It was dark. The room was just too familiar for him to bother about the darkness. He stood silently in the shadows of the hospital wing watching the small lump lying on one of the beds. Every few minutes, the lump would toss and turn and then still again in an attempt to sleep. Snape heard light footsteps and backed away in the corner. The shadows swallowed him. No one would notice his presence. If there was something other than potions that he was a master of, it was melting in shadows.

Pomfrey tiptoed to Harry’s bed. She leaned closer to examine her patient without waking him, only to sigh in frustration. “Mr. Potter, you should be sleeping!”

Harry shrugged, “Can’t sleep.”

Poppy shook her head, “That won’t do Mr. Potter. You need your rest. Broken bones need proper rest and nutrition besides potions.”

“I know but it hurts.” Harry almost whined.

“Humph. Well then maybe next time you would think twice before pulling such a stunt with your broom. Just to catch a small winged ball. Honestly!”

“It’s Quidditch, Madame Pomfrey.” Harry said with a very scandalized air. Just to catch a small winged ball? Really!

Snape barely held a snort.

Madam Pomfrey said sternly, “Well, serves your right then all that pain, Potter.”

Harry’s eyes widened in shock.

Harry had been in the hospital wing various times in the few months that he spent in Hogwarts. He had to admit that most of his injuries were related to Quidditch, but he had come to like the old school nurse. She seemed to have taken a liking to him as well and she was always so sweet and caring. She always fussed over him. No one had ever done that for him before and although he made a show of being bothered by the fussing, like any 11 years old boy who respected himself would, but really he always felt warm inside.

Poppy sighed. “Alright, Potter. Don’t look at me like a forlorn puppy. I didn’t really mean that.”

Harry smiled a bit.

She held a potion vial to him and smiled, “Here, this will help a bit with the pain. Maybe then you could get some sleep.”

Harry took the potion and downed it immediately, then gagged.

Poppy smiled, “Well. I am sure it tasted better than the Skele-Gru.”

Harry made a face making Poppy chuckle, “Now go on and try to get some sleep.”

Harry nodded, “Thanks, Madame.”

Poppy tucked Harry in making him smile before leaving.

Snape watched the boy some more time. He was still tossing and turning although his movements were a lot smoother now. The pain must have subsided. But still the boy didn’t look like he would be sleeping anytime soon. Best get it over with, then.

Snape walked to the boy’s bed and crossed his arms waiting for Harry to look up, which he did after a moment. Snape could practically feel Harry’s heart pumping when he startled him. Served the brat right, after what he did earlier today. Startling him and the whole school with his stunt over the damned broom! The boy had practically hugged the ground breaking his arm, leg, two ribs and bruising the rest of his body. The boy was lucky he was still alive at all.

Harry stared wide eyed at the Potions Master, who was at the moment, looking for all the world like a giant bat from hell coming to suck the blood of the unsuspecting children in their beds. Harry gulped.

Snape whipped out his wand and Harry tried to shrink into the covers. Silly child. Snape cast a powerful ‘Silencio’ around them, before carefully putting his wand back in his sleeve and raising an eyebrow at the pale boy, “What were you thinking, boy?”

Harry swallowed hard before stuttering, “I … I … don’t … I don’t know what you mean Professor.”

Snape narrowed his eyes, “Don’t. Be. Smart. With. Me. Boy. You know perfectly well what I am talking about.”

Harry tried hard to remember all what he had done that day and even over the least few days. He just couldn’t think of anything he had done to piss off the Potions Master that much. He could see that Snape was getting angrier by the second, “I don’t know, Professor.” He whispered. One look at Snape’s murderous glare and Harry knew it. He was going to be killed tonight and with Snape’s ‘Silencio’, no one would ever hear him screaming. Madame Pomfrey wouldn’t check on him again for hours, he was sure.

Snape raised an eyebrow inquiring snidely, “You don’t know. Hmm, let me see. Maybe something related to the Quidditch match today?”

Harry swallowed again in an attempt to moisten his very dry throat. Was that because he had won the match for Gryffindor over Slytherin? But … but that was what he was supposed to do, right? But Snape seemed furious. “I … I caught the snitch, Sir?”

Snape stared at the boy as if he had suddenly sprouted another, no several new heads. He yelled, “IS THAT ALL WHAT YOU CAN THINK ABOUT? THE BLOODY SNITCH?”

Harry flinched. He didn’t understand. He didn’t do anything wrong, why was Snape yelling at him now, Harry thought miserably.

Snape started pacing, “How about, Potter, flying like a blur on your broom as if a horde of ghosts were behind you? How about getting too close to the posts FIVE times today, close enough to break your neck? How about flying directly to the ground and not stopping before catching the bloody ball breaking most of the bones in your body and risking your very life for it? DON’T YOU EVER THINK?”

Harry pulled his knees to his chest curling up into a small ball himself. He looked much younger in that position, as he tried to bury his head between his knees. He didn’t know what to think. Was Snape yelling at him because he risked his life? Why did he care? Well, yeah, he did remember what happened when Snape had caught him in the astronomy tower. But that was different. Harry had later convinced himself that Snape was just punishing him for being out after the curfew. But now, well, he didn’t know what to think.

Snape gritted his teeth. The boy had the nerve to ignore him. He had buried his head in his knees and tuned him out. Well, that was going to change. Now!

Snape reached for Harry’s arms and pulled them from around his knees. Harry’s head shot up. Snape looked directly in the boy’s eyes whispering coldly, “There will be no more risking your life, Mr. Potter.”

“Yes, Sir.” Harry squeaked.

Snape sat down and was about to turn the boy straight over his lap when he remembered. The boy had broken bones. He wasn’t feeling any pain now Snape was sure, but still the bones were mending. He looked at the boy who was still shrinking away from his Professor, looking confused.

Snape calmly asked, “Which arm and leg were broken, Potter.” Snape knew that the Pomfrey had already mended the ribs with a wave of her wand right on the pitch.

“My right arm and leg. Why Professor?” Harry asked weakly looking scared now.

Snape didn’t answer, instead he stood up, reached to Harry’s armpits and picked him up like he would a baby. Harry gasped, “Professor!”

“Hush, boy.” Snape almost gasped himself. The boy was so light. There was barely any flesh on those bones of his. Suddenly Snape was overwhelmed with a weird urge to just embrace the boy. He blinked in horror. Where did that come from? He mentally scoffed at himself and sat down, gently laying the boy face down across his lap.

Harry shook his head. No. No. Nononono. This wasn’t happening. It simply wasn’t. Not again. “Professor, no, please. Don’t. I am sorry.”

Snape put his arms firmly around Harry’s waist and landed a very sharp smack on the seat of the boy’s pajamas. Harry gasped.

Snape satisfied that the boy stopped struggling calmly asked, “Do I have your attention, Potter?”

Harry sniffed, “Y-yes, Sir.”

“Good. Now, listen. What you have done today was inexcusable. There is absolutely no reason to risk-”

“But I had to, Sir,” Harry said pitifully and was immediately rewarded with another very sharp smack, “Oww.”

“Don’t interrupt boy.”

Harry nodded but kept silent, while Snape continued. “As I was saying, there is absolutely no reason to risk your life foolishly like that. This is not going to happen again and I will make sure of that right now. I promise you Potter that after I am through with you, you will think a hundred time before you do something like that again.”

Harry couldn’t believe it. He was playing Quidditch. He was supposed to catch the snitch. That was unfair. Nevertheless, seeing as he was now upended over his teacher’s lap, bottom in the air, wasn’t really an incentive to voice that thought, now was it? Instead, he tried to sound as contrite as possible, “Yes, Sir. I am sorry. It won’t happen again.” And please don’t spank me!

Snape coldly agreed, “It won’t. And I will make sure of that immediately.” Snape landed two more sharp smacks on the boy’s bottom and Harry squirmed.

“Are you comfortable, Potter?”

Harry blinked. What kind of question was that? He was over his teacher’s knee about to receive a spanking for Merlin’s sake. Of course he wasn’t comfortable. SMACK! “Answer me, boy.”

Harry gasped. He had forgotten how much Snape’s hand hurt last time. “I don’t know what you mean Professor.”

Snape rolled his eyes. Stupid boy. “Your arm and leg, boy. Are they hurting in this position?”

Harry blinked again. Snape was going to spank him and he was worried that his arm and leg were hurting. What about his bottom?

“N-no, Sir.”

“Good.” And that was the last thing that Snape said in a while. Snape pulled down the boy’s pajama bottoms and his briefs with well practiced ease making Harry wail, “Noooo, Sir, no. Please …” Of course to no avail.

Snape wasted no time. Smack after smack landed on Harry’s exposed bottom. Systematically, Snape covered the whole bottom from almost near the boy’s waist to his upper thighs. SLAP. Pause. SLAP. Pause. SLAP. Pause. And so it went. Oh yes, Snape knew how much that pause between slaps affected the brats. It gave them time to take in the pain the slap caused and as soon as they wailed from the pain, the next one came. And Harry was no exception. After each smack he gasped, let out his breath and then followed with a very satisfying OWW! In a few minutes, the rhythm changed, it was more of: SLAP. Waaahh. Soorrryyy! SLAP. No morrrree. SLAP. Pleassssssee.

Soon Harry’s small bottom was quite an appealing shade of dark pink that well matched Snape’s hand. Snape sighed. His hand was stinging. He did believe the old saying ‘It hurts me more than it hurts you’. After all his hand really did sting by the end of the spanking and well, he didn’t want to use a ruler. The boy was small for his age. Harry’s body matched a child’s of 8 or 9 not 11. And even he wouldn’t be that evil.

Harry was now simply lying limp over his teacher’s lap, bawling his eyes out. In between his wails he did manage to contemplate that although the spanking didn’t hurt half as much as the Skele-Gru did, he still cried and sobbed like a baby. It was just that the pain was different. Yes the bone mending hurt a lot. But this was no bone mending. It was a punishment. And his bottom hurt. Not to mention that he felt like a very well punished and naughty child in this position, which, if he was honest with himself, he actually was.

Wait, Snape wasn’t spanking him now. There were no more slaps. Still Harry felt the need to continue bawling. Who wouldn’t when his teacher’s hand was rubbing his back soothingly like that? Who wouldn’t when the evil Potions Master was shushing him and whispering that everything was going to be alright?

Once Harry calmed down enough, Snape pulled up the pajamas over the boy's well spanked bottom extracting a few more fresh tears.

Snape stood Harry up and had to swallow the urge to smile. Now really those urges were quite irritating. Still the boy’s face was flushed, his eyes puffy, his nose red, and he was rubbing his eyes with his fists while sniffling like a toddler. “I- I am so so-sniff-orry, Professor. Sniff”

Snape’s lips twitched, “I know, Potter. Come here.”

Snape pulled Harry closer to him. Getting out a handkerchief from his pocket, he reached for the water jug and spilled some water on it damping it. He wiped Harry’s face gently with it. And the boy started sobbing in earnest. Damn. Why does the boy do that? He patted Harry’s shoulder a few times until he calmed again.

“I hope there won’t be any need to do that again soon, Mr. Potter.” Snape said sternly.

Harry shook his head passionately. “No S-sir.” Never again.

Snape nodded. “Good. Now would you try to get some sleep?”

The boy nodded before crawling into his bed wincing and grimacing until he was lying on his stomach.

Snape pulled the covers around the boy before starting to pat his back rhythmically. Harry smiled weakly before whispering, “Thank you, Sir.”

Snape answered, “Go to sleep, boy,” his voice too gentle for his taste.

And the boy closed his eyes. In a couple of minutes, Harry was fast asleep.

Snape studied the boy for a little while. He looked so small, so innocent, and alright, so well spanked. Snape smiled and stroked Harry’s hair, whispering, “Sleep well, you silly child.”