The Story of Nicholas Potter
Summary: In a world where Lord Voldemort never found out about the prophecy and was killed before he had the chance, what lies ahead for the Potter family? What happens when a young boy comes into their lives and steals the hearts of a family? Triggers: Child Abuse (slightly), Contains disciplinary spanking of young wizards by their parents when it is necessary.
Chapter 6: Trouble
The Christmas holidays were fast approaching and in just a week, Harry and the Weasley boys would arrive back from Hogwarts. As Nicholas was becoming more and more comfortable with Lily and James, he began testing his boundaries more and more and James knew that one day he was going to go too far and wind himself in need of some discipline. James was unsure if he'd be able to doll out a punishment, even if well deserved, but also knew he'd have to if Nicholas did anything too serious.
James and Sirius had just finished hunting down a former Death Eater and were currently celebrating their success with Madeye Moody and Kingsly Shacklebolt when a very alarmed Minnie, one of the Potter house elves, appeared in James's office.
"Master, comes quick. Nicholas is hurt, Daisy sents me to get you and Rosie to gets Mistress!" The elf exclaimed.
James felt his stomach practically flip as he stood from his seat and apparted home, Sirius right behind him. The wards allowed certain people to apparate within them and obviously James and Sirius were some of those people.
"Overs heres Master!" Curly, the house elf generally in charge of cleaning exclaimed as he ran towards the practice quidditch pitch.
James's stomach churned, surely his five-year-old, even if he got his hands on a broom, wouldn't have known how to fly on one.
"I's trieds to stops him Master, he's was too high." A hysterical Daisy sobbed as James and Sirius approached the scene.
Nicholas lay on the snow-covered ground sobbing harder than James had heard from him, blood trickling around him and James found himself wishing Lily was here. As a fighter in the wizarding war and as an auror, he knew quite a bit of healing magic but he didn't know how to not hurt the child more because he was quite certain moving the child in his fragile state would make him feel more pain than he was in.
"Nicholas, you're okay, I'm right here." James assured the child as he placed a hand on the back of the child's head which seemed to be a big source of the bleeding.
"I'm sorry Daddy!" Nicholas sobbed, breaking James's heart. Nicholas had been calling Lily "Mummy" more but this was the first time he had called James "Daddy".
"Shh, stay still for now Lion Cub; try not to get too upset." James directed as he and Sirius carefully rolled the child on his back to get a better look at him.
His arm was bent in an awkward position and James knew it was broken as well as a few ribs based on how the child winced anytime he breathed.
"What happened?!" Lily asked as she arrived on the scene.
"Master Nicholas went to play outside whiles I's was gettings his lunch and whens I cames to calls hims for lunch he was flyings on a broom. I's tolds him he was too little and young tos fly and tos come down but he wouldn'ts listen and then he fell from highs in the sky. I sents Minnie and Rosie tos get yous and Master as soons as it happends. I'm sorrys mistress!" Daisy exclaimed.
"It's not your fault Daisy, you did everything you could." Lily promised as she knelt beside the child. "Minnie, fetch my bag, Rosie, fetch some towels, Curly, fetch some warm blankets, Daisy, fetch me the extra supplies from the medical cabinet in the kitchen."
Lily took control of the situation, and with help from Sirius, James, and the elves, her child was mended as much as possible for now but would need a blood-replenishing potion as well as some others Lily didn't have on hand and some rest so Lily directed James and Sirius to get the child in pajamas and in bed while she went back to work to fetch the needed potions and to request some time off to care for young Nicholas.
James had a mixture of emotions as he carried the child as carefully as possible into the house and up the stairs to his room which Sirius quickly made the night sky as they entered. James was still concerned for his child even though he knew Lily had mended him but part of James was livid that his child would do something so reckless and had it been Harry, as soon as he was fully healed, he'd find himself over James's knee, but this wasn't Harry, it was Nicholas, and James in a way, was still trying to make up for the years of abuse Nicholas had suffered at the hands of his biological parents and James hated when Nicholas cried and to consider being the source of those tears nearly broke his heart.
"Mate, Lily wanted us to get Nicholas changed." Sirius spoke breaking James's train of thought and making him realize he was still holding the child, hadn't even laid him in his bed yet.
"Right." James sighed.
The two marauders got the child changed into some of his warmer pajamas seeing as the child had been lying in the snow and probably was still very cold. It took both of them to maneuver him into his new clothes seeing as Nicholas with the potions Lily had given him, was practically sleeping. James knew if his wife wasn't already the Head Children's Healer, that Nicholas would've been taken to the hospital and that he would be in far worse condition.
When Lily returned, she finished treating the child and then told the marauders they needed to let him rest, and shooed them out of the room, charming the room to alert her if Nicholas woke. Once Sirius was sure Nicholas was to be alright, he headed back to work, offering to tell the Minister that James would need to take a day or so off to handle a minor emergency but given the Minister's unusually cheery mood at the Holidays, the marauders knew this wouldn't be a problem. Once Sirius was gone, James asked Rosie to fetch some fire whiskey for him, offering Lily some as well, which she declined.
"He'll be alright James." Lily promised as she cuddled against her husband on their bed, still in her lime green healer's robes from the hospital.
"I know that, I'm just thinking of how easily avoided this situation could've been if Nicholas had just followed the rules, or even come down when Daisy asked." James sighed as he took the glass of fire whiskey from Rosie.
"Well, clearly he's in need of some punishment." Lily sighed.
"I can't punish him while he's so hurt." James sighed.
"As his healer, I can tell you he'll be perfectly fine the morning after tomorrow, completely back to normal aside from a broken arm which will take about a week to heal." Lily assured her husband.
"I can't Lily." James sighed.
"If it were Harry, what would you do?" Lily asked.
"He'd find himself over my knee the moment he was better." James told his wife.
"Nicholas should be no different James, they're both our sons." Lily reasoned.
Yes they were both James and Lily's sons but unlike Nicholas, Harry had never been beaten, abused, broken. James just couldn't bare the possibility of Nicholas reliving any of those memories.
"What if it brings back old memories?" James sighed.
"It won't, not as long as you explain to him the difference beforehand." Lily assured her husband with a small peck to the cheek. "I need a shower, care to join me?"
Meanwhile, Daisy stood by Nicholas's bed, not even considering leaving her young master's side. She felt tremendously guilty even though her master and mistress had assured her she wasn't at fault but she still didn't plan on leaving the child's side until he was completely better. The maternal elf even fell asleep on the floor by the child's bed, waiting in case she could be of any assistance.
This is how Lily and James found her the next morning when they went to check on their still sleeping son. James gently awoke the elf.
"Daisy, you don't have to stay by his side." He told her.
"Daisy's knows master but Daisy's woulds likes to if its okays with you and mistress." Daisy told him.
"Of course it is okay with us" Lily smiled "but know you don't have to."
"When wills the young master be awake?" Daisy asked.
"Sometime today, he'll be just fine by tomorrow morning." Lily assured the small elf.
"Daisy's wills stays with young master untils the morning then." Daisy nodded.
It was a strange Tuesday in the Potter manor without Nicholas running around. Around noon, Daisy alerted the couple that the young master was awake and the two quickly ran to his room.
"Nicholas, sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Lily asked as she sat down beside the child on his bed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Sore." Nicholas admitted.
"That'll pass by morning." Lily assured the child.
"Lion Cub, what happened yesterday?" James asked his son softly.
Nicholas avoided eye contact with his parents, looking around the starry room, trying to do anything but look at them.
"I thought it would be fun." The child mumbled.
"But Nicholas, you haven't even learned to fly yet." James sighed with a small head shake.
"I thought it would be easy." The child admitted.
"Do you remember when you asked to go try and fly a few days after the quidditch match?" James asked the young boy earning a nod. "And what did I tell you?"
"That I wasn't to try and fly without you because I could get hurt." Nicholas mumbled.
"So why did you try and fly after I told you not to?" James asked.
The young wizard shrugged and went back to avoiding eye contact with his parents. "Am I in trouble?" The child asked nervously.
"Not today." James sighed. "But once you are completely healed, yes."
"I am sorry." The child told his parents.
"We know sweetheart, but some things call for consequences regardless of if you are sorry or not." Lily told the child as she ran her hand through his hair. "Do you think you could eat some? It's been awhile since you've had a proper meal."
"I think so." The child agreed.
"James, have Daisy make some soup, that'll be best to try first." Lily directed.
Her husband nodded and quickly left the room, returning after he had instructed Daisy. He studied the child as Lily was helping him sit up, he only winced a little as he did so. The little one still felt bad and James wasn't so sure if he could go through with punishing him the following day, after all, wasn't being injured punishment enough?
"James, will you read me a story?" The child asked quietly.
James smiled at the little boy; obviously the child wasn't angry with him…yet at least. "I think I can do that." James decided. "Let me guess, "The Fountain of Fair Fortune"?" The older wizard asked.
"Yes please." Nicholas agreed.
James left to retrieve the book, returning only moments later. He allowed the child to snuggle up to him, like he always did when he was about to go to bed, and began reading what had become the child's favorite story from the child's favorite book.
Right before dinner, Sirius arrived at the Potter manor to check up on his youngest nephew, a stuffed hippogriff in hand. The child gladly accepted the gift and the company as he was now just a tiny bit sore from the previous day's events.
Lily agreed to let Nicholas out of bed to eat with her, James, and Sirius, and soon enough, the group was seated around the dining table, eating a delicious meal of game pie that the elves had prepared. Sirius made Nicholas laugh all through dinner, joking with his youngest nephew, telling him stories about things he and James had done during their years at Hogwarts.
After dinner, it was time for Nicholas to head to bed, so James read him another story, his best friend watching from the door. Sirius couldn't help the smile on his lips as he watched the scene. "Darling isn't it?" Lily asked the marauder.
"James has always been good with children; it's just a change to see him with a young child again." Sirius smiled.
"He's really settled in well." Lily smiled.
"The Holidays are going to be fun with so many kids around." James smiled.
"Hopefully Remus can reign you and the Weasley twins in." Lily laughed. "Between the three of you I'm sure we'll all have colorful hair by the end of the first day."
"Colorful hair, really Lily? You underestimate us way too much." Sirius chuckled.
"He's out." James informed the two as he walked out of the room.
"Your wife seems to think that all the Weasley twins and I are capable of is colorful hair." Sirius told his best friend.
"Please just don't do anything that will get any of the kids in trouble, I'm dreading the punishment I have to dish out tomorrow enough. I won't be able to punish anymore children until long after the Holiday season." James sighed.
"I've never known you to second guess a punishment." Sirius told his friend as the trio made their way to the library to sit.
"Well, look at him. He's so tiny, and still so…fragile." James sighed.
"He's not fragile, he's pretty resilient. He'll be fine mate." Sirius shook his head.
"I like when Sirius is actually being serious." Lily laughed.
"Like I haven't heard that one before." Sirius rolled his eyes. "I don't always joke."
"Just most of the time." James laughed.
The dreaded moment finally arrived when James had Nicholas in his study, where he had always disciplined Harry. He was watching the child, waiting for an answer about why he thought he was in trouble but Nicholas seemed to be too nervous to answer.
"Nicholas, Lion Cub, tell me why you're in trouble." James requested again.
"Because I disobeyed by flying?" Nicholas asked.
"That's right." James agreed. "Now I think we should talk about what your consequence is going to be."
"I'm sorry!" Nicholas squealed.
"I know you are sorry but you are still going to be in trouble. You're going to be spanked for this, do you understand?" James asked.
"Please! Don't!" Nicholas screamed.
James knew there was going to be some protest that went along with the possibility of a spanking but the child in front of him seemed absolutely petrified. James sighed and his expression softened a bit.
"Nicholas, have you ever been spanked before?" James asked the child.
The child hesitated as he stared at the older wizard. He had been spanked plenty of times but James and Lily weren't as mean as his old Mommy and Daddy.
"Yes." Nicholas cried.
"What happened?" James asked.
"Well, my old Daddy, he'd make me take off all my clothes." Nicholas began his voice shaky. "Then he'd make me stand up with my hands over my head. If I moved them I got more spankings. He'd hit me with his belt over and over again all over my body until I fell asleep."
James felt a twinge of guilt in his heart. No wonder Nicholas was terrified when James said he was going to spank the child. The child had no idea what a normal spanking was like.
"Nicholas, a normal spanking isn't like that." James sighed. "Why don't I explain to you what's going to happen?"
Nicholas nervously nodded his head as he sniffled a little.
"I'm going to put you over my knee and pull down your trousers. You can keep your underpants on and then I'm going to smack your bottom and only your bottom ten times. That's it, you'll be done after that." James told the child.
"Okay." Nicholas sniffled.
"Are you ready to begin?" James asked the child.
Nicholas nervously nodded and James took the child's wrist in his hand gently, pulling him over to the couch in the study where James sat down. He gently unfastened the child's trousers before lifting him onto his lap where he pulled them down below the child's knees. The child squirmed, as most boys in a similar position would, but his heartbeat was far too quick across James's knees.
James decided to give the child a moment to calm down and gently rubbed his back. When Nicholas finally relaxed across his lap, James lifted his hand in the air, dreading what he was about to do.
SMACK. His hand crashed down on the child's upturned bottom. SMACK. SMACK.
The child began whimpering at the stinging he was experiencing and squirmed a bit, causing the older wizard to have to hold him in place with his free hand.
SMACK. SMACK.
The next two were quick and also the two smacks that caused Nicholas to begin crying and kicking his feet again making James tighten his grip on the child a little bit.
SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.
The last five were directed right on the child's sit spots which caused the child to wail even harder and as soon as James finished soundly spanking the boy, he lifted him onto his lap and help him close.
"I'm sorry Daddy!" The child sobbed.
"I know Lion Cub and you are forgiven." James comforted the child.
"I won't do it again." Nicholas promised.
"I bet you won't." James agreed. "Or you'll find yourself in the same exact position."
"Can we go see Mommy?" The child sniffled.
James chuckled a bit and nodded. "I bet you Mommy's going to hold you until you can't breathe."
"Good, I think I might like that." Nicholas giggled.
And so Lily Potter did. She held her son as close to her as she could, trying to comfort her son who still had a very sore bottom just like she had done for Harry in the past.