Snape's look grew darker and darker as Tirza continued to tell him what all went in this 'secret meeting'. And Draco grew more and more frightened of the furious potions master. If looks could kill, Draco would have been long gone, but now the boy worried about what exactly Snape was going to do to him. Tirza, exhausted from the events, yawned and leaned against Snape when she finished. Snape now turned his full attention to Draco. "Well Mr. Malfoy, just to keep up the appearance that I am more than fair to my Slytherins, I shall grant you a few moments to tell your side before I decided what to do with you." Draco gulped, not knowing what exactly it was that Snape wanted to hear. "She's lying... sure I brought her here, but I tried to stop Marcus. I really did; she's my friend, I didn't want him to hurt her." "Bastard," Tirza said. Snape put a finger to her lips. "You hush." He turned back to Malfoy. "Really Mr. Malfoy, who do you expect me to believe? You... or my terrified and traumatized daughter?" Draco knew he had lost; he had lost big time. There was no way to win against Snape's daughter. Sure the kid drove him insane, but obviously that didn't matter; Snape would always be overprotective when it came to her. "Now what shall I do TO you?" Snape mused, putting extra emphasis on 'to'. Draco just watched him silently, knowing anything he said would make things worse. "I got an idea," Tirza said quietly. "Can I kick his ass?" Snape shook his head. "No, you may not. I don't want you fighting unless you absolutely have to." Draco felt somewhat relieved that the kid wasn't going to go crazy and beat him up; she may be a little kid, but she could really hurt a guy! "I must say Mr. Malfoy that you live up to the Slytherin name and as much as I feel loyalty to my own house, I do not appreciate it when those Slytherin characteristics urge you to pester my daughter and pressure her into unsafe situations." Snape paused and scowled darkly. Malfoy wished that he could hide, but the body bind prevented him from even moving. "Personally, I think you are in dire need of an attitude adjustment, as well as a good spanking. Which I do know as a fact that it has been an extremely long time since you last received one, not counting your caning." Malfoy blushed a dark red. There were times when he very much regretted that his father and Snape were friends.

The mention of Malfoy being spanked seemed to perk Tirza up a bit; she forced her eyes to stay open and sleep to stay away until she knew what her dad would do. "Hmmm," Snape mused. "Perhaps that is exactly what you need." Tirza nodded her head happily. Draco shook his head. "You can't do that." Snape raised an eyebrow. "Thank you for making my mind up for me... that is exactly what I will do." Draco's eyes grew wide. "My father..." "Your father," Snape interrupted. "Would do much worse I'm sure if I owled him about this. Not for what you did of course, but for getting caught; I know he would be very displeased." Draco dropped his head and gulped. It was true; he would get much worse at home, especially if he was expelled over this. "And whether or not you think your father would approve, I am the head of your house and therefore have the right as far as the school is concerned. And do not think that you shall be picked on unjustly... the others involved in this fiasco will received their just punishments as well." Draco sighed; at least he wouldn't be the only one in trouble. "Now unless there is any other things you'd like to add, I suggest we get this over with so I can take my daughter back to Hogwarts." Tirza, knowing the drill, crawled off Snape's lap and sat well out of the way in case Draco got to kicking. Draco was floated over to Snape and the body bind was taken off, depositing the boy across Snape's knees. If Tirza wasn't so tired and sore, she would be rolling on the floor with laughter at the scene in front of her. She knew how strong her dad was and didn't think there was anyone else in the world, expect Marcus, which deserved this more than Draco. While she didn't roll with laughter, she did giggle; adding to the embarrassment that Draco felt, which was quickly replaced with shouts for mercy. Snape was far from being merciful, though still in control of his temper, but he was determined that Draco would remember this for some time!

Several minutes that seemed like hours to Draco later, Snape released the boy who immediately rubbed his burning bottom, not carrying if Tirza saw the tears running down his face. His resolve had quickly been broken and replaced by tears and shouts under Snape's firm hand. "And do not think that this is over Mr. Malfoy. I will be seeing you and your fellow conspirators in my office at eight o'clock sharp. Now I suggest you get yourself back to Hogwarts before you get into any further trouble." Draco took the hint and ran from the room and crawled out through the rotten boards, quickly wiping the tears from his face, but unable to keep from rubbing his bottom. Snape turned to Tirza, who was still giggling. "As amusing as I'm sure that was for you, I do not think I'd laugh if I were you," Snape said softly. Tirza immediately fell quiet, thinking she'd be the next one crying and rubbing a sore bottom. She sighed and looked down at the floor. "I'm in really big trouble, aren't I?" Snape sighed and scooped her off the dirty floor. "I'm disappointed and hurt at the choices you made today and you will be properly punished, but not now." Tirza nodded and yawned. "Be careful of my back, it really hurts," she whispered sleepily. Snape frowned, remembering that she had been slammed onto the floor. He sat down and place Tirza face down over his lap. "Hey, you said you weren't gonna punish me now!" Tirza shouted, kicking her legs. Snape leaned down and kissed her head. "I'm not going to spank you; I want to look at your back, but I don't want you to lying on the floor," Snape assured her. Tirza breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm going to lift your shirt and look at your back, alright?" Tirza nodded and Snape carefully pulled her shirt up. A very large bruise was already starting to form on her back, but Snape felt around and could feel nothing broken. He put her shirt back down and stood up still cradling her. "Are you going to be alright?" She nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Yeah; this isn't the first flash back, but it was the worstest yet. Opps, I mean worst, I think. It was scary." She yawned again as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Snape carefully carried her out of the Shrieking Shack and started back towards Hogwarts.

Hermione paced nervously outside Snape's chambers. She was worried that Tirza might be hurt; worried at what Snape would do to Tirza, and worried that Tirza would hate her. Even if Snape didn't tell Tirza that she had been the one to tell, who else would it have been? It wouldn't take long for Tirza to find out that it was her. She had been pacing since Snape had stormed out of the chambers after finding his daughter's bed empty. Hermione knew that she had done the right thing, but she wasn't going to leave until she knew that Tirza was alright. She paced back and forth until she was tired and than sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Not long after she sat, she could hear someone coming down the hallway. She jumped to her feet as Snape rounded the corner with Tirza in his arms. "Is she alright Professor?" Snape nodded. "It turned out to be much less fun than she thought; she's sleeping and I'm going to put her to bed." Hermione let out a breath that she had been holding. "I'm glad that she's okay." Snape gave the girl a small smile. "I am too. And thank you for telling me; and I truly think that Tirza will forgive you." Hermione nodded. "Can I come visit her later? Like after supper?" "Yes, that would be fine. I'd best put her to bed now." Hermione said goodbye and walked down the hallway feeling very relieved. Tirza would be okay and Snape didn't seem too mad; in fact, he seemed much more kind than usual. Now perhaps she could concentrate on studying! Snape chuckled softly as Hermione walked away. That was one friend that Tirza was very lucky to have and much to his surprise, Snape hoped that they would stay friends. Tirza could use a more claming influence. He carefully laid her on her bed; Tirza whimpered and turned from her back onto her stomach in her sleep. He tucked the covers in around her and kissed her cheek before leaving the room.

Two and a half hours later, Tirza awoke from the urge of needing to use the restroom. She quietly got out of bed and opened her door, which creaked as usual. Snape looked up from where he sat on the sofa, working on lesson plans. "God, I gotta pee really bad," she announced, making mad dash to the bathroom. Snape chuckled and shook his head. Tirza shook her head as she washed her hands, embarrassed that she had just told her dad that she had to pee. She dried her hands on the towel and took a deep breath, scowling at herself in the mirror. 'Boy, I've really screwed up big.' She rubbed her bottom, thinking about how much it would hurt, and her lower lip quivered. 'And I don't wanna get spanked; but I can't stay in here forever.' She took another deep breath and emerged from the bath room and walked over to where Snape sat, her head hanging, rather scared to look him in the eye. "Are you gonna spank me?" she asked quietly. Snape reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, gently tilting her head to look at him. "I don't think my spanking you will help you to learn anything more than you have figured out for yourself, do you?" She shook her head in agreement. "But you still disobeyed me and lied to me and we need to talk about that and you will have to be punished for that." Tirza burst into tears and crumpled onto the floor, sobbing. Severus reached down and pulled her onto his lap and she cried on his chest. "I'm sorry daddy! Really I am! I didn't mean to be so bad!" "Hush baby," he said, rubbing her back. "I know you are sorry and I know that you have learned a very good lesson." She nodded. "I'll never be a bad girl again, I promise." Snape kissed her head and gently wiped the tears from her face. "Don't cry sweetheart; I'm not angry with you. I am sad that you got hurt because of the choice you made and that you choose to disobey me, but I'm not angry." She sniffled and blew her nose. "Do you understand that you made bad decisions today?" "Yeah," she replied quietly. "And what were you bad decisions?" Severus prompted. Tirza took a deep breath. "I lied to you and I went to Hogsmeade even though I was grounded and I went to the Shrieking Shack even though you told me to never ever ever go there." "That's right. And what happened because you made those decisions?" he asked softly. "I got hurt and made you worry and had a really bad flashback." He nodded and kissed her forehead. "I give you rules Tirza to try and keep you safe and happy. I know that you think it is because I don't want you to have fun, but that is not why. I do it because I don't ever want bad things to happen to you, I always want you to be safe." She nodded and blew her nose again. "You have been so very defiant lately and I really do not know why." "You're right daddy. When you tell me I can't do stuff I think you're just being a meanie-mo. But now I know that's not true. If I had listened, I wouldn't have gone into that nasty place and I wouldn't have had to sneak out or lie. And cuz I did all that, I got hurt and now I'm in trouble." Severus hugged her tight. "That's right. I am very proud of you that you understand that. I am also proud that you did not give in and agree to help those children cheat and steal." She gave him a big smile. "I promise that I'm gonna try really super hard to listen to you, cuz I don't like getting in trouble so much and I don't ever want to be scared like I was this morning."

Snape gently rubbed her back as Tirza snuggled against him. "Well now that you understand what you did wrong, we need to decide what your punishment should be. I don't think a spanking would really do any good this time; what do you think your punishment should be?" Tirza raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Me? Why you askin me?" Severus smiled. "Even though I have the final say because I am your father, I'd like to know what you think. I always want to listen to what you have to say." She nodded and sighed. "I dunno. I'm already grounded for almost three weeks." "So you don't have any ideas?" She shook her head no. "Alright; you are going to be grounded for an extra two weeks. There will be no Hogsmeade for the rest of your grounding and no quidditch games. I want you back here by seven o'clock every night and you are grounded from all your friends expect Hermione, and there will be no playing outside unless I am with you." Tirza frowned. "What if Hermione is with the guys?" "Than you will not be with them; it is only until your grounding is over. Hermione has a more positive influence than the boys do," Snape told her. "That's a really long time," Tirza said in awe. "I think I'd rather get spanked that have five weeks grounding." Snape laughed loudly before he caught the serious look on her face. "Are you truly serious child?" Tirza shrugged. "Yeah, but no, but yeah, but...never mind." Snape hugged her. "I think five weeks restriction will be good for you and teach you more than a spanking would this time." She nodded. "At least I won't have to sit on pillows," she said with a wink. Snape rolled his eyes and Tirza giggled. "Since you brought up about Hermione, she's the one that told ya isn't she?" Snape nodded. "Are you angry with her?" Tirza sighed. "Maybe a little, but I'm really glad she did cuz than you came and they stopped hurting me." "Hermione did the right thing; she thought you would be hurt and was very worried for you and she told me even though she thought you might be mad. She's a very good friend." "Was she really worried that I'd be mad?" Tirza asked. "Very worried. But she cared more about you being safe," Severus told her. "That's pretty cool," she decided. "And I'm glad you came to save me." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. Snape cuddled her close, glad she was safe. "I'm hungry," Tirza announced. Snape chuckled. "You stay here and rest; supper will be ready in just a few moments, I will tell the elves to bring it here."

Just after seven o'clock, there was knock on the door of Snape's chambers. Severus eased Tirza from his lap and went to open the door; Hermione stood there holding several large packages, which she handed to Snape. "Tirza, Hermione is here to see you." Tirza got off the couch and ran to Hermione, hugging the girl tightly. Hermione was very surprised, but hugged Tirza back. "You're an awesome friend Hermione. Thank you for telling my dad. If you didn't, he never would have come to rescue me like Prince Charming." "You're not mad?" Hermione asked tentatively. Tirza shook her head. "Nope. You're the greatest friend ever, one of my bestest bestest friends." Hermione smiled happily. "You're mine too; I'm so glad you're not mad." Tirza gave her another quick hug. "Come in and hang with me, I'm watching Tom and Jerry and I think dad's bored." She looked to Snape. "Is it okay? And what's with all that stuff?" Snape smiled. "Yes, Hermione may stay and you might want to ask her what this is, she handed it to me when she came." Hermione retrieved the boxes and handed them to Tirza, who squealed in delight. "It's stuff from AJ! Yippy!" A letter was taped to the top of one of the boxes and Tirza pulled it off. "It for you dad, from AJ's mom, I know her handwriting." Tirza handed him the letter and both girls began to eagerly open the four boxes. Snape carefully opened the letter and began to read. "Dear Mr. Snape..."

A/N: Alrick thinks that Snape should write to AJ's parents and find out a little more about Tirza and Ariel's past and I think that's a great idea! The nice discussion was her suggestion as well, and Draco being spanked gets credited to AlexGray. So what is AJ's mom writing Snape about? What's in the packages? There's a very nice surprise for Tirza and Snape hidden in them that will cause much fun and adventures coming up, but I won't tell you what it is yet! You'll have to wait for the next chapter, which will hopefully be up late tomorrow night. And what is going to happen to Draco and the rest of the Slytherins from the 'society' in Snape's office? Stay tuned!

Potter-Snape: Snape spanking Draco sounded good to me too! And what does he have in store for Draco and the others in his office? Dun dun dun, LOL!

Kenomee: Well Tirza did forgive Hermione and I too am glad that she did. Really, if it wasn't for Hermione telling Snape, things could have really gotten bad at the Shack. I think Snape made the right choice by not spanking her and I hope that Tirza will mature from this; maybe Hermione will rub off on her a little more!

RitaSkeeter: I don't think it will create big problems that Snape spanked Draco. As in earlier chapters, Hogwarts does allow corporal punishment at the head of house's discretion. I think Lucius would punish Draco quite severely just for getting caught and he was better off being punished by Snape, who I imagine is more humane than that creepy Lucius.

McMish: I hope Snape's handling of the situation with Tirza meets with your approval. Now the question is, will she be able to make it through the grounding?

Alrick: Thank you for all your ideas! I hope they turned out the way you envisioned them! So what all do you think AJ's mother will have to say about Tirza and Ariel's past and relationship? And yes, Harry will get yelled at later on, but will tell Snape something that will keep him from punishment.