Disclaimer: I own nothing. And the Benry idea belongs completely to Melissa. Or at least she introduced me to them and the rest is history.
Benjy Fenwick was walking back to the Ravenclaw common room one Thursday evening. He was exhausted after spending the past few hours working on an assignment for Charms and all he wanted to do was crawl into his four poster bed and go to sleep. But as he turned the corner on the 6th floor, he was caught off guard by the sounds of a girl crying. He slowed down, realizing that the sounds were coming from behind the tapestry ahead of him on the right. He knew he couldn't get around without whoever it was seeing him, not unless he took the long way back to the tower. And besides, it would have been horribly cruel to just leave the girl crying without at least checking to make sure she was okay.
He slowly crept forward, clearing his throat softly before he reached to pull back to old fabric.
"Excuse me, is everything okay? Can I-" but he paused when he saw who it was. Mary Macdonald sat against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest, blonde curls in a loose mess around her face. Benjy honestly didn't know her extremely well, but they had always been on friendly terms. And he was no stranger to her beautiful face. But she had been dating Gideon Prewett for a year now, and even if he had the courage to ask her out, one simply didn't mess with one of those Gryffindor power couples.
"Macdonald? What happened are? Are you okay?"
She looked up at him, quickly trying to wipe the tears from her face. But it was too late, he'd already seen.
"Oh, Benjy. Hi. Yeah, I'm… well no I'm not okay. But nothing bad's happened. Don't worry." She tried to brush it off, weakly waving one of her hands to say he should just go about his business.
Benjy was torn, he had no idea how to comfort crying girls, but he couldn't just leave her there. Not when she was clearly so upset about something. And not when he had been harboring a small crush on the girl for almost two years.
He slid down the wall and joined her on the floor, his long legs splayed out in front of him. Mary turned to look at his face, her eyebrows raised and mouth open in shock. She didn't think he would stay.
"So did you hear about what happened to Slughorn this afternoon?" asked Benjy, tone just as casual as if he had been talking about the weather.
Mary shook her head, still confused as to why he decided to stick with her.
"Really? I thought it would have been all around the school by now," said Benjy with a laugh. "Well Stephen Adams, he's in Hufflepuff a 4th year, I think. Well, he somehow managed to get his hands on one of those partial transfiguration potions that the NEWT students are working on. And he slipped it into Slughorn's mug of tea during class. And his entire head turned colors, and his face got hairy, and his arms started sprouting tentacles! I'm sure it was intended to do something else, but whoever made the potion clearly didn't do a very good job."
The whole time Benjy had been recounting the story, Mary watched his excited expression, his hands gesturing wildly. He had a nice laugh, she decided. She saw what he was doing, too. He had no idea what was wrong with her, but maybe a funny story might ease the tension. She shook her head, a small giggle escaping her lips. She was surprised at herself—just an hour ago she didn't think she would be laughing any time soon.
"I can't believe that. Why would Adams do something like that?" she asked.
Benjy smiled, happy to see Mary perking up. "No idea. I suppose it was meant to just be a prank."
"And did he get detention?"
"Nah. Slughorn thought it was hilarious. Or he did once the swelling had gone back down. I heard he was more concerned about which seventh year had messed up the potion so badly."
Mary laughed again, her eyes twinkling just thinking about what had happened down in the dungeons that day. She caught herself though, remembering what had happened just a few hours ago and she quickly looked back down at her hands that were resting on her knees in front of her.
Benjy noticed the quick change in her expression. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, wondering if he shouldn't have just left when he had the chance. Maybe she just wanted to be alone.
"Look, I can go-" he began to say.
"I broke up with Gideon," she said softly at the same time. She was still looking down, fiddling with her fingers, and twisting a small silver ring around one of fingers.
Benjy didn't know what to say. Was this an invitation to stay? Did he want to stay? He saw her give a small sad smile and realized that he'd stay as long as he could if he could just get her to look happy for another moment.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Smooth, Fenwick, he thought to himself, cringing at his own eloquence.
Mary shrugged. "It just happened."
"Oh." He said. The silence hanging around them ought to have been awkward. After all, they were hardly the closest of friends. When they had talked previously it was almost always about school, quidditch, or sometimes the latest album from the Red Hippogriffs. But they were both surprisingly comfortable just sitting in each other's company.
"Are you okay?" he repeated after another minute. "That's a stupid question, isn't it? Are you going to be okay?"
Mary shrugged again, leaning her head back against the stone wall behind her. "I don't know…" she paused, searching for the right words. "I should have seen this coming for a while now. We've both been growing apart. We're just not the same people we were when we started dating, you know?" she turned her head, her eyes meeting his. "And he's leaving Hogwarts next month, going off to fight battles and change the world or whatever it is he's got planned."
"And you don't agree with that?" Benjy asked. But unlike when the topic came up with Gideon, there wasn't any judgment in his voice, just curiosity.
"It's not that I don't agree. I'm a muggleborn too, after all. I can't ignore what's going on. I just-" she left her hands fall down at her sides, her legs slipping out in front of her to lay along side his. "I just can't fight. Who knows what's actually happening out there. And what can I possibly do to make a difference. Maybe I'll feel differently next year, when we're getting ready to leave school. But I don't know. I just can't think about it right now. And Gideon and I have been fighting over that for weeks. We're just moving in different directions now."
Benjy listened carefully, taking in all that she was saying. He was a little surprised to hear that she wasn't determined to fight back against the huge uprising of anti-muggleborn sentiment out in the wizarding world. But he could also see her point. He admired her convictions at the very least.
"It just sucks, the whole thing. I really did care about Gid. Really. But we just don't work together anymore."
Benjy wasn't sure what he should do. She looked like any minute she might actually give in and start crying again. But here she was, divulging secrets to him without a second thought.
"Well, Macdonald, I think I've got an idea for you."
Her head shot up to look at him, a look of surprise passing over her face. "Oh yeah? What is it?" She couldn't help the small sarcastic smirk.
Benjy laughed, happy to see her playing along at least. "You're going to pick yourself up and head back to Gryffindor Tower to do whatever it is that girls do at times like these. You know better than I do, and if you don't I'm sure you can just ask Evans and McKinnon. And then tomorrow morning you're going to get up and go about the day just like any other. Because you're doing this for you. It's what's best for you and that's the important part. Got it?"
She rolled her eyes dramatically, but she couldn't help the smile that crept across her face when she responded with a small nod and a "Yes sir."
"Good. Glad we've got that sorted out," he said, also smirking slightly. He loved seeing her closer to her normal self. "Now, I guess we should probably head back to our houses. It's almost curfew."
"Wait, Benjy," she said, pulling at his wrist to bring him back down beside her. "Do you want to just hang out here for a bit more? Don't worry, I'm not avoiding the task you've set me. Well maybe I am. I'm just not quite ready to face the girls yet."
He laughed, but settled back down against the wall. "Sure. But just for a bit." He would have sat there for hours if that's what she had asked.
"Thanks, Benjy. I like having you here." She bumped his arm with her shoulder.
He let out a small chuckle, grateful that she couldn't see his flushed cheeks. "Glad I could help, Mary. You're not bad company yourself." And when she laughed he couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face.
The two sat in companionable and comfortable silence for a while more, both just grateful for the peace and quiet. And when they finally parted ways an hour later, both headed towards their respective dorms, they couldn't help wondering how their strange friendship was already shifting in unexpected ways. And in time they would both realize that what they both really needed was each other.