Hello again! :) Thank you luvinmylife247365, lilyflower101 and Anonymous for your reviews! :)
WARNING: Corporal punishment (kind of...) in this chapter- and Aurelius being an asshole.
Aurelius took him directly to his study, the quarters where the Founders had stayed.
Sirius was openly crying by the time Aurelius had closed the door, but as always, his tears had no effect on the other boy, "now, you said you like flying, right, Scipius?"
"Ye…yes, Aurelius", he could barely see through the tears, "please…please…don't hurt me!"
"Don't worry, this won't hurt", he sounded amused now while he pulled out his wand, "stand still, Scipius."
"Ple…please…"
And then, he was lifted into the air, kicking his legs in panic, "stop! Stop! Let me…let me down!"
Aurelius ignored him, he kept his wand pointed directly at him, and he was flying through the room, all the way over to a huge wooden cabinet.
And there, it stopped.
The cabinet almost touched the ceiling; therefore, he was not able to stand or even sit upright, he had to curl himself into an almost laying position.
The top was dusty, and he had to cough, "let…me…down…please!"
Aurelius stood right in front of the cabinet now, grinning, "I will- just not right now. Right now, I am going to take a shower, and then I will go eat some dinner- and since it is Saturday, no one is going to bother me today or tomorrow- I have all the time of the world to deal with my naughty little brother."
"You…can't let me sit up here all weekend!", Sirius hated himself for the fact that he was crying again, "I…need to eat, and use the bathroom, and they will miss me and…"
"I told Madame Hooch we were going to meet our father in Hogsmeade for the weekend- we are both excused", Aurelius replied smoothly, "no one will miss you, Scipius- and no one will hear you cry either. Still think your little rebellion was worth it?"
"I just wanted to play Quidditch!", Sirius did not bother to lower his voice, "and the third graders were so excited to see me, I could not suddenly tell them that I am not playing anymore! Callum even made me a poster!"
"I saw that- go Scipius", he was mocking him, "and I told you that I need to get into the team to be part of Dumbledore's circle- and for some reason, you seemed to think it is more important to keep the third graders happy than actually following through with the plan- the whole reason we are here."
"I…I just wanted to…"
"Don't waste your breath explaining yourself- I told you not to disobey me again, and you simply did not care- well, now enjoy seeing everything from above- it is just like flying, isn't it?", he smiled cruelly, and then he turned towards the bathroom, "see you later, Scipius."
"Wait! Don't go!"
But Aurelius just laughed, and then he went into the bathroom, and a minute later, Sirius could hear the water run.
It reminded him of how thirsty he was- and he was sweaty, too, and he was still in his Quidditch uniform, which had gotten quite uncomfortable.
I want to take a shower, too.
Aurelius took his time, and when he came out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, he was wearing a blue suit and with a white shirt, and his hair was still wet from the shower. He was humming softly to himself, completely ignoring Sirius, who was still stuck on top of the cabinet.
"Aurelius? Aurelius, please…"
The older boy kept ignoring him and Sirius could see him walk into the kitchen. He heard him rummaging around through some shelves, and sometime later, he heard the sound of something sizzling in a pan.
It smelled like some kind of meat, and he smelled potatoes and a vegetable- was that corn?
He licked his lips, it smelled delicious.
Surely Aurelius is not going to let me sit here without food.
Eventually, Aurelius left the kitchen again, carrying a plate with food and a drink.
He sat down at the living room table, right in front of the cabinet, and then he started cutting his meat, still humming to himself.
"Aurelius? I…am hungry, too", Sirius said quietly, "and…thirsty…and I need…I need to use the bathroom and…"
"Silencio", the older boy did not even look at him when he pointed his wand in his direction, "enough with the whining- you brought this onto yourself, Scipius. Now be quiet, I want to enjoy my dinner in peace."
You bastard, you fucking sadistic piece of shit, you…you…
He was crying again, silently this time, and he was so sad, and hungry, and sore…and his fake brother just…sat there…
Sirius did not know how much time had passed, but he eventually fell asleep, curled into a ball on top of the dusty cabinet.
When he opened his eyes, it was dark around him.
Aurelius!
No sound left his mouth, and he started to panic. And then, something even worse happened.
Nonononono…
It was warm, and wet, and he wanted to die in shame when he smelled it- he had peed himself like a baby, like a toddler who did not know how to use the bathroom.
The smell was disgusting, and the wetness was everywhere, and he had to sob.
"Aurelius, please…please…I am sorry…"
He did not even realize he was able to talk again, and the he blinked into the light. Aurelius was standing there, dressed in some navy blue pajamas, and he was looking right at him, "lesson learned, Scipius?"
Instead of answering, he just cried.
"I'll take that as a yes", Aurelius remarked smoothly, "come on, let's get you cleaned up- you stink, little brother", and with that, he took out his wand, and carefully lifted him off the cabinet, and he let him fly straight into the bathroom.
The bathtub was already filled with warm water, and there were bubbles, too, and Sirius did not even have the energy to protest when Aurelius helped him to take his sweaty, smelly uniform off.
Seconds later, he was sitting in the bathtub, and Aurelius sat down on the side, watching him intently.
"I…said…I am sorry", Sirius mumbled, avoiding to look at him, "please…just…don't…", he was too tired to even finish his sentence.
"We only have nine days left", Aurelius said out of nowhere, "time is working against us, Scipius. I cannot disap…I cannot have the plan fail, and that's why I needed to punish you- you were risking me getting into Dumbledore's circle. I have to get in, there's no other way to get his…", he bit his lips, "anyways, this will soon be over- and you get to be an adult again."
Sirius did not respond.
There was a silence, and Aurelius absently played with one of the bubbles, "look, I know…I know this is hard for you, but…there's a lot at stake here. I never wanted this either, I don't know how to be a…brother or whatever, and trust me, you are not the only one who is glad when we don't have to pretend anymore."
Sirius kept staring at the water, he felt like crying and screaming all at once.
This is hard for me? Try fucking nightmare instead.
You don't know how to be a brother? You don't even know how to be a decent human being.
I'll be more than glad- it will be a relief to never see you again.
But instead of saying that he just kept staring, his lips pressed together tightly.
"Your hair is all dusty", Aurelius finally said, his voice surprisingly quiet, "the elves did a pretty bad job with that cabinet, hmm?", he grabbed a bottle with shampoo, "hold still- I can't have a brother running around with dust in his hair."
Sirius did hold still- he did not have the energy to fight anymore, and besides, his hair really was dusty- and Aurelius' hands in his hair were surprisingly gentle, and they both did not say one word while Aurelius carefully washed his hair, and they were also silent when Aurelius helped him out of the bathtub and dried him off and got him dressed in some dark red pajamas.
"There's some…dinner for you in the kitchen", Aurelius told him, "you were asleep and I did not want to wake you- the Silencio spell was supposed to come off as soon as you wake up."
"I…am pretty hungry. And tired", Sirius was not in the mood for any longer conversations, "I'd like to have some dinner now."
They went to the kitchen, and Aurelius heated up his dinner- steak and baked potatoes and roasted corn, "here you go- the corn is a little burned, sorry about that."
That's what you are deciding to apologize for?
Sirius took the plate, "thanks", he mumbled, starting to eat, while Aurelius cleaned up the kitchen.
There was another silence, but it was not quite as hostile as the first one.
"Come on, let's go to bed", Aurelius finally declared, "it's late."
He took him to the bedroom and Sirius blinked in surprise, "I…you want me to sleep…here…with you?"
"There's only one bedroom, Scipius."
"I could sleep on the couch."
Aurelius looked at him, "do you want to sleep on the couch?"
Sirius shrugged, "definitely more comfortable than the cabinet", he did not care how bitter he sounded.
"Suit yourself- but then don't come crying later because you are scared."
"Why would I be scared? Of what?"
The only one scary in here is you.
"The thunderstorm", Aurelius replied, looking to the side, "supposed to get here around ten- in thirty minutes."
"I am not scared of thunderstorms", Sirius lied, "I am not…I am not really a kid, you know that, right?"
"Well, technically you are- the spell does let you keep your most important memories from your earlier life, but everything else changes- you certainly noticed that you feel and think and act like a boy again, right?"
"No, I have not."
That was another lie- he had noticed how he got tired more easily, and that he never seemed to be able to sit still, and that he found the silliest things funny again, and how hungry he always was, and how scary some things had become again- and how shy he was around girls, even though he played to be all tough, and…a million other little things.
"Anyways- sleep well. I'll see you in the morning", Aurelius walked towards the bed, "you can close the door on your way out."
Sirius did not respond, why would he want Aurelius to sleep well? He deserved all the nightmares in the world.
So, he simply walked out and closed the door behind him and then he went over to the couch, which was as comfortable as it looked, and he snuggled under a blanket and tried to fall asleep.
He heard some noise from outside, some low grumbling, but he decided to ignore it.
There is no thunderstorm, there is no thunderstorm…
About fifteen minutes later, the grumbling got louder, loud enough for him to hear. He was never able to hear the thunderstorms in the dorms, Callum snored loudly enough to drown any noise, but here it was…quiet.
If I was in the dorms now, I could sleep.
That thought suddenly made him angry. He should be in the dorms anyways, in the bed next to Colin's, and he should wake up in there tomorrow morning, having another pillow fight with Colin and Callum, and this was just…just…bullshit.
Sirius got up and marched back to the bedroom. He knocked on the door loudly and as soon as he heard Aurelius' voice, he swung the door open.
"Scipius- that was quick", Aurelius had the nerve to sound amused now, and he balled his fists angrily, "I want to go back to the dorms", he hissed, "I can't…sleep here, it's…too…loud, and that couch is really not that comfortable."
"Really? It seems very comfortable when you sit on it."
"Yeah, but I can't sleep sitting", Sirius shot back, "and besides, we always have a pillow fight Sunday mornings, and I don't want to miss that. I wanna go back."
"A…pillow fight?", Aurelius sounded disgusted, "where you fight with pillows? What is the point of that?"
"The point is to have fun!", Sirius replied, sounding irritated, "but you would not know anything about having fun- I guess the only fun in your life is torturing me."
"You don't know anything about my life, Scipius."
Sirius laughed shortly, his anger rising quickly, even though he was dead tired, "yeah, not much to know there- all you do is study, study…and study. Do you even have any friends?"
"That is none of your business, Scipius. Go back to sleep", Aurelius was glaring at him now, and Sirius wanted to answer, but suddenly there was a sharp brightness which lightened up the room, followed by a loud, growling thunder.
Sirius did not think, he just acted- and as fast as lightning, he crawled under the sheets, trembling in fear.
He kept trembling even when the thunder stopped, and even though he knew Aurelius would laugh his ass off about him now.
"Hey…Scipius? It's over", someone slowly pulled on the sheet, and then he came face to face with Aurelius, who was watching him carefully, "didn't you say you are not scared?"
"I am not scared!", Sirius hissed, red in his face, "that…was just…it took me by surprise…and…and…I am…tired."
"Come here."
Sirius blinked, but he obediently went over to his pretend brother, who silently opened his arms and Sirius hesitantly went even closer, his heart beating faster.
What the hell does he want from me now?
"Shhh…calm down…I am not going to hurt you", Aurelius mumbled into his hair and slowly pulled him into a hug, "shhhh…", he started rocking him very very slowly, and then he was humming something, something comforting, and Sirius let out a deep breath, "this…is nice…", he whispered, snuggling even closer, "you…do…know…"
"Know what?", Aurelius whispered back.
"How…to be…a brother…", Sirius yawned, and then he closed his eyes, "night…Relius…"
"Goodnight, Sirius…"
Did he really just call me Sirius? I must be dreaming already.
Sirius smiled, and minutes later, he was fast asleep- not even waking when the thunderstorm got worse, and Aurelius was sleeping, too- they were both cuddled closely together in bed, sleeping peacefully.
"Good morning, Master Thomas", someone squeaked and when Tom opened his eyes, a small elf stood in front of him, looking scared, "Master…Gryffindor wants the young Master to take a shower and get dressed and then come to the dining room for breakfast."
Pancakes!
He got up, ignoring the trembling elf, and walked over to the bathroom. He hated showering, it was a waste of time, but after vomiting and sleeping in the same clothes for two days straight, he did not mind as much as he thought to be told what to do.
He even tried to comb his wet hair, and when he got ready to pick out some clothes, the huge amount of different sweaters, pants, shirts, and hoodies inside his walk in closet overwhelmed him. He grabbed something and got dressed, and made his way to the dining room.
It was empty, but there was a plate, a goddamn plastic plate, with delicious looking pancakes on it- and next to it, a plastic fork.
He wants me to eat the pancakes with a plastic fork?
Tom sat down and grabbed the fork hesitantly. He did not want to risk having to eat soup again, but everything inside him refused to obey the Founder.
And suddenly, he got an idea.
He ate pancake after pancake, and he was so engrossed in eating that he did not even realize that Gryffindor was standing in the door with his arms crossed, watching him.
"You seem to like pancakes", he finally observed and came closer.
Tom blinked, holding one pancake with both hands in front of his face, which was covered in jam and chocolate sauce, "just…been hungry", he answered as casual as he could.
"Is there a reason you are not using your fork, Thomas?", his voice sounded calm, but Tom heard the underlining threat.
"Yeah…funny story, the fork actually…broke", he held up the broken fork, "the pancake was too heavy…and since I did not have anything else, I just…used my hands. Works pretty good, too", he smiled at him, his face and teeth all messy and Gryffindor had to control himself not to smile back.
"That is a funny story indeed", he finally answered drily, "and what is that you are wearing? Did the elf not tell you to shower and get dressed?"
Tom looked down on himself. He was wearing a dark green T- shirt and some shorts which were bright green, "I did…even combed my hair and stuff", he sounded agitated, and took another bite of his pancake, "what's wrong with what I am wearing? I…really tried."
"I can see that", Gryffindor's voice was soft, "but it is September, Thomas, not July- and in case you don't want to be mistaken for a frog, you might want to try to wear two different colors next time."
Tom frowned, "since you don't let me go outside, no one will mistake me for a frog", he replied rudely, "and since you don't let me go outside, I can't be fucking cold, either."
"Language, Thomas."
Tom frowned again, "wait, now I can't say shit anymore either? How many damn rules do you have?"
"Just one- listen to what I am saying to you."
"I rather not, thanks."
"Very well then- curse again and you will get punished, Thomas. My patience is not endless."
Tom snorted, "you have no patience at all, Gryffindor."
"Sir."
He rolled his eyes, "now we are doing that again? Fine- you have no fucking patience, Sir."
That had obviously been the wrong thing to say, because Gryffindor hauled him off his chair, "I have given you too many warnings already, Thomas- you really seem to want to get punished again. Let's go", he dragged the struggling and kicking boy along with him, and to Tom's utter surprise, he took him to one of the small guest bathrooms.
"I told you I showered! I not gonna take a fucking shower again!", he hissed, his eyes sparkling with fury, "if you don't believe me, I…"
"We are not here for you to take a shower- we are here to wash out that naughty mouth of yours", Gryffindor responded calmly, "and after that, I think you will be cured from cursing for a long time."
"What the hell are you talking about?", Tom was struggling more now, but he was unable to escape Gryffindor's tight grip.
"Has no one ever washed your mouth out with soap? That sure explains a lot", Gryffindor dragged him over to a small shelf and took out a huge bar of soap, "open up, Thomas."
His eyes went wide, "wait…what? You…want me to eat the soap?"
Gryffindor laughed, he seemed amused, "no, Thomas- not eat it- you will just hold it in your mouth for- let's say five minutes. Now, open up."
Tom swallowed hard, "that's…illegal. That…soap is toxic, it will kill me, and then…"
"Trust me, it won't- it did not kill my boys, so it certainly won't kill you. The soap is organic, there are no toxins inside it. It is all natural."
"This…is not natural! This is completely…inhumane!", Tom hissed, struggling harder again, "I don't…I don't want to do this!"
"You should have thought about that before you cursed, Thomas", Gryffindor replied unmoved, "come on now- open up. I really don't want to force you."
"Yeah, bullshit, of course you want to force me, you a…", he was not able to finish his sentence because Gryffindor had taken the soap and now calmly put it in his mouth, and he struggled like crazy, but Gryffindor held him close, "shshsh…calm down…five minutes, then you can be done. I'll let you go if you stop struggling."
"Mhhhmmm! MHHHMMM!"
"I know it's uncomfortable", Gryffindor held the soap with one hand and his arms with the other so that he was unable to do anything against the intrusion in his mouth, "just five minutes…breathe, Thomas…shshsh…"
I hate you! I hate you!
"Mhhhmmm!"
"Stop struggling, Thomas."
He did stop, just because he needed Gryffindor to let go off him, and when he did, he immediately took a step back, forcefully blinking back the tears.
The soap was disgusting, and the foam was the worst part- he had swallowed some of it while he was struggling and it was burning in his stomach now.
"Four more minutes- you are doing very well."
Fuck you! FUCK YOU!
Gryffindor turned around, "I put a spell on the soap, so you won't be able to take it out on your own- and you won't be able to move, either. I'll be back in four minutes, and while I am gone, I want you to think about your behavior- and which other words you can use instead of naughty words", he smiled at him, "see you soon, Thomas."
No! Don't just…go!
Gryffindor left, and Tom was forced to stare after him with tears in his eyes, the bar of soup preventing him from speaking.
"MMMHHH!"
Four minutes was an eternity, every second was torture, and Tom desperately tried to find some relief from the foam in his mouth. He could not take the soap out, Gryffindor had placed it right between his teeth, but it did not take him long to find out how he could get rid of the nasty foam- by looking down.
He was drooling like a baby, and the spit and foam came flooding out of him, but the relief was enormous- and he even managed to smile a little. He was pretty sure Gryffindor had not intended that, and that thought alone helped him to get through the punishment in high spirits.
Serves you right, Gryffindor!
He carefully swallowed around the soap, and even managed to drool all of the foam out with his spit, and now his mouth felt somewhat normal again.
Take that, Gryffindor!
He kept looking down, engrossed in his triumphant thoughts, so he did not even see or hear the Founder come back.
He flinched when he felt something under his chin- something that forced him to look up, right into Gryffindor's eyes. He had expected the Founder to be angry, furious even, but Gryffindor just looked at him thoughtfully, "I think you might need more time, hmm?"
No! No, I don't!
"Five more minutes- and this time, there will be no looking down", he carefully touched his chin again with something, "you will look up."
"MMMMHHH!"
"Yes, that will be very uncomfortable", Gryffindor agreed, "but still not as painful as the cane, Thomas."
His eyes widened in fear when he realized that the thing Gryffindor had been holding under his chin was- the cane.
No No! Not the cane!
Gryffindor touched his chin again, more forcefully this time, "look up to the ceiling, Thomas. What do you see?"
"Mhhmmm!"
It hurts! Please! This…aaaahhh!
The foam was running down his throat now, and he gagged, he wanted to vomit, but Gryffindor held his head up high, the cane forcing his chin up.
"Mmhh…mmhh…"
"Shshsh…I know…doing so good, Thomas. Now, what do you see on the ceiling?"
Tom sobbed, tears were streaming down his face and he had to blink to even see anything.
Don't care about the stupid ceiling! Please…please stop!
"Three more minutes, Thomas."
He whimpered, there was foam everywhere now, and he felt like he was suffocating.
"The ceiling, Thomas- focus on the ceiling."
He did look now, out of pure desperation, and his eyes widened again- but not out of fear this time.
Gryffindor had transformed the ceiling into the sky again, and since it was daytime, he could see clouds now, and the sun, and birds…and trees…
He stretched out his arms, and Gryffindor laughed softly, "not yet, Thomas- you have not earned that yet. See that cloud to the left? What do you think it looks like?"
I am not…going to play that with you right now!
"I think it looks like a dragon."
Does not, it looks like a lion!
"And that one over there looks like…"
It looks like a snake!
"I think it looks like a snake."
"Mhmm."
"You agree, don't you?", Gryffindor was smiling at him now, and then he carefully removed the soap from his mouth, "time's up, Thomas. You did very well."
He coughed and gagged and Gryffindor took him over to the sink, and he spit everything out and put his head under the tap, and the water was cold, and refreshing, and Gryffindor let him drink as much as he wanted before he carefully pulled him back.
"No more cursing, alright?"
Tom blinked, "that first…cloud looked like a lion", he eventually said, and Gryffindor smiled, "not a dragon?"
Tom shook his head, and then he looked at the Founder hesitantly, "can I still curse on accident?"
"On accident?"
"Yeah, like when I hurt myself, I always curse then…it's a…a reflex."
"A reflex", Gryffindor repeated, sounding amused, "you'll have to work on your reflexes then- or try not to hurt yourself."
Tom stared at him, "you…sometimes hurt me, too", he finally said quietly.
"I am disciplining you, that's different."
How is that different?
He did not ask that though, because he suddenly realized how tired he was.
"You look ready for a nap."
"I…am not a child, I don't take naps- I could use some coffee, though."
"No coffee- but I can transform the ceiling in your room again, so you could look at the clouds some more."
"Okay…I can show you the lion cloud I guess."
If you even want to hang out with me?
Gryffindor just smiled, and they went to his room, and minutes later, they were lying next to each other on the mattress again, just like they had the night before.
"That one looks like a bear."
"What kind of bear?"
Tom deliberated for a moment, "a grizzly bear", he finally said, "and the one next to it is…"
"A polar bear?", Gryffindor suggested and Tom had to laugh, "a Kodiak bear!"
They kept playing, and Tom felt his eyes getting heavier, and sometime later, he was fast asleep.
"Sleep tight, Tommy…", Gryffindor slowly got up, "sleep well, my boy."
soooo...things are slowly getting a little better- before they get bad again of course ;)
As always, I would love some feedback! :)
see ya soon,
Antonie :)