Ebony and Ben apparated in the end of a kitchen. The boy strumbled as soon as they got there, but the woman grabbed hold of him. It was a big room that somehow resembled a cave, lit by a large fireplace at the far end.

Their arrival instantly called the attention of a group of adults, sitting on a long wooden table in the center of the room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there, and so were Sirius Black and Professor Lupin, along with a young-looking woman with bubblegum pink hair Ben didn't recognise.

There was a general gasp at the sight of him.

"Merlin's sake!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, her eyes wide in horror as she noticed his blood-stained shirt.

"What happened to him?" asked Sirius Black, getting to his feet.

"His mother," replied Ebony, since Ben couldn't find the strength to speak. Sirius Black gulped, and he turned to Professor Lupin. "I need to go back there before they wake up."

"Wake up?"

"I had to cast a spell on them both. His father was trying to stop me from approaching, and his mother was- Well..." she didn't continue the sentence. "I need to bring his things here."

"Please don't leave Snowie and Boots with them," begged Ben with the only trace of his voice.

"Take him upstairs," said Ebony to Mrs. Weasley, and disappeared.

Sirius Black got to his feet instantly, and helped him out of the room. Outside, it was all very dark and gloomy, and it reminded Ben a lot of his own house. As they walked up a staircase, he could hear young voices from upstairs.

"Ben, do you mind if I go get something from my room?" asked the man. He shook his head. "I'll meet you in the bathroom, alright?"

He heard Alycia's laugh, and that gave him the strength to speak. "Alright."

Sirius Black ran up the stairs, and Ben stood in the middle of the hall. He had forgotten to ask where the bathroom was. Stifling a groan of pain, he forced himself down the hallway, each step increasing the pain. He staggered towards the room from which he could hear boy voices.

He opened the door with difficulty, and felt a wave of relief when he saw that Harry and Ron were inside, sitting on their beds, talking. They turned around suddenly when they heard him and, like the adults, they exclaimed in astonishment when they saw all the blood.

"Ben!"

They both ran towards him.

"W...Where's the bathroom?" he managed to ask, only daring to look at Ron. He noticed his hair was shorter. "Si-Sirius Black said that..."

"What happened?" he asked, his eyes full of worry. "Who did this to you?"

He couldn't reply. Both because he didn't want them to know, and because he felt so weak and dizzy it was as though he was about to faint. He could feel Harry's eyes on him, but he didn't look up. The feeling of shame was too strong.

"I'll take you there," said Ron, realising he wasn't going to answer. He put Ben's arm over his shoulder, bending down a little, and grabbed him with a firm grip. "Tell Alycia he's here, Harry."

Ron carried him out of the room, and Ben was surprised to find out how strong he actually was. He was also surprised to find out the bathroom was, in fact, only two doors away from the one he had opened, which made him feel quite dumb.

Ron turned the lights on, and helped Ben sit on the toilet seat before starting to rummage through a closet, taking out bathroom items, looking for something to cure him. "Does my mum know you're here?"

Ben nodded. "Ebony took me here."

The bathroom door was opened again, and Sirius Black walked in, carrying his wand with him. "Hello, I'm here, sorry..."

"Have you got anything to disinfect wounds?" Ron asked Sirius.

The man nodded. "There's got to be something there, yes," he turned to Ben. "Would you mind taking it off, Ben? I need to know what she's done-"

"What she's done?" repeated Ron, so horrified he dropped everything he had on his arms. "Did your mum..."

At that point, there was nothing he could say to avoid Ron knowing, so he obeyed and took off his shirt. Sirius winced at the sight, and Ron let out a word he would've never said in front of his parents.

Ben looked down, and he immediately wished he hadn't. If his torso and arms already caused an impression before, it was much worse now. There was a cut in his adbomen, a considerably large gash, from which blood was still coming out. The scars from before were now decorated by that liquid, giving it an even more terrifying appearance. He didn't even want to look at his arms.

"Do you know what spell she used?" asked Sirius.

He shook his head.

"Alright, then," he said, lifting up his wand. Ben flinched unconsciously. "No, no, don't worry, Ben, it's not going to hurt, I promise. Vulnera Sanentur..."

The bleeding stopped at once, and the pain became far more bearable. Sirius repeated the spell, and a tickling sensation went all across the wound, slowly yet surely making the pain fade. He repeated it one last time, and he felt a kind of tug that hurt for a couple of seconds, but soon faded. After that, the absence of pain enveloped him in a feeling of tranquility.

"Thank you..."

Sirius smiled fondly at him, and slowly took his arms to examine the wounds. "I think these will heal on their own."

"I've had far worse ones than those."

Sirius gave him an empathetic look. "Make sure to clean them anyway, Ron can help you with that... I need to go talk to Molly, but I would really like to talk to you tomorrow after breakfast, Ben, if that's okay with you."

"Yes, yes, it surely is, thank you."

The man's lips drew a smile. Now that Ben wasn't on the verge of fainting, he had the chance to realise that, despite having been over a year since the last time he had seen Sirius, he looked younger. His eyes seemed of a lighter shade, and his hair was much brighter and seemed far healthier.

As soon as Sirius walked away, Ben turned to Ron, whose eyes were fixed on him, looking teary. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He didn't know what to say, because he didn't even know the answer himself. Why hadn't he told him? Why hadn't he told any of them? He thought of it.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I didn't want you to worry."

"You're my friend- Our friend, Ben," he said. "The problem would be if we didn't worry. If I had known earlier... If you had told me when we first became friends- Think of all the time you would've saved yourself."

"You would've seen me differently."

"What do you mean, differently?"

"You would've thought I'm weak. And I'm not weak, despite what they think. I'm not a pu-"

"You're not. I knew it before you told me, and I know it now. How could someone who's been through something like this be weak? How would you be weak after enduring all those years of... After all of those scars."

It sounded weird, since he actually was a wizard but, to Ben, Ron was some sort of magician who could make literally anobody light up. His ability to make everyone smile, to illuminate everyone around him, was insane.

He smiled. "Now you know why I never change in front of you all."

"Yeah..." he said. "I used to think you were perhaps just insecure. But now I see you wouldn't have reasons to... Have you always had those abs?"

Ben rolled his eyes, though he couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"And these arms?" he exclaimed, starting to use some alcohol to disinfect the wounds on his arms. "You've got to teach me, mate!"

"You're so stupid, Ronald Weasley," he joked.

"Seriously, I mean it! How do you do it?"

"I have a lot of free time at home, I've always had... So yeah, you know."

"You better share your routine with me this year, Benjamin Walker..."

———————————————

As soon as Ron was done taking care of Ben's wounds, he made him stay as he went to find some other shirt which wasn't bloodstained. He was grateful for that, since he didn't want to walk around without anything on, showing off the abstract art his parents had etched into his body over the years. Especially not with Harry around.

"Ben?" he heard a voice from the other side of the door.

His heartbeat raised as soon as instantly recognised it as Alycia's. He didn't hesitate before opening it, and seeing her felt like finding an oasis after spending years on a neverending, infernal dessert.

"Alycia!"

The girl was about to throw herself at him, she had already extended her arms, when she saw it. Her eyes widened in fear, as she looked up at him. "You shouldn't have decided to stay there, Ben..."

"I know. But it's okay now, Sirius healed it."

"Why was she that angry?"

He obviously couldn't tell her the truth.

"Because of that article."

"That one from March?"

He nodded. "That one."

"But why did she do it now? It happened months ago... And I heard her tell Father she'd make you pay for it as soon as you got home."

"I think they maybe didn't want to risk someone seeing a scar on the wedding," he shrugged. "Imagine if I showed up with a black eye or a wound on my neck..."

"Why didn't you come with me, Ben?" she asked, after looking at him in silence.

"I wanted to do what was best," he explained for what felt like the millionth time that summer. "But I wanted you to be safe, so I told them to bring you here anyway."

"I would've rather been with you, even if it wasn't as safe."

"Well, that doesn't matter anymore. Any of that does. We're both here, now. Together, and safe. We'll be okay."

She was quiet for a while. "I... I didn't know you had that many of those."

"I used to get into trouble a lot back then," he said. "Sometimes I even forget how many there are... It's not a very amusing surprise to remember."

"I'm really sorry..."

"It's not your fault at all, you don't have to apologise, Alycia."

She was no longer stuttering, he suddenly noticed. It had been around a year since they had last spoken to each other in person.

There was a knock on the door. "Hey, it's me, Ron."

Alycia opened the door, and Ron walked in. "Oh, hey, Alycia," he greeted. She smiled at him. "I've brought you this. It's one from my pyjamas, since Ebony hasn't come back, yet."

"Thank you!"

"It might look a bit big on you..."

"Don't worry about it," he assured. "Thank you again."

Ron grinned at him as he put the shirt on. It did look slightly big, but Ben had always liked oversized clothes, so he loved it.

Right before the three of them would exit the bathroom, Ben whispered to them, "Please don't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone what?" asked Alycia.

"What happened, I mean."

"Harry's seen you, Ben, remember... He was freaking out when I went to grab that," he pointed at the shirt. "He asked me if you were okay around fifteen times, and I was only there for three minutes."

A strange sensation rose within him. He felt his cheeks heat up, and his heart flutter, as usual, but it was all mixed up with a strong feeling of fear and dizziness. He didn't think he'd be able to talk to him about this.

"Well I don't want him to know."

Ron frowned as he looked at him. He mouthed a quiet "I'll talk to you later," and he nodded.

———————————————

The room Harry and Ron were staying in only had one bed, so Ben offered to sleep on the floor.

Mrs. Weasley was horrified at the idea.

She said that he couldn't sleep under those conditions after what had happened. Despite Ben telling her that he was feeling okay, and that Sirius and Ron had healed him, she insisted on having him sleep on a bed.

And that led to him sharing beds with Ron, which was quite funny, because they never would've expected they would've ended up there. At least he hadn't been told to share it with Harry... He thought it would've been awkward.

Ben had assured Mrs. Weasley that he wasn't hungry at all after she apologised for not having anything ready, but she still made sure to leave some chocolate chip cookies inside their room.

The three of them were in absolute silence, although they were awake. Ben wasn't sure if it was because Ron had told him not to, or because Harry himself had decided to not ask any further. But, either way, he was grateful.

He didn't think he would be able to look him in the eye and tell him the whole truth, including that she had hurt him again because he was in love with him.

They had barely spoken to each other. Both because of the aforementioned reason, and because Harry had grown up a lot in a month, and the way he looked so insanely handsome made him way too nervous to dare to look at him.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" said Ron.

"Is Ben inside?" asked Professor Lupin from the corridor. Well, Ex-Professor Lupin, actually.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Would you mind coming out here?"

He got out of bed, not looking back, and opened the door to find a preoccupied-looking Lupin. He was wearing his sleepwear, something that alerted Ben, since it meant it was something urgent. Alycia was next to him, too, her face full of worry.

Lupin guided both siblings down the stairs, and to a room with a fireplace and a couple of sofas. Sirius was there, already, and Lupin sat right next to him, their knees touching.

"Is everything okay?" wondered Ben, with Alycia taking his hand with hers as they sat down on the sofa in front of Sirius and Lupin.

"Not really," admitted Lupin, awkwardly. "Ebony was taking too long to come back, so Tonks and some other aurors decided to go check if something had gone wrong."

Alycia covered her mouth with her hands.

"What have they done to her?" he questioned, feeling his blood run cold.

"We don't know it, yet," said Sirius. "She's at St Mungo's now."

Alycia started to shake, so Ben put his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. She buried her head in his chest, her breathing getting heavier. He stroked her hair gently as she cried.

"But she's going to recover, isn't she?" she asked between sobs.

"We don't know, we haven't been told much, only that they attacked her. Tonks found her half-dead on the floor. There was a house elf beside her, trying to heal her..."

"Deedee?"

"That's what she said she's called," nodded Lupin. "She told Tonks she had heard screaming and that, once your parents were gone, she ran up to help Ebony. Our aurors arrived right after that."

"Can we go see Ebony?"

"We don't think it's a good idea, yet," reasoned Sirius. "She's just gotten there, and we don't even know what state she's in..."

"I need to see her," insisted Alycia.

"Maybe tomorrow."

"What if tomorrow's too late?"

"It won't, Alycia," assured Ben. "Don't say that..."

She didn't look too convinced. Alycia and Ebony had always had a somewhat special bond, and it had gotten stronger for the past years. While Ben and Audrey were at Hogwarts, Ebony and the girl had spent months only having each other to talk to. She was some sort of second mother to Alycia. A much younger and by far better one than Katherine.

"What about Snowie and Boots?" asked Ben, suddenly.

"Who?"

"They're our cats," explained Alycia.

"Oh, yes," nodded Sirius. "Tonks saw them running around. She couldn't catch them, since she had to be quick at taking Ebony to St. Mungo's."

"I can go take them," suggested Ben. "I'm the one who spends the most time with them, they trust me."

"Do you really want to go back after what happened merely some hours ago?"

"Honestly, no. But they're my cats... My friends. I don't want to leave them there on their own."

"We'll do whatever we can, don't worry," confirmed Lupin. "Go back to sleep now, I'm sorry for waking you up."

Ben stood up, followed by Alycia. "Thank you, good night."

"Good night."

"Good night."

Sirius and Lupin spoke at the same time, still sitting on the sofa. "Good night."

Alycia and Ben were silent on their way upstairs. As they walked, Ben noticed how much she had grown, and realised she was about to start her first year of school. He remembered how small she was on his first day of school.

"Ben, can you sleep with me?"

"I would love to, but Ron and I are already sharing the same bed, so-"

"Come with me, then..." she insisted. "Ginny and Hermione won't mind it."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that..."

"I can ask them, just in case. They're awake. We were talking when Remus called me."

So they walked up to the girls' bedroom. Alycia knocked on the door, and footsteps were heard, before Hermione opened it. Her face lit up at the sight of her best friend.

"Ben!" she exclaimed, throwing herself at the boy to hug him. "We've been told you were here, but Mrs. Weasley said it'd be better if we let you rest until tomorrow... Did something happen to you?"

"No, I'm okay."

Alycia frowned, but she didn't say anything.

"Hey," grinned Ginny, appearing from behind Hermione, her bright red hair tied up in a bun. "What did Lupin want you for?"

"Ebony has been attacked by our parents," she said. "Or that's what we think. She's at St. Mungo's."

"Oh no!" gasped Hermione. "Is it very serious?"

"We don't know," shrugged Alycia, softly. "I was wondering if you'd mind it if Ben stayed with me here?"

"No, of course not!"

Twenty minutes later, Ben and Alycia were lying on her bed. Ginny had gone to notify Ron and Harry that Ben was staying with them, to make sure they didn't worry about him not coming back.

"Ben," she whispered.

"Hm?"

"Will we have to go back home next summer?"

He hesitated. "I don't know. I hope not."

"I don't want to..."

"Maybe we can go with Audrey, even if she and Steve aren't married," he suggested. "She told me what her plan consisted of. We're on good terms, now."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It only took us nearly ten years to finally completely make up."

"Well, good things take time to come..."

"That's right, Alycia."

It was dark, but he could sense her smile forming. He pulled closer to her, and the girl instantly wrapped her arms around him. She smelled like vanilla and flowers, as usual. He couldn't truly believe they had been away from each other for nearly a year.

And look at all the things that had happened that year...

"I'm sorry I didn't write to you after March, Ben."

"It's okay, I know why it was."

"Do you?"

"Ebony told me," he told her. "I swear that, someday, I'll make them pay for what they've done to you."

"Only if you make sure to make them pay for what they've done to you."

———————————————

The next morning, Ben was surprised to find out what had happened to Harry back at Private Drive, merely two days ago. As crazy as it sounded, there had been a dementor attack. He had had to use the Patronus spell on them, to protect himself and his cousin Dudley, and it had led to him receiving a letter saying he had been expelled from Hogwarts due to using magic outside.

"Didn't you blow your aunt up in third year?" he asked him as they all had breakfast together.

Harry nodded, the corners of his lips lifting at the memory.

"So why are you getting in trouble now for using magic to protect yourself from creatures that shouldn't even be there in the first place?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"I'm sure Dumbledore will do something to help."

"Thanks to him, there's going to be a hearing," said Hermione, dipping a cookie into her hot milk.

"And when is it going to be?"

"Next week," replied Harry.

"Nice."

The way Ben was taking advantage of every single time Harry spoke in order to allow himself to admire him was making him feel incredibly stupid, but he couldn't help it. Whenever he was talking, he could look at him, his heart beating like a drum, noticing any single detail that had changed during the summer. But, when Harry looked back at him, which occurred quite frequently, he forced himself to redirect his gaze to something else.

Ron had apparently noticed. Because, after breakfast, when they were all upstairs, helping clean up one of the many old and gigantic rooms, he pushed him aside. He was pretending to need to ask something regarding how to clean the windows.

"What's up with you and Harry now?" he asked him in a whisper.

"What do you even mean by that?" he asked back, nervously.

"Well, you're being weird with him," he explained.

"No I'm not."

"Um... Yes, you are," he insisted, raising an eyebrow. "If something happened-"

"Can we not talk about this here?" he said, softly enough for only Ron to hear.

"Sure," he said. And his tone went up. "Ben, I think we should check... Um- That, er- You know... That thing- You- Er- I..."

There was absolutely no way he was such a bad liar.

"Indeed," he said.

Ron rushed out of the room, red in embarrassment. As soon as it was safe that they wouldn't hear him, he said, "That never happened."

"I wish it didn't."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Well, go ahead..."

"Do you want to know why my mother did that?"

"If you want to tell me..."

"She found out."

"About you and him?" asked Ron, his eyes widening. Ben nodded. "How?"

"She was convinced that I was lying to her when I said there was nothing between Hermione and I," he started. "She was sure that stupid article was telling the truth. So she... got inside my mind."

"She read your mind?"

He nodded. "And she saw it. She saw the kiss."

A worried expression was drawn on Ron's face.

"So I can't tell him, because he might feel somewhat guilty, although it's not his fault in the slightest, it's mine. Only mine."

"What? How is it your fault?"

"Because I shouldn't feel like I do about a boy."

"You aren't doing anything wrong by being in love with him, Ben," he whispered. "There's never anything wrong about love. Ever."

A/N: i feel like this chapter was a bit shitty lmao

unrelated but you guys should really check out my tiktok account because i post edits of this and my other fics and i also sometimes leak info about upcoming fanfics or things in general!!

i can't believe this fic is so close to 100k reads it's incredible!!