Apologies for taking so long to update this!
"Harry?" Sirius called out loudly as he took a step towards the forest behind the Burrow. "Ron?" The man shivered slightly as a gust of wind swept past him.
"They aren't allowed into the forest. They know that they aren't." Molly moved to stand beside the man.
Sirius raised an eyebrow at her words. He didn't want to accuse the boys of doing anything that they knew they were not allowed to do. Still, he was fairly certain at this point that wherever they were was a place that they were not allowed. The man gave Molly a skeptical look as he took another step towards the forest. "You don't think it might be wise to check it regardless?"
Sirius did not know much about parenting but he knew plenty about getting into trouble as a child. If he and James had been playing outside next to a forest, they wouldn't have thought twice about going in to explore. Regardless of whether they were allowed to.
The man was trying his hardest to remain calm and convince himself that wherever the boys were they were absolutely fine. He refused to let his mind wander for even a moment to consider that they could be hurt or in some sort of trouble. Whenever such a thought even attempted to creep into his mind he forced it out, reminding himself of all the mischief he and James had gotten into as children and forcing himself to believe that this was just the same.
"I would like to think that they wouldn't purposely break such a serious rule." Molly's lips pressed into a tight line with worry. "Maybe we should check the forest though." The woman took a step towards the thick trees.
"Can we go look with Sirius?" George asked as he ran over to the pair of adults.
"Yeah mum, can we?" Fred appeared beside his twin with a hopeful look on his face.
Molly thought the question over for a long moment before she opened her mouth to respond. Before she could, however, there was a rustling in the thick branches just feet in front of them.
"Harry?" Sirius called out, moving closer to the forest. "Ron?"
There was a long moment of silence before Harry appeared. "Yeah, it's us," he said softly as Ron stepped out of the trees and stood beside him.
Both boys held handfuls of stones which Ron instantly dropped to his feet. "They said that they saw a unicorn in there!" He pointed at the twins. "We were just trying to find it. I swear mum!"
Molly let out a loud aggravated sound as she made her way over to Ron in three large steps. She wrapped her hand around his upper arm and delivered a hard open handed swat to his trouser clad backside.
"Mummy! Don't!" Ron screeched loudly attempting to pull himself from the woman's grasp. His face instantly blushed dark enough to match his hair.
"To your room this instant!" Molly let go of the child.
The moment he was out of his mother's grasp, Ron took off in a run, the back door shutting loudly a moment later.
Sirius waved a hand, silently calling his godson over to him.
Harry's shoulders slouched a considerable amount as he let the stones fall from his hands and slowly walked over to his godfather. "We really were just looking for the unicorn," he said softly. "Honest."
Sirius hummed softly at the words. "I think we should discuss this at home. Hmm?"
Harry swallowed hard as he nodded. He was thankful that Sirius was calm. He couldn't imagine how he would feel if Sirius had reacted like Mrs. Weasley had. He loved Ron's mum, but he couldn't help but feel bad for his best friend.
"Why don't you go wait for me in the parlor," Sirius gave the eight year old a sad grin. "I'll be there in a moment and we will floo home."
Harry nodded once more before he quickly walked away, the twins rushing off with him in hopes that somehow everyone missed their brother saying that they had claimed to see a unicorn.
"They knew that they were not allowed in those woods," Molly huffed angrily as she walked back over to Sirius. "They have been told dozens of times."
Sirius nodded but otherwise remained silent. The disappointment that he was feeling in his godson was shocking to him. Dread was also pooling in the man's stomach at the very idea of what lay ahead for him. He never imagined that he would be in such a position.
Harry was testing him. That much he knew.
He had done the same with the Potters all those years ago. He had tested them to see how much they had cared. To see if they would treat him as their own child or simply ignore his misbehavior. Whether Harry was aware of it or not, he was doing just that. Sirius was sure of it. The man only wished that he wasn't the one that was going to have to deal with it.
Harry sat on his bed, his legs idly swinging back and forth. Sirius hadn't sent him to his room but the child had figured that it was what he was supposed to do. Had it been his parents he was in trouble with he would have been made to go to his room or the corner. He was beyond thankful that his godfather hadn't done that. Harry had only been sent to the corner once in his life but it was the worst thing ever. Being sent to the corner was horrible at best under normal circumstances. Harry couldn't imagine how much worse it would be if Sirius had done it.
He was sure he was in for a long talk. He had never really been in big trouble with Sirius before but he figured that most likely a talk would happen. Sirius always liked to talk about things and Harry was sure that this would be no different.
He sighed softly as he laid back on his bed, turning himself and scooting himself up so that his head rested on his pillow. He had only been in his room for roughly five minutes but it already felt like a lifetime. He hated the idea that he was even in trouble with his godfather. He had always promised himself that this would never happen and now it had.
Harry took a shuddering breath as he attempted to force down the lump in his throat. He refused to let himself cry. He couldn't act like that much of a baby - he wouldn't! His right hand traveled to his face, carefully pulling his glasses off of his nose and placing them on the table beside his bed.
Harry rolled onto his stomach, his head turning slightly as he heard his bedroom door open. "Hi," he said in a soft voice.
Sirius walked over to Harry's bed. "Scoot over." The man's voice was soft.
It wasn't the request Harry was expecting. His dad would have asked him to sit up or at least roll over so he could see his face properly. Still, the eight year old quickly moved over giving his godfather plenty of room to sit.
The room was silent for a long moment before Harry spoke softly. "I'm in trouble huh?" His eyes moved to look up at his godfather.
"Do you think that you should be?" Sirius asked in a placid voice. His throat was dry as the words passed through. His stomach literally ached at the task in front of him.
Harry shrugged a shoulder. He didn't want to admit that he should be but he also couldn't lie to Sirius.
"What you did was pretty dangerous. I can't help but think about that." Sirius swallowed heavily, willing himself to continue speaking when he wanted nothing more than to lie down beside his godson and pretend nothing was wrong.
Harry turned his head away from the man, staring at the wall across the room as the tears began to well up in his eyes. He fought his hardest not to blink, his eyes literally burning before he finally gave in, causing silent tears to roll down his cheeks and pool around his neck.
"You know better Harry. I know that you do." Sirius moved his hand to rest gently on the small of his godson's back. "You could have really been hurt. I cannot allow that. I just can't Pup."
Harry nodded against his pillow but refused to speak. He couldn't. His tears were falling rapidly and he was determined to make them stop before he so much as made a peep.
Sirius' pursed his lips together as he forced the next words out of his mouth. "I can't help but wonder how your dad would handle this."
Harry's back stiffened at the mere thought. He knew exactly how his dad would have handled this. He would have been over the man's knee without a doubt. His dad had never been one to spank him without good reason. Truth be told, it rarely happened. Still, Harry didn't doubt that it would have this time. That alone made his tears fall at a faster rate. He hated to think that his dad would have been disappointed in his behavior.
Sirius' hand gently rubbed Harry's back as he felt it go rigid. "I think we both know what your dad would say and do."
Harry nodded once more, tucking a hand under his pillow. His other hand moved to rub his neck of the tears that had been trapped there. They were beginning to make his skin itch just slightly.
Sirius swallowed hard practically forcing the next words out of his mouth. "I can't help but think that this situation calls for just that."
Harry's worries about his godfather seeing him cry were quickly forgotten as the child pushed himself up on his elbows and then rolled over. The tears were still streaming down his face as he shook his head. "Sirius no!"
Sirius nearly gasped at the appearance of the child. His eyes were red and puffy, his cheeks just the same. The man instantly reached down, hooking his hands under Harry's armpits and sitting him up before pulling him into his lap. He was sure his actions were wrong, however, he couldn't help but wrap his arms tightly around his godson. The man leaned down, placing a kiss on top of Harry's head. James had never mentioned Harry being quite so upset over being in trouble. The man found himself wondering if this was normal behavior for the child or not.
Harry pushed his face against his godfather's chest. His tears instantly wetting the man's tee shirt.
"Bean...Harry, it's just us here. Just me and you," Sirius said softly. " We'll get through this."
Harry shook his head as a sob racked his small frame. "Yo-you caaan't!" He whined softly in a desperate voice.
Sirius sighed softly as his hand moved to gently rub Harry's back. "I can't raise you properly without giving you consequences for your actions Pup. I just can't. Especially not when you do something as dangerous as you did today."
Harry's tears didn't slow down at all despite knowing that the words were true. His dad, and even his mum had said them to him plenty of times, usually when he was in trouble. They had always told him how much they loved him but that when the rules were broken, they had to enforce consequences. Still, Harry didn't want Sirius to enforce this particular consequence. He was sure that nothing would be worse than that. "I- I can be gro- grounded," he choked out through a sob.
Sirius thought the words over as he continued to rub the small shaking back. He would have liked to agree to them. He knew it wouldn't work though. Even grounding Harry for a day would not work. The man knew himself too well. He would enforce a grounding for all of an hour before he would find himself giving in and allowing Harry to be off of punishment. If he didn't they would both be miserable. And if he did, Harry would not learn anything at all. Aside from disobeying and putting himself in a dangerous situation earned him little to no punishment at all.
"I don't think that is going to cut it this time." Sirius forced the words out. The child's sobs were breaking him. He was sure that by the end of this he would be crying himself.
"I-it willl!" Harry insisted through his sobs. "I-I can be gr-grounded for a mo-month and I wo-won't do it agaaain!" He absolutely refused to pull his face away and look at his godfather. He was sure that he wouldn't like what he found just as he was sure that he would die from embarrassment at crying so hard.
"A month?" Sirius shook his head firmly despite the child not looking at him. His fingertips brushed the small of his godson's back. "I couldn't bear for you to be punished for so long. You would be miserable for an entire month." The man leaned down, placing a kiss on top of his godson's head. "We will be done here in just a minute or so."
Harry's fingers gripped tighter at his godfather's shirt as he pushed his face even deeper into the man's shirt. "Noooo!" He whined loudly. "Siri nooo!"
"Calm down," Sirius said softly. There was no way he could punish the child when he was already so upset. He was sure that doing so would be downright cruel. He couldn't even imagine anything worse. "Just calm yourself down and we will talk about all of this some more." The man bent his neck once more, kissing the top of the child's head. "Breathe Harry, you will be okay. It will all be okay."
Harry shook his head at the words, before rubbing his face against Sirius' shirt in an attempt to wipe away his tears. A pointless task at that, as they were still falling at a rapid pace.
"You don't want to talk about it?"
"I dooo," Harry whined softly. "Bu-but it won't be okay." He was sure that there would be absolutely no chance that anything would ever be okay again if Sirius spanked him. Harry was sure that the man would never forgive him. He was also sure that he would die of shame from the whole ordeal. As it stood, just from his tears alone he was positive that he was going to be embarrassed forever. He just wanted the day to start over and none of this to ever happen.
"It will," Sirius tried to assure the child, rubbing his back gently. "Everything will be more than okay. I promise you Harry." He leaned down, in an attempt to see some of the boy's face. "Come on Pup, it's me. It's just me."
Harry's eyes closed tightly. He loved Sirius, more than anyone else he had left. He hated that he had disappointed the man. He hated that Sirius was the one dealing with this. "You're angry," Harry whispered so softly that he was sure his godfather hadn't even heard him. His right hand let go of the grip he had on the man's shirt to rub at his face harshly.
"Did I say that?' Sirius asked honestly racking his own brain at the question. He couldn't recall saying that he was cross or anything even remotely close to that. "I'm not. I'm not angry."
"Bu-but you said, you sai-said you-you're gonna sp-spank me." Harry's breath hitched as he continued to rub at his face, his eyes still closed.
"Not because I am angry at you," Sirius said softly as he moved his hand to gently brush a tear from the boy's cheek. "You did something extremely dangerous Harry. I cannot allow that to go. I can't allow you to think that what you did is okay."
"I don't!" Harry insisted. "I really don't Sirius! I know it was wr-wrong."
"Okay. You know it was wrong." Sirius' hand went back to gently rubbing the boy's back. "Did you know it was wrong before you went into the forest?"
Harry was silent as he stilled for a long moment before he nodded into the man's chest. He couldn't lie. Not on top of everything else.
"If you knew that it was wrong, why did you do it?" Sirius' tone was soft as his hand once more rested on the small of the eight year old's back.
Harry shrugged as he took a deep breath. "Ron sa-said that the tw-twins saw a...a unicorn. We just wan-wanted to...to see it." He tried to explain as he once more raised his hand to roughly brush the tears from his face.
Sirius nodded at the words. "Tell me, is that an excuse to do something that you know you are not allowed to do?"
Harry was once again silent for a long moment before he slowly shook his head. "No," he whispered. "But 'm sorry. I re-really am!"
"I don't recall saying that I did not believe that you were sorry." Sirius' voice was soft as he leaned down, speaking closer to his godson's ear. "I know that you are sorry. I know that you wish you would have never gone into the forest but that doesn't change the fact that you did."
A small whine escaped the boy's throat at the words. He had hoped that he could somehow convince Sirius not to go through with this but he was beginning to lose hope of that happening. "I d-do wish that I did-didn't do it," he said softly, speaking into his godfather's shirt. "I re-really do. I pr-promise."
"I know." Sirius' thumb gently tapped against the boy's back. "However, as I already explained to you, when you misbehave consequences are needed." He looked down at the boy with a frown as he practically forced his words out. "Unfortunately it is my job to enforce those consequences despite how much both of us wish that were not the case."
"I just do-don't want you toooo," Harry whined softly as fresh tears began to well up in his eyes.
Sirius nodded at the words before resting his chin on top of the eight year old's head. "You don't want to be punished or you do not want me to punish you?" He was sure that he was handling this all wrong. He was sure that had it been James he would have calmed Harry down with a few quick words and the punishment would already be over and done with. A thing of the past.
"Both," Harry admitted softly. "But...but more yo-you."
Sirius' frown deepened at the words. He was sure that he had never felt more horrible about anything in his life. "Why is that?"
Harry shrugged before forcing himself to answer. "I...I don't want you to be an-angry at me. I don't wa-want you to hate m-me."
Sirius moved his head to look at his godson's face. "I could never hate you Harry. Never. Do not even think for a moment that I could. Do you understand me?"
Harry nodded as he looked at his godfather before turning his head to bury his face in the man's shirt once more.
"And I have already told you that I am not angry at you." Sirius' thumb tapped the boy's back once more. "I am disappointed in your behavior. When you know that something is wrong, you should not do it. Despite what your friend wants to do or what you want to do. If you are not allowed to do it then you are not allowed to do it."
Harry nodded as his hand moved to rub harshly under his right eye. Sirius wasn't telling him anything that he did not know. His parents had told him the same thing multiple times throughout his life.
Sirius took a deep breath, swallowing hard and literally forcing himself to speak. "I think we should get this over with." His thumb tapped against the boy's back once more.
Harry's grip on his godfather tightened as he shook his head. "Sirius noooo."
Sirius swallowed hard once more as he gently nudged the boy in an attempt to get him to stand. "I know," he breathed softly as he tried to keep his own emotions under control. He was sure that he was handling this all wrong. "You will be absolutely fine Pup. I promise that you will."
"I wo-won't!" Harry did not loosen his grip at all. If anything, he tightened it slightly.
"I am not going to change my mind Harry." Sirius allowed his thumb to tap the boy's back a bit more sternly. The man hoped that was enough. He knew he could not speak harshly to the child. "I would prefer to get this over with sooner rather than later."
Harry was silent and still for a long moment. He felt the last shred of hope that he could talk Sirius out of it vanish. He let go completely of his godfather's shirt, both of his hands moving to rub his face. A moment later, the eight year old slowly moved to stand. He didn't want Sirius to get angry at him for not cooperating. He didn't want to make things worse than they already were.
"Thank you." Sirius hand moved to rub the boy's back once more. His hand moved around the child to take a gentle grip on his hand and carefully move him to his side. "You are going to be okay, Harry," he said softly unsure of whether he was trying to convince himself or the eight year old.
Before Harry had the chance to respond, Sirius guided the child over his knee. He hooked his fingers into the boy's trousers quickly lowering them and his underpants as far as needed.
"Sirius nooo," Harry whined softly as he gripped onto the man's pant leg. He tucked his head into his elbow as his shoulders shook with tears. "Doooon't!"
Sirius felt his heart breaking at his godson's words. He had never wanted this role. He was always supposed to be the fun loving godfather that encouraged the misbehavior or at least poked a bit of fun at it. He never wanted to be the one doling out the consequences for it.
"I'm going to start now." Sirius forced the words out, his throat feeling dry as he wrapped his left arm around the boy's small body.
Not wanting Harry to panic or get himself any more worked up, Sirius raised his hand and quickly landed a smarting swat to the child's backside.
Harry's right leg kicked up without his consent as he yelped loudly, his grip on his godfather's pant leg tightening.
Sirius looked down at the red splotch that had appeared and was now rapidly vanishing. He wanted nothing more than to quickly re-clothe the child and pretend as though this had never happened at all. However, he forced himself to raise his hand once more. He could not fail at this. He could not fail Harry.
The man continued to let his hand fall, peppering the small rear end with stinging swats. He knew that, had it been his own dad, the man would have been lecturing but Sirius did not feel comfortable doing so. He had already said everything that he needed to say. He just wanted this to be over with. He wanted to comfort the child and make this all better.
"Siri pl-pleasssse," Harry whined loudly as a swat was landed to his undercurve of his bum.
Sirius landed one last swat before he loosened his grip on the child. The man swallowed hard as he looked down at the now red target on display thoroughly hating himself for being the cause of it. "You are okay." The man's hand moved to gently run the small shaking back. "It's all over now."
A particularly hard sob escaped Harry as he let go of his grip on the man's leg. "Ca-can I ge-get uppp?"
Sirius quickly and carefully righted the boy's clothing before hooking his hands under his armpits and helping him to his feet. Before Harry even had a moment to move, Sirius reached out and took hold of the boy pulling him tightly to his chest. It was what his dad had always done, despite whether he had fallen into the man in a mess of sobs or stood rigid in some attempt to appear cool.
Harry wrapped his arms tightly around his godfather's neck, pressing his forehead against Sirius' neck. "I-I'm so sorrry." Harry's breath hitched as his grip tightened even more. "I re-really am. I pro-promise!"
"I know," Sirius whispered into the child's ear as he swallowed heavily in an attempt to keep his own emotions at bay. He once more hooked his hands under Harry's arms, lifting him and setting him on his knee. "I'm not cross with you. I promise you that I'm not Puppy."
"Owwww," Harry whined softly as he was placed on the man's knee. Yet despite his complaint, he moved his arms to wrap tightly around the man's middle, pushing his face into Sirius' chest. "Yo-you're really not?"
"I'm really not." Sirius shook his head. "You received that spanking because you did something that you knew in no uncertain terms you were not allowed to do and because I was disappointed in that behavior. Not because I was cross with you."
Harry listened to the words carefully before he nodded his understanding, his hands moving to brush his tears away. He loved Sirius more than anyone he had left and he swore to himself that he would never disappoint the man again. "I won't do...do it ag-again. Pro-promise."
"Okay." Sirius hummed softly at the words. "But you might and that is okay. You are allowed to make mistakes Harry. You are allowed to mess up. I'm never going to hate you for doing so and I need you to understand that. I love you far too much to ever be able to come close to hating you."
"I love you too," Harry whispered hugging the man tightly. "A lot."
Sirius smiled softly as he bent his neck, placing a single kiss on top of the boy's head. "Do you want to lie down for a little while?" Sirius was nearly certain that James and Lily had done the same, just as his dad had so many years prior.
"Yeah." Harry nodded into the man's chest as he rubbed at his face once more. "But I don't want you to leave." The eight year old could feel his face blushing at his own words.
"I can stay with you." Sirius smiled at the words. The man hadn't even realized until they were spoken that he had some underlying fear that his godson would be upset with him for punishing him. "I can absolutely stay right here with you." The man's hand moved to tap Harry's back gently. "Come on, up into bed."
Harry squeezed the man tightly once more before slowly sliding off of his lap. He was grateful that his tears had finally stopped. As well as that Sirius was being so nice. He silently promised himself with all his might that he would never do anything that would cause Sirius to have to spank him again.
Sirius stood and leaned over, pulling down the quilt on the boys bed. "Here, climb on up."
Harry did as he was told, lying on his stomach and tucking his hands under the pillow as his godfather tucked the blankets up under his chin. "I really am sorry," Harry whispered as he rubbed his cheek against his pillow.
"I know. I forgive you and I really am not cross with you." Sirius sat down on the edge of the bed, his hand moving to gently rub the boy's back. "In fact, I think we will have beans and toast for dinner. How does that sound?"
Harry grinned softly at the words. "Really good. Thanks Sirius."
Sirius gave a content hum as he continued to rub the small back. They were going to be just fine. He was certain of it.
TBC...