As Severus flew towards his disobedient child, looking like the wrath of an avenging angel, his mind replayed the events of the last hour and a half.

He had first noticed Harry was missing when he exited his lab a mere half an hour after entering it to get himself a drink of water and use the bathroom. Harry's bedroom was directly across from the bathroom, and Severus had snuck a quick look inside to check on his son before going back to his potions, only to discover the child was not in it. So he headed down the hallway to the den, expecting to find Harry watching TV or coloring at the small table. But the boy was not there either.

Beginning to feel the first flutterings of panic seize him, Severus called loudly, "Harry? Where are you? Come here where I can see you."

He waited, their house was not that large and Harry should have no trouble hearing him, but no little boy appeared in response to his call. Now the fluttering was increased to the sensation of madly beating wings and the panic was making his chest hurt. "Harry James Severus! Come here, right now!"

Harry ought to know by the sound of his voice and the use of his three names that Severus was not fooling around.

Still no response.

Severus dashed out into the yard, calling frantically. But he could not see Harry anywhere. He had feared the boy had gotten hurt outside and was lying injured somewhere, but the dark-haired boy was nowhere to be found. Bloody damn hell, where is he? Severus swore to himself, returning inside to check the broom closet, for the broom was the quickest way Harry could have gone off the property. If the broom were there, then he would assume his son had been kidnapped, and place a call to Moony and Padfoot so they could put out an alert and start a search. But if not . . .then his son's little backside was going to be very sorry.

He yanked open the closet.

Inside rested his own broom, leaning forlornly against the wall. The Jetstream was missing.

Severus hit himself in the forehead. I knew this was too good to be true. Damn it, Harry James Severus! How could you do this to me, after I went over all the rules and consequences? Did you think this was some kind of game?

He took his broom from the closet and returned to his lab to check the last batches he had simmering. Hopefully, he could find his rebellious scamp before his potions were finished brewing. Otherwise they'd be ruined and a whole day wasted. Severus felt his temper start boiling. That irresponsible, reckless, disobedient, little brat! Just wait till I find him! I'm going to ground his arse till he's fifteen and blister it too!

He slammed the back door of his house so hard it nearly fell off the hinges. Then he took three calming breaths and removed his wand from its holder on his hip. "Point me Harry James Severus Potter," he intoned, casting a Four Points locator spell.

His wand lit up and he could feel a firm tug, drawing him down the opposite end of Aspen Avenue, where the wizarding residences were located. Aspen Avenue was a long street that ended in a culdesac, and many wizarding families lived upon it, one reason why Severus had chosen to move here with his family back when he had married Lily. He had wanted Harry to grow up with friends and neighbors nearby, and most of the families on this block were his patients. And while he was reasonably certain Harry would not be in any danger from any of the people that lived here, that did not mean he condoned his five-year-old wandering all over the neighborhood unsupervised.

He mounted his broom and took off, flying just above the rooftops of the houses, searching both the sky and the ground for his son.

The spell drew him steadily down the street, and he decided to speed his progress along by asking those wizards and witches out in their yards if they had seen a small dark-haired boy on a broom recently.

He spotted the elderly Mrs. Alder in her yard, bringing in her laundry from the line. He glided down to a brief landing. "Good afternoon, Maura, I was wondering if you've seen a small dark-haired boy with glasses riding a broom recently?"

Maura Alder halted, her washing hovering in the air just before her laundry basket. "Good afternoon, Healer Snape. I'm so frazzled now I can hardly think. Some group of little troublemakers came and stole one of my . . .err. . .undergarments right off my line and dropped it in the Stevens' birdbath."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but have you seen a small boy with glasses on a broom recently?" Severus repeated.

"Uh, now that I think about it, the one who snitched my . . .unmentionables looked like that, but surely not, Healer Sev. You've taught your son better than that." She pointed down the street. "I think they flew off that way."

He continued down the street and the next house he came to, the Pritchard residence, also reported seeing several children flying not a scant hour ago, according to the elderly wizard, they had terrified his rat terrier Max so badly he dug a hole under the porch and refused to come out.

Grouchy old Spinner reported seeing the same group of hooligans pestering him and vowed to take a switch to the next little brat who dared invade his property. "Kids these days, they got no respect for anything, Healer. Why, back in my day, if a kid behaved like that there Jasper and his friends, he'd have gotten a good whipping."

Severus merely nodded, not up to debating the finer points of disciplining with Spinner, who was old-fashioned, and believed like Snape's father Tobias did, that a whipping cured a child of everything. "Would you happen to know where they went?"

"Yup. Back up t' other side of the street."

"Thank you, Arnold." Severus's hand gripped his broomstick hard as he fought to keep his temper. It seemed that his son was progressing quickly in the prank department. First it had been harassing old ladies and now it was dungbombs.

You and I are going to have a long talk when we get home, young man.

He could feel the locator charm tugging on him insistently, and he knew he was getting close.

Sure enough, as he approached the park, he could hear the shrill sound of children laughing and then he saw five kids on broomsticks hovering in the vicinity. He knew several of them, they had all visited the practice for their annual check-ups, and been seen by either himself or his partner, Matthew Morgan. His eyes scanned the group and then he spotted the slight dark-haired boy inbetween the girl and another boy, hovering with ease on the Jetstream.

Snape increased his speed, relief mingled with anger coursing through him. From what he could see, his reckless runaway child was unharmed, and that relieved him immensely, for he had feared finding Harry lying in a heap on the ground, broken and bleeding, like so many other children his age did when first learning to fly. But very soon, there was going to be one sorry little boy in the Snape household, Severus vowed.

He flew straight for the group of would-be Marauders, his face set in a thunderous scowl reminiscent of Tobias at his worst. The little girl, Jennifer Malone, he thought her name was, looked up and spotted him and went white as a marble pillar, proof that he had mastered the Snape glare to perfection. She turned and said something to her friends, and they all shrank and flew backwards, except for Harry, who simply remained hovering.

Severus used the time it took to reach Harry practicing controlled breathing and reminding himself that his goal was to punish his son only, not abuse him. He counted to ten. Then he did it again.

He circled the little group, and said, in a soft yet utterly disapproving voice, "Harry James Severus Potter, land that broom this instant, young man! Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in, little boy?"

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" Harry sniffled, tears springing to his eyes. "I was only gonna fly for a little bit, kind of!"

"You aren't supposed to be flying at all without me, mister! Now land!" Severus ordered, and then pointed his own broom towards the ground and landed.

Harry did as he was told, sniffling and whimpering, from the tone of his dad's voice, he knew he was now in the worst trouble he'd ever been in. His father was furious and it was only then that Harry recalled what punishment he would get for flying the Jetstream alone without supervision. No, oh no, I don't wanna lose my broom, I just got it. Or get spanked either. He looked up at his father, who was waiting with his hands on his hips, scowling severely. He tried giving his dad his best pleading puppy dog eyes, but Severus did not soften.

The other children waited, holding their breath, unable to take their eyes off the little family drama playing out in front of them.

Harry dragged his feet as he came towards the Master Healer, the image of a naughty child about to receive a very well-deserved punishment, the Jetstream tucked under an arm. He halted about a foot from Severus and cried softly, "I-I didn't mean to fly my broom without permission, sir!"

"No? Then why did you?"

"B'cause I . . .I didn't want the big kids to think I w-was a crybaby coward," he sniffled.

"Well, I hope this forbidden flight was worth the spanking you're going to get, Mr. Potter. And the loss of your broom for two weeks and being grounded too." Severus said, hardening his heart at the child's pleading gaze. "Come here."

Harry shook his head. "No, please, sir! I don't wanna get spanked, please!"

"You were warned, Harry, what would happen if you disobeyed me. One."

Harry knew he was doomed. Once Severus started counting, it meant he was out of options and he was going to get punished one way or another. He reluctantly walked the last foot over to Severus, who held out his hand for the Jetstream first.

Harry surrendered his broom. Severus spoke a word and the broom vanished, sent back to the broom closet.

"Where'd it go?" Harry cried.

"Back where it belongs, in the closet, where it will stay until you've learned your lesson," the Master Healer said grimly. Then he took his son by the arm and led him over to a convenient park bench. The little boy was crying softly, but Snape forced himself to ignore it. He dreaded this even more than his son, truth be told, but he had to follow through with his rules, and Harry could have gotten seriously injured or lost flying off alone like that.

Snape sat down, picked up his son, and placed him over his knee. The youngster struggled a bit, but Severus growled, "Lie still, before you get seven swats." His son froze and Severus lifted his hand.

Harry yelped, he had forgotten how much his daddy's hand stung, and what was worse, all the kids were watching, and the embarrassment was almost as bad as the swats themselves. He tried to be quiet, but the smacks hurt and he bawled, thinking regretfully, Now they'll really think I'm a crybaby! Oww! I'm never gonna be able to sit again. He squirmed to no avail, Severus held him firmly, until the last smack had been given, and by then Harry was crying loudly.

"Never ever do anything like this again, am I understood?"

Harry sobbed out something that sounded like a "Yes, sir!" and then Sev turned him over and hugged him, letting the child cry into his shoulder. He was astonished at how much Harry was crying and feared he had hit the boy too hard, until he saw the silent ring of childrens' faces watching, and then he understood why his son was howling so much. It was from embarrassment as much as from a stinging behind. Now Severus felt bad spanking him so quickly, but he had forgotten that they had an audience, he'd been so angry.

But seeing the other children reminded him that Harry was not the only miscreant here.

"All of you, get on home, and you can all expect a Floo call from me informing your parents of your abominable behavior, Jasper and Jennifer Malone, Oliver Thornton, and Marcus Flint."

There was an immediate outcry from the rest of the children.

"No, don't do that, Healer Snape! Our parents will kill us!" wailed Jasper, who was under a pending sentence already for getting into trouble earlier in the week. "It was just pranks, sir!"

"Nobody got hurt," protested Jenny sadly.

"Old man Spinner deserved it!" put in Marcus defiantly, though he was quaking inside. His mother would no doubt be waiting with a paddle when he got home, once she found out what he had done.

"We were just havin' fun, Healer Snape!" Ollie cried, swiping the threatened tears from his eyes.

"At the expense of elderly people, young man," Severus scolded sternly. "Your pranks were rude and not at all amusing, to them or to me. You should know better by now, and I hope your parents impress upon you the fact that such behavior is unacceptable, like I did with my son here." He patted Harry's back, the little boy was still sobbing into his shirt, not daring to raise his head. "Now, go home!"

The children obeyed, flying off slowly, ashamed and sullen, plainly dreading going home. They had learned, as had Harry, the folly of rousing the wrath of a Master Healer.

Severus turned to his son, who was still bawling, and said quietly, "Hush, scamp. They're gone and it's done and over with. I'm sorry you made me punish you like that, but you really deserved it." He picked up his broom and decided to Apparate home rather than fly.

He entered the house, Harry still clinging to him, and sent his broom into the closet, then walked into the den and sat down. He was unhappy and his son was also, and so for five minutes he did nothing save hold and rock his child, the act serving to calm them both down. Eventually, Harry quit crying and sat up, his green eyes luminous with tears, feeling very ashamed and embarrassed. "That really hurt, Dad. It was like the worst spanking ever."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" Thank God he doesn't know what a real whipping feels like. And he never will, either. "Well, you did the worst thing ever when you flew off like that alone, young man. Do you realize what could have happened to you, Harry? You could have been stolen away or gotten lost or crashed and been hurt and no one would have known where you were. And we might never have seen you again-me, or Moony, or Padfoot. You would have been a lost boy, missing like those children on the advertisements on television."

"Like the ones that ask Have You Seen This Child?" Harry sniffed, rubbing his bottom and wincing.

"Yes. And all of those children have been missing for years and their parents and uncles and aunts miss them terribly, just like I would if you went missing, Harry mine."

"Would you cry forever and ever, like when Mummy died?"

Severus nodded. "I would, child, so for the love of Merlin and all the saints, don't ever do anything like this again."

"‘Kay. I'm sorry." Harry said sincerely, for he didn't want to become a lost boy and make his daddy and Moony and Padfoot cry forever for missing him. He also didn't want another spanking, his bottom still stung. "My bum still hurts," he whined.

"Yes, it'll sting for a little, as a reminder." Severus said, knowing full well that it would be gone in an hour or less. He set the little boy on the couch and said, "I still have some things to discuss with you about your behavior, Mr. Potter, but first I need to Floo the parents of those other children, for it's only fair that they also pay the consequences of their actions, not just you."

Then he went and knelt by the fireplace, a pinch of Floo powder in his hand, and proceeded to call all the parents of the youngsters that had been with Harry. It was not something he normally would have done, but in this case, he felt that they should also bear the consequences for their rude pranks, it would teach his son that no one was above the rules. All of the parents were dismayed and shocked, well some of them were shocked, at their children's behavior and vowed to show them the error of their ways as soon as they arrived home. Severus did not doubt that more than a few would be nursing sore bottoms like Harry.

He turned back to his son, who had been sitting quietly all this time, and said, "You know that what you did when you were with those other children was wrong, don't you, Harry?"

"Yes, sir." The little boy hung his head.

"Stealing an old lady's underwear, frightening Mr. Pritchard's dog half to death, and throwing dungbombs in Mr. Spinner's yard, all of those pranks were rude and mean and not at all like you, Harry James Severus. I'm very disappointed in you, little boy. You know better than that."

Harry burst into tears again. He hated it when Severus was disappointed in him, it hurt him worse than a spanking. "M' sorry! I just wanted to have fun with the . . .the big kids. They-they thought it was funny."

"Did you?"

Harry shook his head. "Uh . . .a little, I guess. But not really. I felt bad for the old witch and the dogs. But they were all doing it, Dad."

"Harry, if someone is doing something you know is wrong, even if they're a friend, I want you to stop and think and then walk away. I know you're a little young for this talk, and it's hard to understand, but you shouldn't do something-especially something you know is wrong-just because other people are doing it. Otherwise you are just as guilty and as bad as the ones who began it in the first place. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry I snitched that old witch's panties. Did she ever find them?"

"Yes, she did. Her name is Mrs. Alder, by the way, and as part of your punishment, I want you to apologize to her and to Mr. Pritchard and Mr. Spinner. Perhaps you might help them do some small chores as well, like feeding their dogs and helping Maura hang her laundry. I'll take you there later on. Right now, your broom is mine for two weeks, and you're grounded as well."

Harry groaned. "Does that mean no TV and an early bedtime?"

"Yes. Your new bedtime is seven-thirty. Now then, I need to check up on my potions, hopefully they're still viable and after that we'll have supper and then you can speak with Mrs. Alder and the others. When we get home, it'll be time for your bath and then bed."

"Do I still get a bedtime story?"

"Yes, scamp. You'll always have a story from me, even when you're bad," the Master Healer told him. "How's your bottom, Harry?"

Harry considered. "It's almost better now."

Severus heaved a sigh of relief. "Good. Don't test me like that again, son." Then he hugged Harry to him and whispered, "All's forgiven, now go play while I finish up in my lab and cook dinner."

Harry hugged him for a long moment, then said, "I still love you, Dad, even if you did spank me awful hard and stuff."

"Thank you, Harry," Severus said softly. "I love you too, scamp. You are so like your mother."

Harry smiled, for his mother was an angel now and that meant she was special and so was he.

Then Sev put him down and Harry went to get Inky, his beloved stuffed panther, Lily's last gift to her son, and tell him what had happened that afternoon.