Happy New Year 2023 everyone! :) I hope it will be a great year for all of you!

Thank you so much AM041215 and Gypsyrose98 for your lovely compliments! It makes me so happy you enjoy my stories!

WARNING: Graphic description of violence.

Relius?

Yes, baby?

I…if I go to bed an hour early every day next week, could I sleep over then?

Aurelius had to smile, feeling immensely proud of the boy. He had hoped Sirius would offer him some kind of remediation- or he'd offer him something eventually- and he was very pleased with the boy for doing it on its own.

I am so proud of you, Sirius.

Uhm…you are?

I am- for trying to fix your mistake, and for finding an appropriate punishment that relates to what you did wrong in the first place.

Does…does that mean…

Yes, that means you get to sleep over tonight, sweet boy. I'd punish myself if I did not let you snuggle all night anyways.

Do you…like snuggling me, then?

I love snuggling you, my boy.

I love snuggling with you too, Relius.

I figured.

Don't laugh at me!

I am not laughing at you, pumpkin. I have to finish studying now, but I'll see you tonight, okay? Be at my quarters right after dinner.

Okay! I'll be there! I am so excited!

He could hear Aurelius laugh again, and then their mental connection closed. Sirius could hardly concentrate on the book in front of him anymore, too excited to read. Aurelius would come and he would snuggle him and hold him and keep him safe all night. It was going to be perfect.

Sirius was careful not to get in any trouble at the last second, and after dinner, when it was finally time to go and see Aurelius, he had to stop himself from racing down the hallways.

I am so excited!

"Relius!", the older boy had barely opened the door when Sirius threw himself at him, beaming, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, pumpkin", Aurelius easily picked him up, smiling as well, "did you have a good dinner?"

"Yeah, but I could still eat some dessert!"

Aurelius had to laugh, "I bet you do- good thing I got you a surprise then."

"For dessert?"

"For dessert. It's in the bedroom."

Sirius frowned, "you have my dessert in the bedroom? That's…weird."

"Just go and see- you'll like it, I promise."

The boy looked at him curiously, but then he did go over to the bedroom- and his eyes widened in amazement, "chocolate frogs!"

There were at least half a dozen of them- jumping and croaking and one of them was even hanging from the curtains, and Sirius had to laugh, "come look, Relius!"

Aurelius stepped behind him, "I see you found your surprise."

"Are they all for me to eat?"

"Just the ones you manage to catch, little pumpkin."

"How do I catch them, Relius?"

"With a net", he handed him one, "but be aware there is a time limit to catch them- you have five minutes."

Sirius' whole face lit up with excitement, "that's so fun! I am gonna catch them all, you'll see!"

Aurelius had to smile, secretly relieved that the boy seemed to enjoy his surprise. He was still struggling with figuring out how to be what Sirius needed, but whenever the boy declared he loved his ideas, he got more and more confident.

"Alright- time starts right…now!"

Sirius giggled, he was loving this, and then he swung the net at the first frog who croaked in surprise and made a jump for the bed.

"He's escaping, Relius!"

"You need to block him, little bear- anticipate their moves and act accordingly."

"I'll try!"

Aurelius' game turned out to be great fun- Sirius was racing across the room, swinging his net at the frogs, and when five minutes were over, he had managed to catch four chocolate frogs.

"Gonna eat them all, Relius!"

"You won't share them with me?"

"All mine!"

Sirius squealed when Aurelius picked him up and started to tickle him mercilessly, "nooo…stoop! Tickles! Share…one! You get one!"

"That's what I wanted to hear", Aurelius winked at him, and then he carefully hugged him tighter, and Sirius happily snuggled into the embrace, "that was mean!", he was smiling though, loving the banter between them.

They ate their chocolate frogs eventually, snuggled on the couch together. After that, Aurelius carried him into the bathroom for his bath, and once Sirius was clean and getting tired, he got dried off and helped into a soft pair of pajamas.

"Story now!", the boy demanded once he was snuggled into Aurelius' bed, "scary story!"

"How about a Halloween story?", Aurelius suggested, and when Sirius' eyes lit up, he knew he'd made the right decision again.

"That's perfect! It's almost Halloween anyways! Are there scary pumpkins in the story?"

"I only know of one scary little pumpkin."

"You're so mean!", Sirius threw a pillow at him, and Aurelius laughed, "come here", he pulled him in his lap, and Sirius made a happy sound, nuzzling his head into his chest, "scary pumpkins and scary wizards!", he told the older boy, "and maybe some extra scary gnomes!"

"I've never heard of scary gnomes, sweet boy."

"They exist! There's a whole league of scary gnomes!", Sirius explained, and just like that, Aurelius knew how to start his story, "you mean the Underground League of Gnomes? Those I've heard of obviously- and it all started when one day, a gnome decided that…"

Sirius snuggled closer, listening attentively. Aurelius had gotten better with storytelling, and he'd gotten better with knowing when he wanted to be picked up, carried, or snuggled.

Halfway through the story, he started to yawn softly, getting tired, and he smiled when Aurelius gave him a soft kiss on his head, "sleepy little boy", it sounded amused, "should we save the rest of the story for tomorrow?"

Sirius grunted something, yawning again after a few seconds, and that was all Aurelius needed to know. He gently put Sirius back into bed and tucked him in carefully, with the boy blinking at him drowsily.

"Stay, Relius?"

"I'll stay for a little bit, yes", he smiled at the younger boy, caressing his hair with one hand, "quiet time now- sleep well, my boy."

Sirius got his goodnight kiss, causing him to smile back at Aurelius, and then he obediently closed his eyes, snuggling under the sheets.

He was warm, cozy and safe- and he loved Aurelius' hand in his hair, caressing it slowly.

Love you, Relius.

"I love you too, baby bear. My sweet little boy."

And with that thought, the boy fell asleep, still smiling.

"Are you still hungry? Really?", Tom had to laugh, feeding Squirrel another sausage, which the dog quickly chewed and swallowed.

He had spent about 50 pounds at the corner store on food, drinks, and some smaller stuff they had needed, and now the abandoned office felt even more like a home. It had gotten colder, but he was not afraid of the cold- now that he had extra blankets, the jacket from Gryffindor and the small fireplace outside he'd build.

"Mylord."

Tom did not bother to turn around to look at his servant, he had gotten incredibly frustrated with Pettigrew lately. Peter only showed up whenever he felt like it- which wasn't often- and he never offered any help with anything anymore, it seemed like he was only checking in to see if Tom had gotten more food or any money.

He had not told Pettigrew about the 500 pounds from Gryffindor, he had not told him about Gryffindor at all, and he certainly wasn't planning to.

"Mylord, you…went and got food?"

"I did."

Peter licked his lips, he was getting bored with the same old same old trash he had to eat as a rat, "it looks…delicious. Should the dog eat the…the sausage, though?"

Tom tensed, "why shouldn't he?"

"He's an animal."

The only animal here is you.

"Squirrel loves sausages."

Since he was still not looking at Wormtail, he did not see that his face had turned into an expression of hatred, causing him to look even uglier. Peter was sick of living like this- his Master did not seem to care to improve their living situations, he had come back from their heist empty-handed, and since then, he had not bothered to try anything similar.

Wormtail was slowly but surely losing all his respect for his Lord, and he had gotten extremely jealous of Squirrel, who his Master seemed to care a lot more than him, his dutiful servant.

"Is there…any other event we could…"

"No. Stop talking about that. I told you I am not going to do that again."

Peter was fuming, but he held himself together, "of course, Mylord. I apologize."

"We are going to be okay, just…trust me."

"Yes, Mylord."

Pettigrew did not trust his Lord anymore, though- and he was done pretending he did. He had also gotten very suspicious, not understanding where his Master suddenly had got all the money for the food, and that same night when Tom and Squirrel were asleep, he decided to investigate. Transformed into a rat, he started snooping through the abandoned office, and after about an hour of very careful searching, his patience got rewarded.

He found the envelope.

Peter lost no time transforming back into his human form, and once he had counted the money, he knew his time with his Lord was up.

"Little shit, not telling me about all this- hiding this from me", he hissed quietly, all respect for his former Master gone, "making sure the damn dog eats but not me, eh? Now see how you eat without any money!", he snickered to himself, taking the money out of the envelope and tossing the empty envelope on the ground- he wanted his Lord to find it there the next morning.

Minutes later, he was gone- relishing in the fact that his former Lord and his damn mutt were going to figure out how to make money now, and he was certainly not going to help with that any longer.

I wish I could see his face tomorrow morning- he's going to freak out!

Tom did freak out once he saw the envelope on the floor, and when he realized it was empty, the 450 pounds he'd had gone, he felt close to crying. It did not need much imagination to know what had happened- Pettigrew had found the money, and decided to run off with it.

"What are we gonna do now, Squirrel?", his voice cracked, thinking that there only had a few days of food left- and then what? Without Pettigrew, he had no help here, he'd been the only one who knew he even lived here.

Squirrel barked, trying to cheer him up, but Tom sighed, "we need a plan, Squirrel", he murmured, sitting down next to his dog and petting his head, "a very good plan."

He could pack up and leave- but where to? He could go back to Patty and Mike- and the strap and freaky Felicity. He could ask Gryffindor for help- and run into Aurelius again.

Tom groaned, knowing very well he was stuck here. Besides, it was doubtful he'd find anything as perfect of a hiding spot as the office, where no one bothered him, and where he was mostly warm and safe at night.

"I need to get a job", he mumbled, still petting Squirrel, "somewhere Downtown- maybe in a kitchen where they won't ask questions."

He had no other choice anyways- since stealing had turned out to be a disaster. There had to be some shady pub in London where they would hire him without being bothered that he was underage, had no experience and no address.

Tom left to find a job the same day, knowing he had to hurry if he and Squirrel did not want to starve soon.

"What do you want? A job? How old are you even?"

"Go back to school, boy- I don't need you."

"No experience? Sorry- that won't do it here."

"Do your parents know you are here?"

And so on and so on. The more places he went, the more frustrated he got. Even the shadiest pubs had not wanted him, and he was now in a fancy part of Downtown, close to Seymour's College, walking down a street. He almost missed the small café squeezed in between two huge buildings, and when he saw the sign in the window saying Help Wanted, his heart began to beat faster.

Maybe I shouldn't tell them I don't have any experience.

He opened the door to the café, it was a cozy, expensively decorated room with white tables and red armchairs, and it smelled like oranges, cinnamon, and freshly baked chocolate cookies. The tables were arranged by the huge storefront window, which allowed anyone to look out on the busy street of London.

"Uhm…hello?"

"We're closed!", someone snapped right back, "can't you read, dimwit?"

Great. Another failed try.

Tom turned around to leave, when suddenly a tall, intimidating looking man with black hair, a black mustache and eyes that were almost black as well, stepped into the room. He was wearing a white apron, black pants, and a stained white shirt under the apron.

"What you want, kid?", he snarled at him, his eyes narrowing, "I'm busy."

"I…I'm sorry. I saw the sign…that you are looking for help, and…"

"Yeah- have been looking for months now", the man interrupted him, "you know what the problem is with people today? They are all fucking lazy. No one wants to actually do the work anymore, they all just want to sit around and get served on."

Or maybe they just don't want to work for a brute like you?

"You have any experience in the kitchen?"

"Yes, Sir- my parents own a…a restaurant, so I am used to helping."

"Then why not work for them?"

"They…don't want to pay me", Tom lied, "they say since I am part of the family, and since I am going to inherit the restaurant…"

The man started to laugh loudly, "so you thought you get your money somewhere else, eh? I like you, kid- that's a good way of thinking. Tell you what, I can pay you four pounds an hour- how does that sound?"

Cheap. Very cheap.

"Sounds…great!", he forced himself to sound enthusiastic, "when can I start?"

"Right away- you'll be mostly working in the kitchen while I serve the guests. Lots of posh assholes coming in here, so the tips are usually good."

But not for me since I'll be stuck in the kitchen- got it.

"We mostly get busy for lunch and tea time", the guy went on, "so lots of cooking tea and slicing cakes for you. I'll be mostly baking, and we have a girl coming in to help with the cleaning and all that other pussy shit. Come on, I'll show you the kitchen- what's your name by the way?"

"I'm Tom."

"Alright- you can call me Mr. Hannigsworth, or Sir works too for me", he laughed like he had made a joke, "hours are from 10 am to 7 pm- you good with that?"

"That's perfect."

Hannigsworth did not even bother to ask about school, clearly not interested in that, "make sure you're always as sickly friendly as you can to the guests- sometimes the owner comes in, and he hates it when he don't treat those faggots like they're royalty."

"No…problem."

He was relieved to find out Hannigsworth was not the owner- would have surprised him anyways. His new boss took his time explaining everything to him in the kitchen, which was extremely neat and organized, and Tom tried hard to remember what his new job entailed.

Two hours later, he went back home- with Hannigsworth letting him have a slice of fudge cake for free, which tasted utterly delicious.

He might be an asshole, but one that can bake.

His opinion of his boss did not change much during the next days- Hannigsworth was an asshole, constantly bossing him around in the kitchen where no guest could hear them, but his baking abilities were incredible. It was no wonder the café was often crowded, and since Hannigsworth treated everyone coming in like they were a queen or king, no one knew what a jerk he really was- except Tom.

Today it was not super busy, and Tom had just finished putting the last clean plate away, when his boss walked over, "new group just came in- four posh assholes. I need the special of the day tea four times, and the scones."

"Coming right up, Sir", Tom was always respectful, even though Hannigsworth seldom ever was, talking about his guests in the most disrespectful tone, but truth was, he needed the money.

He carefully brewed the tea, and then he arranged the scones neatly on a plate.

"You take the tea in- I've had enough of these smug idiots for right now", Hannigsworth sometimes let him serve, whenever he felt like he could not fake it anymore, and then Tom took over- but Hannigsworth still cashed in the tips.

Tom just nodded, carefully taking the platter with the tea pot and the tea cups and then he left the kitchen to walk into the main room- and froze.

No. Nonono…

The group of four posh assholes turned out to be no one else than Aurelius- and three of his friends, sitting at one of the tables talking and laughing, waiting for their tea. The tea he was holding.

What the hell have I done to the universe to deserve this?

Tom took a deep breath, wishing he could just turn around and leave- but he needed this job, he needed to provide for himself and Squirrel.

I can do this. I can show him I am not completely useless.

Determined, he stepped into the main room, walking over to Aurelius' table, a forced smile on his lips- but once Aurelius had spotted him, his smile vanished.

"Thomas…", and how was it even possible to put so much loathing into one single word?, "what in the world are you doing here?"

"I'm working."

Aurelius let out a small laugh, while his friends stared at him curiously, "you? Working? Please- this is one of your little schemes again, isn't it?"

"It's not. I'm really…"

"Do not backtalk, boy."

Tom swallowed hard, hating this, "why do you even ask if you don't like my answer?"

He knew he had made a mistake when Aurelius paled with anger, "how. dare. you", he enunciated every word, "my last lesson did not seem to have much of an effect on you if you think I'll let you talk to me like this."

"Is that the boy you're training?", one of his friends asked now, "looks like you have a lot of work ahead of you, mate."

"I'm certainly not training him- I only train boys who are worth the effort", Aurelius answered, the tone of his voice arrogant.

You piece of shit.

Tom had to force back the tears, not knowing why Aurelius' cold words hurt him so much- he should not care what the older boy thought of him, but for some reason, he did. He felt anger rising inside him, bubbling to the surface, and then suddenly, there was a loud clash, someone screamed, and seconds later, the tea pot and tea cups were laying smashed on the floor, hot tea spilling everywhere.

"I…I didn't…I did not…I…", he was not able to structure his thoughts, not with Aurelius looking at him with such contempt that he wanted nothing more than the ground swallowing him whole, "please, I…"

"You disobedient, reckless, horrid boy", each word coming from Aurelius felt like a punch in the gut, "how dare you throwing a temper tantrum like this, ruining our tea? You even spilled some at Olivier, you useless cretin."

"I…I'll clean it up, I…I…", he already reached down to pick up the pieces when Aurelius' hard voice stopped him again, "you'll do nothing of that sort. Kneel."

"Wh…what?"

"I said kneel, boy. Right now and right here."

Tom turned white, hoping Aurelius was joking- he could not really want him to kneel on the shattered porcelain?

That's agony.

"Please…please…"

"Kneel, Thomas."

Trembling, Tom lowered himself to the ground- and he had to stifle a pained sob when his knees made contact with the sharp edges of the broken tea set, "please…I'm sorry, I…"

"Quiet, boy. I am here to have tea, not to listen to your pathetic stutters", Aurelius' voice was merciless, "you will kneel and keep quiet- maybe that will teach you to show me respect from now on."

And then Tom could hear Hannigsworth approach, and for a crazy second he hoped he'd help him, save him from this torture, but of course, he did not.

"That boy is as clumsy as they get", Hannigsworth declared, "I apologize for the inconvenience, young Sir. I'll bring out your tea and scones in a second- on the house, of course."

"Thank you. You should check your employees more carefully before you hire them", Aurelius sounded disapproving, and Tom's stomach clenched. He had worked so hard, only making four bucks an hour, and now Aurelius had to come in and ruin everything for him yet again.

"I agree, Sir. Don't worry, he'll be punished later for this stunt."

Tom closed his eyes, unable to stop the tears from falling. He'd probably get fired, and he was in so much pain from kneeling on the shattered porcelain that he wanted to cry. His knees had started to bleed, and he hated Aurelius for sitting there, right next to him, talking to his friends like he was not even there.

I hate you. I hate you!

Hannigsworth brought out the tea again, along with an extra big plate of scones, and the way he was sucking up to Aurelius and his friends was making Tom physically ill. He bit his lips until they bled as well, kneeling on the sharp edges of the porcelain without moving, wishing he was somewhere- anywhere- else.

It hurts, it hurts so bad!

It was pure torture- and being forced to listen to Aurelius laugh and joke with his friends while he was kneeling by their table was an additional torture of its own.

After ten minutes, the pain had become so bad that he had started to quietly sob, "Relius…please…hurts…hurts so bad…"

"One more word from you and I'll take you to the bathroom and show you what real pain is, understand?"

He sobbed, "ye…yes, Aurelius."

"Stay quiet now- and I'll let you get up in five minutes."

Five minutes!

He knew he would be unable to do this for five long more minutes without screaming, but he also knew he could not tell Aurelius that, "yes…Aurelius."

He shoved a fist into his mouth and bit down on it to prevent himself from screaming out loud, all while Aurelius and his friends enjoyed their tea and scones. Tears were streaming down his face now, his knees bleeding profusely.

Hurts, hurts, hurts…

"Get up, boy."

He scrambled to his feet as fast as possible, howling out in pain when the movement forced a piece of porcelain deeper into his skin, "owwww!"

"Stop whining, Thomas", Aurelius grabbed him and pulled him closer, "it will heal- it's not even that deep."

"And you would know, wouldn't you?", he snarled at him, suddenly not giving a shit anymore, "I…I am bleeding."

Aurelius sighed, "little brat", he mumbled, extending his hand for the big piece that was stuck on his left knee, and Tom tensed, trying to step back.

"Stand still, boy", he got a warning swat on his backside, and then Aurelius carefully pulled out the shatter, causing Tom to sob again.

"Shhh…all done, boy", he let him go, "anything you have to say to me?"

"I wish I never met you."

Aurelius just laughed, "ditto, boy- and I was asking for an apology."

I didn't even mean to break the tea set! I have no idea how that happened!

Tom swallowed, knowing Aurelius would not believe him anyways, "I'm sorry", he choked out, "sorry for…ruining your tea time."

"Look at that- you can be a good boy if you want to, hmm?", Aurelius sounded amused, "so much wasted potential...it's a shame you have decided to be a bad boy instead."

Bad boy.

Bad boy.

Bad.

Some of Aurelius' friends laughed, and he flushed with shame, suddenly not able to bear Aurelius' cold rejection any longer. Even though his knees were burning with pain at each step, he turned around and stormed out of the café, running as fast as he could.

Tears were streaming down his face as he ran down the street, not even noticing he bumped into a group of teenage girls, causing them to yell at him.

Bad boy.

Those two words hurt more than anything else Aurelius had said- being called a bad boy was the worst thing anyone could call a boy, and coming from Aurelius made it even worse.

He did not even know where he was running, finally collapsing on a small bench in some park, trying to catch his breath. No one paid him any attention, even though he looked like he needed help- with his red, tear-stained face and his bloody knees.

I have no one. No one. No one.

He quietly started to cry again, hiding his face in his hands. His knees hurt, his chest hurt from running so much, and his head hurt from crying so much, and he just wanted…wanted…

And then suddenly Gryffindor's face appeared in front of his inner eye, smiling at him, holding out his hands for him to pick him up, and he remembered what he told him the other day, that he could come and say hi whenever he wanted. Gryffindor obviously had not meant that, he'd just been polite, but Tom was too desperate, sad and alone to even care anymore. If Gryffindor shut the door in his face, so be it- but he had to try at least. He had to.

The sun was already setting when he had finally made it back to the fancy apartment complex Gryffindor lived in, and the old man in the lobby smiled when he saw him, "good evening, young Master- here to see your father, hmm?"

"Uhm…yeah", he'd eventually tell the guy he had gotten it wrong, but he was too tired and hurt to discuss this now. The man let him to the elevator, wishing him a wonderful night- he was too polite to say anything about his messed up knees, and Tom was grateful for it.

Once he stood in front of Gryffindor's closed door though, his bravado had left him.

This is crazy. I shouldn't be here. He's gonna be annoyed as fuck, and maybe he…

"Hey there, baby boy. Are you going to knock or did you plan to sleep out there?", Gryffindor had opened the door, smiling at him, and Tom swallowed, "how'd you know…"

"Gregory from the lobby informed me you were on your way up."

"Oh…okay. Yeah. I was…in the neighborhood…", he could not think of any good excuse right now, but he did not seem to need to, "I am glad you're here, Tommy. Come on in, I'll get dinner ready. Are you hungry?"

Starving.

"Uhm…a little", he awkwardly stepped into the penthouse, "I…I thought, maybe you could give me some Salarium again for…for my knees", he was proud of himself for eventually coming up with a convincing explanation.

Gryffindor looked at his bloody knees silently for a moment, "what happened there, baby boy?"

Your son tortured me.

"I…I fell."

"Hmmm…", Gryffindor mumbled thoughtfully, "must have been a pretty bad fall."

"Yeah."

"I have something in the bathroom for you that will help- and then we'll eat, okay?"

"And…maybe…I could…since it's so dark…just…like…last time?"

"I was hoping you'd want to stay over again, sweet boy- I have a perfectly spooky new vampire story for you."

Tom felt like crying again, but for different reasons this time. He had no idea why Gryffindor was so nice to him- to him, a criminal, the one who'd wrecked his marriage, but he was grateful for it. More than grateful.

"Carry…me?"

"Of course", and then Gryffindor picked him up and carried him into the bathroom, healed his wounds, put him into a cozy pair of pajamas, and then carried him back to the kitchen for their dinner- which turned out to be another pizza. He ate the pizza until the last crumb, and when Gryffindor eventually carried him to the guestroom, he held on tight to the Founder, not wanting this wonderful feeling of being taken care of to ever stop.

Gryffindor smiled at him when he tucked him into bed, "ready for your spooky story now, my boy?", and Tom smiled right back, "yes, please. And…and snuggles."

"And snuggles", Gryffindor confirmed, winking at him, and right at that moment, that was when he thought it for the first time.

I wish you were my Daddy.

yeah...poor Tommy. There will be more Tom/ Aurelius in the next chap, but I promise, Relius will change his ways with Tom soon! ;)

I would love some feedback from you all! :)

xoxo,

Antonie :)