Hey again! :) I wanted to post the LAST chapter before the month is over, so here we go! ;) I cannot believe that this is it- writing this story has been so much fun, and reading all of your comments really has brought a huge smile to my face! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! This is the longest chapter so far- wanted to make sure everyone gets their HEA ;)

I would like to especially thank my most loyal reviewers, luvinmylife247365, Anonymous, Guest, lilyflower101, and Ilse! THANK YOU SO MUCH! :)

I really hope you are all going to enjoy my other little story called Testing Thomas, which will have the same themes as this one- and I am hoping to post the first chapter this weekend!

WARNING: Small SPANKING scene, some punishment stuff.

Sirius looked up when Gryffindor came closer, "are you taking a break?", he was smiling at him and Sirius nodded, "Tom has so much energy now- it's hard to keep up."

Gryffindor had to laugh and sat down next to him. They were outside on the huge patio, and they were able to see Aurelius and Tom playing in the park. Aurelius was teaching Tom a magical version of Cricket, it involved a lot of running, and shouting, and hitting a ball, and Tom loved it. His screams of joy whenever he managed to hit the ball could be heard all across the park, and it made Gryffindor's heart melt a little every time he heard it. His boy had come so far- and he had finally found the happiness he deserved.

"It's a fun game", Sirius remarked eventually, "Aurelius always has great ideas for play time."

Gryffindor did not respond, he was looking at him now, and Sirius suddenly became uncomfortable, "did…I say something wrong?"

The Founder shook his head, "no, little star, you did not- I was just thinking about how proud I am of you."

Sirius blushed, "uhm…thanks", he finally mumbled, avoiding to look at his dad.

"Look at me, Sirius", his voice was soft, and the boy obeyed immediately.

"You don't believe me, hmm? Without you, I would never have known how Aurelius really felt- and without you, I would not have been able to get the Deathly Hallows. Using the cloak to get the elder wand was brilliant- and it was your idea, Sirius."

Sirius bit his lips, not knowing what to say to that.

"I have been watching you these last days- and you are so great with Tom, and you are studying so hard, and the fact that your friend Colin has been sending you an owl every single day just shows me that he also thinks that you are one amazing boy, Sirius- and you are an even more amazing son."

He suddenly had to blink back the tears, "I…I am just…trying to…be good…for you, Daddy."

"You are, Sirius", Gryffindor answered softly, "you are my good little boy- and I love you. I love you just as much as I love Tom and Aurelius."

The last part made Sirius cry, which Gryffindor had expected it would- and he was ready to pull his middle son into a hug, "shhh…I know…we did not have the best start, and I wish…I wish I had done things differently back then, and treated you with the love you always deserved, but I am here now, little star- and I love you. I will always love you, Sirius."

"I…I love you too, Daddy", Sirius was clinging onto him, sobbing, but he was smiling, "and…I will miss you when I am back at Hogwarts."

"It's only eight more weeks until Christmas Break, thankfully", Godric replied, smiling as well, "and believe me, your dad and I will count the days as soon as you boys left."

Sirius snuggled closer, "are you going to come see us on the weekends sometimes?", he asked.

"If you're good, I will", he had to laugh when Sirius glared at him, "I am kidding- of course I will."

They spent the next minutes in comfortable silence, until Sirius remembered what he had wanted to ask, "how's Harry?"

"He is doing well- they are still at Godric's Hollow. There was a long interview with them in the Daily Prophet, I can give it to you to read later if you want."

Sirius nodded, "thank you. Do you think…I can visit them?"

His Daddy gently raked a hand through his hair, "not right now, Sirius- they are still getting used to each other, and you are a child now- James and Lily would be very confused to see you like this. Give it some time, and then I will take you to Godric's Hollow one day to meet them."

"Promise?"

"Promise, little star", he gave him a kiss on his curly brown hair, and Sirius sighed in content, snuggling closer again.

He was just about to ask his Daddy if he knew when Harry would come back to Hogwarts, when Tom's happy voice interrupted him, "guess what, Daddy, I scored so much and I won!"

Sirius turned around to look at his younger brother who was grinning from ear to ear, his face was red and sweaty, his hair tousled, and his jeans were torn on one side- some things would never change.

"You technically only won because you were the only one playing", Aurelius informed him, grinning as well, "next time, I'll have you play against me- and then we'll see who is going to win."

He had to laugh when Tom glared at him, and then easily picked the younger boy up, "I am joking, Tommy. You did a great job", he ruffled through his hair fondly, "come on, time for a bath, you little stinky bear."

Tom squirmed around in his arms, "not stinky! I don't want a bath!"

Aurelius just laughed again, he was used to Tom's protests by now and knew how to deal with them, "you know stinky little boys don't get to snuggle- and disobedient little boys get to stand in the corner", he gave him a look, "what's it going to be, Tommy?"

Tom blushed, "I want bubbles then", he finally said, still squirming.

Aurelius gave him a soft smack to his backside, "try that again, little bear- with a little less attitude."

His blush deepened, "I…would like some bubbles, please", he finally said softly, and Aurelius pulled him closer, "good boy, Tommy", he gave him a kiss on the head, "let's go then", he winked at his dad who had been watching the scene in amusement, and then he looked at Sirius, "would you like to come help, baby boy?"

Sirius nodded instantly, feeling proud that Aurelius thought he was responsible enough to help with bath time, "yes, Aurelius", he got up, "and tonight, can we play chess again?"

Aurelius smiled at him, "of course."

That made Tom struggle again, "I want to play, too!"

"You, little bear, are going to bed after dinner- you very well know that", Aurelius responded calmly, "you only get to stay up late on the weekends- and today is Thursday."

"Not fair", Tom grumbled, but when Aurelius delivered another gentle smack to his backside, he got quiet.

Bath time turned out to be great fun- Aurelius made him rainbow bubbles, and then one accidentally exploded over Sirius' head, soaking him, and they all had to laugh so hard that Tom got hiccups, and then Sirius joined him in the bath tub since he was already wet, and then they both played with the bubbles until Aurelius announced that it was time to get out. After that, they had dinner- and then it was time for Tom to go to bed. He had not been protesting bed time after his Daddy had spanked him in front of everyone a couple days ago, but now he was feeling annoyed again.

I am not even that tired, and I want to keep playing!

Therefore, when his Dad looked at him expectantly to put him to bed, it was Salazar's turn tonight, he obstinately shook his head, "I am not tired, I want to stay up and play with Aurelius and Sirius!"

Salazar sighed, "Tom, it is getting late- and you are tired, you spent all morning studying, then you went to the stables to go riding with Sirius, and then you played all afternoon- you did not even take a nap today."

"I don't need naps!"

He was shouting now, his hands balled into fists, and Salazar frowned. He was usually very lenient with his boys, but Tom had been pushing the boundaries again lately, since he was still figuring out his new role of being the youngest in the family. He was about to send Tom to the corner to cool down when Godric stepped forward, "don't worry, I am going to handle this", he said quietly, and Salazar nodded, feeling grateful. He did not like disciplining his sons.

Tom swallowed hard when Gryffindor came closer, but he did not move- he was determined to not give in this time. Godric saw right through him, he always did, and to Tom's surprise, he smiled at him, "you want to stay up late, Tom?"

He nodded, unsure where this was going.

"So, you are telling me that you are not tired and you are able to stay up as late as Aurelius does?"

He nodded again.

"Very well then- I am going to let you stay up to play since you are not tired at all", he was still smiling, and Tom knew there had to be a catch- but he was too excited to be able to play more to think about it, "thanks, Daddy! Come on, Sirius, you wanna play Exploding Snap with me?"

"Sure, we can do that", Sirius said after Gryffindor nodded in his direction. He did not understand why his Daddy let his younger brother stay up late, but he knew this was going to turn into some kind of lesson for Tom- and who was he to interfere with that.

They all went to the library where they often spend their evenings, and while Godric started to read, Aurelius and Salazar played chess, and Tom and Sirius played Exploding Snap, and they had a great time, and after that, Aurelius and Sirius played chess, and Salazar taught Tom a card game, and they played that for a while, until Tom realized that he was no longer able to concentrate.

I am tired…I think I should go to bed.

But he wanted to keep playing, badly, and even when Aurelius informed Sirius that it was time for him to go to sleep and Godric went to tuck Sirius in, he refused to admit that he was tired, too. He kept playing with Salazar, and when Godric came back, he started playing chess with Aurelius, ignoring him. A couple minutes later, everything got blurry in front of his eyes, and he decided he finally had enough. His head was hurting, his eyes were burning, and he was so tired he could barely walk. He slowly went over to his Daddy who was still engrossed in the chess game with Aurelius.

"Daddy?", it sounded hesitant.

"Yes, Tom?"

"I…I think I am going to bed", he announced, forcing his voice to be steady.

Gryffindor looked up from the chess board, "didn't you tell me you can stay up as late as Aurelius can?"

Tom blinked, his brain starting to turn into a fog, "yes…Daddy."

"Well, since Aurelius is still up, you are going to stay up, too", Gryffindor answered calmly, "you wanted to show me that you are a big boy who can stay up late- and that is exactly what you are going to do now."

Tom paled, "but…I am tired, Daddy", it came out as a whisper, "please…I am just going to…"

"You are not going anywhere, Tom- you will stay here and wait until Aurelius is ready to go to bed- and looking at this chess game, it is going to take a while."

He had to force back the tears, "Daddy, no, I don't want to, I want to go to bed!"

"You should have thought about that earlier, my boy", Gryffindor's voice was still very calm, "but instead of listening to your dad, you decided to be disobedient again- you should be happy though, you got what you wanted, am I right?", he was looking straight at him, and Tom had to sob, but it was an angry sob, so Gryffindor knew that Tom was not where he wanted him to be, "go play, Tom- enjoy yourself", he went back to his chess game, effectively dismissing Tom, who sobbed again, and this time, it sounded furious.

I'll show him that he can't treat me like that! I stay up all night then, I don't care!

He marched back to Salazar, determined to enjoy himself, but the card game was miserable- he was so tired he could barely read the signs on the cards, and he lost big- time.

"Would you like to play something else, Tommy?", Salazar asked him kindly, but Tom shook his head which he regretted instantly because it made him nauseous.

I just want to sleep…

He stared at Gryffindor and Aurelius who were still playing chess, and tears welled up in his eyes.

You got what you wanted, am I right?

No, he did not want this- he wanted to be his Daddy's good little boy, he did not want to be called Tom- he wanted to be Tommybear or baby bear again.

Salazar was watching him carefully, and his eyes were full of sympathy when Tom quietly started to sob, "I think you should go and apologize", he suggested softly, "and next time, I think you will go to bed right away, hmm?"

Tom hastily nodded, ignoring the wave of nausea washing over him, "yes, yes, I will! I am sorry, Dad!"

"It's all good, Tommy- I forgive you. Now go and tell your Daddy the same thing, Tommy", Salazar was smiling at him now, "trust me, he will forgive you as well."

"I know", he was whispering, "he always does…", and suddenly he felt ashamed. Ashamed of himself for thinking he could really stay up all night- and ashamed for disobeying his parents yet again. He walked over to Gryffindor and Aurelius, and he had to walk even slower this time, because everything around him had started to spin.

"Da…Daddy?", he hated how scared he sounded.

"Yes, Tom?", Gryffindor did not even turn around to look at him, and he blinked back the tears again, "I…I wanted to apologize", his voice was quiet, "I…I am sorry for…being…disobedient…and for thinking that…I could…stay up late…", he sobbed in despair, "please…Daddy, my head hurts…", and then he quietly started to cry, and he did not even see Gryffindor getting up, but the next thing he knew, he was in Gryffindor's arms, and his Daddy hugged him tight, "silly bear…", he mumbled, but it sounded affectionate, "you will have all the time in the world to be a big boy- there's no need to rush things, baby bear."

Baby bear.

Tom snuggled as close as he could, "sorry…I am sorry…", he had to yawn, feeling utterly exhausted, "sleepy, Daddy…"

"I can see that", Gryffindor sounded amused, "let's put you to bed, baby bear."

And then he carried him upstairs, and even though Tom had slept the last nights cuddled in between Aurelius and Sirius, he was too tired to even ask for that- and as soon as his head touched the pillow, he was asleep. And his dreams were just as amazing as they always were- and he woke up the next morning with a smile on his face, excited to play with his brothers, and to go horseback riding, and to spend time with his fathers.

For the next days, he did just that- and on the weekend, they went to Diagon Alley to buy him his school supplies, and a Quidditch uniform, and a beautiful owl which he named Snow because he was as white as snow, and on Monday, he was standing next to his brothers at King's Cross, waiting for the Hogwarts Express.

Sirius was jumping up and down excitedly, he could not wait to go back to his friends and talked nonstop about all the things they were going to do. Tom was quiet and subdued, and the more Sirius talked, the more insecure he got.

Is he even going to have time for me?

They boarded the train which was empty of course- and Aurelius made them eat their sandwiches, and then they played cards, and Sirius took out Croakster to show him around, but when the frog almost jumped out of the window which was slightly opened, Aurelius ordered him to put Croakster away.

"The only frog you should take care of is a chocolate frog", he informed Sirius, and the boy laughed so hard he almost fell out of his seat.

Tom did not laugh, even though it had been pretty funny, and Aurelius looked at him, raising an eyebrow, "what's wrong, little bear? You don't agree about the chocolate frogs?"

"Yeah, I do", he mumbled, "that…was funny, Aurelius."

His older brother did not respond, he just looked at him for what felt like an eternity, and then he held out his arms, "come over here, Tommybear."

He got up and walked over to his brother, and Aurelius pulled him on his lap, "now, what's wrong, little bear?", he asked him, his voice low, "something's bothering you."

"I am fine."

"Tommy…", his voice held a warning, and Tom swallowed, "I…I am just…wondering if…if…", he bit his lips.

"If?"

"If the Hat is going to let me go to Gryffindor with you", Tom mumbled, "don't…want to be in Slytherin all by myself."

"Oh, Tommy…I am sure the Hat is going to listen to you if you ask him to go to Gryffindor", Aurelius responded, "and I want you in Gryffindor, too- and Sirius does as well."

"That's true!", Sirius confirmed, smiling at him, "I have to show you around, it has changed a lot- and the classrooms are super nice now."

"Hmm…", Tom snuggled closer, "that sounds…nice…", he yawned, and Aurelius and Sirius exchanged a look.

"You should sleep a little until we get there", Aurelius suggested, "it will take at least another two hours."

"Kay…", Tom closed his eyes, "love you…"

"Love you too, Tommybear", and he smiled, and he felt Aurelius' hand in his hair, and it felt good- sitting on his big brother's lap, snuggling with him, and not having to worry about anything…He fell asleep, and did not wake up until they arrived, and Aurelius carried him to the boats where Hagrid was dutifully waiting again, and he blinked when they crossed the water, and he heard Sirius talking excitedly, and he had to smile.

I can't believe I am back here- after all this.

McGonagall was the headmistress now, and everyone in the Great Hall was staring at him curiously when he went and sat down to let the Sorting Hat announce which house he would be in. He trembled, and he could hear the Hat chuckle, "nervous, young man?"

"Yes", he whispered back, "please…may I…"

"You want to be with your brothers, eh?", the Hat chuckled again, "I can see a lot of determination inside you- you want to prove yourself to them, hmm?"

"Yes", he sounded embarrassed, and he was glad that no one was able to really hear their conversation.

"Well then, I think it is best you go to- GRYFFINDOR!", he suddenly roared, and the Gryffindor table erupted in loud cheers. Tom got up, beaming, and he had never felt this relieved in his life when he walked over to the table, and there was Sirius, hugging him, and Aurelius was smiling at him- and it felt…right. He was attending Hogwarts as Thomas Lemarc, the youngest brother who had been sick at the beginning of the schoolyear. Sirius would still be known as Scipius- even though he had started to tell everyone his nickname was Sirius, and no one seemed to suspect anything.

Sirius was thriving. He loved being back at school, and since Aurelius had studied so much with him, he was on top of his class now, and his friendship with Colin, Callum, and Ginny was only getting stronger. Snape seemed to have forgiven him and he worked hard in Potion's and managed to score well. He had also decided to keep playing Quidditch- and even though he had not made it on the team, he had signed up to play reserve- which meant he was allowed to practice with the other reserve players, and it turned out to be great fun.

Aurelius fit in easily again as well, most students had already forgotten about his Quidditch disaster, and after all, Dumbledore's arrest and the return of Harry's parents had helped the students to move on to more interesting topics. The Weasley twins were still his best friends- and since he was smart, handsome, and funny, his group of admirers had slowly come back, just not as intense as before.

Tom on the other hand, struggled. His classmates were nice, and classes turned out to be fun- the work was doable, but he was not used being around so many other boys and girls all day long, and he missed his brothers- and he missed Dash, and he missed play time.

Aurelius was strict- if they got in trouble during the week or lost house points, they had to spend all Saturday working instead of playing in the quarters, which Aurelius still used to hang out in. Both Sirius and Tom longed for the weekends- when they got to spend all day with Aurelius, playing, and snuggling, and going to Hogsmeade with him.

Halloween was around the corner now, and everyone was talking about the big Halloween party next week. Tom and Sirius had agreed to meet up today to discuss their costumes, and since Sirius usually spend all his free time with his friends, Tom was looking forward having his brother to himself for a while. He was waiting in the hallway now, waiting for Sirius to come back from Quidditch practice.

"Hey Tom, do you want to come, too?"

He blinked, and turned around. One of his classmates, Jathan Glenburn, was standing right in front of him, smiling. Jathan was a small, skinny red haired boy with tons of freckles in his face, and he had the most mischievous grin- and he was always full of jokes, and funny stories, and crazy ideas.

Tom liked him, most of the first graders did, but since Jathan never made an effort to actually want to have a friend, he was basically everyone's friend- without having a best friend on his own. Tom, of course, also did not have a best friend, he was content enough with his brothers- or so he thought.

"Come where?", he asked now, "what's going on?"

"Some of the others want to talk about the decorations for the party", Jathan said, "might be fun."

"I…am actually waiting for my brother- we are going to talk about our costumes", Tom replied, and Jathan's smile faded, "uhm…okay, never mind then", he carelessly waved a hand, but if you looked closely, it seemed forced, "have fun with your brother", it sounded a little snidely, but before Tom was able to respond, Jathan had disappeared.

What's his deal?

He stared after him, and kept thinking about his strange classmate- until he finally realized that Sirius should have been here forever ago.

Where is he? What the heck is going on today?

It was getting cold, and he was bored- so he decided to go back to the Common Room to warm up. And there he was- Sirius was standing in a group of third graders, laughing about something, and Tom's anger grew.

At first, Jathan is being rude for no reason, and then my brother lets me wait to hang out with his friends- what the actual hell?

Before he could think about it, he stormed over to the third graders, his eyes sparkling with anger, "I was waiting for you!", he hissed at Sirius, not caring the slightest that everyone abruptly stopped talking to stare at him, "we wanted to talk about our costumes, but I guess you found something better to do!", his tone was disrespectful, and there were some gasps from the third graders, and he saw Sirius' face darken, "don't you dare use that tone with me, little brother!"

"Don't you dare let me wait then!", Tom shot back, and the whole Common Room was silent now, and everyone was looking at Sirius, waiting for his response.

Sirius was fuming, he felt humiliated, "apologize!", he demanded through clenched teeth, "I am not letting you talk to me like that!"

"I've got nothing to apologize for!", Tom retorted, "you should…"

"Come. here. Both of you", Aurelius' voice was pure ice, and even though there was a cozy fire burning in the fireplace, the temperature of the room suddenly seemed to have dropped.

Tom obeyed immediately, he knew that Aurelius did not like to repeat himself, but Sirius was only getting angrier- first his younger brother had the nerve to cheek him in front of his friends, and now his older brother had to boss him around, too? He did not move, he did not even look at his big brother, and he could feel Aurelius' stare on him like a burn, but he did not care.

"Three seconds, Scipius- or I will come and get you."

Sirius paled, his brother rarely felt the need to count- and every time he had in the past, it had ended with…

Oh shit, no.

He hastily went over to his brother, but he still refused to look at him, and Aurelius grabbed him by the shoulder, "let's go", he took them to the quarters, no surprise there, and by the time the door had closed behind the three of them, Sirius was trembling with anger.

"You had no right to…", he did not get any further because Aurelius pointed at the corner, "you know the drill. I don't want to hear anything from the both of you for the next ten minutes- understand?"

"Yes, Aurelius", Tom replied quietly, and made his way into a corner- but Sirius did not move.

"You are asking for a spanking, Sirius", Aurelius told him coldly, "and that's fifteen minutes of corner time for you now. I have no idea what has gotten into you to create such a spectacle in front of everyone."

"You would know about making a spectacle, wouldn't you?", the words had left his mouth before he could stop them, and he swallowed and took a step back when he saw the look on Aurelius' face, "I…I did not mean…I am sorry, please…"

"Pants down."

Sirius started to sob, "no, please, I…"

"If you backtalk one more time, I am going to use my belt on you- do you understand me?", Aurelius' voice sounded dangerous.

He was whimpering now, "ye…yes, Aurelius."

"Good. Drop the pants and come here then."

Sirius hesitated, looking over to his younger brother who was still facing the wall in the corner, "he…here? I…", he was too embarrassed to finish his sentence.

"You should have thought about that before you started disrespecting me", Aurelius replied unmoved, "now your little brother will have to listen to you getting spanked- and after I am done with you, you will join him in the corner, did I make myself clear?"

"Please…please…Relius, I am sorry…please…", he was begging, but he did not even care- getting spanked in front of his younger brother was too much he could bear.

"I said did I make myself clear, Sirius?"

"Yes, yes, you did!", he sobbed again, and then he hastily dropped his pants, and walked over to Aurelius, "do…you want me to bend over the desk?", he whispered, but to his horror, Aurelius shook his head, "acting like a naughty little boy will get you a naughty boy spanking- over my knee, Sirius."

Sirius closed his eyes, "Aurelius…please…Tom…"

"You brought this one to yourself, Sirius", Aurelius replied calmly, and then he grabbed him and carefully guided him over his knee, while he was sitting on the couch, "now, you are getting ten this time- which is generous for your behavior today. You will count them, loud and clear, understand?"

His face turned red with mortification, "yes…Aurelius", he said through clenched teeth, feeling humiliated all over again.

"Good boy."

Smack.

Sirius took a deep breath, "o…ne…", his voice was quiet.

"Which part about loud and clear did you not understand? We will repeat that one- and you better start counting the way I asked you to, Sirius, or we'll be here all night."

Smack.

Sirius sobbed, "o…oneee…", it wasn't much louder, but he simply could not bring himself to say it- but Tom, who was still standing in the corner, could hear him anyways- and he suddenly felt bad for his older brother, he could only imagine how mortifying this must be for Sirius.

And before he could stop himself, he started talking, "it's okay, Sirius- you will be okay. Ten is not that much, and I won't think any different of you if you count, okay? You can cry, too, I know it hurts."

There was a silence, and then he heard Sirius sob loudly, "you…I…I am so sorry, Tom!", his voice was shaking, "I…did not forget about our meeting, it's just that the Quidditch practice took longer, and then everyone wanted to go to the Common Room to warm up, I was so cold and…instead of…telling them no, I just…went with them", he sounded ashamed now, "I am so sorry."

It was weird talking to each other like this, and apparently, Aurelius thought so as well, because he carefully lifted Sirius up and pulled his pants up, "come over here, Tommy."

Tom went over to them immediately, feeling relieved when he saw that Sirius was not getting spanked anymore, "I…I am sorry, too", he said quietly, and sat next to his brothers on the couch, "I should not have screamed at you in front of everyone…it's just, I was so excited to meet up with you because…because…", there were suddenly tears in his eyes, and he could not finish his sentence.

"Because…of what?", Sirius seemed confused now, and Tom swallowed, "because you are…always with your friends and…I just…I miss hanging out with you", his voice was quiet, "I miss…play time with you, and I just…I don't have any friends in first grade, so…", he blushed, too embarrassed to keep talking.

Sirius came closer, and next thing he knew, he was hugging him, "I am sorry, Tom", he whispered, "I did not…I did not even realize that, but…you're right. I have been spending too much time with them because I was so excited to be back- but I miss play time with you, too."

Tom hugged him back, and they were both smiling now, and Aurelius was watching them amusedly, "this is what you boys should have done instead of screaming at each other in the Common Room", he said dryly, "good thing my little memory spell made everyone forgot about that little episode right away."

The boys turned towards him now, and seconds later, he had his younger brothers in his lap- Tom on one knee, and Sirius on the other, "sorry, Relius", they both said simultaneously, and Aurelius had to laugh, "you are both forgiven- but next time you are losing your temper like this, you will get spanked- understand?"

"Yes, Aurelius", they both snuggled closer, and Aurelius started to gently rake through their hair, "now, Tommy- how come you don't have any friends in your class? I thought you were friends with Jathan."

Tom shrugged, "I want to- but he's being weird. He asked me to hang out earlier today, and when I told him I am meeting Sirius, he was kinda nasty. He knows that both of you are important to me, I tell him that all the time."

"Does he have any brothers, too?"

Tom shook his head, "no, he's an only child- why?"

"I think he might be jealous, Tommybear", Aurelius answered softly, "maybe he wants to be your friend but is worried that he will always be second best- and that you only want to be his friend when we don't have time for you."

"But…that's not true, I want to be his friend all the time! I can still hang out with you, too!"

"Maybe you should tell him that, little bear."

Tom bit his lips, "I can do that I guess", he snuggled closer again, "can we talk about our costumes now? You help, right?"

"Yes, I'll help- do you boys know what you want to be?"

"I want to be a ghost!", Sirius said instantly, sounding excited, "I want to look just like Nick!"

"I want to be a ghost, too!", Tom replied, sounding just as excited, "we can both be ghosts, Sirius!", he was beaming at him, "we can be twins then!"

"Uhm…yeah, that would be…nice", Sirius looked at Aurelius for help like he always did, and his big brother understood him and gave him a quick smile. The older boy signaled him to step to the side, so Sirius carefully got off his lap, "Sirius, can you go and make us some hot chocolate, please?"

The boy nodded, knowing that this was just an excuse for Aurelius to talk to Tom in private.

"Yay, I love hot chocolate!", Tom was grinning from ear to ear, and he was looking so innocent, and young, and adorable, and Aurelius pulled him close and gave him a soft kiss on his curly hair, "Tommybear, I know you love Sirius a lot- but I need you to remember that he is not your twin- he is your older brother", he looked at him, smiling softly, "and maybe wearing the same costume would make Sirius feel a little…uncomfortable."

"But…I wanna look just like Sirius cause he is so awesome!"

Aurelius had to laugh, "I know, little bear- but imagine you were the oldest, and Sirius were dressing up like you- how would you feel?"

Tom bit his lips, "maybe…not so good?"

"Why would you not feel good?"

"Because my friends might laugh then", Tom said quietly, "and…I might want to be the only one looking like that and not share."

"Good boy, Tommy", Aurelius sounded proud when he gave him another kiss, "you are my smart little bear- now, maybe you can talk to Jathan and you can come up with an idea for a costume together?"

Tom snuggled close, "already…have an idea", he mumbled then, sounding embarrassed.

"Do you want to tell me, Tommybear?"

"I…I wanna be a…dragon", it was whispered, "the one…the one from…", he blushed.

"The one from your pajamas?", Aurelius' voice was soft, "I think that's a great idea, little bear. I can help you with that."

Tom looked at him shyly, "really?"

"Really", Aurelius was smiling, "it is getting too late to start today- but how about we meet again tomorrow? It's Saturday, and then we can spend all day working on the costumes."

Tom hugged him, "yes, I wanna do that! And…can I…bring Jathan? He might want to be a dragon, too."

Aurelius nodded, "yes, little bear, you can bring your friend- it's going to be fun, you'll see."

It was fun- on the next day, the four of them were sitting on the floor by the fireplace in the quarters, working on their costumes- and Jathan was thrilled to be part of it, Tom had talked to him and Aurelius had been right- of course he had been- Jathan had been jealous, but Tom had assured him that being his friend was never going to be second best, and now they were joking and laughing together, creating a dragon costume for the both of them, Tom was going to be the head, Jathan the tail.

Sirius was working on his ghost costume, and Aurelius, who was planning to be a vampire, helped him. And while it was storming outside, the four boys sat together, talking, working, and drinking hot chocolate, and Tom was the happiest among them- having finally found a friend, and a family with brothers who loved him just as much as he loved them.

Life was great.

yep...over and out :( I hope this was the HEA everyone wanted ;)

I would love some feedback of course- and I hope I'll see you around for my new story, Testing Thomas! :)

xoxo, thank you all!

Antonie :)