Hello again! :D

Thank you guest for your review! I am glad the chapter made your day a little better :)

Btw, this story is not finished, I am hoping to write the last couple chapters this month, though. Real life can be distracting :D

WARNING: SPANKING!

Something was different.

Tom blinked against the light, he had slept better than ever, and he felt warm, and well rested. Still, something was…off.

He opened his eyes, curiously looking around in the room. Where was he? This was not his bedroom in the mansion, the room looked almost like a hotel room to him, much fancier than anything he ever stayed at.

Tom lifted his hand to get a strain of hair out of his eyes, a simple motion he had done a million times in this life, but this time it was different.

Why is my hand so small?

He froze, realizing that his hand was not the only small thing- his whole body looked…small. Different. Like he was…

No. No, nononono!

He started screaming in terror as soon as his glance fell over at the mirror hanging from the wall, "nooooooo!"

Seconds later, the door opened, and Gryffindor, Godric bloody Gryffindor, came rushing inside, "Tom, I…"

"You!", he did not even bother to hide the hatred from his voice, "you did this to me!", his voice sounded different now, too, higher, and like a…like a little boy.

Fuck me!

"Let me explain, I…"

"Explain?", he repeated, basically yelling at this point, "I don't want any fucking explanations, I want you to reverse this! Reverse this right now!"

Gryffindor just stood there, looking at him, but he made no attempt to do what he had ordered, "that is not going to happen, Tom", he eventually told him, his voice completely calm, "at least not right now."

Tom forced back the tears, "what's that supposed to mean?", he eventually spat out, not bothering to sound even the slightest bit respectful.

"That means you are going to stay my little boy for a while- until you apologized."

This is a fucking nightmare.

Tom stifled a sob, "I…I already apologized! You sp…you punished me already, what else do you want?"

"I punished you for being cruel to my son- but Sirius never got to punish you, and he never got an apology from you, either."

Tom let out a bitter laugh, hating this, "so, all I gotta do is tell Black I'm sorry and you transform me back?"

"As long as you honestly tell him why you really treated him like you did, yes, I will."

"I can tell you that right now- cause I can't stand him. It's not a fucking secret."

"Well, in that case you should probably accept being a five year old for a while, Tom", Gryffindor replied, a strange tone in his voice, "until you are ready to tell the truth."

Fuck. That!

"I'm not gonna accept shit!", he hissed, and then he stomped his foot, even though he was not sure why he felt like doing that, "if…if you won't reverse this, I'll find someone who will! I don't need you!"

Gryffindor sighed, "and who is that going to be, hmmm?"

"None of your damn business!"

Gryffindor raised an eyebrow, "I know you are still under some kind of shock- but my patience is not endless, Thomas. I am not going to have you disrespect me like this, understand?"

The boy just balled his hands into fists, staring at him defiantly, "what you gonna do about it? Shrink me some more?"

The Founder stifled a smile, "you know exactly what I do to naughty boys who don't listen, don't you, Thomas?"

He bit his lips, not wanting to risk another spanking, but too angry to give in that easily, "I'm leaving", he finally announced rudely, "gonna find someone to take this spell off me. Bye", and with that, he turned around, marching towards the door, and Gryffindor followed him slowly, and before the small boy was able to open the door, the Founder stopped him.

"No, Thomas."

Tom felt his face flush, "I'm not fucking staying here!", he hissed back, "I am leaving!"

"No, Thomas", Gryffindor simply repeated, "you are going to take a shower now and get dressed- it is time for breakfast. We'll talk after you have eaten. You must be hungry."

Starving.

Tom did not respond, he was so angry he thought he would burst, and before he could stop himself, he lashed out, boxing and kicking the Founder, putting as much force as he could behind his punches- but since he was so small now, he was barely able to hurt Gryffindor.

"Bad boy", Gryffindor easily picked him up, turned him around, and then he delivered a hard swat to his backside, "rule number one: You do not hit, kick, or spit, Thomas."

"Fuck you!"

Another swat.

"Rule number two: You do not curse."

He wanted to cry, "I don't have to listen to you and your stupid rules! I don't!"

"You do if you don't want to get punished, Thomas", Gryffindor's voice had gotten cold, "shower, and get dressed. There are clothes in the bathroom for you to wear. Brush your teeth, comb your hair, and then come downstairs for breakfast. You have twenty minutes, if you take longer, you'll get to eat your breakfast cold."

The boy stared at him, his eyes wide, and Gryffindor knew that this was a lot for him to process- but he had to make sure the boy knew who was in charge here, and if he did not enforce the rules from day one, Tom would never learn proper discipline.

"Twenty minutes, Thomas", he told him firmly, and then he left the room, giving the boy the opportunity to process what he had said, and the chance to obey him.

He probably won't, though.

He would actually be surprised if the boy was even going to show up for breakfast- but he had to give him the chance to try. Godric went down the stairs, and went to the dining room, which was enormous enough to be called a dining hall. His partner and his other two boys were already seated, chatting amiably. They looked up when he entered.

"Where's Tom?", Salazar immediately asked, a hint of concern in his voice, "still sleeping?"

"He's up- and hopefully getting dressed right now", Godric replied, sitting down, "I gave him twenty minutes to come down", he reached for the coffee, desperately needing some caffeine.

"How did he…take it?", Aurelius asked, "better than expected?"

"As expected", Gryffindor replied, sighing, "he was…quite upset. I am surprised you did not hear him scream."

"The bedrooms are on the third floor for a reason", Aurelius was grinning, "you think he's going to come down, Dad?"

"I doubt it."

Sirius had been quietly listening, and quickly became bored with the conversation. He did not care much for having Voldemort as a younger brother- and he did not plan to spend more time with the younger boy than he had to, knowing the other boy would never ever apologize to him anyways, "can we go out and build a snowman after breakfast, Relius?", he asked his older brother, "the snow is perfect right now, and it's going to melt tonight!"

Aurelius ruffled his hair fondly, "yes, baby boy, we can do that. Finish your oatmeal first, though. You know the rules."

Sirius nodded, obediently taking another bite of his breakfast. He was not allowed to get up before he had finished, something that rarely bothered him- expect when they had spinach or something similar nasty for dinner. He kept eating, and he was almost done when he heard his brother make some kind of choking sound- and then he looked up.

What the…

Tom had decided to show up, but instead of wearing the warm, stylish clothes that Salazar had left for him in the bathroom, he was wearing a shirt and jeans, no socks. His hair was styled in a ridiculous way that made him look like a hedgehog, and he smelled like he had bathed in some kind of oil.

Sirius kept staring, holding his breath, and waiting for the explosion.

"What is that you are wearing, Thomas?"

Here we go.

"Clothes", the boy responded smugly, "found them in the closet of that room I woke up in."

"There were clothes in the bathroom for you to wear."

"So?"

Sirius wanted to laugh, he disliked Voldemort intensely, but he could not help but finding his rudeness a little bit funny.

Not surprisingly, his Dad did not.

"Rule number three: You do not get to pick out your own clothes, Thomas", Gryffindor's voice was hard, "and for your insolence in showing up here looking absolutely ridiculous, you get ten minutes of corner time", he pointed at a corner behind him, "after that, you can eat."

The boy did not move.

"Now, Thomas", Gryffindor's voice had gotten dangerous, "I do not like to repeat myself. Go stand in the corner, facing the wall."

The boy still did not move.

Gryffindor sighed, "a spanking, then?", he asked Tom casually, and this time, the boy winced, "don't, don't touch me! Just let me go! I don't want to stay here! I need to get this spell off me! I am gonna find someone to reverse it, and then you'll be sorry!"

It was meant to be a threat, but since he was a five year old boy, a small, thin little boy to be more exact, it did not come across as one.

"The only one being sorry here is going to be you, Thomas- you have three seconds to get your little behind in that corner, or you'll get spanked", Gryffindor told him, and Tom stifled a sob, "I won't! I don't care what you do to me, I am not…I won't do what you say! I want to leave!"

"One."

"Just…let me go! I don't want to stay here!"

"Two."

A sob, "I fucking hate you!"

"Three."

Tom attempted to run out of the room, but Gryffindor was faster- he grabbed the struggling boy, and holding him in a tight grip, he made him follow him back to the table.

"No! No, stop, leave me alone!", the boy started to panic as soon as Gryffindor had pulled him over his lap, struggling desperately, and the Founder tightened his grip, "shhh…calm down, Tommy…this is not going to be like last time", he told him quietly, "this is going to be quick, baby bear- just to remind you who's in charge."

"No!", Tom repeated, sobbing, "I don't want this! Please, no!"

Gryffindor smiled, "such a good boy saying please", he mumbled, fondness in his voice, "now, you'll get five- you will count them out loud, and if I see you covering you backside, you will get one extra, do you understand?"

"No!", the boy spat out defiantly, and Gryffindor had to chuckle, "I think you understand quite nicely, Thomas", and then he lifted his hand, delivering the first hard smack to his boys' backside.

Smack.

"I am not hearing you count, Thomas."

"I don't want to count!"

"I'll just keep going then until you start counting", Gryffindor replied casually- and lifted his hand.

Smack.

Smack.

Smack…

Tom bucked, and squirmed, and sobbed, but he stayed silent, his lips starting to bleed from biting them too hard.

Smack.

"You could already be done, Thomas."

"Don't care! I don't fucking care!"

He did care, though, because the pain on his backside was steadily increasing- but he would not count, he would not do anything Gryffindor told him- he had transformed him into a kid, he had ruined his life, and he would make him sorry for that!

Smack.

Smack.

"Stop! Just fucking stop!", he kept struggling, and cursing, and kicking, but just like last time, Gryffindor's grip was tight.

"Start counting, Thomas, or I'll just keep going", and why the fuck did Gryffindor had to be so calm about this?

"Don't want to count! Want to leave!"

"I know, Tommy- but I can't allow that. Not right now."

Smack.

He bucked, harder this time, and then he started to cry, "not…gonna…count!"

Gryffindor sighed again, he hated this…his youngest was already in pain, his backside an angry red, but he had to make the boy understand, he had to make him obey.

"Hand me your belt, Aurelius", he told his oldest calmly, and the boy just nodded, not surprised by the request, "yes, Father."

Oh shit.

Tom froze, not wanting to know how much a belt would hurt on his bare backside, and when he heard Aurelius unbuckling his belt, he whimpered softly.

"No, no, no belt!"

"You had your chance, Thomas- and trust me, this is going to make you count right away", Gryffindor responded, and then Tom felt something touching his backside, and he felt the hard leather of the belt, and bucked in despair, "stop! I don't want this!"

Of course, Gryffindor did not listen- and then the belt came down.

Smack.

He screamed, his backside burning like it was on fire, and he struggled, and kicked- but he did not count.

Smack.

"Hurts! This hurts! Stop! Stop! You have to stop!"

"Start counting, Thomas", Gryffindor replied through clenched teeth, "stop being so damn stubborn!"

Smack.

"Not…gonna…count!"

Stubborn boy!

Gryffindor's face had darkened, realizing that he was running out of options- he would not beat his boy into submission, and if Tom did not start counting soon, he would have to stop.

Unless…

"I think I am going to need your help again, Aurelius", he told his oldest, "bring me the lotion."

That did the trick.

"Not the lotion, not the lotion, please, no! Be good, I'll count, I'll be a good boy!", his boy was clearly panicking, so Gryffindor carefully pulled him closer, rocking him, "you are going to count, then, baby bear?"

"I'll count, I'll count, I can count so good!", Tom was babbling now, fear in his voice.

"Alright- starting over then", Gryffindor shifted his hips, holding his boy close, and then he lifted his hand again, and delivered a soft smack on Tom's burning backside.

"One!"

"Good boy."

Smack.

"Two!"

Smack.

"Threeeeeee!"

Tom was sobbing again, even though the spanks barely hurt- it wasn't about the pain.

Smack.

"Four! Four! Fourrrrrr!"

"Good boy, counting so nicely for me", Gryffindor sounded proud, "one more, Tommy."

The boy just sobbed, bucking, but there was no way out- and with another smack, the punishment was over.

Tom howled, "fiveeeee! No more! Be done! Stop, please, no lotion, good boy!"

"Shhh…all done, Tommy. You are all forgiven", and then Gryffindor gently pulled his pants up, and then he led his boy to the corner, "ten minutes, baby bear- you'll be nice and quiet, making me proud, hmm?"

Tom was too exhausted and hurt to keep fighting, at least for now, so he just sobbed, and nodded.

"Good boy, Tommy", Gryffindor told him, and then he went back to the table, leaving him alone in the corner, sniffling and sobbing. He heard them talk in the background, but it all sounded like fog in his ears, and he wanted nothing more than to go back to bed and curl himself into a ball.

"Time's up, sweet boy", Gryffindor finally announced, leading him back to the table, "we are going to try this again now, hmm? Sit down and eat, Tommy- and then you are going to take a shower, and wear the clothes your Daddy picked put for you."

Daddy?

"Not…not your boy", he whispered, his voice hoarse from screaming and crying, and he heard Gryffindor sigh, "you've always been our boy, Tommy", he finally responded quietly, "and you always will be. Come and eat now, you must be starving."

He was, and that was the only reason why he obeyed- he knew that he was going to need his energy if he wanted to run away from here. And he would. There was no way he was going to beg Sirius Black for forgiveness, screw that, he was going to leave.

Breakfast was delicious, and he did not even care that he had to eat his scrambled eggs and bacon cold- and he ate everything, pretending not to care when Gryffindor praised him for being a good boy eating all of his breakfast. The other boys had left, he did not care where they had went to, so he did not ask.

"I'm going to show you the way back to your room, okay?", Salazar offered, a kind smile on his friendly face, "I know this house can be a little overwhelming at first- but in a couple of days, you'll know your way around."

In a couple of days, I'll be far gone from here!

He did not say that though, there was no reason to raise their suspicions any more than necessary, so he silently followed Slytherin through the maze of a house back to the room- he refused to call it his room- and then Slytherin helped him with his shower, and he even helped him getting dressed, and Tom let it happen, the sight of himself in the mirror almost too much to bear.

You'll pay for this, Gryffindor!

"Would you like to see the playroom, Tom?", Slytherin asked him now, after he was dressed in a long sweater and some pants, which were both ridiculously comfy, "or I could show you the library, or take you up to the owlery. We have some beautiful Snowy Owls."

Snowy Owls, cool!

He would rather die than admit how much he liked owls though, so he just shrugged, "I'm kinda tired, I just wanna go back to bed."

Slytherin did not say anything for a while, he just looked at him, a thoughtful expression on his face, "I know this is overwhelming for you, Tom, but we only want your best, this could be a second chance for you to…"

"I don't need a second chance", he hissed, his eyes turning red, "I don't need anything from you or Gryffindor! You…you cannot force me to stay here and pretend I like you, I don't! I fucking hate the whole bunch of you, and that will never ever change!"

Slytherin looked almost forlorn for a second, and it gave Tom a weird feeling of satisfaction, "just leave me alone! I'm tired!", and then he stormed back to his bed- the bed- and crawled under the sheets. He loved how soft and warm the sheets felt, another thing he would never admit.

"Tom, please, would you rather go outside for a while? Get some fresh air? Aurelius and Sirius are building a snowman, and…"

"And that's a reason not to go outside!", Tom snarled, punching one of the pillows, "just go. I want to be alone", and then he hid under the pillow, waiting for Slytherin to leave, which eventually, the Founder did.

Tom ended up spending most of his morning in bed, napping, staring into space, and thinking about how to get the hell out of this place- and he did watch the other boys building a snowman for a while, but it made him feel…strange, so he stopped. It was weird being a little kid again, everything was so big, and intimidating, and he did not like it. He hated it, actually.

A house elf eventually informed him, squeaking, that it was time for lunch- and since he was hungry, he hesitantly followed the elf. And then he refused to wash his hands before lunch, and he refused to eat his peas, and he refused to apologize for cursing and slamming his plate against the wall, so he spent another meal in the corner, his eyes wet with tears.

The afternoon was not any better, since he refused to join the boys in the playroom, Gryffindor took him to the library to let him pick out at some books, but when he realized that his reading abilities were not much better than the one's of a first grader, he angrily grabbed one of the nearest books, tearing it apart, and that resulted in yet another spanking across Gryffindor's lap.

Tea- time would have been pleasant, the cakes were delicious, but of course Aurelius had to reprimand him for making a show out of licking chocolate off his fingers, and when he had flipped the other boy off, Aurelius had dragged him into his room for a time-out. He had cursed and kicked and yelled at the older boy, hating that he was supposed to listen to him now, but Aurelius had simply left, ignoring his insults.

All of this had made him even angrier, and he did not even try to be good at dinner, he had stormed into the room, throwing plates, and glasses, and cutlery, and food across the table, and Gryffindor had made him stand in the corner for ten minutes, and then he had made him pick everything up- and he had to eat his dinner cold.

Now it was finally bedtime, finally time to be alone with his thoughts, and Tom had not bothered to even respond to Slytherin's friendly offer to help him take a bath- he did not take baths, he was not a child- he had just grabbed a random pair of pajamas, and without brushing his teeth or washing his hands, he had gone to bed.

It had gotten dark outside, but the snow was glowing in the moonlight, it looked gorgeous, and Tom hated the fact that the view out of his windows was simply breathtaking, and he crawled under the sheets, feeling miserable, alone, and sad.

I wonder how long I'm gonna be stuck here.

He was certain if he kept misbehaving like he had today, Gryffindor would eventually get tired of him and transform him back or let him go- there was no way he would keep him around as a bad influence for his precious sons.

I'll just gotta keep being bad- not that it's hard. I fucking hate it here. I hate my life.

He kept staring into the darkness, a sad, resigned expression on his face.

Several minutes later, the door slowly opened, and Tom stilled under the covers, his heart starting to beat faster.

Another punishment?

"Hey, sleepy boy", someone said softly, and his eyes went wide with shock.

Aurelius? Why…what the…I thought he's mad at me!

He blinked, but he did not move, pretending to be asleep.

"I need you to know that you are all forgiven for earlier, baby bear", Aurelius now said, and then he slowly started to draw circles on the sheets covering his back, "tomorrow is a new day, hmm? We could really need some help with the snowman by the way…just so you know", Tom did not need to look at him to know that he was smiling, "sleep tight, little brother- have some wonderful dreams", and then he gently caressed his back, and it felt…good.

Tom blinked, still not understanding what was happening- and then he heard Gryffindor's voice, "I know today was not easy for you, Tommy", he said quietly, "but every day, it will get easier…and I'm here to help you, baby bear. We're all here to help you."

I don't need your help!

He did not say that though, because now Gryffindor started to slowly rake through his hair, the only part of his body not hidden under the covers, and he went completely still, tears welling up his eyes.

Why is he being so nice to me now? I've been bad all day!

"Such a good boy…", Gryffindor's voice was still quiet, "I love you so much, Tommy…you are my sweet, perfect little boy."

Sweet? Perfect? Me? Am I hallucinating?

He discreetly pinched himself in the arm, but it did not stop- Gryffindor kept telling him in a low voice how lucky he was to be his Dad, and what a good boy he was, and eventually, he felt something soft being placed next to him, "his name is Brownie- and I think he could need a friend", he heard Gryffindor say, and even though he was bursting with curiosity, he did not turn around- not until Gryffindor had left.

A bear.

It was a teddy bear, a brown one, and Tom immediately concluded that the color was the reason for his name. Brownie was a medium sized bear, he had a friendly looking face with button eyes, and he was smiling- and he was also very, very soft.

I never had a teddy before.

He wanted to hate Gryffindor's present, he really did- but when the Founder came checking on his boy an hour later, Tom was snuggling close to Brownie, a small, happy smile on his lips.

And it made Gryffindor smile, too.

I just loooove writing little Tom :D there will be more fluff and H/C in the next chap- and some corporal punishment as well (poor Tommy)

Feedback makes me very happy :)

thank you all for being awesome!

xoxo, Antonie