Hello again! :)

This is already chapter 14, slowly getting closer to the end over here! Just as a reminder, this story will have 25 chapters and is already finished.

I hope you like this chapter! :)

"Lupin."

It still amazed Remus that one word could held that much contempt, "uhm…I just…wanted to…talk to you."

"Did we not talk at the teacher's conference earlier today? I do recall that you asked me for a folder, which led to a conversation- a pleasant one, since it was very short."

Remus tried to ignore the biting sarcasm of Snape's words, "please, I know you are busy, but…"

Snape sighed, stepping to the side, "make it quick, wolf."

Remus grinned inwardly, hurrying to step inside Snape's private quarters. Just like the last time he had been here, everything was perfectly in order- and from the opened book and the tea cup by the armchair, Snape had been enjoying a quiet tea time by himself. The Lupin was not very happy with the fact that Gryffindor had asked him at their last meeting to keep spying on Snape. The Death Eaters had been arrested- allegedly, since no one had seen them at the Ministry or Azkaban yet- but Gryffindor still had his doubts about who Snape exactly had been loyal to. He had not been with the Death Eaters at their arrest, since he had not been with them when they had attacked Dumbledore, and Gryffindor suspected that he had been warned- had been told to stay away from that one meeting that had led to the attack. Remus did not know what to believe anymore, but he did believe that Snape was hiding something, the only question was- what?

"Would you like some tea?", Snape asked in a bored tone, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was hoping he'd say no.

"Yes, please, that would be nice", Remus smiled, taking a seat without being asked to, "I'll take some milk and sugar if you don't mind."

Snape curled his lips, looking like he definitely did mind, but he did not comment on it, he just wordlessly prepared the tea, handing it to Remus.

"Thank you, Severus."

Snape did not respond, clearly not in the mood for small talk. He sat down in his armchair, picking up his own tea, and then he took a sip, effectively ignoring Remus.

"I…uhm…I wanted to thank you", Remus began, and Snape snorted, "for the tea? You already did, mutt."

Remus hated himself for flushing, "no, I mean, I know that. I…wanted to thank you for…whatever you told Harry. He told me that he has been talking to you, and I do see a change. A good change", he knew he was rambling, but he did not seem to be able to stop, and Snape raised an eyebrow, "a good change?", he repeated, "and what would that be?"

"He…he's working harder now", Remus stated, "doing…all his homework. He also seems less…less angry recently."

"And he told you that's because I talked to him?"

"Well, yes", Remus blinked, "I mean, he's still upset that Sirius won't answer his letters, but…I tried talking to Sirius, and if he doesn't have time to write him, what can I do?"

Snape shot him an irritated glance, "and what in the world does Black do all day that takes all of his time?", it sounded as mocking as he had intended it to be, "doesn't the mutt just sit around his house and drinks himself into a stupor?"

That was exactly what Sirius was doing, but Remus still felt the need to defend his best friend, "it's…not easy for him, the…he was in Azkaban for so long…"

"You seem to have changed your mind then, Lupin", Snape's voice had gotten dangerously low, "because last time you were here, you were complaining about your mutt of a friend- telling me you wanted him gone."

"I was upset", Remus lied, "and…well, Harry does tend to be dramatic about Sirius sometimes. I mean, he's a teenager, he cannot expect Sirius to hold his hand all the time."

Snape stared at him, and there was something in his expression now that had not been there before- something like…real, raw, fury.

"You need to leave, Lupin", he told him rudely, "I am quite busy today, and I have a lot of work to catch up on."

Remus opened his mouth in shock, not understanding why Snape was suddenly kicking him out- he thought his new strategy was smart, defending Sirius now to get Snape to insult him and hopefully spill some info after he had first complained about him, and Harry was kind of dramatic about Sirius- and since Snape disliked Harry so much, why would that even bother him?

I really suck at this spy job.

He hesitantly stood up, Snape's face still a mask of anger, "you will find your way out I assume", his tone was sharp, "and please refrain from any more of your…visits. If I can give you some advice- spend some time with Potter instead, he needs it, and he needs it more than I do."

"I…what…", Remus stuttered, "I don't…understand…"

But Snape did not bother to offer more explanations- and the last thing Remus saw was the hard contempt in Snape's eyes before the door to his quarters slammed shut in his face.

What the hell was that about?

"Had a good nap, baby bear?"

Tom only grunted, desperately squirming around in the swaddle on his mattress, "I need out!"

"I know, Tommy", Aurelius just smiled, coming closer, "you need to ask nicely then."

Tom cursed under his breath, "come on, just let me out! I hate begging you for every little thing!"

"That's part of training, little bear- and you very well know that."

Tom groaned, his struggles increasing, "can't you do this without the arms inside? I can't fucking move!"

"That's one- and a swaddle without the arms inside would not be a swaddle, Tommy."

"I sleep just fine without this dumb swaddling!", Tom declared, a hint of defiance in his tone, "can you let me out now? Please?"

"That's two- I do not like your attitude, Thomas."

"I don't like your attitude either! Let me out!"

Aurelius sighed, reaching for the switch, "do you need some encouragement to behave?"

Tom instantly stiffened, knowing very well what Aurelius meant by encouragement, "I don't, I just want out!"

"Then ask nicely, Tommy."

Tom bit his lips, turning his head to the side. He was still blind of course, and the swaddle was uncomfortable, now that he was awake.

I'll pay you back for all of this. Every little thing. You'll see!

"May I please get out?", he said through clenched teeth about a minute later, and even though his tone was still bordering on rude, Aurelius began to carefully unwrap him, "of course, Tommy. There…all done."

Tom stretched his legs and arms, enjoying to be able to move his limps, "is it time to eat now?"

"No, sweet boy- it's a quarter past three, and you will get dinner at seven."

"What about tea time?"

"For now, you will only get breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Tommybear."

Tom snorted, "great. Just like prison."

"I daresay that Azkaban would be a lot less comfortable for you."

"Yeah, but at least you wouldn't be there."

Aurelius did not respond to that, not needing the boy to know that his comment had hurt, "I have your laundry here to fold, Thomas", he informed him calmly, changing the subject, "would you like me to explain to you how to do it?"

"No, thank you", Tom's voice was pure sarcasm, "why don't you go and bother someone else? I'll fold your stupid little laundry- if some deranged house elf can do it, I can do it, too."

"That's three- go ahead then, Thomas. You have two hours."

"Two hours? To fold some clothes? No wonder these lazy ass elves never get shit done."

"That's four."

"Whatever. Where's the laundry? Are you expecting me to actually go and take it out of the washing machine?", he sounded hostile, more hostile than he had been before. Aurelius knew why- Tom was ashamed about the regression, the part that he remembered at least, and was now lashing out to prove to him that he did not want to be his good boy, or needed him for anything.

Prideful little boy.

"You will find four baskets with laundry for you to the left of the mattress- one with pants, one with socks, one with shirts, and one with underwear", Aurelius told him calmly, "all the socks are white, so you do not need to worry about mismatching them by color."

"Why would I care? Not like anyone sees me here anyways."

"Well, I do, Tommybear."

"I meant, not like anyone who matters sees me here."

Aurelius let out a small laugh, "someone's being a real grumpy bear today, hmm? What happened earlier is nothing to be ashamed about, baby bat."

Tom's whole body immediately tensed, "don't call me that!"

Aurelius found it quite interesting that the boy never complained about being called baby bear or sweet boy or little bear or Tommy- but baby bat seemed to trigger something, something the boy was desperate to pretend never happened.

"Alright, I won't call you that anymore", Aurelius kept his voice even, "let's get back to the task- you have some clothes waiting to be folded", he had not told him how many exactly, not wanting to start another argument, but he did plan to keep the boy in here for about a month, so he would need plenty of clothes, especially now that the weather was getting colder.

"I'm just doing this so the house elves don't touch my clothes with their dirty little fingers", Tom announced, tentatively reaching for the first basket. God, how he hatedto be blind!

"I am sure they appreciate you taking over and showing them how it's done", Aurelius sounded amused, grinning to himself when he watched Tom trying to fold a sweatshirt by rolling up the sleeves, "do you need some help there, little bear?"

"Not from you! I can handle some fucking laundry!"

"That's five- and you might want to try spreading the sweatshirt out first before you fold it."

Tom slammed the shirt down, his expression furious, "didn't I just say I don't want your fucking help? Go annoy someone else, bastard."

"That's six."

"Yeah, yeah, why don't you make it seven, asshole."

Instead of replying, Aurelius calmly walked over to the boy, turned him face down on the mattress, and seconds later, Tom started to howl, "no! No, stop! Not that, not like that!", he kicked his feet in despair, but Aurelius simply tightened his grip and pulled down his pants- all the way down.

"Keep acting like a naughty boy, and you will get punished like one", he told him, holding up the dreaded switch, "now, I believe that was seven- and if I hear you cursing one more time, I'll bump it up to ten, understand?"

Tom did not bother to respond, he used all his energy to kick and squirm, screaming out in pain when Aurelius delivered the first stinging blow to his naked backside, "ooowww! Damn, that hurt!", he realized too late he had cursed again, stifling a sob, "that…I did not…it was a reflex!"

"It's ten now- you better get your reflexes under control very quickly, naughty boy."

Tom's ears reddened at the name, hating this, "I didn't even mean to say damn! I was just surprised!", he protested, squirming around helplessly on the mattress. He knew there was no way out- the fact that he was still chained to the wall was reason alone that he could not escape.

"Maybe I should wash that naughty mouth of yours out with a nice, big bar of soap- that might help with your reflexes", Aurelius mused, and Tom's struggles increased, "no! I already told you I didn't mean to say that, stay the fu…", he bit his lips just in time, hearing Aurelius laugh with amusement, "oh, Tommy…it's not easy being a good boy, is it?"

"I don't…even want to be…I am not a boy."

You keep telling yourself that, naughty boy.

Aurelius smiled to himself, picking up the switch again, "now, you do have nine more strikes unfortunately- unless…", he let his voice trail off, and Tom's ears immediately perked up, "unless what?"

"Unless you apologize."

"I…I don't apologize."

"That's a shame", Aurelius replied, his voice casual, "nine licks it is then", he did not give Tom any chance to protest or to struggle, he simply delivered blow after blow on the boy's naked backside, causing Tom to buck in despair, "stooooop! No more, no more!"

"I am not hearing an apology, Thomas", Aurelius told him calmly, holding him down with one hand, "you'll get five more."

"Please, please don't! It hurts, it hurts so da…so much!"

Aurelius was secretly quite pleased with the boy for catching himself for the second time now before he said a curse word, and he decided to reward him for that, "you are being a good boy right now, Tommy", he told him softly, "and if you can say sorry now, we are done- and you might even get a reward."

"Like…pizza?"

"Are you hungry, sweet boy?"

There was a silence, and eventually, Tom quickly nodded his head, clearly ashamed.

"You can have pizza for dinner tonight", Aurelius promised him, even though the boy just had had pizza for lunch, "and if I hear you say sorry, you can have some cake for tea time."

"What…kind of cake?", Tom's voice had gotten quiet, the anger almost gone.

"Whatever you want, baby bear."

"Chocolate?"

"Yes, you may have chocolate cake."

Another silence.

Aurelius knew this was difficult for the boy, but he also knew how important it was- and all he had to do was patiently wait. His patience got rewarded about five minutes later, when he heard a whispered sorry from the boy, and it made him smile.

"There's my good boy", he praised him, his voice affectionate, and then he gently pulled Tom's pants back up, his butt an angry red from the switching, "I am going to let you have your cake now, and then you are going to fold the laundry, alright?"

"Yeah."

"Thomas…"

"Yes, Aurelius", the boy mumbled, embarrassment in his voice, and Aurelius' smile widened. It was progress that he had only needed to say his name to get him back in line, and at some point, a glance or a raised eyebrow would be enough to tame him, and he would not even need to use the switch anymore.

"Good boy", he handed him a small plate with his cake seconds later, watching in amusement how Tom happily devoured it, "that good, hmm?"

"It's very chocolatey", Tom replied, his mouth covered in chocolate smear, "can I have some tea? I'm thirsty."

"Ask nicely, Tommy."

Tom sighed, but since he really was thirsty, he gave in, "may I please have some tea to drink?"

"What kind would you like, baby bear? What's your favorite?"

That question seemed to surprise Tom since he tilted his head in confusion, "I…uhm…just…regular tea I guess."

Sweet, confused boy.

"How about a test? I let you taste three different ones and you can tell me which you liked best", Aurelius suggested, letting a tea set appear with a wave of his hand. He had perfectioned wandless magic, courtesy of countless lessons and practice sessions with his father.

"Uhm…okay", Tom still sounded confused, obviously wondering why the hell Aurelius cared about this so much, and it was another sign for the younger boy that no one had ever really cared about Tom, what he liked or disliked, and what his thoughts and dreams were.

"Here's the first one- be careful, it's hot", he handed Tom a cup, allowing him to drink by himself since this had been his idea, "what do you think?"

"It's…very sweet", Tom announced, taking another sip, "what color is it?"

"It's red, Tommybear."

"Hibiscus?"

"Smart boy- it is hibiscus tea", Aurelius sounded proud, and Tom hated himself for blushing, "here's the second one."

Tom took a careful sip, "what color is it?"

"You tell me, baby bear- what does it taste like?"

"Like…peppermint? It's peppermint tea?"

"Good job, Tommy- what a smart boy you are. Now here's the last one for you."

Tom instantly frowned when he tasted it, "this is kinda bitter."

"Mmmmhhh…", Aurelius smiled, "any guesses?"

"Earl Grey?"

"You are good at this, little bear", Aurelius sounded amused, "which one did you like best?"

"The…the second one I think. I mean, the first one was good, too, but a little too sweet for me, and the last one was too bitter- it would be good with some lemon though, I think."

Tom was unable to see the pride on Aurelius' face- after all, this had been the first time Tom had actually put into words why he wanted something, and he had been able to explain it, too.

"Peppermint tea it is then- I bet you like candy canes for Christmas, too, hmm?"

Tom shrugged, "never had any. Do they taste like peppermint?"

"They do, sweet boy", Aurelius was glad Tom was not able to see his face now- his heart was heavy with knowledge that no one had ever bothered to get the boy sweets for Christmas, "let's go get your hands washed, baby bear- and then you can fold your laundry. I got some nice warm sweaters for you, the weather is getting colder now."

Tom did not respond to that, but he did not refuse when Aurelius carefully led him to the bathroom. He allowed Tom some privacy to use the toilet and wash his hands, and once he was done, he stretched out his hands for inspection without being asked to, and Aurelius knew exactly how humiliating that part of training was for Tom.

"Good boy, Tommy", Aurelius was pleased, knowing that he most likely was able to end another part of the punishment tonight- and finally giving Tom back his vision. He led Tom back to the mattress, letting the boy go back to the task of folding his laundry. He did not comment on it, he just quietly watched Tom trying to figure out how to fold a shirt- and it was obvious the boy had no clue how to do this correctly.

"You let me know if you need help, little bear", he kept his voice soft, making his way over to the big bed, picking up a book. Tom did not reply, but Aurelius could see how tense he had gotten- and how much he struggled with the task he had given him.

Your pride again, hmm?

About half an hour passed with Tom trying to fold his shirts and pants, and Aurelius shook his head when he watched him fold his socks by basically stuffing one sock inside the other sock, but he still did not make a comment.

You'll have to learn to ask for help, stubborn boy.

Another fifteen minutes passed with Tom struggling and Aurelius reading, silence between them- until…

"Aurelius?", it sounded hesitant.

"Yes, Tommy?"

"These clothes are…for me, right?"

"They are, sweet boy."

"So, I technically just fold them for myself, and…I can fold them any way I want."

"You are going to fold them the way I want, though", Aurelius told him calmly, "and I can tell you already, stuffing your socks together like that is not what I want."

Tom stiffened, the anger coming back, "why…why should you be in charge of how my clothes are folded? They're mine, so it's my decision!"

"Technically, nothing is your decision anymore, Tommy- we don't need to go over the definition of training again, do we?"

Tom flinched, "no", he mumbled, his voice sullen, "no, we don't."

"Good. You still have more than an hour of time to finish your work, so you better get going."

Silence.

"Aurelius?"

"Yes, Tommybear?"

"You gonna use that thing on me again if you don't like how I fold my stuff?"

Aurelius stifled a smile, "I won't switch you, Tommy, since you are trying at least- but if you don't do a good job, you won't get your reward."

"What's the reward?"

"To get your vision back", Aurelius sounded completely casual when he said it, a small smile on his lips when he saw Tom's head jerk up in shock, "wait, for real? You…you let me see again?"

"For real, baby bear."

There was another silence, and Aurelius did not even need Occlumency to know what the boy was struggling with- one the one hand, he desperately wanted to see again, but on the other hand, he knew he'd have to ask for help with folding- and his pride would hardly allow him to do that. All he had to do was wait again- wait for Tom to give in. He estimated it to not take longer than ten minutes, and when Tom quietly called out his name again after about seven minutes, he had to smile.

"Aurelius?"

"Yes, sweet boy?"

"The…the house elves always did my laundry and stuff", Tom's words came out in a rush, "so, it's really not my fault that I don't know how to do this."

"Good point."

"And…it's hard to do this since I can't see anything", Tom declared, "I mean, it's really hard to do anything being blind."

"That's very true."

Tom frowned, "are you…making fun of me?"

"I am not, Tommy", Aurelius still sounded amused though, "I know this is not easy for you."

"What's not easy for me?"

"To ask me for help, Tommybear."

He could see Tom biting his lips, his face flushing with shame.

"Tommy?"

"What?", he knew he had intended it to sound nonchalant, but Aurelius could hear the embarrassment in his voice, "it's only hard the first time, little bear- it's like taking a dive into a lake, the first seconds it's cold and scary, but then…it's starting to feel really good. Like you have overcome something."

"I…I never dived into a lake", Tom mumbled after another silence, "but…I get your point I guess. So…could you…help me? Show me how to do this?"

It wasn't perfect, but it was a start- and Aurelius knew it was progress. He actually had not anticipated that much progress in such a short amount of time, which really made him feel hopeful now.

"Of course I help you, Tommybear", he did not bother to hide the affection from his voice, "let's start with the socks, shall we?", he walked over to the boy, grabbing a pair of socks stuffed together, and then he gently took Tom's hands in his own, showing him how to fold the socks together correctly, "this way both socks can breathe- that one sock you stuffed into the other sock probably got very scared, not knowing where it was."

Tom blinked at him, "socks don't have feelings like that."

"Maybe it's a magic sock", Aurelius replied, still gently holding Tom's hands while making him fold another pair, "and maybe that sock is very grateful to be outside the other sock again."

"There…are no magic socks", Tom sounded hesitant though, "you are just trying to distract me."

I am- and it's working.

"No magic socks? Don't let them hear that, little bear. This one right here is definitely magic- aren't you?", he held up a sock and put it over his hand, "yes, I am a magic sock!", he made the sock say in a disguised voice, "I have sock powers, too!"

Tom frowned, "like what?", he sounded curious, and it made Aurelius smile, "like, I am able to turn myself into a dog- just like this", he folded the sock into a little dog in some simple steps, handing it to Tom, "my name is Sock the Dog!"

He loved how Tom's face lit up in amazement when he carefully examined the sock dog with his hands, "what…what other powers do you have?", he asked quietly, holding on to the sock dog.

"I give some very good snuggles at night", Aurelius went on, still using his disguised voice, "and I could really need a friend to snuggle with."

"I…I could be your friend", Tom's voice was merely a whisper, but Aurelius had no problem understanding him, "that would be great! I'd love to be your friend!"

Tom's lips curled into a small, happy smile, and it made Aurelius' heart a little less heavy, "you want to keep Sock the Dog, Tommybear?", he asked him softly, and Tom bit his lips, quickly nodding his head.

"Sweet boy", he mumbled, using one hand to caress Tom's hair, and the boy let him, holding perfectly still, "let's get the rest of this laundry done, hmm?"

He got another, small nod in response, and while the boy was not technically regressing right now, he definitely had had an episode of mental regression, turning him into a more quiet, docile version of himself.

Aurelius ended up showing Tom how to fold his shirts, pants, and underwear as well, and once he was done, he got a soft pat on his head and praise for being a good boy. And then, it was time for the reward. All Aurelius had to do was wave his hand, and Tom could feel the darkness around him fading, and he blinked, blinking again when slowly but surely, the colors were coming back, and then, he was able to see again.

"Hey there, Tommy", Aurelius winked at him, "it's good to see you again."

Tom rolled his eyes, but he could not stop himself from grinning. It was simply too awesome to see again, all the colors, the furniture, everything was suddenly exciting to look at, even the walls behind him.

"You won't do that again to me, right?", he asked the younger boy, needing to make sure, "I mean…it really sucked."

"It will depend on your behavior, Tommy- but in most cases, you will get the switch since you seemed to be pretty responsive to that."

"Res…ponsive?"

"That means it actually helps you to want to improve your behavior. Some punishments have no effect, for example, if I were to take all these books away out of the bookshelf, you would not care- meaning you would be unresponsive to that punishment", Aurelius explained calmly, and Tom's face turned red with shame. He hated how right Aurelius was- he dreaded the switch and the stinging pain it caused on his butt, and that was the reason he even had apologized earlier.

"I bet you wouldn't like it either", he mumbled, "you…you would probably cry right away."

"I have a feeling you think about that a lot, little bear", Aurelius sounded amused, "and I am sure I would cry- anyone would. You wouldn't learn anything from it if it weren't hurting, Tommy."

"I rather not learn, then."

That made Aurelius laugh, "that's not up for debate right now, baby bear. Anyways, it's almost time for dinner now, and I think I promised you pizza, hmm?"

"If…I ask nicely, can I eat it by myself?", he swallowed hard when Aurelius calmly shook his head, "no, Tommy. You will have to let me feed you."

Tom took a deep breath, wanting nothing more than to wake up from all this- and as it turned out, eating out of Aurelius' hands was far, far worse while being able to see than it had been when he had been blind. It was humiliating to open his mouth and let Aurelius feed him, and he hated, hated the fact that he could not even eat as fast as he wanted- he had to wait until Aurelius decided to give him more, seeing the food in front of him but unable to touch it with his hands.

After dinner, Aurelius made him go to the bathroom, and after another degrading experience of getting his hands inspected after he had washed them, Aurelius had him lay down on his mattress again to swaddle him. He had refused at first, kicking his feet in frustration, but after Aurelius had switched him three times, he had calmed down. Now he was swaddled tight again, only able to move his head, and he had force back tears at the feeling of absolute helplessness.

"Shhh…you did very well today, sweet boy", Aurelius told him softly, "you'll sleep tight tonight after all the pizza you ate", he smiled at him, and then he gently placed Sock the Dog next to his head, "you keep watching over Sock Dog, right, Tommy?"

He closed his eyes, the mortification too much, but then he quickly nodded.

"Good boy", Aurelius sounded pleased, and then Tom felt his hand in his hair, gently caressing him, "tomorrow will be hard, but my sweet boy is going to be brave and obey nicely, hmm?"

Tom blinked at him, not liking the tone of this, "why…why is tomorrow gonna be hard?", he croaked, not knowing if he even wanted to hear Aurelius' answer.

"Tomorrow we'll start doing real command training, baby bear- and some obedience training as well. You are ready for that now, sweet boy", Aurelius smiled at him, like he had not just told him the absolute worst news possible. He had heard about obedience training- who hadn't, really- and he knew it was going to suck. It was going to suck a lot.

Aurelius seemed to have guessed what he was thinking, because his smile turned soft, "you'll be fine, Tommy- you are strong, remember?", and then he planted a quick kiss on his tousled hair, standing up, "quiet time now- have some sweet dreams, sweet boy."

Tom helplessly watched him leave, and as soon as he was certain Aurelius was not able to hear him, he quietly started to cry.

I don't want any more training! I hate this, I hate all this!

poor Tommy...as always, things will get worse before they get better...but they WILL get better ;)

I'd appreciate some feedback from you all!

stay safe!

xoxo

Antonie :)