Summary: Benjamin moves to the extra ordinary town of Little Whinging and finds the most extraordinary little boy.

AN: WIP. I don't know when I'll update this, but the pairing has been on my mind for like ever. I apologize for any and all mistakes. Eventual slash.

Everybody say Hi to my new, amazing, beta: THE WISTFUL BLOOM!

Milky Way

He'd been watching It.

Every single day for the past two weeks. From the moment Benjamin joined this community, he'd been watching It. He thought back to the cloudy day where the wind shifted and the sweetest scent washed over him. The opportunity to have It was in the palm of his hand, but he waited. The pressure on his bottom lip was gone.

He waited, and learned of It that lived across the road. It, that lived in a house like all the others in Little Whinging. Two stories with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. A painted red door with a brass number four was the only differing factor.

It lived with a zoo of people: A whale of man who waddled as he walked, his multiple chins shaking with each step he took. The whale left the house at seven o'clock sharp and didn't come home until eight- also sharp. It also lived with a giraffe of a woman. She had a long, skinny neck and a high, shrill voice. The giraffe left the house only to gossip loudly or to brag about something with the other ordinaries. Sometimes, she came out to snoop through the neighbors' rubbish bins at the crack of dawn. Lastly, It lived with another being, the pig. This one was the nastiest of them all.

The pig was a mutation of the giraffe and the whale. He toddled as he walked, round and pink- resembling a beach ball- and had a wailing voice like a banshee. The pig liked to blame It for everything that went wrong, and often chased It round the block with a group of squealing piglets.

Benjamin never liked bullies, but he never intervened. Not just yet, anyway.

It was the one that quietly crept from the house just before the sun poked up from the horizon, and set to work. It wore stretched, torn jumpers and old trainers. It never said a word, pulling out weeds and the like. It only stepped back inside at nine, twelve, and five, for an hour each time. It didn't really go in until the last of the sun's dying rays faded away.

Benjamin had been skulking around long enough- the time was now. He dressed in his most casual clothes, and practiced his most welcoming smile. All to attract It. He leaves the house and walked across the single paved road that separated him from It.

He waved and nodded to the nosy neighbors whose eyes follow him. Benjamin wondered if they notice the way his gait has changed- ever so slightly- how he slowed with each step, and stopped for the millionth of each second to assess It. His nose flared, taking in the surrounding scents. He let out a precursory, low warning growl — a sign to any potential predators that It was his and his alone.

He was on the lawn, gliding across like some ghostly specter. Benjamin's bottom lip was punctured by the time he crouched down beside It. He breathed in again, and the scent alone was enough to send him into a frenzy.

It turned toward him. Benjamin waited for the expected to happen; for It to scream, for Its heart to beat in a frantic rhythm- because surely It knew who was prey and who was predator.

Instead, wide emerald green eyes, framed with large glasses (much too big for Its tiny face) focus on Benjamin. Thin, chapped lips twitch into a simple smile. "I'm Harry," It said. It offered a small hand, brown with dirt.

Benjamin blinked, and then laughed. This was a situation he never imagined; the prey was not scared, but welcoming? He made a rash decision, hunger temporarily abated. His hand encloses around Its— his hand, giving it a firm shake.

"Benjamin."

"Will you be my friend?" Harry asked, leaning forward.

"Sure?"

"Wicked!" Harry grinned, presenting all his little pearly whites. "Dudley scares away everyone." He was bouncing excitedly. "We should play a game! I don't know how to play lots of games, but I learn things really, really fast…"

Benjamin nodded, humming and grinning, while his mind raced. His observations had failed to make it obvious that It, Harry, was a child. A strange young thing, so starved for attention that his innate senses had failed to warn him. Benjamin never fully understood the phrase, to look at you as if you've hung the moon- until now. Harry looked at him like that. Fifteen minutes hadn't even passed.

"How about we play the easiest game?" Benjamin suggested, "why don't we play hide and seek?"

"Okay!" Harry jumped to his feet and pushed up his wire-rimmed glasses. "I hide, you seek," he took off, running. He was fast... for a human. "No peeking, and you have to count to one hundred!" He called over his shoulder.

Benjamin's smile grew wider. It wasn't like he needed to peek, but he'd bite. He covered his eyes with his hands. "One, two, three…"

He could hear Harry's muffled giggling as if he was shouting. His quick footsteps reverberated on the dry lawn, his heartbeat a constant thrum. And, if that wasn't enough, his sweet aroma wafted cruelly goaded Benjamin to let loose.

"–twenty-five, one hundred. Ready or not, here I come." He started to walk around, aimlessly. Harry's heart was racing. He was moving as Benjamin moved. Benjamin had him in his peripheral vision.

"I wonder where Harry could be?" he said aloud. He ducked behind the hedges and bushes, pawing through the green foliage. "Not here?"

"Ah?" He spun on his heel, bending down to check under a creepy ceramic gnome. "Not here, either?" He scratched his head. "Harry's not here in front… hmm, he must be a pretty good hider."

He glanced around the small lawn, slowly, inching back up. The neighbors were watching him. Humans thought they were so discreet, peeking over their fences, the newspaper, or casually jogging by. He gave each and every one of them a pointed grin and wave.

He whirled around and rubbed his chin."I guess if he's not in the front, he must be in the back."

"Harry! Where are youuu~?" He grinned, calling out in a singsong voice.

He spotted the toolshed in the back, nestled beside a long row of colorful flowers. He didn't linger too long on the boy's silhouette. The boy occasionally peeked out from behind the toolshed, a hand clamped around his mouth to muffle his delighted snickers.

Benjamin continued forward. He stopped every now and then to check the bushes, or a random overturned stone. His own amusement grew with every giggle that slipped from Harry's mouth. At last, he made it into the backyard; there he pretended to survey the area.

"I wonder... if I were to check behind this big suspicious toolshed…" He smirked. He headed straight, his pace deceptively casual. Harry's heartbeat rose the closer he got, still giggling behind a sweaty hand.

It seemed Harry couldn't stand the anticipation, because he leapt away from the toolshed just as Benjamin was ready to approach. "You found me!" he exclaimed, his cheeks flushed. "You found me! But you cheated!"

Benjamin pointed to himself in mock offense. "Me, cheated? No!"

Harry crossed his arms. "You didn't count to a hundred, you counted to twenty-five. I heard you."

Benjamin chuckled. He had enough sense to look somewhat petulant. "Alright, I admit to it. What do you suggest I do to fix such a horrid transgression?"

Harry's scrunched his nose, staring at him oddly. "What's a trans-gret-sh-un?"

"Transgression," Benjamin repeated. "It's a word that means you broke the rules."

"Oh! okay..." He nodded to himself, then he landed his stare once more on Benjamin. "For your tran-sagrets-ion" –Benjamin grinned- "we have to play another game; a fair one! I'm the seeker," he pointed at himself, "you be the hider!" He pointed at Benjamin.

"Alright?" Harry said, his arms still crossed.

"Sounds fair, little man."

"Hide! I'll count to ten!" Harry shooed Benjamin off. He slapped his hands over his face with a loud smack, loudly starting the countdown.

Benjamin hid.

He couldn't help but indulge Harry whenever he pleaded for them to play one game after another. They played dozens upon dozens of short childish games, and they never seemed to dampen Harry's energy. In fact, they did quite the opposite.

"Benjamin!" Harry squealed when he had caught him by the waist in their fourth game of tag. "You've got me, now, let me go!"

"Really? I wonder if I shoul—"

"Boy!" shrieked the giraffe, "what on earth do you think you're doing?" Harry froze in his grasp. His green eyes darted up before he wriggled out of Benjamin's grasp. Benjamin's gaze followed. He was still in the same position, like a statue.

"What have I told you about talking to strangers?" The giraffe hissed down at Harry, who had hurried to stand in front of her. He was smaller this way, his back hunched and his head hung low.

"I'm... not supposed to." Harry whispered.

"So you know the rule. And you deliberately disobeyed me. Oh, just you wait until Vernon gets ho—"

Harry's head snapped up. He was trembling. "Aunt 'Tunia! No! I-I-I—"

The giraffe regarded her nephew with a cold, disdainful look. "Get in the house," she ordered.

"Aunt 'Tunia, don't tell Uncle Vernon- I didn't mean to—"

"Get in." she barked. Harry sent a lasting mournful look to Benjamin before he ran into the house, leaving him with the giraffe.

Said giraffe had a satisfied grin on her face. She combed through her mousy brown hair before turning to him. Gone was the coldness, replaced by artificial cheer. "Hi, I'm sorry about the boy." She laughed lightly.

"We just have to be so firm with him, you see. He's such a handful. I'm sure the neighbors have told you how he doesn't play well with the other children, unlike my dear Dudders." She laughed again. She was fond of that- it was like her way of trying to smooth everything over, to make the situation normal. "It's best not to be around him."

Benjamin eased up. He straightened out his clothes and scrubbed at his dirty hands. He appeared relaxed. "There might be an underlying reason why he doesn't play well with other children, or talks to strangers. Those are early warning signs for heading down a dangerous path later in life."

"Exactly," the giraffe let out a delighted titter.

"My father's a bobbie and my mom's a social worker." He nodded toward the house behind him, "I've been observing Harry, and I figured my Dad or Mom could talk to him—"

"That won't be necessary, I assure you," the giraffe said hurriedly.

Ah, Benjamin loved the decadent smell of nervousness. It spiked the adrenaline, made the blood circulate a little faster throughout the body. He still wore the same genial grin that refused to leave. "Okay," he said, "but if I continue to see Harry be unsociable, and wearing tatty clothing, or... anything else, it is my obligation to say something. You do understand that?"

"Of course," the giraffe said, after a pause, "I understand."

Benjamin nodded, grin still in place. "Tell Harry that I'll see him tomorrow."

"I'll pass the message along."

"Great." He began his trek back across the asphalt. He stepped back before he got to the curb. "Oh, and it's nice to finally meet you. My name's Benjamin," he said.

"Petunia Dursley," she said weakly.

Benjamin's grin widened. Huh. He always hated petunias. Ugly flowers. Uglier name.

The next day, Benjamin decided to leave his house at an earlier time, around eight, when Harry would first leave the house. He waited in the front yard, patient.

Harry arrived two or three minutes past his usual time. A brown tool belt hung loosely around his waist. His clothes were marginally better than yesterday's. He spared Benjamin a startled glance, then got to work without even word.

Benjamin's smile dropped. "Hey now, what's wrong? I thought we were friends."

"I not supposed to talk to strangers." Harry said blankly.

Benjamin inched forward. "I'm not a stranger. We're friends, remember?" He meant only to touch Harry's shoulder when he pulled back with a grimace. "Harry?"

He wouldn't look at him. "Don't touch there," he said. He moved further away.

He only rose an eyebrow at the strange demand. Benjamin extended his hand to brush against his back. Harry flinched back, grimacing in obvious pain. Yet he said not a word, nor did he look at him. Benjamin processed. He'd been on this Earth for too long to be ignorant to such obvious signs. Still he asked, if only for courtesy's sake.

"Harry, what happened?"

"I not supposed to talk to strangers."

"You won't get in trouble if you tell me, I promise," he soothed.

"I not supposed to talk to strangers."

"You can tell me. I'm your friend."

"I not supposed to talk to strangers," he repeated insistently. He began to dig into the soft ground. Benjamin got up.

"Fine, I'll go talk to your Aunt then," he began toward to house. Harry leapt up and pulled on his shirt.

"You can't! You can't! You can't!" Harry begged. He tugged back with all his strength.

"I can and I am."

"I not hurt, promise!"

Benjamin abruptly turned to face Harry. He bent down to the same level as him. Harry was pale-faced, trembling. "Tell me what happened."

Harry shifted in place, his stare firmly locked on the ground. "I fell down the stairs when I was playin' with Dudley. It was accident."

Benjamin hummed. He didn't need his enhanced senses to see that Harry was lying, but he went along. "How'd you fall?"

"I was playin'," Harry mumbled, fisting his large shirt.

"Uh huh, but how did you fall? Did you trip as you went down the stairs, when you were walking?"

Harry nodded. Right. Benjamin shot back up. "You're lying to me." He went. Harry followed.

"I not lying!"

Benjamin didn't bother to answer. With the door open from Harry's arrival, he slipped into the home. Harry was at his heels, valiantly trying to pull him back. Benjamin kept going down the narrow hallway, smelling breakfast and hearing it being devoured by a crowd of three with minimal conversation. He was not expecting the giraffe, the pig, and the whale to be up and together at this hour, but it was an early Saturday morning. No work for the whale. No morning play dates for pig. Giraffe barely left the house anyway.

He stopped about halfway towards the kitchen, motionless, as he stared down the cupboard to the right of him. He couldn't exactly pinpoint it, but there was something utterly miserable about the small space. Its presence alone had repulsed him, and the horrid smell! It was like an acrid mixture of salty tears, suffering and blood — Harry's salty tears, suffering, and blood! So strong, and so heavy- the scents told him this was where Harry dwelt.

"Harry," he said slowly, "what is this?"

Harry abruptly let go of him. He hurried in front of the cupboard. His small body was barely big enough to cover the entrance of the damned thing. "N-nothing!" He stuttered.

"Can I see inside this... nothing?"

"No!" Harry shook his head. Benjamin could see the new tears that threatened to spill. A strong sense of dread clung to Harry like a second skin. He frowned, but did not press him on the subject. He continued down the hall, to where the animals were being fed.

Harry was still behind him when he got to the door that separated them from his animal family. "I'm not hurt!" Harry whispered anxiously. "Benjamin! Go 'way!"

"No."

He entered the kitchen, all smiles. Jam and bread crumbs were smeared around both the pig and the whale's mouths. The giraffe was better, with a white cup pressed to her lips. Harry was at his pants leg, clutching the jean material.

"Who the devil are you?" Roared the whale, a murderous look in his beady black eyes. He glanced toward Harry. "Freak!" He ground his teeth.

"I'm sorry!" Harry cried out.

Benjamin waggled his index finger. "Don't blame Harry here. I wanted to talk to you." He calmly walked forward and grabbed a spare plate. He hummed as he took what was left of the breakfast: some fluffy yellow eggs, some toast, and the rest of the bacon and sausages. He eyed the pig's milk before he decided against it- who knew what sort of germs the boy carried.

He gave the plate and spoon to Harry. "Call it a hunch, but I bet you haven't eaten yet."

Harry's silence said it all.

"You go on and enjoy breakfast. I'll just stay here and chat."

Harry shivered. "You not going hurt them?" Interesting. Had Harry recognized he was dangerous?

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Benjamin crossed his undead heart. Harry nodded and sent one last nervous glance to his family of animals before he tucked in. The kitchen door swung to a close behind his retreating form.

Benjamin pulled out the only unoccupied chair across from the pig. He sat himself down, giving them an award-winning smile.

"Now see here! I don't know who you thi—"

"Ah! Before we start this rodeo," Benjamin pointed at the pig, stuffing his face, "I think all of the children should leave. This is a conversation for adults."

The whale, red in the face, held tightly onto his spoon, refusing to say anything. The giraffe pinched her lips together. She was born with some type of sense, because she opened her mouth when her husband wouldn't. "Dudders, go join the boy in the other room."

The pig grunted. Piggy was defiant to Mama, he stayed in place.

"Piggy, it's best if you listen to your dear mother," Benjamin warned him.

The child sent him a nasty glare before turning back to his plate. It was rare that Benjamin got so worked up over children, but he did not tolerate disrespect, especially when he was making the effort to be cordial.

"Child—!"

"Dudley, go outside!" The whale hissed.

"But daaaad!" The fat piglet oinked.

"Now!" roared the whale. The piggy cowered momentarily before he started to waddle off, with angry crocodile tears pricking at his eyes. Benjamin stopped him with a cool hand to the shoulder, his grin still in place.

"You make sure to play nicely with your cousin, if I hear one breath of complaint, there'll be trouble." He allowed his canines to lengthen, and for his eyes to turn blood red.

The pig squeaked. Benjamin turned him loose, amused to see how fast the pig moved when properly cowed. He twisted back around to face the giraffe and whale, his hand propped under his cheek.

"I should call social services. Or the police, at the very least," he started pleasantly.

The giraffe spluttered. Benjamin was learning that the whale's skin could bolster into many variations of red. Right now, it was more of a bright cherry. As if he were a child and he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"You are breaking and entering!" shouted the whale, "you'll be doing us a favor, interrupting our breakfast, taking our food, and touching our son!"

Benjamin raised an eyebrow. "Touching your son? What sort of touches are you talking about, an unlawful hand to the shoulder? I wonder what they'd say to the marks on Harry's back?"

The whale was now a deeper crimson. "That little freak—"

"Be more careful with your words," Benjamin's happy tone went cold, "that 'freak' is the only thing that's stopping me from killing you, your wife, and your son."

"Are you threatening me? Well I never! In my own house!" The whale slammed a shaking fist on the table. "I will not a have a deadbeat punk like y—"

Benjamin shot forward. He wrapped a single hand around the whale's meaty throat, easily lifting him up in the air despite his size. The whale tried to struggle out of his hold, kicking and scratching to no avail; the more he struggled the more pain he was in.

"Now I've warned you," Benjamin said in a sugary-sweet tone. "My patience is thinning. I see that speaking to you in a calm manner just won't do it. So, you'll stay and listen to me or I will break your neck." He squeezed for extra emphasis, loving the way the whale choked, his vibrant red edging toward a purplish-blue hue.

"Now, as I told your wife," he nodded toward the frozen giraffe, "my parents work in the social justice field. I have been watching and taking notes on Harry. I have ample evidence to put you two behind bars for a very long time."

The whale wheezed pitifully, shaking his head.

"I won't do that. Not yet, at least. But you're trying me."

"How dare you insult me like this!" Benjamin dug his nails in the man's soft skin, careful to keep his strength at bay. "I should kill you, but I hate to see a child without any sort of family, even a terrible one. So, I'm giving you another chance. There won't be a third."

Gripping the man tight, his attention turned to the pale-faced giraffe. "I have some requests regarding Harry. Understand?"

She nodded, eyeing him fearfully before her gaze darted to her wheezing husband. "Don't mind him, he's fine. You should focus on Harry. I'm going to go ahead and assume from that you fail to fulfill the most basic of needs regarding Harry. So, let's go down the list. He needs a new wadrobe, good clothes, I don't much care if they come from a secondhand shop or not, but they will all fit and be to his liking. He will receive adequate clothing for all seasons and for the school-year, which reminds me… is he enrolled?"

The giraffe licked her lips, her heart rate jumping so fast…

Benjamin saved her from answering. "You will enroll him as soon as the next school year starts. You will be taking him to the doctors as often as you do your son.

"In addition, the cupboard," Benjamin clenched his hands at next thought that came forth. This family should be on their knees, kissing each and every one of Harry's little toes. Because if their disrespect didn't kill them, this would. "For your sake I won't go into it, but that will be cleaned out immediately and used for its intended purpose.

"Harry will be given a proper bedroom with toys, a new mattress, sheets, and basically every single item you've given your son. It will all be new and working. Are we clear?"

The giraffe nodded, swallowing.

"Food. Harry will be given three proper meals a day, like your son. Snacks are at your own discretion, but he will be fed. Chores. You will assign proper chores for a boy his age. And if you give him chores, your precious son will be doing the same. Again, if I hear one complaint from Harry about his treatment here, there will be consequences."

Benjamin squeezed the whale; he really liked doing that. It was like the whale was some sort of giant stress ball, a perfect catharsis.

"Let's see, we went through the basics of food, shelter, clothing. You will steer your son away from bullying Harry. He shouldn't be bullied by his own cousin, a little teasing never hurts anyone, but a neighborhood game of Harry Hunting goes too far.

"Punishments are as you see fit. You punish Harry if he is rightly in the wrong, again though, punish Harry as if you were punishing your own son. No more of those belt marks on him. There will be no bruises or marks of any kind on Harry; a good smack goes a long way… but a beating is ridiculous.

"Lastly, you will act cordially around Harry. I don't know your story with him. And, frankly, I don't care. He is a child. You will care for him. I don't expect sudden hugs or kisses, but you will certainly be kind and respect him. Address him by his name, for one.

"Also, you will not stop Harry and I from talking. As long as he wants me around I will stay. Do not even think to try and interfere with that.

"These are my requests," Benjamin said, "for now." He abruptly let go out the whale, snickering as he fell to the ground, greedily sucking in air and rubbing at his irritated neck. "Understand?"

"Yes," the giraffe said.

"Good. I'm glad we had this chat." Benjamin was back to all smiles, "I'll leave you to your breakfast." He patted the whale on his scruffy blond head, loving the terrified gleam in his eye, the way he practically rolled away to avoid him.

He made his way out of the small kitchen. He went to Harry in the living room where the small boy was curled up on the couch, very interested in whatever silly cartoon was acted out on the small screen. His empty plate was on the floor. His cousin was in a recliner chair, far from Harry; he squealed when he saw Benjamin.

"Harry!" Benjamin sat down next to him.

Harry gave him a smile significantly dimmer than yesterday's. "Hi."

"Don't look so down in the dumps, Harry. I talked to your Aunt and Uncle."

Harry's smile completely dropped. Fear still clung to him.

"No, no, it wasn't like that. We just had to iron out a few problems, you know, talk about normal adult things. You aren't in any sort of trouble."

"Really?" Harry asked in a tiny voice.

"Really really. In fact, they said we can play together as much as we want. How does that sound?"

Harry's smile was his answer.