CHAPTER 16-TIME TO PAY THE PIPER
Albus felt that discussions were overwith, it was time to let the kids quit sweating and let them know what their lives were going to be like for the next few weeks.
"Please give me your attention because this information is important to you if you don't want to repeat any of the punishments that will be assigned to you today. We all want to impress upon you that what you have done is not even close to the regular rule breaking that usually happens with students."
"This is serious, very serious, and we want you to have plenty of time to re-evaluate your actions. With that in mind..."
"You will each be on detention for the next three weeks, AND, that includes weekends," said Albus.
You could hear the silent groans coming from the kids, but they made sure not to be very loud about it. It was a good thing because the next statement really shook them up.
"You will be supervised by Mr. Filch. He will not be punishing you, or harassing you, only escorting you, watching over you, answering any questions you might have. He will be supervising you to see that you are present and doing what you have been directed to do. In fact he plans on finishing a few books that he has not had time to read, while you work."
"If you do not follow directions, or if you act out he will report your mis-behavior to Professor McGonagall who is handling the detention part of your punishment. And if you don't want the professor to apply some personal attention to you with her nasty ruler, I would not tempt fate.
The kids were watching and listening to the Head Master with open mouths. They had never seen him talk this long without that twinkle in his eye. He was definitely not happy with them and they were a bit afraid.
Albus continued, "The first two hours after lunch on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, will be changed to special classes that we feel you may need in the future to protect yourselves. From what you have already experienced, you are definitely not ready to take on Death Eaters."
"You will be in bed, and that means IN THE BED, by nine o'clock each night. While you might think this is early then remember that you will report at six in the morning, EACH MORNING, to Professor Longbottom out on the front steps of the castle for fitness training. The fitness training will be for the rest of the summer and is considered part of your new training program," continued Albus in his best 'listen-or-else' voice.
"You will be present for all meals, no exceptions, except those signed by Madam Pomfrey."
Albus let that sink in for a moment then continued, "For the next three weeks your detention time will take the place of your free time. That means no Hogsmeade, no flying, at this moment the House Elves are confiscating all your games and recreational reading material from your common room and trunks. If you desire to read, you can read your text books. You will leave your common room for class, meals, detention or when summoned, and that is all."
"You will serve these detentions as a group. Each morning you will find your detention assignment posted on your bulletin board, " stated Albus.
"This afternoon when you finished with lunch you will be escorted by Mr. Filch to Professor Snape's classroom. There are about ten barrels of recent kill that need to be process and pickled for next years classes."
There are other special projects that we will assign to you, such as helping Professor Sprout Harvest her huge and wonderful crop of Mimbulus Mimbletonia." a groan was heard from Neville.
Albus smiled then continued, "This is a very valuable plant that allows us to make many of our own potions but ALAS it does tend to smell like rancid manure."
"It will be wonderful to have your help this year, as we usually have to hire people to come in and do these yearly Hogwarts chores to prepare for the students arrival. This year you will be able to sit at the welcoming feast and take pride in the fact that you helped to make it happen."
"But"..."To start off, today you will each receive a spanking."
Things really became silent after those poisonous words were uttered. Those words brought home everything that Albus had shared with them concerning the seriousness of their actions.
All the students were watching their feet and blushing brightly.
Albus continued, "After that you may go to your dorm until lunch, which you will eat in the Great Hall, and you WILL be on time. Then Mr. Filch will escort you to Professor Snape's classroom."
"Do you have any questions?"
The kids were literally in shock and had not absorbed even half of the information that Professor Dumbledore shared with them. He figured they wouldn't and that was why he would post their schedule each day on their bulletin board.
Many of them stopped listening when they heard the word "spanking". Albus figured they would catch on to the schedule soon enough as three weeks is a long time when you are not having fun.
"Since there are no questions we will begin. As an adult calls your name you will accompany them to one of the many rooms, offices or classrooms that they may direct you to."
With that Arthur stood up and said, "Ron and Percy go to my rooms and wait for me there."
Then Molly stood and said, "Ginny and Hermonie, you will stay here as we will be using Professor McGonagall's class room."
Alice turned to the kids saying, "Neville and Luna, you will come with me please" and she led them out heading to her class room.
Lupin rose and said, "Fred and George, follow me" and they headed to his office.
Severus turned to Draco and said, "Draco give Harry a pair of your sweats and change into them. Then show Harry where my study is and you both stay there. I will be there presently."
Minerva turned to Molly and said, "It's in the top drawer if you need it".
"Thanks Minerva, I will put it to good use," replied Molly.
With that Minerva left the room to go have tea with Albus in his office. When Albus arrived one of the House Elves brought Cassy up to visit with them while the adults were busy with the kids. They didn't want to upset her and they figured there might be a lot of yelling going on in the castle presently.
Alice would have a different type of talk with Cassy later in an effort to help her see how dangerous her actions were.
Albus sent word to the House Elves and ghosts to ignore the yelling for the next half hour as punishments were taking place and he was aware of them.
Harry and Draco walked slowly toward the dungeon. Harry was not feeling very good. The victory feeling he had a couple days ago was long gone. He knew what Snape had promised him and he was sure that he would not change his mind.
Draco was silent also but for different reasons. There was no doubt in his mind what was ahead of them but he didn't want to scare Harry. Draco had been spanked by Severus before and he knew how tough his hand was. This time Draco was sure he would see more than Severus' hand, more like the paddle or most likely the hair brush. However you looked at it, there was nothing pleasant about it.
They arrived at Snape's quarters, they changed into sweats then Draco showed Harry where the study was. He also shared with him that if he had to use the restroom he had better take the opportunity. "I know when I get nervous I have to go more," said Draco.
They went in and sat on the couch in silence, waiting for Severus to arrive.
Severus didn't look forward to this at all. He had to do all he could to keep his temper in check. He got so upset every time he thought about how close the two brats came to dying that he wanted to kill them. He knew it didn't make much sense but it was how he felt.
He had to remember his job was to make sure they were able to make better choices next time because he might not be able to always be there for them.
He hung up his cloak, rolled up his sleeves then stopped by his bedroom and picked up the hair brush. This was one of those times where there was no question about what implement to use to send the message home. He took a deep breath, counted to ten, then walked into his study.
Severus usually would make it a point to talk with the boys first, explaining the offence and the cost of their action, but this time was different.
Severus began by saying, "Professor Dumbledore pretty much said it all earlier, and you had your chance to add anything you wanted to say. Have you remembered anything since then that you want to share with me?"
Both boys were silent. There was nothing they could say after Dumbledore had laid out the facts. The facts made them look pretty stupid, and also explained very clearly how dangerous it was.
The fact that Cassy could have been killed almost destroyed Harry. He didn't' think that even a spanking would help him forgive himself for that.
"I want to remind you what you are being punished for. First; for direct and flagrant disobedience. Secondly; you are being punished for putting your life, and the lives of others in danger when you had other choices available to you.
"Harry, would you please go out in the hall and wait until I call you in. Draco, come over here please."
Harry went out in the hall and shut the door. He stood there for the longest time, leaning against the wall, sweating and worried, but he never heard a thing. Snape must have put up a spell for silence so that sound would not leave the room. That gave him some comfort in that he would not make a fool of himself in front of Draco.
A little while later Draco came out rubbing his bottom and it was obvious he was crying. He walked to the bathroom and shut the door. Then Harry heard the dreaded words from Severus,..."Harry come in now".
Harry shut the door, and Severus pointed his wand at it uttering the silencing charm.
Then said to Harry, "Come over here Harry."
Harry walked over to him slowly, but really he wanted to hit the door running and not stopping until he could hide somewhere. When he got to Severus, who was sitting in a stiff up-right chair with no arms, Severus said, "Lower your pants and your shorts Harry, this will be on the bare."
Harry paled then fumbled with his pants and finally pulled them down to his knees along with his shorts.
Severus guided him across his knees which left Harry hanging in the air on both sides, since he was so short. He was scared and embarrassed so for security he grabbed hold of the rungs of the chair and held his breath.
Severus knew that their first response is to hold their breath and that only makes it hurt worse so he always starts out with a question; "What is the first reason you are receiving this spanking Harry?"
Harry let out the air he was holding and said "Because I disobeyed you".
"Correct" replied Severus and at the same time his hand made contact with Harry's bottom, smacking hard and shocking Harry. He yelped, not knowing that a hand could sting and hurt that much.
The first swat was followed by many, many more. Harry continued to fight making any sound or crying out but after a number of swats his bottom was burning and he couldn't hold it in any longer and started pleading and crying.
Severus didn't slow down one bit and added quite a few more very hard, swats to his bottom then stopped.
Harry thought perhaps the spanking was over with and he had survived, although his bum had not, as it felt like it was on fire.
Instead, Severus asked him another question, "What is the second reason you are being spanked Harry" and he waited for the answer with the hair brush lying on Harry's bottom.
Harry, through his tears and snot replied, "Because I put my life in danger when I didn't have to."
"Correct" replied Severus. Then he picked up the Hair Brush and said, "Harry I will be using the Hair Brush for this part of your spanking because of the offence. You could have died for no good reason" and with that he swatted Harry's bottom with the hair brush and Harry about jumped out of his lap. He would have if Severus had not been holding him tightly around his middle.
He thought that Severus's hand was tough and caused a lot of stinging, it was nothing compared to this. Severus continued to swat his bottom until every inch of it was bright red and Harry was sobbing.
When a normal spanking would have ended, Severus added even more. Harry was sure he was not going to live through this. What they did was definitely not worth the price he was paying and he would do anything not to be in this position again.
Harry finally had no energy left. He quit fighting it, and went limp sobbing then Severus knew it was time to finish. He lifted Harry's bottom up with his knee and applied ten more swats to that place where he would feel it when he sat down.
Then Severus put the brush on the desk and lifted Harry up. He helped him pull up his pants, handed him a handkerchief and then he grabbed him and hugged him and held him, rubbing his back until Harry could settle a bit. He conjured a cup of water for Harry and let him drink.
Severus then spoke saying, "Harry, it is finished, it is over, and you are forgiven. You still have to serve your detentions but perhaps they will give you time to think about the other ways you could have dealt with this situation."
"I want you to know Harry that you are a very special to me, a young man who I have a lot of respect for. I know you can do better than this and I promise you I will be here to help you." With that he gave him a kiss on the top of the head.
Harry reached out and grabbed hold of Severus and held on to him for dear life while he started crying all over again. He knew what he had done was really stupid but this was the first time that someone had allowed him to make a mistake and still accept him, much less complement him.
Severus knew that they had finally made a major breakthrough and Harry would be OK. He also had to wipe the tears out of his own eyes before he told Harry to go to the bathroom and clean up then go to his dorm room until lunch.
Harry was rubbing his bum and walking slow as he entered the hallway to go back to the dorm. There he met up with Draco. "I was a bit worried about you so thought I'd stick around and walk back with you."
"Thanks" sniffed Harry. "Boy, that man can carry a wallop, I wasn't sure it was ever going to end."
"Yeh", responded Draco, "That is the worst spanking I have ever gotten from him, he was really scared."
"Scared?" questioned Harry.
"Yeh, when he's mad he is constantly asking you questions while you're trying to breath through all the tears and snot. This time he just asked one then went for it, he was definitely scared. That's good news because it means he cares about us and we could both use someone who really cares about us right now don't you think?"
"Yeh, that was special, but I can do with less of the spankings I think" Harry smiled.
They finally reached the Gryffindore Tower, gave the pass and nothing happened.
The Lady on the door smirked and then told them, "The Head Master has changed the password for the next three weeks, it is now; 'Lessons Learned'. He hopes that this will cause you to think about your actions and not do them again" the Lady said then smiled and evil smile.
When they entered there was no one in the common room "Do you think they all went up to their beds?" asked Harry.
"I don't know let's check. Ron, and Neville were laying on their stomachs talking with each other when the boys walked in. Harry and Draco joined them. It was obvious that all of them were sporting very sore backsides and were still having trouble talking yet.
After a bit Ron said, "Would you believe that Dad brought a hair brush with him. What man walks around with a hair brush in his pocket."
"Yeh, Mom had her hair brush all ready too. Blast that thing hurts," said Neville.
"Sounds like they planned this out", said Draco "Because we got the brush also."
"Oh man" said Ron, "Poor Hermonie, she has never had a spanking before much less the brush. I bet she is in shock."
"She was with Ginny wasn't she?" asked Harry.
"Yeh," said Ron, "But Mom had them and she is one mean witch with a spoon or a brush. Let's just say that Hermonie won't be sitting very comfortably or speaking to us I would imagine. You know how she is when she feels she is not in control."
"Anyone seen the Twins yet?" asked Harry.
"Yeh, I saw them headed to their dorm, they looked like they had been crying pretty hard" said Neville. Then he added, "Luna was crying and rubbing her bum but not saying much."
"So what now?" asked Neville. "I can't remember what Dumbledore said".
Draco turned his head and recited, "We will stay in our dorm's until lunch and then we will, I repeat will, attend lunch. After lunch Filch will escort us to Professor Snapes office to begin preparing all his nasty little things that he has us put in our potions."
Draco continued, "You know Professor's McGonogall and Dumbledore have wicked minds. They have assigned us detention in Professor Snape's class today and tomorrow, which means we have sit at a high table on tall wooden stools with very, very, very, sore bums."
"This punishment seems to have been well thought out" said Neville.
It was close to lunch time so everyone started gathering in the common room. Everyone looked a bit worse for wear, and none were walking very fast.
After a bit of dialogue they found out that they had all received the same punishment with the hair brush which went along with all of them serving detention together. No one would be able to say that they had it any worse than another.
When they walked into the Great Hall the adults talked with them and never mentioned the spankings. The kids were all squirming around on sore backsides but the adults acted like they didn't notice.
When every one had a chance to eat and started to just yapping at each other, Mr. Filch came to the table and asked the students to please follow him.
All the kids looked at each other, Filch looked a bit cleaner than normal, he had a book with him, his hair was combed and he said PLEASE. Oh, this was going to be a very long three weeks.
They followed Filch to the Potion classroom where they found Professor Snape waiting for them. He gave them instructions, showing them how to do it, then handed them the instructions written out in-case they forgot. He then turned them over to Filch and bid them a good day.
And so it all began!