October came around, and Ben had no idea how, but he was back on good terms with Ron and Hermione. None of the three had apologised or said anything regarding their argument, but they were spending all their free time together again.

Ben had a slight feeling that Harry was behind it all, which made him appreciate his friendship even more than he did before. He had decided to go support him during his Quidditch trainings with Gryffindor, even though the practice often ended late at night.

Hermione and Ron were pretty much every day there, too, but there had been some times when they didn't, either because Hermione was already studying for their finals, which were still months away, or because Ron had to finish essays that had been sent weeks ago (and Hermione wouldn't allow Ben to hand over his for Ron to copy it).

So Ben went on his own.

"You know you don't have to feel forced to come watch us practise every day, right?" said Harry one day as they walked up towards the castle.

"If you don't want me to come, just say it," answered Ben, giving him a teasing look.

"No, no, that's not what I mean-" he stuttered, raising his eyebrows in panic. "I- I like to know you're there. It's... nice, it makes me happy."

He gave him a weak smile, which Ben returned.

"I've been thinking about it, and perhaps Quidditch isn't as boring as I thought."

"Of course it's not boring!"

"I heard Marina's going to try out for the Hufflepuff team," commented Ben, and Harry's smile faded slowly.

"Is she good?"

Ben shrugged. "No idea, I've never seen her play. She's really excited to join, though."

"Has she told you that?" asked Harry as they walked up a staircase.

"Yes, but we don't talk a lot. Only before and after Muggle Studies."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Do you think she still fancies you?"

Ben was somewhat surprised by that question. He hadn't really thought about the Valentine's day card for a really long time. His mind had lately been filled with school, his friends, helping Thomas with his comic, sending letters to Alycia, hanging out with the rest of his friends every now and then, and going to see Harry. "I don't know, she hasn't told me."

Harry chuckled. "Obviously, it'd be quite embarrassing to tell someone you fancy what you feel."

"I guess," shrugged Ben. "But I think that, if I liked someone, I'd tell her."

And, with that, the conversation died down until they walked into the Gryffindor Common Room. It was even more crowded than usual, as though the whole house had decided to go there at the same time.

"What's happened?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing some star charts for Astronomy.

"First Hogsmeade weekend," Ron pointed at a notice that had appeared on the battered old bulletin board. "End of October. Halloween."

"Awesome!" exclaimed Ben excitedly. "Cedric told me yesterday that they'd soon announce the first date!"

Harry threw himself into a chair beside Ron, crestfallen.

"Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," Hermione told him. "They're bound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already."

"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," assured Ron. "Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry. The next one might not be for ages-"

"Ron!" scolded Hermione. "Harry's supposed to stay in school-"

"He can't be the only third year left behind," said Ron.

"It's not fair," added Ben. "He deserves to go as much as everyone else."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Ask McGonagall, Harry, go on."

"Yeah, I think I will," stated Harry, sounding convincing.

"Fantastic," beamed Ben. Snowflake came running, and jumped onto the back of the sofa where he was leaning. "Snowie!"

Ben picked up the cat carefully and held her in his arms like a baby. Snowflake had grown a lot in just a month, because she had a good diet here, a warm place to sleep (in Ben's bed), and plenty of room to play with other cats.

"Keep that little monster away from Scabbers, Ben," demanded Ron.

Ben glared at him.

"Little monster?" repeated Harry, letting out a small laugh. "Ron, I saw you playing with her yesterday morning, while Ben brushed his teeth."

"So it's not that you don't like cats in general!" yelled Hermione, offended. "You just don't like Crookshanks!"

"That cat is the ugliest thing I've ever seen, Hermione."

———————————————  

"Now, remember... These visits to Hogsmeade village are a privilege. Should your behaviour reflect poorly on the school in any way, that privilege shall not be extended again-" said McGonagall on Halloween morning, before they would go to Hogsmeade. Harry ran to her, in a last attempt to join them on the trip. "No permission forms signed, no visiting the village. That's the rule, Potter."

Hermione, Ron and Ben shared quick worried looks.

"All those with permission, follow me. Those without, stay put," said Filch, leading the group of kids towards the village.

McGonagall began walking after them, too, but Harry stopped her. "But, Professor, if you signed it, then I could go!"

"I can't. Only a parent or a guardian can sign. Since I am neither,it would be inappropriate," she stepped past him. Harry turned to glance over at his friends, who hadn't moved yet. McGonagall looked at them before letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Potter. That's my final word."

She walked away, joining the group of students after patting him on the shoulder. Harry clenched his jaw in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Harry," said Ron as they joined him.

"It's alright," he answered stiffly. "I shouldn't have expected her to do it, it was dumb of me-"

"Don't say that," interrupted Ben. "It wasn't dumb, it's just unfair that you aren't allowed to go."

He understood that only people with a signed form could go, but everybody knew that Harry's parents were... unable to sign it, and McGonagall was definitely aware of how the Dursleys treated him.

"We could always stay," offered Hermione.

"No," Harry shook his head. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"We'll bring you candies from Honeydukes," assured Ron. "And-"

"Staying here, Potter?" sneered Malfoy, who was standing in line with Crabbe and Goyle behind them. "Scared of passing the Dementors?"

"Shut it, Malfoy," snapped Ben angrily.

Harry glanced over at him before saying, "Goodbye, see you three at the feast, have fun." And he left silently.

His friends sighed and walked past Malfoy and his sidekicks, glaring at them, and handed their forms to McGonagall, who gave them an apologetic look, before walking down to the Hogwarts gate. The path was filled with chatting students and teachers and, a few people in front of them, was Cedric with some black-haired Ravenclaw girl.

"Hello Cedric!"

The Hufflepuff spun around, surprised, and his lips drew a smile as he recognised his younger friend. He and the girl slowed down to join Ben, Ron and Hermione.

"Hey!"

"Hi," greeted the Ravenclaw girl with a weak smile.

"You're the Ravenclaw seeker, aren't you?" asked Ron, pointing at her.

Hermione jerked his arm down. "It's rude to point at people, Ron."

The girl giggled, and nodded.

"Her name's Mei-Xing," said Cedric, cheeks pink.

(A/N: Yes, the character referred to here is Cho Chang from the original books and movies. However, after a bit of research, I discovered that 'Cho' is a Korean surname, and Cho is supposed to be Chinese. This shows a concerning oversight on JK Rowling's part, as it seems she might have not given enough attention, dedication, or respect to Chinese culture when incorporating what she intentended as 'diversity' into her writing.

Because of that, I decided to investigate about authentic Chinese names, and stumbled upon the name 'Mei-Xing', which translates into 'beautiful star'. This discovery led me to the decision to rename the character in my current or future fanfics. I would like to emphasize that if anyone from China comes across this and feels any form of offense or distress, please do let me know, as it was never my intention to create any such negative impact with this concept.

Ben gasped. "Oh! Is she the girl you told m-"

Cedric's eyes widened in panic, and almost shouted as he asked, "Hey, why isn't Potter here?"

"Er-" answered Hermione, nervous when the older Hufflepuff looked at her. "He didn't get his form signed so he couldn't come."

Both Cedric and Mei-Xing looked genuinely sad about it. "Poor boy..." muttered the girl.

"We want to bring him candies and stuff from Hogsmeade," Ron told them.

"That's a good idea," said Mei-Xing. "You should go to Honeydukes, then."

"Yeah, Ron's been talking about Honeydukes for a month," said Ben.

"So have you!" Ron exposed him.

The path to Hogsmeade was much longer than Ron, Hermione and Ben had expected, but it was entertaining to watch Cedric turn into a blushing mess every time Mei-Xing glanced at him.

The Gryffindors parted ways with them once they reached Hogsmeade, and Ron and Ben almost ran into Honeydukes, followed by Hermione, who wasn't nearly as excited about the candy as they were.

The temperature was much higher inside the store, and the atmosphere was filled with an enthralling sweet smell, something that made them feel welcome. Everything inside was bright and striking, and there were hundreds of candies everywhere.

"I think I'm going to pass out," cried Ron dramatically, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

Ben burst into laughter as Hermione rolled her eyes, suppressing a smile.

And, as if starting a race, they began to run through the corridors, shouting names of the candies they saw, and filling their arms with different ones. Neville, Dean and Seamus were also in the shop, and Ron nearly dropped everything as he raised an arm to greet them.

They went to the counter to pay and, after a rather long argument in which Ben insisted on paying for everything, Hermione and Ron reluctantly agreed to let him pay what they'd give Harry.

Carrying a lot of bags, they left the store. Mouth full of Fizzing Whizbees, Ron asked, "Where'd you wanna go now?"

"There?" suggested Hermione, pointing at a tea shop painted in nothing but pink. "It's near-"

Ron gagged. Ben tried to hide a cackle. Hermione glared at them both.

"What's wrong with it?" she crossed her arms.

"That's Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop!" answered Ben, laughing.

"And?"

"That's where couples go, Hermione," explained Ron.

"Perhaps you two can go together," suggested Ben, giving them both a teasing smirk as he fluttered his eyelashes. 

Ron smacked him in the head.

———————————————

When Ron, Ben and Hermione were back at Hogwarts, they tried not to talk too excitedly about Hogsmeade. Ben gave Harry the bag full of candies they had brought for him, and his bright green eyes lit up as he smiled.

"Wow, thank you!"

"It's nothing," Ben brushed it off, sitting in an empty chair nearby, and greeting Snowflake.

"She has missed you," commented Harry, smiling at the cat.

"Has she?" Ben tickled Snowflake between her ears as the cat closed her eyes in satisfaction.

"How was your day, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Good," he replied, looking away. "I talked to Professor Lupin. He used to know my parents, did you know? But then Snape appeared. And he gave Lupin some potion."

"Did he drink it?" questioned Hermione.

Harry nodded.

"Lupin drank it?" gasped Ron. "Is he mad?"

"I doubt Snape was going to murder him in front of Harry, Ron," reasoned Hermione, before checking the time. "We'd better go down, you know, the feast will be starting in five minutes."

Ben almost regretted having eaten so many candies before, because he was already full to bursting before the feast. And the same thing seemed to be happening to all the Gryffindors in their year. After dinner, they walked back up to their common room, to find the entrance blocked by a big group of Gryffindors.

"What's going on?" asked Harry, trying to get a better view of the front of the crowd.

"Neville's probably forgotten the password again," said Ron.

"Hey!" complained Neville, appearing from behind them.

Ron went pale. "Oh... Sorry, Neville."

Percy Weasley came yelling through the crowd. "Out of the way! I'm the Head Boy! Excuse me, I am the Head Boy! Move out of the way! I'm the Head Boy!"

"Ron, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm getting the impression that your brother's the Head Boy..." Ben told Ron very seriously, who snickered silently.

A small gap was made in the crowd, and Harry took advantage of it to see what was happening, followed by his friends. They managed to get a glimpse of the front, and they let out a gasp at the sight of the painting of The Fat Lady. It had been torn open, and Elizabeth was gone.

They heard Percy say, in a suddenly sharp voice, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping toward the portrait; the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him through. He turned to Filch and asked, "Search for her in every painting of the castle."

Ben was glad he wasn't Filch, because that'd be a boring and exhausting task to do, knowing there were thousands of paintings at Hogwarts.

"There's no need for that, Professor," replied Filch, pointing at a painting of Africa. "She's there."

Everyone gasped, and they all ran across the hall to reach the painting. Percy was very offended by the fact that students were rushing past him, seeing as he was the Head Boy.

Elizabeth, The Fat Lady, was hiding behind a hippopotamus, shaking and shivering in terror as she sobbed. "Dear Lady!" exclaimed Dumbledore when he arrived in front of the painting. "Who did this to you?"

Shepoked her head out from behind the animal. "Eyes like the devil he's got! And a soul as dark as his name... It's him, Headmaster, the one they all talk about," she said. "He's here, somewhere in the castle... Sirius Black!"

And she hid behind the hippopotamus again, letting out a shout of fear as everyone mumbled. Ben's first thought was Harry, and turned to look at him.

The boy felt his gaze, and glanced over at him, his face white as the moon.

"Everyone, calm down, it's alright!" said Dumbledore calmly. "Join me in the Great Hall. You will be staying there for the night. Mr. Filch, please inform the other Head of Housed, we need to search the castle."

———————————————  

Ron and Hermione had already fallen asleep. Ben knew it because the girl hadn't said a word in more than an hour, and because Ron had accidentally kicked him in the shin without reacting. Fearing it'd happen again, Ben started to roll to the other side, colliding with Harry.

"Oops, sorry."

"What are you doing?" asked Harry in a whisper.

"Ron's trying to kick me to death," he replied in the same tone.

Harry chuckled under his breath. "What time is it?"

"Uh..." Ben tried to take a look at his clock, but it was too dark to see anything. "I can't see, but it must be around midnight."

Harry groaned in desperation.

"Can't sleep either, huh?"

"No..."

"Are you scared?"

Harry took a while to answer. "I don't know... Are you?"

"Yes, a bit," he admitted.

"Don't worry, Ben, Sirius Black won't hurt you."

"I know he won't," said Ben, playing with the zipper of the bag. "I'm not important enough."

"Hey, you are important!" he exclaimed, louder than intended.

Ben froze. "Speak louder, if you'd like, perhaps the Hufflepuffs haven't heard you."

"Sorry," muttered Harry. "What are you scared of, then?"

"Well, there's a mass murderer coming after you, I'm obviously going to be scared," he replied. "I don't want you to get killed, or hurt."

"I'll be okay."

"You will," stated Ben, rather convincing himself. He knew Harry was in big danger, but he wasn't going to let Sirius Black hurt him. He wouldn't let anyone hurt him. 

Ever.