I found Harry curled up on his stomach, sleeping like an innocent little angel, when he was anything but. I felt my temper start to go from a simmer to a boil and I quickly reined it in somewhat. "Harry James Severus Potter, wake up this instant!" I ordered, and swatted his bottom. It was not how I usually woke him, but I was not minded to be gentle right then.

His green eyes popped open and he whimpered. "Ow! Huh?" Then I handed him his glasses and he saw me clearly. "Dad?"

I gave him my best Snape glare. "You have an awful lot of explaining to do, young man."

He swallowed sharply and I could see that he knew he was in serious trouble. "Uh . . .I'm sorry we made a mess, I forgot to clean it up."

"You're going to have a lot more to be sorry for, little boy." I said, then I picked him up and walked into the den with him, where I set him down and pointed to the box of innocuous looking chocolates. "Starting with those. Where did you get them, Harry? And why did you allow your grandfather and uncle to eat them?"

"Uh . . .Ron got ‘em from home."

"From the twins?"

He nodded. "He said it was only s'posed to make you sleep for an hour. It was a prank." He looked down at the carpet.

"A prank? You call giving magical sleeping candy to an adult a prank? Whose idea was this?"

"It was . . .umm . . .mine and Ron's," he admitted after I glared at him.

"Not Lexy's?" asked Alaina, frowning also.

"No. She was sleeping. But me and Ron wanted to stay up later, only Grandpa said no . . .so we-we decided to prank him and Uncle Sirius."

I turned him about to face me. "You're telling me all this happened because you wanted to stay up later? You drugged your grandfather and Sirius because you didn't want to go to bed?" I repeated, my voice rising.

"Yes sir," he answered in a small voice.

I bit my lip hard. "Harry James Severus, your little prank could've hurt them very badly, do you know that?"

"How? The truffles just make them sleep. How's that bad?"

"Because those truffles were made with a Sleeping Draft that was too concentrated. You could've put them into a coma, young man!"

He was startled. "Like what you were in for months?"

"Yes. Or worse. They could've gone to sleep and never woken up." I said angrily, wanting him to understand just how serious the consequences of his little joke could have been. "They could've died!"

"Died?" he repeated, his green eyes round with utter horror.

"Yes."

"I-I don't want Grandpa and Padfoot to die!" Harry wailed, bursting into tears as the seriousness of his little prank finally sunk in. "I didn't mean to hurt them, Dad! I just wanted to stay up later."

"Well, you got your wish, didn't you?" I said sternly, gesturing at the mess around me. "Was it worth it, Mr. Potter?"

He shook his head, still sobbing. "Can you fix them, Dad? I promise I'll never do anything like that again. Only make them wake up, please!" Tears streaked his face, clearly guilt had kicked in and he felt horrible about what he'd done now. As he ought to.

"They'll wake up on their own, Harry." I told him calmly. "You didn't put them in a coma, thank Merlin!"

"They're gonna be all right?" he sniffled.

"Yes, though they won't be very happy with you when they wake up, mister. But that's something you're going to deal with later. I cannot say how very disappointed and angry I am with you right now, boy. What you did was not only disobedient, it was dangerous and foolish and destructive. You know better than to behave that way, Harry. I am terribly ashamed of you." I fixed him with my most withering glare.

He started crying harder, that glare was one that could probably make a hardened criminal weep. "I'm sorry, Dad! I really am."

"So you should be. Now, part of your punishment is to pick up this mess you made. So stop sniveling and go and wake up Ron, he can help you clean it, since he helped make it. Hurry up!" I barked softly, then sent him on his way with a smack on his bottom. I was tempted to take him over my knee right then, but I knew I was too angry to mete out an appropriate punishment yet. My motto was punish in haste, repent after. Well, not this time.

I turned to Alaina. "Well, this was the last thing I expected to come home to after the lovely time we had. I apologize for the lousy ending."

"Don't, Sev. How could you know what was going to happen?"

"I couldn't," I admitted with a sigh. "Since Lexy is innocent in all of this, you could take her home. Both boys won't being seeing much of the outside of their rooms for several weeks, I'm afraid. I'm going to restrict the time they spend together for the next two weeks."

"I understand. I'd do the same," Alaina said, then she rose to her feet just as Ron emerged sleepily from the bedroom trailed by Harry.

"Ronald Weasley, what were you thinking, giving my father and my friend candy created by your brothers that you weren't sure was safe to eat?" I demanded harshly.

"I-I . . .just wanted to play Quidditch with Harry, Healer Sev," he bawled. "It was supposed to be a prank."

"Like the ones your brothers pull?"

"Uh-huh," Ron nodded tearfully.

"Well, your joke went too far this time, young man. Do you know what a concentrated Sleeping Draft can do to someone if they take too much? No? Let me spell it out for you. They could either fall into a coma or die. Think about that, the two of you, while cleaning this awful mess you made. Once you've finished that, you can go back to Harry's room and wait for me to call you. I'll be Flooing your mother as soon as it's a reasonable hour of the morning, so I can tell her what you've been up to."

Ron went white. "Oh no, please, Healer Sev! Don't tell her, please! I'll do anything you want, I'll scrub your whole house, I'll let you spank me, just don't tell Mum!"

"Why not?"

"‘Cause she'll ground me and take away my broom and make me eat supper alone in the corner for a week and wallop my bum too. Please, sir!" he begged.

"Sorry, but Molly and I have an agreement, and just like the twins, she must be told about your behavior, young man. Now enough stalling, go and pick up the trash around here."

"Yes sir," said the seven-year old miserably.

My girlfriend had been standing by this whole time listening to my scolding the two boys, and now she turned and went down the hall to pick up her daughter, the only innocent party in this whole caper. Alaina came out of Harry's room a moment later cradling a sleeping Lexy. The little girl had Misty clutched tightly under her chin and was sleeping blissfully, unaware of the mischief her two friends had been up to. "I guess I ought to get going, Sev."

"One minute, I'll Apparate you," I said, rising and drawing her close.

A minute later we vanished, to appear on Alaina's porch. She unlocked the door and stepped inside. "Bye, Sev. I had a wonderful night tonight. Thank you for everything. Love you." She stood on tiptoe and we kissed. "Don't go ballistic on Harry either."

"I'll try, though I will make sure he never does anything like this again." I answered, then I Apparated back to my house, supervising the two boys as they cleaned up. By the time they were done, it was nearly two-thirty and I ordered them back to bed. "We'll discuss the rest of your punishment tomorrow, boys. Now get to bed!" I sent them off with a swat apiece, and they went sniffling and whining.

Then I sought my own bed, for it had been a long night.

* * * * * *

The next morning, I not only had two naughty boys to deal with, or rather my son, since Molly was sure to deal with Ron as he deserved, and I firecalled her as soon as I was awake enough to speak coherently, but also my furious father and Sirius. Molly I dealt with first, she was very displeased with her youngest son and assured me that he would be punished properly.

"I'm going to take the twins and him all over my knee this time, Severus. I'm so dreadfully sorry. The little wretches! What a thing to do to your poor father, especially. Sirius won't mind so much, but still it was a very naughty thing to do to him as well, poor dear. Sleeping Draft spiked truffles!" she shook her head ruefully. "What will those mischievous imps come up with next, Merlin help me?"

"Who knows, Molly. Shall I send Ron through now?"

"Please do." She withdrew from her fireplace then and I called Ron and sent him back to the Burrow, where his mother was no doubt waiting with a handy wooden spoon.

That done, I headed into the den to see if my dad or Sirius were awake yet. Sirius was just stretching and yawning. Dad was also stirring. I ran a quick diagnostic. The potion had worn off and they were back to their former selves.

I quickly told them what had happened, and we retired to the kitchen to discuss appropriate punishments for my little devil.

Dad's first reaction was one of shocked disbelief. "You telling me that little brat slipped me a Mickey Finn in a piece of chocolate, Sev?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Clever little sneak," Sirius said, half-admiringly. "Sounds like something I'd of pulled when I was that age. Or James."

Dad's eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the feeling you're more amused than anything else over this, Sirius?"

"Aw, shoot, Toby. It was a prank, they didn't intend any real harm."

"They drugged us and made a wreck of the house and God knows what else could've happened when we were sleeping, and you think it's funny?" my father growled, clearly not amused at all.

"The house looked pretty good to me when I woke up," Sirius pointed out.

"Only because I made them clean it before you woke," I put in.

Sirius chuckled. "Oh. I can't believe I fell for that old trick. Now I feel really stupid. Still, it was a prank worthy of the Marauders."

"Wonderful," I said sourly. "The last thing I need, Padfoot, is for Harry to start imitating the four mischief makers of the century."

"There are worse things, Sev," my friend said, still acting like he was fine with the whole thing, his brown eyes sparkling with good humor. Trust Padfoot to take the whole thing as a big joke, he really was an eternal prankster.

"I'm glad you can laugh, Sirius," grumbled Dad, the Snape temper starting to glow in his blue eyes. "Because I don't find it so damn funny at all. I specifically told Harry that he wasn't allowed to stay up past nine-thirty and he pulls a stunt like this on me, the rotten little brat! Who the bloody hell does he think he is?"

"Aw, come on, Toby! Don't you remember what it's like to be a kid and to try and trick your parents into letting you stay up past your bedtime?" Sirius argued good-naturedly.

"I know that if I'd done anything like that to my father, I'd not be able to sit down for a week." Dad answered sharply.

Sirius winced and muttered something that sounded like, "My father would've done the same, he didn't have a sense of humor either."

"Damn kid needs some discipline," my father was saying softly, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled sharply in warning. He glared at me then. "Well, Severus? What do you plan on doing to him for this latest bit of mischief? Patting him on the head like your friend there?"

I stiffened at the sneer in his tone. "Of course not! He'll be punished for this, I'm not going to reward him, for Merlin's sake! I've already begun to punish him, as a matter of fact. Cleaning up that mess he made was the beginning."

Dad snorted. "Humph! You're too damn easy on him, Severus. He'd of been over my knee by now getting his arse tanned good and proper."

My own temper sparked. "Are you saying I don't know how to discipline my son?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. A good licking every once in awhile won't kill him."

"Like what you used to give me, huh?" I hissed, my voice edged with fury. How dare he presume to tell me how I should punish my child? He was a fine one to talk!

Sirius stood up then, his brown eyes wide with alarm. "Uh . . . Sev, I think I'd better get going. No way am I going to stick around with two of you in a temper . . .that's just plain suicidal. See you." Then he Apparated back home, leaving me to face my furious parent alone.

"After what he did to me, you're going to scold him a bit and put him in time-out and that's the end of it? Maybe give him a couple of swats? Kid won't remember any of that a week from now, I guarantee you." His jaw clenched and I could see a vein throb in his temple.

Involuntarily, I shivered. He was wearing the same expression now as he had throughout most of my childhood, the one that presaged a whipping.

"And you think your way is better, Dad? Pardon me if I don't agree that whipping the blazes out of my kid is the answer to everything."

His eyes darkened to a stormy blue. "If you're too much of a pansy to discipline him, then maybe I ought to." He rose to his feet.

I moved to block his exit. "Like hell you will!" I spat. "He's my son, not yours, and I'll punish him how I see fit."

"Your way doesn't work," shouted my father, looking at me as if he wanted to knock me out. "If it did, he'd never even think of doing what he did to me, Severus Snape. He Goddamn drugged me, his own grandfather! What do you plan on doing to him, Severus? Answer me that!"

"Why? It's none of your Goddamn business, Dad!" I lashed back. "Your hurt pride doesn't entitle you to lay a hand on my son. Because I know damn well how it will end."

"Oh, you do, do you? You always think you know everything, Severus!" he spat, his hands clenching into fists.

"I DO know! You never knew how to stop, you lost it every time you punished me, and I'll be damned if you're going to start on Harry. I'm his father, not you! I'll teach him respect, not you." I was practically nose to nose with him now.

"You let him run wild, Severus, and you know it. A good whipping will teach him to mind his elders. If you don't bring him to heel now, he'll become a disrespectful spoiled little snot, like over half the kids in today's generation. And it's the fault of the PARENTS, people like you who . . .!" ranted my father, his face red and his blue eyes smoldering with that legendary temper.

It was as if the old Tobias, the demon of my childhood, had returned in that moment. I don't know if it was his tone or posture or the way his temper shone in his eyes that did it, but all of a sudden I was no longer an adult having an argument with my father, but eight years old again, being confronted with a furious Tobias, who was practically spitting at me in his fury.

Fear shot through me then, and I shrank away, cringing in a desperate attempt to ward off the slap I knew was coming. I threw a hand in front of my face, shaking uncontrollably.

"Please, Dad, I'm sorry! I'll never do it again. I'm sorry!" I babbled hysterically, knowing all the while how useless it was. In another minute he'd unbuckle his belt and then I'd really be crying, because that was how it always ended . . .it never changed . . .never . . .

"Severus!"

From far away I heard him, and I trembled, but I knew it would only go harder if I didn't come to him. But I couldn't move.

"Severus! Sev, listen to me. Sev, look at me."

Funny, his voice sounded strange, soft and . . .and pleading. Ridiculous! Tobias Snape didn't know the meaning of the word gentle.

"Sev, please. What the hell's wrong with you, boy? You're looking at me but not seeing me. Stop it. I'm not going to hit you, Jesus God, quit looking at me like that."

Like what? I dropped my eyes to the floor and tried to quit trembling. ‘Sorry, sorry, sir. Promise you won't hit me?" I heard myself begging and felt the old shame curl in my guts again. Coward, spineless coward! I shouted at myself. Begging never did any good, it only makes him angrier.

"Sev! I promise I won't hurt you." My father's voice sounded frightened, and more, regretful. "Dear God, what have I done?" He continued speaking to me, in a soft tone I had never known he was capable of using. "Severus, listen to me. This is a bloody flashback. Understand? Wherever you are, I need you to come back. Come back, Sev. See me now, not as I was. Look at me."

A hand cupped my chin, the fingers firm yet gentle, and forced me to look up, into blue eyes that were familiar and yet different. I knew those eyes.

I blinked, and all at once I was the Master Healer again, a twenty-seven year old adult, and no longer a terrified eight-year-old.

"Dad?"

"Sev? Are you okay? Can you see me?"

I frowned in puzzlement. "Of course I can, I'm not blind. What kind of question is that?" I glanced down at myself, wondering why I was backed up against the wall.

"A good one, considering that you just . . .you went somewhere else for a bit, Sev. Back to when I was drinking . . .some damn memory and you just cringed away from me . . .like I was some kind of devil . . ."

"You were," I said hoarsely, recalling all of my terror suddenly, though not the rest of the memory. "You were my own private devil then. I was eight and I was so afraid of you I wanted to run and hide every time you came home."

My words pierced him sharply, I saw him wince, and then he stepped back. "Me and my damned temper. I'm sorry, Sev. You were right. I never did know how to control myself. But that was then. I'm not the same. I'm not."

"I know that, Dad," I managed to say. "Here, I know it," I tapped my head. "But here . . .I still remember when I was eight." I thumped my chest. Strangely, I didn't feel ashamed over this episode, though I probably should have. I sensed that it was another chance to show my father just how his treatment of me had scarred me, body and soul.

"Christ Almighty, Severus." Dad whispered. "Even now?"

"Even now." I agreed. "I don't get them often, not any more, but sometimes, if you scream at me, I forget for a minute and I go back to when I was little."

"I'm sorry . . ." he said awkwardly. His deep blue eyes were bright with remorse and not a little shame, I noted. "I didn't realize . . .I'm a bloody idiot. I don't want you to think of me that way any more, Sev. I'm not the bastard I used to be. Trust me. I know I said I'd whip Harry, but I didn't mean it. That was my temper talking . . ."

"I know," I said quietly. "I forgive you."

"Thank you, son," he said, then he reached out, tentatively, and hugged me.

That was all I needed to reaffirm that his words were truly meant. And then my heart knew he was my father again and not the demon of my childhood. I relaxed into his arms and hugged him back.

Our embrace lasted a total of maybe twenty seconds before we drew away, not really looking at each other, embarrassed at displaying so much of our emotions so openly.

Tobias returned to the table and sat down. "Guess you'd better go and give Harry his punishment. The waiting's hell on a kid, if I remember correctly."

I nodded. Was that ever true. "I won't be long."

I entered my son's room, relieved to find him still sleeping, he'd fallen asleep after Ron had left and so missed our argument. I shook him awake, putting on my stern mask as I did so.

"Dad? Are you still mad at me?" he asked, his lower lip quivering.

"Yes, and your grandfather is also. We're both very disappointed in you, young man. In fact, I've got half a mind to let your grandfather punish you instead of me," I threatened.

He teared up at that. "I'm really sorry. I just wanted to have fun at my sleepover."

"That kind of fun is the wrong kind, Harry," I said sternly. "And because of that, you won't be having another sleepover until you're eleven, if then."

"Eleven! B-But Dad, that's like forever!"

"Yes, and hopefully by then you'll have learned how to act in a responsible manner, mister. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. The second part of your punishment is you're grounded for two weeks, no friends, no TV, no broom, nothing except lots of chores and twenty-five minutes of time-out and bedtime at 7:30 sharp. Obviously I can't trust you to behave properly when I'm gone, or with your friends over, therefore you won't be having them here again for quite some time."

He sniffled. "What about Lexy?"

"She's not allowed here either for two weeks, since she's your friend too," I said firmly. "You're also going to apologize to your grandfather."

He looked like I'd asked him to walk barefoot into a nest of cobras. I could hardly blame him. Facing an angry Tobias was terrifying.

"Last but not least, you've earned yourself a spanking," I scowled.

"Yes sir."

"Maybe next time you'll think first before you go slipping anyone drugged candy, young man," I told him, then I took him over my knee. I gave him seven swats this time, the extra was so he'd remember the seriousness of the offence. My spankings were meant to startle, shock, and sting, they were not even a shadow of Tobias's. But that was all. Twenty seconds later I was holding a very repentant child and stroking his hair while he sobbed into my shirt. I knew most of his tears were from regret rather than my spanking, he hated it when I was angry with him.

Sure enough, after five minutes, he lifted his head and asked, "Are you still disappointed and mad at me?"

"No. I forgive you, scamp. Remember this, please." Then I hugged him hard.

"‘Kay. I'll be good."

"Will you?"

"Uh huh. Promise."

I hid a smile. He meant it, in the way of all children, until the next temptation crossed his path.

Then he rubbed his bottom. "Ow! You're mean, Dad!" Then he added, "But I love you anyhow."

"Me too, Harry." I patted his back. "Now, go and tell your grandfather you're sorry."

"Is he still mad at me?"

"Go, Harry." I ordered, and he slid off my lap and went to find Tobias. Merlin, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to have any more kids after what Harry was putting me through.

I tilted my head and could just hear my son's tearful apologies and my father's gruff scolding. Then I heard Tobias say something that totally knocked me for a loop. "All right then, I forgive you, minnow. But don't you ever do that again, d'you hear me? Or else you'll be over my knee like that."

"Yes, Grandpa. I'm sorry." Then I heard the soft sound of Harry crying.

"Don't cry, boy," Dad ordered, but with a tenth of his usual stern tone. "I can't stand it. Shhh . . .quit it, before your dad thinks I've walloped you. It's okay. I'm not mad any more."

When I entered the kitchen a few minutes later, I saw Dad holding Harry on his lap and patting his back, much as I had done minutes before. I smiled, for it was a beautiful sight, and my fears that Tobias would regress to the drunken demon of my nightmares were banished forever.