Hey guys! I thought I go ahead and post chapter 5 real quick :D
Thank you lilflower101 for your comment! And don't worry, Gryff will start to realize he messed up- in the next chap lol.
I finally got back into writing Transforming Thomas, so that one will be posted next! :)
WARNING: CP in this chapter!
"Bend over, hands on your ankles- you know the drill."
Aurelius bit his lips, he did know the drill- he had gotten caned more in the last several weeks than in the years before combined, and sometimes it had felt like his father was just trying to find reasons to punish him to let his frustrations out on him.
Gryffindor held up the cane, "you'll get ten. You will count, and you will thank me, and if see any movement, I'll bump it up to twenty. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Father", his voice was still hollow, dread forming in his stomach. He hated the sharp sting of the cane, and getting five was usually the limit- ten would hurt like hell.
He slowly bent down, grabbing his ankles with his hands, effectively exposing his backside to his father. At least he was not making him take his pants off, the humiliation of that would be too much to handle.
"Tell me why you are getting punished, Aurelius."
Because you are becoming more and more sadistic.
"Because I disobeyed you, and because I did not train Thomas to your satisfaction, and because I let Sirius fool around in public."
In other words- because I refused to beat up Tom, and because I let Sirius play outside.
"Precisely", Gryffindor's voice was cold, "it is extremely important that the boy is obedient by the time I am having the next monthly meeting with my inner circle- for reasons I do not need to discuss with you further. And for Sirius- the boy represents the family, just like you are, and I am not having people think I do not have my family under control."
Aurelius thought to himself that this was the true reason- control. Since Salazar had gotten poisoned, his father seemed to have gotten obsessed with controlling everything and everyone, probably because he had not been able to prevent the poisoning- and could not control the outcome.
He did not say that though, knowing that mentioning his Dad was a very dangerous topic, especially in the situation he was in now.
And then it started- his father lifted the cane, and it hit his backside with a sharp thwack.
"One. Thank you, Father."
The Founder did not give him any time to breath, he simply lifted the cane again.
"T…two, thank you, Father."
And again.
"Th…reeeee, thank…you, Father."
It hurt like hell, and Aurelius gripped his ankles tight enough that his hands were turning white from the effort.
Thwack.
"Fourrrrrrrrr. Thank you, Father."
His lips were bleeding from trying not to scream out in pain, but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't.
"There is no cure", his father suddenly said, surprising him. His voice sounded hard, and there was a hint of despair in it, "I went as far as Iceland…nothing", and then he hit him again.
"Fiveeeeee, thank you…Father."
Aurelius did not dare to respond to anything his father had told him, but his mind was racing. He knew his dad had been travelling somewhere to find out more about the poison Dumbledore had used- and since Dumbledore had been smart enough to put a forgetting spell on himself, they were not even able to torture any information out of him, he simply did not know anything. Not anymore.
Thwack.
"S…six…th…ank you, Father."
He tasted blood in his mouth, and his eyes had started to water. The pain was already becoming unbearable, and he had four more strikes coming.
There's no way, I cannot…
Thwack.
"Se…ven! Thank…you! Father!", he was screaming now, feeling his skin breaking, and he knew he was bleeding.
"Get up, Aurelius."
He obeyed instantly, his whole backside throbbing in agony as he slowly stood up.
His father was watching him, a strange expression on his face, "have you learned your lesson, son?"
"Yes, Father."
"You will help me train the boy- and you will make sure Sirius does his studies. It looks like the boy has too much time on his hands if he can play around outside. I am expecting him to study an additional hour every day, starting tomorrow."
He's already studying almost eight hours a day!
"Yes, Father."
"You may go, Aurelius- and next time you openly disrespect my wishes, you will not be able to hope for any mercy from me."
He swallowed hard, "yes…Father."
A wave with his hand, and he was dismissed. He made it to his room without losing his composure, but as soon as he had locked the door behind him, he started to cry.
His second time being locked up in the cell was different than the first time- not only did he get clean, warm clothes every morning, he also got fed three times a day. The food was not nearly as good as the food upstairs, but it was edible, and he did not have to go to bed with a growling stomach.
The boredom and the silence had not changed, though- there was still absolutely nothing to do down here, he was alone with his thoughts, and they were not exactly pleasant.
On the second day, Sirius showed up, carrying a brown leather satchel.
"Hi", he sat down right in front of the bars, even though the ground was cold, "I need some help with my arithmetic homework", and then he pulled some papers out of the satchel.
"I'm not really good at calculating", Tom confessed, sitting down on the other side of the bars, "you should ask Aurelius for help."
"He's gone- has been all day. Father, too. He told me to get this done by tonight, and he's been really…bad-tempered since he's been back, so…", the younger boy stopped and bit his lips, "and this should be easy for you, it's first grade stuff- and you are three years older than me."
Tom badly wanted to tell him that it did not matter how much older he was, he was still too stupid to even read the question- but he just sighed, "kay, I'll try. What's the question?"
Sirius read him the question, and it sounded complicated enough, but Tom did not want to embarrass himself in front of the younger boy, so he listened carefully.
"Can I have a piece of paper and something to write with?", he asked Sirius, and while he was certain he could not write anything, maybe drawing the problem would help.
Under Sirius' watchful eyes, he started to draw the numbers, and he drew lines, and arrows, and then he slowly started to connect them, Sirius making helpful suggestions. Soon, both boys were engrossed in the math problem, and drawing it had been helpful- and they were actually able to figure it out.
"You know, I've never thought about drawing it out, it's brilliant!", Sirius was grinning from ear to hear, "you want to do the next one?"
"Sure", Tom grinned right back, liking the warmth he felt inside. It was nice to be able to teach someone something- it was nice to feel valued. And needed. And appreciated.
They worked on all of the arithmetic problems, and then Sirius had to leave- but he left him some more paper and a pencil to draw with, and even though Tom had been determined to draw Bacon again, his mind kept wandering back to the math problems.
I feel like there's a shorter way to do this.
And soon, he was drawing another math problem, and then he spent the rest of his day working on easier ways to solve them, and when he finally did, he was smiling.
I cannot wait to tell Sirius!
But the younger boy would not be back until the next day, if even, so he had to be patient. He eventually hid the papers and pencil under his mattress, and after he ate his dinner, he fell asleep.
Sirius did not show up the next day, and something else was different, too- instead of getting three meals, he only got breakfast- and then nothing. His stomach was rumbling with hunger by the early afternoon, and he felt anxious and frustrated. Had Gryffindor forgotten about him? Or was this another punishment?
Eventually, he heard footsteps coming closer, and he was pretty sure it was Gryffindor, demanding an apology. His heart was beating fast, and he pushed himself against the wall of his cell, trembling.
"Hey there, baby bear."
He had never been more relieved to see Aurelius, even though the older boy was holding what looked like a whip in one hand- and a small bag with something inside in the other one.
"What's the whip for?", he blurted out, coming closer to the bars, "you goin' horseback riding?"
The boy smiled sadly, "we will have to do some training today, Tommy", he told him softly, and Tom's heart sank.
"Trai…ning?"
"Obedience training", Aurelius clarified, stepping closer, "I thought you rather have me train you than my father, hmm?"
"I don't want any training", he hated how scared he sounded, "I wanna leave!"
"I know, baby bear- but you want to make me happy, don't you?"
"Yah."
This time, Aurelius' smile was not sad, "there's my sweet boy. If you want to make me happy, you'll obey me and let me train you for a little bit- and after we are done, we'll snuggle, okay?"
Tom swallowed, "you gonna whip me, though."
"The whip is just a reminder to be good- if you disobey, I will have to use it, but if you obey, you will get a treat", and then he opened the bag he was holding and took out some pretzels, "I have some other snacks in here, too."
Tom's mouth started to water at the sight, "so that's why I did not get any lunch?"
Aurelius stilled, "what do you mean?"
"Only had breakfast today, so I'm kinda hungry", Tom explained, never taking his eyes off the bag with snacks.
Aurelius cursed under his breath, really, his father was just getting worse and worse, and then he quickly opened the lock, "I did not know you have not had any lunch, baby bear. Come here", and he sat on the bed, and Tom instantly crawled on his lap, a big smile on his face when Aurelius opened the bag with snacks.
"Growing boys like you need to eat", he told Tom, feeding him some pretzels, and the boy chewed, nodding happily.
"Tastes good, Relius", the boy declared, snuggling closer, "I want more pretzels!"
He raised an eyebrow, "is that how a good boy asks nicely?"
Tom seemed to think for a moment, "I want more pretzels, please?", he tried, and Aurelius shook his head, smiling, "not quite, baby bear."
"I would like more pretzels, please?"
"Good boy, Tommy", he fed him some more pretzels, feeling pleased, and Tom ate hungrily, and he ended up letting the boy eat the whole bag- there was no way he would train him when he was starved.
Not that I want to train him anyway.
"Relius?"
"Mmmhh?"
"What's training like? Is it gonna hurt?"
"Not really, no", Aurelius was raking a hand through Tom's messy hair, enjoying the closeness to the boy, "all you have to do is obey my commands- as silly as they might sound to you."
"Make you happy?"
"Yes, baby bear, it would make me very happy", Aurelius did not tell him why though- he did not want the boy to know what exactly his father was capable of if he failed, and he was worried about Tom, and he wanted to protect him.
"Kay. I'm ready."
"Good boy- let's go then", and he led the younger boy out of his cell, and they walked down the hallway to a closed door, and then he opened the door and entered the small, empty room, Tom by the hand.
"We are going to start with something easy- sit down."
Tom blinked, but he obeyed and sat on the floor.
"Good- now stand up."
The boy stood up.
"Lay down."
This time, Tom frowned, "I'm not a dog, Relius", he told him, annoyance in his voice.
"Lay down", Aurelius repeated, gently patting the whip on his back for encouragement.
The boy obeyed, still frowning.
"Roll over."
"Bacon would love this", Tom grumbled, rolling over on the cold floor, "but I'm not a dog."
"I know you are not, Tommy- stand up."
He stood.
"Sit down."
He sat.
"Stand up."
He stood.
"Lay down."
Tom just blinked, not moving, "what's this good for? I don't wanna…"
"It's to learn obedience, Tommy- that you are getting used to automatically do what I say."
"But what if what you say is bullshit?"
"Language, baby bear", the whip was patting him on his butt, it did not hurt, but it was humiliating, and he flushed.
"You are going to be my good boy and obey, hmm? You will make me so proud listening so nicely."
The boy was laying down within seconds, and Aurelius smiled, "good boy, Tommy- I am very proud of you."
"Are we done then?", the boy was staring at him questioningly, and Aurelius sighed. He remembered doing this with Sirius, but back then, his father had let him train his younger brother playfully, they had been doing an obstacle course and Sirius had actually enjoyed doing what he was told- Tom did not.
His father had obviously not allowed to make Tom's training even a tiny bit enjoyable, but Aurelius feared that the boy would simply have to be beaten into obedience if he did not change something.
"Let's play a game", he told the boy, and he liked how Tom's eyes instantly lit up.
"What game? How do I win?"
He stifled a laugh, "it's a game for smart boys who can listen very well- you will still do what I say, but only if I use the phrase Tom, please before the command."
"So if you say Tom, please, I'll do it, and if not, I won't?"
"Exactly. Let's give it a test- Tom, please count to three."
"One, two, three!", the boy was actually smiling, and Aurelius smiled, "good boy. Now, Tom, please tell me what color crocodiles are."
"They are green, Relius!", and now the boy sounded happy, and Aurelius had to laugh, "my smart baby bear. Now, go run to the window."
Tom did not move, and he looked proud when Aurelius praised him again.
"Tom, please jump as high as you can!"
"Sit down!"
"Tom, please tell me a joke!"
"Tom, please touch your nose with your right thumb!"
He made sure that the actual commands were more fun that the other ones- and soon, the boy was laughing, enjoying the ridiculous tasks, and he was obeying instantly without even realizing it.
"Alright, I think we are done for today", Aurelius put the whip down, and then he pulled the younger boy closer, "you did very well, Tommy."
Tom was breathing heavily, red in his face. He had been enjoying himself, and he had liked the exercise after being stuck in his cell for the last couple of days.
"Are you thirsty, baby bear?"
"Yes, please."
Look at that.
Aurelius' smile widened, and then he waved his hand, making a bottle with water appear out of nowhere, "drink up, sweet boy."
They sat down, Tom in his lap, and the boy drank thirstily, snuggling into his chest.
"You should train Bacon, too", Tom suggested, yawning, "and make him a good dog. I don't think you can train me, though."
"And why is that?"
"Because I don't want to be good."
"But you said you want to make me happy."
"That's different", the boy explained, yawning again, not bothering to cover his mouth, "I like making you happy."
Aurelius just smiled, he would let the boy figure it out on his own, and for now, he was content holding him close, snuggled into his chest. He felt the boy getting heavier against him eventually, and he carefully stood up, holding him in his arms, "someone needs a nap", he said quietly, and Tom grunted in response. He carried the boy back into his cell, gently placing him on the bed.
"Stay?", Tom asked, reaching his hand out, and Aurelius sighed, "I can't stay, Tommy- but I'll see you later, okay?"
"Kay", he mumbled, "see…later…"
Aurelius waited until he was certain the boy was asleep, and then he silently left the cell. His heart hurt thinking about why he would have to come back later- and with whom.
Tom, oblivious to everything around him, took a long nap- finally waking up by the familiar sound of footsteps coming closer. This time, they sounded louder for some reason, and Tom realized that there were two people coming- maybe Aurelius brought Sirius? He got up and went to the locked bars, anticipation building inside him.
Maybe they'll let me out now.
"Good to see you again, Thomas."
There goes that.
Gryffindor was smiling his usual cold signature smile that did not reach his eyes, and Aurelius next to him looked pale and unhappy.
He did not respond, sensing the danger coming from Gryffindor and knowing that this was the wrong time to provoke the Founder.
"Let him out and take him to the training room", Gryffindor ordered, and Aurelius immediately stepped forward, opening the lock.
Training room? I don't want any more training!
"Let's go, Tommy", Aurelius' voice was quiet, "you have to be very good for me now, baby bear", he made sure Gryffindor could not hear them as he tugged him along to the small from earlier. The room was still empty and cold, and Tom stood in the middle of it, trembling.
This is not good.
"Well, I am looking forward to seeing some results, Aurelius", Gryffindor's voice was hard, "begin."
Aurelius swallowed, and then he took a deep breath, "sit down", he pointed at the floor, and Tom stood there, feeling frozen.
Why are we doing this again? I thought he knew this is pointless, and he did not say Tom, please…
But then he saw the look on Aurelius' face, he saw the pained expression in his eyes, and suddenly, he understood.
I thought you rather have me train you than my father, hmm?
You have to be very good for me now, baby bear.
He could be good- for Aurelius. He would show Aurelius exactly how good he could be.
He sat down.
"Stand up", came the next order, there was no praise- but Tom could see the proud smile on Aurelius' lips, and it made him strangely happy.
"Jump."
"Lay down."
"Kneel."
"Roll over on your back."
The commands got more intense, and more degrading in a way- but he was determined to show Aurelius what a good boy he could be- not caring the slightest what Gryffindor might think.
"Stand up."
"Sit down."
"Stand up."
"Sit down."
"Stand up."
He followed every command instantly, and when Aurelius stopped, his face was glowing with pride.
"Good boy", he told him, his voice full of affection, "such a good boy, Tommy."
And Tom grinned, wiping off the sweat of his face, feeling all giddy inside- he had done this to make Aurelius proud, not because he wanted to.
Gryffindor did not say anything, he just looked at him, his eyebrows raised.
"Kneel", he eventually ordered, his voice firm.
Tom just stared right back at him, frowning- but he did not move.
"Kneel, boy", Gryffindor repeated, his voice dangerous, but instead of obeying, Tom took a step back, "no."
"What did you just say, Thomas?", it was merely a whisper, and everything inside him froze at the iciness of Gryffindor's tone, but he would not back down. Aurelius had earned his obedience, Gryffindor had not.
"I said no", he replied softly, taking another step back, "I am not going to do what you say. You cannot control me."
That obviously had been the wrong thing to say because in the next second, a cane appeared in Gryffindor's hand, "I can and I will control you, you obstinate, stubborn boy!", he hissed, "and by the time I am done with you, you will be kneeling for me- and you won't ever think of disrespecting me like this again. I am in control here!", and then he lashed out, but before the cane could hit him, Aurelius swiftly moved right in front of him, and there was a horrible almost sizzling sound, and then Tom watched in horror how the cane struck Aurelius right in the face.
No!
The horror on his face was nothing against the horror on Gryffindor's face though, and then the Founder dropped the cane to the floor, and the sound of it hitting the ground was almost painfully loud in the small room.
The Founder made a noise that sounded like a groan- and then, he was gone, leaving Tom and Aurelius alone in the room, staring at each other.
He protected me. No one has ever protected me before.
yeah...Gryffindor is starting to realize he messed up...and there will be some Godric/ Tom wholesomeness in the next chap and Dumbles being pure evil.
hope you liked it! :)
xoxo, Antonie
