Author's Note- I'm not sure if anyone is even still interested in reading this but if you are here, thank you, I appreciate you. This is a short chapter. I have been sitting on it for over two years now hoping to write more, to make it longer, to make it better. My muse has apparently completed checked out and has been gone for some time now- a lot happened in my life. I'm not giving up and my stories aren't abandoned, I just need to find my muse again. I am hoping that maybe getting this out here and having a clean slate to start the next chapter it will help to spark something in me but I make no promises. Either way, I hope that you enjoy this chapter.
Snape made his way down the hallway at a rapid pace, his cloak flowing behind him. The mere look on his face caused several of his Slytherins to duck down various hallways and into classrooms to avoid the man.
A copy of the Quibbler was tucked into the inner pocket of his cloak. He wasn't sure if Harry was already in their quarters but he knew that if he wasn't he would be soon. All thoughts of a nice evening with his child had vanished from the man's mind.
He raced down the spiral staircase that led to the dungeons, nearly knocking over two seventh years in the process. His feet pounded loudly on the cobblestone floor as he approached his own living quarters.
Once close enough, he waved a hand causing the door to his parlor to swing open. As he stepped inside, he closed it loudly behind him, causing both his child as well as Remus to jump slightly from their positions on the couch.
"Severus?" Remus gave the man a curious look. "What is it?"
Snape's eyes narrowed in on his child, ignoring his friend completely, and causing a frown to form on Harry's face.
"What happened?" The teenager asked.
Snape stood still, his eyes remaining on the boy. "Is there anything that you wish to tell me, Harry? Anything at all?"
Harry blinked, his own mind racing over the past few days. He couldn't recall doing anything wrong that Snape would know about. There was the interview, of course, but Snape didn't read the Quibbler. The interview had been out for nearly twenty-four hours now and Remus hadn't even mentioned it, there was no way that his guardian knew about it. "No. Why?"
Snape moved across the room at a rapid speed. He nearly pulled the child up from the couch and landed a dozen smacks to his backside, however, he refrained. "Think very carefully and answer my question again before you are in trouble for lying now as well."
At the speed of Snape's steps, Harry very nearly pushed himself up to stand before he was dragged up. His stomach churned at the question. Snape couldn't know, he just couldn't. No one at Hogwarts had even mentioned it. Aside from his friends no one even knew he had done it.
"What is this about, Severus?" Remus tried once more. The man found himself wishing he had visited with Sirius longer, had avoided this scene altogether. He also couldn't help but wonder if his friend was overreacting to something minor, in which case, he certainly hoped he could be of some help in diffusing the situation.
Snape reached into his pocket, and pulled out the magazine dropping it onto the coffee table in front of the pair. Harry's face now looking up at the three of them. "Did you know about this, Remus?"
"What? No! Of course not!" Remus quickly shook his head before looking over to the teenager with a stern glare of his own.
Harry swallowed hard as he looked down at his own face. He could feel the eyes of both his guardian and Remus on him. "I…" His voice died at his lips, once more swallowing.
"Up." Snape spoke the word harshly. "Now."
"Yo-you shouldn't go mental." When he had done the interview, he was so sure of exactly how he would handle his guardian, yet now that he was faced with the task, he was finding it hard to remember what he had even intended to say.
"Up," Snape repeated, just as firmly, resisting the urge to take matters into his own hands and help the boy to his feet.
"Re-Remus is here," Harry muttered, his ears burning with embarrassment at his own words as he slowly stood up before he could be yanked to his feet.
Snape ignored the boy's words about Remus altogether. As far as he was concerned the man was practically family. He reached forward, taking a firm hold of Harry's arm. He pulled the child toward him before turning him to the side. His free hand came down in a hard stinging smack across the jean clad backside before he deposited Harry into his arm chair. "How dare you," he hissed angrily.
The actions came quickly, hardly registering as happening at all until Harry was sitting once more. He cringed at the stinging in his backside, as the heat spread from his ears down his cheeks. "It's not like it's the Prophet!"
Remus let out a low sigh as Snape placed a hand on both of the chairs' arms, making it impossible for the child to stand. "We discussed this! I made it perfectly clear that you were not to be giving an interview to anyone."
Harry cringed as he was trapped with ease, shifting uncomfortably as he looked over to Remus in desperation.
"Absolutely not," Remus shook his head firmly. "You knew better and you are on your own, young man."
Harry took in a shuddering breath as he forced his eyes to move back to his guardian. "It's not a huge deal."
"Not a huge deal?" Snape's nostrils flared as the anger on his face deepened. "Giving an interview about Voldemort's return is not a huge deal? Bringing more attention to yourself with everything else that has been going on!"
"It is a huge deal, Harry," Remus chimed in. "The Ministry could cause plenty of trouble over this."
The teenager looked down to his hands, his own frown remaining. "It's just the Quibbler. Not many even read it. You two don't even read it!"
Snape leaned down further in an attempt to see his child's face. "You do not think that once word gets out that there is an interview with you in it that more won't go out of their way to read it." The man moved his hand to tap firmly on the underside of the boy's chin.
Harry jerked his head away at the tap before slowly looking up to his guardian. "That's the point! I've already started getting fan mail today from people supporting me. This isn't a bad thing, Severus. You are just impossible!"
"Harry!" Remus couldn't help but scold the boy loudly.
"I told you not to do an interview. You came to me, asked me, and I told you no." The man made no attempt to move either his body or face from being so close to his child. "I was unaware that you no longer find it necessary to listen to me."
Harry leaned his head back, taking in a breath as he stared back up to the man. He wisely kept his mouth shut on the matter, simply staring back into Snape's eyes.
"You may not see the damage that this interview could very well cause, however, it is very real, Harry." The man paused for a long moment in an attempt to reel his temper back in. "This is not a game!"
"I never said it was." The teenager struggled to keep his own tone at a normal volume as he turned his head away slightly. He was beyond mortified at how Snape was acting in front of Remus. He was sure his face was still red. He could feel his cheeks prickling with warmth.
"What happens if Mr. Lovegood suffers from this?" Remus questioned sternly. "What happens when Death Eaters see and read this article? Did you consider any of that?"
"I…I mentioned it but they still wanted to publish it." Harry kept his gaze to the side, refusing to even look at his guardian.
"You were not allowed to do this in the first place!" Snape thundered. The man finally released his grip on the armchair and stood up straight. "I, and many others, are risking everything to protect you and then you turn around and completely disregard all of that and do as you please?"
Harry slowly relaxed his posture as Snape stood up, moving his arms to wrap around his own middle. "It's…I just don't see it as being a huge deal."
"My belt is moments away from expressing to your backside what a huge deal this is." The man took a step backwards, his eyes closing as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
Harry took in a sharp breath at the words, subconsciously scooting further back in the man's chair as he felt his face flush once more. "Don't."
"Don't you dare tell me what to do!" Snape's hand fell as his eyes opened once more. "I asked one thing of you, Harry! One damn thing and you looked me right in the eye and lied!"
"You…you're overreacting," Harry replied with as much attitude as he could muster. "You both are."
"Overreacting?" Snape repeated the word in a disbelieving tone. "Overreacting?"
Without giving his actions a second thought, the man reached down and pulled the teenager from the chair. Turning him to the side he landed not one, but two, hard swats to the boy. "You can walk yourself right over to my desk, fetch the paddle and take yourself to your room." He was sure he had been too hasty in mentioning his belt. He wasn't comfortable with using it without Harry having been given fair warning of the possibility. The man was too concerned with the damage it could do to their relationship.
"Owww," Harry hissed as he threw the man a mortified glare. "Stop!" There wasn't a chance in hell that he planned on doing as his guardian asked. The man was out of his mind if he thought for even a moment that he was just going to go retrieve the paddle so that he could be embarrassed even further in front of Remus. The fact that Snape even mentioned the paddle was more than enough in Harry's opinion.
Remus cringed slightly at the scene. He did not blame his friend in the least for his reaction, nor did he feel compelled to speak on Harry's behalf, the child had stepped willfully over the line. Still, he didn't enjoy being a witness to it all.
"Do as I have said and then take yourself to you room."
"No," Harry replied once more. "You aren't being fair at all. You won't even listen to reason!"
"Reason?" Snape huffed. "You asked me and I told you no. There is no reason."
"And Remus is here," Harry spoke in practically a whisper.
"Remus is about to see you over my knee if you do not do as I have said and fetch the paddle and go to your room." Snape spoke the words before he could stop himself. He had no intention of disciplining his child any more harshly than he currently was in front of his friend. He was sure Harry would never forgive him if he did.
Harry felt his face burning and his heart beating against his chest as he shook his head at the words. Swatting him was one thing but giving him a proper walloping in front of Remus was just too much, even for Snape.
"Harry," Remus said in a low voice before he could stop himself. "Listen to, Severus, please."
The teenager could feel the tears building behind his eyes as he stayed rooted to his spot. He wasn't going to give in. He was sure that Snape was bluffing. He wasn't a blasted toddler! He wasn't going to let Snape tell him what to do!
Snape stood silently, slowly counting backwards from ten. When the number one crossed through his mind he took a step forward, wrapping his hand around the boy's upper arm. His free hand came down in quick succession several times as he walked Harry across the room to the desk. "Fetch the paddle. Now!"
"Snaaaape!" Harry whined before he could stop himself, absolutely mortified at what was taking place. He tried his hardest to keep his voice low but he was sure Remus heard him despite that.
"Now, Harry. This is your final warning!" The man landed one more, hard swat.
"O-okaaay!" Harry replied, the tears now streaming down his face as he tried desperately to make them stop. With shaky hands, he leaned against the desk for a moment before slowly opening the drawer and pulling out the dreaded implement.
The moment that the boy's hands were out of the way, Snape slammed the desk drawer shut and quickly turned the child, moving in the direction of the hallway. With every step, he landed another hard swat to the jean clad backside. "When I tell you to do something, you do it! Are we clear?"
"Ye- oww! Yes!" Harry tried desperately to squirm his rear end out of the way of the man's hand. "Stooop!"
"I have not even begun!" Snape snapped as he led the boy down the hall to his bedroom.
Remus took in a shuddering breath as he watched the two disappear down the hall. He could not help but feel horrible for the boy. Still, he could not bring himself to step in and attempt to calm his friend. Harry had known better. He had flat out disobeyed and in one of the worst ways possible.
Snape moved into Harry's room with the boy still in tow before closing the door loudly behind them. Before the man could forget he waved a hand casting a silencing charm, already feeling the guilt creep through him at the scene that had just played out in front of Remus.
He let go of his child, Harry's right hand immediately and without his consent moving to attempt to rub the sting out of his rear end.
"What the hell?" Harry bellowed before he could stop himself. He practically threw the paddle onto his bed before raising a hand and brushing several tears from his face.
Snape's lips set into a tight line as he tried to reel in his temper. He knew how hard he had already been on his child; his own hand was still stinging. "Corner," Snape said harshly. "Now."
"I'm too old for that!" Harry fought to keep himself from whining at the demand.
"Harry," the man practically hissed. "If you do not get your backside into that corner and allow me a moment to calm down…" The man's words trailed off as he refrained from threatening his child with something that he was not prepared to follow through with.
"And you call me dramatic," Harry huffed under his breath as he moved towards the corner.
"Silence!" Snape barked as he sat down on the teenager's bed. He closed his eyes for a moment, slowly counting backwards from ten once more as he attempted to reign in his temper.
A moment later a loud sniffle from the corner caused his eyes to slowly open and move to his son. He watched as Harry's shoulders shook, the teenager's head resting against the corner of the wall as his right hand snaked around him to rub furiously at his rear end once more.
The room remained silent for nearly ten minutes before Harry spoke in a hoarse tone. "You did-didn't have to do that," he sniffed loudly his hand moving to rub roughly at his nose. "In-in front of Remus…so em-embarassing."
When he heard his child's voice, Snape's first instinct was to remind him to be silent and re-start the time that Harry had spent in the corner. When the words that the boy had spoken registered, however, Snape felt a pang of guilt mixing with his anger and disappointment. The man's eyebrows pinched together as he thought over what had occurred in the parlor. He had swatted the boy three times before giving him the opportunity to leave the room, it was only when Harry had flat out refused that Snape had been left with no choice but to force him to do so. Aside from that, Remus was practically family and Harry had given his blessing to the man staying with them. If the fifteen-year-old had thought that a situation like this was completely out of the realm of possibility, Snape could not help that.
His eyes roamed from his child to the clock on Harry's desk. He wasn't certain how long his child had been in the corner but he was sure that the teenager could handle another five minutes.
"Sn-Snaaape," Harry whined softly. "You aren't even being fair!" The teenager kicked the wall softly. "At all!"
"Kick that wall even once more and I assure you that I will make sure you never want to kick anything again." Snape's tone was low causing Harry to shudder slightly in response to it.
"B-but you aren't even listening," Harry croaked. "Th-that's not fair."
"I intend to discuss this with you when I have decided that you have been in the corner long enough." Snape paused, his eyes glancing at the clock once more. "If you would like your time over there to come to an end, I expect you to hush your mouth and behave properly."
Harry gave a small huff at the words but otherwise refrained from speaking again. He hated the blasted corner and Snape knew it! Aside from that, he was far too old for it! He wasn't some sodding toddler. He was too old for any of this. At the most, if Snape was that upset, he should be put on restriction. He was nearly of age for Merlin's sake!
Snape watched as the last minute slowly ticked by on the clock. The man had hoped that he would have felt much calmer but his feelings had hardly lessened at all.
He cleared his throat loudly before sitting up a bit straighter. "To me."
Harry took in a deep breath before slowly turning around. His eyes narrowed slightly on his guardian before he made his way over to the man. He stopped less than a foot away practically whining when Snape reached out and took hold of his wrist, gently pulling him to the space between his knees.
"What were you thinking?" Snape questioned in a stern tone.
Harry's eyes instantly traveled down to the man's knee as he shrugged despite knowing his guardian hated that action as a response.
"Absolutely not." Snape reached out tapping the boy's chin firmly. "I expect you to look at me and answer me properly this instant."
"I wanted to get my side of the story out," Harry replied with as much attitude as he dared, his eyes remining downcast.
Snape's hand reached out, taking a firm grip on the boy's chin as he forced Harry to look up at him.
The teenager jerked his head slightly in an attempt to free himself before he forced his face to relax in the man's hand. He wouldn't apologize for this. He didn't care what Snape said or did, he wasn't going to apologize for telling the truth.
"Have you any idea how difficult the Ministry could make things after this?" Snape questioned, worry taking over his features despite his best attempt at keeping his anxiety over the situation concealed.
Harry closed his eyes tightly at the question, shrugging a shoulder once more.
"I am attempting to give you a chance to discuss this and you are responding by shrugging your shoulders?" Snape hissed. "How very disappointing."
"It doesn't matter what I say," Harry snapped as his eyes opened. "You will never admit that you are wrong about this."
"Why is it that you feel that I am wrong and you are right?" Snape released his grip on the boy's chin giving him a stern look of warning to remind him to keep his eyes off of the ground.
Harry let out an exasperated sigh at the question. "I told the truth Severus! I told the real story of what happened that night in the graveyard. People have a right to know the truth! I didn't do anything wrong."
Snape gave a small nod at the boy's words. "You did tell the truth, you are right. That being said, you know what is currently happening with the Ministry. You know that Dolores Umbridge is here and that I have asked you multiple times now to keep yourself out of trouble and off of her
radar. You know that the Ministry wants nothing more than a reason to take you from my care. Do you not imagine that this interview will anger them? Have you not thought about the repercussions of your actions and what they could mean for you?"
"I don't care," Harry replied in an irritated tone. "They are lying and they know it!"
Snape chose to ignore the reply despite how tempted he was to land a firm dozen swats to the teenager's disobedient backside. "What did I tell you when you asked me about the interview?"
Harry bit down on his bottom lip as he gave the man an annoyed glare. He hated when Snape asked him questions that they both already knew the answer to.
The man's hand snaked around the boy, landing a hard smack to his rear end. "Answer my question."
Harry jumped slightly, the tears that had stopped reappearing in his eyes at the instant sting that took over his bum. He hated himself for appearing so affected by it. "You told me no," he replied through gritted teeth. "But-"
"No," Snape cut the boy off with the firm word. "Absolutely not. You. Know. Better." His hand moved, his pointer finger firmly tapping the boy's chin with each word. "Regardless of whether or not you agree with me, you know better than to blatantly disobey me."
"You are wrong," Harry replied refusing to budge from his stance. "I am practically of age and all you do is treat me like a sodding toddler. If I want to do an interview, I should be allowed to regardless of what you think of it!"
"You are a far cry from of age," Snape shook his head at the boy's words. "And unfortunately for you, until you are of age, I am your guardian and you will follow the rules which I set. That includes obeying me when I tell you that you are not allowed to do something."
Harry somehow refrained from rolling his eyes at the words. He would have liked to tell Snape that he didn't care what the man said, he wasn't sorry for his actions and he did not regret them.
The man reached a hand out, gently removing Harry's glasses from his face. He folded them before leaning over and placing them on Harry's bedside table. "I am extremely disappointed in your actions, Harry."
Harry felt his chest grow heavy as he forced the words out of his mouth. "Yeah well, I'm disappointed in you."
Snape raised an eyebrow, struggling to keep the hurt he felt from showing on his face. He took hold of Harry's arm, easily moving the boy back a step before reaching out and popping open the button on the child's trousers. "I am sure you will feel even more disappointed in a moment."
Although Harry did jerk his arm slightly as Snape moved him to his side, he otherwise remained silent, that silence continuing as the man quickly lowered his trousers and shorts and then guided him over his lap.
The teenager clamped his mouth shut making a silent vow to himself that he wouldn't show any emotion at all. Forget the fact that he had already cried and that tears were currently rimming his eyes. He didn't want to give Snape the satisfaction of knowing he had accomplished anything.
Snape's left arm wrapped tightly around the boy's middle before his right moved to pick up the paddle. He did not always use the paddle for the entire spanking but he was sure this time it was justified. Although he hadn't done so in his normal way, the boy had still put himself in danger. In danger of the Ministry using this interview as an excuse to step in, in danger of Dolores targeting his child even more now.
Snape raised the paddle and brought it down on the boy's right cheek before immediately following the action on the left. At the second swat, he felt his son's hand grip at his pant leg, his body jerking slightly.
Snape took a deep breath, hardening his heart as he began spanking in earnest, alternating sides and being sure to cover every inch of his protected target.
Harry sucked in his breath, trying desperately to refrain from begging his guardian to stop. He had already lost the battle with his tears which were now streaming down his face and dripping from his chin. He hated every second of this. He hated the fact that Snape just wouldn't understand.
Snape watched as Harry's backside changed from pale to pink to red, his hand continuing to fall as the paddle peppered the boy's rear end. The man was shocked that Harry had remained silent. It was clear that he was crying but aside from that the boy had not made a sound.
"You cannot take such risky chances," Snape said in a low voice as he focused on the lower portion of the boy's backside. "I cannot allow it, Harry."
A sob escaped the boy as a particularly hard swat hit the lower left side of his bum. "Pl-please," he said softly. "Pleease ju-just stoop."
Snape shook his head as he landed several more, hard swats to his target before stopping. He set the paddle down beside him before his hand moved to gently rub the boy's back.
Harry stayed in the position he was in for all of a moment after he felt Snape's hand on his back. He quickly pushed himself up and righted his clothing. His looked down to the floor, refusing to look at the man.
Snape reached out taking a gentle grip on Harry's elbow before pulling the boy the step forward and wrapping his arms tightly around him.
Harry allowed the man to hug him but for his part he stayed rigid. He didn't want to pretend like everything was okay and hug the man.
At Harry's actions, Snape let out a low sigh of disappointment. "Okay," he gave a firm nod as he gently rubbed the boy's back. "That is fine." The man kept the teenager in his embrace for several long moments before he loosened his grip, frowning as Harry immediately stepped away from him.
"Would you like to discuss this more?"
"No," came the instant reply.
Snape nodded once more. "Fine. That is fine. Perhaps a bit of a nap."
Harry looked up, his eyes locking with his guardian as he glared at him for a moment before giving a small nod.
"Very well." Snape stood. He picked up the paddle from the boy's bed and slipped it into the inner pocket of his cloak. "I will check on you in a bit."
Harry gave another nod but remained silent as he moved over towards his wardrobe, pulling out a pair of pajama pants. There was no point staying in his trousers, he wasn't going anywhere and his pajama pants would be much more comfortable.
"If you change your mind and would like to talk, I will be in the parlor." Snape paused as he moved towards the door. "I am sure Remus would like to speak with you and make sure you are alright," he added. He was sure that the teenager would want Remus, he typically did.
"I don't want to talk to him…or anyone," Harry replied, his right hand moving up to brush the remaining tears from his face. "I just want to be left alone."
"You were not in the wrong." Remus gave his friend a sympathetic look before taking a small sip of his tea. "He blatantly disobeyed you. He knows far better than that. I know that he does."
Snape gave a small hum in reply as he mulled over the words. Several hours had passed since he had stormed into the room. After making sure that Minka delivered a plate of dinner to his child, he had checked on Harry to find him fast asleep, his supper left untouched on his bedside table.
The man knew that his child had been in the wrong, still he could not help the guilt that swept through his body over how the entire matter had played out. He knew Harry was upset with him. He knew that the child had fallen asleep angry. He had hoped for more of a conversation. A chance to explain to his son in a calmer tone exactly why the interview could be so dangerous and what his fears were regarding it. He still hoped for that come morning, though given Harry's attitude over the whole situation, he was not too optimistic.
"If I am being honest, Remus, I am quite shocked that Albus has not already sent word for a meeting to discuss this."
"As am I," Remus replied softly, swirling the liquid around in his teacup slightly before letting out a low breath. "That child is as hardheaded as they come, a trait he unfortunately inherited from his father."
Snape ignored the comparison altogether. While he was sure that Remus' assumptions were correct, he did not like to think of Harry in regards to behaving anything like his father did at his age. "I should likely speak to Albus and bring all of this to his attention before the Ministry has a chance to do so, get ahead of this mess."
Remus gave a single nod in reply. "That certainly would not be a bad idea. I will be here should Harry wake."
Snape stood, a soft sigh escaping him as he did so. "He was so well behaved all summer; we return to Hogwarts and it is as if he forgets how to behave."
A small grin appeared on Remus' lips at the words. "I hardly think he has forgotten how to behave, Severus. There is a lot happening at the moment. It can't be easy on him."
"No, it cannot," Snape agreed as he moved towards the door. "Though that is hardly an excuse for this article."
"You're right, it is not." Remus set his teacup on the coffee table. "Perhaps a bit of teenage rebellion then?"
"Perhaps," Snape agreed as he paused, his hand on the door knob. "However, I would welcome some teenage rebellion that does not put his well being in danger." The man pulled the door open. "I shouldn't be too long." He stepped into the hall, pulling the door shut tightly behind him.
TBC...