James Sirius Potter was crying; an event that was a rare occurrence in the Potter household.

James was twelve years old and he could clearly remember the last time he had really cried being nearly eight months prior. He wasn't like Albus who cried whenever he got into trouble, nor was he like Lily who was sometimes so emotional that she would cry even when she was happy, or worse yet when there was nothing to cry about.

James was different.

He was the oldest, his parents first born, and as a result of this it was often expected of him to be more mature, to set an example for his siblings. Although this was expected of him, James more often than not fell short in this aspect.

For as long as he could remember, he had heard every adult in his life compare him to his Uncle Sirius, his grandfather, and his father. He was mischievous, always looking for an adventure, and never the one to turn down an opportunity to have some fun, regardless of the trouble it got him into.

As the oldest he was also the most aware. He knew at an early age who his father was. He knew that his father's actions had literally saved the wizarding world. He knew that because of that people knew who he was, people who otherwise would have never even known his name. He knew that people judged him for his actions and that they watched him. People he had never met celebrated his successes but they also watched his every move just waiting for him to make a mistake. And it was all because of the family he was born into, not because of anything he had ever done.

Most of the time he didn't mind it; he was used to it. It had become so normal for people to stare at him when he was out in public. It was common for people to go out of their way to do nice things for his parents. Once when he was eight a man had offered to carry his mum's bags all over London for her.

James tried not to let it bother him when random people knew more about him than he knew about himself, but it was always a little unnerving when someone went out of their way to mention his favorite Quidditch team in conversation. It was also irritating to constantly wonder if people really, truly liked him or if they just wanted to be his friend because of who his father was.

James had made it a point as he grew older to force himself not to care about what anyone else thought. He was his own person and he could hardly help that his father had been the Chosen One. James couldn't change who he was because of it and he didn't want to. He liked who he was and though he often found himself in trouble for it, he could often talk himself out of that trouble too…which was why he was often told he was a lot like his Uncle Sirius.

This time however, he had gone way too far.

It had started out innocently enough. A few of his friends were going into muggle London for the afternoon. Despite the fact that they all had top notch brooms, they were spending their summer absolutely obsessing over a muggle pastime called skateboarding.

James had begged his parents for weeks now for the money to buy a skateboard of his own but his mum had flat out refused. She was completely convinced that he would break his neck and despite his dad reminding her that bones could easily be fixed, she stood her ground.

James wasn't sure what made him to do it. He supposed it was the thrill of the whole idea at first or the fact that Henry Boghs dared him and he couldn't back down from a dare, or his foolish notion that it was impossible for him to get caught. If he was honest with himself though it went back to his dad, it always did, and the fact that he wanted to prove to himself on some level that he could do what he wanted despite what his last name was.

The words, "Accio skateboard," had slipped out of his mouth so easily, almost as easily as the skateboard had glided through the store and out the front door directly into his hands.

"I told you I'd get away with it," James said to Henry the moment he noticed that the store keeper hadn't even batted an eyelash in their direction.

He had spoken too soon though.

Seconds later James felt a hand on his shoulder and when he looked up he looked directly into the face of a muggle police man.

Unlike some kids who grew up in the wizarding world, James knew all about the muggle world and he knew that the police man was the last person he wanted to see.

Henry and his two other friends ran away almost immediately. James, on the other hand, had no such luck.

He was taken into the store and made to apologize and return the skateboard.

James was hopeful that once he apologized all would be well and he would be free to go he couldn't have been more wrong though.

The police man recognized him from seeing him around downtown London with his dad. As if that wasn't unfortunate enough, he had just seen his dad at a diner a block away having lunch and took it upon himself to walk James over there, explain the situation, and hand him over to his father.

James would have rather gone to jail.

There were very few times in his life that he had seen his father truly angry and he had never seen him angry with him. His mum was the one who got angry. She was the one who scolded, yelled when she had to, and would think nothing of delivering a spanking if and when it was earned. His father was different. His father rarely scolded, never yelled, and under no circumstances doled out spankings.

Until today that was.

His father had been so angry that he had immediately walked James down a back alley, grabbed ahold of his arm, and apparated him home without any warning at all.

With a firm grip on the back of his neck, his father had led him into the house without saying a single word. He had walked James up to his room and without even giving him a chance to explain, had delivered the worst spanking James had ever received. Now James was standing in front of the man concentrating solely on the carpeted floor of his room.

He couldn't bring himself to look at his dad. He had never meant to make him angry or push him far enough to make him punish him.

And now James was crying. He wasn't sobbing as he was sure Albus would have been or crying loudly enough for the whole house to hear like Lily would have. He was staring at his feet, the tears pouring quietly from his eyes as his shoulders shook.

His throat was burning more and more with every tear that he shed. His nose was running, his eyes were burning with tears, and his bum felt as though someone had set it on fire.

Without uttering so much as a single word, Harry reached out and wrapped his arms around James, pulling him into a hug.

Harry knew he had been hard on his oldest son and he expected the boy to stand rigid, absolutely refusing to show any emotion towards Harry at all, so he was pleasantly surprised when James' body instantly relaxed into his father's.

Harry was absolutely sick with himself. He never wanted to be the disciplinarian when it came to his children. Of course on occasion he had to be, but never to this degree. His hand was tingling and his heart was practically beating out of his chest. He hated every second of spanking his son and instantly felt guilty for putting Sirius in the same position so many times.

James sobbed hard into Harry's chest, causing a wet spot to immediately form on his father's white work shirt.

He wanted to apologize. To try and explain why he had been so dumb, but he couldn't find his voice.

Harry was silent as he let James cry it out. He knew that they had to talk, that there was a discussion that simply could not be put off but he also knew his son well enough to know that James had to be ready to talk and if he wasn't, Harry might as well strike up a conversation with the chair he was sitting in as he would likely get more of a response from it.

Gently Harry rubbed his son's back as he softly whispered to him reassuring him to calm down.

Several long moments later, Harry heard James sniff loudly and then clear his throat.

"I'm so stupid."

"Not in the least," Harry replied gently.

James nodded into his father's shirt. "If you knew why I did it…" his words trailed off.

"And why did you?"

James sighed, his breath coming out hitched, but he remained silent.

"You're no longer in trouble with me," Harry reassured the child in his arms. "You were punished and I promise you that no matter what you tell me, you won't be punished any further."

"I wanted to prove I could."

Harry made a confused face at these words despite the fact that his son could not see it. "Come again?"

"It's like I can never mess up bad because of who you are and people are always watching me. I wanted to prove to myself that it didn't matter…that I could do it."

Harry cringed at his son's words.

Slowly and gently he pulled James away from him. He cupped the boys chin in his hand and gently forced him to look directly at him.

"Who I am does not define who you are."

James shrugged.

"No," Harry shook his head. "I want you to really remember that. I don't ever want you to feel that you have to prove something because of what I did. I know that sometimes it may not seem that way but you are allowed to be your own person James. You are allowed to make mistakes and you are allowed to grow up without worrying about what the rest of the world thinks about it."

James thought these words over before he nodded in agreement.

"That being said you were absolutely in the wrong today but you know that don't you?"

Another nod. A miserable nod.

"Stealing is never okay," Harry said in a voice that he hoped was coming across as much sterner than it felt to him. "And I know you know better than to do it."

"I'm really sorry dad," James replied.

His tears had stopped several moments prior but Harry was sure he saw them preparing to start once more as James apologized.

"I know you are," Harry assured him. "And I know that in the future it will never happen again."

"Never," James promised.

Harry nodded. He knew that he would never have to repeat this lesson with James. If there was one way that the boy differed from his father it was the fact that James never got in trouble for the same thing twice.

"Now I want to apologize to you."

James gave his father a confused look. "Why? I was the one who acted like a total prat."

"And I was the one who hauled you home, up to your room, and over my knee without ever giving you the chance to explain yourself," Harry replied causing James to blush at the words. "I should have given you that opportunity and I am truly sorry I didn't. I hope there is never another incident where I have to punish you in this manner but if there is I absolutely promise to you that I will not make the same mistake."

James nodded. "I forgive you dad."

In all honesty James knew that even if he had been given the chance to explain there was no explanation that would have saved his bum.

"Thank you," Harry replied in a sincere voice. "I'm going to stay home this afternoon and get some paperwork done, so why don't you rest for a bit before your mum is home with the kids?"

James first reaction was to argue that he was too old to be taking naps but before the words could exit his mouth he found himself fighting a yawn.

"Ah I see you agree," Harry said with a wink.

Harry stood up, pulling the blankets down so that James could climb under them. Once the boy was lying down, Harry tucked him in and leaning down placed a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm sorry I had to punish you today," Harry said in a serious voice. "And I want you to know that I thoroughly hated every moment of it."

"I'm sorry I did something that made you," James replied.

"Forgiven," Harry smiled kissing his son's forehead once more.