They had been cleaning for half an hour when Sirius Black appeared. He knocked on the door, and they all spun around.

"Hello, can I talk with you, Ben?" he asked.

"Of course," he left a cloth he was cleaning with on top of a closet, and walked out of the room. "Is there any news regarding Ebony?"

"She's still unconscious," he replied. "But we've managed to get your cats here."

"Awesome!" he smiled. "Did someone go back there?"

"That's right," he nodded. "But your parents weren't there. They seemed to have run away... Do you have any ideas of where they may have gone?"

He shrugged. "I really don't know. I don't think they had any trips planned for these days. I guess they were just afraid of being sent to Azkaban for the attack."

Sirius' eyebrows twitched for an instant. .

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," he said, shaking his head. "I want to talk to you about, well... What happened back there. About what has been happening there."

He nodded.

"Would you like to go somewhere else?"

So Sirius guided him downstairs, to an empty room with a couple of big, tall bookshelves on each side. There were two armchairs in front of each other, with a table in the middle. They both sat down.

"This house reminds me a lot of mine," commented Ben.

He gave him a mysterious sideways smirk. "This is where I used to live when I was younger."

"Oh, that's nice."

Sirius shrugged, shifting in his seat.

"What do you want me to tell you, exactly?" he asked him.

"I know it's complicated to talk about this sort of thing... I promise I do, but I want to help you. I want to do my best to protect both you and Alycia. And, for that, I need to know as much as possible."

"I understand, yes."

"Would you mind explaining to me what led to what happened yesterday, then?"

He took a deep breath. "It all started back in my first year of Hogwarts. My parents wanted me to be a Slytherin, and to be friends with Malfoy and the others. But Malfoy and I, well... Were no longer friends, and I didn't want to be around him. So, when I turned out to be a Gryffindor, I started becoming friends with other people. By that, I mean Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Cedric-" he cleared the lump of his throat. "My parents were very mad at me for it, and it didn't help at all that, when I went back home for Christmas that year, I got into an argument with my grandfather. So my mother... Did it, again?"

"She hurt you?"

He nodded. "She used some spell to burn my arm. She tried to force me to stop talking to them, but I refused. And I would still refuse every single day of my life, even if it meant going through it again. I didn't listen to any of their threats. They cut me off from any contact with them, perhaps hoping I'd change my mind... I didn't, of course. But then, during the following year, I realised that I could make them think I had? It would be useful for me, and they wouldn't waste their time arguing."

"Did it work?"

"It did, surprisingly. I even got my Hogsmeade form signed. Malfoy came up to me one day and told me to make a deal with him. He said he'd keep my secret, and I only had to owe him a favour. I knew it was risky, but he actually kept it. But I got Rita Skeeter mad at me, and she wrote that article about Hermione, which mentioned me and said I was in love with her, and that I was Harry's best friend."

"So I assume your mother was mad at you because of that?"

He hesitated. "Yes."

"Just because of that?" he asked, his eyes sparkling in a way that showed him he knew. And Ben could tell he was seeing right through him.

"She's a Legilimens. And she, well... She, erm- She saw something else," he mumbled.

Sirius lowered his volume. "Regarding him, am I right?"

"Him?" he repeated, stuttering.

"Harry."

How did he even know?

"Has he told you?"

"No," he shook his head. "But it's quite obvious. The way he talks about you, or how his eyes flicker every time your name is mentioned gives it away."

Ben was sure he had never flushed harder than he had right now.

"And I know that look on your face. I recognise that sensation of shame that you're now feeling when you look at him."

"I hate it," he confessed. "I hate feeling ashamed of it. But I can't help it, I can't even look at him without feeling this... Suffocating pressure on the chest? And I keep hearing them call me a- You know, inside my head."

"Yes, I know..."

"But it's confusing because I still feel everything I did for him last year. I thought that, maybe, after what happened, I would've been lucky enough to perhaps lose some feelings? But I haven't. In the slightest. More like the opposite, actually."

"You don't have to lose those feelings, Ben, because there's absolutely nothing wrong with them. I promise there isn't."

"I know..." he admitted, nodding. "I wish I wasn't so scared. Then maybe we could..."

"It takes time. Especially in circumstances like this. It's normal to be afraid, and to not feel ready to fully admit and assume it. But there will be a day in which you do."

"What if, by then, it's too late?"

"What do you mean, too late?"

He gulped.

"I mean... What if it takes me too long, and he found someone else? Someone who's not a coward, and who's better than me."

"He doesn't want someone 'better than you'," said Sirius seriously. "He wants you."

———————————————

As days began to go by, there was no news from either Ebony's state, or from where Katherine and Sébastien Walker were. Ben and Alycia's insistance on visiting her were no use, either.

But they were starting to feel the effects of being free from their parents. Especially Ben, who had only been there for a week, but was feeling and looking healthier every day. Being around almost all of his friends was refreshing, and was slowly calming down the bad feelings that had arisen during the past months.

He still couldn't sleep very well at night, and there was a sensation of emptiness inside of him every time he thought of Cedric, but he didn't feel as hopeless as he had before.

And he was slowly gaining back the strength to look at Harry without shame devouring his insides.

And, that way, days flowed past, turning into weeks and, then, the end of the summer was there. It had all gone... right, sort of. Despite the fact that the Prophet kept talking shit about Harry and Dumbledore, at least he hadn't been expelled from Hogwarts in the end.

Thank Merlin.

Regarding Ben and Alycia coming back home, they all seemed to have reached an agreement. They would stay with the Weasleys, Sirius and Lupin at Grimmauld Place. They would go there during Christmas, along with Hermione and Harry, and, if it was possible, they would also spend the next summer there.

The problem woud be if Katherine and Sébastien Walker decided to claim their kids, and wanted them back home. Mrs. Weasley had told Ben not to worry about it yet, since it would be the adults' business.

Besides, that would be trouble for their future selves, since the summer of 1995 was over.

Some days before the start of their next school year, Hermione and Ron had both gotten amazing news; they had been made the new Gryffindor prefects. So, when it was time to get on the train to Hogwarts, they both had to leave for the Prefects' compartment.

Harry, Ben, Ginny and Alycia went down the corridor, searching for a compartment once they had said goodbye to both prefects. It didn't take long before they came across Neville, who was struggling to drag his trunk while maintaining a one-handed grip on his toad, Trevor.

"Want some help, Neville?" offered Ben.

"No, it's okay," he panted. "I think this compartment's empty."

He used his head to point to the one they were standing in front of. Ben peered inside, to find Luna Lovegood sitting there. He turned to his friends. "There's only Luna in there."

"Oh, Loony Lovegood?" repeated Ginny, her face matching her hair.

"Who's Loony Lovegood?" Alycia asked Ben in a whisper.

"She's a friend..."

She nodded as Ginny and Neville entered the compartment. "I think it'd be better if I don't stay here."

"Why?" he asked.

"I want to see if I can make some friends, just like you did."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

"Alright, then... Remember we're here if you need anything."

"Okay, bye!"

"Bye!" said Harry and Ben at once. They looked at each other. And, then, Ben looked away, as he entered the compartment.

"Hello, Ben Walker," greeted Luna, as soon as he sat down.

"Hey!"

"Had a good summer, Luna?" asked Ginny, running a hand through her red hair.

"Yes," replied Luna dreamily, without taking her eyes off Harry. "Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know. You're Harry Potter."

"I know I am."

Neville chuckled. Luna turned her pale eyes upon him instead. "And I don't know who you are."

"I'm nobody."

"Don't say that," frowned Ben.

"No you're not," said Ginny sharply. "Neville Longbottom — Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw."

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," said Luna in a singsong voice. She raised her upside-down magazine high enough to hide her face and fell silent.

Ginny giggled under her breath. The train rattled onward, speeding them out into open country. It was an odd, unsettled sort of day; one moment the carriage was full of sunlight and the next they were passing beneath ominously gray clouds.

"Guess what I got for my birthday?" spoke Neville.

"Another Remembrall?" asked Harry.

"No," said Neville, "I could do with one, though, I lost the old one ages ago... No, look at this..."

He dug the hand that was not keeping a firm grip on Trevor into his schoolbag and after a little bit of rummaging pulled out what appeared to be a small gray cactus in a pot, except that it was covered with what looked like boils rather than spines.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia," he said proudly.

It was pulsating slightly, giving it the rather sinister look of some diseased internal organ.

"It's really, really rare," beamed Neville. "I don't know if there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My great-uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it."

Harry exchanged quick glances with Ben. "Does it... Er- Do anything?"

"Loads of stuff! It's got an amazing defensive mechanism... Hold Trevor for me..."

He dumped the toad into Harry's lap and took a quill from his schoolbag. Luna Lovegood's popping eyes appeared over the top of her upside-down magazine again, watching what Neville was doing. Neville held the Mimbulus mimbletonia up to his eyes, his tongue between his teeth, chose his spot, and gave the plant a sharp prod with the tip of his quill.

Liquid squirted from every boil on the plant, thick, stinking, darkgreen jets of it; they hit the ceiling, the windows, and spattered Luna Lovegood's magazine. Ginny and Ben, who had flung their arms up in front of their faces just in time, merely looked as though they were wearing a slimy green hat, but Harry, whose hands had been busy preventing the escape of Trevor, received a face full. It smelled like rancid manure. Ben almost laughed at the sight.

Neville, whose face and torso were also drenched, shook his head to get the worst out of his eyes. "S-sorry," he gasped. "I haven't tried that before... Didn't realize it would be quite so- Don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous..."

The compartment door slid open.

"Oh... Hello, Harry," said a nervous voice. "Um . . . bad time?"

They spun around to see Mei-Xing smiling at them.

"Oh... Hi," said Harry, blankly.

"Hey, Mei-Xing, how are you doing?"

"Well, um... Okay, I guess," The girl looked at him, and Ben could instantly tell that she wasn't doing okay at all. Her eyes were tired, and looked puffy, as though she had just been crying. "I just- I thought I'd say hello... Bye, then."

And she left, a bit pink in the face.

Harry groaned as he slumped back into his seat.

"Never mind," said Ginny bracingly. "Look, we can get rid of all this easily." She pulled out her wand. "Scourgify!"

The Stinksap vanished.

"She's going to think I'm stupid," commented Harry gloomily.

"Sorry," repeated Neville.

"It's okay, Neville, don't worry," assured Ben, before meeting Harry's eyes. "Who's going to think you're stupid?"

"Mei-Xing."

Oh, so he was back at having a crush on her... Okay. He looked away, because he didn't care. And breathed in sharply, because he really didn't care.

"Does it even matter?" he asked, casually, because he, in fact, didn't care.

Harry glanced at him, and he slowly began to shake his head. "No... No, it doesn't."

His heart gave a jolt, so he panicked and stood up.

"What's wrong?" asked Ginny, frowning.

"I'm gonna go see if I can find Thomas and Leah," he stated, sliding the compartment door open. "Or Marina, I don't know..."

He walked away, without looking back. And, of course, the first person he bumped into was no other than Malfoy.

"Well, well, hello, Walker."

Ben tried his best to ignore him and walk past him, but he was making it difficult.

"I've heard that your parents are gone."

"Please, leave me alone, Malfoy," he said, not meeting his eyes.

"Has something happened?"

"Do you really think I'd go and tell not only you, but also your frien-" he suddenly realised Malfoy was on his own. He seemed slightly worried. "Why do you care?"

"I was just asking."

"And I don't want to talk to you, so please let me go."

Malfoy clenched his teeth. "Okay, but if- If you... If you, er- If you..."

"Are you okay?"

"Nevermind. Go away."

He didn't need to hear it twice in order to obey, failing to not think about what had just happened. And, on his way down the corridor, he once again bumped into someone. Luckily, it was Hermione and Ron.

"What are you doing here?" asked Hermione. "Why aren't you with Harry?"

"I just thought I'd go find Thomas," he stammered. "Or Marina, I haven't talked to her in a long-"

"Well you can talk to her when we get to school," interrupted Ron.

"Why not now, though?"

"Because we need you to guide us to where Harry is."

So, he did, and helped Hermione carry Crookshanks, mostly because he had grown quite fond of the cat during the last days of summer. He had never disliked him, it was only Ron who did, but he had never paid much attention to him. But, lately, he had spent quite a lot of time with the three cats whenever a feeling of anguish oppressed his insides at night.

"Hey again," he greeted Harry, Neville, Ginny and Luna when they entered the compartment again.

"I'm starving," was the first thing Ron said, stowing Pigwidgeon next to Hedwig, grabbing a Chocolate Frog from Harry and throwing himself into the seat next to him. He ripped open the wrapper, bit off the Frog's head, and leaned back with his eyes closed as though he had had a very exhausting morning.

"Well, there are two fifth-year prefects from each House," announced Hermione as she took her seat. "Boy and girl from each."

"And guess who's a Slytherin prefect?" asked Ron, still with his eyes closed.

"Malfoy," guessed Harry at once.

"'Course," grumbled Ron bitterly, stuffing the rest of the Frog into his mouth and taking another.

So that was probably why he was on his own.

"And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson," complained Hermione viciously. "How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll..."

"And she's a terrible person," added Ginny. "She's the worst one in Slytherin, in my opinion."

"Who are the Hufflepuff prefects?" asked Neville.

"Ernie Macmillan and that Ortíz girl," answered Ron.

"Marina?" Ben's eyes widened.

Hermione nodded. "I'm glad it was her. She's very kind, and I know for a fact she's hard-working and responsible. I think she'll be a good prefect. I hope we get paired up for something someday."

"You and her are friends, sort of, right?" wondered Ben. "Did you talk after the Yule Ball?"

"Every now and then," she shrugged. "We sent each other some letters at the beginning of the summer, too. She asked me if you were okay, Ben."

"Did she?"

"She was worried about the article... She really does care about you," she explained, and she suddenly smirked devilishly, looking up at Ben. "I'm quite glad she's your girlfriend."

"UM. What?" asked Harry, all of a sudden, panic written all over his face as he turned to Ben.

"What?" Ginny's jaw dropped, her eyes wide open as she looked at Ben. "You have a girl..."

"No, no," he stuttered, furrowing his eyebrows. "She's not my girlfriend..."

"Mhm..." grinned Hermione.

"She's not, Hermione," insisted Ron. "Really."

"I don't like her like that, at all."

"Oh," said Hermione, looking quite disappointed. "Okay."

"Um..." Harry cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "And what about Ravenclaw?"

"Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil," replied Hermione.

"You went to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil," said a vague voice.

Everyone turned to look at Luna Lovegood, who was gazing unblinkingly at Ron over the top of The Quibbler. He swallowed his mouthful of Frog.

"Yeah, I know I did," he said, looking mildly surprised.

"She didn't enjoy it very much," Luna informed him. "She doesn't think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her. I don't think I'd have minded," she added thoughtfully. "I don't like dancing very much."

She retreated behind The Quibbler again. Ron stared at the cover with his mouth hanging open for a few seconds, then looked around at Ginny for some kind of explanation, but Ginny had stuffed her knuckles in her mouth to stop herself giggling. Ron shook his head, puzzled, then checked his watch.

"We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often," he told Harry, Neville and Ben. "And we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving. I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something..."

"You're not supposed to abuse your position, Ron!" scolded Hermione sharply.

"Yeah, right, because Malfoy won't abuse it at all," Ron rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"So you're going to descend to his level?"

"No, I'm just going to make sure I get his mates before he gets mine."

"For Heaven's sake, Ron-"

"I'll make Goyle do lines, it'll kill him, he hates writing," exclaimed Ron happily. He lowered his voice to Goyle's low grunt and, screwing up his face in a look of pained concentration, mimed writing in midair. "I... must... not... look... like... a... baboon's... backside..."

Everyone laughed, but nobody laughed harder than Luna Lovegood. She let out a scream of mirth that caused Hedwig to wake up and flap her wings indignantly and Crookshanks to leap up into the luggage rack, hissing. She laughed so hard that her magazine slipped out of her grasp, slid down her legs, and onto the floor.

"That was funny!"

Her prominent eyes swam with tears as she gasped for breath, staring at Ron. Perplexed, he looked around at the others, who were now laughing at the expression on Ron's face and at the ludicrously prolonged laughter of Luna Lovegood, who was rocking backward and forward, clutching her sides.

"Are you taking the mickey?" said Ron, frowning at her.

"Baboon's... backside!" she choked, holding her ribs.

Ron looked at Ben, bewildered. "You're our little comedian," he said, teasingly pinching his cheek like a grandmother.

Ron grumbled as he rolled his eyes, pushing Ben's hand away from his face.

"Hey, Luna, do you mind if I have a look at this?" asked Harry, holding The Quibbler.

She nodded, still gazing at Ron, breathless with laughter.

Harry opened the magazin as Ben approached him to have a better look at it. His eyes widened at the sight of a terrible drawing of a man standing on a pile of human bones, with his wand out. He was about to ask who he was, when he read the headline of the article.

SIRIUS - Black As He's Painted?

Notorious Mass Murderer OR Innocent Singing Sensation?

"What?" he asked Harry. "Was he a singer before Azkaban?"

"I don't... I don't think so."

For fourteen years Sirius Black has been believed guilty of the mass murder of twelve innocent Muggles and one wizard. Black's audacious escape from Azkaban two years ago has led to the widest manhunt ever conducted by the Ministry of Magic. None of us has ever questioned that he deserves to be recaptured and handed back to the dementors.

BUT DOES HE?

Startling new evidence has recently come to light that Sirius Black may not have committed the crimes for which he was sent to Azkaban. In fact, says Doris Purkiss, of 18 Acanthia Way, Little Norton, Black may not even have been present at the killings. "What people don't realize is that Sirius Black is a false name," says Mrs. Purkiss. "The man people believe to be Sirius Black is actually Stubby Boardman, lead singer of the popular singing group The Hobgoblins, who retired from public life after being struck in the ear by a turnip at a concert in Little Norton Church Hall nearly fifteen years ago. I recognized him the moment I saw his picture in the paper. Now, Stubby couldn't possibly have committed those crimes, because on the day in question he happened to be enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner with me. I have written to the Minister of Magic and am expecting him to give Stubby, alias Sirius, a full pardon any day now."

Harry stared at the page, and then at Ben, who was holding back laughter. "Is this a joke?" he asked in a whisper.

"No, technically," he shrugged. "But The Quibbler isn't famous for being trustworthy, if you know what I mean..."

Harry nodded, and flipped some of the pages, stopping on a piece about Fudge.

Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, denied that he had any plans to take over the running of the Wizarding Bank, Gringotts, when he was elected Minister of Magic five years ago. Fudge has always insisted that he wants nothing more than to "cooperate peacefully" with the guardians of our gold.

BUT DOES HE?

Sources close to the Minister have recently disclosed that Fudge's dearest ambition is to seize control of the goblin gold supplies and that he will not hesitate to use force if need be. "It wouldn't be the first time, either," said a Ministry insider. "Cornelius 'Goblin-Crusher' Fudge, that's what his friends call him, if you could hear him when he thinks no one's listening, oh, he's always talking about the goblins he's had done in; he's had them drowned, he's had them dropped off buildings, he's had them poisoned, he's had them cooked in pies..."

Harry flicked through the rest of the magazin, so Ben couldn't read any further, and he then closed it.

"Anything good in there?" asked Ron.

"Of course not," laughed Hermione, before Harry could answer, "The Quibbler's rubbish, everyone knows that."

"Excuse me," said Luna; her voice had suddenly lost its dreamy quality. "My father's the editor."

"I- Oh," Hermione turned as red as a tomato. "Well... It's got some interesting... I mean, it's quite..."

"I'll have it back, thank you," said Luna coldly, leaning forward to snatch it from Harry. Rifling through it to page fiftyseven, she turned it resolutely upside down again and disappeared behind it, just as the compartment door opened again.

Malfoy stepped in, now followed by Crabbe and Goyle. He was smirking.

"What?" Harry snapped aggressively, before Malfoy could open his mouth.

"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," drawled Malfoy. "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "But you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone."

All of Harry's friends laughed. Ben tried to cover it, but Malfoy undoubtedly noticed, and his lips pursed.

"Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?" he asked, looking back at Harry.

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Hermione sharply.

"I seem to have touched a nerve," said Malfoy, smirking. "Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line."

"Leave him alone, Malfoy," hissed Ben, glaring at him.

Malfoy smirked at him. "Yeah, well done, defending your little b-"

Ben stood up at once. "Get out."

"Or what?" he took a step nearer, earning a disgusted look from Ben.

"Get out!" shouted Hermione, standing up, too.

Malfoy sniggered, grinning at Ben, and then giving Harry a malicious look, before leaving, with Crabbe and Goyle after him. Hermione slammed the compartment door behind them and turned to look at Harry.

"Why is he so fucking obsessed with Harry?" said Ben angrily, sitting back down.

"I don't think I'm the one he's obsessed with."

Ben decided not to ask what he meant by that.

"Do you still owe him a favour?" wondered Ron.

"You owe Malfoy a favour?" Neville frowned.

"I don't know," he confessed. "I think I do."

"Why, though?" asked Harry. "That article..."

"But he didn't tell them," interrupted Ben. "And that means he kept the secret, technically. So I think I do."

"Perhaps he's forgotten," shrugged Hermione.

"Maybe..."

Deep down, he knew there wasn't a chance that he had really forgotten.

A/N: I'M SO SORRY I DISAPPEARED!! I'M BACK <333

also, very random question but, if this wasn't a harry fic, who would you guys ship ben with?