Hello again! :)

This is me with chapter 20 already ;) quick reminder, this story will have 25 chapters and is already finished.

Thank you joffrey for your comment, I do appreciate the feedback, and yes, no one is this story is in any way a "good person", not even Remus Lupin.

Thank you also Gypsyrose98 for your comment, I am glad you thought the chapter was adorable ;)

I did write another story called Taunting Thomas, buuuut I have not been working on that story since a few months, and have no clue if/ when I ever will again. I am working on chapter 20 of it right now, it is supposed to have 25 chapters as well, but I got kind of stuck. Besides Taunting Thomas there is nothing else I wrote since I was too busy/ not motivated enough to write these past months. So yeah, I am not sure if I will publish it, since I might not get to finish it. We'll see if I get connected to it again.

WARNING: CP/ violence/ humiliation in this chapter!

Tom could hear the voices of his Daddy and brother coming from the living room, and he walked closer, smiling. It was still crazy for him to realize that he had a family now, a family which was taking care of him. He had just woken up from a nap after lunch, feeling well rested and ready to discuss the next steps with Gryffindor and Aurelius- which was about him getting deaged.

Tom walked even closer, and he was able to hear what Aurelius was saying now- and it made him freeze in his tracks.

"…wait any longer. I need to go and help the army, and Hogwarts is just a madhouse right now."

"It is getting worse every day."

"Exactly- and I can be of much more use there than here. As soon as Tom is settled, I'll leave."

What. The. Hell.

"What do you mean, you'll leave?", Tom did not even bother to knock when he stormed into the living room, his eyes blasting with anger, "you…you can't just fucking leave like this!"

Gryffindor and Aurelius had both turned around to look at their angry boy who was standing in front of them now with his hands balled into fists, "and when were you gonna tell me, anyways?", Tom now said, his tone bordering on rude, "great big brother I've got- just pissing off as soon as he can!"

"That's enough now, Thomas", Aurelius' tone was sharp, "I was going to tell you today- on my own terms. You have no right to listen to private conversations that have nothing to do with you and then come storming in here like a petulant little brat."

Tom flushed with shame at being called a brat, and it made him even angrier, "it has to do with me, and I demand…", he bit his lips when Aurelius wordlessly pointed at the corner behind him, knowing all too well what that meant. Aurelius had started putting him in the corner a little while ago, mostly when he had gotten angry about something. Tom hated the corner, and Aurelius knew that- it frustrated the hell out of him how well Aurelius knew him by now, and how well he knew how responsive he was to certain punishments. This time, it was different, though- he had a right to know what was going on, and he was determined to stand his ground.

"Five seconds, my boy- or you and I and the switch will have a very long and painful conversation."

"This isn't even fair! You…you can't keep secrets like this from me!", Tom stomped his foot, "I am not going to stand in the fucking corner cause you are a liar!"

He knew he had gone too far when he saw Aurelius' expression darken, "you will let me be the judge of what is fair and what is not fair, Thomas", he replied, his voice cutting, "last chance- obey me right now or face additional punishment."

"Screw you!", Tom felt hot tears welling up in his eyes, and then he turned around and ran out of the room, knowing very well he was acting childish, but it could not be helped. He was not going to cry in front of Aurelius and his Daddy, he was not!

Stifling a sob, he ran outside into the park, taking a deep breath of the clean, fresh air. He started to walk aimlessly towards some trees, kicking one of them in frustration. Why did everything always had to go wrong? He did not want Aurelius to go to Hogwarts, especially now when he was getting deaged.

I need you. I need you so much!

He sobbed, sitting down by a group of trees and hiding his face in his hands. For weeks, he had wanted to shoot Aurelius to the moon, he would have been happy, thrilled even to never see him again- but then, things had changed. He had changed.

Aurelius had shown him a whole new world- where he got snuggled and kissed and loved, where he had hobbies and interests and even a job, where he got disciplined when he had messed up, where he had consequences and rules, and where he was someone else than only Lord Voldemort. And he had started to like being himself, being Tom- it had become quite addictive, actually.

But of course he had to disappoint Relius again by eavesdropping, by being rude, by cursing and by disobeying him- maybe that was the true reason why he wanted to go to Hogwarts now? Because he was too much trouble and he needed a break from him?

The thought made him cry, and he cried for a while, until his cries turned into sad little sniffs. He did not dare facing his brother again, but he knew he could not stay out in the park forever- and he had a feeling the longer he waited, the more harsh his punishment would be. His knees were shaking when he finally went back to the Manor, a lump forming in his throat. The door to the living room was half open, but Tom still stopped to carefully knock.

"Come on in", Aurelius' voice was calm, and when Tom slowly pushed the door open, he found his brother on one of the couches, reading something. He looked up when Tom hesitantly came closer though, not all surprised to see him.

"You have something to tell me, baby bear?"

Baby bear.

Tom closed his eyes for a second, forcing back the tears again, "ye…yeah. Yes, Aurelius", he croaked, "I…I'm sorry for…for being…being rude and for…running…away."

"Come here."

Tom swallowed hard, but he did walk over to the couch, and when Aurelius softly patted the seat next to him, he slowly sat down, avoiding to look at the other boy.

"Now, can you tell me why you got so upset, Tommy?"

"Don't…don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to leave, either- but I have to. Our army in Hogwarts needs help, Tommy, and they need it urgently."

"I…I need you, too", Tom whispered under his breath, "need you…even more."

Sweet boy.

Aurelius pulled him closer, making Tom put his head in his lap, and then he started to slowly caress his hair, "what do you think you need me for, baby bear?"

"To…show me stuff. And…help me. I get angry, and then…I…I get mad. Just like…right now", he blurted out, embarrassment in his voice, "and…I want to…be good for you. I want…to be your…your…sweet boy."

I know you will fight me, Tommy- but I also know that at some point, you'll be wanting to be my sweet boy, and you'll be wanting to obey me.

Not…in a million years!

Aurelius smiled, placing a soft kiss on Tom's hair, "you already are my sweet boy, Tommy", he told him quietly, "and that will never change. And yes, you did get angry and stormed off- but you also came back, and you apologized. Everyone makes mistakes, Tommy, what's important is to recognize them and to do better the next time."

"Mmmhh…", Tom agreed, making himself comfortable in Aurelius' lap, and the younger boy had to chuckle, "you are still going to get punished though, you know that, right?"

Tom made a sound like a small whine, and Aurelius laughed, caressing his hair again, "oh yes, Tommy- you are going to spend a lot of time in the corner today, that is until I decide you have learned your lesson and are behaving for me."

"Behaving…now", Tom mumbled sleepily, he had just taken a nap, but snuggling up to Aurelius always made him tired, "need you…to stay here, though."

"You will get to stay with Daddy for a while- and Dad will come visit", Aurelius told him softly, "and Tommy- I have been showing you things, but you are the one who made them your own, and you are the one who has been working hard at the owlery. That's all you, baby bear."

Tom looked up, blinking, "you could…show me more stuff, though. And…when I'm deaged, you need to play with me and snuggle me, and read me books…"

"I will do all that, just not every day, Tommybear. I will come see you on the weekends, and during the week, Daddy will play with you, okay?"

Tom grumbled something, clearly not happy about that arrangement, and Aurelius gave him a soft pat on his butt, "up you get now, naughty bear- corner's waiting for you."

Tom groaned, "please, Relius, I…"

"No bargaining, Tommy- you are lucky you don't get the switch for your attitude earlier. Let's go", he made him sit up, and then he led him to the corner, the one without the pictures and the windows, making sure it really was a punishment.

Tom sighed in defeat when he faced the wall, knowing this would be boring as hell- and when Aurelius came closer, holding something in his hand that looked horribly familiar, Tom let out a whimper, even though he flushed with shame at the sound he had made.

"This is just to remind you who's in charge, Tommy- I might be in Hogwarts or somewhere else, but I am still the one who is making the rules, understand?"

"Yes…Aurelius", Tom croaked, eyeing the object with obvious disdain, "please…I'm sorry. Please not that."

"Shhh…quiet time now, naughty boy. I'll let you know when your time is up", Aurelius told him calmly, and then he gently pushed the small ball between the wall and Tom's face, "hold it up, Tommy- you know what will happen when you drop it- and hands behind your head."

He got a small, unhappy whimper in response, causing him to softly tap his butt again, "quiet time for bad little boys- don't make me tell you again."

This time, the boy stayed quiet, lowering his gaze in defeat, and Aurelius smiled, "good boy, Tommy", he went back to the couch and picked up the article he had been reading, softly humming to himself, while also keeping an eye on Tom, who was standing still like a statue, his body tense and miserable.

Poor baby.

He would have to learn, though- just because training was over did not mean he'd allow Tom to go back to his old habits. He had worked too hard for that to happen. The boy had made incredible progress, and Aurelius had known he would come back to apologize- that's why he had not even bothered to go after the boy when he had stormed out in anger.

Minutes later, his father came back into the room, chuckling in amusement at the sight of Tom in the corner, struggling to hold up the hated ball, "I thought you were done with composure training."

"We are- this is just a quick reminder for him to behave, isn't it, Tommy?"

The boy knew better than to respond during quiet time, and Aurelius smiled, "you are being a good boy right now, Tommybear. Hold up the ball, baby- show me how strong you are."

He knew the position he had forced Tom into got very uncomfortable fairly quickly- not only did he have to stand absolutely still, he was also forced to keep his hands locked behind his head and he had to prevent the small ball from falling down, which was harder than it sounded. One tiny movement with his head could cause it to fall- and Tom knew from experience that if he let the ball drop, he'd be forced to endure the same punishment again- but with an even smaller ball, while getting licks with the switch at the same time, which made it basically impossible not to move.

They kept watching Tom struggle for a few more minutes, until Gryffindor addressed him again, looking at him, "Remus Lupin is coming in a little bit for our meeting- and I was hoping you would attend as well."

Aurelius nodded, "I will- might be a little late, depending on how quickly our naughty boy will learn his lesson", he could see Tom's ears reddening in shame, "I am not expecting it to take long though", he added, his voice turning soft.

Gryffindor shot him an amused glance, nodding as well, "alright. We will be in the conference room. I'll see you soon", he left, and Aurelius picked up his article once more, noticing that the boy in the corner was sweating now, getting more and more desperate.

"Can you do another two minutes, sweet boy?", he asked him calmly, and Tom let out a strangled sob, "ye…yes, Aurelius. I…I can."

"That's right- you absolutely can, Tommy. And can you tell me why?"

"Because…I am strong", Tom answered quietly, but forcefully, "and…because I do…what you tell me to do."

"All done, baby bear."

He did not have to tell him twice, Tom instantly dropped his hands, grabbing the ball, while he exhaled with relief.

"Come here, Tommy."

The older boy slowly walked over to him, rubbing his hands, and when Aurelius smiled at him, he carefully smiled back. Seconds later, he was curled up on the couch again, his head resting in Aurelius' lap. He did not care that he was acting childish and needy- he had stopped caring about that a while ago, actually. It felt too amazing to snuggle up to Aurelius, and listen to his praise.

"You are all forgiven, you know that, right?"

"Yah", Tom yawned quietly, and Aurelius had to laugh softly, "don't fall asleep on me yet, little bear- we have a meeting to attend still."

"I thought…that was just for you", Tom mumbled, turning his head so he could look at the other boy, "what you need me for in a meeting with Lupin?"

"You'll see", Aurelius sounded amused for some reason, "now, have you been thinking about an age? I have a feeling you don't want to end up being too young, right?"

"Right", Tom agreed, wanting nothing more than to doze off for a while. The punishment had been hard, and he was exhausted, "maybe…I could be a teenager or something."

And then suddenly an idea struck him and his whole body stiffened.

"Relius?"

"Yes, baby?"

"If…I am a teenager, if I get deaged to like, your age our something, I could come to Hogwarts with you! I could be with you and I could help you!", Tom's voice got more and more excited, his sleepiness gone, "it would be great, and we could still play and hang out!"

Aurelius stifled a laugh, "let's go to the meeting, Tommy", he responded eventually, "I have a feeling you might be able to convince my dad to do just that."

Tom did not understand, but he obediently followed Aurelius to the conference room, remembering all too well that he had been here before, snuggled into Gryffindor's lap- which now felt like a lifetime ago. His Daddy seemed to remember it as well, and when he opened his arms in a silent invitation, Tom beamed, and he happily let his Daddy pull him on his lap. Aurelius sat down opposite of Remus Lupin, who had just gotten there as well, looking tired and stressed.

He was stressed out from trying to convince Snape he really had a secret admirer and not just someone who was pranking him, from trying to comfort Harry about the whole Sirius issue, and from keeping the Hogwarts students to kill each other. He gladly accepted the tea a house elf served him, even though drinking tea always made him think of Snape now, and after he had discussed the latest recruitment news with Gryffindor and the state of the people who had been freed from the torture camp where Sirius had worked- Alexis and her dad being two of them, since Dumbledore had not killed her after all- they moved on to the most urgent matter: The student alliance at Hogwarts that Dumbledore had formed to gain more control of his students.

"He basically recruited students from every year and every house- and since he has gotten more and more suspicious of us, it is getting more and more impossible to put any spies in his circle to get information", Remus explained, his tone defeated, "we have someone in second grade, a Ravenclaw, and a fourth grader from Hufflepuff, but that's…basically it."

"Well, Aurelius is going to try to undermine the fifth grade group once he gets there- pretending he's blaming me for splitting from his dad to get closer to Dumbledore", Godric told him, holding on close to Tom, who was safely snuggled into his chest. Remus had seen him, obviously, but he was too polite to comment on the fact that Lord Voldemort without his snake persona was sitting on Gryffindor's lap, being as quiet and obedient as possible.

"That might work- but it would be good to have someone from first and third grade as well. He seems to share more with the younger students since he secretly seems to think they are all too dumb to see what is really going on anyways", Remus replied, stirring his spoon in his half-empty tea cup.

Godric felt a soft tug on his robe, signaling him his boy was asking for permission to speak, "yes, Tommy?"

"I could…be a first grader", the boy said quietly, "and…help to spy- and that way I could still be with Relius."

Gryffindor smiled, exchanging an amused glance with his oldest son, who had probably been thinking of the same idea, "you'd be eleven years old then, Tommy."

He nodded, "that would be...that's okay. It's not too young, but still young enough so…so Relius can…carry me", he whispered the last two words, not wanting Remus Lupin to hear him, and Gryffindor's smile widened, "very well then, if you are sure- eleven years it is. You'll stay home with me for a while though, Tommy, to get used to being eleven years old again first. It is a huge change in your life, and I want to make sure you are not overwhelmed."

"Yes…Daddy", it felt good to say those words, and he was suddenly excited- excited to help Relius, to go back to Hogwarts with him and to fight against Dumbledore. He'd show everyone that he was still no one to mess with!

"I might have someone for the third grade position as well, by the way", Godric now said casually, smiling at Remus, and Lupin frowned, "you mean…"

"I do", Gryffindor sounded amused for some reason, absently caressing Tom's hair who was holding absolutely still, "he might even prefer that to his current…situation."

Tom would have loved to ask who they were talking about, but he did not dare. He stayed silent, listening to Remus and Gryffindor discuss some more things about the army, after Lupin had left, his Daddy took him to his office for the deaging potion. They had no time to waste anymore, and both Godric and Aurelius were looking forward to have him officially be their little boy and part of their family.

"Are you ready, Tommy?", his Daddy held up the potion, and Tom had to swallow hard, now realizing what he was about to do- this was going to change his life forever.

Should I really do this?

But then he thought about Aurelius carrying him, letting him snuggle, and he had to smile, "yes, I am ready."

He drank the potion to the last drop, instantly feeling the effect. He got incredibly tired and dizzy, and started to feel somewhat nauseous.

"Up, Daddy", he mumbled, "head…hurts…"

"I know…I have a healing potion for you right here. Open wide, sweet boy", Gryffindor had picked him up, holding another potion to his lips.

He obeyed automatically, and after swallowing the healing potion and a dreamless sleep potion, he passed out. He slept and slept and slept, and when he finally woke up, he was eleven years old again, a handsome boy with curly brown hair, brown eyes, some tiny freckles on his nose and dimples in his cheeks. He was not very tall or muscular, but he did not mind that. He liked the fact that Aurelius was able to carry him around for a long time now.

The change definitely was huge- but in a good way. As soon as the tiredness from the deaging potion had worn off, Aurelius spent hours playing with him, carrying him and snuggling him, and it seemed like he and his Daddy were both in competition how to spoil him the most. He now spent his days playing and working at the owlery, drawing pictures, and getting snuggled.

Salazar had come to see him a couple of times, and while his relationship with Gryffindor was still tense, they were always friendly with each other around him- and Tom had started to wish to reconnect them again somehow- he just did not know how.

Life changed when Aurelius went to Hogwarts about a week after he had been deaged- and even though Tom knew he would see him again soon, it was harder than expected to watch his big brother leave.

"You…you write me, right?"

"Of course- every day, little bro", Aurelius smiled at him, planting a soft kiss on his forehead, "and you will write me back, hmm?"

"Ye…yes, Relius", he had to blink back his tears, "and…and…you come back on the weekend?"

"I am going to try, baby bro", he got another kiss, "and you will be good for Dad and Daddy, hmm? I don't want to hear any complaints when I come back."

"I'll be good, Relius", Tom mumbled, pressing his face into his brother's chest, "I promise."

And he did keep that promise- until that one day.

The weather was still nice for fall, so Tom mostly spent his afternoons outside when his Daddy had to work. Even though Salazar came to visit him a lot, spoiling him even more than his Daddy did, he was still alone quite often- not that he minded it much. He had tons of toys, and the estate was huge, too, so he spent hours exploring the park. Gryffindor let him- he had only told him that he was not allowed to go by the shed close to the lake.

He'd been playing with a ball outside, a ball that Salazar had given him that was flying in the air and he had to catch, and he suddenly noticed that he was close, very close to the forbidden shed. Tom knew he should turn around and go back to the Manor, but he was curious- after all, what horrible thing could be in a small shed?

He did not hear any noise coming from the inside, so after some hesitation, he opened the door to the shed. Just to come face to face with a huge, quite beautiful dark brown dog- who was kept inside a big cage, chained and collared, and from his aggressive, loud growl and the murderous glint in his eyes, it looked like it wanted nothing more than to instantly kill him.

Snape looked at the homework from the fourth grade Gryffindors on his desk and sighed. He already had had a long day- he had gotten pestered with more unwanted gifts- gifts that were actually thoughtful, which made it even worse. He had gotten a first edition of a book about medieval potions that he had always wanted to read, a small box with Earl Grey, his favorite tea, and a pair of incredibly soft socks. Not that he would ever wear them, but still. Interrogating the house elves who brought the gifts had done exactly nothing- they all just told him the same, which was that the presents got dropped off by the kitchen anonymously. And whoever it was, the prankster was definitely in it for the long haul.

Another, far more concerning issue was Potter- and looking at his homework, he knew he'd have to do something about him now. Potter was perfectly quiet and respectful in class, handed in every homework and never as much as missed an assignment, but…there was something off about him recently. Like he was sleepwalking- or a ghost. He wasn't really there.

Snape had no idea why that bothered him so much, he knew he should stay away from Potter and his teenage problems, but after Black had- no surprise there- practically abandoned his godson and Lupin seemed to think none of this was serious, he had started to watch the boy. And he had started to notice that Potter barely smiled, never laughed, and always seemed distant, even with some of his friends- Granger and the Weasley bunch being the exception.

His homework was another thing- while he did do it, it never had any substance or originality, it often felt like he just wrote whatever some book from the library had told him to, or whatever Potter felt like he wanted to hear.

Snape suddenly sat up straighter, feeling like he was finally getting somewhere. If Potter wrote what he wanted to hear- did that mean he was trying to…impress him? That thought was unsettling, and he was unable to concentrate on the essays in front of him anymore. He abruptly stood up, and before he could change his mind, he left his quarters- to go and find Potter. Lately, he had often seen the boy in a remote spot by the fields that led to Hagrid's Hut, so he decided to start his search right there.

Harry Potter was sitting on a tree stump, staring at…something? Snape had no idea what was so fascinating to see here, and he slowly walked closer.

"Potter."

"Professor."

The boy did not even bother to turn around, his voice flat- like he was not even surprised to see him here, like nothing surprised him anymore.

"Any reason why you are not in your Common Room, Potter?"

"No, Professor."

Snape suddenly felt like an idiot- what was he even doing here? He had no clue how to handle Potter, and this started to feel like a very bad idea. He did not know how to get out of this conversation now, though, so he decided to go with the truth, "I have a question about your homework, Potter."

"Was there anything wrong with it?", and now Potter sounded…he sounded different, and it took Snape a while to figure out what he sounded like.

Anxious.

"Well, no- except for the fact that instead of adding your own point of view to the question about the importance of the Darendelis for the potion, you used someone else's- again."

There was a silence.

"I…I thought you would rather read from someone who knew what they were talking about", Harry eventually replied, "I do not have much to add from my own…perspective."

"If I wanted to read from someone else, I would go and get their book from the library, Potter", Snape was starting to get irritated, and he did not even know why, "you won't learn anything if you don't use your own thoughts."

"What if my own thoughts are useless?"

Snape took a deep breath, "they are not, Potter. Did Black tell you that?"

Harry let out a bitter laugh, "I'd be happy if there was anything he told me- but no, he did not. I came to that conclusion all by myself."

"Your conclusion is wrong, Potter."

The boy snorted, "sure. Like you actually want to hear what I have to say about some fucking Darendelis in a potion."

"Language, Potter- and yes, I do. That's part of my job."

"Your job- right", Harry made a sound between a laugh and a cry, and Snape began to feel extremely uncomfortable- because he started to understand. And the understanding made him walk closer, and it made him pull the boy into a hug.

"It's not your fault, Potter."

"What? What are you…"

"It's not your fault", Snape repeated, more fiercely this time, "that Black does not care about you, and that Lupin does not seem to care much, either- it's their fault, not yours."

Harry was staring at him in complete shock, and just when Snape opened his mouth to apologize, to stop whatever the hell this was, Harry hugged him back- and then, he started to cry.

"H…hi", Tom stuttered, pressing his body against the door behind him, "ni…nice to…to me…meet you."

The dog growled, exposing his white, sharp teeth, and Tom got the feeling that he definitely did not found it nice to meet him.

"What's…your…name?"

That seemed to have been the wrong thing to say because the dog suddenly lunged forward with a menacing snarl, ready to attack, and even though Tom knew the dog was in a cage, he still let out a terrified scream, and then he hastily opened the door and ran out, and he ran all the way back to the Manor, the dog barking aggressively behind him.

Now he understood why his Daddy did not want him go to the shed- that dog was mad, clearly. He had looked at him like he wanted to eat him for dinner, and that growl- he was still shuddering just thinking about it. Nevertheless, he was not able to push the dog out of his mind- and a few days later, when he was playing outside again while his Daddy was having a meeting with the army in the conference room, he snuck back into the shed, maybe to prove himself that he was not scared of a dog.

And just like the time before, the dog growled at him in fury, jerking on his chain. Tom wondered why he was chained when he was already caged- the cage itself was sturdy, and there was no way the dog would ever be able to get out of it.

The dog lunged for him again, but then he suddenly whimpered, and Tom realized that the collar he was wearing had little spikes in it- making it painful for him to pull. He carefully sat down by the door, not daring to get any closer to the cage. The dog kept growling at him, pacing his cage in helpless fury, and Tom had to swallow, remembering that feeling all too well- from his training in the basement, when he had been chained himself.

"You are only gonna hurt yourself if you keep pulling", he told the dog, even though he knew he was unable to understand him, "you just have to accept it. I know that's hard- I hated being chained, too. I hated that I could not defend myself."

The dog was still growling, but it had gotten a little less aggressive, and Tom saw that as a good sign, so he carefully stood up and started to curiously look around the shed. There was not much to see- expect for a large cabinet with all kinds of things, including a container with dog treats.

"You hungry, boy?", he slowly reached out to grab a few treats, "you want a treat?"

The dog growled.

Tom had to chuckle, "course you do- all dogs likes treats, right? Here you go, boy", he threw some of the treats into the cage- and seconds later, they had disappeared.

"You really must be hungry", Tom concluded, seeing that while his water bowl was filled, the food bowl was not, "does Daddy not feed you enough?"

The dog barked furiously at that, and Tom took that as a yes- even though he doubted that his Daddy was really letting the dog starve.

"Here, have some more", he threw some more treats at him, which the dog greedily accepted.

"So, what's your name then?", Tom asked him again, "I don't see one on your collar, but I am sure you must have one."

The dog growled.

Tom suddenly had to laugh, "maybe I just call you Growler- yep, that's a good name for you. I have to leave now, Growler- but I'll come back another time, okay? Just don't tell Daddy", he winked at him, and the dog kept barking furiously after him when he slipped out the door.

He did feel bad for betraying his Daddy- but he was also extremely curious about Growler. Why was he in a cage? Why was he not allowed to be around him? How long had Growler been in that shed? What was his real name?

Both Salazar and Godric were busy with army meetings the next days and his older brother was unable to leave Hogwarts to see him, which meant he spent a lot of his free time with Growler.

"Hey there, boy", he smiled when he closed the door of the shed behind him, and Growler instantly started to growl loudly, baring his teeth.

Tom just laughed, he was used to the constant growling by now, and since the dog always was securely held in his cage, he was not as scared of him anymore as he had been the first time, "you want your treat, Growler?", he enjoyed watching the big dog making fast work of the food, and then he threw some more dog treats into the cage, "here you go."

Growler ate the treats quickly, but he never begged for more, he'd just growl and snarl at him, following every of his movements with his dark brown eyes that looked like amber in the light.

"Oh, a ball! Let's play fetch!", Tom had spotted a small ball in front of the cage, and he clapped his hand in delight. Surely playing would get Growler to warm up to him more- every dog loved to play fetch. He threw the ball to the end of the cage, "go fetch, Growler! Go get it, doggie!"

Growler made a sound that would have been a snort if he were human, and then he started growling again, pacing up and down in his cage, ignoring the ball.

"You are a strange dog", Tom concluded, "why don't you like to play fetch? What does Daddy play with you?"

The dog barked at that, the sound furious, and Tom sighed. Of course he could not ask his Daddy about Growler- he'd be in huge trouble if his Daddy found out where he kept sneaking out to.

"Let me find another toy for you", Tom told the dog, walking over to the shelf. Maybe Growler simply did not like balls and wanted a rope or something? The shelf was high and Tom had to stretch, still getting used to being a small eleven year old again, and then his fingers felt something on the shelf, an object that was long and thin, and he carefully pulled it down.

Oh, crap.

His eyes widened when he realized what it was: A cane. A cane that looked like it would hurt a lot more than the switch, and before he could think about what it was doing here, Growler behind him whimpered, the sound low and frightened- and that was all the answer he needed.

He's getting trained.

Tom swallowed hard, carefully putting the cane back, "don't…worry, boy, I am not gonna hit you with that. Does Daddy use that on you?"

Another whimper, and then the dog slowly went back to the back of the cage, carefully picked up the ball with his snout and dropped it right in front of the locked cage door. He looked miserable while doing that, and Tom's heart clenched. Growler obviously had been trained to play fetch with the threat of the cane, and Tom knew exactly how the dog felt right now. Ashamed, helpless, angry, and humiliated.

"It's okay, Growler, you don't have to fetch it if you don't want to", he told the dog quietly, sitting down by the cage, "I…I was trained, too, by my older brother. I was locked up in a cell in the basement for a month, and for some weeks, I was chained to the wall. The first week was the hardest, but you know what? It got better after a while", and then he went on to tell Growler all about the training, the licks with the switch, him being blind, being forced to do chores, the command training, the hours he had spent being forced to sit still, and the hated feeding time. But he also told him about the snuggles, the praise, the nicknames, his job at the owlery, the books he had learned to love and the drawings. He knew logically that Growler was unable to understand him, but it helped to talk about it all with this strange dog- but he had a weird feeling that Growler was actually listening to him.

"You just have to stay strong, Growler- and I promise, it will get better. Relius trained me cause he loves me, you know. I was always angry before, and kind of spoilt and rude- and now I am more calm somehow…and happier, and way more grateful about everything."

Growler snorted at that, and Tom had to laugh, "I know, hard to believe, right? Anyway, I gotta run before Daddy notices I am gone- he promised to set up the train with me tonight", he left, and for the first time, Growler's bark after him did not sound angry- it sounded almost sad.

He went and saw Growler every day from then on, telling him more about the training, his job at the owlery, his toys, and what he did with his Daddy. On the following weekend, Aurelius came home, so Tom was unable to sneak out and visit Growler in the shed. He did snuck out to see him Monday morning after breakfast though, carefully closing the door behind him, "hey Growler. Sorry I could not see you this weekend, Relius came, and he played all day with me", he smiled at the dog, but then he frowned. Growler did not growl like he usually did, he had curled himself into a ball by the wall, snarling quietly.

"Growler? What's wrong?", Tom slowly went closer, and then he saw a small line of blood trickling from one of Growler's paws, "did you hurt your paw, boy?"

Growler's snarl got louder, and he turned his head to look at him, and Tom swallowed at the look of anger mixed with despair in his beautiful eyes. Growler clearly was in pain, and he needed to help him, to do something- even if it meant he was going to get in trouble.

"Don't…don't worry, I…I'll help you", he croaked, "I…I get Daddy, and he will…"

"That won't be necessary, my boy."

SHIT!

yep...Tom in trouble once again ;)

the mystery of the dog will be revealed in the next chap...and Remus and Snape will appear again! :)

I would looooove some feedback from you!

xoxo,

Antonie :)