For many people, seeking adventure and having a death wish are synonyms, therefore they stay as far away from unnecessary problems as they could, and Benjamin Walker thought they had a point, though he had a much different way of seeing it.

He was aware of the downside of living adventures, because he had read about them in the books he read late at night in bed, or hiding in the garret. The characters would go through hell and back to achieve their goals, losing everyone they cared about, suffering all kinds of excruciating pains, being forced to make impossible choices, risking everything they had, and facing their worst and deepest nightmares on their journey.

But Ben was a rather stubborn eleven-year-old, and he refused to allow fear stop him from living the thrilling life he had always dreamed of. He wanted to show that he was worthy of something, to prove himself. And there was no way to do that without taking risks.

So there he was, the morning before his first day of school, sitting on the ledge of his window, fantasising about everything that could happen in a place as magical and special as Hogwarts. The stars that minutes ago had reigned the jet black sky were now gradually fading into the light of the rising sun, tinting everything above Ben's head in a soft orange colour.

He closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply. The corner of his lips lifted up as he took in the cold and refreshing morning breeze. It smelled slightly of damp moss from morning dew.

That was his favourite morning activity, if not his most awaited moment of the day. It was always very silent, and he was free from any risk of getting yelled at, as the monsters from the bedroom at the end of the third floor corridor were still asleep.

But, that morning, it was slightly different. He didn't feel the calmness that usually filled his mind as he observed the fluttering birds in the sky. Instead, there was a terrible knot on his stomach. And the reason for that was... well, the fact that he was going to start school.

He had been impatiently waiting to go to Hogwarts for years, but now that the Sorting Ceremony came closer into picture, he couldn't stop worrying about it.

For someone born in a normal family with normal people, the Sorting is an excellent opportunity to find out who they truly are. But Ben's family was far from normal.

A better and more accurate description would be something along the lines of "A group of Slytherin psychopaths whose only worry is making sure their bloodline isn't tarnished." And being the only son of Sébastien and Katherine Walker, with an older and a younger sister, the responsibility of continuing the legacy was a very heavy weight on the shoulders of a young boy.

Reaching a point in which he was so nervous he could hardly stand still, he turned around, stepped on the cold floor of his bedroom, and closed the window behind him. His eyes scanned the room, in the search for something useful to do until it was time for them to get ready to leave.

Everything was already packed in his trunk and, despite his insistence to do it himself, his brand new Hogwarts robes had been neatly ironed by one of the house elves, Deedee. Ben didn't want to admit he had preferences, but she was definitely his favourite.

Deedee was the youngest elf, and she was always very sweet to him, no matter the way his parents treated her. And Ben would always try to help her and the rest of the elves with their tasks, although they often finished them before he had the chance to do anything.

He opened the door, his bare feet coming in contact with the soft carpet that covered the hall, and stopped in front of the doorway, mulling over whether to bring a candle or not.

After a few seconds, he decided not to, as he had to make sure he wouldn't wake anybody up, or he'd get into trouble. Besides, he didn't have any candles in his room, so he walked down the corridor, carefully trying not to bump into anything.

The walls were covered with portraits of the Walker family's dead ancestors, all of them wearing dark and elegant clothes. Ben found them quite terrifying, and was relieved to see they were all asleep, so he wouldn't have to deal with them.

He reached the enormous staircase and ran down, taking advantage of how silent they were. The ground floor was as gloomy and creepy as the rest of the house, since his parents had the habit of barely lighting the rooms.

Right when he placed the tip of his foot on the ground, the sound of footsteps reached Ben's ears, and his heart pounded. He spun back, checking if someone else was coming down the stairs.

Nothing. Nobody was there, and Ben assumed he had just imagined it, but he stood there silently for a few seconds, to check if there was any other signal someone was up, but no sound came, so he decided to go find Deedee.

He continued his way towards the kitchen, feeling like a character entering a haunted house in some horror book, and he liked it. He extended an arm to place his hand on the doorknob, but received a cold breath on the back of his neck.

Holding his breath, he slowly turned to see who was there. But, once again, the only thing his eyes met was the darkness of the hall. When he was beginning to consider the possibility that he might be turning mental, a small body jumped at him, making him stumble, a high-pitched shriek.

"You s-scream like a little girl," giggled Alycia, soft brown eyes sparkling in mischief as she watched Ben recover from the jumpscare.

"You're a little girl," he reminded her, frowning. "Literally."

"Yet I don't get s-s-scared this easily."

Ben raised an eyebrow, giving her a questioning look. "Sure."

Alycia was about to say something, but she suddenly went as still as a statue, her eyes frozen, staring at the staircase. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"There's s-s-someone coming downstairs," she murmured, her lips barely moving with her words. "I think it's mother or f...father."

Ben instinctively stepped in front of her, scanning the dark staircase with his eyebrows furrowed. The footsteps sounded again, and he heard them that time. He paid attention to the frequency and the period of time between each step, and instantly deduced it was Audrey.

It would've been much worse if it had been Sébastien or Katherine Walker, but Audrey wasn't a relief either. She was a smaller but exact copy of their mother, not only referring to the fact that they shared the same blonde hair and penetrating blue eyes, but to their very similar personalities. They were both narcissistic, demanding, and rude, though Audrey was slightly more tolerable, perhaps due to her younger age, and they both seemed to have a stick up their arses.

"What are you two doing down here?" she demanded once she was in front of her younger siblings.

"We were getting ready to go to King's Cross," he immediately lied.

"It's half past six."

"And?"

Audrey pursed her lips. "Why are you here so early?"

"I couldn't sleep any longer," he answered. "I'm nervous, you see."

"And her?" she demanded, shooting Alycia a disgusted look.

"I wanted to get some water."

"Alright, then," she forced herself to say, pursing her lips again. She started walking back up, but she stopped to turn to them. "Oh, by the way, mother and father aren't home. They had to go on a trip for a couple of days. They left yesterday evening."

"B-But they didn't tell us..." began Alycia.

"Right, because they told me to do it," Audrey sneered, and stifled a loud laugh that made her look like a mad villain. "I guess I forgot... Oops."

"So they won't be here to say goodbye before we leave?" asked Ben, heartbeat raising.

"No," she stated, looking at him with disdain, as though he was the stupidest person on earth. And she went upstairs.

———————————————

It wasn't the first time Ben had been at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. He had been forced to accompany his sister ever since she started school five years ago. However, that time was very different, because he wouldn't have to go back; He would be the one climbing onto the train and finally leaving his family behind.

He had tried to get Ebony to let him wear a hoodie instead of the hideous clothes his mother wanted him to, but it was unsuccessful, so he ended up having to wear a stupid black suit, which made him feel like a clown.

But he wasn't mad at her. How could he ever be mad at a woman as sweet and lovely as Ebony? She only obeyed what her bosses told her to do, while trying to be kind to their children. Ebony was astonishingly beautiful, with dark yet calming bright eyes, and her long braided black hair that highlighted her young bronze face.

She had brought them to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and had told them to wait for the Malfoys to appear before getting on the train, so the four of them were standing in the middle of the crowd of families saying goodbye to each other.

Ben wasn't excited to see the Malfoys. At all. Not after what had happened all those years ago.

But Katherine Walker had told Narcissa Malfoy that Ben had grown up and matured, and that he was a totally different person now. And, through lies, she had managed to convince them to give Ben a second chance to be friends with their son, Draco.

Ben wondered how long it would take for them to realise he hadn't changed in the slightest, and was still the 'bad influence' they had considered him to be.

"I want to go see Steve," complained Audrey, crossing her arms around her chest in an angry gesture.

"You will see him when you get on the train," answered Ebony.

Audrey's eyes narrowed. "I don't want to wait. Why can't I just go see if he's already here?"

"Because your mother said we should wait for the Malfoys," she replied, her voice stiffer than usual.

"I know, but she won't find out."

Ebony pursed her lips, and turned to face Audrey, whose bright blue eyes were fixed on hers with a threatening look. Neither of them uttered a word, but Ben could tell what was happening. Ebony lowered her gaze to her feet, an odd expression on her face.

"Your sister is right," she said. "You can go to have a look around, but make sure to be back here before ten to eleven."

Audrey instantly disappeared into the crowd. Ben took Alycia's little hand on his own to not lose her, and turned to Ebony. "Thank you, Ebony."

The woman smiled gently at them, and watched them leave.

"Are you s...scared, Ben?" asked Alycia, out of the blue.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you afraid of leaving home?"

He didn't answer at once. "No, I'm alright." Alycia gave him a suspicious look. "I'm glad I won't have to see Mother and Father."

"B-But you'll have to see Audrey," she teased, smiling.

"Not if I don't get into Slytherin," he mumbled.

Alycia's smile dropped. "What?"

"What?"

"What did you say?"

"That I might not be sorted into Slytherin, Alycia."

Her face turned white. "You can't be in another house, B-B-Ben... Mother and F-Father would b... be really mad."

"I know," he said. "But I'm not good enough to be a Slytherin."

"Don't say that."

Ben agreed with his statement, but didn't want to argue with Alycia about it, so he went silent. They continued walking through the crowd, trying to find someone they knew and wanted to talk to.

"Hey, is that Mrs. Malfoy?" called Alycia, tapping her brother's shoulder.

"Where?"

"There, see?" She pointed at a very tall and skinny woman dressed in elegant black clothes a few metres away, but on the opposite side to which Ben was looking. Her long blonde hair was styled into neatly curled curls, and she wore an array of small silver beads throughout her hair.

Another platinum blonde head appeared next to Mrs. Malfoy, but this one belonged to a man. His hair was shorter than his wife's, but it certainly went past his shoulders. It was as straight as a line, and the knot was back at Ben's stomach right at the exact moment when he recognised whose head it was.

"Oh no," he muttered, and began walking backwards, not looking away from the couple. "Do you think Draco's there?"

"No, I think they came here on the day school starts to kidnap children."

Ben rolled his eyes as Alycia laughed. When he was turning around to pay attention to the way, he suddenly collided with someone.

His eyes met a pair of bright emeralds, sparkling behind big, round glasses that had clearly been repaired without much care, with just a bit of tape. His forehead was covered by strands of jet black hair, which were apparently able to defy gravity, seeing as they sticked up as though he was upside down.

Ben was quick enough to grab his arm before he'd fall. The boy raised his hand and patted his head, cheeks red in embarrassment, in an unsuccessful attempt to flatten his hair.

"You alright?" asked Ben, and stifled a laugh when some of the boy's anti-gravity strands stuck back up.

He nodded awkwardly. "You?"

"Yeah," he replied, and brushed a curl away from his eyes.

"I'm very sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"It's okay, neither was I," he admitted. "Is this your first time here?"

"Yes, I'm starting my first year."

"Great! It's my first year, too. What's your name?"

"Er- Harry."

"That's a cool name, were you named after Harry Potter?"

He turned as red as a tomato.

"I-I'm Harry Potter."

Ben laughed. "You're kidding, aren't you?"

Harry shook his head, and slowly lifted up his bangs, revealing a striking lightning bolt-shaped scar that laid on his forehead. Ben's smile faded.

"Oh my..." he extended his hand for him to shake. "It's such an honour to meet you, my name's Benjamin Walker, but you can call me Ben. Well, please call me Ben, only my family calls me that."

He stopped himself before he'd embarrass himself even more, and waited for Harry to say something. He took his hand, leading him to almost have a heart attack, and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Ben."

Ben giggled.

"Hello," stuttered Alycia, nervously. "My name's Alycia, I'm his sister."

"Nice to meet you to-" Harry was interrupted by Audrey coming through the crowd, approaching them as she brought a tall, brunette boy with her.

"You, you," she spat, pointing at her siblings. "The Malfoys are here, come with me."

She grabbed both their arms roughly, and dragged them away.