. It'd be good if he had all the kids but Pol is pretty tall and Auriga can make sure her dad stays on, I've told her what to do and you can just be a lizard on one of our heads since you'll weigh nothing. We should try it first anyway, if it doesn't we can change it up."

"Okay," Wyatt agreed slowly, he thought it made sense. Or at least was a good starting point.

"Okay, okay, okay," Marigold muttered, taking another deep breath and pausing in his pacing in front of him. He then shakily stripped down to his tighty whiteys, neatly folding his clothes and putting them into the main section of the satchel, from how deep his arm went into the bag it had to be magically expanded, "Don't- Don't want to ruin all my clothes."

"Sure," Wyatt said quietly and Marigold swallowed, looking like he might throw up. He didn't, instead pointing to the main section of the satchel.

"So… So this is where all the supplies are, the potions are on the left and the raw ingredients are on the right if you happen to need anything, there's also a zipper on the inside which is where my clothes and things are and what I had of Sebastian's since he was staying long term in the Hospital Wing so I doubt you'll need to look in there. After all, you're going to have to carry this while I'm… you know," Marigold explained and Wyatt nodded, the Head Healer then pointed to the pocket on the front, "In here I've put Sebastian's wand, pajamas and my own belongings for when we… turn back, werewolves need bedrest so we probably won't need proper clothing though if for some reason we do, there's a spare change of clothes for each of us in that zipper pocket I mentioned before."

"Alright," Wyatt nodded in understanding and Marigold then turned the satchel around, pointing to a zipped on the other side.

"And this is the most important one, it's where I have my wand because I'm going to need to use it to stabilize Sebastian when he turns back," Marigold continued, actually opening it and showing him a vial of purple potion, "Then this is a Powerful Strengthening Solution. I think and I hope I'll have the strength to heal him after I turn back myself but if I don't, you have to give me this. Werewolves burn through it quickly but I won't need long, its vital for Sebastian's survival though so when we transform back you need to give me my wand and this if I need it. In case something happens to me, I've also tried to write instructions for your Gray healers on Sebastian's care so there's that."

"Okay, I got it," Wyatt confirmed as Marigold put the vial back and handed him the satchel, it was pretty light but putting it on he felt like a massive weight was now on his shoulders.

"Okay," Marigold said, shakily stepping back, "Okay. So… So after… after I'm bit, you two should wait outside for a few minutes and listen. If… If it's quiet then I probably kept my mind so come check and we'll move forwards, if it's not then… well, I don't know. Just do what you can and don't worry about leaving me."

"Hopefully it won't come to that," Wyatt admitted quietly and Marigold nodded, his face looking paler then the dead right now.

"Okay," Marigold shuddered and his eyes shifted to Sebastian, "Okay, Sebastian, just make it quick."

He outstretched his hand missing a finger to him, stretching so far it looked as if he was trying to stand as far away from that hand as possible. He then squeezed his eyes shut and looked away, he was shaking so badly his knees were knocking together. Sebastian whimpered, looking at his hand unhappily while his eyes shone with tears. He didn't bite.

"Sebastian, come on," Wyatt urged him desperately, "I know you don't want to hurt him but you have to do this, it's the only way and we don't have time for this."

"Yes, do it!" Marigold reiterated, stretching out his hand even more to the point Wyatt was worried he would dislocate it, "I'm sorry I'm a wimp and I don't want to watch but I swear I'm ready, just stop dragging it out! It has to be done. Think of the others, Sebastian, if you don't bite me they'll all die! Think of yourself even, if you don't do this the Shadows will put you into their werewolf army and make you do a lot worse. Please."

Sebastian turned his head away with his eyes squeezed shut and just as Wyatt was going to try to say something else to convince him, he turned back and bit into Marigold's outstretched hand. It was the gentlest, most pitiful excuse for a bite he'd ever seen and Marigold jolted but didn't scream. Sebastian let go, hanging his head miserably while Marigold shakily pulled his hand back to himself and stared. Diagonally across his palm and back of his hand were now a line of large red dots, Marigold wiped away the crimson dribbling from the wound but more started to trickle down. Wyatt could practically see his heart pounding in his chest as he gazed at the bite, blinking back tears.

"Now… Now you go," Marigold breathed barely audibly, "That's the plan."

"Come on, Sebastian," Wyatt offered to the werewolf who headed out with his head hung, he swallowed and glanced back to Marigold who was still cradling his bitten hand in his other one and gazing at it with tears starting to escape his eyes, "I'll um… I'll see you in a minute..."

Marigold merely nodded mutely, sparing a glance for the moon out of the window before slumping to the ground. Wyatt guiltily left him there as the healer's shoulders started to shake from crying, sealing the door behind him and leaving him to his fate. Sebastian was sitting with his back to it, his head hung low. He looked on the verge of tears himself.

"Hey Sebastian, its okay. Marigold's fine," Wyatt told him gently and as if to prove him wrong, Marigold's sobbing became audible from the other side of the door. Sebastian glanced at him, "Okay so he's a little upset but the important thing is that you shouldn't feel bad, it's not your fault. He agreed and it was my plan, if you want to blame anyone blame me-"

Wyatt was cut off as Marigold's hopeless cries turned to earsplitting screams of pain, somehow behind all that he could practically hear the wrenching as his body was torn up by the violent transformation. Even though he couldn't see Marigold he closed his eyes as if to try block it out as the screams of anguish turned to howls of agony.

He felt his stomach churning as in the face of reality the weight of his entire plan came crashing down on him, what on Earth was he doing? What was he thinking?! He was hurting someone, he was destroying someone's life just to save his dad and a handful of others including one who wanted and one who seemed likely to die anyway. He didn't even know if it would work! Wolfsbane had never been preemptively given to someone before because no one was batshit insane enough to want to become a werewolf. You monster.

Wyatt opened his eyes shakily, feeling tears behind them. He knew he was a perfectly flawed lizard being, he could be lazy, he could be dumb, he could put his foot in his mouth, he could be selfish even but one thing he thought he'd never be was a monster. Until now.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts it took him a second to realize that it was now silent, Marigold had stopped screaming. The transformation was over, it was done. Wyatt tried to swallow the freshly formed ball of negative feelings, it was too late to turn back now and the clock was ticking. If he survived this he could kick himself then, right now he should probably go find out whether Marigold's mind was intact or not. If not, he'd already destroyed his life in vain.

"Marigold?" Wyatt called out as he approached the door, Sebastian plodding solemnly along beside him, "Marigold, can you hear me? Are you okay? If you can hear me make a sound."

Thump!

"Okay…" Wyatt said slowly, realizing it wasn't a perfect indicator on whether his mind was intact but if he had lost it he'd probably be going nuts in there so it was maybe probably good? "Okay, I'm coming in now."

Wyatt took a breath and unlocked the door cautiously, he may not be able to be turned into a werewolf but he could still be injured by one. It was still quiet, probably a good sign unless werewolves were smart enough to try ambushing people. He pushed open the door and crept inside, finding himself immediately greeted by the sight of large white wolf sitting in the corner gazing out of the window.

"Marigold?" Wyatt questioned once more and the werewolf turned its head to him, contemplating him with its now golden eyes. It didn't attack though, "So how… how are you feeling?"

Marigold looked at him in what he swore was an incredulous expression before awkwardly shrugging his… shoulders? Were they still called that? At any rate he supposed open ended questions weren't the best to ask now the man could no longer speak English.

"I'm sorry, I mean um… it worked, right? You're still you?" Wyatt apologized and asked instead, Marigold gazed at him for a minute before nodding slowly and Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief, "It worked then. I guess there's nothing else for it then but to… well to go."

Marigold nodded, standing up as he did so. Like Wyatt had predicted he was much larger then Sebastian, unfortunately also like Wyatt had predicted he was very bony. Hopefully he'd still have strength enough to carry a lot of people. Marigold growled abruptly, causing Wyatt to jolt in both fear and surprise but the former Healer merely jerked his head to the door.

"You… want to get going?" Wyatt guessed and Marigold nodded his head vigorously, "Sorry, I was just thinking. I know we're still on a time limit."

Wyatt stepped aside and Marigold plodded along by him, walking a little awkwardly as if he was still getting used to using all four legs like that… he probably was. Wyatt could only hope he learned fast as he followed the former Healer out to where Sebastian was waiting, now facing them but still looking positively miserable. He'd have to deal with that after he turned back and was capable of holding a proper conversation again, he didn't want the poor child to be miserable.

He went over the plan again as they walked just to make sure they were on the same page and give himself something to break the silence as he walked in between the two unhappy werewolves, Marigold did seem to be getting the hang of walking on all fours at least. They reached the Hospital Wing and everyone seemed pretty much the same, his dad looked surprised upon seeing Marigold, Byron fearful and Pollux attempted an encouraging smile. The professor was still unconscious and Auriga's expression remained unchanged, poor girl looked traumatized.

Then came the process of getting everyone onto the werewolves, he started with Sebastian since he'd done it before. Byron – who was now clothed - did not seem very comfortable with being touched but he was still light and easy to get onto Sebastian, Pollux easily climbed on behind him unaided and Sebastian walked around a bit so they could all get used to it and so Wyatt could make sure he could handle it. Wyatt also transfigured the clothing on their lower limbs to armor so to repel or at least lessen the damage Inferi could do if they clawed at them, unfortunately he couldn't do it to Sebastian's fur but he thought it was better than nothing.

He then moved onto Marigold. The Astronomy Professor was also clothed and bandaged, while he was no longer blabbering aimlessly he was clearly in bad shape. In the light his skin looked ashen and he was shivering from the fever even in sleep, he could only trust Marigold and hope he lasted until he could get proper treatment. Wyatt levitated him on since he was an unconscious deadweight, Auriga climbed on without being asked and Wyatt had Marigold walk around a little to get used to it since he hadn't carried people back like Sebastian did and make sure the professor didn't fall off. And finally his dad, who was worryingly the largest and heaviest of the bunch.

"I told you so," Wyatt whispered to his father – also clothed and bandaged – as he helped him climb onto Marigold behind Auriga, his dad only gave a derisive snort in response. He just about fit but Marigold bowed slightly under the extra weight, the former Healer walked around for a bit and seemed to adjust somewhat but he was still noticeably less agile and more strained then Sebastian, "We can try shifting people around-"

"No!" Auriga wailed and clung to her unconscious father.

"Don't we have to move fast before James notices the guards are gone?" Byron wondered fearfully.

"It'll probably just be the same no matter what way you divide us," his dad pointed out.

"It's the same weight distribution after all," Pollux agreed though he was looking at Wyatt's father as he said it, both Sebastian and Marigold nodded along seemingly in agreement. Wyatt sighed.

"Really? No one wants to at least try?" Wyatt complained in exasperation.

"It took long enough just to do this," his dad stated solemnly and Pollux jerked his head towards the clock as if to prove it, it had taken over half an hour.

"Well for my sanity can we at least try one thing? Auriga, just go onto Sebastian real quick to see how it goes," Wyatt insisted, wondering if the others didn't get they'd have to move fast through the Inferi. Auriga scowled at him unhappily, "Look, just try it okay?! Your dad will be fine for a minute and you can back if it doesn't help."

"I got him," his dad assured her gently as she reluctantly left her father to get on behind her brother, she was the healthiest so moving her was easiest. Unfortunately it only seemed to make things worse, Marigold still seemed strained just less so while Sebastian also showed sign of strain, "I told you so."

"Well everyone's smarter then Wyatt!" Wyatt complained, throwing his arms up in exasperation and sighing. He was just going to have to hope they would still be fast enough, "Fine, Auriga, go back to your dad and we'll head down to the entrance."

Auriga went back over to Marigold and Wyatt quickly did the same transfiguration charms to protect her and their fathers, he wished the Featherlight Charm worked on humans. After that there was nothing for it but to trudge down to the entrance, all of them unanimously in foreboding silence. Now that it was far too late to go back on it, Wyatt hated his plan. This was not a good plan, this was insane and he could very well be leading everyone to a grisly death. What had he been thinking? Did he even think? What had possessed everyone else to agree? He shouldn't be allowed to make plans, if he survived the night it should be outlawed. They reached the entrance and came to a halt, Wyatt took a shaky breath. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt more on edge in his life.

"Okay everyone," Wyatt began and slapped his hands together with false enthusiasm, trying desperately to calm himself and make his heart beat because he was pretty sure it had seized up. He stood in front of the others, all faces looking just as nervous and fearful. Except Koray, the Astronomy Professor was still sleeping peacefully. He supposed at least if he was leading everyone to their deaths he'd die too so he wouldn't have to live with it for very long, that wasn't very comforting, "So I'm going to open the door and you're just going to have to make a run for it or hang on tight depending whether you're a werewolf or not, the Inferi are going to be everywhere and they're going to attack you but we should be faster so they shouldn't be able to do anything – no serious murdery damage anyway - as long as you don't stop running. Seriously, soon as the door opens run through them in the direction opposite the forest and don't stop running. No matter what, do you understand?"

"What about you?" his dad asked worriedly while the two werewolves nodded their heads.

"I'll turn back into a lizard and ride on someone's head," Wyatt answered dismissively, escaping by himself was easy anyway. It was the others that were the issue, a part of him wondered if maybe he should have just left them all.

"If we know any fiery spells should we try fend off the Inferi?" Pollux asked.

"No, they're too close and we'd be more at risk of burning ourselves," Wyatt shot him down quickly, the last thing they needed was to accidentally light the werewolves on fire. He also feared damaging or killing any of them would alert the Shadows, unlike human guards they were under someone's control after all, "If anyone has any second thoughts and wants to stay now's your last chance to speak up."

Silence. Wyatt was surprised there was no takers for a second judging from the anxiety on everyone's faces, recalling the conditions he found them in his surprise waned however. Maybe the risk of death of Inferi was better than the guarantee of torture by James, Wyatt would certainly make the same decision in their positon.

"Alright then, everyone ready," Wyatt said resignedly and turned to the door.

Trying to brace himself both mentally and physically as he raised his wand, forcing the massive double doors open magically. He then leaped up, transforming back into a lizard as the two werewolves bolted. He'd wanted to land on Sebastian who wasn't so burdened but got Marigold instead as the kid had ran by him too fast, he landed on Marigold's snowy white fur instead and clambered onto his head as he tore out into the night.

Wyatt was simultaneously greeted by a slap of icy wind to the face and the stench of the dead, the corpses raised their heads but Marigold was already charging through the sea of rotting bodies. He used the first one as a stepping stone to launch on top of them, they were crammed together essentially shoulder to shoulder so made for a platform to run across. Albeit an awkward and uneven one, Wyatt heard crunching as some shoulder bones broke until the weight briefly bounding across them and the bodies crumbled a little as they were forced downwards as the werewolf leaped off. He glanced away and saw Sebastian was successfully doing the same, he was flying along.

The Inferi resisted of course, he could see them trying to bite or claw at the werewolf racing over them but Sebastian was so fast many didn't manage to get a hit in before he was gone. Of course some did but nothing seemed too serious or hindering though did hear the occasionally yelp of pain though he was hearing more from Marigold, Sebastian was doing a great job remaining unfazed though. In fact, he was getting increasingly further ahead of them... or were they just falling behind? This prompted him to look back to Marigold who he was still riding on. Marigold wasn't doing so good, he couldn't run as fast with the increased weight and so more blows were landing which turn jolted him, slowing him down and allowing even more hits.

Marigold yowled suddenly as an Inferi took a nasty bite out of his front right leg, visibly tearing out a chunk and throwing Marigold so much off balance he stumbled back down onto the ground. Auriga shrieked in terror while his father cast a fiery spell around them to fend off the Inferi who leaped at them, he heard Marigold's howl of pain again and smelled burning flesh suddenly. Marigold managed to right himself running along the Inferi again but his sides were now smoldering from painful looking burns and he continued mewling in pain, though they'd probably cauterized some of the wounds. They weren't going to make it, the end of the Inferi swarm was nowhere in sight. Wyatt had that thought with such cold clarity, his panic ironically gone despite it being the worst situation. Sebastian was but Marigold couldn't, he just wasn't going to be able to go fast enough with so much weight. He was going to fall and his three passengers would also perish, how could he stop it?

"It's no use, Wyatt, we're too heavy!" his dad called out to him.

No shit, Wyatt thought to himself and wished he could voice as much, instead settling for rolling his eyes- well eye at it. Pointing out the obvious wasn't going to save them, they needed to be thinking of solutions right now.

"I love you, son," his dad breathed in a voice thick with emotion and Wyatt spun around in surprise at such a bizarre statement to hear from his dad, especially at a time like this, "Please live."

Wyatt spun just in time to see his father throw himself off of Marigold, he tried to scream out a 'no' but he just made a strangled lizard sound that would've been futile even if he was human. His dad fell into the Inferi and was instantly torn up, his screams pierced the night while Wyatt could only helplessly observe his final moments of pain as they ripped his flesh apart with their bare hands.