Ben was running as fast as he could through the seas of students, on his way to the hospital wing, followed by Ron and Hermione. The girl yelled at him something about not being allowed to enter, but Ben didn't hear her. He was too focused on trying not to bump against someone.

Ron and Hermione seemed to get tired of running, so they just stopped in a corridor. Ben slowed down when he reached the hospital wing, stopping to catch his breath before entering.

Harry was sitting in a bed, looking at Dumbledore with a smile. When Ben saw the Headmaster, he instantly regretted sneaking in, and tried to back away silently, but Harry had caught his eyes.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Walker," Dumbledore greeted without turning back. "Don't worry, I will not tell Professor McGonagall you entered without permission."

"Oh, Thank you, professor," said Ben cordially, approaching them.

"I suppose you are here to see if your friend is okay, am I right?"

"Yes, you are," he replied, playing with his fingers nervously. "We were all very worried- Ron, Hermione and I, I mean."

"Rightfully so," the headmaster smiled. "But he's alright now, aren't you, Harry?"

Harry nodded quickly, and both boys watched Dumbledore as he made his way out of the hospital wing.

"Is Ron okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. He had only passed out and had some scratches, but he was very lucky," answered Ben, glancing over at the empty chocolate frog boxes. "And this is what proves he's okay!"

Harry chuckled, "At least he left the chocoballs, they're much better."

"You just became my favourite person thanks to that," Ben joked, pretending to wipe away a tear.

"Oh, what will I do with such an immense honour?" Harry exclaimed pompously, sounding like Percy Weasley.

Steps were heard, and Madam Pomfrey approached them. She suddenly noticed Harry wasn't alone.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Walker?" She asked. "Did something happen to you?"

"No, I was just here to see him." Ben tilted his head towards Harry.

"You weren't supposed to come here, but it's understandable," she smiled, and turned to the black-haired boy. "Are you feeling ill?"

"Not at all, I was actually wondering if I could go..."

"Oh, yes, of course, off you go!" Madam Pomfrey gave him a warm smile.

———————————————

"You were right, after all." Harry told Ben as they both made their way to the Great Hall for the end of year fest, already wearing their Hogwarts robes.

"About what?"

"About it being someone other than Snape."

"Oh, I mean- I don't know if I thought it was someone else, I really believed that Snape was trying to steal it," he admitted. "But I guess I thought we shouldn't focus on only one suspect."

"I bet you didn't think it was Quirrell, did you?" He laughed.

"Oof, no, not at all!" snickered Ben.

The corridors were almost empty, most of the students were getting ready to leave the next day, or going to the great hall for dinner. Ron and Hermione were chatting on one of the staircases. They heard Harry and Ben's footsteps, and looked down at them.

"You alright there, Ron?" asked Harry.

Ron shrugged. "Alright, you?"

"Alright," he nodded. "Hermione?"

She gave them a bright smile. "Never better."

"We did it," said Ben, looking at his friends like they were the best thing that had ever happened to him. Which was actually the truth.

"Yeah, we really did..."

They made their way to the great hall, hearing people whisper as they sat at the Gryffindor table. Some people were even pointing at them, but they weren't laughing at them, they were saying good things about them.

Ben would've felt like he was in a dream if it wasn't for the fact that there were huge green banners with the Slytherin symbol hanging around the hall.

"We could've won if it wasn't for Malfoy," hissed Ron angrily as the three others nodded in agreement.

"I'm still proud of us," commented Ben, after taking a sip of water. "I mean, we might not have won the House Cup, but we tried our best to protect the school, and we did it."

McGonagall clinked her fork in her cup to get the students' attention. The hall went silent, as everyone waited for her to speak.

But it was Dumbledore who stood up instead. "Another year gone and now, as I understand it, the house cup needs awarding. And the points stand thus. In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points."

Glares from all over the Gryffindor table were shot to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ben.

"Third place, Hufflepuff, with three hundred fifty-two points. Second place, Ravenclaw, with four hundred twenty-six. And in first place, with four hundred and seventy two points, Slytherin house."

The Slytherin house erupted in cheers and claps. Ben saw Audrey being hugged awkwardly by her friend, and couldn't help but feel slightly happy at their joy.

"Yes, yes. Well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore clapped. "However, recent events must be taken into account. And I have some last-minute points to award..."

The hall was filled with murmurs.

"To Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect while others were in grave peril... thirty-five points,"

Hermione's cheeks turned pink as the whole Gryffindor table cheered for her.

"Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years, thirty-five points."

Ben patted Ron on the back as the hall was filled with applause again.

"Thirdly, to Mr. Benjamin Walker, for not letting fear or pain stop him as he set out to help not only his friends, but the entire school, thirty-five points." He gave Ben an enigmatic look.

What.

Instead of reacting to all the claps and cheers, he stared at his empty plate in shock, not sure if he had heard Dumbledore right. What was he trying to say?

What did he know?

"Fourthly, to Mr. Harry Potter, for nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor fifty-five points." Dumbledore continued.

"We've tied with Slytherin!" Yelled Ron excitedly.

"And finally, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I award ten points to Neville Longbottom."

"Me?" Neville asked, looking stunned.

"Congratulations, Neville, you deserve it!" Ben exclaimed, smiling widely at his friend.

"Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of decoration is in order," Dumbledore clapped his hands, causing the emerald green banners to change into red ones. "Gryffindor wins the house cup!"

The cheers that erupted from the Gryffindor table shouldn't even be considered just cheers, it was more like a chaotic mess of happy screams, claps and laughter while everyone threw their hats up in the air.

The celebration continued in the Gryffindor common room after the feast, and everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives. However, Ben couldn't get rid of the unpleasant knot in the stomach that had appeared after Dumbledore's words.

Perhaps he was just overthinking it, but he truly felt uneasy. He couldn't stop wondering what the headmaster was referring to.

When they went to protect the stone the night before, he had risked his life, but so did Harry, Hermione and Ron, so why would he give him points for not allowing himself to panic?

Unless he wasn't referring to that night. What if he was talking about when he sneaked into the library to find out about Nicolas Flamel on Christmas? But it was impossible for him to know what happened that night, he hadn't even told his friends...

"Hey," said a voice from his right. Ben looked up to see Ron sitting beside him on the sofa. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Well you kinda look sick..."

"Are you calling me ugly, Weasel?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not, Walkman." Ron replied, raising the opposite eyebrow. "But, seriously, is everything okay?"

Ben nodded quickly. "I'm just a bit worried, you know?"

"About going back, right?"

"Yes..."

"You know, maybe I could convince my brothers to kidnap you and have you come live with us..." He whispered, trying to make it sound as dramatic as possible.

"Sounds like a great plan," laughed Ben.

———————————————

Ben woke up to screams the next morning. Ron was throwing his stuff into his trunk, as he had forgotten to do it before, while Percy yelled at him. Neville was trying to find a lost sock, Dean and Seamus were getting dressed while chatting, and Harry was staring at the wall in silence.

He got up and put on his Hogwarts robes for what would be the last time in a long time. While he was making his bed, he found a sock on the floor.

"Neville, is this your sock?" he called over Percy and Ron's screams. The boy nodded, so Ben made it fly above Harry's bed, taking advantage of the last hours of being able to use magic he had left.

"Did you really have to make it levitate over my head?" asked Harry, wrinkling his nose.

"Yep!" smirked Ben, popping the 'p'.

Ron finally finished arguing with Percy, who left mumbling something about how irresponsible his brother was, and turned to Ben and Harry. "Okay, are you two ready?"

Harry looked like he wanted to die, but they both nodded.

They walked downstairs after Ben made a dramatic goodbye to the boys dormitory, and joined Hermione, who was waiting for them in the common room.

"Good morning," she greeted.

The four of them walked together to the train platform, and saw Hagrid herd students on the train. "Hurry up! C'mon!"

Hermione held the door open for her friends to enter, as they waved goodbye to Hagrid. "Come on, Harry," She said.

"One minute," he said, and ran over to Hagrid.

Ron and Ben stuck their heads out, and watched as the man gave him a kind of book before hugging him. Harry ran back, smiling widely.

"It feels strange to be going home, doesn't it?" asked Hermione once the quartet was back together.

"I'm not going home," answered Harry, looking over at the platform. "Not really."

Ben couldn't agree more. He would never be able to call the Walker Manor 'home' after he had been in Hogwarts, and he knew it.

He remembered how scared he had felt on September first, which felt like years ago. He had been horrified by the idea of the sorting, and it had been scary, but he wouldn't have changed the hat's decision if he had the possibility.

He knew he had to deal with his family's hate now, but it was worth it. He had another home, and another family, one that made him feel loved and appreciated.

He wouldn't change them for anything. 

A/N: i hope you enjoyed reading the rewrite of  the philosopher's stone <3