Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
A/N: There is a corporal punishment scene in this chapter between father and son so if this bothers you in any way, please skip this chapter!
Despite Lockhart still being annoying and his classes useless, and many of the students were still whispering about him and Draco, Harry thought the year was starting off very well. Thanks to Snape having extra rooms in his quarters, Harry and Draco could spend the weekends there to catch up on everything, and their parents would visit. Harry loved that he got that time with his family. It was harder to talk to Draco during the week since they ate at separate tables at meals and sat at different tables during classes. However, they could meet up in the library in the evening while everyone studied. But Harry loved spending time with Draco on the weekends, playing games, working on homework, and just talking. His second year was off to a great start.
Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Harry to be reckless and get himself into hot water.
It started with Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus being bored on a Friday night and not feeling tired enough to go to bed. When Seamus suggested night flying, it immediately captured all the boys' interest. Well, except for Neville who was sound asleep.
"I heard some older students talking about it, it sounds fun!" Seamus said excitedly.
"It sounds dangerous," Harry said, but he couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. He had never flown at night before!
"Let's do it!" Ron said, rubbing his hands together gleefully.
"But only Harry has a broom," Dean pointed out.
"We can get the school brooms for us," Ron said, glancing at Harry with a grin.
"Yeah, Ron and I will get them," Harry said, jumping up to get his cloak out of his trunk. Deep down he knew this was a very bad idea, dangerous and against the rules. He knew he could get into trouble for it but…only if we're caught, he thought. What could it hurt to just fly for a half hour or so? They would probably be able to sleep better after and besides, it sounded too fun to pass up!
After grabbing the school brooms, and using Harry's cloak, the four pre-teens snuck out to the Quidditch pitch and immediately hopped on their brooms.
"Whoo hoo, this is great!" Ron yelled with a laugh.
"Quiet!" Harry hissed as he zoomed around the pitch, trying to see properly in the dark. His eyes adjusted somewhat but he came close to hitting a post a couple of times.
"Watch it, Dean! You almost landed in that tree!" Seamus laughed at his friend.
Harry's eyes widened when he realized how far out they were. "Stay away from the forest!" He said loudly. After last year, he had no interest in entering that forest ever again!
"Hey! Who is up there?"
"Oh no," Harry groaned, immediately recognizing Hagrid's voice. He glanced down, his heart dropping when he saw the gameskeeper looking up at them.
"I can see yeh boys," Hagrid's voice boomed as he raised the lantern he was holding up. "Land right now!"
With a sigh, Harry and his friends lowered to the ground. Perhaps this hadn't been a good idea after all.
/
Hagrid had clearly felt bad turning them in but ignored their pleas and immediately alerted their head of house. After a blistering lecture from McGonagall, twenty points taken from each of them, and detention assigned, she also informed them that they would get letters home. "As for you," she said briskly to Harry. "Since your Godfather is here, I might as well take you straight to him."
Harry glumly followed her to the dungeons, wondering how angry Snape would be. Would he go back to hating him? And when his parents found out…would they forgive him? Would they still want him? And he could just imagine what his brother would think of him…
/
"Do you have any idea how dangerous your little stunt was? You couldn't see properly, had no supervision, and you were out after curfew!" Snape snapped after McGonagall had left. He paused to try and calm his anger. When he opened the door to see Minerva and Harry, he had worried that the child was hurt or sick. However, hearing what his godson had done, he was furious.
"I know," Harry said with his head down. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry," Snape scoffed. "You know better than to do something like this Harry, I know you do."
Harry nodded shamefully. He had known better, he couldn't deny it. "Um, Professor McGonagall said she was going to write to our parents," Harry said nervously.
"She is. However, in your case, I told her not to bother." Snape responded.
"Really?" Harry asked hopefully.
"I am going to floo call them right now," Snape smirked at Harry's pout and went to his fireplace. He threw in some floo powder. "Malfoy Manor!"
"Severus? Is everything all right?" Lucius's face appeared in the flames a moment later.
"Could you step through, Lucius? And Narcissa?"
"Narcissa is out. Let me leave her a message and then I'll come through," A minute later, Lucius stepped through, and his eyes settled on Harry. "Hadrian? Are you all right?" he asked, going to his son.
Snape looked at Harry pointedly.
Harry looked at his father and then looked down, feeling guilty and nervous. "I got into trouble," he said softly.
"Oh?" Lucius held back a sigh. After hearing of his son's exploits from last year, he knew this was coming eventually. He had known it would only be a matter of time before Hadrian misbehaved in some way. Of course, all children misbehaved from time to time, but it seemed Hadrian had a special knack for it.
"Hagrid caught him and some of his housemate's night flying," Snape said.
Lucius's silver eyes hardened and he glared at his son. "Hadrian Malfoy! What were you thinking? Never mind you were out this late and breaking curfew, but what if you had flown into something? Or fell off your broom? No adult would have been there to help you!" He scolded.
Harry flinched slightly. "I'm sorry!" he gazed up at his father. "I'm really sorry!"
"We've talked about you putting yourself in danger, Son," Lucius shook his head. "In fact, we talked about it right before bringing you to school. I'm very disappointed in you right now."
Tears filled Harry's eyes.
Lucius sighed and took hold of Harry's hand. "We will go to your room here and deal with this." He nodded at Snape. "If that is okay with you?"
"Of course, take your time," Snape said, his stern expression softening slightly at the despondent look on Harry's face.
/
Once in his and Draco's bedroom, Harry sat on his bed while his father shut the door and cast a silencing spell over the room. He then stood in front of his son. "What led to your disobedience this evening?" he asked, with his arms crossed across his chest.
"Well, we didn't want to go to bed, and we had already played chess, so someone suggested night flying." Harry bit his lip. He was nervous, this was the first time he had really been in trouble with one of his parents.
"Who? You?" Lucius asked suspiciously.
"No, not me," Harry said quickly.
"The Weasley boy? I assume he was part of this."
"He was but it wasn't him, it was Seamus," Harry admitted. "But we all thought it was a good idea."
"Did you really?" Lucus raised an eyebrow.
"No," Harry admitted. "I knew it was wrong, but it sounded fun." And it was until we got caught, he thought silently. He wasn't going to say that out loud, he wasn't completely mental, after all.
"Just like flying the car sounded like fun," Lucius said in irritation.
"Yes sir," Harry mumbled.
"We discussed this sort of behavior, did we not? And please look at me when I am speaking to you," Lucius said sternly.
Harry lifted his eyes. "Yes, we did discuss it." He said softly.
"So, you just chose to ignore what we said? Did you not think your mother and I were serious about you obeying the rules and not putting yourself in danger?"
"No, I knew you were serious. I just…we were bored, and it sounded exciting…" Harry trailed off. He wished he could go back in time and say no to Seamus's suggestion. "I know it was a dumb thing to do."
Lucius sighed. "What is your school punishment?"
"Professor McGonagall is sending letters home, took twenty points from each of us, and gave us a detention."
"Only one detention?" Lucius shook his head in disbelief. He rubbed a hand down his face. He did not want to punish his son, but Hadrian knew the consequences of such misbehavior. They had gone over it several times. "You could have been severely hurt, Hadrian. And yes, one of your friends would have run for help but what if the damage was too severe to wait? Your safety is not something to play around with!" He said in frustration.
"I'm sorry, Dad," Harry whispered. "I know it was wrong and that you're going to punish me."
"Yes, I am," Lucius gently took his chin in his hand. "Because I love you and want you to make better decisions in the future. There are consequences for breaking the rules, so I am going to give you a spanking. You put your safety at risk, and I will never tolerate that."
Harry bit his lip.
Lucius smiled softly, seeing the anxiousness in his son's eyes. "I would never truly hurt you. You'll have a sore bottom, yes, but it will fade. I will never bruise you or cause welts on your skin." He hesitated. "I don't want you to be afraid of me." Nervousness about an upcoming punishment was expected but he didn't want either of his sons to ever fear him.
"I'm not," Harry said honestly. He didn't want a spanking; he knew it was going to hurt but he trusted his dad.
Lucius sat on the bed and pulled Harry up to stand beside him. "Lower your trousers."
Harry's hands were a little shaky as he obeyed, he had never been punished this way before. He just wanted it over with.
Lucius gently helped Hadrian over his lap, adjusting his body so that his legs and upper body were resting on the bed. He then pulled down Hadrian's pants, baring his small backside. "Rules are in place for a reason, to keep you safe. I will not tolerate you breaking those rules, do you understand?"
"Yes," Harry said before giving a small yelp as the first slap fell. More followed and tears filled his eyes. His dad had a hard hand! "Ow!" He couldn't help but cry out as the eighth slap landed. "Dad, I'm sorry!"
"I know you are," Lucius said as he continued to spank his child. His heart hurt hearing his son's cries, but he forced himself to finish the punishment with several firm slaps to Hadrian's sit spots.
Harry was crying hard, he couldn't believe how much it stung! Finally, he became aware that the spanking had ended, and his father was soothingly rubbing his back and shoulders.
"Shh, it's over now. You're forgiven." Lucius said softly. He waited until Hadrian's sobs quieted before gently pulling up his pants and trousers over his reddened bottom. He helped him up and then hugged him. "I love you very much." He told his son.
"I love you too," Harry said, sniffling into his dad's shoulder. His backside throbbed but he felt better, like a weight had been lifted from him. He also felt safe and cared for. Yes, the spanking had hurt but his dad hadn't been mean or unfair about it. Already the worst of the sting was fading. "I'm sorry for night flying."
"You can show you're sorry by not doing it again," Lucius told him seriously.
"I won't," Harry said, rubbing his eyes. "Will Mum forgive me?"
Lucius smiled softly. "Would you like to see her? Talk to her?"
Harry nodded shyly. He wished he could see Draco too, but it was late, and he didn't want to ask Snape to wake him up.
Canceling the silencing spell, Lucius led Harry from the bedroom back to the sitting room where Snape was sitting in his armchair reading a book and Narcissa was already there, sitting on the sofa, looking anxious.
Narcissa stood up and she immediately engulfed Harry in a hug. "Harry," she said, noticing his red-rimmed eyes and knowing Lucius had punished him. "I trust you learned your lesson?" she asked softly, running a hand through his hair. Severus had told her what he had done and she was disappointed in her son's actions but knowing he had been punished, all she wanted to do was comfort him.
Harry nodded and put his arms around her. "I'm sorry, Mum."
Narcissa kissed the top of his head. "I know you are. I'm just glad nothing bad happened while you were flying. If you had fallen…" She held him tighter. "You have to be more careful and make better decisions."
"I know, it was a stupid thing to do," Harry said after she finally released him. "We were bored and didn't want to go to sleep," he shrugged sheepishly. "It was stupid."
"It was dangerous and foolish," Narcissa corrected. "There were other things you could have done. Played a game in your dorm, read a book, write us a letter, do homework – "
"Read your Potions book," Snape said as he closed his book and stood up.
"True. That definitely would have put me to sleep," Harry joked.
"Cheeky brat," Snape walked over and ruffled his hair. "If you like, you can stay in your room here. Or would you rather go to your dorm?"
"I'd like to stay here," Harry yawned. He was tired, it was late, and his bottom still ached. He didn't feel like going up to his dorm plus his friends would notice he'd been crying.
"There's a pair of your pajamas in your room, go on and get ready for bed," Lucius said. "We'll be in to tuck you in soon."
Harry could protest he was too old to be tucked in but honestly, he liked it when his parents did that. It's not like anyone did that for him when he was younger, and he relished it now. After getting ready for bed he got under the covers, wincing slightly and turning over to sleep on his stomach. Yeah, the consequences weren't fun. Last year he had received detentions and loss of points, but he hadn't really felt chastised. The only time he had felt bad was when he and his friends had lost Gryffindor a hundred and fifty points for the Nobert incident. Now he felt really bad and guilty about what he did and wished he hadn't done it. He knew how much his family loved him and being so reckless, just because he was bored, well, he wished he hadn't done it. He felt a cool hand stroke the back of his neck and he opened his eyes sleepily.
"Good night, Harry," Narcissa said fondly. "Have sweet dreams."
"We love you," Lucius added, leaning down to kiss his cheek.
"Love you too," Harry closed his eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep.
/
In the sitting room, Snape served his friend's tea. "He asleep?"
"Yes, he was so tired, poor thing," Narcissa said as she lifted a teacup.
"Poor, impulsive thing," Snape pointed out. "It didn't take long for him to act without thinking. It worries me."
"It worries me too," Lucius frowned. "We've talked to him about several times over the summer and yet he immediately jumped into doing something dangerous and reckless."
"It will probably take a while for him to learn to think first, but he'll get there," Narcissa said.
"He may have been testing you," Snape said thoughtfully. "He had to know how you would punish him if he got caught, correct?"
"Yes, I made sure he knew the consequences for misbehavior, especially putting himself in danger. You think he was testing us?" Lucius tilted his head in thought. It made sense.
"Perhaps. He may have done it without realizing he was doing it, to see if you followed through on your word. And to see if you would treat him like those worthless muggles did." Snape said.
"Oh," Narcissa bit her lip. "You're probably right. He may have wondered if we would cast him off for getting into trouble." Her poor baby.
"But you didn't," Snape nodded. "You punished him just like you said you would, but you made sure he knew he was forgiven and still loved. Now he knows you will keep your word but will not abandon him or hate him for misbehaving."
"That makes sense," Lucius considered this. "He took his punishment well, although when he cried it broke my heart. Just like when I must discipline Draco."
Narcissa squeezed his hand lovingly. "That's because you are a good father. You hold our boys accountable Despite hurting you to do it." She cast a tempus. "Oh, Severus, it's so late! I suppose we should go."
Snape chuckled. "Oh, go ahead and stay in the other room. You know you want to."
Narcissa's face brightened. "Well, if you don't mind – "
Snape rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
"At least it's a Saturday, the boys won't have any classes," Lucius said casually.
"So, of course, it would be no problem for them to sleep in and then have breakfast here with you," Snape smirked. "I'll bring Draco over before the students head to breakfast in the Great Hall."
"Thank you, Severus," Lucius said gratefully.
"You know, you could just ask Albus if you can live and work here at the castle," Snape said mischievously. "I'm sure Filch could use some helpers."
"Funny," Lucius casually waved his wand as he and Narcissa headed for the small hallway. "Well, goodnight, Severus!"
Narcissa began giggling.
Snape frowned. "What did you do?" he asked suspiciously as he looked in a mirror on the wall. He made a face. His robes were now red and gold. "This is cruel even for you, Lucius."
TBC: