kbinnz - Harry's New Home

"So." Snape entered the room and surveyed the two trembling miscreants. Oh yes, now you're all puppy dog eyes and apologies тАУ rotten little brats. "You not only determined to break the rules, but you colluded on the best way to avoid detection and punishment, thereby placing yourselves in extreme danger."

"But we didn't know there'd be a troll," Harry pointed out half-heartedly.

"But there could have been some other kind of emergency, young man! And that is why your whereabouts are to be known at all times. Rules are there for a reason тАУ to protect your sorry skin," Snape retorted furiously. "You placed yourself and Miss Granger in jeopardy for no good reason, you foolish, foolish child."

Harry squirmed.

"And you, Mr Weasley. Having the temerity to lie to my face! What would your parents have to say about that?"

Ron paled. "I'm sorry, sir!"

"Oh, I'm certain you're both very sorry now that you've been caught!" Snape said scornfully. "Your behavior has been atrocious! Sneaking around, lying, breaking any rule you see fit тАУ is this the sort of character you wish to develop? Untrustworthy? Deceitful? Do you have any idea how hard it is to regain someone's trust once you have lost it?" Now both boys were leaking tears. "I trusted you, and each of you deliberately lied to me."

"I'm sorry," Harry sniveled. "I wasn't trying to make you not trust me."

"I'm sorry too," Ron choked.

"I cannot express strongly enough my deep disappointment in both of you," Snape continued harshly. "You have demonstrated to your Head of House and the Headmaster, as well as to me, that you cannot be trusted to follow the rules. You have proven yourselves unworthy of the high regard we held you in." Now both were overtly sobbing.

"It will be a long and hard road back to where you started," he lectured. "You will, I am sure, never again forget how tenuous and fragile trust can be." He paused and regarded the tear-sodden bundles of misery. "I am extremely tempted to have you spend the next two weeks escorted to and from all classes and meals by a prefect, since you have demonstrated that you cannot be trusted to appear on your own."

Ron gasped in dread. Oh, Percy would be intolerable! And the twins would never let him hear the end of it.

Harry hunched his shoulders in woe. It was all his fault. Ron and he would be humiliated in front of the whole school, and he had got his best mate into this mess.

"And as for your appalling, Gryffindorish tendencies to risk your necks, do you have any idea how lucky you were tonight? Three first years up against an adult mountain troll?" Snape heard his voice becoming shrill with alarm and forced it back down. "You obviously had Merlin's own luck tonight, but it is extremely unlikely you will ever again be so fortunate, and I intend to demonstrate how foolish it was to have taken your lives in your hands like this!" He scowled fiercely at Harry. "What have I told you about thinking before acting, Mr Potter?"

"Th-that it's really important," Harry sniffled unhappily, then honked into his handkerchief.

"And did you do so tonight?"

"No, sir," he admitted, hanging his head even lower.

"Do you imagine I say these things for my own edification or amusement, you reckless, thoughtless child? You will learn to listen to me!"

"Yes, sir."

"And as for you, Mr Weasley, just because you come from a large family does not imply that you and your siblings are interchangeable in your parents' eyes. If something were to happen to you they would be devastated!" Snape caught sight of Harry's expression of naked longing.

"And they would be just as distraught if something happened to you, Mr Potter," he added, hoping to erase that look of pain from the child's face. Curiously, Potter didn't seem all that heartened by the comment, and the brat continued looking at Snape, half-frightened, half-expectant.

Oh no. No no no. How did he get himself into these situations? Snape gritted his teeth and said what he knew he had to say. "And I of course would be extremelyтАж displeasedтАж as well," he finally managed to choke out.

Harry beamed.

"Now, for your dunderheaded impulsiveness, not to mention blatant disobedience, mendacity, and disregard of instructions, you will be punished," he announced awfully. Harry lost his smile and Ron's freckles stood out on his ashen face. "Since it is obvious that you cannot be trusted in an unsupervised setting, you will be on restriction for the next week. That means that when you are not in class, at meals, or otherwise supervised by a staff member, you will remain in your dormitory or common room. If you are found outside of these areas, I will not only enlist the prefects as your escorts, but you will also be turned over to the Headmaster for discipline," Snape threatened, his tones dire. The boys looked like they would faint, and Snape hoped they never found out that discipline Dumbledore-style meant cozy chats and plenty of lemon drops.

"Furthermore, you will use this time to write a three foot essay on what you should have done when you found yourself isolated in the library with a troll loose in the castle. I expect careful attention to all the mistakes you made as well as better choices at every decision point. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," the boys chorused.

"To ensure that you find your time on restriction acutely unpleasant, you, Mr Potter, will be prohibited from all flying during that time, while you, Mr Weasley, are to abstain from all sugary treats and desserts." Now both boys were staring at him, eyes wide with anguish.

"A week?" Ron squeaked, his tone making it clear that he considered this appallingly cruel treatment. "But my mum never keeps me from pudding for more than a night!"

Snape smirked evilly at him. "Then perhaps next time you will apply to your mother for punishment."

"N-no flying at all?" Harry gulped.

"None. You will surrender your broomstick to me in the morning." Snape forced his voice to remain stern, even as the boy's downcast expression caused an odd ache in his chest. "If I cannot trust you to go where you are told with two feet on the ground, how can you expect to be entrusted with a broom?"

Harry sniffled some more. "'M sorry," he said, voice thick with remorse.

"Hmf," Snape huffed. "And as I am sure you are well aware, you have earned a spanking. Lie down and roll onto your stomachs."

Harry and Ron exchanged unhappy looks and obeyed. Snape went first to the redhead, who was clutching his pillow for dear life. He placed one hand on the boy's back, feeling the little wretch quiver in trepidation. "You do not disobey and lie to your professors," he intoned sternly, then brought his other hand down in a crisp smack across the upturned bottom.

Ron squeaked and clutched his pillow tighter. "You do not place yourself in jeopardy." A second swat landed, and Ron gulped out a shaky, "Yessir."

"Get under your covers and go to sleep," Snape ordered brusquely. Ron hurried to obey, and Snape roughly tucked the duvet around the boy.

"Good night," he snapped.

"G-g'night, sir," Ron ventured back timidly, and Snape's hand тАУ traitorous appendage! тАУ gave him a rather awkward pat on the head. Snape ignored the boy's sigh of relief and turned menacingly to Harry.

Bright green eyes had watched like a hawk his every move with the Weasley boy, but Harry dropped his gaze as Snape approached his bed. "I'm sorry," he said so softly that the Potion Master nearly missed it. "I didn't mean to worry you or disappoint you or lose your trust. I just тАУ " he sniffled " тАУ I just messed everything up."

Snape huffed in annoyance and seated himself on the bed next to the distraught brat. "You made a mistake," he said quietly, his tone firm but not condemnatory. "You will make many more during your childhood, though I sincerely hope no others will contain a troll. However, your duty is not to avoid all errors, but rather to learn from those you make. In particular, I expect you to remember to think before you act from now on."