𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 ━━ harry potter

chapter fifty-six

Since Defense Against the Dark Arts was their last subject of the day, he didn't really care about where to go. He considered going to the Gryffindor common room, but he then decided to find Harry before that. He had been told to go talk to McGonagall, so he waited for him outside the woman's office.

His heart was still pounding, but he didn't regret a single word he had said. He didn't care if he was punished, either. After all, nothing could be worse than the punishments at home.

And, at least, he had made it even clearer that he believed Harry. He thought it was pretty obvious before, but there wasn't any room for doubts now. Besides, it would perhaps take away a bit of pressure on his shoulders, since people would definitely talk about what had happened. If they were lucky enough, they would maybe start talking shit about Ben, and allow Harry to have a small rest.

"Ben?" said Harry, stepping out of McGonagall's office, a cookie on his hand.

"Who's out there?" he heard her ask from inside, and the woman's confused face appeared. "Walker? What are you doing here?"

Ben went white. "I- Uh..."

"I ought to have expected you'd be sent with me, too..." she said, shaking her head, although her lips were slightly drawn upwards.

"I wasn't sent here by her," he noted. "It was my idea, let's say."

Harry smiled at him, and even the smallest doubts of if he had done the right thing faded.

"May I ask why?"

"I shouted at her, too."

McGonagall sighed. "No need to explain any further... You're so much like your uncle."

Ben winced horribly. "Uncle Jonathan?"

"No, no," she shook her head. "I meant Chris... Well, off you go, you two."

And she closed her office door.

It had been years since he had last thought of his uncle Chris.

"For you," said Harry, offering him his cookie. "McGonagall made me take it."

"No, it's okay, it's yours. And you barely ate anything at lunch."

So Harry split it in half. "At least take this, then."

Since he didn't want to argue with him, he accepted the cookie. "Thanks... Hey, do you wanna go somewhere? There's still over an hour until Hermione and Ron will come out of class."

"Sure," he smiled softly. "Where, though?"

"We can go to the Astronomy Tower, like last year, if you want to?"

"Alright..."

As expected, the tower was empty when they arrived at the top floor. Ben approached the railing, and looked out over the lake, remembering the moment when, less than a year ago, the Beauxbattons carriage had appeared flying over it, and the Durmstrang ship had risen from the depths of it.

"Ben?"

He turned around, his back against the railing, to look at him as he leaned on one of the arches of the wall.

"Yeah?"

"Who's Chris?"

Ben breathed in deeply. "Christophe Walker, my father's younger brother. He was the second Walker to not be a Slytherin."

"What house was he in?"

"Hufflepuff."

"Where is he now?" asked Harry. "Maybe he could help you and Aly-"