Hey there! :) I decided to go ahead and post this chapter real quick! I really want to finish this story this month, so I promise that the two remaining chapters after this one will be posted by next week!

Thank you luvinmylife247365 and Anonymous (sorry about that, posted this one early as an apology! Glad you like this story!)

WARNING: SPANKING in this chapter (and lots of brotherly fluff) :D

Salazar chuckled, stepping closer, "looks like they are having fun."

"Oh, they do- it's been going on for half an hour", Godric replied in an amused tone while he took a sip of his coffee.

They were standing on the huge terrace which overlooked the park. It had gotten cold- October was in full swing, the leaves of the trees had turned red, and brown, and orange, which was a beautiful sight in itself, and the air was chilly, and fresh, and smelled like grass, pumpkins, and apple cider.

The two boys who were wrestling on the ground did not seem to mind the cold- or the fact that they were covered in leaves and soil.

"Ready to give up?"

"You give up!"

"In a billion years maybe!"

They both laughed, and kept rolling around the ground like some playful puppies, and the Founders who were still watching had to laugh as well.

Another, taller boy came closer now, and as soon as the boys saw him, they instantly jumped to their feet, both talking excitedly at the same time until the boy said something to them, which silenced them immediately.

The Founders shared an amused look, watching how the boys were staring at the older boy in awe, their eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation.

The taller boy seemed to give them some instructions, and then he pointed at the woods behind them, and seconds later, both boys ran off, shouting and laughing something.

It did not take long for the older boy of the two to return, and he was holding something which he handed to the taller boy, and his whole face was glowing with happiness when the other boy hugged him and ruffled his hair and said something in his ear that was most likely some kind of praise.

"He is doing a great job with them", Salazar remarked from the patio, smiling, "they are both on their best behavior since Aurelius is spending so much time with them."

"I agree", Godric was smiling as well, "he is the perfect big brother- loving, caring- and strict when he has to be. He is good for them, but especially for Tom."

"Tom does not seem to have any ambitions to be a big brother though- he treats Sirius like he is the same age."

"I know", Godric sighed, "anyone would think they are twins- and it does not even bother Tom that Sirius does not listen to him- he only listens to Aurelius."

"But Tom also rarely ever tells him what to do- he lets Aurelius do that."

"He is overwhelmed- having brothers is still very new to him. Time will tell if he can grow into the role of being Sirius' older brother, or if he will just keep being his play buddy."

"He seems happy though."

"He does- and that is most important. Aurelius will be able to keep both boys in line, but it would be good for Tom to have some responsibility as well, and for Sirius to know that he is the youngest- and that he should act like that."

"Do you think Aurelius will be okay tonight?", Salazar asked now, looking a little worried, "it is the first time he is going to be in charge of them by himself."

"He will be fine", Godric was smiling at him, "the boys will be exhausted after playtime like they always are- they will have dinner, a bath, and fall asleep."

"You are probably right- and we cannot wait any longer to get this done anyways. Dumbledore is beside himself with rage, and I've heard that he is giving Harry a hard time about the cloak."

Godric's face darkened, "well, good thing we are stopping by for a visit in Hogwarts then."

"And are you still planning to…"

"Yes, absolutely", Godric looked at him with a determined expression, "it is about time Harry gets his family back."

Salazar smiled softly, "he will be over the moon."

"He deserves it- without his help we would not even have the cloak, and he has been through more than enough."

"It's going to be an exciting night for sure- I doubt we'll be home before midnight."

As it turned out, Salazar was wrong- they arrived back just after eleven that night, and went straight to bed.

They were both tired and drained after dealing with Dumbledore, and Harry, and after the visit to Godric's Hollow which had ended in bringing James and Lily Potter back to life- it had been emotional, very emotional, seeing Lily crying tears of joy, watching James and Harry hug…and just for that moment, the plan had all been worth it.

Godric was just about to fall asleep when he suddenly heard a noise from the door, and then a hesitant whisper.

"Daddy?"

He blinked and turned his head, not surprised to find his boys standing by the door, bare footed and sleepy, their hair tousled.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Waiting for you", Sirius mumbled, yawning.

"Wanna tell you something", Tom said at the same time, and Gryffindor had to laugh softly, "come here you two- and I better not hear any complaints about your behavior from your older brother tomorrow."

"Nah, we were good", Tom promised, snuggling in next to him.

"Soooo good!", Sirius assured, and climbed right into Salazar's arms, snuggling close.

"Very well then- what could not wait until tomorrow?", Gryffindor was trying to sound stern, but he was smiling. He knew his boys would be too old soon to sneak into bed with him and Salazar, so he had to take advantage of it while it lasted.

"Aurelius played this really awesome game with us!", Sirius began, "it's like a scavenger hunt for things you can find in the woods, and we had to find a…"

"Yeah, and I found the first thing- a pinecone", Tom blurted out, "and Aurelius said I did a good job and he said he's proud of me!"

Salazar and Godric exchanged an amused look, unseen by the boys.

"I did a good job, too!", Sirius said indignantly, "and I found the owl feather faster than you!"

"You did not!"

"Yeah, I did!"

"Boys- behave, or you are going straight back to your own beds, but with a very warm backside. Do we understand each other?"

Both boys looked down right away, "yes, Daddy."

"I am sure you both did a great job", Salazar now said softly, "what else did you do last night?"

"We had steak for dinner, and vegetables- and Aurelius made Tom eat all of his green beans", Sirius was chuckling, "they don't even taste that bad."

"Yeah, they do", Tom was mumbling it though, not wanting to get in trouble for arguing, and Gryffindor gave him a kiss on his tousled hair, "good boy, Tommy- I am proud of you for eating your green beans", he said quietly, quietly enough for only Tom to hear.

Tom smiled, snuggling closer, "did not want to make Relius upset", he whispered back, "cause he said I have to stand in the corner if I don't eat them."

Gryffindor gave him another kiss, while Sirius went on with his story, "and then we took a bath- and Aurelius made me rainbow bubbles, and they were really cool and exploded right above my head", he was grinning from ear to ear, "it was really fun, and I shared some with Tom when Aurelius was not looking."

Tom had gotten quiet, and Gryffindor carefully raked through his hair, "anything you want to tell me about bath time, baby bear?", his voice was low and calm, but Tom still had to swallow.

"I…did not get any rainbow bubbles", he said quietly, "cause…I did not want to take a bath at first."

"Hmmm…", Gryffindor kept raking through his hair, "and why is that?"

"Don't like baths", Tom replied, refusing to look at him.

"You like rainbow bubbles though, right?"

"Yeah", Tom was still looking to the side, "but…Aurelius said I was being…naughty, and then only Sirius got bubbles", he sounded miserable, "but I did take a bath, just not…when he told me to."

Gryffindor sighed softly, "my stubborn boy…you know you have to listen to your brother right away, not whenever you want to, Tommybear."

"Yeah…but I only did not listen once, after that, I listened cause Aurelius said stinky boys don't get to snuggle, and…I wanted to snuggle, too", his voice had gotten quiet again, and Godric pulled him into a hug, "silly bear", it sounded affectionate though, "did you snuggle in the end?"

Tom was smiling now, "yeah- Aurelius tucked us in, and…"

"And we slept in the same bed, and he gave us a goodnight kiss, and he said he loved us", Sirius interrupted, "and then Tom and I snuggled cause the bed was cold at first, and then we talked and then we…talked some more."

"Does that mean you did not even sleep at all?", Salazar asked.

Sirius bit his lips, "well…maybe…we were too excited to sleep, so…"

"So you decided to stay awake until we get back home?", Godric stifled a laugh, "you boys must be exhausted."

"I am not tired", Sirius protested, but when Gryffindor raised an eyebrow, he blushed, "maybe…maybe a little bit tired, Daddy."

"I…I am a little tired, too", Tom admitted, rubbing his eyes sleepily, "can…we stay?"

"Of course you can stay here", Salazar responded warmly, "we love having you in bed with us", he pulled Sirius closer and gave him a kiss, "time to sleep now, boys…"

Sirius yawned, and it made Tom yawn as well, and that made them both giggle, but when Gryffindor gave them a look, they immediately fell silent.

"Good night, my boys- sleep tight."

"Night, Daddy."

"Goodnight, Daddy", Tom was whispering, and he felt Gryffindor's hand in his hair, and the next thing he knew, he was asleep.

He slept for a long time, exhausted from working at the stables in the morning and playing with his brothers in the afternoon, and when he finally woke up, Sirius was grinning at him, "you are awake, finally- come on, everyone's waiting for you."

Tom blinked, and slowly sat up, "waiting…for me? Why?", he hated how nervous he sounded, and Sirius had to laugh, "don't worry, you are not in trouble- Dad and Daddy just want to talk to us about something."

"Okay…let me get dressed then. Where is everyone?"

"In the living room. Meet you there."

Tom nodded, and hurried to shower and get dressed. He used to hate spending so much time in the bathroom, but by now, it had gotten so normal that he did not even think about it anymore.

He carefully brushed his hair, and picked out some clothes- he knew what matched and looked good on him by now as well, and since it had gotten cold, he picked a dark red hoodie and some black jeans.

Minutes later, he was on his way to the family room, Salazar and Godric were there, and Aurelius and Sirius.

"Good morning, Tom", Salazar was smiling at him, "did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, Dad", Tom hesitantly came closer, "yes, I did, thank you."

His parents were big on manners- and they did not take any disrespectful language, not from any of them.

He sat down next to Sirius, who was snuggling into Aurelius, and looked expectantly at the Founders, waiting for them to explain what this was all about.

He did not have to wait long.

"As you boys know, we were able to find all three of the Deathly Hallows- the cloak, the elder wand, and the stone", Gryffindor began, "we could not have done it without you, and thanks to you, Dumbledore is not a threat anymore."

"Is he aware of what happened now?", Aurelius asked, raking one hand through Sirius' hair.

"He is- and as we expected, he completely lost it. We did not expect that he would go after Harry right away, but he did."

Sirius froze, "is…Harry okay?", he sounded scared.

"Harry is fine", Godric assured him, "we actually caught Dumbledore in the act of threatening Harry and handed him over to the Ministry- which made him go into a complete rage, they had to stupor him and he is locked up now, awaiting his trial. McGonagall took over for him at Hogwarts with Remus Lupin as her assistant."

"But that's not all", Salazar continued, "we went to Godric's Hollow last night- and we brought James and Lily Potter back to life. They are in Godric's Hollow now, together with Harry."

"James…and Lily…are…alive again? Really?", Sirius' voice sounded hoarse, "how…how are they?"

Salazar smiled at him, "they are doing fine- they both aged by the years they have been dead, so they will get to know Harry on a complete new, different level now. Harry was overwhelmed, as you can imagine- and very grateful", he turned to Tom, who had been listening silently, "in fact, he was grateful enough that he told us he wants to put an end to the war- he is not interested in going after you anymore, Tom."

"Does…does that mean…"

"It means you are free", Gryffindor said calmly, "free to be yourself, and free to grow up to do something meaningful with your life", he was smiling now, "which would have happened anyways- I did not plan to hand you back to that detention center, Tommy."

Tom took a deep breath, feeling relieved, and excited, and nervous, and confused all at once.

I am free. The war is over…it's done.

"What is Harry doing now?", Aurelius wanted to know, "is he going to stay in Godric's Hollow?"

Salazar nodded, "he is not returning back to Hogwarts for now- he wants to spend as much time with his parents as he can."

"Can we go back to Hogwarts, though?", Sirius asked, "I…I love being here, I really do, but…I miss my friends, and…the dorms, and…Quidditch, and…"

Godric laughed, "we were actually going to talk to you about that- we both think it would be a good idea for you to go back to Hogwarts, Sirius- and for Aurelius as well."

Sirius let out a squeal of happiness, "yay! I cannot wait to go back, Colin's gonna be so excited to see me, and I get to be there for the Halloween party, and the Quidditch finals, and…we can go get spooky Halloween candy at Honeydukes and…"

"And I hope you will also spend some time studying, Sirius", Godric interrupted him, but he was smiling.

"Aurelius will make sure of that", Sirius replied, and Aurelius chuckled, "oh, I certainly will, baby boy- you will have excellent grades by Christmas Break."

That made everyone laugh- everyone except for Tom, who was feeling more irritated by the second, "what about me, then? Why can't I go back?", he sounded more aggressive than intended and Gryffindor immediately raised an eyebrow, which was always a warning sign, "do you want to try that in a different tone, Thomas?"

Tom stared back at him defiantly, "no, I don't!", he hissed, "I wanna know why I need to stay here, and they get to go back, and…", he was not able to finish his sentence, because Gryffindor silently walked over to him, pulled him off the couch and delivered one hard swat to his backside, "ten minutes corner time- you know the drill."

Tom's eyes were blasting with fury, his Daddy rarely punished him in front of his brothers, and he felt humiliated, and decided to stand his ground.

I am not going anywhere until you answer my question!

Gryffindor's face darkened, "I see- looks like we need to have another talk about how to act like an obedient little boy. Follow me, Thomas."

He stomped his foot instead, "no! I won't!", hot tears were streaming down his face now, and he was angry, and embarrassed, and scared at the same time, "I want you to tell me why I can't go! I wanna go, too!", he was screaming, and Gryffindor had enough, "last chance, my boy- you either follow me upstairs right now, or I will spank you right here, in front of your dad and your brothers. Your choice."

"No! No spanking, no!"

He started to cry when Gryffindor grabbed him, "no! I am sorry, Daddy, I come with you, please, I am going, I am going!", he howled when Gryffindor delivered another hard swat to his backside, and then he dragged him out of the room, down the hallway, and up the stairs until they were in his office- where he usually punished his boys.

Tom was crying in earnest by the time they had gotten there, "please, Daddy, I am sorry, I am sorry!"

"I know you are- and you will be even more sorry in a couple of minutes", Gryffindor responded grimly, "pants down, Thomas."

Tom sobbed, his eyes blinded by tears, and he was glad he was not able to see when he slowly pulled his pants down, "sorry…Daddy…"

"Come here", he was trembling when he obeyed the command, and Gryffindor carefully pulled him over his lap, "you will get five- and I expect you to count them."

"Ye…yes, Daddy", he sobbed again, and then he cried out when Gryffindor's hand came down on his bare backside, "one! One, Daddy!"

"Very good", Gryffindor praised him, and smacked him again.

"Two! Daddy, two!"

"Good boy, Tommy."

Smack.

"Threeeee! Three, Daddy!"

He wanted to move so bad, but he knew the rules- no struggling, and no rubbing.

Smack.

"Ffff…oourrrr, that's four, Daddy!"

"Good boy, such a good boy for Daddy…just one more and you are all done, baby bear."

Smack.

He howled, "fiveeee! Five! Five, Daddy!"

He started to struggle immediately when Gryffindor picked him up and pulled him in a hug, "shhhh…all done and forgiven, Tommybear. You did very well."

Tom sniffed, and pressed his wet face into Gryffindor's chest, "no…more…Daddy!"

"No more", Gryffindor promised him softly, "now, I want you to go stand in the corner for ten minutes- and then we'll talk, okay?"

"Yes, Daddy", he carefully got off his lap, and when he tried to pull his pants back up, Gryffindor shook his head, "pants are staying down, Tommy. Go get in your corner- and if I see you rubbing, you'll get another five, understand?"

"Yes…Daddy", he sniffed, and slowly made his way to his corner- Gryffindor had assigned him the one by his desk, and Sirius the one by the door.

He knew he had to be absolutely quiet in the corner- and he knew he was not allowed to move, not even an inch. He wanted to rub, and he wanted to cry and tell his Daddy how sorry he was- but instead, he was forced to stand in the corner as still as a statue, facing the wall.

"Time's up, Tommybear", Gryffindor finally said, "come over here."

He turned around, suddenly feeling shy, "my…pants, Daddy."

"You can pull them up now- it should not hurt too bad anymore."

He carefully pulled his pants up, and then he walked back over to his Daddy, "I…am sorry…", he was going to cry again, but Gryffindor gently pulled him onto his lap, "shhh…all forgiven, baby bear. Now, do you want to tell me why you got so angry?"

Tom blinked, rubbing his eyes, "I…I wanna go to Hogwarts, too- I…I want to be with my brothers, and not by myself", he said quietly, "please…please let me go with them, Daddy."

Gryffindor smiled.

Who would have thought that this boy, his wild, obstinate boy, would want to be around Aurelius and Sirius at some point and not be proud of the fact anymore that he was always on his own?

"I was planning to send you to Hogwarts after Christmas Break, Tommy", he explained calmly, "you are not at the level you should be as a fourth grader- the work will be too difficult for you, so I think it is a good idea for you to finish your studies here, with my help, before you attend Hogwarts again."

"I…I could just try, and Aurelius could help me, and…please, I don't want to study here, I want to study with them, at Hogwarts, please, Daddy, just…let me try, please!", he was begging now, he knew what studying with Gryffindor meant- hours and hours at the library, with no breaks, and the threat of the cane if he dawdled, "Aurelius and Sirius are…they are so close, and…they will…without me, they…and then…I just…I like playing with Sirius, and…Aurelius…he…sometimes he…", Tom had to sob, "he snuggles with me and…I just…"

"I understand, Tommy", Gryffindor said quietly, "you would miss your brothers and you are worried that they will get even closer without you, hmm?"

"Yeah", Tom whispered, "please, just let me try, I promise I'll behave, I'll be so good!"

Gryffindor sighed, "alright, Tommy, here's what we are going to do- you will take some tests to see which level you are on- and if it is close enough to a fourth grade level, I'll let you go with your brothers."

Tom started to smile, "really? You let me go then?"

"If your results are satisfying enough, yes", Gryffindor confirmed, "but Tommy- the tests will be hard- you have been studying on a second grade level so far, and I am not sure if…"

"I can do it, I know I can do it!", Tom interrupted him excitedly, "just…let me try and I'll show you, Daddy!"

Gryffindor chuckled, "fine- since the boys want to go back as soon as possible, I will prepare some work for you, and you can do it this afternoon. I'll be busy, but I will have Aurelius watch you- and he will be able to answer any of your questions as well."

Tom nodded, feeling excited, "I can do it right now, Daddy!"

"Right now, we are going to have lunch- and then you will have quiet time with your brother, and after that, you can show me what a smart boy you are", he was smiling, "and Tommy- you are smart even if the tests are not satisfying, I want you to know that."

"I know", Tom snuggled into his embrace, thinking that he would show him- he would show everyone that he deserved to go to Hogwarts, too!

He was still excited when they ate lunch, and was barely able to be quiet during quiet time- he usually napped, or read, or played something quietly with Sirius, and they both knew that they were not allowed to talk or run or be loud in general, and since they both normally napped, it was rarely an issue, but today, he was simply too excited to sleep.

After quiet time was finally over, he went to Aurelius' study, and his brother was already waiting for him, smiling, "ready to show everyone how smart you are, little bear?"

"Yes. Yes, I do!", he knew he was able to do this.

"Good- take a seat, Tommy. The test has five pages, and each page will cover a different subject. There is no time limit, take all the time you want. If you have a question, you will raise your hand and wait for permission to speak, otherwise, you will be nice and quiet, understand?"

"Yes, Aurelius."

"Good boy", his smile had gotten soft, "and you know, even if you have to wait until after Christmas to go to Hogwarts, you will always be my little bear- and just know that I will miss you every day, Tommy."

His face flushed, "thank…thank you", he finally said, more determined than ever to show everyone that he was smart enough and ready to go to Hogwarts with his brothers.

He sat down, and Aurelius handed him some papers- and as soon as he started looking through the questions, his confidence faded.

This is hard…shit, this is gonna be really hard.

But he was not going to give up, not like this- so he started to work, and Aurelius was working as well, and it was quiet in the room- until eventually, the door opened and Sirius came storming in, "Relius, you need to come, something's wrong with Croakster, he does not even croak anymore!", he sounded desperate, "and Dad and Daddy are at the Ministry, and…"

Aurelius sighed, putting his paper down, "baby boy, how often have I told you to knock? Your brother is taking a test and needs to focus, you cannot come in here and…"

"I am sorry! I am sorry, Tom, but…this is an emergency!", Sirius blurted out, his face pale with fear, "Croakster usually croaks whenever he sees me, and I am so worried about him, please, Relius, please can you come look at him real quick?"

Aurelius got up, "alright, alright- I will take a look at Croakster. Tom- you will stay in your seat; I will be right back."

They left the room, and Tom could hear Sirius' anxious voice in the hallway- and then, there was a silence.

He went back to his work, but somehow, he could not concentrate anymore- his gaze kept wandering to Aurelius' desk.

He has the answer sheets there, I know it- and no one's here, no one will know…

And before he could stop himself, he had gotten up and walked over to Aurelius' desk.

I want to go to Hogwarts with them! I want to go!

His hands were trembling when he carefully looked through the papers- and there it was: The sheet with the answers to his test.

Realizing that he had done better that he thought made his stomach clench- but there was no going back now anyways, so he decided to make sure he would pass.

He was holding the sheet in his hands, reading feverishly, when suddenly the door opened- and his heart stopped.

SHIT.

Aurelius was back, and it did not take him more than a couple seconds to realize what Tom was doing.

"Didn't I tell you to stay in your seat, Thomas?", his voice was icy, and Tom had to swallow, "I…I…was just…I had a question and…uhm…", he was stuttering, the fear preventing him from moving, "please…this is not…what it looks like…I…"

"I think it is exactly what it looks like, unfortunately", he sounded scornful, "go find yourself a corner, little brother- while I am going to spend some time thinking about how to punish you for this attempt to deceive."

"I wasn't…"

"Corner- right now, Thomas."

Tom let out a strangled sob, "please, I…I want to go to Hogwarts with you, I…I am sorry, I…"

"Going to Hogwarts should be the least of your concerns at this time", Aurelius interrupted him, and now he sounded dangerous, "if you are not facing the wall within ten seconds, I am going to drag you over there myself- and I can promise you, you won't like that."

Tom was crying now, and the dream of attending Hogwarts was bursting like a bubble in front of his inner eyes, "this…is not fair! I…I hate all of this! I don't want to stay here!", and with that, he stormed out of the room, ignoring Aurelius' shouts, and his older brother sounded furious now, but he did not care- he kept running down the hallway, not even knowing where to go, until he suddenly remembered something that made him freeze in his tracks.

If you run away from a punishment again, I will spank you.

Shit, Shit, Shit!

poor tom never gets a break lol- next chapter has spanking in it again :D

I would really like some feedback!

xoxo,

Antonie :)