Double or Nothing
Disclaimer: We don't own any of these characters, we just play with them.
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Chapter 4
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Jamie hid a smug smirk as his brother squirmed his seat. Jamie hadn't missed Harry's subdued mood as he sat down for breakfast, nor the way he winced as he settled down into his seat. Jamie frowned in disgust when he discovered that they were having porridge for breakfast. He hated porridge, but he knew that his Mum insisted on him eating it every once in a while so he dug in. Harry had started to protest, but was silenced by a stern look from his father. Snapping his mouth shut, he followed his twin's example and dug in as well. Inwardly, Jamie was practically giddy with glee. Finally his bratty brother had what was coming to him! Uncle Sev hadn't put up with his brother's antics, but his parents still let him get away with anything. But it seemed like things had changed; from the looks of it, their father had probably spanked him as well.
Harry tried to sit still, he really did, but his bum was still very sore from the spanking his father had delivered the night before. He couldn't help that his face colored a bit, especially when he noticed that his brother had picked up on his squirming, and he frowned because his brother looked entirely too happy about the entire thing.
Jamie and Harry were the last to finish, eating the porridge slowly because they could barely stand it. James and Lily had already left by the time the twins brought their dishes to be cleaned.
"So," Jamie drawled with a smirk, "looks like the sit-down isn't doing so well. Did Dad wallop you last night?"
"Sod off, Jamie," Harry hissed lowly as he cleaned his bowl.
"Awww, did poor prince Harry get knocked off his pedestal?" Jamie cooed with fake sympathy.
"Shut it, Jamie!!" Harry growled, his hands balled into fists at his side. Harry was not famous for control of his temper.
Jamie then cracked a smile. "You're just SORE that Mum and Dad finally woke up and decided not to put up with your temper tantrums anymore."
Harry glared, his face red with anger. "I said SHUT IT, Jamie..."
Whatever Harry was about to say was cut off by another voice. "What's going on in here?" Lily's brows were furrowed as she took in the sight of Harry's angry stance. She looked questioningly at Jamie.
"Nothing, Mum." Jamie said, looking the picture of innocence.
Lily wasn't fooled, having seen James display the same expression too many times, but she could only deal with what she knew. Turning to Harry, she said firmly, "Harry, we do not shout at each other."
Harry frowned.
"But he..." Harry cut off , not wanting to be a snitch, and stomped his foot. This was so very unfair.
"No, Harry. Whatever Jamie said or did doesn't matter. If he was saying something disagreeable, you should tell him that politely." Lily said firmly.
Harry was about to argue but the throbbing in his bottom made him think better of it and so he took a deep breath.
"Yes, Mum." he said.
With Lily's back turned to him, Jamie gave Harry a smug smirk before looking at his mother. "Can I go and fly now, Mum?" He asked.
Lily took in the sight of Jamie's clean dishes and nodded. "But only a couple of hours, I want you to work on some of your summer homework before lunch."
Jamie looked over to his twin, he knew that flying always cheered him up, and even if Harry was mad at him he wouldn't pass up the chance to fly.
"Bet you can't beat me to the Quidditch field!" Jamie said as he raced off.
Harry was about to take off after his twin, but Lily's voice stopped him. "Harry, wait."
Harry froze and turned to his mum. "Yes Mum?" he asked, trying to keep the impatience out of his voice.
"Harry, you know that you are grounded from flying for the week." Lily reminded. "I think you should go and work on your summer homework now, then you won't have to work on so much this afternoon."
Harry's face fell at his mothers proclamation; he had forgotten that his father had taken his broom. Harry pouted; an entire week without his broom while his brother still got to fly! Not only would Jamie torment him over it, he would be positively bored without being able to fly.
"Please Mum!" Harry pleaded. "Dad already sp-punished me." he whined.
"Yes, I heard how he spanked you, but you know, Jamie got the same punishment when he tried night flying the first time." Lily explained, hoping that Harry would understand that they weren't just being harsh with him.
Harry pouted and then stomped off to his room to sulk. He didn't even say good bye to his mother.
Jamie had a grand time flying, and when two hours had passed, he headed in to the house as per his mother's wishes. Making his way to his room, he noticed that Harry was there as well. He put his arm around his twin and asked. "You're not still mad at me for earlier, are you?" Jamie pinched Harry's cheek a little, and was undeterred when Harry batted his hand away and scowled. "You should have come out, flying always makes me happier, and I know it should for you too."
"Can it, Jamie." Harry scowled. He wasn't in the mood for this so he turned back away from his brother and back to his potions essay, hoping if he ignored him Jamie would go away.
Jamie studied Harry's essay. "This is wrong," he said, while pointing to a specific part of the essay. "It should be chopped daisy roots instead of crushed. And you misspelled 'aconite', and you do NOT use armadillo bile in this potion, and..." Jamie continued to critique Harry's potions essay as Harry got redder and redder. "Good Merlin, you're bad at potions, you should get Uncle Sev to tutor you." Jamie finished.
Harry scrunched his essay in his hand and slammed his fist into the desk. "WOULD YOU CUT IT OUT!!!" He screamed in his brother's face, his breath fast and heavy as a prickle of uncontrolled magic filled the air around them.
Jamie scowled as he pushed Harry away. "What's your problem? I was only trying to help. With an essay like that you would have probably gotten a 'Poor,' maybe even a 'Dreadful'." Jamie huffed indignantly.
"I don't remember asking for your help!" Harry exclaimed.
Jamie rolled his eyes. "Fine, be that way. I was only trying to help you out. If you get punished because your grades are abysmal, it's not my fault." Jamie smirked inwardly as he continued on. "Dad has this special paddle that he uses for when I screw up in school, calls it the 'Board of Education'. I once cut class, and boy, that thing stings like the dickens!" Jamie said, lying through his teeth. He noticed the way his brother squirmed a bit at his lie, and silently congratulated himself as he went to his side of the room and pulled out his own potions homework.
Harry crumpled the essay up and tossed it at Jamie. It hit Jamie on the head. Glaring, Jamie picked it up and tossed it back at Harry.
Harry balled up his fists and then stormed out of the room in a huff.
The rest of the week went very much the same way. The boys were at each others throats and it was getting to be a bit much for their parents to handle. At one point Lily had had to break up a food fight in the making and, soon after that, James had to stop the boys from hexing each other to next Tuesday. At that point James had confiscated their wands until further notice and warned that any more of that behavior would result in two very sore bottoms.
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Jamie was practically bouncing with excitement at breakfast. Today the Weasleys were coming over, and after weeks of just his bratty brother and his parents for company, he was looking forward to the change. Harry was sulking a little; he didn't really want to see Ron, not after Ron never wrote to him like he said he would. Granted, it wasn't HIS Ron that was coming over, but still, they were still going to be the same person pretty much, right?
Harry's musings were cut off by the very noisy entrance of the Weasleys. Jamie jumped up to greet them, but Harry hung back a bit, uncomfortable.
It was Ron that first caught sight of Harry. "Bloody Hell, Harry! The papers are true, you do have a double now!" he said as his eyes widened. The entire Weasley family stopped what they were doing and were looking back and forth between Jamie and Harry.
When Mrs. Weasley snapped out of her shock, she turned her attention to her youngest son. "Ronald Weasley! Language!" she scolded.
Ron reddened and looked down. "Sorry, Mum."
Jamie elbowed Ron. "My name is Jamie now, mate. I thought you read the papers."
Harry sunk down in his seat as if trying to disappear. He didn't like the attention and he didn't want to deal with Ron not now. September first was soon enough for him and he wasn't looking forward to that either.
"So, why'd you change names? Why would you change names if you were here first?" Ron asked, a little confused.
"I wanted to be more like Dad, and use his name." Jamie said with a grin. He held back from saying he didn't like the name 'Harry'; his Mum had chosen it because she liked it and he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
It was then that Jamie noticed the small red-headed girl that had been hanging back. "Hi, Ginny!" Jamie said waving to her.
To his confusion, she simply blushed and gave a small wave back. What had happened to the straight forward, spit-fire he knew as Ginny?
Ginny was just as shocked as the rest of her family at the appearance of a second Harry. She didn't know why she blushed so much when Jamie singled her out. Lately, she had been getting strange feelings when she thought of her brother's best friend. It was ridiculous because he was still just Harry, the boy that they had known since they were small. And now there was another one... Ginny didn't know what to feel about that either.
Harry gave Ginny and the rest of the Weasley family an obligatory smile from his seat but didn't attempt to rise and greet the guests; in fact, he was simply looking for a time window that would allow him to escape and hide in his room away from everyone.
The twins surprised everyone by walking over to Harry and each grabbing an arm, lifting the boy up.
"We call this one." George said.
"We'll meet you at the Quidditch field." Fred added.
Harry gasped and looked from Fred to George. Well, that was one thing that wasn't different from his time line to this one: the twins were still the twins and it was comforting, if a bit annoying.
It wasn't long before the pick up game of Quidditch was underway. James, Remus, and Sirius joined in to make teams large enough for a decent game, and to even the teams out. Jamie and Harry were, of course, the Seekers.
Jamie scanned the field, determined to one-up his brother. He felt pretty confident that he was the better flier as Harry let it slip that he hadn't even been on a broom before his first flying lesson at Hogwarts. Jamie was puzzled about that; even if his twin didn't have his parents, wouldn't Sirius or Remus teach him? Jamie didn't dwell much on those thoughts; he wasn't interested in Harry's life in his universe. After all, his twin's life couldn't have been all that different than his, right?
Suddenly, Jamie caught sight of the flicker of gold in the corner of his eye. It was closer to Harry, so Jamie took off in another direction for a feint.
Harry's eyes scanned the pitch and his eyes caught the glimmer of something gold and then he saw his brother go the other way. He was certain that Jamie had caught glimpse of it too because it was following Jamie's line of vision that allowed Harry to spot the bit of fluttering gold to begin with.
Not wasting time in pondering the idiocy of his brother, Harry took off after the snitch that at this point he was much closer to than Jamie. Choking up on his hold of his broom, he angled it in the direction of the snitch and reached out with one hand. He could feel the wings of the coveted object brush against his fingers.
Jamie inwardly cursed as Harry started heading toward the snitch - his brother had not fallen for his feint. Quickly angling toward the snitch, he pressed his body to the broom and shot off as quickly as he could. As luck would have it, just as Harry had almost grabbed it, the snitch changed direction and started heading toward Jamie. Harry followed in close pursuit. Both boys nearly collided when the snitch changed directions again and went into a steep dive. Jamie and Harry followed closely. Finally, the snitch evened out and was slowly skimming the tops of the grass blades. The twins slowed down, and ended up side by side as they closed in on the snitch, bumping each other occasionally. Finally, the snitch was in their reach. As one, the boys closed in on the snitch, each boy grabbing a fluttering wing on either side and pulling, engaging in a tug of war with the poor snitch being used as the rope. The tugging put them both off balance and they tumbled onto the soft grassy ground as they wrestled with each other for possession of the snitch. They continued rolling around even after the momentum from the fall had worn off.
"Let go! It's mine!" Jamie shouted as he tried to pull the snitch closer.
"No, you let go! I had it first!" Harry shouted back.
Jamie pushed his hand into Harry's face, smooshing his cheek. "No, I did! Let go!" Jamie said while trying to push Harry away and pull the snitch out of his grasp.
Harry turned his head some and bit the palm of Jamie's hand as it was shoved into his face, bringing his own free hand up to blindly hit at Jamie, smacking him upside the head several times.
Jamie yelped as he pulled back his hand. Scowling at his brother, he pulled his fist back to punch the other boy.
"JAMES HAROLD POTTER! HAROLD JAMES POTTER! Stop right there!" James roared.
Both boys froze at the sound of their father's angry voice, holding some very awkward positions. James landed and made his way to the frozen twins. Lifting each boy by their arm, he stood the two up and held out his hand.
"Give me the snitch." He commanded.
Both boys opened their mouth to protest when their father gave them a withering glare. Gulping, the boys handed the snitch to their father, who pocketed it.
James then grabbed Jamie and landed five very hard swats to his bottom. Jamie yelped and rubbed his bottom as his twin received the same treatment.
"Go to your room, NOW!" James said, pointing to the house.
Then both boys scurried to the house and up to their room, not wanting to face their father's wrath, their faces flaming as they could feel everyone's eyes on them. Harry couldn't believe his dad had swatted him like that in front of everyone, Jamie on the other hand should have known better; the company of others had never before stopped their father from handing out much needed discipline.
Jamie plopped down on his bed and glared at Harry.
"This is all your fault!" he said angrily.
"How do you figure that?" Harry asked with just as much anger.
"If you had just let go of the snitch like you were supposed to, we wouldn't have had a problem." Jamie said in a huff.
"Why should I have done that? I had it first!" Harry exclaimed.
"Did not!" Jamie yelled back.
"Did t..." Harry cut of mid sentence as a pop in the corner of the room caused him to jump and turn. His eyes went wide as he stared at the large eyed floppy eared little creature wearing only a tea cosy who was staring at him from the corner of their room.
"What the... what the hell is that??" he asked in a squeaky voice.
Jamie looked at his twin oddly. "It's a house elf, haven't you ever seen one?" he said in a voice that made Harry feel very stupid. "But, what's it doing here?"
Harry sighed and glared at his brother a moment, wasn't it apparent he had never seen one if he had to ask what it was?
The creature's eye's bulged as it looked back and forth between Harry and Jamie. "Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts!" it squeaked out.
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"Great danger for Harry Potter at Hogwarts! Dobby did not know there were two Harry Potters! Harry Potter must be a great wizard indeed!" Dobby said. "Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts! Master-" Dobby's face contorted and then he started slamming himself head first into the one of the desks, knocking the contents off. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby! Mustn't tell Master's secrets!" he said while repeatedly slamming his head into the desk leg.
"Hey, hey stop that!!" Harry exclaimed "Why is he doing that?" he asked his twin helplessly.
"He's punishing himself; he probably was about to tell one of his Master's secrets." Jamie said, also a little unnerved by the house elf's actions.
Harry grumbled and lifted Dobby up, cradling the tiny elf's body against him like one would a baby.
"Stop that." Harry chided again.
When Harry set Dobby down, the creature's huge eyes watered. "Harry Potter is a great wizard!" he wailed. "To spare a lowly house elf like Dobby from his rightful punishment..."
Harry tried not to be distracted, and focused on the first thing that Dobby had said. "What do you mean 'great danger at Hogwarts'? Does it have anything to do with Vol- I mean You-know-who?"
"No... Not He-who-must-not-be-named, sir-" Dobby's eyes were wide as if he were giving Harry a hint. "If Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal peril! Harry Potter is much too important." Dobby seemed to think a bit. "Both of them!"
"We have to go to Hogwarts though!" Jamie exclaimed. "How else will be learn magic?"
"Harry Potter must promise! Promise not to return to Hogwarts." Dobby continued as if he hadn't heard Jamie.
"Bloody hell! We can't promise that!" Jamie spluttered, and Harry nodded his head in agreement.
Dobby looked downcast. "Then Harry Potter leaves Dobby no choice." Pulling out two very familiar sticks, the house elf began to bend them dangerously.
"Hey, those are our wands! Give them back!" Jamie said while lunging at Dobby.
Dobby dodged and jumped on one of the book shelves, knocking things down as he scampered away from the angry boy. Harry chased after Dobby when he saw his twin miss. The next several minutes were spent much the same way, with the room becoming more and more chaotic as the boys frantically tried to catch the fast moving house elf.
The boys stood, panting, waiting to see which way Dobby would move next, when suddenly the elf raised a single finger and singed the walls and furniture a little, making it look spell-damaged.
The boys didn't have time to puzzle this out because Dobby suddenly smiled at them triumphantly and snapped his fingers once before disappearing, leaving behind the wands.
Both boys rushed to retrieve their wand, somehow knowing which one was theirs even though they were identical.
It was at that moment that their father stepped through the door.
"What is going on here?" James asked thunderously. The twins stood frozen as they realized what it looked like.
Then they started talking at once.
"Dad! There was this barmy house elf and..."
"There was this really weird creature and it said..."
"I don't want to hear it!" James cut the two off. "What did I say would happen if I caught you two hexing each other again?" James asked dangerously. "Not to mention that you both sneaked out to get your wands back!"
Jamie's eyes widened. "Noooo, Dad! Please! It wasn't us!"
Harry looked panicked and his heart thudded in his chest; it wasn't that he wasn't used to getting into trouble for things he hadn't done but he had so hoped things would be different here. In deep contrast to his brother, who was trying to explain it wasn't them, Harry stood silent and wide-eyed. He had long ago learned not to try and profess innocence even if he was in fact innocent.
James simply pulled the desk chair out from its clutter to the center of the room and sat down. "James Harold, come here and bare your bottom. Harold James, you wait on the bed for your turn." James said sternly. As an afterthought, he waved his wand and cleared off Harry's bed.
"Oh, and one more thing. Wands." James said while holding out his hand.
Harry and Jamie both handed their wand back over to their angry father, and Harry quickly scurried on to the bed looking rather frightened.
Jamie looked at his father and after handing over his wand he backed away from him.
"We didn't do it Dad!" he protested.
"I don't want to hear it, Jamie! There wasn't anyone else in the room." James leveled his son with a stern gaze. "You are in enough trouble as it is, don't make it worse by lying. Bare your bottom and lie over my lap, or I use the belt instead of the hairbrush like I had planned."
"Dad, it was a house elf... he popped out, he set us up! Dad, you have to believe me!" Jamie begged though he did inch closer to his father, not wishing to feel the belt.
"Jamie! Why in Merlin's name would a house elf do that? Now stop making up stories! I'll give you to the count of three before I take off my belt. One..." James counted.
"Dad I swear, he came! He said he didn't want us to go back to Hogwarts and when we told him we were going back he set us up!" Jamie argued.
"Jamie, I don't want to hear it! You would have already gotten a spanking with the slipper for that fight outside, but for using magic and hexing each other, you are going to get a good dose of the hairbrush as well. Now, two..." James held out two fingers as he counted.
"NOOO! Dad, I swear!!! It wasn't us it was a house-elf his name was..." Jamie wracked his mind to remember the name, sure that if he could give his father the elf's name that he would believe him. Unfortunately stopping and thinking made Jamie look as if he was trying to make up a believable name rather then remember an actual one.
"His name was Dobby!!" He blurted out.
"Three! That's it, you're getting a mouth soaping after this as well! I'm not just going to sit here and listen to your lies." James said as he aimed his wand at Jamie's mouth and muttered a spell and immediately Jamie's mouth was full of foul tasting suds as the spell washed out his mouth. Jamie gagged as the spell ran it's course and was careful not to spit; the spell ending was little relief seeing as he still had a spanking coming when it was over. James waited for Jamie to recover before he took off his belt.
Jamie's eyes went wide as his father removed his belt.
"No, Dad, please!! Please don't whip me! I'll.. I'll b-bare my bum, please!!" Jamie begged.
"Too late!" James said as he pulled Jamie over his lap. Pulling out his wand, he bared Jamie's bottom for him.
"NO!! Dad, please!!" James squirmed over his father's lap. The entire thing was so unfair!
James was undeterred by his son's struggles; he waved his wand and summoned a slipper from underneath the mess. Placing the belt to the side, he clamped onto the squirming boy and brought the slipper down on the upturned bottom. SMACK!
Jamie let out a loud yelp. His father rarely ever started out with anything other than his hand and the slipper bit painfully into his bum cheeks.
James lit into Jamie's bottom at a furious pace, bringing the slipper down sharply on the rapidly reddening bottom.
"Why are you getting this spanking Jamie?" James questioned as he continued to lay on stinging smacks with the slipper.
Jamie wriggled about, his bottom stinging madly "OWWW! Daddd!!!!" he yelped out.
"OWWWW!! Because you d-don't believe us!" He cried.
Harry had managed to get himself into the very corner of his bed where it was pushed up against the wall, his face hiding in his knees which were pulled to his chest and his hands over his ears as he tried to drown out the sound of his brother being spanked.
James lifted his leg and brought the slipper down on the exposed sit spot. "That is not the answer I'm looking for, James Harold!"
Jamie wailed loudly and bucked on his father's lap.
"OOWWWWW!!!! D-daddddddd!!" he cried in protest.
"I'm waiting for an answer, James Harold!" James said as he continued to concentrate stinging smacks to Jamie's sit spot.
Jamie couldn't help but cry at the pain and injustice of his situation.
"B-Because - OOWW!! - because m-me and Harry were fighting." he ground out.
James resumed spanking the rest of the bottom. "That's right! You two have been at each other's throats for the last week! I am sick and tired of it!"
Jamie whimpered and bit in his bottom lip to keep from crying out further, remembering he was in front of his brother. He didn't want to seem like a complete baby and he realized he had already made quite the spectacle of himself; he couldn't see that Harry had curled himself up in the corner of his bed as if trying to disappear.
James waited until Jamie's bottom had reached an acceptable red before he put the slipper down and reached for the belt and doubled it up. Patting Jamie's very red bottom with the belt, he said, "Alright Jamie, just five more with the belt and then we're done."
Jamie cried miserably over his father's lap as the slipper heated his bottom until it felt like he was never going to be able to sit again.
'NOO, Dad, please!! Please don't whip meee, please!!!" He was begging and he didn't even care anymore that his brother was there - he didn't want the belt!
"Please, Daddy pleasee!" he cried.
"Jamie! I already told you what would happen, you still chose not to obey me." James said. Not wanting to put it off anymore, he once again lifted his leg and aimed all five swats at Jamie's sit spot.
"You SMACK! will SMACK! not SMACK! disobey SMACK! me!" James punctuated each word with a heavy swat. "Is that understood?"
Jamie sobbed as the belt licked his sit spots over and over again. It hurt worse than anything else his father spanked him with and it was saved for the most severe offenses: that just made him sob harder - he hadn't been lying!
"Y-Yes, sirrr." he managed.
"Good!" James said as he landed one last tremendous swat, and then was done.
Jamie howled piteously as the last smack fell, and he collapsed over his father's lap feeling hurt (in more than just his bottom) and drained.
James rubbed his son's back. He felt bad for being so harsh with Jamie, but the boy just had to learn. Fighting and lying were unacceptable, as well as disobedience. James waited until Jamie's sobs had subsided before pulling the boy into his lap, James spread his legs a little so that Jamie's bottom could rest between them. He continued to rub the boy's back and also began to rock him a little.
Jamie stiffened in his father's lap instead of snuggling into him like he normally would after a spanking; resentment, confusion and hurt flowed off him in waves.
James was confused. Normally Jamie would calm down after a spanking, but instead he was getting more and more upset. James felt a little guilty about being so harsh, but Jamie's actions warranted it. Fighting, using magic to hex his brother, making a mess of the room, disobeying the order to bare his bottom, and on top of all that, he tried to lie with some outrageous story!
Jamie arched away from his father instead of into him as he usually would, and he squirmed to be let off his lap. He didn't want comfort from the man who had hurt him, he felt so betrayed.
James tried to pull Jamie close despite the fact the the boy had tensed up. "Hey, what's wrong? You're forgiven, like always after the punishment." James said gently, thinking that Jamie was feeling bad from guilt.
Jamie stiffened more and struggled against his father's grasp but he didn't say anything.
James sighed and helped Jamie stand up and right his clothes. "You can go lie on your bed while I deal with your brother."
Jamie quickly scurried over to his bed and tossed himself down on his stomach, pushing his face into his pillow.
Harry was still scrunched up in the corner of his bed, his knees pressed tightly to his chest with his face hidden in his knees and his hands pressed firmly over his ears.
James noticed the state that Harry was in, but he steeled his resolve. He had to be firm! "Come here, Harry. I want you to bare your bottom and lie over my lap. You do NOT want to disobey me." he said sternly.
Harry only vaguely registered his name being called and the order being issued. He slowly unfurled himself and slid off his bed, making his way over to his father. His body shook and he bit his bottom lip as shaky hands came to mechanically undo snaps and zippers before pulling clothing down and leaving bare skin. He then laid himself over his father's lap, a definite note of withdrawal in his demeanor. He had become used to being punished when he had done nothing wrong and so he had learned to go some place else deep within himself to cope.
He had so hoped things would be different here but, seeing as they didn't seem to be, he was glad at least he had honed this ability.
James was alarmed by the change in his son. He had expected a reaction similar to Jamie's, especially given how he had reacted the first time he had spanked him, but it could not be more different. James realized that punishments might affect the two differently considering Harry's past and the severity of this punishment in comparison to the last one. Deciding to reassure the boy, he rubbed his back gently. "Hey, it's going to be alright. It will hurt, but you will be forgiven when it's over, and you know that I still love you, right?" he said gently; his stern demeanor slid right off, leaving behind a concerned and alarmed parent.
Harry shifted a little over the man's lap but said nothing. The words only served to make his chest feel tight. How could he say he loved him when he wouldn't believe him and was punishing him for something he had not done? That was what the Dursleys had done and there was no mistaking the fact that they did not love him. He took a deep breath and tried harder to withdraw more completely to a place were he wouldn't even have to hear his father.
James sighed; he really didn't want to spank Harry when he was like this, but he had no choice. He brought the slipper down on the upturned bottom with it sharp SMACK!
Harry closed his eyes tight and bit his bottom lip. Though he didn't make a sound, he managed to go some place else in his head, the pain still registered.
James wanted to get the spanking over with so he lit into Harry's bottom at a furious pace, covering the entire bottom.
Harry sucked in a deep breath and squirmed a bit, his eyes still screwed shut.
James was more than a bit alarmed at Harry's lack of response, but he plowed on with the punishment. When Harry's bottom had reached an acceptable shade of red, James transfigured the slipper into a hairbrush. He tapped the brush gently on the flaming bottom to let Harry know of the change in implements.
The only indication Harry gave to feeling the change was a slight whimper from the back if his throat; he had yet to cry out or shed a tear.
James proceeded to paddle Harry's bright red bottom with the hairbrush, paying special attention to the sit spots.
"What is this spanking for, Harry?" James' question was heavy-laden with sharp stinging swats from the hair brush.
Harry's feet drummed against the ground but it was more of his body's natural reflexes then any conscious effort on his part to get away. It took a moment to realize he was being asked a question.
Taking a deep breath, he spoke as if reading from a script. "For fighting."
James frowned. He was confused - he expected Harry to be in tears by now for he had already taken a harder spanking than he was previously given. James continued on, eager to end the spanking. "That's right! I've told you boys repeatedly not to fight, and not only did you do that in front of guests, but you two fought with magic! You're not even supposed to be performing magic outside school!" James scolded as he landed a flurry of swats to Harry's sit spot.
Harry hissed in a breath as pain flooded him and he tried to tune out the lecture. It hurt too much to hear the reasons he was being spanked; for some reason it hurt so much more now to be punished when he didn't do something here than it had in his own time line, though he didn't want to analyze that right now. He just wanted the spanking to be over.
James sighed. Harry's bottom was a deep crimson, and Harry had still yet to shed a tear. James decided that Harry had had enough. "Alright Harry, ten more and then we're finished."
James aimed that last ten hard swats on Harry's sit spot and then he set the hairbrush aside.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut and dug his fingernails into his palms, letting out another small whimper of distress as the brush set his sitting spot even more ablaze and he couldn't help but think how unfair it was.
James rubbed Harry's back for a few minutes and then pulled the boy into his lap, hoping to have better success with Harry than with Jamie.
Harry hissed a bit as he was moved and his sore bottom protested. He didn't fight his father nor did he lean into the embrace. His eyes wet, though no tears had fallen, he stared fixated in a spot on the far wall.
James couldn't help but feel helpless as he couldn't figure out what was wrong with his little boy. After rocking the boy gently, he set Harry down and helped him right his clothes.
"Okay, Harry, you can lie down now. I'm going to tell the Weasleys that you'll play with them another day. You two just rest now." James said as he got up to leave.
Harry climbed into his bed and, just like Jamie, he lied on his stomach with his face in his pillow.
After James had left, Jamie turned his head toward Harry. He was shocked at what he saw, expecting Harry to be in tears. Instead, his brother looked so... blank.
"It's really not fair." Jamie said with a pout, wanting to break the silence.
Harry shrugged, his thin frame shaking. He opened his mouth as if to speak but no words came; if he tried to say something, the flood gates would open and he wouldn't be able to stop the pent up sobs.
Jamie was completely unnerved by his twin's response. Without thinking he blurted out, "I'm sorry!"
Harry looked over at Jamie in surprise, his eyes shining with tears desperate to fall, his bottom lip quivering with an attempt to keep them at bay.
"W-why?" Harry croaked out.
"It's my fault, I've been baiting you all week. If it wasn't for the constant bickering, we would have only gotten those few warning swats. I... I've been so jealous of you since you came." Jamie admitted.
Harry shook his head, the action causing welled up tears to run in a zagged line down his cheek one, landing on his nose.
"I thought it was so unfair, you were taking all the attention of our parents and Uncles, and on top of all that, they let you get away with anything. When you got spanked by Uncle Sev and Dad, I... I enjoyed it! I thought it was only right that you were punished like I would have been if I pulled any of the stunts you did. I'm sorry, I was being a prat when I rubbed it in your face." Jamie said, the words just streaming out. All the pent up hurt and resentment dissipated at the admission.
Harry couldn't help it; in that moment the flood gates opened and he started to sob, copious amounts of tears rolling down his cheeks, his chest heaving with hitched breaths.
"I'm...I'm nothing to be jealous of," he said through tears.
"I was jealous of y-you! You got to have parents that care and I didn't think they c-could ever care for me like that, e-especially when they wouldn't discipline me f-for anything, I didn't think they cared. You are the lucky one." Harry admitted.
Jamie stared at Harry incredulously. "You WANTED them to discipline you? You must be barmy. Didn't the Uncle Sirius of your world ever discipline you?"
Harry shook his head.
"There was no Sirius in my world. No Remus either, only Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and Dudley..." Harry said.
Jamie's eyebrows furrowed. "The magic-hating Aunt Petunia? That must have been harsh."
Harry nodded and went on to explain what things were like for him: everything from living in the cupboard, to being starved, to the nasty Snape. By the time he was done, his nose was stuffed from crying and, though he didn't know when it had happened, his brother was sitting next to him with an arm around his shoulder.
Jamie couldn't help it, his brother was hurting and he wanted to help. Ignoring how unmanly it was, Jamie pulled Harry into a hug when the other boy had finished. "Well you have a family now, you'll never have to go back there!" Jamie said fiercely.
Harry found himself clinging to his brother, crying into his shoulder until he had no more tears left to cry.
"He didn't believe us. I mean, I am used to being punished for things I didn't do but I had really hoped it would be different here." Harry admitted.
Jamie gave a sigh; despite how hurt and angry he was with his father, he knew that he had to make Harry see that their father hadn't done it out of spite. "Harry, this was a freak occurrence. You have to admit our story did seem a little unbelievable." Jamie explained, "Dad didn't do it to hurt us, he just didn't believe us because the evidence was stacked against us. That house elf did a very good job at framing us."
"But he didn't even give us the benefit of the doubt, he just assumed we were lying." Harry shook his head, betrayal clear on his face.
"It hurt," he added helplessly.
"I know, it's not fair, and I'm mad at Dad about that. But... but I still love him. And he loves us. As mad as I am at him, I know I should forgive him. It will take time... but he always forgives my mistakes." Jamie tried to explain; he didn't want Harry to have bad feelings toward their father.
Harry gave a small nod of understanding and, raising his glasses, he swiped a hand across his face before leaning into his brother, each seeking comfort from the other.
oOoOoOoOoOo
James sighed as he took another shot of firewhiskey and quickly downed it. He moved to refill it when a hand grabbed the bottle. Obsidian eyes burrowed into brown ones.
"Isn't it a little early to be drinking?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not for this occasion. I really need a stiff drink or two. Gimmie!" James said while making a grab for the bottle.
Severus easily evaded James' attempt.
"Elucidate." Severus said while holding the bottle out of James' reach.
James simply glared at Severus, but complied anyway. "My children hate me, I think that's cause to get drunk."
Instead of denying James' claim, Severus simply asked, "Why do you think they hate you?"
"I punished them pretty harshly. They made up this cock and bull story of some rogue house elf destroying their room. They clung to their story, even after I threatened to punish them more harshly. I ended up giving Jamie the belt over a good spanking with the slipper." James lamented as he draped an arm across his eyes.
"They both agreed on the same story?" Severus asked, surprised. "I thought they wouldn't even agree that the sky was blue. Are you sure that they were lying?"
"What else could it be? House elves just don't go around wreaking havoc like that! They even made up a name! Dobby! What a ridiculous name for a house elf!" James ranted.
"Dobby... Dobby... I've heard that before." Severus' eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. With a start he looked up. "The Malfoys have a house elf named Dobby, I remember that it used to come and serve Lucius in the Slytherin common room."
James looked up, his mouth in a perfect 'O'. "Do you think they were telling the truth then? How can we be sure?"
Severus looked at James as if he were a very dim child. "Have you forgotten that I am a Legilimens?"
James looked like he had been hit with a board, but recovered quickly. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
James said as he raced up the stairs. Severus followed at a more sedate pace.
oOoOoOoOoOo
The twins both looked up when the door burst open and their father entered the room panting. Both boys eyed the man with a bit of distrust and hurt. Soon after, Severus walked through the door.
"Uncle Sev?" Jamie said curiously.
"I'm here to verify your story. Look into my eyes, Jamie." Severus instructed.
Jamie blinked before looking his uncle in the eyes and Harry frowned.
"A little late for that!" Harry snapped.
Severus ignored Harry's outburst and delved into Jamie's mind. Finding the incident he had been looking for, he withdrew.
"What they said was true. A house elf named Dobby not only caused the mess, but he brought their wands out and made it look like the walls and furniture were spell damaged." Severus said as he turned to James.
James slumped into the desk chair and buried his hands in his face. He took a few moments to collect himself. "I'm so sorry, boys. I should have listened to you. Can you... Can you ever forgive me?" James said, his voice filled with remorse.
Harry didn't say anything; he didn't even look at his father. He wasn't sure what to do or say at the moment as he felt rather conflicted.
Jamie on the other hand didn't seem so tongue-tied; he had, after all, gotten the far harsher punishment of the two.
"Maybe you need a spanking," he said only half joking.
Severus raised an eyebrow at the suggestion though he supposed the idea did have its merit even if it was a tad unconventional and maybe a bit more than ridiculous.
James looked wide-eyed and then bit his bottom lip before saying, "Fine... if you will forgive me I will take a spanking." After all, he had always taught the children once the spanking was over all was forgiven.
Severus looked at James incredulously. "You would submit to a spanking?" he asked
James clenched his jaw, determined. He nodded at Severus in way of answer. He then looked at his sons. "If I do this, will you consider forgiving me?" he asked with sad eyes.
Harry looked up, completely shocked. If his father was willing to take a spanking, if he felt so bad about what he had done that he would submit to punishment... Well, then, maybe Jamie was right; their Dad had just made a huge mistake and did love them. He was the first of the two to speak up.
"Yes." Harry said simply with a nod.
"Yeah." Jamie agreed.
James nodded at Severus, deciding to let his friend call the shots. "I don't believe you two should watch." Severus said while looking at the twins.
Jamie frowned and gave a disappointed sigh, but Harry just nodded; he didn't particularly want to see his father being spanked.
"We'll go in the other room, I'll charm it so that you can hear perfectly what is happening." Severus explained, and then he turned to James. "I think it should be with the belt, on the bare." Severus stated.
James' eyes bulged. He hadn't been spanked like that since his father caught him in the liquor cabinet when he was sixteen. But upon reflection... He HAD used the belt on Jamie, and James was much older, it did seem fitting that he receive the belt for his spanking.
James gave a grim nod, and the two left the room. Severus paused at the entrance of the room and cast the charm needed for the boys to hear what would be happening in the other room.
When they both entered the neighboring room, Severus pulled off his belt. James gulped as it brought back some rather unpleasant flashbacks from his teenage years.
"Bare your bottom and bend over the bed." Severus commanded in a voice he usually reserved for the children.
James took a deep breath, his face taking on a red color as he fiddled with the button and zipper on his pants before allowing them to slide down. He then pushed his boxers down, his face flaming with embarrassment, and he quickly bent over the bed to preserve some modesty.
Severus stood a good distance away for the maximum swing. He brought his arm back in preparation. "Ready?" He asked.
"As I'll ever be." James answered. He felt a shiver up his spine and he steeled himself for the pain he knew would come. He knew the belt hurt like nothing else and that Sev must have also thought he really screwed up to suggest it, and he agreed. The guilt was eating him up and he hoped the spanking would alleviate it a bit, as well as get his sons to forgive him.
As soon as he got the 'go ahead', Severus swiftly brought the belt down on the quivering upturned bottom. SWISH-CRACK!
James let out a gasp as the belt hit, his breath catching in his chest for a moment. Unprepared for the pain, he couldn't help but react.
"Ah! Merlin, Sev, you have a mean swing!" he said.
Severus ignored James' words and brought the belt down again. SWISH-CRACK!
James jerked a bit at the next swat but managed to remain silent, more prepared for the pain this time.
Severus then landed the next three swats in rapid succession, covering the entire bottom. SWISH-CRACK! SWISH-CRACK! SWISH-CRACK!
That was more then James could take and he let out a loud pain-filled yipe, very undignified and, if you asked him, humiliating.
Severus continued to paint James' bottom a shade of red. Going up and down the bottom and then over again, he quickly turned James' bottom a bright red.
"What is this spanking for, James?" Severus had to speak up to be heard over the sound of the belt impacting James' bottom.
James couldn't help the random yelps pouring from his lips. Severus really knew how to wield a belt! It stung and burned and he could feel the guilt rise in him again; he had whipped Jamie with the belt for lying when he was indeed telling the truth - he deserved this, he knew he did, and even as the tears filled his eyes, betraying him by diving over the sides of his eyes and rolling down his cheeks, he resolved to take what was his due.
He groaned hearing the question, if that wasn't the ultimate indignation... He took a deep breath.
"Not trusting the b-boys and sp-spanking them for something they d-didn't do..." He managed to get out.
"That's right, you know the boys aren't prone to lying. You should have at least given them the benefit of the doubt! Instead you blithely dismissed their side of the story and assumed they were lying!" Severus said as he laid into James' sensitive sit spot, landing five hard swats there. SWISH-CRACK! SWISH-CRACK! SWISH-CRACK! SWISH-CRACK! SWISH-CRACK!
James sobbed in pain and remorse. Try as he might to accept his punishment, he couldn't help but wriggle about; the sting was just so intense he couldn't lay still for it, but though his feet drummed against the floor and his arse wriggled about as it desperately sought relief from the sting, he made no real attempt to interfere.
"MMM OWWW!! I know, I'm S-Sorryy!" He cried.
Severus panted slightly from the exertion, he waited a moment to catch his breath. Tapping the belt to James' bottom he said. "Alright, James, ten more and then we're done."
James couldn't help the whimper the escaped at that proclamation though he didn't doubt he deserved it in the least. But he was already so sore. He took in a deep hitched breath and nodded in understanding, hiding his face in his arms, pushing his glasses tightly against his face.
Severus brought the swats down on the deep red bottom. He aimed them all at James' sit spot, and winced as he acknowledged that James would not be sitting comfortably for the next week.
James howled into his arms and sobbed hard as the belt hit the same sensitive spot over and over again, bringing the sting and burn up to an unbearable level. His feet drummed hard against the floor as he bucked and writhed.
Severus slid the belt back into the hoops of his pants. "It's over now, James. You can get up." He said and then waited for the other man to calm himself.
James sobbed into his arms for a good while before stumbling to his feet and fumbling with his clothing, yelping as the fabric brushed his swollen arse.
Severus put his arm around James to steady him. "Come on, why don't you go see your children before you go lie down?"
James nodded, leaning a bit into Severus, grateful for both the comfort and support.
"Shite, S-Sev that hurt!!" He said, one hand reaching back to rub the sting.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Jamie grinned in anticipation as he waited for his Uncle Sev to begin, finally it seemed the shoe was on the other foot. He had always scoffed when his parents and Uncles had said 'this hurts me more than it does you' before a spanking. The only said that because they weren't the ones being spanked!
"Ready?" He heard his Uncle Sev ask.
"As I'll ever be." He heard his father reply.
SWISH-CRACK!
Jamie nearly jumped out of his skin when the first blow landed.
Harry yipped himself, hearing the first lash fall and looked rather less than thrilled.
"That sounded like it hurt," he said to Jamie, who all of a sudden didn't look so gung-ho about this entire thing either.
Jamie's smile quickly faded from his face. He couldn't help but feel sympathy pains for his father. Suddenly, he was very glad that he wasn't watching his father get whipped.
Jamie licked his dry lips. "Yeah, it did."
Harry frowned as the next lick landed and as soon as his father started yelping and crying out, he put his hands over his ears and looked at Jamie with worried eyes.
Jamie followed his twin's example: he tried to block out sound, but it was so loud, it might have well have been right next to him. His heart ached for the pain he knew his father was going though. Each lash tore a little at his heart. Jamie suddenly understand what his parents and Uncles had meant. They hadn't enjoyed inflicting pain on him, it hurt them to hurt him. Tears ran down his face as he wished more than anything he could take back his stupid suggestion.
Harry could feel the tears prickle his own eyes and start to run down his cheeks and he moved closer to Jamie, seeking comfort from his brother as well as offering it to him as it seemed very much as if he was feeling the same way he was.
The Potter boys spent the next several minutes much the same way, holding each other and flinching at every lick. It was a great relief when they heard their Uncle Sev proclaim that their father would receive ten last strokes. They both wanted it to end.
Finally, after ten very hard licks, Severus said that it was over. The pair collapsed against each other in relief. Their hearts nearly broke as they heard their father's heavy sobs.
Long minutes later, the door to their room opened. They weren't prepared for what they saw. Their proud father was nearly stumbling though the door, even with Uncle Sev's help. When the pair reached the twins, James slid out of Sev's grasp and onto his knees so that he was at eye level with the boys.
"Can you forgive me?" James asked desperately.
Both Harry and Jamie threw their arms around their father at the same time and cried into his shoulders. The two nodded as they buried their faces into their father's shoulders. James sagged in relief and then gathered the two into a tight embrace.
"I'm so sorry." James choked out, and to his horror tears were streaming out from his eyes.
Both boys clung to him relieved that it all was over.
"I'm s-sorry Dad, I never should have suggested that." Jamie said through his own tears.
James shook his head. "No, son you were right. I did deserve it. Besides, it's a small price to pay for your forgiveness."
"It was really hard to listen to." Jamie told him with a sniffle.
Harry was clinging to James so tightly his knuckles were yellowing with his efforts and he was sobbing quietly into the man's chest. He had yet to say anything.
James ruffled both the boys' hair. "Well, let me tell you, it wasn't exactly easy to take." Pulling his boys closer to him, he said, "Let's not do this again. The next time I think you're just telling me a tale, I'll call Sev first." James tried to make his voice light hearted.
Severus' voice broke the family moment. "Yes, that's me, the human lie detector," he said dryly.
Jamie couldn't help a small giggle at his uncle as he snuggled close to his dad. Harry simply kept on clinging and quietly sobbing.
Severus gave Jamie a mock glare, before he turned to leave. "I'm going to go get some salve for your bottoms. I'll be back shortly," he said as he left.
Harry peeked up from his father's shoulder, tears still streaming down his cheeks. "We get s-salve?" he asked, confused.
James had caught onto what Severus was getting at. "Yes, just a little though. You earned sore bottoms for your fight on the Quidditch field, but not for what Dobby did. It won't take away all the sting, but most of it, though." James explained.
Harry looked taken aback. He was used to getting punished for things he hadn't done, but no one had tried to fix it once it happened. He dove back into the crook of his fathers neck and started to sob all over again.
James surreptitiously cast a featherlight charm on both boys and then lifted them up and onto Jamie's bed. James winced as his sore bottom made contact with the bed, but pushed the pain aside. He carded his hand through Harry's black locks, trying to calm the boy.
The breath hitched in Harry's chest and he snuggled closely. "S-Sorry." he mumbled.
"Shh" James said. He gave Jamie a look and the child seemed to know exactly what his dad was saying. Jamie nodded his okay to his father who maneuvered Harry's small frame against his hip and laid Jamie down on his bed and kissed his head before carrying Harry over to his bed and sitting with the boy in his lap.
James rocked Harry, sensing the boy was just over emotional over everything that had happened that afternoon and just needed a little extra TLC, content to just hold his son close to him.
"It's okay, Harry. We are okay, right?" James asked.
Harry nodded, sniffling loudly.
"I think we could all do with a nap." James declared. "Even me," he added.
Harry nodded but continued to cling to James' chest. James didn't seem to mind as he rocked the child, rubbing his back until he could hear his breathing evening out. When Harry was asleep, James carefully bared his bottom and applied the salve before changing the boy's clothes into pajamas. He smiled, seeing Severus had done the same for Jamie.
When both boys were settled, Severus and James headed out of their room.
"Don't suppose I could get some of that." James said, cocking his head towards the jar of salve Severus was putting back into his pocket.
Severus raised an eyebrow at James and shook his head before heading off down the hall.
"Well, it was worth a shot." James said to no on in particular as he gave his bottom a rub and headed off to his own bed for some rest.