It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Sirius was having trouble sleeping. He lay in his bed, seemingly incapable of getting comfortable. He would shift onto one side, back onto his back, then onto the other side, his sheets and blanket getting horribly tangled.
Just the exertion alone should have been enough to wear him out but his mind was pulsing with a million disjointed thoughts and he knew that rest, for now at least, was a lost cause. Sitting up against his pillows, he raked a hand through his dark mop of hair and closed his eyes tightly.
In Merlin's name, what do I do?
He glanced quickly at one of the photos on the nightstand. It was one of his favorites. Harry, one year old, black tuft of hair on his round little head, chubby arms gripping with determination as his short legs kicked excitedly to propel himself forward on the toy broom.
The toy broom that his adoring godfather had purchased for his first birthday.
That was the way it should have been.
When James asked his best friend to stand as godfather to his firstborn, Sirius' chest had swelled with pride. He looked forward to being a constant force in little Harry's life. He would spoil the child rotten, taking him to Quidditch matches, to the Carnival of Magical Creatures, buy him ice cream by the gallon, teach him how to ride a motorbike, how to flirt with the girls at Hogwarts, slip him his first taste of Firewhiskey...
...be the fun Uncle Sirius.
Someone the boy could go to for a sympathetic ear when he rowed with his parents or needed advice that he was too embarrassed to ask his Dad about.
Sirius had not wanted to be the Dad.
Not that he didn't love the boy enormously, because he did. He just never thought about himself as someone's father.
There were too many pretty witches in the world to just choose one. How could he possibly let the others downs?
With a war raging, Sirius didn't devote any time to seeking out that special someone to build a life with, simply because he never expected to grow any older than the next day. So he simply accepted the fact that he would die young with a wand in his hand and on his feet facing the darkness. So he simply treated every day like it was his last and enjoyed himself as much as possible accordingly.
No commitments. No long term relationships.
In other words, definitely not a family man.
He got his fill of family life by spending quality time at the cozy house in Godric's Hollow with James and Lily and their baby boy. And when he did think of any kind of future plans he had visions of taking little Harry out for a day in the park, stuffing him with chocolate frogs and butterbeer, letting him run wild. Encouraging him to get dirty and laugh until he was breathless. Only after that would Sirius bring the child back home with deliriously joyful memories of spending time with his godfather.
Those visions died when James and Lily did.
Now Sirius found himself facing the task of really being the Dad. The one that needed to make rules and scold. The one that would force Harry to eat vegetables, brush his teeth and mind his manners. The one that set bedtimes and lectured about good grades. The one that worried for his child and protected him from harm.
Harm.
There were monsters in his godson's life. Not the kind that hid under his bed or in the closet. When his child had a nightmare, Sirius couldn't just give him a hug and a glass of water, promising him that they were just a dream.
Harry's monsters were very real..and they wanted to hurt him.
Sirius needed to be the Dad now. The one that protected his boy from harm no matter what he had to do to ensure that.
Pushing his blanket off, Sirius swung his legs over the edge of the bed and found his slippers. He crossed the room and gently eased his door open, quietly making his way across the hall and carefully entering Harry's room. Harry was sleeping soundly just as he had left him hours earlier. In the pale glow of the enchanted moonlight, his face was calm and untroubled as Sirius took a good look at him.
Troubled, he realized very clearly that Harry wasn't a little boy any more but he was still just a boy.
He reached down and gently pushed the messy hair from Harry's forehead. The slight framed teenager buried under the large comforter was solely his responsibility now.
Earlier today it had been tempting for a brief moment to allow Remus to be the bad guy. The mean adult that walloped Harry with his belt as punishment for his poor behavior. It would have been so easy to sit by, wait for Remus to finish the task and then swoop into Harry's bedroom and be the one with the loving arms to comfort him.
What a coward he was.
He took some small measure of pride in the fact that he had not actually given in to the idea. It was the first genuinely responsible action he had taken as Harry's guardian.
Sirius pulled the blanket up a little more around Harry's shoulders and bent down to kiss the unruly black head. He picked up the stray clothes that were strewn across the floor, placing them in the hamper and then turned to give the boy one last fond look as he reached to open the door.
James had asked him to fulfill an important duty in his son's life. The duty of raising the boy in James' stead and being whatever Harry needed him to be.
Right now Harry needed him to be a father with all that the word entailed. Regardless of how difficult and painful it might be for Sirius to do it, he would fulfill his duty.
After all, no one said that he couldn't still spoil his godson a little too after the hard parts were done.
***********HP**********
When Harry woke the next morning, his body was stiff from maintaining one sleeping position all night. He had slept heavily for the first time in over a week. Reaching over to the nightstand next to his bed, he fumbled for a bit until he found his glasses. Placing them across his nose, he blinked his eyes a few times to banish the sleepy haze and glanced at the small clock next to where they had lain.
8:23?
Why didn't Sirius wake me for breakfast? Is he still angry?
The knot in his chest that had loosened considerably last night following his talk with Sirius wrenched itself awake and started to twist again painfully. Panic stricken, he darted his eyes to his desk, but when he saw that there was no tray of food on it, his erratic heartbeat slowed just a bit. If Sirius was still punishing him he would have sent in another meal.
Harry already knew his godfather well enough to know that Sirius would never starve him as punishment.
He jumped out of bed and made a quick dash into the bathroom to wash up a bit, anxious to spend time with Sirius again after really missing him yesterday. Not bothering to change out of his T-shirt and pajama pants, he hurried quickly to his door and reached down to grab the knob before hesitating for a moment.
Can I go out?
Sirius had never actually said that he could leave his room.
Harry was pretty sure that it was understood that he was allowed to, seeing as he had profusely given his apologies and the two of them had made up. Still, it was better to make sure.
He twisted the knob gently and pried open the door as quietly as he could. From the direction of the kitchen he could hear the sound of a newspaper rustling and the click of a coffee cup making contact with a saucer. His godfather was definitely up and around already so Harry poked his head out and called out to him.
"Sirius? May I come out now?"
From his place at the table, Sirius heard the boy's voice calling to him, but he was sure he misunderstood what he was asking.
"What?"
Uh oh.
Harry's mind raced.
Maybe he was still mad.
Clearing his throat, almost afraid to ask again in case the answer was one that he didn't want to hear, Harry summoned up the courage to speak.
"Um..may I come out now and join you?"
Confused, Sirius placed his newspaper on the table and looked up towards the hallway.
"Of course you can, Harry. I've been waiting to eat with you."
Relieved, Harry shot through the door and down the hall before dropping unceremoniously into the chair opposite his godfather and giving the man a big smile.
"Thanks. Good morning." He reached for a muffin from the plate in the middle of the table and took an enormous bite. His appetite returning with a vengeance.
Sirius' eyebrows knitted together as he looked at the boy who was now stuffing pieces of the sweet blueberry puffs in his mouth at an alarming speed and he gave his obviously hungry godson a smile as he shook his head at the appalling table manners.
"Good morning. Why did you ask me that?"
"What?" Harry asked, his voice muffled by a full mouth. Still slightly insecure about his guardian's mood, he halted chewing for the moment.
"If you could come out and join me."
Harry swallowed audibly and gave his godfather a look as if he had gone mental.
"Well...you didn't exactly say that I was allowed out of my room yet, so I wanted to ask and make sure that it was alright."
What?
Now Sirius was really perplexed. Wondering what exactly Harry was talking about, he thought for a moment before the realization struck him. Vaguely he recalled that Harry had not stomped off to his room yesterday of his own accord.
Remus had sent him there.
All that time he thought Harry was sulking, the poor boy had thought he was being punished, and of course it didn't help when Sirius had sent Harry's meals into his room instead of insisting that he come out and join him at the table. Groaning, he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.
Merlin's Beard! I really am an idiot. No one is going to nominate me for parent of the year.
"Is that why you didn't come out at all yesterday?"
Now it was Harry's turn to be confused. Giving Sirius a strange look he nodded his head.
"Well..yeah. I mean that is the way it works, right?"
Sirius stifled another groan and rolled his eyes.
"Kiddo, we are really going to need to work on our communication skills."
Still feeling exceptionally guilty of how he'd behaved, Harry lowered his head and nodded before he felt Sirius' warm hand on his shoulder leading him over to the counter to load his plate with eggs and sausages.
They ate in comfortable silence, every now and then giving each other a quick smile or nod. Neither one of them was overly anxious to mention the elephant in the room. Harry knew that there were still things that needed to be said and done regarding yesterdays events and Sirius was attempting to summon the courage to address them.
Finally, food eaten and plates stacked, Sirius cleared his throat and gathered up his strength. There was no more putting this off, no matter how much he wanted to.
"Harry, about yesterday-"
Without waiting for his godfather to finish, Harry jumped onto the defensive. "I know, I know. I royally screwed up."
"Yes, you did." Sirius' voice was gentle. There was no need to get the boy worked up. "But we do need to talk about why you acted that way."
Harry hung his head, suddenly finding great interest in the grooves of the wooden table.
"Yes, sir."
Reaching over Sirius gently lifted his godson's face up to look at him. Harry's eyes were sad and apologetic. He wasn't being belligerent or attempting to explain away his careless and dangerous actions. Clearly the boy knew he had done wrong.
"What happened yesterday?" Sirius asked, genuinely concerned and needing to know the answer. "Why did you behave that way?"
Across from him, Harry squirmed for a moment as his face blushed red. It was hard to explain how he sometimes felt inside. Like there was a beast inside of him that sometimes took over control against Harry's will. It didn't help that after spending a life in relative anonymity, he was now such a recognizable figure.
"I don't know," he answered quietly. "I just get so frustrated that I can't have a normal life sometimes. It makes me feel really really angry. It's like, just because I am-"
"The Boy Who Lived?" Sirius finished for him mirthfully.
"Yes, that," Harry bit out in frustration. "Because of that, I always have to be looking over my shoulder. I can't even go to buy a pack of chocolate frogs without everyone going crazy over my security. I'm not a child, Sirius."
"Yes, Harry" Sirius answered forcefully. "You are."
"I'm not!" Harry insisted, his temper starting to rise again.
"Yes. Even though you have showed enormous bravery and battled monsters successfully, you still are not an adult and I am going to fight very hard for you to have what is left of your childhood."
Sirius leaned over and placed his hands on his godson's shoulders.
"I know that you have never really been given that chance. To be young and protected. To feel like someone is taking care of you." The words were painful and bitter as they escaped Sirius' mouth. He could help feeling the sharp sting of failure for his own part in the terrible way his godson had been raised.
"I am sorry about that," he finally continued when he was able to find his voice again. "More than I can possibly say. But I am here now and until you come of age, I'm going to try very hard to give you that kind of safe home life, that kind of security. I worry about you, little one. I'm scared that you run headlong into dangerous situations because you have been forced to grow up too quickly."
Sirius reached up to take Harry's chin in his hand and lifted the boy's face to look directly into his eyes. There was going to be no mistaking his words.
"It stops now."
Harry's shoulders slumped. He wanted to protest, to rage that he could take care of himself, but he didn't. In the recesses of his heart, it felt too much to hope for that he was finally important enough to someone to be taken care of. He had spent his whole young life looking after himself, devoid of any real affection or attention and he was exhausted from it. He nodded his head slowly, convincing himself to believe that Sirius was speaking the truth, and then raised his eyes back up to look questioningly at his godfather.
"Why do you call me that?"
"What?" Sirius asked. "You mean 'little one'?" Harry nodded.
"It was my nickname for you as a baby," his godfather gave him an affectionate look as he pushed a wild lock of hair away from Harry's eyes. "We used to tease Lily because you looked so much like your father. We would say that she was in for double the trouble with two of you around. She just laughed and said that she was perfectly happy about it. Her brand of trouble came in two sizes. A big one and-"
"A little one," Harry finished for him. Sirius smiled, a twinkle in his eye and nodded.
"Yes."
Hearing the explanation softened his bristling feelings about the endearment. Thinking about it, Harry realized that he didn't really mind it at all.
A few quiet seconds passed between them before Sirius' face grew stern.
"Harry, I know that I have not really set any guidelines for your behavior since we have been living here, but that is going to change right now," he warned in a no-nonsense voice. "You put yourself in danger yesterday and directly disobeyed me and I would be acting very negligently in my duties as your guardian if I didn't do anything to prevent you from doing it again in the future."
The first tingle of fear rippled through Harry's mind. Of course on some level he'd understood that his godfather was the new authority figure in his life, but so far Sirius hadn't seemed inclined to be strict about much of anything, so Harry hadn't really thought through the consequences of disobeying his orders yesterday.
"The next time it might be something more serious that just a lark to the candy store," Sirius went on, his eyes now sad and regretful. "You, young man, racked up quite a list of offenses yesterday and unfortunately you're going to have to answer for them now. As much as it it going to pain me to do so, I have to punish you. Do you understand?"
Harry sighed and nodded. He knew that whatever was about to happen to him, he deserved it.
Chest tight and feeling like he might be sick, Sirius sat up and took a deep breath.
Merlin, this was going to be hard on the both of them.
"Alright then. Go to your room and wait for me. I'll be there in a minute."
"Yes, sir."
Harry got up slowly from the table and walked towards his room with the air of a convicted man on his way to his sentence.
Sirius watched his godson trudge off slowly as his nerves began to falter. What he was about to do was something he'd never even conceived of before today. This wasn't supposed to be his role in Harry's life.
But it was.
James and Lily were counting on him to care for and protect their son in any way Harry needed. And unfortunately, what was about to happen was something that Harry needed whether or not Sirius wanted to give it.
Gathering up his reserve, Sirius looked up towards the heavens.
Alright Prongs. I hope I'm doing the right thing for him.
With a heavy heart, he pulled his wand from his back pocket and dejectedly transfigured the salt shaker on the table into a small thin leather paddle. It was an exact replica of the one that Mr. Potter had frequently used on his errant son and eventually his son's best friend. Sirius was intimately familiar with its wicked little sting and knew first hand that it was surprisingly effective in curbing truly bad behavior in teenage boys.
Hopefully it would work for Harry as well as it had for his father and godfather.
*********HP*******
Sitting on his bed, one leg tucked underneath him, arms crossed over his chest, Harry stared nervously at his bedroom door.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what Sirius had in mind.
His last summer at the Burrow, Ron and Fred had been teasing Ginny mercilessly about some boy she had a crush on. Finally, the ribbing had gotten so bad that she burst into tears and fled to her room. After she had finished comforting her distraught daughter, Mrs. Weasley had yelled almost the exact same words to her sons that Sirius had just said to Harry right before she asked Harry if he wouldn't mind going outside and de-gnoming the garden until dinnertime.
Later, when they sat down to eat, Ron and Fred came downstairs sporting matching red eyes and the two spent the entire meal squirming on the hard wooden chairs.
So Harry knew exactly what his godfather had planned for him.
He was really only nervous because he didn't exactly know what to expect. For all of his brave acceptance of the imaginary punishments that had been running through his mind last night as he waiting for Sirius to come to his room, Harry had never been punished before like this.
His only parental figures had been the Dursleys and they made every effort they could to ignore his presence as much as possible. Of course there were plenty of times when he was the target of their anger annoyance for one reason or another, so sure, there had been the occasional slaps on his arms and thighs for his little misdeeds as they perceived them.
But they had never actually spanked him like Harry knew his best friend and his siblings were on occasion.
The Dursleys has always been a bit more cruel and creative when Harry was in line for a punishment. Why should they waste their time smacking him when it was much easier to lock him away and starve him? That way they could pretend he didn't exist and, if the boy needed be beaten, well then there was always Dudley to punch and kick him.
Which he did.
Frequently.
But Sirius was kind and thoughtful and loving. Not at all like the Dursley were, so surely he wouldn't beat Harry. Would he?
Realizing that there was still a lot that he didn't know about his godfather and his temper, Harry's breathing sped up and he had to force himself to calm down before he started to hyperventilate.
Stop it! You've battled a mountain troll and a basilisk. You've even faced Dementors. Don't be such a child! You're almost fourteen for crying out loud!
The inner chastisement worked and, strengthening his resolve, he squared his shoulders and willed himself to face whatever punishment Sirius meted out. He was doing pretty well too until his godfather knocked and then entered the room carrying the small paddle in his right hand.
At that moment, Harry had never felt younger in his life and a ball nervousness dropped into his stomach. All of a sudden, that large breakfast did not seem like such a good idea.
Sirius walked slowly, but purposefully, across the room and then sat down next to him on the bed. With a sad but also kind look on his face, he put a comforting arm around Harry's shoulders and drew him close. The affection lowered the level of anxiety in the boy and he found himself leaning into the embrace a little more calm than he'd been just seconds before.
"Harry, you did quite a few bad things yesterday. Do you agree?"
Harry's chest hurt and he found it hard to swallow as his guilt swelled up inside of him.
"Yes, sir."
"What are you being punished for?"
Harry lowered his head in shame. He couldn't raise his voice above a whisper.
"What..what I said to you."
At those words Sirius' heart broke. The poor boy had no idea. He genuinely cared more about Sirius' feeling than he did for his own safety and that only made Sirius more afraid for his godson's well being.
"No, Harry," he said firmly. "Those were just words. We all say things we don't mean when we're angry or upset. The really frightening thing was they way you decided to go off by yourself when I told you that it was too dangerous. You could have been hurt, or even killed. You must learn to think before you put yourself in that kind of situation. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," Harry said, misery heavy on his face. Sirius' voice was shaking with emotion and Harry was deeply upset to have worried his godfather so much.
Knowing that they couldn't prolong the inevitable, Sirius gave the boy a quick squeeze and then drew in a deep breath.
"Okay then. Stand up, Harry."
Obediently Harry stood up, his legs shaking underneath him slightly and his breathing picking up pace. Sirius was looking at him expectantly and Harry gave his godfather a questioning look as he wasn't sure what he wanted.
"Umm...what am I supposed to do?"
Sirius frowned at his words. Harry was pale and trembling and his voice had genuine concern in his tone. At Harry's hesitancy, which clearly wasn't done with resistance in mind, Sirius realized with horror that this was a brand new experience for his godson.
He felt like an enormous idiot, because he'd just assumed that at some point in Harry's life, the Muggle relatives that had abused him so abominably in so many ways would have found occasion to dole out a spanking now and then.
The realization that he was to be the first one to discipline Harry this way hurt him so much that he felt physically sick.
Merlin, could this get any worse?
But there was nothing for it. It needed to be done, so he reached up and took Harry's left hand into his right one. Giving the boy as reassuring a look as he could manage, he sat up a little more and gave Harry's hand a quick squeeze.
"It's okay, little one. It will be over sooner than you think."
Pulling on his hand gently, Sirius guided the boy over his lap and tried to settle him as comfortably as he could. He put a firm arm around Harry's waist and took a quick moment to compose himself. When he heard Harry let out a small whimper, he grit his teeth together and vowed to finish the vile task as quickly as he could for both their sakes.
Harry had crossed his arms on the bed and buried his face in them, trying to stay absolutely still as he felt Sirius's fingers grabbing the waistband of his pajama bottoms right before he pulled them down to Harry's knees. Although he was scared for a second, it didn't seem like Harry's pants were about to join them.
He wouldn't have fought his godfather if Sirius had chosen to fully bare him, but he was grateful just the same that it didn't look like he was going to.
Sirius took a minute to compose himself as he felt Harry's thin body trembling over his lap. They hadn't even started yet and Sirius was already wishing that it was done. The only thing that gave him comfort was knowing that this was the choice that James would have made in the same situation, so he squared his shoulders, lifted the paddle high in the air and brought it down swiftly and sharply across Harry's backside with a loud smack!
Draped in the precarious position across his godfather's lap, Harry had gripped a large wad of his blanket in his hand while he squeezed his eyes tightly. When the paddle came down on him for the first time, it took him a second to register the sharp sting from the swat. When it finally hit him, he sucked in his breath and tears filled his eyes without consent.
Ow!
Before he knew it, a second one landed with even more force. His thin cotton pants may have preserved his modesty, but they provided no protection whatsoever from the sting. He jammed the blanket between his teeth and bit down hard to keep from crying out, knowing that his distress would only upset Sirius even more than he already was.
Smack!
I won't cry. I won't cry. I won't cry.
Smack!
I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry..Pleeeease stop
Smack!
Owwwww
Harry's upper body was tense as he strained to control his sobs. Sirius stopped after the fifth swat for a moment to rub his back gently.
"Harry, it's okay to cry. Just let it out."
Harry obeyed, relaxing his shoulders a little bit and choking out a watery gasp. It was so hard to fight it.
Sirius' arm was trembling as he forced himself to keep walloping the poor backside across his lap. Tears of his own were beginning to leak out of his eyes and the only way he was able to continue was by allowing scary thoughts of what could have happened to his child run through his mind. He would make himself dole out a little pain to his godson if it helped the boy think twice about putting himself in jeopardy in the future.
By the ninth swat, Harry's tears were flowing freely as he began to kick. By the fourteenth when Sirius was concentrating on his sensitive sit spots he was sobbing repeated apologies, and by the twentieth and final swat across the back of Harry's thighs, he was crying so hard that he didn't notice as Sirius lifted him to his feet that his godfather had tears running down his own face.
Sirius stood with him and held his despondent godson tightly to his chest as he tried to soothe the boy while surreptitiously wiping away his own tears. He didn't want to upset Harry any further.
"Please don't ever make me have to do that to you again, little one. I don't think I could stand it."
Harry just cried even harder, gripping Sirius with such force that it was a bit painful. No boy was ever more repentant than he was at that moment, the idea that he had upset his godfather so badly shamed him.
Trying to compose himself, Sirius held the boy close as his breathing started to hitch leading to the steady staccato of post crying hiccups. Harry had already managed to soak the front of his godfather's shirt with his tears and runny nose but he didn't want to pull away. With the man's warm comforting arms securely wrapped around his small frame, Harry surprisingly felt loved and cherished even though his backside felt like he'd just sat on a hot stove.
No one had ever bothered to grant him any sort of emotional comfort after a firm chastisement before. He'd only known hatred and coldness.
"Shhh. It's okay. It's all over now."
Sirius kept up a steady stream of soothing words as he rubbed the small quivering back and waited for Harry to calm down a little. When the boy took a deep shuddering breath and sniffled a little, Sirius reached down and drew Harry's pajama bottoms back up causing the boy to let out an involuntary hiss.
"I know, it hurts," he sympathized, drawing Harry's head back against his shoulder. Memories of his own punishments swirled around in his head as he held the boy close and rocked him back and forth a bit while he continued to settle.
Harry clung to him like a koala bear for several more minutes. The boy's anxious fingers were twisted in the fabric of the back of Sirius' shirt so tightly he feared that it might cut off Harry's circulation if he didn't ease up a little.
"I'm sorry."
The words were muffled into Sirius' chest, but he knew they were genuine.
"I know, little one," he assured his godson as he brushed a kiss on the top of Harry's messy head. "You're forgiven now. Let it go."
Harry's breath hitched again and he gripped Sirius impossibly tighter until his godfather gently moved them back to the bed. The boy was practically sagging now that it was all done and settled and Sirius wanted nothing more than to put his child back to bed for a while to get so much needed rest.
He lifted the blankets up and slowly nudged the boy back under them before sitting down next to him and affectionately stroking his hair.
"Think you can get a little more sleep for me?"
Harry nodded as he shifted slightly to take the pressure off of his sore backside and reached up to remove his glasses. Sirius took them and placed them on the night stand next to the bed and drew the covers up to Harry's chin.
"I'll wake you for lunch," he promised his godson as he leaned over to kiss the boy's forehead. "I think you have someone else to apologize to, yes?"
The image of Dobby's sad and frightened face filled Harry's mind and he winced, feeling awful about the way he'd treated the kind and devoted creature.
"Yes, sir."
Sirius nodded and gave Harry's shoulder an affectionate pat before turning off the lamp next to the bed and standing up.
"Sweet dreams, little one."
Harry was already half-way out for the count by the time his godfather reached the door.
As he quietly left the boy's bedroom, Sirius took several deep breaths and forced his hands to stop shaking. Like many parents before him, he decided right then and there that he preferred to be on the other end of a spanking.
********HP****
Sirius let Harry sleep until almost one o'clock before he came to collect him for lunch. Contrite and still a little sore, he had made his way out to the kitchen where he gave the little house elf a long and genuine apology.
Dobby, who felt entirely unworthy to have a wizard beg his pardon for anything, flew into another tizzy and with an embarrassing amount of fawning, assured the boy that he was as fond of him as ever.
Harry had brought out a gift to present to him as a further apology and the Puddlemere United scarf brought fresh hysteria from the little elf for several ear splitting minutes. He was still bowing his gratitude when he finally realized that Harry needed to eat and disappeared with a pop!
Tucking into his sandwich and glass of milk from a standing position at the counter, the boy winced involuntarily when his godfather reminded him that the spanking was just for his trip to Hogsmeade and he still had more punishment coming for his other actions.
However, the chastised teen didn't utter a word of complaint during the two minutes that he endured with soap bubbles Scourgifiying his mouth for his impressive string of profanity nor during the half hour he spent squirming on a hard chair in the corner of Sirius' study where he was to think about his temper as penance for throwing his lunch tray against the wall.
Remus had been invited for tea and he also graciously accepted Harry's heartfelt apology, noticing with a smile that the boy seemed to be sticking to Sirius a little more closely than usual. Clearly whatever had happened between them hadn't damaged their budding relationship.
When Harry's imposed temporary bedtime of eight o'clock came, he obediently lifted himself up off of the couch where he'd been reading without being told and started to slowly make his way across the room. Sirius noticed him looking forlornly at the couch he had just vacated and relented a bit.
The early bedtime was not exactly another punishment per se, he had just wanted his racoon-eyed godson to get more rest. He still looked quite tired from the ordeal and it was no wonder considering how exhausting it had all been for the both of them. He consented to let Harry grab a pillow and a blanket and return to the couch as long as he promised that he would lay there quietly and close his eyes.
Brightening considerably, the boy returned quickly with his bedding and snuggled back into the overstuffed sofa.
Sirius picked up his book again and read peacefully as he listened to Harry's breathing even out. It had been a long day for them both and tomorrow they were going to be leaving Privet Drive until next summer.
Sirius couldn't wait to show Harry his new home.
