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I am wishing you all a very Merry Christmas with your families and friends! :)


"Now, you know what you have to do, elf", Gryffindor's voice was sharp, and Sonny hesitantly stepped closer to the fireplace. He had spent an awful night in the cell, it had been cold and dark, and he had not eaten since yesterday.

"Any attempts to trick me, and you will regret it", the Founder announced, walking over to his hiding spot behind the door where Dumbledore would be unable to see him- but Gryffindor would still be able to see the former headmaster.

Sonny reluctantly mumbled the spell, anger rising inside him. He needed justice for his siblings, and he was going to get it- and if he died in the process, so be it.

Gryffindor was out of his mind if he thought he was going to betray Dumbledore and help him- he wanted Voldemort to suffer, and he wanted Slytherin and this whole family to suffer for treating Voldemort like he was part of them!

"Any news, elf?", Dumbledore's wrinkled, haggard face appeared in the fire, "did you give Slytherin the poison last night?"

This was the point where he was supposed to lie and tell Dumbledore the poison did not work, but instead, Sonny crept closer to the fire.

"Gryffindor found out, he…"

"Crucio!"

Sonny fell to the floor, screaming, and then Gryffindor stepped forward, pointing his wand at him in uncontrolled rage, "Silencio!"

He ignored the silent agony of the elf, cursing himself for not realizing that the elf was as far gone in his hatred as Dumbledore.

The former headmaster was cackling, enjoying the show in front of him, and he was sadistic enough to not care that his loyal elf was banging his head against the wall right now, desperately trying to stop the pain.

"Having fun, Dumbledore?", he spit out the words, wishing he could use the same curse on the elderly wizard, torturing him to death.

"I'm just surprised it took you that long to figure out your servant is a spy", the older man had the nerve to grin at him now, "you are a slow learner, Gryffindor."

Godric clenched his teeth, "I want the name of the poison- and I want it now!"

"Oh, I will tell you- in two weeks, at the meeting, just like I said I would", he was sneering, not even trying to hide the disdain from his voice, "I am looking forward to it- to see your boy on his knees for me."

"I am not going to do that to Tom."

Dumbledore laughed, and it sounded scornfully, "it's Tom now, eh? In case you forgot, we have a deal- the name of the poison for Voldemort on his knees in front of your inner circle and me."

"And who tells me you are actually going to keep your part of the bargain? You have been spying on me, you…"

"I know, I know, I am such a horrible person", he was clearly mocking him now, his eyes sparkling with glee, "you have my word that I will tell you the name."

"Your word means nothing to me- you obviously want Salazar to suffer, or why did you make the elf mix Prentiss Potion into his juice?"

"He told you that?", Dumbledore did not sound the slightest bit apologetic or ashamed, "well, yes- but we both know that Prentiss would never actually harm him."

"Unless he is already harmed- by your other poison!", Gryffindor shot back, his irritation growing, "I have no reason to believe any word coming out of your mouth- and I already spoke to Fudge about your little deal with Godfrey, he got fired and will soon be joining you in Azkaban for some time."

That got him a reaction for the first time, Dumbledore scowled.

"I have also arranged for you to be in complete solitary confinement from now on", Gryffindor went on, disgust in his voice, "as soon as they are done questioning you at the Ministry, you will rot in Azkaban for the rest of your life- and no one will ever talk to you again."

Dumbledore cursed his lips, raw hatred in his eyes, "you think you are so brilliant, Gryffindor!", he hissed, "but without me telling you what you so badly need, your life will be just as miserable- taking care of your crippled partner, and your brats all by yourself for the rest of your life."

"I will find a cure. You are not as smart as you think, Dumbledore."

That made the former headmaster cackle again, "what if I am telling you that I invented that poison? That all you need to find a cure is in my head?"

"I am not going to play any more mind games with you", he turned around, ignoring the bleeding house elf on the ground who had eventually passed out from the pain, "and I am certainly not going to have my son perform for you like an animal at the circus. Our deal's over."

Dumbledore acted quickly. The deal was the only thing he had going for him right now, and even though the elf had been nothing but disappointing, he still needed that deal- he needed to see Voldemort getting humiliated in front of everyone.

Cunning as he was, he also hoped that if Gryffindor made the boy kneel for them, it would destroy their relationship- and eventually, their whole family. In that case, not being able to kill Slytherin would not even matter because he would still get what he wanted- everyone's suffering.

"Wait!", he hissed, and when Gryffindor merely raised an eyebrow, he went on, "how about…we sign a magical contract?"

Gryffindor snorted, "you really are that obsessed with seeing my boy getting humiliated? You are pathetic, Dumbledore."

"Is that a yes?"

"It is most definitely not- I already told you I am not going to do that to Tom. It would break him."

Dumbledore rolled his eyes, why did Gryffindor care what these damn brats thought or wanted? Since he had brought Voldemort home, he had changed- and not for the better. He had gotten soft, and he seemed happier, and Dumbledore despised him for that.

"Enjoy seeing Slytherin suffer for the rest of his life then", he spat out, "this is your only chance to make him feel better, but you are refusing. Do you really love that animal of a boy more than your partner?"

Unknown to them, Tom had come back inside from playing with Sirius, his hat was soaking wet after they had had a snowball fight, and he wanted to get another one. He stilled when he went by the living room and heard Dumbledore's hateful voice, and he silently went closer.

"Careful how you talk about my son", Gryffindor now said, his voice dangerous, "and for your information- I love them just the same. You can…you can order me around instead of Tom in front of the inner circle", Tom could hear that it took him a lot of effort to say that, and his stomach clenched when he heard Dumbledore cackle in triumph, "you would kneel for me, Gryffindor? You would jump and roll around on the floor for me, and be my obedient little slave?"

"I…I would."

"NO!", the word had left his mouth before he could stop himself, and then he came running, "you don't have to! I…I already agreed I would do it!"

The Founder looked at him, fury in his eyes, "what are you doing here, Thomas? This is none of your concern."

He flinched at the Thomas, but he was not going to back down, "of course it's my concern! He's not gonna tell you the name of the poison, and we need it to help Dad! I can handle it, I can let him boss me around if he gets a kick out of it!"

Gryffindor curled his lips, "forget about it. I am not going to agree to that."

Dumbledore was watching the scene in front of him with glee, delighted by the argument. This was perfect- and exactly what he wanted. Manipulative as he was, he decided to add more fuel to the fire, "well, a deal is a deal- the name of the poison for Voldemort kneeling for me. And I want him to kneel, no one else, as tempting as it would be to make you crawl around the floor for me, Gryffindor."

"You are a sadistic piece of shit, Dumbledore", he did not even care that he was cursing in front of his son now, "Tom is not going to do anything for you. It won't happen."

"But…"

"Quiet, Thomas- there is nothing else to say in this matter", he sounded downright murderous now, and usually, Tom knew this meant punishment and shut up, but the thought of Salazar suffering, unable to walk and always tired, made him speak up.

"I need to help Dad! And if this is our chance to help him, so be it! The meeting will only last a couple of hours, and then Dumbledore will rot in Azkaban, and we can be a real family! And we can be happy together, and celebrate Christmas, and I can show Dad my igloo…please, Sir, please agree to it! I promise I'll be good, I'll make you proud!"

Dumbledore made a gagging sound, but no one paid him any attention.

"Tommy…I already am proud of you- but I am afraid you don't know what you are agreeing to here. The original bet had me order you around a little, but this will be Dumbledore giving you orders. He'll do his best to make this as degrading as possible."

The boy looked up to him, and the trust in his eyes made him swallow, "but you will be there, right?"

"Yes. I'll be there."

"I can handle it", the boy repeated softly, "I need to help Dad."

Gryffindor groaned, "Tommy…"

"Please", the boy whispered, "please let me do this for him. For the family."

The Founder looked at him thoughtfully, and eventually, he sighed in defeat, "alright- but I have a few conditions, Dumbledore", he shifted his attention to the former headmaster again who was looking as smug as ever, "first of all, we will sign a magical contract, second of all, you will not do anything to my boy that hurts him physically, and you will only order him around for an hour. That's it, and not a second longer. Also, I am not going to have everyone from my inner circle there, just a few of them."

Dumbledore frowned, obviously unhappy, but he sensed that the Founder would not back down, so he reluctantly agreed, "very well. Come see me to sign the contract", and then, he was gone, rude enough to not even say goodbye, leaving Gryffindor to stare at the burning flames.

"You mad at me?"

The Founder turned around, facing his boy, and he sighed again, "I am not mad at you, baby bear- just worried. This won't be easy. He hates you with a passion, and he will humiliate you, you know that, right?"

"I can handle it", the boy smiled at him, "I'm strong."

"That you are- the strongest little boy I know", it sounded fond, and affectionate, and he liked how the boys' eyes lit up, "come here, baby bear."

The boy came running, and he picked him up, and then he walked over to the couch, sitting down with him, "I cannot even put into words how proud I am of you- and how much I love you. You are my brave, funny, smart little boy."

Tom stared at him in wonder, "you…love me?"

"How could I not love you? You are perfect, Tommy. Since you live here, we are all happier- and that is thanks to you. I would not have realized how badly I treated you all without you standing up to me, and you make Salazar so happy with your daily visits, and Sirius just adores you. You are an amazing brother to both Sirius and Aurelius."

He saw tears of happiness welling up in his son's eyes, and he pulled him closer, humming something, "I'll never let you go again, baby bear. You belong here. We are your family."

"I…I love you, too", the boy eventually whispered, "and I love living here. It's lots of rules, and it's hard to remember how to speak correctly sometimes, but…I wouldn't want it another way."

They snuggled for a while, and when Gryffindor felt the boy relax, he gave him a soft kiss on top of his head, "you should go back out there, hmm? Your brothers are probably getting worried already."

"Yah. Was just getting another hat. Mine's wet."

Gryffindor smiled, using a quick drying spell on the hat, and then he put his boy back on his feet, "I'll see you later, baby bear."

"Okay."

The boy grinned at him, and then he ran out of the room, leaving Gryffindor by himself again.

Godric stared at the fire for a while, silently debating what to do next. Sonny was still passed out at his feet, and his anger started to rise again looking at the spy. He was done getting betrayed and played.

"Avada Kedavra!"

He had promised the elf to make this long and painful, but he did not even have the energy for that anymore. He just needed that elf out of his sight.

The fire was still burning, and Godric found it somewhat fitting to drag the corpse right into it- and since Sonny had been tiny, and skinny, it did not take long for his body to get swallowed by the flames.

The smell was somewhat awful, so he used a quick refreshing spell, and then he left the room.

He would explain himself to Juniper, the head elf, another time- for now, he had to talk to Salazar and Aurelius, trying to get their point of view on this mess of a deal.

It did not come to a surprise to him that Salazar was very much against using Tom like this- and Aurelius was reluctant, too.

"He's going to put him through hell, Dad", he told his father quietly, "and what if he lies to you and gives you the wrong name after?"

"We will sign a magical contract, Aurelius."

"Tom…will need…training again", Salazar said from his bed, they were all in his room, and the boys were sleeping already, exhausted from another day of playing in the snow.

"I know", Gryffindor did not look happy about that, "and knowing how it went last time, I am expecting a disaster."

"I could help you training him", Aurelius offered, "he obeys very well as long as it is fun for him."

Gryffindor let out a bitter laugh, "I bet he does- the problem is, Dumbledore will make it anything but fun for him."

"It does not matter- he will obey Dumbledore for you, Dad. He'll do it to make you happy."

That made the Founder smile, thinking of the boy how the boy had looked at him in earnest.

I want to make you happy.

"Well, I guess we have to try- I will talk to him tomorrow and do a little bit of training with him, and then we'll take it from there", he sounded reluctant, but there was really not much else they could do- they had to prepare Tom at least.

So, a few days later when the boys were busy in the playroom, he decided to take another attempt at training his second youngest boy, but first, he wanted to spend some time playing with his boys.

"Dad!", he hoped for a second that it was Tom calling him, since the boy still referred to him as Sir, but then Sirius came running towards him, and he hugged his youngest, "are you enjoying yourself, baby boy?"

"Yes, we are setting up the train together! And Bacon tried to eat one of the fake trees!", Sirius told him, happiness in his voice, "are you going to play with us?"

"For a little bit, yes", Godric told him, smiling back at his boy, and then they went over to the back of the playroom where Tom and Aurelius were busy setting up the train set. Bacon was there, too, running excitedly back and forth, barking like crazy.

Tom and Aurelius looked up when he came closer, and Tom pointed at the train, "look, it's kinda like the Hogwarts Express! Gonna go the same route!"

Gryffindor sighed, walking over to his boy, "try again, baby bear."

"It is kind of like the Hogwarts Express. It is going to go the same route?", he blinked at him, uncertainty in his voice.

"Good boy", he sat down, pulling the boy on his lap, who made some happy sound at that, immediately snuggling closer, "do you wanna see what's over there?", the boy blurted out, but then, he hesitated, "I mean…would you like to see what is over there?"

"I would, Tommy", he smiled back at him, and the boy beamed.

They spent an hour playing, and Gryffindor listened patiently to Sirius telling him all about the train tracks, and Tom telling him which parts Bacon had tried to eat, and Aurelius was mostly listening too, exchanging amused glances with him.

It felt good, spending time with his boys, but there was always someone missing- Salazar. Their Daddy.

I have to get that name. Damnit.

"Tommy?"

"Yah?"

"I need to talk to you for a little bit."

The boy looked at him questioningly, "more training?"

They already had done some training that day, and the boy had managed to sit perfectly still for twelve minutes- and he had gotten a lot of praise for that.

"I want to talk to you first, Tommy."

"Okay", he got up obediently, and when Gryffindor held out his hand, the boy immediately took it. Aurelius had started training him in that- holding their hand whenever they went somewhere, making sure the boy was keeping his head down, and was neither pulling nor fidgeting.

Just like sitting on his lap, Tom seemed to enjoy being held- and he always happily followed him or Aurelius whenever they made him hold their hand.

"Good boy, Tommy", he sounded proud, and the boy smiled. He loved the safety and the closeness of being held, it made him feel calm- and he never had to fidget when he was led somewhere by Aurelius or Gryffindor.

The Founder led him to his office, and once the door was closed behind them, he let go off his hand, fondly caressing his hair, "you are such a good boy- behaving so well. You are making me so proud, Tommy."

The boy snuggled into the touch, "make you happy?"

"Yes, you are making me very happy as well", he told him, walking over to his desk, "I do need to talk you about something, though- and it is rather…unpleasant."

"My homework?", the boy asked softly, "gonna spank me?"

Gryffindor raised an eyebrow, "is there anything I should know about your homework, Tommy?"

Tom swallowed hard, "maybe…it's not done?", it sounded like a question.

"Mmmhh…and why would that be?"

The boy shrugged helplessly, "maybe…maybe I got…distracted."

"Distracted by what?"

"Dra…drawing", and now the boy sounded miserable, "wanted to finish my picture of the igloo."

"I am surprised Aurelius let you play with the trains since you did not finish your work."

That made the boy flush, "I…I…might have…maybe…Relius…does not know?"

Gryffindor stifled a smile. It was hard to be upset with the boy- and he knew he was too soft on him, Aurelius and Sirius would have never dared to act like this, but Tom was just too adorable how he stood there, guilt written on his face. The boy was a horrible liar, and he was too honest and ethical to not own up to his mistakes right away.

"Mmmhh…that does sound like someone needs a good spanking", he told him, and Tom winced, "maybe I can…finish my work after dinner?"

"I thought we were going to play chess after dinner, baby bear."

"Yah", the boy looked down, "but I could miss out and work instead", and now he sounded downright heartbroken, and even though he knew he was being too soft, he opened his arms, "come here, Tommy."

The boy immediately came running, and he happily snuggled into him, "sorry…for being…bad", he mumbled, pressing his face into his chest, "just…get distracted a lot."

"I know, baby bear- I know it's hard for you to concentrate."

"I can concentrate now!"

Gryffindor had to laugh, "Tommy, you know you can't sit on my lap during study time. You have to learn to concentrate on your own."

"Rather sit on your lap, though", the boy told him earnestly.

The Founder sighed, "I have something else to talk to you about, though- and I will let Aurelius deal with you for not finishing your homework."

That made the boy hung his head, the prospect of having his older brother discipline clearly upsetting him. Gryffindor knew that the boy basically worshipped Aurelius- and he also knew that his oldest son would not go easy on Tom for playing instead of doing his work.

"The meeting is in less than two weeks, Tommy- and we have to do some more training for that."

"Okay", the boy easily agreed, "I can sit very still right now!"

"Not…that kind of training", he tried to break the news to him gently, "remember when you were in the training room with your brother? We need to do a little more of that."

The boy flinched, "obedience training?"

"Yes, Tommy."

"I don't like that."

"I know, sweet boy- but it will help you prepare for what Dumbledore is going to do to you. It will help you focus and obey automatically, does not matter how degrading it is."

The boy snuggled into his chest, "but…you gonna whip me if I do it wrong."

"No, there won't be any of that- just rewards if you something right", Gryffindor promised him, holding him close, "and Aurelius will do your training together with me- and I am sure he will make it fun for you."

"Okay", the boy whispered, nuzzling him, "we can…try I guess."

He felt Gryffindor giving him a soft kiss on his tousled hair, "let's go then, Tommy. We don't have much more time until the meeting."

He led the boy into another office, one that was more spacious and did not have much furniture in the way. It was one of the perks of living in a mansion like Gryffindor Manor- he had enough rooms for all kinds of stuff.

"We'll start with something easy", he told the boy, sensing the nervousness of his son, "jump as high as you can."

As he had hoped, the boy laughed, jumping up, "good boy, Tommy."

He kept his commands playful, sneaking in some harder ones like kneeling or rolling over, things he knew Dumbledore would make him do, and after twenty minutes, he decided to take a break.

Tom was sweating, red in his face, but he had been able to keep up just fine- and Gryffindor knew he would be able to keep up at the meeting as well.

Aurelius joined them a little later after Sirius had gone to visit Salazar, and then they both took turns giving him commands, and he had to jump, run, crawl, and kneel, and he did everything they said without hesitating.

"Stand up!"

"Jump!"

"Kneel!"

"Sit down!"

It was tiring, and it made him sweat- but he did realize that after a while, everything became automatic. He did not think anymore, he just reacted, oblivious to his surroundings. His mind was calm, and he felt like he was floating somehow- high from the constant movements, and the exercise. It felt good- strange, but good. He was almost always fidgeting and needing to run, so the calmness now was a complete new experience for him.

They trained him for a whole hour, and then he they praised him, kissed him, hugged him, and told him what a good boy he had been, and then Aurelius gave him a bath, and they read a story and snuggled, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

For the next week or so, that was his life- breakfast, studying, lunch, visiting Salazar, playtime, training, dinner, bath time, and going to bed. He got faster at reacting, and his thin, skinny body changed as well- he started to develop muscles.

Gryffindor and Aurelius never punished him when he did something wrong, but he got praised like crazy for doing something right, and the rewards got better a better- his own chess board to practice with, a brand new pair of skies, a trip to Hogsmeade to buy as much candy as he wanted at Honeydukes, no homework after studying time, his favorite meals for lunch and dinner…and so on.

Aurelius had started to reward him for doing his homework, though, so he ended up doing it anyways, and he loved nothing more than seeing Gryffindor and Aurelius smile at him, telling him how proud they were of him, and how much they loved him.

Realizing that he could obey, that he could be good, did something to his confidence as well- and since he put more effort into his studies, he noticed that he was taking pride in his work now, feeling satisfied about getting another good grade.

He had changed.

And when it was time for the meeting, the once wild, unruly brat was now a confident, disciplined boy, and he knew he was ready.

"This is it, Tommy", Gryffindor's voice was soft, "go show them- go and make me proud like you always do."

They were standing in front of the conference room, and Dumbledore was already there, gleefully waiting to humiliate him- and Tom could hear the buzz of excitement from the members of the inner circle. They were all excited to see him on his knees, not knowing that he did this voluntarily- and he knew they would never understand why he did it.

He smiled at his father, "I will", and then, they entered the room.

Bring it on, Dumbledore.


yep...in the next chap, there's finally the confro between dumbles and tom and it will be...intense.

I'd love some feedback from you! :)

Happy Holidays!

xoxo,

Antonie