A/N: Sorry this has taken a while. I won't bore you with excuse, but if you want someone to blame, Ron did it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, otherwise I'd be a millionaire and richer than the Queen.
Chapter 2
Ben walked slowly down to breakfast, doing something that several people might have been shocked at the sight of. He was thinking.
He jumped a step in a staircase that often disappeared, just to trick people and let them fall through it. This castle had many places like that. There were walls, and doors, and staircases, and all sorts of other things about that would try to trick someone into going the wrong way.
Not even a year ago Ben would have gotten lost in here. In fact, a whole year ago he had not even known he would have been attending the school that was his temporary home for the summer, let alone have known his way around it.
The castle was huge itself, and, despite this, almost every student learnt their way around within two weeks on average. Or at least they knew their way around the parts of the castle that they had classes in and used often. Other parts of the castle many people did not even consider getting to learn their way around until they actually had to use them.
Ben, however, was not one of those people. During his life he had learnt the value of knowing your surroundings fully, just in case.
Sighing, he took one of the lesser known shortcuts to decrease the amount of time it would take to get down to the Great Hall where breakfast was taking place as his stomach gave out a rumble.
Grinning broadly, he pushed by the tapestry that hid a passage way, and walked down it. It certainly came in handy knowing about these. And this was one of the passage ways he hadn't known about during the year, or had even discovered.
He had found out about it from his old Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Black, or Sirius, who had resigned at the end of the previous year for reasons unknown. Well, they were unknown to most. Ben knew. He had managed to forge quite a close friendship with him, and discovered quite a few things about him.
The reason he had really quit was because he had had enough of teaching and he had had enough of the pressure it put on him, especially since his way of teaching meant that nobody really realised they were learning.
In the short time that he had in fact actually tried to get to know the man, he had in fact leant a lot abut him. He had several nicknames, though the one most often used was Padfoot. The reason behind this was that in his younger days Sirius had been an illegal animagus, a human that could turn into an animal without the aid of a wand, in order to help friend, though since then he had registered on the animagi register.
Also, he had learnt that Sirius had been appointed his Godfather by his biological parents, amongst other things. He had also learnt why he had the teaching method that he did. It was because when he had been at school Sirius had been a prankster, and had never liked the way the professors taught, making everything seem boring.
Turning a corridor, he turned his thoughts onto other people. One person who came to his mind was Rubeus Hagrid, though he preferred to be known by his last name only.
Ben knew quite a bit about him, though all of that had been learnt during the summer so far, as he had had virtually nothing to do with him over the previous school year,
Hagrid was half-giant, a fact which few knew. His mother had been a giantess, though no one knew whether or not she was alive.
Hagrid himself was large, like all half-giants. She was much wider than anyone else that Ben knew, and much taller too. His face was a tangled mass of hair from his beard, and the top of his head, and he had black, beetle-like eyes that were full of warmth.
He had been expelled during his third year at Hogwarts, apparently for opening the chamber of secrets. Ben knew this to be a lie, as he knew the chamber could only be opened by parselmouths. And there was the fact that his father had been the one to open it, even though he was possessed by the Dark Spirit at the time.
Ben smiled as he entered the Great hall for breakfast and his stomach gave a loud rumble. Soon school would be starting, and he would be able to use magic again.
*~*
Later that day Ben was looking for his Father. He eventually found him sitting in an empty classroom.
As he walked slowly into the room, his Father turned and smiled when he saw him, after taking a second to adjust to the illusion charms disappearance.
"What are you doing up here?" he asked as Ben sat down next to him.
"Wondering what you're doing here," responded Ben grinning.
His Father looked at him for a second strangely. Maybe there was too much Slytherin in him for his own good.
"I have some good news," said Tom (A/N: Okay, from now on I'm referring to Tom as Tom, apart from when Ben speaks to him) "And it really surprised me when I was asked."
Ben looked at him, his face a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
"What is it?" he asked quickly, his face getting eager.
Tom grinned. This would be interesting to see his reaction.
"I've been asked to be the new Defence Against the Dart Arts professor. And I accepted," he answered laughing.
Ben's face broke out into a huge grin and he laughed a bit.
"So what did you come and find me for?" Tom asked after a few minutes of talking about how brilliant it was that Tom had got the position.
Ben's smile turned into a frown as he recalled the previous night, and he started to tell Tom about the rhyme that he had heard in his sleep.
A/N: I am soooooooooooooo sorry this took so long! *bows down and asks for forgiveness* I tried to write some every day, but some days I couldn't concentrate on anything, and others I didn't get a chance. I swear it won't happen again. Okay, now you watch, now I've jinxed it. It'll be a whole three months before the next one! *Dodges rotten vegetables* What? I was only joking!
Anyways, if you have any ideas where this fic could go (I only have the vaguest idea myself, plus it doesn't matter if it's just part of a chapter, coz I really need ideas) then could you let me know. I desperately need the help. I'll only change it a little bit in some places to fit in with the vague ideas I have, and give you the credit! Please help!
HermioneGreen: Thanks. I hope it lives up to your expectations.
Queen Cari: Oooooh! Good ideas! And I can't exactly reveal the answers to your questions yet, but they will be revealed.
Rain Warrior: Bah! I hate the backspace, though I use it all the time. Mine stopped working for a while awhile back. Yeah, I was concerned. I hate people to be in pain (I don't mind it myself, so long as it's not a migraine). You love it? Really? Thank you!!!!!! And I could read your review... just.
Ping*pong5: It was sooner than you would have expected? Cool! And his true appearance will stay like that! I can never remember how I said he looked with it on anyway. And Sirius is coming in more often, even if he isn't the DADA teach anymore! He WILL be staying at Hogwarts (yes, that's right Siri, you have to stay there! Why? Because I said so!). And as you can see from this chapter, they're becoming god friends.
Star Mage1: Well, you have one reaction. The others are going to be funny to write, and hopefully funny to read.
P.L.S: Oooooh! So that's what happened. It's okay. It must be a bummer having no PC to write on (I couldn't live without mine, and we only got it in February!). Sure you can inherit it after I'm done with it, that's if I don't decide to use it to take over the world though *grins* And you have slaves-err siblings- too?! Aren't they useful? Thanks for the idea on giving Tommy the DADA job. But he is good, which is unfortunate, but true. So no teaching the first years the Unforgivables (understand why I'm not good now?). The second idea sounds good. Except the part where Neville gets killed. Maybe that should happen to Ron instead...
HAZZAGRIFF: I know! Good, isn't it? And he's my fave character too! And your review for the first chapter of this almost made me not update. I mean, if you want to update quicker, threaten me with a loooooooong life, not death!
