Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

Warning: Punishment scene between father and son...

Harry surveyed his toys. "Remus, can't you play with me?" he whined.

Remus didn't look up from his homework. "Not right now, pup. Let me finish this assignment first and then we'll play any game you want. Why don't you draw while you wait for me to be finished? It won't be too much longer."

Harry sighed. His parents were at a Head boy and girl meeting with McGonagall and Sirius was helping Hagrid bring in the overly large pumpkins for the Halloween feast coming up. So Remus was watching him but Harry didn't want to be ignored or have to wait, he wanted someone to play with him now!

Harry wandered around the common room and overheard two younger Gryffindors talking about how bored they were. Seems to be going around, Harry thought as he listened to them.

"If we knew where the kitchens were, we could sneak some food," A sandy blonde boy was saying.

"I know where they are," Harry piped up. When the boys looked at him with interest he added, "I also know a secret passageway that leads to Honeydukes."

"No way!" The other boy exclaimed.

"It's true. I can show you," Harry offered.

The boys grinned at each other. "I'm in," the sandy blonde boy said. "My name is Paulie. That's Albert. Will you really show us?"

"Are we sure he knows?" Albert asked, looking uncertain.

"He's James Potter kid," Paulie shrugged. "I think we can trust him."

"That's true," Albert said.

Harry nodded. "I'll meet you in the hallway," he whispered. He could just tell him how to get there but he wanted to go and share the adventure. He quickly hurried over to Remus, who was still studying.

"Remus?"

"Yes?" Remus looked up.

"Can I go take a nap in the dorm room?"

Remus blinked. "You're tired, pup? I thought you wanted to play."

"Uh, I did. But now I want to sleep for a bit." Harry lied.

"Sure, go ahead. Do you want me to take you up?"

"No. I can go myself, I'm not a baby!" Harry huffed.

"I know," Remus chuckled. "Sorry. Go ahead. I'll play with you when you wake up, okay?"

"Okay." Harry waited until Remus was looking at his books before scurrying out of the common room. "Let's go!" he said to Albert and Paulie.

He led them to the one-eyed witch. "So you touch the hump with your wand," Harry explained. "And say Dissendium."

Paulie did as instructed and grinned when the passageway revealed itself. "Wicked!"

"Are you coming with us or do you want us to bring you back something?" Albert asked.

Harry was itching to go, childish adrenaline filling him at the thought of adventure. "I'll go," he said impulsively. "But we have to hurry!" he added. Hopefully Remus wouldn't know he was gone and besides, if he had played with him then Harry wouldn't be doing this.

HP

Remus gave a relieved sigh as he finally finished his homework. With N.E.W.T.s coming up, the work was harder and there was so much to remember. He glanced over as James and Lily entered the common room.

"Hey Remus. Where's Harry?" James asked, looking around the room for his son.

"Upstairs taking a nap." Remus said as he stood up and stretched.

"I'll go check on him," Lily said, heading upstairs.

"So how was the meeting?" Remus asked.

"Tedious," James rolled his eyes. "How was Harry?"

"He was fine, he wanted to -"

"He's not up here!" Lily said in a panicked voice as she rushed back down.

"What? He has to be!" Remus said in shock. "He wanted to play and I told him I would once I was done with my work. Then he said he was going to take a nap..." Remus's voice trailed off and realization filled his eyes. "He snuck out?"

James summoned the Marauders map and quickly activated it. He paled. "He's with two boys. First year Gryffindors, I believe." he growled. "They're on their way to Honeydukes, using the secret passageway."

Lily gasped. "What if they decide to go to other shops? Harry's only five and defenseless."

"I'll go get him," James said briskly.

"I'll go with you," Remus said. "It's my fault, he was in my care."

"It's not your fault Remus, Harry lied to you so he could sneak out," James said, disappointed in his child. He's only five, he reminded himself. "Let's go."

"I want to go -" Lily started to say.

"Lily, there's a duel downstairs," Marlene said as she burst into the common room. "Since you're head girl -"

"Where's the prefect?" Lily asked impatiently.

"She's the one dueling," Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Go help them. We'll get Harry." James said.

"Bring him back to me," Lily told James.

James tenderly touched her cheek. "I will."

HP

"Of all the irresponsible, foolish..." James muttered as he and Remus made their way through the tunnel to Hogsmeade. When he heard Remus chuckle, he shot him a confused look. "What?"

Remus shrugged. "It's just funny to hear you say that after all the times you have snuck around the castle."

"That's different. I wasn't five years old!" James exclaimed.

"True," Remus agreed.

"It's different." James insisted. And okay, maybe it was a little hypocritical of him but this was his son. It was different to see it from a parents point of view. "Trust me, I used to wander off from my parents when I was a kid and they had no problem expressing their displeasure."

"I know, you're right," Remus said. "It's just a little strange seeing the more responsible side of you."

"Tell me about it," James snorted. "I'm freaking myself out."

They finally arrived at the trap door that would take them to the cellar of Honeydukes and carefully entered so they weren't seen. "Do you see them?" James asked anxiously as he scanned the shop.

"There," Remus pointed at where the toffee was. The two Gryffindor boys and Harry were filling their basket with candy.

James scowled and marched right up to them. He took hold of Harry's arm. "Having fun?" he asked sarcastically.

Harry looked up with wide eyes. Uh oh, he thought. He also saw Remus looking at him with disappointment and he winced. "I, uh..."

James just shook his head. He glared at the two first years. "What were two thinking by sneaking out of the castle with a five year old?"

"We were watching out for him," Paulie said defensively.

"Yeah, he told us about the passageway and wanted to come with us," Albert added. "We were going to head right back."

James pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Are you going to tell McGonagall?" Paulie asked worriedly.

"No," James said, exchanging a look with Remus. If they told her, then she would know about the passageway and would want answers how how they knew about it. "I can take care of your consequences myself, since I'm Head Boy." He said finally.

Paulie and Albert looked at each other apprehensively.

"Perhaps they can stay inside the common room instead of watching the Quidditch game tomorrow," Remus suggested.

"Aw," Paulie whined.

James nodded approvingly. "Good idea. They can spend that time doing lines. It's either that boys or you can deal with McGonagall." he told the boys.

"We'll miss the game," Albert sighed. It was better than risking detention with Filch.

James looked down at his son. "Harry, I'll deal with you when we get back to our dorms."

Harry pouted as James took his hand and led him to the back of the store. They hadn't even gotten to buy their candy! He kept his pout throughout most of the walk back but then it faded as he realized he was in big trouble. He bit his lip as he was led back to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Harry!" Lily said in relief, kneeling down to hug him. "You're okay."

"Shared our secret, huh pup?" Sirius smirked. He had arrived to the common room to find a worried Lily pacing the floor. She had told him about the boys sneaking out. He looked at the two first years. "It is a secret by the way. The more people who know, the more chance a teacher will find out and seal up the passageway." he warned.

"We won't tell," Albert promised.

"I'm going up to the dorm, Harry and I need to have a talk," James said.

Harry paled and flung himself at his mum. "No," he whined. He looked up sadly at his mother. "We don't need to talk, right Mummy?"

Lily bit her lip at his pleading green eyes, so like her own. She glanced at James, who just crossed his arms and shook his head. "Sorry, love. You knew better than to go off like that. Daddy has talked to you about that before, hasn't he?" she asked gently.

Harry nodded and his shoulders slumped.

"You also owe Remus a apology for lying to him about taking a nap," Lily continued. "You know better than to lie, Harry."

Harry looked at Remus. "Sorry, Moony." He gave him a sorrowful look.

Remus's heart melted. "It's okay, pup. I forgive you."

James smirked to himself at how his son played the others. He took Harry by the hand and led him upstairs. "What were you thinking?" he scolded as they entered his dorm.

"I dunno," Harry said quietly.

"I think you do." James said firmly.

"I wanted to have some fun," Harry said. "Remus was being boring and he wouldn't play with me." Harry complained.

James sighed. "He was going to play with you, he just needed to finish that assignment first. But still, that is no excuse. You knew it was wrong to sneak out to Hogsmeade, didn't you?"

"Yes," Harry admitted.

"And you remember what I said would happen if you wandered off again?"

Harry bit his lip. "Do you have to?" He whined.

"Yes," James said sternly. "You have to obey the rules, Harry. You can't put your safety at risk and not expect to face the consequences for them." He sat on his bed and crooked his finger. "Let's get it over with." He knew Harry wouldn't believe him if he said it but he hated this as much as his son did.

Harry shuffled over to his father and bent over his lap. He felt tears fill his eyes when James lowered his trousers and pants, exposing his bare backside for chastisement. The tears fell as the smacking started. He received five very firm smacks and was crying hard by the time his dad pulled up his clothes.

James gathered his boy into his arms. "Shh, pronglet. You're okay," he soothed as he held him. He rubbed his back, trying to calm him down. "No more running off from the person watching you, all right?"

Harry nodded and then buried his face in James neck. "I'm sorry!" he sniffled.

"I know," James said. He held him until Harry stopped crying.

Harry pulled back and sniffled.

"I'm thinking we'll have to have you tethered to whoever is watching you until you can be trusted not to run off." James sighed.

"A tether?"

"A magical tether used mainly for toddlers so they can't wander away. The caster decides how far the child is allowed to go before being pulled back." James said. His mother had used it on him when he had been young, as he had had a tendency to wander off from his parents. Something his son had apparently inherited from him.

Harry groaned. A tether, how embarrassing!

James wiped the remaining tears off his son's face. "I can't let you put yourself in harm's way, Harry. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you," James said honestly. "Neither could your mother. You understand that, right? That we love you and want to keep you safe."

"You really love me?"

James's heart broke at words. It was as if Harry couldn't fathom that he was loved. That he deserved to be loved. "More than anything." he whispered. "From the very moment I saw you."

Fresh tears filled Harry's eyes and threw himself at James. "I love you too. And mummy. I'm afraid you'll change your mind about wanting me." he admitted.

"Hey," James gently yet firmly took Harry's chin and forced him to make eye contact. "We want you. We will always want you. Nothing could change that, Son."

"Even when I'm bad?"

James chuckled. "You're not bad, although you are naughty sometimes. And yes, even when you are naughty we love you and want you." His expression became more serious. "You know that there are students here who want to take you to Voldemort. You can't run off, Harry. No excuses. It's not safe. I need to know you understand this."

"I understand," Harry said softly.

"I hope so," James eyed him sternly for a moment.

Harry squirmed, feeling guilty. It wasn't a good feeling. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I'll be good."

James's expression relaxed. "I know you will be. Ready to go back down?"

"Yeah." Harry stood up. "Too bad I didn't get to buy my candy, I would have shared with you."

James laughed at the cheeky look on Harry's face. "How were you going to pay for the candy?"

Harry froze. "Uh," He hadn't even thought about that! He had no money!

"See why you need to think things through instead of reacting impulsively?" James shook his head as they went downstairs.

Harry went straight to Lily and crawled into her lap. "Sorry Mummy," he whispered.

Lily wrapped her arms around him. "We just want you to be safe, love." she whispered back.

"Are Paulie and Albert mad at me?"

"Nah. They got to have an adventure even if they did get caught," Sirius chuckled. "Merlin, I think of all the times we snuck -"

James cleared his throat loudly and gave Sirius a mild glare. No need to remind Harry that he had snuck out and disobeyed the rules many times in the past.

"Anyway," Sirius coughed. "Yeah, sneaking out is wrong. Fun and exciting but wrong."

"Good one, Padfoot," Remus shook his head. He looked at Harry. "I'm sorry if you felt I was ignoring you, I had every intention of playing with you."

"Can we play now?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Sure. Do you want to build something with your blocks?" Remus asked.

"Okay."

"What should we build?" Sirius asked as he dumped the box full of blocks all over the floor.

"Sirius," Lily sighed, her eyes amused.

"We'll clean it up when we're done," Sirius shrugged as he sat on the floor with Harry and Remus.

"We could build Hogwarts?" Harry suggested.

"Good idea, pup," Remus said.

Lily summoned her camera and snapped a picture of the three of them. "They're so good with him," she murmured.

James nodded in agreement. "They are. Shall we join them?"

"Absolutely," Lily grinned.

TBC: