First of all, thanks for your review! It's always good to know people are reading my story. :-)

Respectfully, I have to disagree. I think there is a WORLD of difference between Harry and Vernon; just as I believe there is a WORLD of difference between hitting and spanking. I mean, sure, if you want to take away all the messy stuff and just focus on the power play between Vernon/Harry and Harry/Sev, then in that aspect they are very similar, indeed. Yet if you take ANY parent/child and remove all the messy stuff and check out the power play between them, you'd see exactly the same thing. One is always trying to dominate/control the other. The way I see it, it's all that "messy stuff" that makes the world of difference. It's all the "messy stuff" that separates one human from another, one situation from another. I'm well aware of all the criticisms out there in regards to corporal punishment, but my critique of the criticism itself is that it's very removed from the situation it studies. It's very detached. In other words, it neglects all the "messy stuff" between situations. And the situation between Sev and Harry has LOTS of "messy stuff" in it.  

Likewise, just as there are lots of debates in regards to child discipline out there, there are also lots of debates in regards to parenting out there. Who would make a better parent, one who's consistent or one who negotiates with the child? One who's an authority figure or one who's a friend with the child? Again, very detached from the situation. It depends on the child, it depends on how well-developed the child is, it depends on how the child sees it, etc. The way I see it, Harry is not emotionally abusive like Vernon was, Harry is not neglectful like Vernon was, Harry is not sexually abusive (ahem...spoiler), and Harry is not unreasonable when it comes to spanking. Note how I said "spanking" and not "beating". Whipping a seven-year-old on the bare back with the belt--that's a beating. Those three smacks on a diaper-and-trouser-padded bottom indeed really were "love taps", just as he said. Sev barely felt them, yet he did expect them, and the both of them knew that. Sev gets a measure of comfort in knowing what to expect when it comes to Harry's consequences. The whiny stuff in between was my way of showing that Sev is letting himself go, allowing himself to be more like a child and whine about why he has to get it and such and such. Yet if Harry failed to deliver in this situation, Sev would've been more confused; he would've ended up not knowing what to expect from Harry afterwards, and he would've also been left with the impression that he now had a measure of control over Harry, and the next time he was in trouble, all he needed to do was whine and puppy-dog eye his way out of trouble once more. Personally, I think that's more of the James Potter kind of spoiled, and Harry wouldn't allow that to happen. So there's your power play. The hugs, the kisses, the cuddles, the "You're human and I love you"'s--definitely something Vernon would never do. The magical bonds, the transmission of love and pride between the both of them, the fact that Sev is now reassured that he has a place in this family and that he belongs like an actual child to a parent--all of these are just a fraction of the "messy stuff" in this situation. It's not all cut-and-dried as it seems. 

What can I say? Harry's from the old school. Yet there's more than a share of a new age parent in there. It's a mix. Once again, I respect your opinion, although I'm inclined to disagree. Thank you very much for your review and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. :-)