When Ben and Ebony walked into the Walker Manor, it seemed to be empty. The lights from the ground floor were all off, giving it an eerie ambience. Katherine and Sébastien were away, as Ebony had told him.

"I want you to go upstairs with all of your things," the woman whispered to him, her eyes fixed on the staircase behind them. He nodded nervously. "Get into your room, and close the door."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go get Alycia," she explained, still in a hushed tone. "I'll tell her that I'm taking her somewhere safe. She knows how dangerous staying here is, especially now that You-Know-Who has returned."

"Can't I talk to her before you leave?"

"I don't think it's a good idea, honestly. She might refuse to leave if she knows you're staying," she said. A chill ran down Ben's spine. Now that they were there, his decision to stay carried more weight. "I assume she'll still ask about you, but I can tell her you're already there."

"It would make sense, yeah..." he nodded. "And, what happens when they come back?"

"I'll be back by then," she assured. "I'm not supposed to interfere, but I will, if anything goes wrong, okay? I don't care about Dumbledore's plan; if you get hurt, I'm taking you away, too."

Ben nodded, once again. Ebony helped him carry his things up the stairs.

Alycia's voice came from upstairs. "Ben?"

"No, it's me!" answered Ebony, instantly.

"Where is he?"

"I'll tell you now," said Ebony. "Wait for me in your room."

Alycia's footsteps were heard, followed by the sound of a door closing, indicating she had obeyed. Ben and Ebony rushed up the stairs, and through the corridor. She handed him the basket she was carrying; in which Snowflake and Boots were asleep. He stepped into his room, and closed his door as silently as he could.

Ben sat down on his bed, listening carefully. Both of his cats soon came out of the basket but, thankfully, they both went back to sleeping, now on his bed. He couldn't hear everything properly, since Alycia's room was quite far away from his, and their conversation was muffled, but he could make out some words every now and then.

'Ben', 'there', 'Weasleys', 'safe' and, lastly, 'mother'.

And then Ebony's footsteps approached Ben's room. She opened the door. "I told her. She's getting ready to leave."

"When will you tell her the truth?"

"Molly Weasley will explain everything to her. It's better if she tells her once I'm already gone, so she won't try to convince me to bring her back here with you."

"So, she'll be staying with the Weasleys?"

Ebony nodded. "Hermione and Sirius Black are there, too. Oh, and Remus Lupin."

For an instant, Ben wished he could join them. He wanted to have the chance to talk to Sirius in person, and he had missed Professor Lupin, too.

"What about Harry?" he asked. "Why isn't he there?"

"Dumbledore's instructions were to not take him there, yet."

At least they were in a similar situation. Ben hoped that, no matter what happened with his parents as soon as they got back home, they didn't break the notebook. It's not like they knew about them, but he was afraid of the idea, since it would mean all sorts of communication with Harry would be cut.

"Alright."

"Oh, about that," she said, as though she had suddenly remembered something important. "Do not talk to him."

"Sorry?"

"It's better like that."

"If it's because of my parents, I don't care, I won't-"

She cut him off. "No, Dumbledore said he's not supposed to know about any of this. He can't know about the Order, or about the plan, or anything regarding this... That's why I say it would be easier if you avoided talking to him. At least as much as possible."

"Ebony!" called Alycia. "I-I think I'm ready..."

Ebony smiled at Ben one last time before running out of his room.

Less than two minutes later, there was a pop, followed by absolute silence. They were gone. Ben stood up from his bed, and walked over to the ledge of his window. He remembered how much time he used to spend there, back when he was younger. Everything had changed so much since then, it was overwhelming.

He stood up at the window and took a step forward, resting his feet on the branch of the tree he had climbed so many times. He approached the trunk, balancing, and caressed the bark, looking for a little hole. He reached inside and, after searching for a couple of seconds, pulled out a small key.

He went back inside, and crouched down in front of his desk. He put the key in the lock of the bottom drawer. The drawer to which he had told his parents that he had lost the key. He opened it, and a feeling of nostalgia invaded him when he saw all the letters from his friends.

At least, all of the letters he had, since his parents had burnt all the ones he had received in the summer after first year.

Cedric had written him some back then. He could've had many more from him if it hadn't been from his parents. Because of them, those letters were gone, and would never come back.

Like Cedric.

His mind went blurry again, and he knew he wouldn't be able to read his letters, not yet. He threw himself on top of his bed, avoiding hurting his cats, of course. He grabbed a pillow, covered his face with it, and screamed against it.

And, nearly making his heart stop, the door burst open.

"Ben?"

Audrey.

He stood up, suddenly, looking at her as though he was seeing a ghost.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Her hair was different. Lighter, and straight. Why had she straightened it? She looked pretty with her natural wavy hair.

"I... I came back from school."

"I know, but... Weren't you supposed to be with them?" she asked. And realisation hit her. "Oh, no. Don't tell me you picked the other option!"

He didn't answer. He couldn't. He stared at her.

"I can't believe you're this dumb, Ben... Merlin's sake! After everything? Really?" she exclaimed, her eyes very open. "You've been wanting to run away since you were six! You're finally given the option to do it safely, with help, and you're stupid enough to stay?"

"If there was something I've always wanted more than to just run away, was to be useful. I want to help them fight him... And why do you care, anyway? We're not on the same side!"

Audrey burst into sobs, out of nowhere. She leaned against the door as tears slid down her face, which had turned somewhat red. She began to mutter something unintelligible, which sounded like 'dumb'.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because you weren't meant to be here, Ben!" she shouted.

"Well, it was my choice to make!" he shouted back. "You made yours, already. You picked a side, and I've picked mine!"

Audrey stopped crying. "Look, I bet there's still a way to take you there. I can do it myself..."

"No."

"Dumbledore will have to understand that you don't want to risk your wellbeing to just find out if people chat in my wedding."

"I said I'm not running away!"

"Don't you realise what's going to happen to you if you stay?" she cried out. "Mother and Father will be back in less than an hour!"

"I don't care."

"They know you lied! They know you're dating that Granger girl!"

"I'm not dating Hermione."

Audrey took in a sharp breath. "Well, okay, but they know you're friends! They're furious about it!"

"Then let them be."

"Why aren't you scared anymore?"

"Because I don't care. Alycia's safe, and that's all I needed."

"Is this because Diggory died?"

Ben sat down on his bed. "It's because I'm so fucking done with everything. I'm done with being scared of them. I don't care if they yell at me. I don't care if they lock me in here. I don't care if they hurt me, it won't be the first time."

"So I did it all for nothing?" she inquired. "I become one of them for nothing?"

He stared at her. "I really don't know what you mean."

Audrey sat next to him. "It was all a plan I had made with him."

"With who?"

"Steve," she replied. "Remember when I told you I would help you run away as soon as I got out of Hogwarts? Well, that's what I wanted to do. But we needed some sort of stability in order to be able to take care of you and Alycia, so I thought about getting married with Steve. That way, I could get my share of the inheritance. But, of course, it was complicated to get Mother and Father to allow and support my decision to marry him."

Ben noticed the ring on her hand for the first time.

"That was when I decided to talk to them. And, after a long, dreadfully long, conversation with them, they said they would. But there was a condition. And I think you might be able to guess what it was..."

"You had to become one of them."

She nodded. "Yeah, actively."

He wasn't sure what she meant by actively. But, by the shameful look on her face, an idea flashed in his mind.

"Oh."

"Oh," she repeated.

"I... I'm sorry for what I thought, Audrey."

"It's okay, I think I ought to have explained it to you before," she said. "I'm really sorry for that, too. I'm sorry I wasn't a better sister to either you or Alycia."

"She told me you've been here a lot of times throughout the year."

Audrey nodded. "Yes, at first it was just some visits every now and then. But Steve has had to spend some months travelling between Ireland and England, so we stayed here... His grandparents are very sick, and he told me to stay here so I could organise the wedding."

"So you've been here since..."

"The last week of March."

"Do you know what they've done to Alycia, then?"

She went pale. "I- Yes... They found out she had covered for your lies."

"Did you do something to defend her?"

"I stopped Mother from using a spell on her," she said. "That was the only time I was here when it happened."

"So it happened more than once," he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes. Apparently, they started waiting for me to be away to do it," explained Audrey. "The only thing I could do was comfort her after, and take care of her wounds."

Ben felt his blood boil.

There was a pop, and Ebony apparated in the middle of Ben's room. "I'm back."

Audrey stood up, looking furious. "How come you've only taken Alycia?"

"He told me he had decided to stay here."

"He's a child! He's not even fifteen yet, I won't let him-"

The front door opened, and Ben jumped to his feet. Audrey mumbled a cuss word, and glared at Ebony. They could hear Sébastien and Katherine's footsteps. Ben held his breath, and looked at the women in front of him. Ebony gave him a calming look, and he remembered what she had told him. If something went wrong, he'd be taken with the Weasleys.

"Benjamin?" he heard his mother's voice. He didn't respond. "We know you're here. Come downstairs, and bring your sister with you."

"Well, she didn't specify which..." commented Audrey, looking slightly amused for an instant. Ben found himself chuckling. "Let's go."

They obeyed, with his heart beating faster with every step. Ebony waited for them on the end of the staircase, alert. Sébastien and Katherine were standing in front of the door, smiling darkly at Ben.

"Good night, Benjamin."

"Good night, Father, Mother."

"Where is Alycia?" Katherine asked Audrey.

"I thought she was with you," frowned Audrey, looking very confused. "Was I wrong?"

"Alycia!" Sébastien called out. There was no response. "ALYCIA! COME DOWN HERE!"

Alycia, for pretty obvious reasons, didn't come down there. Katherine Walker's face went red with fury. She pushed Ben aside, and stormed up the staircase. "Alycia! ALYCIA WALKER!"

They heard her burst the door of her room open. "ALYCIA!"

"Where is she?" Sébastien asked Audrey and Ben. "Tell me where she is!"

"I already told you I thought she was with you," shrugged Audrey.

"I just got here, I didn't even know she was supposed to be here."

Katherine came running down the stairs. "She is not in her bedroom, Sébastien!"

"Maybe she's run away," suggested Audrey.

Katherine and Sébastien both looked at her, rage glowing in their light blue eyes.

———————————————

For the rest of the night, they were both so focused on trying to find Alycia that they seemed to have forgotten about Ben. Lucky him. Ebony made Audrey and Ben dinner, and left to help the house elves with the laundry.

"What do you think would happen if I freed them?" he asked Audrey casually.

She looked at him as though he had gone completely mental. "That you'd be in huge trouble."

"Interesting," he commented, taking a sip of water. "If I had picked the first option, I would've freed them. All of them."

The next morning, as soon as he woke up, he took out his notebook, and grabbed a pen.

'For Ron:

Turns out I'm still alive. I guess you and Hermione have already been told, but I've decided to stay here. My parents are too busy trying to find out what happened to Alycia to remember they're mad at me, which is quite good. How is she doing? Has she already been told everything? -Ben.'

Ron seemed to have been waiting for him to write, since it only took around ten minutes for the ink to sparkle, before going back to normal. Ron's handwriting was soon appearing on the page.

'For Ben:

Are you sure you want to stay? Ebony told mum what you had decided before going back there, but mum says you can still come here if you want to. I'm very glad to know you're okay, though. Alycia's fine, I think. I haven't spoken much to her yet, she's staying in Hermione and Ginny's room. And, yes, she knows now. Well, not all of it, not even us do, but she knows you're on some sort of mission from Dumbledore. She said she wanted to go back with you, but they won't let her. -Ron.'

'For Ron:

The wedding is on the 2nd of August, so there's only a month left. I'm allowed to go with you guys after it, right? -Ben.'

'For Ben:

Of course. In fact, I think they were planning to take you in for the rest of the summer, whether you agreed or not. Also, I think they're going to write a letter to your parents soon, to let them know that Alycia is safe, and will not be coming back.'

It was a good idea, since his parents would definitely end up causing everyone trouble if they didn't know where she was. Not because they were worried about her wellbeing. But because they wanted to have everything under their control. However, if they found out she had decided to run away, they would probably stop the search.

'For Ron:

Tell them to not rush it. They don't seem to be having the best time of their lives right now, so there's no need to stop it, is there? Besides, it's distracting them from me, which can be really helpful. -Ben.'

They took his advice. Katherine and Sébastien Walker spent over two weeks and a half weeks frantically searching for Alycia. They called every single person they knew, they interrogated Audrey, Ebony and even Ben twice each, but they acted as though they had no clue. Even the Prophet had been notified of her disappearance.

Alycia probably laughed every time she read the announcement of her being gone.

And then, in the middle of July, a letter was sent. Sébastien and Katherine weren't happy in the slightest, but the search stopped instantly.

Ben had spoken to Alycia through the notebooks. She didn't have one, but Ron and Hermione both lended her their own every time she wanted to talk to him. Apparently, Alycia had started being quite close to Hermione and Ginny, and she had a lot of fun with Ron and the Twins.

He couldn't be happier that she was slowly getting comfortable with them. She was finally living the life she deserved.

He, on the other hand, was quite bored most of the time. He spent his days reading all the books he had already read hundreds of times, drawing whatever went through his mind, and, every now and then, crying over having been dumb enough to read Cedric's letters.

Audrey was starting to get closer to Ben, although it was very different to how it used to be when they were kids. He didn't trust her completely, despite how hard he tried to. They chatted about the most random things, he showed her his latest drawings, and they both began teaching tricks to Snowflake.

"Are you really not dating Hermione?" she asked him one afternoon, as they tried to teach Snowie to make the kibble.

"Why are you so insistent with that?" he rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not, I swear."

"Were the rumours of her dancing with Krum at that ball true, then?"

"Mhm," he nodded. "But he's not her boyfriend."

"According to that article, it was Harry, right?"

"Well, according to that article, Pansy Parkinson is pretty, so I wouldn't really trust it."

Audrey laughed. "So there's nothing between Harry and Hermione?"

"No, thankful-" he stopped in his tracks.

He wished she hadn't heard him, but her eyes were wide in realisation. A shiver went down Ben's back.

"Oh..." she said.

"What?"

"Salazar's sake! I knew it, I knew it!" she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands.

"You knew what, exactly?"

But she was too busy freaking out to reply. She was giggling, with her back to the floor, like a little girl.

"Um."

"I knew it!"

"What did you know?" he insisted.

"That you and him-"

He froze for an instant. "No! What? That's not..."

She shushed him. "It's okay, it's okay. You don't have to lie to me, I'm not against that sort of thing... Look, do you remember my best friend at Hogwarts? Abigail?"

"I don't know who she is, to be honest."

"Well, that doesn't matter. She was my best friend throughout all of our years in school, and we still keep in contact," she explained, smiling slightly. "She's going to be a bridesmaid at my wedding, by the way, so you can meet her there."

"Okay, but what about her?"

"She likes girls. And she's got a girlfriend since our fourth year," she continued. "At first, I was quite shocked, and didn't know how to react. But she was my best friend, after all, and she was and still is the same girl I've loved since I was eleven, so I didn't have any reasons to stop being her friend. She taught me a lot of things about sexual orientations, and she completely changed the view Mother and Father had implanted on me regarding it."

"That's... Nice."

She grinned. "So, is it true, then? You're in love with him, aren't you?"

He nodded, very slowly and hesitantly, and Audrey shrieked like all girls at school had whenever Krum looked at them. "Really?"

"Really."

"I've been suspecting it for a long time now!" she started jumping around the room. All of a sudden, she looked very young. She still was, but she now looked like she did when she was a child. "I knew it!"

"No you didn't!" he complained. "You asked me if I was dating Hermione!"

She stopped skipping around, though her bright smile didn't fade. "Yeah but that was because I thought it'd be weird if I directly asked about him."

"Mhm, sure," he mumbled, laying on the floor.

Audrey laid beside him, on her side so she could look at him more easily. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No."

"But, does he know?"

"Yeah."

"Does he feel the same?"

"He said so."

"So is he going to be your boyfriend?"

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"Because it's wrong."

Audrey frowned. "What? Of course it's not wrong. How could it be wrong?"

"People will think it is. Mother and Father will."

"Then they are the ones who are wrong, Ben," she stated, very seriously, a sad look in her eyes. "Because love is never wrong."

He didn't know what took over him. A wave of trust towards his sister, that made him start speaking. He began telling her everything. How he had been feeling strangely around him, how he had realised he was actually in love with him, how Harry had started acting oddly whenever he was around Marina, and then he told her about the kiss. She asked him what happened after that, so he continued. He told her about he and Thomas' conversation, in the same spot he had caught Audrey crying, something that she found curious, and then about what he and Harry had talked about before the second task.

"He's going to wait for you?" she asked. "Aw, that's so cute."

"I don't think he will."

"Why not?"

"When I got that letter from Mother and Father, I panicked so hard that I... I don't really know what happened, but all the memories were back. All of them. It was- It was terrifying. It felt like being back to when the Malfoy incident happened. So I told him I couldn't do it, that it would never be safe. We haven't spoken about it since."

"What happened back then wasn't your fault, Ben, I hope you know that."

"I just don't want it to happen again."

"It doesn't have to," she insisted, thoughtfully. "The incident with Draco, itself, was an accident. It wasn't your fault, or his. It was something dumb, something that sometimes happens to young kids, but it isn't important, really. It didn't even matter. Unless you give it an unnecessarily big importance, which is what they all did."

"It was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. It switched my life upside down, it all went wrong since then. I used to be- Different, before it happened."

"I know, I remember. It always surprised me how optimistic and joyful you were, even after everything that happened to you. Sometimes I wondered if it was just that you didn't care, that it wasn't affecting you. But then I paid more attention, and the look on your eyes was what gave it away. Every single day that went by, that little yet bright spark that you always used to have on your eyes faded more and more."

Ben had no clue of what to say. Audrey's eyes were starting to get teary.

"But then you started school, and you became friends with them. And that spark was back," she continued. "Everytime I talked to you, or saw you walking around with them, it felt as though you were glowing. You laughed... A lot. You smiled more than you had ever smiled. Their presence, and the lack of ours, was bringing your life back. That was why I understood why you refused to stop talking to them... Why you didn't care about the consequences."

"That's why you didn't snitch on me."

She nodded, and they were silent for a while. She got on her back, too, and they both stared at the ceiling. There was a painting of a bright blue sky, with fluffy white clouds scattered around, and with a sparkling sun in the middle.

"When have you done this?" she asked.

"Last summer."

"It's beautiful."

"Thank you," he said. "I think it's one of my best ones."

Audrey smiled.

"Ben," she called. He hummed as a response. "Do you remember what you told me that night you caught me writing a letter for Steve? It was the summer afer your first year."

"Oh, yes, I remember that night. I can't recall what I said, though. Probably something very deep and philosophical, as usual," he joked.

She chuckled under her breath. "What's the point of loving someone if you are scared of what people will think?"

His heart gave a weak jolt, for some reason. "Is that what I said?"

"It is. There hasn't been a day I haven't thought of it," she admitted. "I remember being furious at you for it. I yelled at you that night, I said you had no idea of what you were talking about. They heard us, and I snitched on you about something that wasn't even true. I said you were trying to talk to your friends, and that I had caught you."

"I remember that," he said, stiff.

"I regret it every single day. Back then, I was glad you were locked in your room, since it meant I wouldn't have to see you. And I didn't want to look at you, because every time I thought of you, I remembered what you had said. And that question of yours sunk into me. You were right, and it made me mad. It made me furious, but you had brought sense in me. That was when I made the decision to simply not care about if they found out."

"And that's why it all happened."

"At first, I resented you even more when it all went wrong. Because, maybe if I hadn't listened, he wouldn't have left me. But I fought for it. I fought for him, for our love."

"What are you trying to tell me with this?"

"That you should remember your own words."

———————————————

Ben wondered if Harry had forgotten about the existence of the notebooks.

He hadn't read any of his messages, which led Ben to thinking he was perhaps mad. But, what for? He didn't know.

Hermione and Ron had told Ben that he had sent them a couple of letters, but that hadn't been allowed to tell him much.

However, he hadn't sent any letter to Ben. Audrey had assured him that it was probably because he didn't want him to get into more trouble with his parents. He chose to believe it was true. But Harry wasn't reading the notebook, and that kept him up at night.

Well, Harry kept him up at night on an almost daily basis, but not in a bad way.

In the last week of July, some days before his birthday, Hedwig came flying by when Ben was getting into bed.

Snowie meowed happily at her from his bedside table.

"Hi Hedwig," greeted Ben, tickling her head as he got up to find some owl treats. "I've missed you being around here. Are you tired?"

Hedwig hooted very softly.

"You can stay here for the night, you know that," he told her, giving her the treats as he took Harry's letter. "My parents are gone for a couple days."

He went back to his bed, his heart pounding nervously.

'Hey Ben,

I get that you're afraid of talking to us when you're at home, but Ron told me that you were okay, so it means you have talked to him. I don't really mind Hermione and Ron barely talking to me, because at least they try to reach out. But you? I thought we were okay after everything. Have you changed your mind about me not being at fault for what happened to him?

Please don't ignore this letter,

Harry.'

How could he be such a dumbass to forget about the much faster and better way of communicating?

He told himself he would reply the next morning, so Hedwig could sleep and rest for the night.

'Hey,

I think I accidentally left one of my notebooks between your stuff when we were packing our things. Would you mind taking a look?

Thanks,

Ben.'

He would've liked to be clearer, but Hermione had told him that it was important not to share any sort of unnecessary information, no matter how slightly private it was. He would clarify everything once they were talking through the notebook.

As soon as he had said goodbye to Hedwig, and she had left, flying through the window, Audrey came into his bedroom, a horrified expression on her face.

"BEN!"

"What's wrong?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"They've attacked Steve's family!" she cried out. "Apparently, a group of Death Eaters burst inside their home. They were all there; his grandparents, his parents and even his cousins and siblings."

"When did it happen?"

"Last night, apparently... It's not on the Prophet," she said, breathing heavily. "They're all dead. All of them, but him."

Ben didn't even know any of them, aside from Steve, but he couldn't help but feel a deep sadness at what happened. "I'm so sorry... Where is he, now?"

"He told me he's coming back to their house here this afternoon," she replied. "I'm going with him... We're going to have to cancel the wedding."

———————————————

The next morning, Ben opened his notebook and was glad to find a message written for him, with a handwriting different to Ron or Hermione's.

'For Ben:

Turns out I'm incredibly dumb. I'm so sorry I forgot about this, and haven't replied to any of your messages for weeks. I'm also very sorry I got mad at you. I don't know what's been happening to me lately, but it's been terrible. I feel furious all the time, and everything makes me angry. I'm also insanely bored. I'm happy to know you guys are having fun together, though. -Harry.'

'For Harry:

It's okay, don't worry about the notebook. Also, just so you know, I'm not with Hermione and Ron. -Ben.'

'For Ben:

What? Why not? Hermione told me your sister Alycia was with them, though. -Harry.'

'

For Harry:

She's with them, but I'm not. They helped her run away, and offered me to go, too, but I decided to stay. I'm okay, though. My parents haven't even talked to me yet. They were too busy trying to find Alycia, and then they had to go on a trip. The wedding has been cancelled, by the way. Steve's family has been murdered by some death eaters. -Ben'

The news of their cancelled marriage spread like wildfire. However, the attack wasn't even mentioned in the Daily Prophet, something that deepingly enraged Audrey. Nobody seemed to mind the deaths of over six innocent muggles.

Katherine and Sébastien came back from their trip on the 3rd of August,

"Benjamin!" was the first thing they said, as soon as they stepped into the entrance hall.

"Y-Yes?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Come down here, if you don't mind."

Ben did, in fact, mind, but he still obeyed.

On his way through the corridor, he was hoping to find Ebony, but he didn't know where she was. So he went on his own, nervously. They weren't in the entrance hall, this time.

"Where are you, mother?"

"Here," she said, her head poking out of his father's office. "Come in."

He walked inside, and Katherine closed the door behind him. He could feel his heart pounding. Sébastien wasn't there.

"Where has Father gone?"

"He is unpacking, with Ebony."

"Oh, okay..." he said, breathing as deeply as he could. "I-Is there anything wrong?"

"Benjamin, dear, let's not drag this unnecessarily, alright?"

Ben felt his breathing hitch, and couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"I would have wanted to talk about this earlier, but your father insisted it was better to wait until Audrey's wedding was over. But, since there has been... An unfortunate accident, and the ceremony has been cancelled, there isn't any reason to not talk about this already."

"Alright."

"Your father and I are incredibly disappointed in you, I think you already know that. I would like to hear your side of the story."

Was she really giving him a chance to explain himself? He knew it would, in no way, actually help him avoid punishments. He considered saying Rita Skeeter had lied, but he knew it was no use. So the best thing he could do was try to get Katherine to understand him.

"I really tried to obey you, Mother. There was nothing I would've hoped more for than being able to make you proud, but I can't do it if it means losing some of the best people I have ever had the pleasure to call my friends."

She looked at him, her face completely blank for some seconds. But, then her expression shifted completely. Her eyes glowed with anger, and her eyebrows furrowed. "How dare you consider that- that sort of person the best people you've ever met?" she roared. "You're talking about mudbloods and blood traitors!"

"I couldn't care less about what they are, Mother," he said, very calmly, refusing to show the slightest bit of fear. "They're my friends, and that's all that matters to me."

"Not to me! Not to us!"

"Well that truly is unfortunate."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben was able to make out a sudden movement of his mother's hand. She was about to slap him, but Ben didn't hesitate for a second, and grabbed her arm, making sure his grip was so tight that it hurt slightly.

They held each other's glares, until Ben let go of his mother's arm, so abruptly that the woman staggered. She took an instant to recompose.

"Did you really think we'd be stupid enough to never find out?" she asked him.

"No, of course I didn't," he replied. "Just thought it'd take you long enough for me to make sure she was safe. And it worked out, didn't it? She's safe, now. She's away from you."

"You knew..." Katherine muttered, looking horrified, her mouth hanging open. "You knew! YOU KNEW!"

She shakily covered her face with her hands, mumbling something he couldn't hear.

"I KNEW YOU DID!" she shrieked. "YOU'RE BEHIND THIS, AREN'T YOU?"

"Behind what?"

"You messed up her mind! You have manipulated her into thinking exactly like you, and sharing your disgusting beliefs... My poor, innocent baby- YOU MADE ME HURT HER!" she shouted, so loudly it hurt his ears. "I bet she's going to turn just liike you. I bet she'll end up dating a filthy mudblood, just like you with that Granger whore!"

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL HER THAT!" he shouted, completely losing his cool. "And she's not my girlfriend!"

"Don't lie to me, I'm your mother!"

"You are not my mother!"

And, all of a sudden, his mind began to spin like a whirlpool. It was going so fast that he couldn't even pay attention to what he was thinking. All of his memories were passing one after another, with dizzying speed. And he realised what she was doing.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

She, as expected, did not get out of his head. He stumbled backwards, colliding with a cabinet, using all the strength in his being to close his mind. But it had been so long since he'd had to fight for it that he'd forgotten how it was done.

The images stopped flowing so quickly once her mother located a vivid memory in which Hermione appeared. It was the first time they had seen each other, on their way to Hogwarts. Ben made an effort to remember something different. The first thing that crossed his mind was Malfoy, and the conversation they had had in that same compartment.

Images of Malfoy began appearing. Him paying attention in class, him making fun of Hermione, his younger self talking to him, a wide smile on his face, him being punched by Ben back in first year, and then him calling Thomas a faggot.

And, for some reason, that word caused memories of the night he had realised he had a crush on Harry to come flooding by. At first, it was only Harry smiling at him, after the first task, but the next one was him crying on his bed.

No, no, please...

He closed his eyes shut tightly, fighting harder than ever to stop her from going through, because hundreds of memories of Harry smiling at him were starting to be seen. But he couldn't, he couldn't.

Harry and him talking on their own, walking back from the castle after Harry's Quidditch practice in third year.

Him telling Harry he was scared Sirius Black would hurt him that night he sneaked into the castle.

Him showing Harry something on the Magical Creatures book he had gifted him, both of them sitting on the same bed, covered with the same blanked.

Ben grabbing Harry's hand as they hid from Snape, and then not letting go until a while later.

What's all this about? He heard his mother's shocked voice inside his mind.

Nothing, really. He said, but the fear of her finding out only led to much worse images coming up.

Ben losing track of the conversation in the middle of the Death Eater attack because he was busy admiring Harry.

Ben being scared of the possibility of Harry having a crush on Mei-Xing.

Harry and Ben in the same bed, falling asleep as they hugged each other.

Ben kissing Harry's forehead.

No, please!

Harry telling Ben he was in love with him.

Ben kissing Harry on his lips.

The pressure in his head suddenly vanished, and all the images stopped instantly. He opened his eyes very slowly, yet didn't dare to face his mother. She was breathing heavily, supporting herself on the desk.

"Benjamin."

"It's not- It's not..."

"Look at me."

"Those were- That isn't. It's not..."

"I SAID LOOK AT ME!" she screamed.

Despite how terrified he was, he obeyed. His eyes met hers. She was nearly hyperventilating, her eyes so open it seemed they were in danger of falling out of orbit any second now.

"Wasn't it enough back then?" she asked. He didn't reply. She raised her volume. "Was it not enough?"

"It... It was."

"IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT, DOES IT?" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"It's not what it looks like, that didn't-"

"YOU AND HIM KISSED! YOU HAVE KISSED HARRY POTTER!"

Her tone switched from pure rage to a mixture of a deep fury and desperation with that last sentence. Her eyes were now teary.

"I KNEW YOUR FATHER WAS RIGHT! I KNEW YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A WORTHLESS, DISGUSTING FAGGOT!"

Hearing that word out loud, directed to him, after so many years, was so hard of a blow that he didn't notice Katherine Walker taking out her wand until he felt the sharpest pain he had ever felt. It was on his lower stomach, but it hurt so bad the sensation spread all over his body in less than a second.

His shirt was instantly dyed a deep scarlet red. Ben lost his balance, and fell to the ground on his knees. He could hear his mother screaming and screaming, almost crying, but he couldn't listen to her.

He put his hands to his abdomen, and they filled with blood so quickly that his vision blurred. She hurt so much that she couldn't even pay attention to the more numerous but less intense cuts that were drawn on his arm, like a red vine.

He crawled across the floor, moving away from his mother, even though that didn't mean he could get away from her magic.

There was a dull thump, and a muffled scream from his mother. Despite the difficulty, Ben opened his eyes, and his heart almost skipped a beat when he saw Ebony, with her wand held high above her, and a look so menacing it was almost scary. His mother was lying on the floor, apparently passed out.

Ebony turned to the boy. "Oh my goodness, Ben..."

He met her eyes and, between strangled sobs, he pleaded, "Can you take me away from here, Ebony, please?"

"Of course, love," she said, looking so sad she was nearly crying. She knelt down beside him, and took a look at his arms to see where to touch him without causing him any harm. "I'm so sorry..."

A second later, they were gone.

A/N: damn this was quite long.

anyways hope you enjoyed (i guess?)