A/N: This story contains corporal punishment of a minor. You have been warned! If this is not your cup of tea, please leave this one-shot now and wait for the next story in this series as you do NOT have to read this one-shot to understand anything stories that follow. Thank you!
*~S.B.*~*H.P.~*
August 3rd, 1988
Harry stood in the corner staring at the intersecting walls, sniffling miserably. He knew he was in trouble when Sirius caught them last night, and he knew for sure that he was in worse trouble than before when Sirius told him to stand in the corner while he took Tyga home right after breakfast.
But he didn't want to be in trouble.
It wasn't as if they meant to be outside for that long. They just wanted to get a better look at the moon. It was so close to the Earth last night, the first time either boy had seen it that close before, and Tyga had suggested that they go out and get a closer look.
Harry knew better. He knew the rule of staying inside the house during a full moon, and he should have stayed inside. Besides, it was way past the time the boys were supposed to be in bed. Anna had already gone to sleep on the couch downstairs so Harry knew it was really late when Tyga woke him up to look at the moon.
He should have just told his friend no, but he didn't want to seem like a baby that was afraid to break a rule or two. So, he went outside with his friend.
He still remembered how it all went wrong...
"Look at it, Harry. It's gigantic!" Tyga said in awe as the two boys stared up at the moon from where they were standing on the back porch.
"Yeah. I wonder what it's like to live on the moon."
"Well, we'd have to ask Neil Armstrong that question," Tyga giggled. He looked out over to the tree line. "Hey, you wanna go exploring a bit in the forest? Since we're out here and everything already?"
Harry looked at his friend like he was crazy. "In the dark? Tyga, we're not even supposed to be outside," he whispered sharply.
"But we're already outside. We've already broken the rule, why not make the most of it? Besides, Anna is asleep and your uncles went out with friends, didn't they? They even said they wouldn't be back until morning. Come on, Harry. Please?"
Harry looked at his friend who was giving him the largest puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen. He knew he shouldn't be outside. Werewolves were out wandering about. If they encountered a werewolf Tyga would be in the most danger. Harry, himself would be hurt, but he could also shift into Chronos and avoid getting infected if they were to survive an attack. Tyga, however, would not. Harry bit his lip as he looked at the darkness that enveloped the trees behind his house. The gate that surrounded the house was warded, its purpose to keep any rogue werewolves away from the property, though from what he overheard his uncles saying one night during one of his eavesdropping adventures, it may not always hold one at bay which was why Harry wasn't allowed outside. Harry passing through that gate would really seal the deal in his disobedience.
But he didn't want to come off as a chicken either…
"Please, Harry? I promise we won't go in too far," Tyga pleaded again.
With a sigh, Harry nodded. "Alright, we can go. But not too far in, alright? We feel weird in any way and we turn right back around, deal?"
"Deal!" Tyga agreed with a giant grin.
With that settled, Harry walked to the gate, opening it and holding it open for his friend. What he didn't know was that the gate was not only warded, but it also signaled both Sirius and Remus, when he wasn't a werewolf, that someone entered or left the property without permission. It was this signal that alerted a large black dog, a grim most people would call him, that something was amiss.
Sirius-Padfoot- waited for the moment that the werewolves were distracted with chasing a younger pack member around in a game before turning to leave the little field they were in. Moony was laying on the sidelines, watching the game, and perked his head up at his small friend in the pack. Padfoot whimpered and growled, letting his pack brother know that all was well and that he had to return home for an emergency. The werewolf huffed but put his head back down, none the wiser that the emergency his brother was talking about was his wayward cub wandering through the forest. Padfoot took off at a run back through the trees.
Meanwhile, Harry and Tyga laughed merrily as they chased one another through some trees. They were still relatively close to the house, but also far enough away that you couldn't see the house from where they were in the forest.
The laughter stopped when in the distance, they heard what sounded like a howl. Harry's eyes widened and Tyga looked confused.
"Harry, what was that?"
"It…it sounded like a wolf…" Harry knew what it was, but he couldn't tell his friend that there were werewolves running around Binghamton New York.
The howl came again, this time it sounded closer than before. Harry nudged Tyga. "Come on, let's get back to the house. Quick."
"Good idea," Tyga said nodding frantically.
The boys took off at a fast clip back toward where they knew the house was, though they were still fairly far from the property. Just as they got to the back gate, a low growl sounded close by. Harry didn't waste any time looking behind or around him. He grabbed Tyga by the hand and ran as fast as he could back to his backyard, closing the gate behind him. Tyga was bent over on, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Harry, however, was watching with wide eyes as the pair of yellow eyes narrowed and retreated back into the forest. That didn't look like a werewolf, at least not one from the pack that Harry knew about. There were times over the year when Remus would actually allow Harry to join them at night, knowing that he wouldn't be harmed so long as he stayed as Chronos, so he knew the other members of the pack fairly well. This…creature didn't look like one of his uncle's pack.
"Tyga, let's not do this again. Whatever that was, it was too close for…"
Harry stopped in mid-sentence as something a bit scarier than what the boys almost encountered stared back at them. Well…more like someone.
"Enjoyed your night out, boys?" Sirius asked, his arms crossed over his chest, his face calm but the raised eyebrow gave his displeasure away to Harry, and the boy knew he was in for it.
Neither boy said a word as they stared back at the older wizard. Sirius gestured with his head toward the back door where the silhouette of Anna was standing. The boys moved pass Sirius, both with their heads down in shame at doing something they knew they shouldn't have. As Harry walked by his godfather, he yelped in surprise as he felt a sharp smack land on his backside. Tyga, hearing the sound, moved faster into the house and Harry moved just as fast right after him. Sirius entered after making sure the gate was secured and after giving the boys a hard look, pointed up the stairs and just said, "Bed. Now." to which both boys scurried faster than an eight-year-old possibly could.
And that's how he ended up where he was now, waiting for Sirius to return. Anna also lectured the boys over breakfast, which made Harry feel worse than he already felt but not as bad as he knew he would feel after Sirius was done with him. If that smack last night was anything to go by, he knew he would be getting the smacking of a lifetime when he returned.
And speaking of his godfather…
Harry froze as he heard the front door open and close. He turned his head slightly to see if he could catch a glimpse of Sirius.
"Keep your nose in that corner, Harry James," came the stern rebuke.
Harry quickly turned back to the corner. He had never heard that tone come from his godfather before, and he honestly didn't like it. He knew he was in for a stern talking to…but maybe he could talk his godfather out of the unspoken punishment he knew would be coming his way…
*~S.B.*~*H.P.~*
Sirius stared at the back of his godson's head for a long moment before moving off to the kitchen where he could hear Anna still messing around. He came upon her putting the last of the breakfast dishes away in the cabinet and wiping her hands on a towel.
"Anna, I really want to apologize for the antics of those two miscreants. I don't know what possessed Harry, of all people, to wander outside…and on the full moon of all times," Sirius shook his head at the stupidity of his godson.
"There's nothing for you to apologize for, Sirius. Harry and Tyga made their choice. They know the rules Remus set for this house especially for the full moon and they chose to disobey. Although, I don't believe that Harry would be so foolish to go outside the gate, let alone outside," Anna sighed as she leaned against the counter.
Sirius nodded in agreement. "I agree. I do believe that Tyga was the ringleader in all of this. I let his mother know after dropping him off why the weekend was cut short. She didn't seem pleased at all."
"I wouldn't imagine she would be," Anna said with a sigh. "What with kids disappearing left and right in the area I wouldn't be happy if my son blatantly welcomed danger by being where he wasn't supposed to be either." She looked at the clock on the wall then pushed herself away from the counter. "I should get going. I still have to do my finishing touches on this thesis paper before the deadline in two weeks."
"Thank you again, Anna, and again, I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing Sirius Black, before I find a way to gain magic and hex the word from your vocabulary," the young woman said with a smile.
Sirius chuckled and followed her out of the kitchen. She stopped and kissed Harry on his head, patting his shoulder comfortingly as a way of saying she forgave him before leaving to head home. Closing the door, Sirius, leaned his head against it, sighing as he knew the next part was going to be much harder for him than it would be for his godson.
'Remus, why couldn't you be the Animagus and I the werewolf so I didn't have to deal with our boy's disobedience?' he questioned himself in dismay. He knew it would be the wrong thing to even say to Remus. It would earn him the hexing of a lifetime as Remus wouldn't wish his curse on anyone. Not even himself. Which was why Sirius needed to impose the importance of Harry following the rules about the full moon and the serious danger he and Tyga put themselves in last night. He also needed to find out about that werewolf that chased the boys back to the house but seeing as it was daylight and no longer the full moon, it was probably harder to find out that information this month. For now, he had a bigger problem.
"Harry," he called from his place by the door as he placed a silencing bubble on the staircase and the space above the stairs to block any sound reaching the sleeping man upstairs. He moved over to the couch and waited for his disobedient godson to turn around from the corner. He crooked his finger, with only a single command, "Come here."
Harry stared at his godfather and Sirius stared right back, except his face was unamused as he watched his godson move only an inch toward him.
"Harry, you're in enough trouble for your stunt from last night. I told you to come to me and now I'm telling you a second time. I will not say it a third. If I have to come to you, you will not like what happens. Come here."
Short of shouting those last two words, Sirius took a deep breath to calm himself and sat on the couch as he waited for Harry to walk over to him. The child stood just out of his reach until Sirius raised an eyebrow. Harry let out a soft sound from his throat as he walked within reach of his godfather.
The few moments of silence and watching Harry fidget nervously was broken when Sirius spoke.
"I truly do not understand what was going through your head last night, Harry. I know you know better than to blatantly disobey the two main rules your father has set for you to follow. Don't go out at night without an adult especially during the full moon and don't put your life in danger. I want to know why you broke two of the most important rules."
Harry sniffled and shrugged his shoulders pitifully. Sirius, normally the patient one of the two adult wizards, had lost his patience with his nine-year-old godson when he found him wandering outside last night. Quick as lightning, he turned Harry to the side and landed a sharp swat on the seat of his pants before turning the boy back to face him.
"Shrugging and nodding are not answers, Harry James. Answer my question."
Harry sniffed as the tears he was holding back streamed down his face. "I…we…I…" he paused and swallowed the thick lump in his throat. "We just wanted to see the m…moon. It…it was so close t-to Earth and…and we just wanted to see it."
Both of Sirius' eyebrows rose at that. "And looking at it from inside the house from a window wasn't enough for you boys?"
"T…I…we…" another pause, another swallow. Harry didn't want to tell on his friend. Besides, it wasn't just Tyga's fault, but if he told Sirius that it was Tyga's idea, Tyga might not be allowed to come back and he didn't want that.
Sirius noticed the hesitation and understood why Harry wasn't talking. He would have done the same if it were him and James in the position that he and Tyga were in. Regardless, he needed Harry to understand what he did was wrong.
"Did Tyga convince you to go outside, Harry?" he asked.
Something in Harry changed with that question, and Sirius noticed the subtle change. It was almost as if the contrite little boy disappeared and a defiant one was about to take his place. Harry looked at his godfather, but not directly in his eyes. If one was looking from afar, they would think the child was looking the man in the face, but actually, Harry was looking at a point beyond Sirius' head as he replied, "No."
Sirius sighed. Now he would have to add lying to the list. "I find it very hard to believe that you took it upon yourself to wander outside with your friend when you very well know the rules, Harry. How about you try again, and this time with the truth?"
"I already said 'no'. Tyga didn't force me to do anything!" Harry replied raising his voice.
"Do not raise your voice to me, young man."
"I wouldn't if you would just let this go! And it's a stupid rule! Why can't we go outside in the backyard? It's stupid!"
"Enough!" Sirius finally losing his patience, raised his voice, causing Harry to take a step back. Sirius gave the boy a hard look. "You don't seem to understand the repercussions of your actions, Harry James. You want to know why the rule is in place? Do you remember what you saw backing away from our backyard last night as you and Tyga barely made it back here safely?"
Eyes wide, Harry nodded before remembering the warning swat from earlier about nodding and answered with a soft, "yes". Sirius continued, "Do you know what that was? That was a rogue werewolf, Harry. A werewolf! You or Tyga could have been bitten or dragged off and killed! Do you not understand that?" the wizard was now fully worked up.
Last night scared a few lives off of him. He saw the creature too late before it could register in his head to transform into Padfoot or throw off a spell to scare the creature away. If Harry hadn't closed that gate…there's no telling what would have happened to either of those boys…or Anna.
"Do you understand, Harry, that you could have died last night?"
Harry swallowed nervously as he had an idea that they could have been seriously hurt, but not to the point of death. "I could have turned into Chronos…I would have…"
"You would NOT have survived! You are a child, Harry. That werewolf would have snatched you up, snapped your neck, and used your bones as a toothpick! Even turning into Chronos wouldn't have saved you from being slaughtered! Both you and Tyga's actions last night put your lives in danger."
"We didn't mean to, Uncle Siri."
"You may not have meant to, Harry, but you did. How do you think Tyga's family would have felt, knowing that their son had been killed by some wild animal? How do you think I would feel watching and knowing you got killed by a werewolf right in front of me? How you do think Remus, your father, would feel knowing that his son was killed by a werewolf, one that had possibly gone rogue from his pack? It would devastate all of us knowing that you got seriously injured, pup," Sirius said, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat as the thought of Harry dying right in front of him ran through his head. He wouldn't let his emotions get the best of him though, not until he was alone later or until he could talk to Remus about all of this.
By this point, Harry was crying and rubbing his eyes to wipe his tears away. He didn't realize that what he had done last night was so horrible. He didn't know that his actions, should they have proved fatal, would have caused so much pain and suffering to the people he loved. He didn't want to make his godfathers sad or hurt them. He just wanted to have fun, but apparently, this wasn't the way.
Sirius ran a hand through his hair, wincing slightly as he snagged a knot. He turned his attention back to the child in front of him. "You have to understand that we don't make and enforce these rules to make you miserable or for you to not have fun, Harry. They're here to keep you safe."
"I…I'm sorry Uncle Siri. I won't go outside at night again. I promise. I…I won't…" Harry coughed as his tears caught in his throat and Sirius figured that the contrite Harry was back and it was time to finish this awful session.
"I'm sure that you understand, Harry, but I need to make sure that you are aware that your actions have consequences to them. So, you are grounded for the next three weeks. As this is close to the end of summer, that means you will not be outside until school starts up at the end of August. Also, tonight you will write lines for me, 'I will not break the rules or put my life in danger' and I want that written one hundred and fifty times."
Harry whimpered at the punishment. He hated writing lines, almost as much as he hated standing in the corner. And it was a hundred and fifty times! It couldn't get any worse than that.
Sirius sighed again as he finished off giving Harry his consequences. "Finally, and you most likely knew this was coming, but you're going to get a spanking for breaking those two major rules last night."
Eyes wide, Harry put his hands behind him. "No, Uncle Siri. Please! I promise I'll be good. I won't break the rules again, I promise," he whined as he slowly inched back two feet.
Sirius shook his head. "This isn't negotiable, Harry. Let's just get this over with so we can move on with our day."
"No! I don't want to get spanked!" Harry yelled as he took another step back.
"Harry James, if you run from me, you'll be getting five more swats and you'll be getting this punishment on your bare bottom," Sirius said sternly.
Harry, with tears in his eyes, shook his head 'no' as he backed away again. Swiftly he turned and tried to run to the staircase but his godfather was much faster than he was and he was quickly picked up and hauled back over to the couch, screaming and punching Sirius' back the whole way. He was placed on his feet long enough for Sirius to pull his pajama pants down before he was pulled over his godfather's lap and was looking at the floor. He kicked his feet, struggling to get out of the position he was in, but stopped abruptly when five stinging swats landed on his bare behind. Letting out a yelp, the young boy stopped his struggling as Sirius began speaking again.
"I told you not to run from me, Harry. You brought this spanking onto yourself by disobeying the rules and putting your life in danger and as much as you don't like it, I don't enjoy it either. You need to learn that some rules are not meant to be broken and if a sore backside is what will help you remember that, then this is what will happen every single time you break one of those important rules."
With that, Sirius let his hand fall sharply on the tiny bottom beneath him. Another smack fell right after the first, followed by a third. By the sixth smack, Harry was full on crying, but still struggling to be released from the punishment. Sirius continued the onslaught on his godson's slowly reddening behind until the fight left the boy and his struggling stopped; his body going limp over his knees as he accepted his punishment sobbing uncontrollably and his speech incoherent through his tears.
Sighing, Sirius pushed himself to finish this up. He shifted Harry so that he could aim for the child's sit spots, punctuating each word in his next sentence with a swat each. "Don't. You. Ever. Put. Your. Life. In. Danger. Again. Do I make myself clear?"
A loud wail from the child was all Sirius received in reply and that was all he needed. Sitting back on the couch, he gently rubbed Harry's back, waiting for the child's sobbing to calm down. When it seemed like the boy's crying was settling, Sirius stood him up, but before he could retrieve the pants Harry had kicked off during the punishment, the child threw himself into his chest, his crying starting up again.
"Shh, Harry. It's all over, pup. It's over," he said rubbing Harry's back again and kissing his head.
"I… I… I'm…sor…" Harry tried to get out but the words were all choking up in his throat. "I wo-won't break the…the…the rules any-anymore, Uncle Siri," he choked out, his tears resuming their steady stream down his flushed cheeks.
"Shh. I know, pup. I know. Take some deep breaths and calm yourself."
Harry did what Sirius told him, taking some deep breaths and calming his body down. If this is what happens when he goes outside during a full moon without either of his godfathers, he was never going to step foot outside again. His backside stung as if he had slid down a metal slide at the park on a hot summer day with no pants on and he was slowly re-working himself up as he thought about the rest of his punishment, the lines he had to write, the fact that he was on punishment for the rest of the summer, and the worry and stress he put on Sirius for his foolish actions.
He never wanted to cause his godfathers to worry and he hated disappointing or upsetting them. Maybe he could do something to make it up to them? Right now, however, he needed to calm himself down as he felt the nauseous rumbling of his stomach trying to rebel his breakfast. All this crying was making him feel sick so he relaxed into Sirius' chest and took deep breaths again. If it weren't for the rhythmic rubbing and patting on his back and the rhythmic sound of Sirius' heart beating, Harry probably would have gone back into a hysterical mess. As it was, Harry's eyes slowly closed and his body went limp as he let his exhaustion take him to dreamland.
Sirius looked down at the head of messy black hair, giving his boy another kiss on his head. He knew that Harry had fallen asleep as his body had gotten heavy and his breathing had become slow and steady. Gently, he moved his body to the edge of the couch and stood up with Harry in his arms. He walked up the stairs and to the child's room, putting him onto his bed. He spelled the boy's pajama pants back onto Harry and covered him up, watching as he flipped himself onto his stomach in his sleep.
"I hope you made him understand that what he did last night was utterly foolish and it had better not happen again," a weary and tired voice behind Sirius said.
"I hope so too, but kids are a bit hard-headed, you know?" Sirius turned to face his friend. "You should be resting."
Sure enough, Remus leaned a little too far forward on the doorframe he was leaning on and if Sirius wasn't there to catch him, he would have fallen to kiss the carpet.
"Come on, buddy. Let's get you back in bed."
"I'm fine, Padfoot," Remus murmured wearily.
"Listen here, you stubborn wolf," Sirius grunted as he maneuvered Remus' arm over his shoulder, "I still have enough stamina left before I need my own nap to give you the same medicine I just gave Harry. You're going back to bed, now," he said jokingly.
Remus chuckled but allowed his friend to guide him back to his bedroom and help him to bed. As soon as his head hit his pillow again, he was asleep. Sirius left his friend and godson to their dreams and retreated back to his own bedroom, crawling under his own covers and allowing the sandman to take him off to his own dreams.
*~S.B.*~*H.P.~*
A/N: Thanks for reading and having an open mind! Harry just couldn't help himself. The moon was just too tempting and peer pressure is just so hard to fight as a kid. I will say that it has taken me a long while to actually post this part of the story on this website because FFN is known for the trolls and the people who just can't seem to understand that fanfiction is just that: Fiction. If you read the entire story and enojyed how it was handled, leave a comment below. :D Comments are always greatly appreciated and I truly appreciate all of the followers I have. If you managed to read this far and don't like it...well, they always said if you have nothing nice to say...
Thank you for reading!