Hey everyone! :) Sorry for the late update, I was sick these past days...feeling better now, so here's chapter 4! :)
Thank you Nimphxdora for your awesome review! :) Really appreciate it!
WARNING: Graphic description of violence in this chap (Aurelius is NOT very kind to Tom...)
The night had been uncomfortable as hell- the small bed was hard and the hay had caused him to sneeze several times, waking him up. He was hungry, too, since no one had shown up to bring him anything, not after the elf had run away in terror upon the sight of him.
He yawned, trying to straighten his clothes a little, which were now way too big for him. He hadn't even thought of bringing extra clothes.
I hope they don't just let me starve out of spite down here now.
But then footsteps were coming closer again, and from the sound of them, it definitely was not a house elf this time.
It was Godric Gryffindor.
He felt himself swallowing, not really knowing what to do now- he had mostly dealt with Slytherin, and managed to manipulate him quite easily, and he knew how to handle Aurelius, but Gryffindor…Gryffindor was a whole different story.
They were staring at each other for what felt like an eternity, and then Gryffindor's lips curled into a small, ironic little smile, "well played, boy."
What?
"What's that supposed to mean?", wow, his voice was really high now.
"I can appreciate a well-executed plan, even if the plan is the definition of depravity", he sounded completely casual, leaning against the wall in front of his cell, "how long did it take you to figure all of this out?"
"About…three months", he did not trust Gryffindor's casualness, stepping back, "uhm…you're not…furious?"
To his surprise, the Founder laughed, "furious? No, boy, I am not- because even though your plan was good, Dumbledore's was better", he shot him a smile, "and what happened two days ago saved me from ever having to attack you or your Dark Order- since its history now."
He bit his lips, "does that mean you killed them all?"
"Your little group that was at the Ministry, yes- they are all dead", and damn, did he sound casual about that, "a few of your Death Eaters managed to escape, Pettigrew being one of them, but most of them are at the Ministry, awaiting their trial."
He could not say he was surprised, "so, I am assuming you came here to take me to the nearest orphanage?", he sounded as smug as he felt, knowing that this was the best part about his plan- the fact that he'd be able to walk off without punishment. No judge in the world would sent a child to Azkaban, he had researched that, and the deaging potion Snape had gotten for him had turned him into one. He guessed he was about thirteen or fourteen, a rather small, thin boy- but a boy nonetheless.
"None of them wants you, boy."
"Oh yeah? I'm sure one of them has to take me in, underage children cannot be homeless, it's against the law."
"You did your homework, boy", Gryffindor sounded amused, "nevertheless, they can reject you- and given your name and history, that should not come as a surprise to you, Thomas."
"It's Voldemort."
Gryffindor hummed something, "not anymore, no- now you are simply Thomas, the boy who no one wants."
He had no idea why Gryffindor's casual words stung so much- it must be a side effect of the potion that he suddenly felt so emotional about shit, "so, you gonna keep me locked in here for the rest of my life then?"
"Certainly not- there are things like foster families, Thomas."
Oh, hell no! He's better not saying that…
Gryffindor laughed, "think again, Thomas- I'd be the last person on earth to take you in, but don't worry, I'll find a decent foster family for you, and until then you are going to stay down here in my dungeons."
"Don't you have guestrooms at your Mansion?"
"I sure do- but those are for guests, Thomas."
He snorted, "fine, whatever. Can I at least have some food then? I'm starving."
"Didn't Kirill bring you lunch and dinner yesterday?"
"He ran off screaming once he saw me- even though I have no clue what's so scream worthy, I'd thought I look quite good", he had seen his reflection in the small mirror above the sink, and he had very much liked what he had been seeing: Brown, curly hair, light brown eyes, a handsome, even face with high cheekbones, pearly white teeth, some tiny freckles on his now functioning nose- and it really was a relief to be able to breathe through it again- and some dimples in his cheeks.
"It's a shame your personality does not reflect your looks, Thomas", Gryffindor replied evenly, "I'll advise Kirill to bring you your breakfast right away."
"I want bacon and eggs, some toast, a…"
"You will eat whatever I am going to give you, Thomas."
"That lunch yesterday looked like shit."
"Mmmhh…would you rather eat nothing then?"
"That's the only options I have? Slimy shit or nothing?"
"Precisely."
"I thought you weren't mad at me, Gryffindor."
"I am simply treating you the way you deserve to be treated, Thomas."
He snorted, "yeah, right- I know you want nothing more than to beat me up, sucks that you can't do anything to me, right?", he grinned at him, but his grin vanished when Gryffindor calmly took out his wand, "thank you for reminding me- there is one thing I can do actually."
"Stay…stay away from me with that!", he hated how panicked he sounded, expecting to be tortured now, and Gryffindor just smiled, lifting up his wand. He murmured something, a spell, a very long spell, but…nothing happened. He did not feel much different after he had ended, just a little…dizzy. Strange.
"What…did…youdo…me?", his speech was more slurred, and now he felt dizzy enough to be forced to sit down on the bed again, his head heavy with pain.
"I took your magic away, Thomas", Gryffindor's voice sounded like it came from far, far away, "you are never going to hurt anyone ever again- you are nothing but a Squib now."
"No…nonono…", he mumbled, trying to understand the horror of what Gryffindor had just said, "can't…do…to…me…"
"Get some rest, boy", the voice from far away said, "you are going to need it."
And before he could ask what that meant, everything went black again.
"Mr. Lemarc…any idea?"
Sirius slowly looked up, not liking Snape's tone. He could sense the irritation and the hatred the man was giving off, and it scared him, if he was being honest. Snape had always treated him badly, but then, he basically treated all of the Gryffindor's like dirt under his shoes. Since a few days, his annoyance towards him had turned into spite- and he had to control himself more and more not to lose his temper in Snape's class.
"I…I don't know, Professor."
To be honest, he had not even listened to what Snape was talking about- he barely ever paid attention in class, knowing he'd already done all this before.
"How surprising", Snape's voice had gotten smug, "ten points from Gryffindor for wasting my time."
He felt his anger rising up, how was this fair? Taking points away for not knowing an answer?
"Maybe if your lectures weren't so boring, it wouldn't feel like such a waste of my time, Professor", he blurted out, biting his lips when he heard the shocked gasps of the Gryffindor's and Ravenclaws around him.
Shit. Why did I say that?
Snape's eyes were sparkling with contempt now, and even though he was unable to get past his mental shields- Snape was being one of the best Occlumens in the Kingdom after all- he could sense the hatred towards him increasing.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor for insolence- see me after class, Lemarc."
Shit.
The rest of the lesson passed in a blur, but he could sense the anger and frustration from his classmates around him, since he'd had costed them another sixty points. Gryffindor would be out of house points altogether soon, and he did not even want to imagine what they would do with him then.
He was almost glad when he was not forced to walk out with the rest of his classmates after Snape finally ended the lesson, knowing they would all blame him for the lost points- and rightly so.
He could not help to feel very uncomfortable once the last student had hurried out of the classroom- no one ever stayed any longer in Snape's dungeons than needed- and he was all alone with the Potion Master now.
"I…I'm sorry", he forced himself to say, not meaning any of it. Snape was a git and a sadistic asshole, but he rather not spend the next weeks scrubbing filthy cauldrons.
"Don't even bother- we both know you don't mean that, Black."
He froze.
"What…what did you just…call me?", he did not even recognize his own voice, it sounded strange in his own ears, "my name…I am not…"
Snape let out a scornful little laugh, "you and Lupin think you are so clever, don't you, Black?", his tone was pure venom, "stealing from my potion's cabinet, deaging you and having you attend Hogwarts again- with even less satisfactory results than last time", he examined him coldly, "I'd never thought I would get the displeasure of teaching you, yet here we are."
"I…please…please don't tell anyone!", he croaked, panic in his voice, "Remus…he's just trying to help me, he was desperate, he did not mean to steal from you!"
"Yet he did."
"He didn't know what else to do! The Ministry is looking for me!"
"And how is that my problem, Mr. Lemarc?", Snape's eyes had gotten dark enough they almost looked black, "I am not going to be your accomplice in hiding you- and why should I? Name me one reason why I should help you."
Sirius closed his eyes in defeat, knowing very well there was no reason- Snape hated him with a passion, and he could not even say his hatred wasn't justified. They had made his life hell back then, him and James.
"For…for Remus", he eventually whispered, not knowing what else to say, "if you tell the Ministry on me, they'd fire him, and he's a werewolf, he won't easily get another job."
"I could care less about Lupin and his issues."
"What…do you want from me then? Do you want me to beg? Kneel? I'll do whatever you want, Snape."
Snape's eyes glinted, "certainly not- I just want you gone, Black. Gone from my classroom, and gone from my sight."
"You…you gonna kill me?", he stumbled back, terror in his voice, "please, I…"
Snape snorted, "I am not going to kill you, Black- stop being ridiculous. I am simply going to get you expelled, and seeing your behavior and your constant outbursts, it actually won't take much longer until they are all sick of you here."
Sirius could only stare, "you…you can't expel me! That's the headmaster's decision!"
"Precisely- and the headmaster will be very willing to let you go the more house points you lose, Black", he sounded casual, and Sirius wanted to punch him for that, "you think what you and Potter did back then to me was bad? Well, very soon you will be on the receiving end- and you will regret ever setting a step into my classroom", it sounded like the threat it was, "one sloppy homework, one slightest bit of disruption or inattention…and I am going to reduce you to tears, Black."
He paled, "we…can't we talk about…"
"We just did- and I've nothing more to say to you, Black. Get out of my classroom."
Sirius swallowed hard, "please…"
"Get out, Black."
Realizing that this was pointless, Sirius wordlessly grabbed his things and left the room, trembling the whole time. He knew he was in for a lot of pain- and not the physical type. Snape would mock and humiliate and taunt him until he lost control if he as much as misspelled a word in the future, and since he knew him so well, he knew exactly which buttons to push.
What do I do now? What the hell do I do?
Something wet and cold touched his face, causing him to cough and to drowsily open his eyes, "what the fu…"
"Did you really think I'd just let you leave without saying goodbye?", Aurelius walked closer, and he was smiling, but the smile did not reach his eyes, "up you get, boy."
Tom coughed again, realizing that Aurelius must have poured cold water over his face and chest, "it's in the middle of the fucking night, you…"
"Up you get, I said", and just now he saw what Aurelius was holding in his hand, and he tensed, "why…why are you here?"
This is going to hurt.
"Didn't I just tell you? To say goodbye- the way you deserve it", he walked even closer until he was standing right in front of his small bed now, and when he slowly stood up, he realized with some dread how much taller Aurelius was now- and how much stronger.
"I'll take it you know what this is, boy?", he held up the damn thing in his hand, and Tom bit his lips, turning his head.
Aurelius had to laugh, the sound of it sardonic, "none of that, boy- I asked you a question, and you will answer me. Now, do you know what this is?"
"A broom?"
There was a silence, the tension between them thick enough to be cut with a knife, and then Aurelius smiled, "I see. You want to play, Thomas? We'll play- but this time, it will be under my rules."
"Haven't you realized by now that you can't win against me?"
"I'll win this round, make no mistake about it."
"Whatever", he shrugged, doing his best to appear casual, "since I'm already awake…"
"Come here, Thomas."
Everything inside him screamed against obeying Aurelius, and he seemed to get that since he calmly lifted his hand with the whip, and next thing he knew, fire exploded on his back.
Shit, shit, shit!
"Hurts, doesn't it?", Aurelius sounded completely unsympathetic, "come here, Thomas", he had walked back over to the door, and he clenched his teeth together and started to walk.
"Fuck!", the whip hit him again, on the same fucking spot, and he could hear Aurelius laugh softly, "did I say anything about walking, Thomas?", he pointed at the floor, and Tom could feel his eyes turning red with fury. He knew better than to let his emotions control him though, so he wordlessly got on his knees, having an idea where this was going now.
"Let's try this again, shall we? Come here, boy."
He kept his eyes on the ground while he crawled over to Aurelius, and he could hear the older boy hum with approval, "ready to play, Thomas?"
"Do I have a choice?"
Aurelius had to laugh, "no, not really", he sounded amused, "now, I want you to go back to your bed and bring me some of the hay."
He started to crawl, hissing when the whip hit him again, "did I say anything about crawling, boy? You need to pay better attention than that."
He stood up, his back protesting from the pain, and then he walked over to his bed, hesitating when he looked at the hay.
"How much hay do you want?"
He stifled a whimper when he felt the whip on his back, and this time, his skin broke, causing blood to trickle down his backside, "what the fuck is wrong now?"
Another lick, "I didn't give you permission to speak, did I?"
He stayed silent.
A lick, "answer me, boy!"
He braced himself, "no, you did not give me permission."
The next lick almost made him crumble to the ground, "precisely- then why are you talking?"
He forced back the tears, knowing he'd get whipped either way- for staying silent and not answering the question or for speaking up without permission.
Fucking bastard.
The whip hit him on his lower back this time, "I asked you a question- and you better answer me, boy."
He stayed silent.
"You're a stubborn one, hmm?", Aurelius sounded almost…amused, "but don't worry, we got all night- all night to make sure you get what you deserve."
He grabbed some hay, knowing it would most likely not even matter- Aurelius would whip him for either bringing him too much or not enough. It was a game he couldn't win.
Crawling back with the hay got him whipped again, since Aurelius apparently wanted him to walk now, and the hay was not enough- surprise- so he got another, harder lick.
His backside was wet with blood now, his robes glued to his shirt which felt icky and weird, and Aurelius had only just begun.
"Back to your bed- get me more hay."
He walked, howling in pain when Aurelius whipped him, "crawl, boy."
He got down on his knees again, crawling over to the bed. He could only hope Aurelius would get tired of this soon, since he made sure he did not argue or talk back.
This time, he took all the hay off the bed, not giving a damn anymore. He crawled back, got whipped for crawling instead of walking, and then he dumped the hay in front of Aurelius.
Fucking suffocate on it, asshole.
"Now go and make the hay nice and wet, boy", he pointed over to the sink, "and then come back."
"Do you want me to crawl?"
A lick.
"Did I give you permission to speak?"
Fuck. You.
He walked over to the sink, knowing he'd get whipped anyways, which he did, causing him to sob with agony.
This hurts, hurts so fucking bad!
"Hurry, boy- you've wasted enough of my time already."
He walked back without another word, dropping the soaked hay in front of Aurelius, and the older boy smiled, "bring it back to your bed- you'll sleep on that tonight."
Fuck. You!
He walked again, since he'd get whipped for crawling anyways and this was a little less painful, but the next lick was hard enough for him to gasp, sucking in air.
"Time for another game, hmm?", Aurelius did not comment on the fact that his whole backside was a bloody mess already, "on your hands and knees, boy."
He obeyed silently, keeping his eyes steadfastly on the hard ground below him. He would not give Aurelius the satisfaction of seeing his face twist with pain.
"You are going to do a little bit of crawling for me now- to the window and back", Aurelius told him calmly, "there's a time limit for that, I'll count the seconds for you out loud, so you better hurry."
How many seconds do I have?
"Six…five…"
He scrambled to get to the window, making it there just before Aurelius said two.
"That's two seconds to get back here now."
Great- another game I can't win.
He crawled back as fast as he could, not caring how humiliating this was- anything was better than more licks with that damn whip.
"And…zero", the whip hit him between his shoulders, and he screamed out in pain, crumbling to the floor, "fuck, fuck fuuuck!"
"Again, Thomas", Aurelius simply said, "hands and knees, boy."
This time, he only got three seconds to get to the window, which was impossible- and his knees were already rubbed sore, starting to bleed.
And it only got worse.
"Four…three…two…one…zero."
A lick.
"Three…two…one…zero."
Another lick.
He was panting, trying to get to the damn window before the whip hit him, with Aurelius casually counting down the seconds in the background.
His whole body was screaming in agony, and it got harder and harder to even make himself to start crawling, his knees a bloody mush already, his back on fire.
"Do you need me to stop, Thomas?", Aurelius' voice was very calm, "beg me to stop and I stop."
"I…don't…beg."
"That's a shame", he did not sound like it was, though, "four seconds, boy. Four…three…"
Every move was hell, everything was hell, and he collapsed right in front of the window, having one second left.
"Hands and knees, Thomas- you have one second to get back to me."
"I…can't."
He couldn't.
"I might have something to help you to obey", Aurelius held up the whip again, "hands and knees- or it's ten licks with the whip."
Ohgod.
"You…you'll kill me", he was drooling, but he did not even notice it, "I know…you hate me for…what I did…"
"Hate you? I don't hate you, Thomas- hate is an emotion, and a quite useless one", he stepped closer, "but I am going to punish you for what you did to my family, to us, to me- and to our army. You caused my parents and myself a great amount of suffering, and I will never forgive you for that."
"I didn't…attack you."
He roared when the whip came down hard enough to cut his robes, "lie to me again and I tie you to your bed and give you twenty without a break, understand?"
"Yes", he was already close to passing out, and he knew he would not be able to handle much more of Aurelius' goodbye present.
"You destroyed my family, Thomas", his voice had gotten icy, "my parents are close to a divorce now, our army has suffered loss, and my father looks like a joke to everyone after he has spent months of negotiating this truce with you."
He stayed silent, knowing there was nothing he could say- he wasn't sorry for what he did, far from it, but he knew Aurelius was close to completely lose it, so anything he'd say now would just cause him more pain.
"And making my father feel sorry for you with that fake memory you showed him? That was low, even for your standards, Voldemort."
"Shouldn't…have snooped around my mind then", he mumbled, not able to stay silent this time, "your…own damn fault."
He had expected to get whipped for that comment, but Aurelius simply laughed, "you know, I could snoop around in your mind all I want now, Squib."
He winced like he had been slapped, and Aurelius laughed again, "you don't like that? Being called what you are now? A Squib?"
"I'm not…a Squib", he spat out, and this time, he did get the whip, and out of instinct, he curled himself into a ball on the ground.
"You are, Thomas. You are nothing but a useless, weak Squib."
"Fuck you!"
A lick.
"Now, I want you to say it- tell me what you are, Thomas."
Another lick, causing him to see stars.
"I won't. I'll crawl for you, I'll kneel for you, but I won't do that."
Aurelius hummed, "that's just a matter of time, Thomas- and of finding the right method of encouragement for you", he took a small vial out of his robes, crouching down in front of him, "any idea what this is?"
"A potion?"
"Smart boy- it's Salarium."
For a second, his vision whitened, and then he dragged himself over to the wall, anything to bring distance between himself and Aurelius, even though he knew it was pointless. Aurelius was older, stronger, had a wand- and the damn whip.
"Please…", and screw him for making him beg, "please not…not that."
"Sounds like you know what Salarium does then?", Aurelius was smiling, casually opening the vial, "it almost smells like the ocean."
He felt like throwing up, "I am a useless, weak Squib", he choked out, "please…don't."
"Who knew you could beg so nicely, Thomas?", he made no attempt to close the vial again, "turn around and lie on your stomach."
"I said it! I said what you wanted!"
"Hmmm…you did", Aurelius was still smiling, "unfortunately, I changed my mind- you'll still get some Salarium."
"That's not…that's not fucking fair!"
"It's not", Aurelius agreed, gently turning him over until he was lying on his stomach, "now you know how my family felt when you decided you don't want a truce after all. Not a good feeling is it?"
He started to cry, "please…you can't…"
"I can, Thomas", Aurelius replied mildly, removing his blood-soaked robes from his back, exposing his tortured backside, "mmmhh…got you good there, boy. This is going to burn."
"Don't! Don't!"
Aurelius just chuckled with amusement, and then he poured some drops of the Salarium onto Tom's bloodied back- and the boy started to scream, he screamed so loud his ears started to ring, and he tried to crawl away, to get away from the blinding, horrible pain- but Aurelius held him in a tight grip, not allowing him to move an inch.
"Please, please stop! Stop! It hurts, it hurts!"
Aurelius ignored his frantic pleas, watching somewhat fascinated how the salt-based Salarium closed the wounds within seconds, healing the boy.
"Aurelius, please! No more, I'll do…I'll do anything…", the boy was sobbing, his face a mess of sweat, drool, and tears, and then he carefully nuzzled his head into his leg, and Aurelius had to laugh, "it's a little late for that, don't you think?", he slowly extended his hand to caress his tousled hair, just for a few seconds, and Tom stared at him with wide eyes, the expression on his face full of fear and helplessness.
He smiled when Tom nuzzled into him again, and for a moment, he imagined how it would be to train the boy- to make him completely surrender to him, to turn him into his good boy. He'd would have to get rid of his stubbornness and arrogance first, and it would be a long, difficult process- he'd make the boy obey his every command, he'd make him sit still for hours, make him hold his hand whenever they went somewhere, and make him eat his food out of his hands, and once he was his sweet boy, he'd build him back up, making sure he was confident, and strong, and happy.
How long would that take? Six, seven weeks?
He kept caressing Tom's hair, and the boy held absolutely still, not daring to even wince. The boy clearly had potential- but he knew that this would be an essential part of training as well, along with plenty of snuggles, with praise and rewards, with love- and he could not love the boy, not after he had ruined everything.
It's a shame, really- he'd be perfect for obedience training.
Thinking of Thomas looking up to him, his face an expression of awe, of wanting to be his good boy was quite tempting, though- but he knew he had to be realistic here. The boy would go to a foster family, he'd get a fresh start- which was more than he deserved anyways- and they would most likely never see each other again after tonight.
"Hurts, Relius", the boy mumbled now, already on the verge of falling asleep, and Aurelius sighed.
You are making this harder than you should, boy.
"Close your eyes and sleep, Thomas", he told him, keeping his voice even, "I'll take care of your injuries."
"Hurts!"
"Shhh…I know. I'll make it stop hurting if you can be nice and quiet for me now."
Tom blinked at him drowsily, but then he did close his eyes, staying completely quiet.
Wasted potential, that boy.
He casted a quick numbing spell, and then he poured the rest of the healing potion across the boy's backside, causing the welts to disappear within seconds. Tom was asleep before he was even done, so he transferred him over to the bed with a mumbled Wingardium Leviosa and then he saw the soaked hay on the bed, rolled his eyes, and dried it with another quick spell. He carefully lowered the boy onto the bed, Tom sleeping deeply enough to not even stir.
"Goodbye, Thomas", and then he turned around and left, not looking back again.
well...I dare say they WILL see each other again ;) and there will be more Tom/ Gryff in the next chap!
I'd love some feedback! :)
xoxo,
Antonie.