Hello again! :) THANK YOU to my most awesome review writers, reading from you always puts a smile on my face!
lilyflower101, Gryffindor will get a bit kinder in this story, buuuut not by much…
Gypsyrose98, I haven't thought about a discipline scene between Aurelius and Godric in this story, but if the opportunity rises, I will certainly implement it!
Here's chapter 4 now, and a quick announcement- I actually rewrote chapter 7 and started chapter 8 and realized that I am not able to squeeze everything into ten chapters...therefore, I decided to write 15 chapters! :)
Warning: CP in this chap!
He felt like throwing up, his head spinning.
This wasn't real. He was dreaming this, right? Snape, his spy- a traitor. He'd been on Gryffindor's side all along. Dumbledore- not on Gryffindor's side? Using polyjuice potion?
And that werewolf had a nephew now? Who had stolen from Snape?
"This isn't making any sense…"
He stumbled back into the hallway, trying to remember which had been his room, but all the doors looked the same, and he was tired, and felt sick to his stomach, and then he heard someone sob- and he blinked, confused, until he realized it had been him who had sobbed.
I want to wake up from all this. I want my old life back!
And he sobbed again, slouching down against the wall in the hallway, not even knowing what to think anymore, his brain whirling with all the new information.
"You were supposed to be in bed, Tom."
He didn't bother to look up, he didn't want to see Gryffindor, or talk- and since when was it Tom anyways?
He could sense Gryffindor sitting down next to him, leaning against the wall in the empty hallway.
"Severus has been spying for us since about a month now", he began, even though he hadn't asked him to, "I have found Dumbledore's behavior since the peace treaty quite…odd. He did not want to prosecute anyone, he never cared to show up for any of the pre-trial meetings… and he never protested when I told him I'd keep you out of Azkaban."
"Slytherin Castle is a prison in its own way", Tom's voice was bitter, "and why didn't you tell me Snape is spying for you? What is Dumbledore planning anyway?"
"Well…there's a lot of evil that can be done with Polyjuice Potion", Gryffindor said calmly, "it is seldomly used for anything good. And I did not think you'd want to know at this point- it is not like you exchange one more word than necessary with either me or Salazar."
"Can you blame me for that? After what you did to me?", he almost had to sob again, "you… you took everything from me. Everything."
"I didn't take your life, Thomas", Gryffindor corrected mildly, "or your freedom. I didn't even take that luxurious lifestyle from you."
"Like I care about that", he leaned his head against the wall, "I…I would give all that back, anything, if you…reverse it."
"Anything, hmm?"
Tom nodded, his head feeling heavy, "anything", he mumbled, "I just…want to be myself again."
"You weren't happy being yourself, Tom."
"I don't need to be happy."
Gryffindor said nothing for a while- he just looked at him, and then he very carefully put an arm around him, making him lean his head against his shoulder, "everyone needs to be happy, Tom."
He was surprised that Tom actually let him get that close- but then again, the boy was exhausted, confused, and upset at the moment.
"Happiness is a weakness", Tom now said after a short pause, "and family is a weakness, too."
"I disagree."
Tom snorted, "of course you would. Your family is your biggest weakness, Gryffindor. You'd probably do anything for Salazar and Aurelius- makes it easy to blackmail you."
Not just for them.
"Do you really think someone would ever dare to threaten me?", Godric asked mildly, using one hand to very slowly rake through Tom's hair, "or blackmail me?"
"I threatened you several times."
"Hmm…", he had to smile, "and you know very well how I dealt with that, don't you?"
Toom abruptly moved his head, his face turning red, "I'll find a spell, I promise you I will!", he hissed, "and then I'll reverse what you did to me!"
"I already told you that the only person who could reverse that spell is me, Tom."
"I don't believe you."
"I know", he sighed, "but it's a waste of time looking through all these books…you won't find anything."
"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do", he sounded sarcastic now, "since you took my job from me."
"I wouldn't call torture and stealing a job, boy."
"Don't call me that!"
Gryffindor had to laugh, "you're lucky you are too old to be spanked, Thomas."
Tom's face was practically burning now, "very…funny, Gryffindor", he choked out, "I'd kill you if you ever touched me."
We'll see about that, angry boy.
He just smiled, and then he carefully started to rake through Tom's hair again, and again, the boy did not protest, he just leaned his head into him, obviously getting more and more sleepy from the repeated, careful touch.
So much for that.
"I…I'm tired."
You don't say.
"I'll put you to bed in a few minutes."
"Put…me? I'm an adult", Tom mumbled, yawning, "I can…go…my…self…I…"
"Shh…time to be quiet now."
"You…don't…", he yawned again, and then he closed his eyes, practically melting into Gryffindor. The Founder waited a few minutes, listening to the boys' breathing becoming more and more even, and he smiled, clearly amused now, and then he carefully got up, picked up the sleeping Tom and carried him over to his bedroom, gently putting him to bed.
"Sleep well, unhappy little boy…"
And surprisingly, he did.
"Snowball fight!"
Sirius laughed, then ducked when both of his snowballs hit their target- Angus and Colin who had been walking across the grounds in front of him along with some other classmates.
"You'll regret that, Lemarc!", Colin was laughing, too, forming a snowball himself and since he was wearing mittens, it was a bit easier for him to do that than for Sirius who was dressed in an untidy uniform like always, without a jacket, hat or mittens.
"Everyone, get Orion!", Angus hollered now, and Ginny Weasley, Colin, and another girl started to laugh, repeating that order loudly and forming their own snowballs.
The only one who was not participating in their fun, just like always, was Luke Lightwing- he stood by the side, carefully avoiding to get hit by a snowball, and making no attempts to join the others.
Sirius ignored him, he had no patience for the quiet boy and had labeled him as boring- and besides, he had a snowball fight to win!
"Gotcha right there!", he laughed triumphantly when one of his snowballs hit Angus' shoulder, "you will all go down!"
"It's four against one, you are going to lose so bad!", Colin yelled back, his snowball going nowhere though- Sirius had ducked again, and Colin was a horrible thrower.
"We will see about that!", Sirius shouted, and if he wanted to achieve something, he actually put the effort in, and this he wanted to win.
So he ducked, and ran, and threw himself on the ground, getting dirt in his face, soaking his uniform, his bare hands an angry red by now, bleeding from a small wound on his cheek where rocks had scratched him, and even though he was fighting four of his friends, he refused to give in.
Ginny and her friend were the first ones to give up, and since Colin was not much of a competition anyways, it was just him against Angus eventually- and more students had come by to watch them now, there were no classes since it was a late Saturday afternoon, and soon, a crowd had formed around them, cheering them on loudly.
Sirius had always loved an audience, and this was no exception. His uniform was a dirty mess by now, and he looked the definition of wild- and he laughed and yelled, forming one snowball after the other to throw at Angus, his hands and face numb from the cold.
He did not see Aurelius come closer, did not see him silently watch the fight, observing how he ducked, and moved, and did not even whimper when he fell down and bruised his lip, he just stood there, watching.
"Alright, alright!", Angus finally yelled, holding up both of his arms, "you can have it, Orion! I give up!", he was a fair player and a good sport, and the crowd erupted in cheers for him, and Sirius grinned, exposing his bloody lip and bloodstained teeth, "four against one- and guess who's still standing!"
The crowd cheered even louder, chanting his name, and Sirius basked in the attention and applause from the others, his narcissist side feeding off on all the cheers.
I'm the winner, just like I said!
"Good fight!", Colin clapped him on the back, while most of the students from the crowd slowly made their way back inside now, it had gotten pretty cold, "let's get some tea, I am freezing!"
"The tea will have to wait."
Sirius looked up, his grin never leaving his face, even though Aurelius' demeanor was as cold as the temperatures around them, "why? You wanna fight me, too?"
Aurelius just silently looked at him, his bruised, bleeding face, his red, swollen hands and his dirty, soaked uniform, remembering his father's words.
Do not let your anger lead you.
It was almost impossible to not get angry at the boy, the way he stood there, not caring the slightest about his wounds, for winning a snowball fight…
He sighed, "I'd like a word with you please, Lemarc."
It did not sound like a request, though- it sounded like an order.
Sirius frowned, now that the adrenaline was leaving his body, he did realize that he had overdone it- his whole body was hurting, and he had been looking forward to having some tea in the Common Room now with his friends, warming up.
"Can't do right now", he was still high from the admiration, though, and it wasn't like he had anything to discuss with Aurelius of all people anyways, "gotta get out these wet clothes, have some tea. Later", and he was turning to leave, done with the conversation.
"You'll have tea with me, Lemarc", and now there was a strange undertone in his voice, something…dangerous, and Sirius had to swallow, his mouth suddenly dry.
"Uhm…go ahead without me, be right there", he mumbled in Colin's direction, and the Creevey nodded, obviously also intimidated by Aurelius' words, and quickly left with Ginny and a few others.
"Let's go."
Why are you so mad?
"It's…not against school rules to have a snowball fight, unless it's during lessons", Sirius hurried to say, trying to figure out why Aurelius seemed furious with him yet again, while stumbling to keep up with the older boy, "and no one was hurt, they all…"
"This isn't about your immature little snowball fight", Aurelius interrupted him, his voice harsh, "besides- no one was hurt? You are bleeding from your lip and your left ear, in case you missed that, Lemarc."
He led him back to the castle, using a side entrance that he was allowed to use as a Prefect, "come along, now. You are completely drenched."
"Snow melts, ya know", Sirius remarked, trying to sound casual, but quickly bit his lips when he saw the look on Aurelius' face.
Why the hell are you always so damn irritated?
And then he wordlessly followed Aurelius along a hallway that he had never been to, up a staircase, and along another empty hallway, and just as he was about to ask where they were even going, and what the point of this was, Aurelius stopped in front of a door.
He mumbled a quick spell, and the door opened.
Whatthefuck!
Sirius widened his eyes in wonder, he had expected some kind of office maybe, or a classroom, but not an actual full furnished apartment.
There was an open kitchen, along with a dining area, and a living room, and a small hallway leading to another door that showed a bathroom, and one more closed door that was probably a bedroom.
"This…yours? That's so damn cool!", he stared at the couches in front of the fireplace in amazement, "or did you find this?"
"It is mine, as you assumed", Aurelius closed the door behind them, "a little…bonus, being the Founder's son."
"It's perfect for like parties and stuff", Sirius was quickly getting back to his usual careless self, "and sleepovers!"
"We are not here for any of that sort, Lemarc", Aurelius replied, an edge in his voice, "let me see those injuries first- your ear got cut pretty badly."
"It was a rock, scraped it", Sirius explained, "barely felt it. Did you see how I got all four of them by myself?"
"I saw, yes", Aurelius had gotten some healing potions out of a cabinet, and he made the younger boy sit down on the couch, carefully applying the first one to Sirius' ear and cheek, "you had quite the crowd there."
"Yeah, it was crazy!", Sirius tried his best to ignore the burning sting of the potion, "and I got all four of them!"
"So you've said."
"They all gonna fear me now", Sirius grinned, "I'm the new champion!"
"Is that what you want?"
"What?"
"Being feared."
Sirius frowned, "well, yeah- of course it is. Make them all scared of me", he grinned again, and Aurelius realized that there was far more bad in the younger boy that he had initially assumed- and it made his heart heavy, knowing that this was going to be difficult.
"So, why am I here now? Is it your job as Prefect to take care of my wounds?"
"Well, it is- but that is not the reason you are here", Aurelius gently put some more healing potion on his bloody lip, closing the injury, and then he mumbled a dry spell for the boy's uniform.
"You wanna talk about something?", Sirius did not want to admit how much better he felt now, in dry clothes, and his injuries healing, the warmth helping the numbness of his hands and face, "ohh…Quidditch?"
"Quidditch, indeed."
Aurelius sat down next to him, "but first- I did promise you some tea", he waved his hand, and Sirius stared in amazement when a tea cup and a small plate with scones appeared in front of him, "you…can do Wandless Magic?"
"I can. Have some tea, Lemarc."
Sirius shrugged, not really understanding what all this was about- but he was thirsty, and so he had some tea, and then he grabbed a scone, not bothering about manners as always.
Lot to learn here…
Aurelius sighed, watching the younger boy eat and drink for a few minutes, until he decided he was calm enough now to tell him why he was here.
"I am going to ask you a question now- and I expect you to answer me honestly. Understood?"
Sirius blinked, swallowing down a piece of scone, which was delicious, "uhm…sure?"
"Did you steal a vial with Felix Felicis out of Snape's potion storage?"
And just like that, his world stopped.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit!
"Wh…what?", he croaked, "what do you…"
"Did you use said potion before the Quidditch tryouts to make the team?"
SHIT!
"I…what…why would you…ask that?"
Aurelius smiled, but it was far from friendly, "why would I ask that? You tell me, Lemarc."
Cold sweat was forming on his back, how in the world had Aurelius found out? It was impossible that Snape had seen him, and he had not told anyone, or was Aurelius bluffing? Was this some kind of payback?
His mind was racing, but he knew one thing for certain- once he admitted to what he'd done, he'd get expelled. Dumbledore would not protect him from the dementors anymore, he'd be away from Remus, and from Harry, and his friends…
I can't tell him. No one can ever know.
"I didn't steal any potion", Sirius forced himself to say, hoping he sounded convincing enough, "how…would I even get into Snape's storage? That's…absurd."
Aurelius did not respond, not right away- he just looked at him until Sirius could not stand it any longer and lowered his eyes.
"You are denying it, then?"
"I…haven't done anything wrong", Sirius whispered, "Snape just…likes to blame Gryffindors for everything. He probably misplaced that potion, or he…"
"I recognized your handwriting on the vial", Aurelius interrupted him, his voice so cutting that Sirius fell silent immediately, "you were clever enough to replace the vial- but the way you wrote your letters betrayed you."
"I…I don't know what you are tal…"
"It won't be difficult to do a quick recognition spell on that vial- or maybe I should just add some Veritaserum to your tea?", Aurelius sounded downright menacing now, his usual cool demeanor gone.
"I…please…", Sirius had gone pale, "you…you don't…understand…"
"I don't understand? I think I understand all too well, Lemarc. You wanted to show off, be the center of attention, just like today, right? And since you are too lazy and arrogant to achieve anything by hard work, you have to either cheat or play the fool to get the attention you seem to selfishly think you deserve."
Sirius winced like he had been slapped, but Aurelius was far from done.
"Are you even aware that you took someone else's position on the team? Someone who actually worked for it? I am assuming you do not- since all you seem to think about is yourself, and as long as you are having fun, who cares if others don't?"
Sirius bit his lips; Aurelius' words were intended to hurt- and they did. Alas, Aurelius was still not done, he was far too angry about the boy lying straight to his face when he had given him every chance to own up.
"You might think of yourself so very highly- you might think you are hilarious, and daring, and such a little rebel- but you know what I see when I look at you? I see a liar, a cheat, and a thief."
He had to force back the tears, Aurelius' last words worse than being punched in the gut, and he tried to stand up, his eyes beginning to water, "are you…done now?"
"Far from it. Sit down."
Sirius was trembling, making no attempt to stop the tears anymore, and he sat back down- not daring to disobey Aurelius.
I see a liar, a cheat, and a thief.
"I…I'm sorry", Sirius croaked, his voice thick with tears, "I…I…"
"I doubt that you are- but you will be", Aurelius coldly interrupted his stuttering, not at all impressed by it, "you will receive three punishments- one for lying, one for stealing, and one for cheating."
Sirius had to sob, unable to hold it back any longer, "are you…telling Dumbledore?"
Aurelius snorted, and there was a hint of amusement in it, "that is what you are worried about? I daresay you are going to wish I told him after I am done with you. Let's go."
Sirius just stared at him, almost frozen with fear at this point, "where you…taking me?"
He rolled his eyes, "to the bathroom, boy- your first punishment is for lying."
He blinked, not understanding but also too afraid to ask what the bathroom had to do with a punishment.
Shaking, he followed Aurelius into the small and very tidy bathroom, sitting down in a chair next to the sink as the older boy instructed him to do.
He then watched silently how Aurelius opened the small cabinet above the sink, and took something out that looked like…
Soap?
His confusion grew, and it must have been apparent because Aurelius raised an eyebrow, a small, amused smile around his lips, "you've never gotten your mouth washed out with soap for saying naughty words?"
"No, never", he replied truthfully- because he hadn't. His parents had either ignored him, screamed at him or beaten him- but there had never been any real discipline.
The soap smelled like lavender and lemon, and Sirius thought to himself that eating this wouldn't be that bad- and he would have to eat the whole thing, right?
"Do I…take a bite or…eat it all?", he hesitantly asked, not wanting to get Aurelius angry again, and the older boy gave him an odd look, so he immediately panicked, "I…I can eat it all, though!"
"Silly boy…", he could hear Aurelius mumble, "you better not swallow or eat any of it, Lemarc. Just keep it in your mouth."
He blinked, "that's…it?"
"That's it", and then Aurelius gently placed the bar of soap in his mouth, "I think two minutes should be enough- and then you can rinse it all out."
"Hmmmppff!"
"Shhh…no talking, boy", and then Aurelius leaned against the wall opposite from him, watching him with crossed arms, and Sirius wanted to vomit, having made the mistake to swallow a bit of the soap right away.
This is nasty! How can it smell so good and be so nasty?!
Small bubbles were forming in front of his mouth now, and the taste…the taste…
I can't take this. I can't!
"Hnnngrrr!"
"One more minute to go", and then Aurelius walked over to him, clearly sensing his distress, and he crouched down in front of him, a hint of understanding in his eyes, "no more lying, boy", he said quietly, "because every time you lie to me from now on, we are going to come back here, understand?"
Tears were streaming down his face, mixing with the foam from the soap and his drool, and he nodded frantically, needing this to be done, to be over with…
"Good. You have twenty more seconds."
I can't…I can't…
"You can and you will."
He sobbed, everything becoming a blur, and the taste was so awful, so very awful…
"All done", and then Aurelius carefully removed the soap from his mouth, "you may rinse out your mouth now."
And he hadn't even finished his sentence when Sirius rushed to the sink, pushing his head under the tap, drowning himself in all the delicious and cold and wonderful water until finally, the taste began to fade.
He slowly stood up, not daring to look at Aurelius, not knowing what to feel, or to think…
"You did well", Aurelius' voice was calm, "and I'd usually give you a break after this, have some special time with you- but we still have the matter of the stealing to address tonight, unfortunately."
Special time?
Sirius was too drained to think about what that even meant, and now there was more punishment coming? More of…this?
"The stealing weighs harder than the lying- which means it will get punished more severely", Aurelius now said, leading the younger boy back to the couch, "therefore, this punishment will leave more of an…impact."
"What…do you mean?"
He wasn't going to be able to take more of this. Not now, not ever.
And then Aurelius looked him straight in the eyes, his expression calm, "I am going to spank you."
I am going to spank you.
Spank you.
And all he could do was run- so he ran.
Yeah…we'll see how that ends for Sirius in the next chap ;)
Thank you all again for your awesome feedback!
Read you soon!
Antonie