Hello again! :) Halfway there with the story already! :D

Thank you to the wonderful Gypsyrose98 for your lovely comment!

WARNING: Graphic description of violence in this chapter!

"Good morning, Tommy. How did you sleep?", Aurelius' voice was soft, and he sounded like he was smiling- which kind of surprised Tom, given the fact that he had been utterly rude and disrespectful to Aurelius the night before.

After he had woken up from his nap- and he had slept great- Aurelius had given him some stupid tasks and commands, which he had refused to do of course. He had gotten the switch for that, over and over and over again, and later, he had refused to eat his dinner, even though he had been starving. Aurelius had not been pleased with that, and Tom had cursed at him, screaming at him that he hated him- and it had ended with Aurelius swaddling him tight, giving him the licks he had earned that day and taking his ability to speak away again. He had silently cried himself to sleep, feeling humiliated, hurt, and hungry. He was still mute and blind now, tightly swaddled in the damn blanket, and he was still amazed at how well he had slept, even though his stomach was rumbling with hunger.

"It's a beautiful day today", Aurelius went on, "are you ready to get out of the blanket, Tommybear?"

Why are you so nice now? Is this a trap?

Aurelius seemed to sense his suspicion because he let out a small laugh, "it's a new day, Tommy- and a new start. Let's get you ready, hmm? And then you'll have some breakfast, okay?"

Tom obstinately shook his head, even though his traitorous stomach grumbled louder at the word breakfast, and he could hear Aurelius sigh, "I got you pancakes for breakfast, baby bear- I know you like those", he had started to gently get him out of the swaddle, "but first, we are going to go to the bathroom- I have a task for you, and if you are a good boy, you are going to get a reward."

The only reward I want is to punch you in the face.

He had no choice but to follow Aurelius to the bathroom, though- he needed to pee anyways, and being blind and mute was really starting to annoy the fuck out of him- he wanted to see, and he wanted to talk, and he wanted to get off the damn chain that restricted his movements to walk between the mattress and the bathroom. Aurelius thankfully left him alone for a few minutes to take a piss, and then he quickly washed his hands, not wanting another lesson with hot water.

"All done, baby bear? Did you wash your hands like a good boy?"

Tom nodded reluctantly.

"Hands out, Tommy- let me check."

Tom's whole face flushed, hating this, but then he stretched out his hands, letting Aurelius inspect them like he was a toddler who had just learned to wash his hands by himself.

This is so humiliating.

"Good boy", Aurelius eventually praised him, and even though Tom knew it was ridiculous to praise him for washing his hands, he could not help to blush slightly at his words.

"Now, I have a special task for you- I want you to find the cabinet with your toothbrush and your toothpaste and then I want you to brush your teeth all by yourself. Do you think you can do that?"

No.

Tom angrily bit his lips, shaking his head furiously. He was fucking blind, how the hell was he supposed to brush his teeth? This was stupid. All of this was so stupid.

"Have some trust in yourself, little bear", Aurelius' voice was still very soft, "I'll help you, okay? Start searching for the cabinet first, and I will tell you when you get closer."

Tom inwardly sighed, he was so tired of these damn games, but he wanted- needed- his ability to see back, that more than anything else. Being blind made him feel vulnerable, and he hated being vulnerable, especially in front of Aurelius.

Okay- the cabinet. Over the sink, maybe?

Tom tentatively stretched out his arms, slowly making his way over to the sink. He hated the all familiar sound of the chain rattling on the floor, never letting him forget for one second that he was nothing but a prisoner. He got to the sink, and then he held up his arms, trying to locate the cabinet above the sink.

"Cold, Tommy."

I guess that means it's wrong?

Frustrated, Tom lowered his arms.

I just want to get out of here. I hate this. I hate all of this.

"Don't give up yet, Tommy- if it's not above the sink, then…"

Below the sink?

Tom leaned down, and he could not stop the silly grin spreading across his face when he found the cabinet right below the sink. He carefully opened it, and then he hesitantly put his hand inside, his grin widening when he touched a toothbrush. The toothpaste was right next to it, and he grabbed both, getting back up.

"Such a smart boy", Aurelius sounded almost…proud, which was ridiculous- but Tom could not help but feeling a little bit proud, too.

He managed to open the toothpaste and by holding the toothbrush close, he squeezed some on it, adding some water from the sink, and then he started to brush his teeth. It felt good, especially since he had not eaten anything, and he enjoyed getting rid of the foul taste in his mouth. Aurelius had given him plenty of water, and he had been able to walk to the bathroom by himself several times the day before to drink the water from the sink, the only thing that temporarily helped with his hunger. He washed out his mouth with some cold water after he was done, feeling like he actually had accomplished something today.

"You did well, Tommy", Aurelius gently led him back out of the bathroom, "now, it's time to eat something, though- but before that, you'll get your reward."

He mumbled something, most likely a spell, and Tom waited anxiously to be able to see again- but his vision stayed black.

"I want to see! This is not fair!"

I guess I only get to talk again.

"One thing at a time, Tommy", Aurelius simply replied, his voice calm, "how about some pancakes now?"

Tom pressed his lips together tightly, his expression defiant.

"You have not eaten anything since more than one day now, baby bear", Aurelius remarked quietly, "you know this is not healthy, Tom."

"I'll eat if you just give me a plate with food", Tom responded through clenched teeth, "but I won't let you feed me."

"You are not making the rules here, Thomas."

"If I starve to death, no one's gonna be here to obey your rules anyways- then you have to kidnap someone else to train."

Aurelius sighed, "you know that's that not what this is about, Thomas."

"I won't take any food from your hand. I won't."

"You know what that means, right?"

Tom snorted, "let me guess- you are gonna use the switch on me now? Or you are gonna take more of my senses away? Won't matter. I am not going to give in."

Aurelius silently looked at the boy for about a minute, knowing that he was right- he was too far gone now to give in, and Aurelius knew that refusing to eat was the only way he had to rebel, to let out some of his helplessness.

"I am not going to watch you starve, Tommy", he told him calmly, "if you don't eat your lunch later either, I am going to have to force feed you."

"I'll fight you."

"I know, baby bear."

He waved his hand, letting the plate with the pancakes appear, already cut into small pieces. He had added some fruit and syrup onto them, and the smell was wonderful enough to even tempt him to wanting a bite. Tom only turned his head though, his face pale and unhappy now.

Aurelius could see his inner fight clearly- one the one hand, he was starving, and one the other hand, he was proud- too proud to humiliate himself in front of him like this.

"Open wide, Tommy", he tried with a small piece of pancake, but the boy did not budge.

Aurelius tried two more times, and then decided to wait until lunch. If Tom was still refusing to eat then, he would swaddle him and force feed him- but the idea of doing that made his heart heavy. He did not want to go that far, but he was not willing to compromise- knowing very well that Tom would start to question everything then, and then he'd never be trained by the time they needed him to be.

"I have something to do for you until lunch", he informed Tom eventually, "I got a stack of towels and clothes here for you that have to be folded."

"That's a job for a house elf."

"Today it's your job, Tommy."

"Do I look like a house elf to you?"

"No, but you look like someone who's about to get a good switching if you don't drop the attitude."

"How am I supposed to fold some damn clothes? I am fucking blind now, in case you forgot, asshole!"

"That's three for cursing", Aurelius simply replied, "and you were able to brush your teeth like this, folding some clothes will be a lot easier. Come on, let's get you back to the mattress and I'll show you."

"No, thanks. I rather do fucking nothing."

"That's four", Aurelius informed him, "and until your towels and clothes are not folded, you won't be able to take a shower."

"So? I don't give a damn how I smell."

"That's five- suit yourself, Thomas. I will ask you again after you took your nap later."

"Answer is gonna be the same- find a fucking house elf for that or do it yourself, how about that?"

"How about six now, Thomas?", Aurelius' voice had gotten cold, "it's not even lunchtime yet and you are adding up the licks already- and I won't go easy on you, you know that."

"Yeah, cause you like hitting me."

"I already told you that I don't."

"Doesn't mean I have to believe you."

Aurelius sighed again, "Tommy…"

"What? I don't. I don't have to believe anything you are saying. It's not like…we are friends or something. You are nothing to me."

Aurelius knew that Tom was just lashing out, but still, his comment hurt. It hurt a lot.

"Very well then. I'll see you at lunch, Thomas" he kept his voice even, walking to the door of the cell, "enjoy doing nothing."

"I will!", Tom shot back, even though he was not so sure he actually would- he had no clue what time it was, but he assumed it was at least three hours until lunch- and three hours was a long time for someone who was blind and chained to a wall, with only being able to move from a mattress to a small bathroom.

Tom went back to the mattress, forcing back the tears. He was not going to give in- he was not going to let Aurelius feed him, and he was not going to fold any dumb towels.

"You'll regret this, smugface", he told the darkness and silence that surrounded him now, "just wait til I get out of here- I am gonna make you pay."

For a moment, all Sirius was able to do was stare. He had not expected this, he had not expected fucking Pettigrew of all people to be in here- looking like he hadn't showered or eaten in weeks.

"Si…Sirius…", Peter whimpered, exposing some missing teeth when he opened his mouth, "so…so good…to see you…"

And just like that, the anger was back.

"Is it now, Wormtail?", Sirius hissed at him, enjoying the fact that Pettigrew flinched, "it's definitely good to see you in a cell finally- a cell I was forced to spend twelve years in, thanks to your lying, betraying ass!"

Peter whimpered again, "you…you have to…understand…the…the Dark Lord…"

"Oh, blaming others for the fact now that you betrayed your best friends to get them killed, and then blamed me for it? How fucking innovative!", Sirius spat at him, wanting nothing more than to punch Pettigrew right into his haggard, lying face, "I am going to enjoy to fuck you over tonight, just wait for it!"

Peter was basically howling now, coward that he was, "but…but, you have…to help us! We…all of us here are innocent! Dumbledore just took us here, after I helped him, and…"

"Shut up, you lying piece of shit", Sirius interrupted him rudely, stepping back from his cell, "you are far from innocent- and I am sure your friends in here aren't either", he started to examine the other prisoners more closely, his expression turning even more disgusted when he recognized the man in the cell next to Pettigrew as Rosier, another Death Eater from the inner circle.

"What's this here? A secret Death Eater meeting?", he snarled, examining the others closely as well now. He recognized a few more- Goyle senior for example, but some of them had been beaten so badly it was impossible to tell what they normally looked like. What he did realize at that moment was that he really did not give a shit that none of them were here voluntarily or would fight him voluntarily- they all deserved to die.

And Peter traitor Pettigrew was going to be the first one.

He left Block C minutes later, ignoring Peter's desperate screeches and apologies, and after he had found his room- a quite spacious little apartment actually with a small kitchen and a bathroom- he changed into the new clothes that were waiting for him, and then he got ready for his first day of work, pleased by the huge areal of weapons that he found in a closet in his bedroom. He grabbed a knife and a small rope, and then went to go to work. It was not difficult to find the arena- all he had to do was to follow the whistling and cheering of the wardens who were already surrounding the arena, anticipating what was about to happen.

Sirius ignored them for the most part, concentrating on what was really important: Pettigrew's downfall. Wormtail was dragged into the arena minutes later by two wardens, looking like he was about to pass out at any moment. He slumped down as soon as they let go off him, obviously trying to give up before the fight had even started. Sirius didn't plan to make it that easy for him, though. Peter would suffer, he would suffer enough for him to beg him to kill him at the end.

He took out the knife, enjoying the tremble it caused in Pettigrew, "like that, Wormtail? How about a little game?"

"Si…Si…rius, pl…please…"

The Black ignored the pathetic whimpers of the thin, beaten down man in front of him, "you all want to see the game, right?", he asked into the crowd, and the wardens started to loudly yell and cheer, egging him on.

"The game is called…connect the dots", Sirius told them, approaching Pettigrew like a lion would approach a zebra, "we start with marking the dots first", he grabbed Peter, and then he stabbed little wounds into his bare arms and legs, not enough to really make him bleed out, but enough to cause Peter to whimper in pain, "and then…we connect the dots."

Peter started to howl in agony when Sirius, a sadistic smile on his lips, started to slice the knife into his flesh, moving from one dot to the other, "see? It's an easy game, anyone can learn it."

The crowd laughed and whistled, and Peter screamed, the torture of the knife slowly cutting through his arms and legs unbearable, "stooooop! Pleaseeeeee! Pleaseeeeee!"

"I need more dots I believe", Sirius announced over Peter's terrified wails, "let's connect the rest of you as well, rat face", he used the bloody knife to rip his sorry excuse of a robe off, exposing his gaunt, scrawny body. Peter sobbed, trying to cover himself with his hands, but Sirius slapped them away, hard.

"And what do we have here?", he examined Pettigrew's small, shriveled junk, slowly moving the knife down his balls, "you won't need that anymore, do you?"

Pettigrew made a sound like a groan, his whole body trembling in fear, "so…sorry, sorry, please, pleaseeee, I…please…", he babbled, and Sirius laughed, "you are pathetic, Peter. You are nothing but worthless scum."

Pettigrew sobbed again, "I…am…sorry…"

"Save your whiny little excuses for someone who wants to hear them- and that won't be me."

Sirius kept jabbing the knife into his body, adding more marks- and then he went on to slowly and precisely connect them, until Peter's whole body looked like some morbid, bloody map.

The wardens kept cheering, and Sirius could see out of the corner of his eyes that Dumbledore was watching as well- everyone was looking at him, he had everyone's whole attention, just like he always had at Thompson's bar. It was a heady feeling, one that he had very quickly gotten addicted to. Some of the wardens were drinking, raising their glasses at him in salute, and Sirius grinned, the admiration from them all he needed to move on to the next, final used the rope to tie it around Peter's neck, hearing the wardens howl with laughter when Pettigrew pissed himself in fear. Sirius, on the other hand, got furious. Some of Peter's piss had landed on his shoes, the new shoes that had been in his apartment here, that he had just put on, and now they were soaked with worthless pee!

"You nasty little pig!", he could barely contain his anger anymore, and he tightened the rope, and then he used the knife to emasculate Pettigrew with one fluid, brutal motion. Peter's scream was barely human, he sounded more like an animal, braying and screeching, the pain pure, raw agony. He lost his conscience a few seconds later, the sight of Sirius Black holding his bloody genitals in his hands like a trophy too much.

"Damn, what a show!"

"You really got him good!"

"Can't wait for tomorrow's game!"

The wardens were all trying to outdo each other with praise- Dumbledore had hand-picked them, making sure they all shared his sadistic, depraved proclivities.

Sirius smiled, and then he tightened the rope on Peter's neck, forced his mouth open and shoved his bloody manhood between his teeth. He kept tightening the rope until he heard a loud crack, knowing he had broken Pettigrew's neck. Only then he stopped, throwing the rope to the ground. Pettigrew would either bleed out or suffocate on the rope or his own junk inside his mouth- and what a way to die that was…

He smirked, leaving the arena about ten feet taller, not even remembering anymore why he had refused this job at first- giving the Death Eaters what they really deserved was better than anything he had done at that asshole Thompson's bar.

Tomorrow I'll get Rosier- let's see what I can do with that piece of shit.

I only had taken about an hour, and Tom was already bored out of his mind. He was certain he'd never been this bored in his entire life already, actually. So far, he had tried to take a nap, he had gone to the bathroom about four times, drank water from the tap, and he had even looked through the cabinet again, hoping to find…something. He had not found anything except for a bar of soap and a small towel, which was disappointing in itself. Now he was laying on the mattress again, staring into the darkness that had become his new, hated, normal. The chain was securing him to the wall, and none of his attempts to break free had been successful.

This is boring…this is soooo boring…

He blamed Aurelius for all this of course- he'd left him here with nothing to do and the fact that his stomach was hurting from hunger did not help to improve his situation, either. Tom curled himself into a ball, trying to ease the agony in his stomach, but it did not do much- all he could seem to think of now was food. To eat. He'd even eat that slimy stuff Aurelius had…given him, anything. Anything. Another ten minutes passed, and the ache inside his stomach only worsened. He felt like vomiting now, bile rising in his mouth, and with his last amount of energy, he stumbled over to the bathroom, found the toilet, and threw up.

Hurts, it hurts, hurts so much!

He sank to the floor, whimpering quietly. His stomach felt like a gigantic wound, and knew his nose had started to bleed.

"I…I want to go…home…", his eyes filled with tears, "I don't…want this…anymore…"

"Shhh…I know, Tommy, I know…", and then Aurelius was there, sitting down right next to him in the small bathroom, and Tom had to sob, "hurts…so…much…"

"You need to eat, baby bear", Aurelius' voice was calm, "your body is telling you that it cannot go on like this, Tommy", he gently pressed a hand against his forehead, "you are starting to become feverish, sweet boy. Come on, I have lunch for you- your favorite."

"Pi…zza?"

Aurelius smiled, "yes, with lots of tomato sauce. You have to eat a little bit of soup before though, to get your stomach used to food again", he carefully led him back to the mattress, "sit down, Tommy."

He sat, knowing he was not able to stand much longer anyways. His knees felt like they were made out of jello, and his head was hurting, and everything was hurting.

"It's just a little bit of vegetable soup", he heard Aurelius say, and then he heard the clatter of some cutlery and he could smell the soup, and it smelled…amazing, "open wide, sweet boy."

Tom felt like crying again, pressing his lips together tightly.

I can't. I can't…

"If you don't eat the soup, there won't be any pizza for you, baby bear", Aurelius told him softly, "and I know you want the pizza, right?"

Aurelius had to smile when Tom quickly nodded, "let's make a deal- five spoonful's of soup for the pizza- how does that sound?"

He could only hope and pray the boy would say yes- he did not want to force feed him, but he had already let this escalate for too long, and he hated seeing Tom in so much pain, "there might even be dessert for you if you are being a very good boy and eat your soup", he added, "open wide, baby bear."

Tom sobbed, his expression distressed, "I…please…I don't…I can't…"

"Shhh…you can, Tommy. It's just your pride not letting you, baby bear- but I know you are strong, stronger than your pridefulness. You can do this, sweet boy."

"It's…it's…", he sobbed again, "it's humiliating."

"I know it is, Tommybear", Aurelius replied quietly, "that's part of training, unfortunately- but you are my brave boy, aren't you?"

Tom started to cry, remembering all too well when Gryffindor had called him that- which now seemed a lifetime ago, "just…five…spoons?"

"Just five, baby- and then you get to eat your pizza", Aurelius assured him, he knew he was being soft with letting the boy allow to eat the pizza by himself, but he needed Tom to eat, "open wide, Tommy."

He held up a spoon filled with vegetable soup, and then all he had to do was wait. It took about three minutes, and then…Tom very slowly opened his mouth, finally giving in.

I did it. I really did it. He's letting me feed him.

Aurelius let out a breath he did not know he had been holding, a smile spreading across his face, "how's the soup, Tommy?"

"It's…healthy."

Aurelius had to chuckle, "that it is-it will help your tummy feel better, though", he fed the boy another spoonful which Tom hungrily accepted, chewing carefully.

"Aurelius?"

"Yes, Tommybear?"

"Are…you gonna…tell…I mean…do you…", he struggled with getting the words out, but Aurelius understood, "I do talk to my father about your progress, Tommy, but I won't share every detail what we do down here with him", he told him, which was the truth, "and no one else even knows you are in here except for my parents."

Tom carefully took another spoonful of soup, "they…agree?"

"With you getting trained? My father does, yes- my dad does not."

Tom stayed silent for a while, enjoying the warm soup filling up his hurting stomach, feeling the pain lessening, and then he accepted another spoonful, chewing absently.

"Does this…make me…weak?"

"Overcoming your pride? No, sweet boy, it makes you stronger."

Tom kept chewing, "you…you gonna do this for every meal now?"

"Yes, Tommy."

"But…if I…behave, if I fold the towels, if I…"

"No, Tommy", Aurelius kept his voice calm, "you do not get to bargain about this. I am letting you eat the pizza by yourself because you have been a very good boy, but dinner tonight will be out of my hands again- just like every other meal from now on."

Tom bit his lips, "and…if I refuse?"

Aurelius just sighed, "then you will get swaddled before every meal, and you will have to lay down while I feed you some very healthy vegetables- and nothing but vegetables."

"I hate vegetables."

"That would be a good reason to obey then", Aurelius replied, feeding him another spoonful of soup, "because there are plenty of slimy vegetables I can find for you", he winked at him, even though he knew the boy could not see that, "now, I believe that was five- time for pizza, hmm?"

"And dessert?"

"And dessert", Aurelius agreed, amusement in his voice, "here's your pizza, baby bear. Try not to make a mess", he handed him a plate, and he liked how Tom's whole face lit up at the smell of the fresh pizza, still warm from the oven, "and I have some ginger beer for you as well."

"Can I have some?"

"Ask nicely, Tommy."

"Can I have some, please?", Tom tried, but Aurelius shook his head, "try again, baby bear."

There was a silence, and he could tell Tom was thinking, clearly confused at what he wanted to hear.

"May I have some, please?", he blurted out eventually, and Aurelius hummed with approval, "good boy, Tommy. Yes, you may have some. Do you like your pizza?", he knew the question was rhetorical since the boy was already at slice number three, happily munching on his lunch, "yeah, it's good. I think I got sauce on my face, though."

"You even got sauce on your nose, little bear", Aurelius replied, sounding amused, "looks like we'll have to take a trip to the bathroom soon, hmm? And then you are going to take a nice long nap, Tommy."

"I am not tired", the boy lied, grabbing slice number four, "what's my dessert?"

"It's a surprise. Finish your pizza, and then I'll show you."

"I want to know now!", there was a hint of stubbornness in his voice now, and Aurelius calmly reached for the switch, "behave, Tommy", he got a warning tap to his backside, causing him to squirm, "want my dessert!"

Someone's regressing.

Aurelius suspected it was the combination of exhaustion from the hunger, the humiliation from being fed, and the confusion about what to do with all these feelings that caused him to mentally regress.

"Behave, Tommy", he used the switch again, encouraging the boy to obey, and after two more quick taps on his butt, Tom gave in, quietly munching on his pizza. He did not demand his dessert anymore, but after he had finished the last slice, he tilted his head, the question written all over his face.

Where's my dessert?

"Alright, time for your surprise, hmm?", Aurelius grinned from ear to ear, "here you go, baby bear", he handed Tom another plate, and Tom carefully picked up his treat, tentatively sniffing on it since he could not see what it was.

"Relius?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Is that…a brownie?"

He had to laugh, "yes, Tommy- something sweet for my sweet boy", he could see Tom blush at the praise, ducking his head, but he did not miss the tiny smile forming on his lips. He ate the brownie without leaving even one crump, and then he leaned back, sighing in content.

"Are you full, Tommybear?"

"Mmmmhh…"

He could see the boy's eyes blinking, struggling to stay awake, "let's go wash your hands and face, and then you can take a nap, hmm?"

"Nap…now!"

"After we wash the sauce off you, Tommy- come on", he only needed to tap him once with the switch, gently, and Tom slowly stood up, "give me your hand, Tommy."

"I…can go by myself. I am a big boy."

Aurelius stifled a smile, "alright. You want to show me the way to the bathroom, big boy?"

"Yah. I know the way. I show you, Relius", he carefully led him to the bathroom, beaming with pride when Aurelius praised him for finding it all by himself, "you are like a little bat, you know that? Bats also mostly trust their sense of orientation to find their way around."

"Bats are smart like me!", the boy exclaimed, and Aurelius laughed, "yes, just like you, my little baby bat", he gently washed the sauce off Tom's face and hands, "do you need to go use the toilet before your nap, Tommy?"

"Yah", Tom walked over to the toilet and quickly peed, completely unabashed by the fact that Aurelius was standing right next to him, and then he carefully walked over to the sink again, washing his hands, "doing it all by myself, Relius!", he reminded the younger boy proudly, and Aurelius went over to him and ruffled his hair in affection, "I can see that- what a good boy you are. Now, let's check if your hands are really sparkly clean, alright? Hands out, baby bear."

Tom instantly stretched out his hands, and Aurelius examined them carefully, aware that the boy was holding his breath in anticipation, "hmm…I would say these hands are amazingly, perfectly clean. Great job, sweet boy."

Tom's face lit up, "I knew it! I knew it!"

Aurelius had to laugh, "do you want to show me the way back to your bed now, baby bat?"

"Yah. I am a bat, look, Relius!", he waved his arms, pretending that they were wings, "can I sleep upside down, too?"

"I think that might become very uncomfortable, Tommy- it takes a lot of practice for a bat to hang upside down professionally."

"Relius?"

"Yes, baby?"

"How come they don't throw up when they hang upside down?"

"That's because the valves and muscles that keep blood from pooling to our feet are upside down in bats and keep blood from rushing to their heads", Aurelius explained matter-of-factly, making Tom lay down on the mattress, "they can hang upside down for several months at a time when they are hibernating."

"Several months? And they won't fall down?", Tom sounded utterly fascinated, and he did not even notice that Aurelius had started to swaddle him, "but what if there's a storm and the tree where they hang from is shaking?"

"They have very strong claws that allow them to keep a tight grip on any surface", Aurelius told him, swaddling him into his blanket, "and if the storm gets too wild, they can simply fly away."

Tom seemed to think about that for a while, and then he nodded in agreement, "Relius?"

"Yes, sweet boy?"

"And…what if they need to go pee when they hang upside down?", the boy started to giggle, and Aurelius inwardly rolled his eyes- this was all the confirmation he needed that the boy had regressed to a three or four year old, "they don't pee when they hang upside down, the usually pee while they are flying", he explained, and Tom started to laugh, "so, when you go for a walk and there's a bat flying above your head, it could pee on you!", he started to laugh even louder, clearly enjoying this, "and then you think it's raining, but it's bat pee!", he was hiccupping from the laughter now, a happy sparkle in his eyes, and Aurelius smiled, sitting down next to Tom on the mattress and putting his head on his lap, "yes, but since bats are usually flying at night, little boys like you are asleep at that time, so you don't need to worry about getting peed on."

That made Tom laugh again, and then he nuzzled his head into Aurelius' lap, "you gonna take me for a walk at night sometime, Relius?", he asked, yawning softly, "so…I can look for bats?"

"Yes, baby bat, we'll do that one day", Aurelius promised him, his voice very soft, "but right now, it's quiet time for my little bat- and time to sleep."

Tom grunted something, and then he yawned again, feeling warm, and full, and drowsy.

"Relius? What if…"

"Shhh…quiet time now- or you'll get spankies, Tommy."

"No…spankies…", he mumbled, pressing his face into Aurelius' leg, "good…boy…little…bat…"

"Yes, you are my good boy, Tommy- and my little baby bat", Aurelius told him quietly, and then he started to hum something, and Tom yawned, closing his eyes. Seconds later, he was fast asleep, dreaming about taking a walk with Aurelius, looking for bats flying above them- and he was wearing a helmet to prevent himself from getting peed on. And it made him smile.

yep, a sweet end for Tom finally ;) there will be tons more of Tom/ Aurelius H/C in the next chap, aaaand Snape and Remus will be back! :D

I would sooo appreciate reviews from you!

stay safe!

xoxo,

Antonie :)