CHAPTER 7-Bare Bums and Bear Rugs

Sirius woke up on Saturday morning knowing that this was going to be a difficult day. He felt bad for Erica knowing that she was very young to be going through so many changes in her life. The changes would ultimately be healthy for her but he knew she must be having a rough time digesting it all right now.

Last night he had visited with Lupin, after Erica was asleep, asking for guidance and advice about today.

On the one hand he had to try and let her know that he was willingly taking her as his ward and that she was not a burden.

On the other hand she had committed a very nasty misdeed and he would have to try and instill in her an understanding that such behavior would never, ever be tolerated.

He had bargained for mercy by listing all her punishments to the victim's parents and they had agreed to a second chance for her. It would keep her from being kicked out of school, because being expelled was automatic in such abuse cases unless the victim's parents agreed to a "Mercy Pledge".

Part of that pledge was a sound spanking and he would have to keep his word because a Mercy Pledge is almost as binding as a wizards oath.

It really called for an experienced parent, and he had none when it came to raising children.

He sent for breakfast then he went into Erica's room. "Erica, it's time to get up pup!"

She casually looked up at him then realized where she was and answered quickly, "Yes Sir."

He noticed that she was already very tense, that was not a good sign. Lupin had warned him this might happen and told him that his job was to remain calm, cool and collected. It would be hard but he was to take everything one thing at a time, dealing with the hard stuff yet creating a safe and secure place for her.

"Get a shower Pup then come on out to the kitchen for breakfast" he told her.

Erica wasn't quite sure how to take this guy. He seemed nice enough, and he was really not happy with her dad for treating her badly. Yet, he had told Professor Snape that he was going to spank her. She wasn't sure what was going to happen today but since she had little choice in the matter she would just keep her mouth shut and take it a moment at a time. She was used to living that way so she could do it again.

When Erica came out she had on jeans and a t-shirt with no shoes. Her hair was still damp from the shower but she seemed alert and awake and from the looks of it, hungry.

"So how are your studies going Erica? Sirius asked as they were eating.

"They are Ok Sir, my grades are not tops but not bad. I don't like History much but that could be because of Binns, he is soooooo boring."

Sirius laughed, "Yes, he was here when I went to school and it sounds like things have not changed much."

"Well," said Sirius, "If you have finished eating, let's take our tea and go into my study and talk."

Sirius tried to remember everything that Lupin had shared with him then just started talking. "Erica, I think I need to start off by letting you know what I expect of you so that there are no surprises and you won't get caught off guard. This isn't everything but just a beginning and we can spend some time over the next few weeks talking and clarifying things."

"I expect you to be obedient and follow my directions and my rules. They are not created just because I like rules, because I don't. They are created to help you grow into a responsible adult and to be safe while you are getting there. While we are here at Hogwarts the school rules will also be my rules. You will always have a room here at our residence that you can come to, if you feel you need to or I request you to. Any time you are grounded I may or may not request that you stay here in residence with me."

"I expect you to respect others and yourself. This means being respectful of your elders. You will not talk back or get 'cheeky' with your teachers or other adults who you happen to be dealing with. If you have problems with an adult I expect you to come to me and let me handle it, do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir" she replied.

"I expect you to respect other students. Everyone is different and you will not like everyone as not everyone will like you. That does not give you the right to fight with them or curse them. If you have problems with other students just try staying away from them and if that doesn't work then ask for assistance from a prefect, head boy or girl, teacher or your head of house."

"I expect you to respect yourself. That means not demeaning yourself by doing bad things or acting inappropriately. It means not putting yourself in dangerous situations. It means trying to always choose to do the right thing. I have read your records and you are a very special person, with a lot of abilities that have not been allowed to be expressed. I think there is a lot of goodness inside you that needs to come out and I am going to do my best to help you become all you can be. You are not a bad person even though you will, because you are a child, do some bad things. When you do I will be there to correct you and discipline you so that the next time you can hopefully make better choices."

"I expect you to apply yourself to your studies. You have decent grades but I think they can get even better if you're given the opportunity to live a normal life like other kids."

"Now you can expect from me the opportunity to form a family with me. I will be responsible for all your basic needs which includes; food, clothing, housing, a loving supportive environment, education and the opportunity to grow into a respectable adult. This is not just my home, but our home. No matter what you do I will never drop you off with someone else or leave you at an orphanage. I will love you no matter if you are good or bad. We will deal with the good with love, encouragement, accolades, allowance, privileges and a multitude of other good things. We will deal with the bad with love, fairness, talk and discipline."

"Discipline has probably been a hit and miss thing in your life. From what I saw, your dad just reacted to whatever was going on around him at the moment. Discipline is supposed to help you change your behavior not make you fearful. You will always know when you are breaking a rule because you will know the rules. You will always know what the price will be for breaking the rules. I do not believe in just hitting a kid for the sake of hitting and the only place you will receive corporal punishment will be on your bum. I will not strike you on the head, kick, bite, stomp, punch or anything like that. I do believe in time outs, groundings, withholding allowance, writing essays, removing privileges, and spankings."

"For the time being each Friday night we will have family night. You will eat dinner here in the residence and we will talk about whatever might be on your mind or what might be on my mind. This way we can start to get to know each other better. It will be a time when we can ask each other questions about anything and not be afraid of reprisal. Now I may not have answers to all your questions but I will be honest with you when I can't answer them, and tell you, and you can feel free to let me know if you are not comfortable answering my questions."

"Do you have any questions of me right now?"

Erica looked at him then asked, "Are you going to be my Dad?"

"Right now I am your Uncle Sirius. Once you get to know me and if you decide you want me to adopt you just let me know and I would feel privileged to call you my daughter."

"Do you have a girlfriend" asked Erica.

"No, I was just released from eleven years in Azkaban for a crime I didn't commit, so I have not had time to find a girlfriend but I might in the future."

"You went to jail for something you didn't do?" asked Erica.

"Yes, they just proved last week that it wasn't me through the use of veritaserum and they had to pay me a large amount of compensation and let me go. So if I seem rather moody once in a while at least you will know why."

"That's horrible" Erica replied.

"Well Erica, let's just look at the positive; as I see it we have both been given our freedom from a bad situation."

"Yes" said Erica with a smile on her face. "Do you teach here?"

"Yes, this year I will co-teach DADA and I will be in charge of security."

"Anything else?" asked Sirius. "No, well there will be questions I am sure so just write them down and we can deal with them as they pop into your head."

"Now sadly," said Sirius, we also have to deal with your discipline for what you did yesterday."

Erica lost her smile and sat up straight in her chair not looking forward to what was coming next. "You mean me trying to take the little girl?"

"No, that's one thing you need to understand. You are not going to be punished for trying to take Cassy, you were only following your father's orders in kidnapping the child. It was wrong but you didn't do it because you wanted to, but to satisfy what your father demanded of you under threats and intimidation."

"No, you are being disciplined for being a bully. What I mean by bully is that you were pushing that little girl around, hurting her, but worst of all you looked as if you were enjoying it. I was there and from what I witnessed, it didn't seem to bother you that you were hurting her for no good reason. You shot hexes at her just because you could and not because it required hexes to get her to the forest. That is the behavior that we need to focus on and you need to understand very clearly that it will not be tolerated while you are under my roof."

"I was a bully when I was your age and when I look back on it I become ill just thinking about some of the things I did to innocent people. It is especially bad for you because you have been on the other end of it. You have been bullied and you should know how painful and scary it can be. You of all people should know better."

"No, your spanking today will be because you acted like a bully. I am going to spank you with my hand and finish it with a hairbrush, which is not pleasant, and you will remember it for a couple days. But….. ................. look at me, because I want you to remember this, if you EVER bully a child again, if you EVER purposely hurt a helpless child again, I will take my belt to your bare bottom and by the time I get through you will literally NOT sit down for a week. Do you understand me?"

Erica answered, "Yes Sir" with a very shaky voice and tears already forming in her eyes.

"I guess I am a rotten person".

"No Erica, you are not a rotten person, you are a good person who did something very bad. Once you receive your punishment today you will be forgiven and we will start things all over again."

"Now, I want you to come over here to me" Sirius said.

Erica was shaking badly but she managed to get up and walk over to Sirius. He pulled her over to his right side and told her, "I want you to drop your pants to your knees. You will go over my lap and I want you to know you can yell and cry all you want, that is ok but you cannot kick me, hit me, or bite me. If you do I will start the spanking all over again, do you understand?"

"Yes Sir" Erica said as she was pulling down her pants. Sirius had to help lift her over his lap as she was not tall enough to do it by herself. She felt very embarrassed, she had not known this man but a day and already her bare bum was exposed on his lap. She had never received a spanking like this before. Usually it was being yanked by her hair and hit on whatever part of her body was closest.

Sirius didn't believe in much talking during the spanking, he didn't like it when he was young and receiving a 'bum warming' and didn't see much use in it now. All the discussions were over with and it was now time to apply a bit of attitude adjustment. With that thought, he picked up the hair brush and brought it down hard on the center of her bum.

The first spank caught her by surprise and she jerked along with the loud yelp that came out of her mouth. The first spank was followed by a procession of spanks, carefully placed all over her bum that was quickly started to sting. The sting just grew and grew until it felt like her whole bottom was on fire and she was quickly crying and trying to breath through snot and tears.

She so much wanted to reach back and protect herself but he had her hand secured and she couldn't reach with the other hand. He held her tightly and she couldn't move out of the way of the swats and it began to feel like he would never stop.

Sirius methodically caused her whole bum to turn a bright red and he noticed that she was beginning to move from crying to sobbing so it was time to finish.

With that he lowered one leg and raised the other so that the 'sit spot' was prominent and proceeded to apply the hair brush on the areas that she would be sitting on for the next couple days. By the time he was finished her bum and thighs were a very bright red and she was sobbing deeply. He dropped the hair brush and rubbed her back, as Mr. Potter had done for him when he was young until he could pull himself back together.

Eventually he used his wand to replace her pants and helped her to stand up. He stood her between his legs and drew her into a hug, letting her know it was finished and she was forgiven. Her crying didn't stop so he picked her up and carried her to the couch where he sat and just held her.

After a while, she said through her tears, Uncle Sirius, I didn't really mean to hurt her. After I hexed her the first time I really didn't see her, I saw my Dad, and I just kept hexing him. I only realized it wasn't him when you took my wand. I really did feel bad for her and I hated myself because I just couldn't seem to stop. The whole time Erica was talking to him she was holding on to him like he might throw her away.

"I'm glad you shared that with me Erica, I know it was difficult, but it makes me feel much better about what happened. You need to share that in your apology letter to the Snapes because I know it will make them feel much better also. Don't forget to tell Professor Lupin what happened when you meet with him. I think he can help you with that anger you are carrying inside you so that it doesn't take control and make you do things you might regret."

"Do you really forgive me Uncle Sirius?" asked Erica.

"Oh yes child, you are forgiven. I am sure, since you are a kid, you will make more mistakes in the future and we will have to deal with them, but this one is over and done with. You still have to do your letter and your detentions and your counseling, but you can feel good about yourself again, you have paid the price of your mistakes."

"Now, why don't you go take a nap and I will wake you up for lunch." With that Erica crawled off his lap and started walking toward the bedroom rubbing her bum the whole way.

Sirius smiled then ordered tea from the kitchens and breathed a sigh of relief. He had been so nervous about this that he had not even noticed that he was holding his breath. But he had followed Lupin's advice and made it through. He probably could have done it better, but he was happy that it turned out as well as it did. She seemed to be a good kid who just needed someone to love her and guide her and provide for her so she could be twelve for awhile.

He decided to keep Erica with him in residence for awhile then allow her to go back to her dorm. That way they could get to know each other and she could see that there was more to him than what she had experienced over the last day or so. It was difficult starting off a relationship with discipline, it would have been so much easier if they could have just gone shopping and had ice cream.

**********

Severus had been busy the past few days. Alice knew he was up to something but even the most persuasive snogging could not pull it out of him. He was making all kinds of trips and coming back with smurks on his face and muttering to himself.

He knew she wanted to know his secret but he was not about to share. He was not sure that she had not been 'in-the-know' when the kids printed that picture of Cassy and him, then passed it out to the whole school.

Well, he was going to have some sweet revenge. Wizards, just like Muggles, had this silly fetish of taking pictures of their babies, bum naked on fuzzy rugs or in the bath. How useless, he thought, and embarrassing to the baby later on. Well, he hoped it would be embarrassing. He had just obtained the last picture of the Companions, all bare bums, naked, laying on a rug or in the bath.

Harry's was especially embarrassing as Severus had a sneaking suspicion that Harry had been right in the middle of the prank that had been pulled on Severus. He had picked the memories of Minerva and found the perfect one. She was babysitting for the Potters one day and Harry had messed in his nappy and himself badly. He had a picture of two adult arms holding him in the baby bath, his bum was propped up in the air being washed. It was very clear in the picture what had happened and just how messy it was. Severus was sure that Harry would not be smiling for awhile.

He went to Hogsmeade where he had a friend who was going to put them together in one large poster type picture for him to post around the castle. Along with the posters he ordered two hundred pictures of each person's bum, with name and biography, in collector card format. These he would just scatter on each of the student and teacher tables.

Later he had picked up the pictures and that next morning at breakfast each and every student and teacher saw the 'bum' posters on their way down and copies of the 'bare bum' collector cards of each of the Companions, each with a rattle and toothless smile.

Severus just sat eating his breakfast and reading his paper waiting for everyone to start reacting. He didn't have to wait very long before he heard laughter coming from the foyer and continuing into the Great Hall. The real fun started when the crowds entered and they started trading the cards.

When Harry and the crew were walking toward the Great Hall everyone was looking at them and snickering, some were even pointing. A couple people who were leaving walked passed them and said, "Oh Harry, what a cute little tush you have", then laughed themselves on out the door. A couple of the guys were walking past Ron and quipped, "Oy Ron, you couldn't pay me enough to advertise my ASSetts like that". Hermione was told more than once on her way to breakfast, "What a cute little bottom you have".

The kids were a bit shocked and bewildered until they noticed the first poster then they just about died on the spot. When they finally made it to the Gryffindore table each of them lifted the cards that were laying there and their faces all turned red all over again. They realized that Severus was behind this and they had been had! They would never live this one down, at least not in their life time.