Ben Granger And The Legacy Of Icarus

Ben Granger And The Legacy Of Icarus

By Helmione Nightingranger/Helen

"This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet." - Rumi

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." - Will Rogers

Chapter VI - The Owl And The Pussy Cat

The thing about Winter is that is has no definite end. It sort of melts and squelches its way into Spring. And Spring itself is pretty misty and damp and cool.

Spring is alright really, but its never like it is in the movies, with birds singing and the sun shining its heart out. For the most part, spring is nice, but every now and then you get an April "shower" which is more like a monsoon and a Mayday that is more like the distress call than the public holiday.

Nothing is ever quite like the movies. Ben found that out as this particular Winter was just beginning to swim towards sunnier days. It was January, he and Beatrice were back at school, and nothing was quite like he'd expected.

Firstly, he'd assumed that once he knew what his destiny was to be, it would be simple. Harry had become Gryffindor Seeker after his first flight on a broomstick. Hermione had become top of the class on her first day of nursery school. He imagined Beatrice had just opened her mouth and found the right notes coming out.

Ben got out of his luxurious king-sized bed in his huge open-plan minimalist apartment. He stretched his well-muscled arms out to wake himself up, poured himself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, and then he turned himself into a bird and flew out of the open window into the pink-and-golden sunrise.

Ah, fiction. Great fun, but unfortunately by nature untrue. The Legacy of Icarus didn't work that way.

He could turn into a bird, but he could only stay that way for a few minutes at a time, then he would slip back into his human form. But this didn't happen by his bird form returning to his human body, instead his human body would rush, as though summoned, to the bird. Which made flying very dangerous - if he was in midair when he became human again, he could easily fall to his death.

Another thing which wasn't the way he'd thought it would be was the world. This was such a momentous, life-changing, mind-bending event that he couldn't believe that nothing else had changed. But Ben, like so many people before him, discovered that the rest of the world didn't really care all that much what was happening to him - the sun still rose and set as normal, the moon still waxed and waned with the same apathetic gusto it always had done. Life went on.

After getting over his initial frustration that no one around him realised his life had changed beyond recognition, Ben had agreed with Beatrice that it was better this way - if no one knew about their skill, no one could try and take it away from them.

So they practised in secret, one of them Changing, and the other staying human, to watch in case someone else came along. They couldn't both change at once until they found something to do with their bodies, which they left behind them as though in deep, dreamless sleep.

It was getting easier, as they practised in a remote corner of the grounds.

"There!" said Ben, as he slid back into his body. He had managed to stay birdlike for over two minutes. He had even attempted flying, albeit a foot off the ground. It had been wonderful - it was the flying as he'd always known he could, in his heart of hearts.

"My turn," said Beatrice, eagerly leaping forwards.

Ben watched as the little brown bird cautiously stepped along the ground in front of him. It still made him smile, that form. He'd recognised it immediately, from the bird-watching lessons his grandfather used to give him. When Beatrice left her body, she took the form of a nightingale, the bird with the sweetest song of all.

Ben couldn't see himself after he changed, obviously, but Beatrice told him he became an owl. He had been wondering a lot lately if there was to be some sort of significance of this, if there was something about owls which would tell him something about himself. So far the only idea he'd had was that owls were nocturnal, and he had always preferred the night time, which he thought wasn't particularly interesting.

"We'd better go back to the castle," said Beatrice, as she became human again. "It's getting dark."

Ben nodded in agreement, and they walked across the great lawn, each look wistfully at the huge expanse of pearly grey sky above them. One day, they both thought. One day.

*

The hardest thing about real life is the way it goes on, regardless of good or evil, right or wrong. As February flew by, the wizarding world was beginning to strain at the seams. Beatrice got the Daily Prophet delivered, as her parents wanted her to keep up with the current affairs, and everyday there was news of more death, more destruction.

Nobody seemed to understand what was going on. Dark times were upon them. The wind that howled across the country was the perfect symbolic backdrop to the emptiness and loneliness of a nation that knew that things were wrong. A population that nobody would tell the truth to, and so a place desolate, where everyone was hurting, but nobody knew why.

The dark mark had been seen several times. Cornelius Fudge and the rest of the Ministry of Magic said these were just common criminals, trying to send the country into a panic by imitating the Dark Lord. But something was rotten, there was no use in trying to hide it. The Ministries of other countries, including America, had been very cold towards Great Britain, for fear of what might be about to happen. Fudge couldn't stop the rumours from flying, and Democratic America didn't want anything to do with a country that could become a fascist dictatorship under the rule of one of the most evil wizards in history. The European Union was a lot less keen on Britain too.

Perhaps the worst time in a battle is not the fight itself, but when both sides are poised, waiting for the other side to strike. No Man's Time. The tension was almost unbearable. Some people thought they'd rather have a war than this void of not-good-not-evil, this empty vacuum of nothingness and indecision.

The trouble was that there was no way you could think too deeply about what was coming. Several Hogwarts students were in the hospital wing already having had nervous breakdowns. If you thought about it, it was immediately too much, too soon. They were school children, they were too young for this sort of thing to happen. They shouldn't have to decide between absolute good and evil. They should be able to find some grey middle-ground and cling to it, like the Muggles could, knowing that whilst they weren't perfect, they were OK.

Picking a side, choosing between ultimate right and ultimate wrong, it was too much to handle. So the students of Hogwarts did the next best thing. They ignored the situation. They knew it wouldn't go away, but they couldn't achieve anything by dwelling on it. They thought instead about little things, trivial things.

*

Days passed and weeks passed. Practise makes perfect, they say, but it isn't always true. Practise didn't make Ben and Beatrice perfect, but it certainly made them better. All through January and February they kept Changing, over and over again, and soon they could predict when they would change back well enough to fly without fear of falling.

Half way through February, they found a small deserted shed in a remote corner of the grounds, where they could leave their human bodies when they flew. Ben was suspicious - it seemed too perfect to find somewhere where no one ever went in that easily - but Beatrice insisted that it would be fine. Maybe the shed had even been deliberately put there for them, she argued. Hogwarts was the sort of place where things like that really happened. One of the teachers might have seen them and decided to help them out.

So the continued to practise. They could each manage over ten minutes as a bird, but they were still far from perfect.

They continued to practise.

*

"Are you done looking at that photo already?" asked Beatrice impatiently. She had finished her breakfast, and she wanted her paper back, so she could read it.

"Yeah," said Ben reluctantly. There was something addictive about the photo on the front page - a small girl running in fear from her home, with the dark mark swirled across the sky behind it, blotting out the stars. He couldn't seem to stop staring at it. It was moments like this that terrified him - that awful numbness would fill his gut, and he felt like he wanted to shout and scream and panic. The world was wrong.

He shivered, and shook himself. There's nothing to be gained by panicking. He told himself firmly. He thought instead about the Quidditch match on Saturday. It looked set to be a close match - the Ravenclaws had changed their line up, and Gryffindor were rumoured to have some new tactics up their sleeves. It should be interesting. Ben was quickly becoming fanatical about Quidditch. He thought it was a lot better than rugby, and almost as good as football.

"Hey!" exclaimed Beatrice suddenly, "Look at this!"

Ben peered over her shoulder.

"Singer wanted, Friday and Saturday nights only, applications to Madam Rosmerta, The Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade," he read aloud.

Beatrice turned towards him, her face shining.

"Singer wanted! That could be me!"

"But Beatrice," said Ben "Have you forgotten we're not allowed to go to Hogsmeade?"

She shrugged. "I'd work something out. Ben you've got to help me get to that audition!"

Ben shook his head. "Sorry, Bea, no can do. It's not safe out there."

"What would any Death Eaters want with us?" asked Beatrice. "Come on, Ben this is my dream!"

Ben said nothing, he just resolutely shook his head. Beatrice knew perfectly well that any Death Eater would love to get his hands on one of them - blackmail is a powerful tool, and whether you're manipulating one of the most powerful pureblood families in the world or Harry Potter's best friend, it's bound to get you in the Dark Lord's good books.

*

"Shall we go back to the common room?" asked Ben. He and Beatrice had just finished lunch, and they'd gone out into the courtyard to enjoy the early March sunshine, which of course hid behind a cloud the moment they stepped out of doors.

"Nah," said Beatrice. "I've got to do that Potions essay, I need to go to the library for some books."

"K," said Ben, who had no intention of doing the essay - it wasn't due in until Thursday, and today was Tuesday, he had ages yet. He thought he might get out a novel and read it whilst Beatrice worked. He had never been into reading that much, but he had discovered that the library stocked a series called Point Magic, which had lots of dashing teenage boys having adventures with beautiful witches, and Apparating really fast. Ben enjoyed these lots, though he would never have admitted it to Hermione.

They made their way up to the library slowly - changing was exhilarating, but it was very tiring. Ben's muscles were aching and he felt a little lightheaded.

The library was as silent as ever. Beatrice strode quickly over to the potions section, and Ben wandered to the fiction. He smiled, seeing the small, dusty shelf entitled "Muggle Literature." No wonder magical people were contemptuous of Muggles if they thought that Muggle Literature consisted entirely of Sweet Valley High and D.H. Laurence!

Out of curiosity, Ben looked at the bookplate inside the cover of one of the Sweet Valley Highs to see if anyone had actually read it. There was one name scrawled lightly in pencil. Ben blew away the dust, and read Hermione Granger, 5G.

Ben grinned. He looked at the next book, which bore the title "The Great Boyfriend Switch." There it was, on the bookplate....Hermione Granger, 5G.

He wasn't surprised, really. He'd always assumed she'd read every book in the library, and this just proved it.

"Quick! Ben!" Beatrice hissed. She ran over to him and dragged him to the other end of the library.

"Where are we going?" he asked, confused.

"Shhh! Look!" she whispered, pushing him up against a bookshelf. He peered through the books to see Ron and Hermione sitting at a table on the other side of the shelf.

"So?" he said.

"Shhh!" Beatrice whispered. "Be quiet and listen - I'll prove to you that I'm right - she does fancy him!"

Ben rolled his eyes. He really couldn't care less about Hermione's love life. He looked through the books again though, more to pacify Beatrice than to actually see what was going on.

"Hi guys!" said Harry, sitting down at the table with Ron and Hermione.

"Oh no!" whispered Beatrice, "They won't do anything now!"

Harry glanced around him, as though checking to see if he was being followed.

"Are we all set?" he whispered.

"Harry, I still think this is a bad idea," said Hermione in a low voice.

"We might as well go then," said Beatrice. "Nothing's going to happen now."

"Shhh!" said Ben, continuing to stare at his sister and her friends. What didn't Hermione think they should do? From his own experience, he knew that things Hermione thought were a bad idea were usually very interesting.

"Hermione, I have to do this," said Harry. "It's my family. It's who I am. I have to know. Besides, Malfoy wouldn't be stopping me from finding out unless there was something important going on. There must be a reason."

"But Harry - "

"Leave him," said Ron suddenly. He looked at Hermione and she subsided.

"Thanks, you two," said Harry, looking relieved. "Look, you don't have to come if you don't want. I know it's breaking rules," he grinned slightly at Hermione. "I don't want to get you into trouble, this is just...something I have to do." He looked down at his hands. "I'll see you later, OK? I have to go and practise for the match." He walked out of the library.

Ben was surprised to see how much you could tell from the way Harry walked. He strode slowly, but with a quiet dignity. It was strange, at the beginning of term Ben had noted how both Ron and Harry were very clumsy and awkward, but Harry now walked, not gracefully perhaps, but with the confidence and determination of someone facing a great test, a challenge. Which of course, he was. He was famous. He was expected to come along and save the world. He had to battle evil. And he was only fifteen years old. Ben couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be Harry Potter.

"D'you think he's all right?" asked Ron.

"I don't think he's ever been all right, not really," answered Hermione. "I don't know. I never know, with Harry."

"It must be weird, though," said Ron pensively. "Imagine not knowing your own family...imagine having to do research to find out who your grandparents were. I guess we have to let him do this. I'd want to, if I was him. And we do have to go with him, obviously, whatever he says."

"Well of course. We couldn't let him go to Hogsmeade on his own. Not now, not with all the Dark wizards in the country after him."

Ben and Beatrice looked at each other. They were planning to go to Hogsmeade? Now? But they were the last people that should be leaving Hogwarts!

Ben sighed. For a genius, his sister could be remarkably stupid sometimes.

"We have to find out when they're going!" hissed Ben.

"Why?" asked Beatrice. Ben said nothing, but motioned her to listen to Hermione and Ron again.

"I guess we should head back to the common room, then," said Ron.

"OK," said Hermione. She packed up her books, and the two of them left as well.

Ben cursed under his breath.

"Why d'you want to know when they're going anyway?" asked Beatrice.

"I want to go with them - I want to check Hermione's alright."

"But Ben, we can't go to Hogsmeade, we have to stay..." Beatrice trailed off. She seemed to be thinking. "Yeah, I think you're right. I mean, we can't have those three just wandering around, can we? And if we're there and they get into trouble, we might not be much use against Dark wizards, but we could go and get Dumbledore or something."

Ben nodded. He didn't understand Beatrice's sudden change of heart, but he was glad of it. He needed to make sure Hermione was OK. She was his sister, it was his job to look out for her. He couldn't let her get into danger because of Harry. Whatever Harry needed to do, he needed to do, but he didn't need to go dragging Hermione into it.

Ben sighed.

*

Ben woke up feeling very excited. It took him a few moments to remember what was happening today, but then it all flooded back to him. He grinned, and got out of bed. He got dressed, and hurried downstairs, wrapping a royal blue scarf around his neck to keep out the March wind.

"Nervous?" he asked Cho, who was sitting in the common room.

"Not really," she said. "I like it when we play Gryffindor, Harry plays a good game. And they say they've got some new tactics, so it should be a challenging match." She smiled happily.

"Hello!" Ben spun round to see Beatrice, who had dressed from head to toe in blue. He would have laughed, except that he had done exactly the same thing.

"Shall we go and get some breakfast?" she asked. "Then we can try and get out to the stands early, and get a good seat."

Ben nodded, and they hurried down to the Great Hall.

The Hall was packed with students chattering excitedly. Ben and Beatrice sat down, and Ben helped himself to a huge bowl of porridge - both teams were looking to be on good form, the match could last a long time, and he didn't want hunger ruining his concentration if it went on past lunchtime.

When they had finished eating, he and Beatrice went out to the stands, wrapping their cloaks tightly around them and shivering. Beatrice immediately struck up a conversation with a girl Ben didn't know in the row in front, so Ben ignored her. And pulled out his newest Point Magic book - Halloween Feast XXI. It was just getting to the bit where Tony and Greg were duelling over Ashley when Beatrice tugged at his sleeve.

"They're about to start," she said. "Stop reading!"

He looked up - the two teams were lined up on the ground, facing each other, as was customary at the beginning of a game.

"On my whistle," yelled Madam Hooch. "Three, two, one..." The shrill sound carried quickly through the cold air. For a minute there was silence, then the fourteen players shot out into the air, and the game had begun!

"And it's Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she passes to Angelina Johnson, then it's back to Spinnet. Stevenson hits a bludger her way - nice swerve Alicia! She's back on track and heading for the goal, but will she make it? She's nearer, nearer, almost there...

No! Blocked at the last minute by Keeper Green. Green, may I add, is one of the best Keepers we've seen in a good few years from the Ravenclaw side. Now it's Jane Howard of Ravenclaw with the Quaffle, she's zooming down the pitch, look at her go! Ooh, narrowly missed by one of the bludgers there, but a nice recovery. Come on Fred and George, where are you? She's almost at the goal posts! And she IS at the goal posts! She lines up, shoots, oh no! Knocked of course by a bludger at the last minute - well it's nice to know those Weasleys aren't completely useless!

And it's Gryffindor Keeper Finnegan with the Quaffle, throws it towards Katie Bell, intercepted by Howard, she ducks under Finnegan, round the two Weasleys, she shoots, she SCORES!"

Ben leapt up from his seat, clapping and cheering.

"Oh there was some fumbling there from Gryffindor - what are you lot doing out there? Ten nil to Ravenclaw!

Now it's Bell with the Quaffle. Heads down the pitch, blocked by Ravenclaw's Parker Brown-Nesbit who snatches the Quaffle and heads back down the pitch, throws to - was that the Snitch?"

Ben looked around the pitch wildly. Sure enough, Harry and Cho were both swooping downwards from opposite ends of the pitch, towards a tiny golden speck.

"Which one will reach it first?" asked Lee Jordan's voice. The crowd held its breath.

Cho was a little further away than Harry - it looked like he would reach it first...

But the Snitch had other ideas. It dashed up out of Harry's outstretched hand and away, disappearing from view once more.

Ben sighed with relief.

"And it's Brown-Nesbit with the Quaffle, swoops down to avoid a bludger, ooh that was a narrow miss...And Johnson of Gryffindor picks up the Quaffle, throws to Bell, who heads down the pitch. Fred and George Weasley keep a close watch on Bell, knocking the bludgers at Chang and making sure they stay there. Bell reaches the Gryffindor goal posts, lines up, Green is waiting for it, but will he be able to save it? She shoots, she SCORES! Go Katie! Ten all!"

Ben cursed quietly. Across the other side of the pitch he could see Hermione grinning and cheering.

"And it's Katie Bell still with the Quaffle, trying to get around Green for another shot. He's blocking her carefully - he's not going to let THAT happen again! And there's a bludger, knocking her off course. Fred Weasley dives in to smack that bludger out of Katie's face, but wait! He's hit it right towards Potter! Potter climbs higher to avoid the bludger, but it's changed direction and followed him! He turns and the bludger's changed its mind and gone for someone else, but wait! There's the Snitch again!"

Ben looked down. The Golden Snitch was glinting about two feet off the ground, and Cho Chang was diving quickly towards it.

Looking up, he saw Harry looking horrified. He too was diving for the Snitch, but Cho was miles ahead of him - she was going to get there first!

Then Harry, in true Potter style, did something that was both very brave...and very stupid.

He pulled out of his dive, and flew horizontally instead, until he was about ten feet directly above the fluttering Snitch. Cho was still a little way away, but she was getting closer every second. Harry turned his broom until it was facing vertically down, and fell, with the speed and impact of a bullet. He crashed headlong to the ground, managing to catch the Snitch just half a second before he hit the ground and passed out, his nose breaking and his broom splintering with a sharp crack.

*

"D'you think we should go and see if Harry's alright?" asked Ben.

"He will be," said Beatrice. "Harry's always alright. The guy's bionic - it'd take more than a game of Quidditch to kill him, if You-Know-Who can't!"

"Even so," said Ben "We should go and see him - then we might find out more about when they're going to Hogsmeade."

"I guess," said Beatrice. "And I definitely think we should follow them when they do go."

Ben nodded absently. He was worried about Hermione, who had rushed out onto the pitch after Harry had fallen and fainted dead away at the sight of him. To be fair to her, thought Ben, it had been somewhat of a shocking sight. Ben was no doctor, and he couldn't tell how serious Harry's injuries were, but the angle at which he had fallen, with his robes crumpled and tangled everywhere had made him look more like a crumpled paper bag than anything else - a thoroughly bloodied paper bag.

"Come on," said Ben, getting up. The image of Hermione's pale face, eyes closed, was playing on his mind. They made their way to the hospital wing.

"No visitors!" said Madam Pomfrey sternly.

"But - " said Ben "My sister - "

"Hermione is in perfect health. She has regained consciousness and is fine - she and Ronald are looking after Mr Potter. I will allow no other students to see him - he is in a most delicate condition, and must not be disturbed."

She shut the door in their face.

Ben scowled.

"She's my sister!" he said angrily, "I should be allowed to see her!"

Beatrice looked thoughtful.

"Well..." she said slowly. "If she shut the door...there's always....the window?"

Ben looked at her.

"Beatrice," he said in exasperation, "We're on the seventh floor! And the window has a fifty foot drop outside it! There's no way we can climb around!"

"Who said anything about climbing?" said Beatrice grinning, eyebrows raised.

At last Ben understood.

They hurried to the nearest classroom, and opened one of the windows as wide as it would go.

"I'll stay here," said Beatrice, "In case somebody comes. You fly around to the hospital wing and check on Hermione. And don't forget to find out when they're going to Hogsmeade!" She smiled sweetly at him.

Taking a deep breath, Ben changed. He stretch out his wings gently, hopped forwards a little way. The wooden desk top clattered under his claws. He turned his head around, winked an amber eye at Beatrice and his sleeping human form, then he took off, out of the window and into the cold air. He flapped his wings gently, and then glided on a thermal. He looked carefully into each window as he passed, until he saw the whiteness and the rows of beds which classified the hospital wing. He swooped in the open window and hid behind a curtain - he didn't want them to think he was delivering a message.

"When d'you think he's going to wake up?" asked Hermione, quietly.

"Hard to tell," said Madam Pomfrey. "I could wake him magically, of course, but when someone breaks a nose the healing potion is very painful, and now that he's drunk it, it's better to let him sleep as long as possible."

"Is he going to be all right other than that?" asked Ron.

"He should be. We've cured all his injuries on his body, but as for the bang on the head, I wouldn't like to say. The human brain is extremely complex, and even expert neurowizards don't understand it much better than Muggle doctors. There aren't many potions or spells around for head injuries, and we can't even assess the damage 'til he wakes up, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I don't plan to let him wake up for a long time yet, anyway. Get that nose healed, and then we'll see about the rest of him."

Ben heard footsteps, and a door closing. Madam Pomfrey had gone into her office at the end of the ward.

For a while, there was silence.

Then stirring.

"Harry?" whispered Ron and Hermione at the same time.

"Hey," whispered Harry weakly. "Did we win?" Ben couldn't see around the curtain, but he guessed that Harry was grinning, albeit rather feebly.

Ben heard two sighs of relief.

"You're all right!" said Hermione.

"I'm fine," said Harry. "You know I'm always fine!"

"Yeah, we know. Doesn't stop us worrying though," said Hermione.

"And she should know about worrying," added Ron. "Harry, guess who fainted when she saw you on the ground ?"

"Did you really?" asked Harry. Ben knew his sister well enough to imagine perfectly the way she was shrugging embarrassedly and glaring at Ron.

"How does your head feel, Harry?" asked Hermione. If beaks could grin, Ben's would have been. She was just trying to change the subject.

"It's fine," said Harry. "I feel perfectly well."

There was rustling.

"Uh, maybe you should wait a while before getting up," said Ron.

"I'm fi - " said Harry. Then there was a clunk and a lot more rustling. Ben peeked round the curtain, to see Harry fall back on to the bed.

"Damn it," he cursed. "I need to get to Hogsmeade."

"Harry, come on, let's just get you better first," said Hermione in a soothing voice. "We can go to Hogsmeade any day, thanks to Fred and George's secret passage and the Invisibility Cloak."

If Ben had had teeth, he would have gritted them. A secret passage way and an invisibility cloak. That was going to make it a *lot* more difficult to follow them.

There was more rustling.

"Harry, *please* don't get up yet," said Hermione. More rustling.

"We'll have to call Madam Pomfrey," said Ron. "You need to get better, and if you get up now you'll just get worse." More rustling.

"Madam Pomfrey?" called Hermione. There was a knocking sound. The door at the end of the ward opened.

"Madam Pomfrey, please can you do something for Harry, he won't rest, he wants to get up!"

"Mr Potter!" said Madam Pomfrey, sounding absolutely flabbergasted. "Get back into bed this instant - I know you're had your fair share of injuries before, but this is very serious. You could have all sorts of brain damage. You need to rest for *at least* a week. Go to sleep!"

Of course, hearing that wasn't going to make Harry relax. She pushed him down onto the bed, and drew her wand.

"Maximus Detenta" she whispered. Then she watched him affectionately as his eyes slid closed and his tense body relaxed. She pulled the blankets around him and tucked him in.

"That should keep him sleeping for a few days. You two may stay here if you like, but he won't wake up again yet. I'd better carry on with my paperwork." She strode back to her office and shut the door with a firm click.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"Hermione!" burst out Ron. "What did you go and call her for?"

"Well, you suggested it!" said Hermione crossly.

"I was just threatening him so he'd go back to bed...I wasn't really going to call her!" said Ron.

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" demanded Hermione. "Oh, well, at least he's asleep now. He does need to rest."

"I guess," Ron said. There was a pause. He lowered his voice. "Maybe we should go to Hogsmeade and find out his family stuff. That way he won't have to, because obviously it's much more dangerous for him."

Hermione bit her lip. "I suppose we could. If we took the Cloak, we'd be quite safe. And we could bring him back what he wants to know for when he wakes up," she nodded, slowly, "but let's go now, before I lose my nerve."

They went back over to the bed.

"Harry," said Hermione softly, "I don't know if you can hear me, but Ron and I are going to leave you now. We'll be back a bit..."

Ben didn't stop to hear the rest. He flew out of the open window and back round to the empty classroom. As soon as he was back in his body, he began to talk.

"Now!" he cried. "They're going now. We've got to follow them. They're not even taking Harry with them. We've got to go too! Quickly!"

"But Ben - " said Beatrice.

"No time, got to follow them. They have an invisibility cloak, and we don't know where their secret passage is!" He heard voice outside the door, and sure enough, Ron and Hermione were passing.

He sneaked out of the door behind them, and motioned for Beatrice to follow him.

He dodged behind statues and around corners, and slowly they followed Ron and Hermione all the way up to Gryffindor Tower.

"They're not going to Hogsmeade!" whispered Beatrice crossly. "They're just going to their common room!"

"They've gone to get their invisibility cloak!" said Ben, his eyes glued to the Gryffindor portrait hole.

Beatrice choked. "Well, how on earth are we supposed to follow them is they have an invisibility cloak?" she demanded.

"I don't know yet," answered Ben. "Shhh!" The Fat Lady's portrait had just swung open. But nobody came out.

Ben held Beatrice back against the wall, not trusting her to stay quiet.

But they could see nothing. And they could hear nothing. Ron and Hermione were evidently quite practised at sneaking about and not being found.

What are we going to do? Ben thought. He racked his brains, but he couldn't think of a single idea about how to find them. But if they went on their own, who knew what kind of danger Hermione might end up in?

Just then, they heard a loud miaow.

Both Ben and Beatrice fell back against the wall instinctively. They both hated cats.

At the other end of the corridor was Crookshanks, looking very happy. He purred loudly.

"Shhh, Crookshanks, go away!" someone hissed.

"Hermione!" whispered Ben. "He's purring at Hermione!"

Ben began to rush forwards.

"Not so fast," hissed Beatrice. She pulled him back, held his hand, and pointed her wand at him.

"Nono Monkia," she hissed, and at once a silver light envelope them both.

"They won't see or hear us now," she whispered, "but it's a difficult charm. Keep holding my hand and you concentrate on following them. I'll keep the charm up and running."

Ben rushed off down the corridor, gripping Beatrice's hand. The light moved with them.

Round the corner, Crookshanks was still purring wildly, and rubbing his head lovingly against what was probably Hermione's invisible ankle.

"Hermione!" Ron's disembodied voice whispered, "Get rid of that cat! People will see!"

"Shoo! Crookshanks, bad cat!" she hissed. He continued to purr.

"Come on, let's just go, if we walk fast enough he won't be able to follow!"

There was a slight rustling sound, and then after a second, Crookshanks began to walk briskly down the corridor.

"He's following them! Let's go too!" Ben whispered. He looked at Beatrice, but her eyes were shut and her forehead crinkled with concentration.

He led her after Crookshanks, who took them out into the school grounds, until they were standing by the Whomping Willow.

"Can you see a stick?" hissed Ron's voice.

"No. But there's no one here, we could take the cloak off and look for one," answered Hermione. Her arm appeared.

"Wait!" cried Ron.

Ben held his breath.

Crookshanks had slipped under the Whomping Willow's branches, and pressed a knot on its trunk. The branches froze.

Hermione laughed quietly. "He hasn't forgotten how!"

"Quick," said Ron, "let's get out of here before anyone comes!"

To Ben's surprise, he saw first Ron then Hermione appearing, and in Hermione's hand was a piece of fabric that looked for all the world like water. They dived through a gap in the tree's roots, and Crookshanks followed. Ben paused for a second in astonishment, then realising that he needed to move quickly, yanked Beatrice's arm, and pushed her into the hole too, following himself just as the Willow's branches began to move again.

The silver light stayed in a cloud around them, but the tunnel around them was dark and muddy, and it didn't shed its light in their path. Luckily Ron had lit his wand, so Ben could see where they were going. It was dark, it was cold, and Ben couldn't see what he was treading on.

But he'd done it. He'd followed Ron and Hermione, and now that they'd taken the cloak off, he'd have no problem following them all the way to Hogsmeade.

Ben breathed a sigh of relief, and it was only now, as he began to crawl along the dank tunnel, that he began to wonder what it was that Harry wanted to know so much.

And how much danger it was actually going to put them in...