Double or Nothing

Disclaimer: We don't own any of these characters, we just play with them.

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Chapter 1

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Locked in his room, a little boy with crooked round spectacles lay on a thin mattress covered in threadbare sheets, a threadbare blanket resting atop him. Crawling to the edge of his bed, he stared out at the starry night, tears glistening in the corners of emerald green eyes.

It was late and the young boy, who would usually be asleep by now, was fighting the sleepiness just a bit longer. As per his ritual for as long as he could remember, on the eve of his birthday he always fought to stay awake till a minute after midnight. Though, seeing as he was the only one that cared about this day, he wasn't entirely sure why he bothered. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized it was a waste of energy, but he just couldn't help the glimmer of hope residing in his heart that somehow, against all odds, this year would be different.

He wasn't sure who he was trying to fool. His friends, the same ones that had promised to write him this summer, had not sent him so much as a post card; though he tried to pretend that they were somehow simply unable to write him, he couldn't help but despair on the fact that he felt deep down they were simply choosing not to.

Off in the distance a star flickered and caught his eye before shooting its way in an arch across the night sky. A breath caught in the small boy's chest, and he closed his eyes and whispered the rhyme he had heard once.

"Star light; star bright; first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might have this wish I wish tonight… Oh, I wish My Mum and Dad were here!"

He had made the same wish so many times before. He was unsure why he felt the need to do so again, but in the child's desperate, innocent heart it was the one and only thing he truly wanted.

Every once and a while, all things align in such a way as to make the impossible anything but, and on this night a combination of a shooting star, a boy's heartfelt birthday wish and fate twisted in a sort of way no one could have predicted or imagined.

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Harry jerked awake and stared at the bedside clock. Twelve-thirty? But he never ever fell asleep the night before his birthday - not ever! He certainly didn't remember falling asleep. Tears filled his eyes as the last semblance of normalcy, a ritual he had held on to for so long, slipped away from him. He was so distraught that he did not notice right away that the room he awoke in was not quite the same as the one he had fallen asleep in.

Turning his head, he looked out to where his window would be to see the stars. Instead of finding the night sky, he could make out a glimmer of movement through the window. He squinted his eyes to examine the movement: the little shape off in the distance was growing bigger and it was headed right toward him!

"Wahghhh!" He exclaimed as he fell off the bed, hitting his head on the desk leg behind him.

Suddenly the lights went on and Harry was left staring dumbly at what he had thought was a window but was actually a giant magical quidditch poster. Inside the image was the picture of a seeker diving in to catch a snitch; Harry had seen it at the end of the loop.

The sounds of running footsteps filled the room. Harry groaned; he was really going to get it from Uncle Vernon now. The door flung open and instead of a mammoth of a man standing in the doorway, there was a man in his thirties with messy black hair and hazel eyes behind black-rimmed glasses. Concern was etched on the man's face.

"Are you all right, Harry?" The man asked.

Harry stared dumbfounded at the man. Behind the man, a woman rushed out and to his side.

"Are you okay, Harry?" The woman asked, her brilliant green eyes flashing with concern. "Did you hit your head, sweetie?"

Harry stares at the two figures that were unmistakably his parents. In a quivering voice he asked, "Am I dead? Are you ghosts?"

Lily pulled him into an embrace. "No, sweetie, we're all fine. Did you have a nightmare?" Lily asked.

Reality caught up to Harry and he wrenched away from Lily's grip. "No! Y-you can't be alive! Voldemort killed you!" Suddenly, his face contorted in rage. "This is a trick! You were sent by Voldemort to trick me to his side! I'll never fall for it! My parents are dead and no magic can bring them back!" Harry yelled furiously.

"Harr-" James began.

Harry cut him off. "Don't say my name, impostor!" Unshed tears stung at Harry's eyes. They looked so much like them. "You can both drop the disguise, I'll never join Voldemort!"

Harry frantically scanned the room for escape routes. Finding the window the most viable option, he quickly made his way to it.

James, seeing Harry's intent, pointed his wand at him. "Petrificus Totalus!" He incanted.

Harry immediately went as stiff as a board and he fell onto the bed.

James looked at Lily worriedly. "I think we should call Albus." He said grimly.

Lily nodded. "I'll go firecall him." She said as she left the room.

James sunk down into the desk chair and buried his face in his hands. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he looked up at his frozen son. He felt so helpless and confused.

"What happened to you Harry?" He asked, almost pleadingly.

But there was no answer from the frozen boy, not that he expected any.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Fifteen minutes later found a frazzled Lily leading a sleepy Dumbledore down the long hallway to Harry's room.

Upon seeing the pair, James jumped up to greet them. "Albus! Thank Merlin you're here. Harry..." James gestured toward his son wildly, at a loss of what to say.

"I understand, James. Lily explained it all on the way here." Dumbledore waved his hand in a calming manner. "I think it would be best if you left Harry to me as he seems upset by your presence." Dumbledore directed his gaze at the concerned parents.

James opened his mouth to protest but Lily put her hand on his arm and sadly shook her head.

"We'll wait for you in the parlor, Albus." Lily said as they left.

When James and Lily had left the room, Dumbledore closed and locked both the windows and the door. He then turned his wand at the prone boy. "Finite Incantatum." He incanted.

The boy quickly sat up and looked wildly around the room for escape routes. He was startled to find the headmaster in the room with him.

"Professor?" His voice was unsteady with anxiety.

"Yes, Harry. I'm here." Albus was slightly alarmed; Harry only called him 'Professor' when he was in school.

"Professor! You're here! Did Voldemort capture you too? He had these impersonators come and pretend to be my parents!" Harry said, distressed.

"Harry, calm down. They were your parents. You are no where near Voldemort, you're safe." Albus made placating gestures to try and calm the boy down.

Harry stared at his headmaster with shock and confusion before his face contorted in rage. "My parents are dead! Voldemort killed them when I was a baby! Nothing will ever change that!"

Dumbledore stared at the boy in shock. Had Harry been Confunded? It was during his intent gaze that he noticed something that had been nagging at him since he first laid eyes on the boy. "Harry, this may seem like an odd request, but could I see your scar?"

Harry eyed Dumbledore with suspicion before lifting the fringe to uncover his scar. Dumbledore gasped and then looked contemplative.

"Harry, please humor me. How did your parents die?"

Harry looked at Dumbledore in confusion. Didn't everyone know his story? Dumbledore certainly would! Thinking that perhaps the professor was checking him for memory problems, he decided to answer. "My parents were killed by Voldemort when I was just a year old. Then he tried to kill me, giving me this scar." Harry said as he pointed to said scar.

"Harry, please look into my eyes." Dumbledore instructed. Harry, despite being confused and suspicious, instantly complied. "Legilimens!" Dumbledore incanted.

Images of Harry's life flooded Dumbledore's mind. Finally, withdrawing from the boy, he rubbed his eyes as he took a moment to calm himself.

"Harry, I believe that we are both correct. The James and Lily Potter that were just here are not your parents that died that night." Dumbledore began. Harry started to open his mouth but Dumbledore cut him off. "But, they are your parents." Dumbledore said with such conviction that Harry wasn't sure how he could refute it.

"But, then how...?" He looked up questioningly.

"Harry, have you ever heard of alternate realities?" Dumbledore began.

Harry nodded; there had been a program on the telly where people traveled to alternate realities.

"Harry, I believe you are from one. In this world, your parents were never at the house when Voldemort attacked. Your grandparents, who were babysitting you, died in the attack which gave you that scar." Dumbledore said, pointing to Harry's scar. "But there is one difference between your scar and our Harry's scar... They are on opposite sides."

Harry's mind was reeling. Could his parents really be alive?

"So... those people? They really are my parents?" Harry asked shakily. Hope flared in his chest.

Dumbledore beamed as Harry shed the hostility and suspicion that had marred his face earlier. However, to Dumbledore's great surprise, the boy's face crumpled and he started to cry.

"Oh my." Dumbledore said, taking a seat on the bed and pulling Harry to him. "Why the tears?" he asked softly.

"M-My birthday wish... I wished on a shooting star that I could be with my parents. I didn't really think that kinda magic was for real. And now they are here, I'm here, but, but - you are going to find a way to send me back, your gunna send me back to the Dursleys like always!" With that his tears became sobs that shook his entire body.

Dumbledore frowned; he had seen the boy's life, and he could not blame the child for not wishing to return to his own reality when the only thing he had ever wished for was right here, when he had been abused and neglected so badly in his own world.

"We will discuss that later. For now, wouldn't you like to spend time with your parents while you are still here?" Dumbledore asked gently.

Harry looked up with tear-filled eyes. "You mean you're not going to send me away right away?" His voice almost quivered.

"No, my boy. Even if I could, I would not. I am not so cruel as to deny you any time with them. Come, they are very worried and waiting for us in the parlor." Dumbledore said as he ushered Harry out of the room, taking the time to quickly unlock the door. With that, the pair went to join James and Lily.

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Lily bit her lip as James paced around the room. Both parents felt helpless and scared. Harry was their life and they didn't even know what was wrong with him. When doors to the parlor opened up, they both looked up expectantly.

A tearful Harry Potter practically launched himself at Lily. Lily gasped and caught her son, rubbing his back as relief flooded through her.

"Mummy!" He cried, clinging to her tightly.

Dumbledore followed in at a more sedate pace, his eyes alight with amusement.

"Oh, my, Harry. What's this?" Lily asked, looking questioningly at Dumbledore over her son's head.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I think this conversation would be best if we were all sitting down." Dumbledore merely waited until the other occupants of the room were seated. Harry was still clinging to Lily, so they sat on the small love seat that occupied one corner of the room.

"Albus, did you find out what was wrong with Harry?" James started in.

Dumbledore sat back with a little smile on his face. "There is nothing wrong with Harry."

"What?" James asked, dumbfounded. "What do you mean? He was shouting like a maniac, saying we were dead! You call that nothing?"

"Yes, because to him, his parents are dead." Dumbledore waited a minute for that to sink in. "You see, this Harry is from an alternate reality, one where you and Lily did not survive the attack that made him the boy-who-lived."

If anything, James looked even more confused, while Lily gasped. "I thought those were only in science fiction books. You mean alternate realities really do exist?" Lily looked at her former headmaster, with questioning eyes.

"They do indeed exist. It is a rare, but well documented, occurrence." Dumbledore said as he sat back and stroked his beard.

Lily gaped as James finally found the words to voice his question. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

Lily clapped her hands over Harry's ears as she glared at her husband. "James! Language!"

James had the grace to look sheepish, but he still turned a questioning gaze toward the headmaster.

Dumbledore decided to take pity on James and then launched into an explanation. "There exist different worlds where different choices were made or events simply happened differently. Harry here comes from one of those. He is not the son you raised, but he is still your son."

"But how?" This time it was Lily that looked questioningly at Dumbledore.

"It was my birthday wish." Harry's quiet voice piped up. Harry's eyes filled with tears. "Please don't send me back!" He said desperately.

Dumbledore sat back with a slightly troubled look on his face, while Harry clung to his mother tighter.

James looked at Harry puzzled. "Harry, I know that you must miss us, but if you're here won't your Sirius miss you?"

"Who's Sirius?" Harry asked, but before James could react, Harry started speaking at a frantic pace. "No one loves me there! Please don't send me back!"

Both parents were alarmed. Lily said in a concerned voice. "What do you mean 'no one loves me there'? Surely Sirius or Remus..."

Harry cut her off. "I live with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, and they HATE me!"

"What do you mean they hate you? Harry... Do they... hurt you?" Lily asked, afraid of the answer.

"Well...I-I mean... you see..." Harry squirmed. He had tried for so long to keep his abuse a secret, it was so hard for him to open up now.

"Dudley beats me up all the time and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia don't stop him, in fact they pretty much encourage it. They always called me freak. I...I didn't even know my own name until I started school. They never bought me my own clothes or gave me any toys. I had to live in the cupboard under the stairs until last year when my letter came, and they didn't even give me that! I didn't know I was a wizard until Hagrid brought me my letter. And sometimes.. sometimes they'd lock me in the cupboard and they wouldn't feed me except for stale bread and moldy cheese, and I was lucky if I even got that." Harry's green eyes welled up with tears. The more he said, the more he found he couldn't stop.

"Aunt Petunia told me my parents died in a car crash and Uncle Vernon said I should've died with them. They always bought Dudley new clothes and new toys and made sure he was loved, but they never loved me. They always told me I was lucky they even took me in and that I didn't deserve the little that they gave me even though then they only gave me things under protest and they always made sure to tell me what a hardship it was and made sure I knew I didn't deserve it. All I ever got was Dudley's hand-me-downs, clothes that were way too big and toys that were broken. At Christmas, Dudley always got lots of presents, but I never got anything. The first time I ever got a Christmas present was at Hogwarts. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon told Dudley all the time how much they loved him, but no one ever loved me. Please don't send me back, please don't." Harry begged, tears rolling down his cheeks as he clung tightly to his mother.

The cries of their abused son broke their hearts and they exchanged saddened and angry looks; they were outraged at such treatment.

Lily held Harry protectively, while James looked at Dumbledore fiercely. "He is never going back there!"

"James..." Dumbledore began.

"No, Albus, I don't want to hear it! My son is never going back there." James said with such conviction that there was no room for argument.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and wisely snapped it shut.

James gave a satisfied nod, and then Lily gave a start as she just realized something. Looking up a Dumbledore, she asked, "But if this isn't our Harry, then where is he?"

"I'm not sure, there are many possibilities." Dumbledore admitted. Fear gripped the two parents. What had happened to their baby? "He could be taking this Harry's place or possibly be in another reality or..."

As if on cue, a distinctive squeak rang through the house. James had never fixed the squeaky front door because he liked knowing if someone was coming or going through it. The whole group as one, ran to the front door. What they found was a startled, broom-carrying Harry Potter.

Lily rushed to hug him, leaving the other Harry to stand by Dumbledore, gaping at the perfect copy of himself.

"My baby!" Lily cried as she enveloped the startled boy in a bone-crushing hug. Harry couldn't help the pang of jealousy he felt as Lily left his side to go and hug the other Harry.

"Mum? Wha-?" The broom-carrying Harry said, confused.

It was at that point that James also joined in on the family hug, relieved that his son was safe.

Harry wrapped his arms around himself as his parents both hugged their Harry. He felt like an outsider; maybe staying here wasn't a good idea - though Harry didn't have his parents, his parents already had a Harry.

It was during that touching moment that Dumbledore choose to clear his throat, breaking up the family moment.

"If you don't need me any longer, I'll be on my way. I believe my bed is calling to me." Dumbledore said, his eyes were twinkling.

"Of course, Albus, thank you for your time." Lily said gratefully.

It was only as Dumbledore turned to leave that the broom-carrying Harry spotted his double.

"Bloody hell!" He exclaimed, as he pulled away from his parents to inspect his double.

"Harry! Language." Lily scolded.

"Sorry, Mum." Both Harrys adopted a sheepish expression, even the one who had not spoken.

"Oh, my, that will get confusing won't it?" Lily said concerned, she then adopted a thoughtful expression. "What if... Harry," she said, turning to the dimensionally displaced child. "What if we switch your first and middle names so that you are James Harry instead of Harry James? What do you think of that?"

I think it sucks, he thought. But what Harry said was, "That sounds fine Mum." Ever since finding out what his name was when he started school, he felt oddly protective of it. At home, he was always called 'freak' or 'boy' and occasionally 'Potter', but it wasn't until kindergarten when they first did roll call that he found out his real name. The name Harry was HIS, all his! Never having had much, he clung to what was his. Even still, he didn't want to upset his parents, so if they wanted to change his name, he would be happy so long as they still kept him.

The native Harry looked at the whole proceedings, feeling very confused. "Will SOMEONE tell me what's going on?"

Lily rushed to explain, and he listened intently. "So he's me, but not me? He didn't come from this world, but he's going to stay?" He looked up inquiringly at his mother.

At her nod, he grinned. It sounded nice having a brother.

"But if he is my brother and he just came to this world, wouldn't that like make me the oldest son? Shouldn't I get Dad's name then?" He asked. He had never really liked the name Harry and had always wanted to be more like his Dad.

"That sounds fine to me." The dimensionally displaced Harry said quickly, more than happy to have his name back.

"Call me 'Jamie' for short." Harry, now Jamie, said with a grin.

It was at that moment that Lily realized that Jamie was holding a broom. "Har- Jamie! Were you out night flying? You know that's against the rules!" She said sharply.

Jamie adopted a 'deer in headlights' look. "N-no Mum. I-I mean, yes Mum." Jamie quickly amended; he didn't want to be caught lying on top of everything else.

"You know how we feel about that! Night flying is very dangerous, and that you do all those dangerous tricks on top of that..." Lily trailed off, glaring at her son.

"I'm sorry!" Jamie said pitifully.

"Go to the study. Your father will be there to deal with you shortly." Lily commanded, pointing in the direction of the room.

Jamie hung his head and squirmed.

"But Mum, it's my birthday." He complained.

"Birthday or not, it doesn't excuse naughtiness." She scolded and pointed in the way of the study.

Jamie whimpered but did as his mother instructed without further word.

Looking over the scene Harry almost felt... jealous, though he was glad he wasn't the one in trouble. At least Jamie had people that cared enough to set forth rules. Just then a thought hit him: his broom, all of his things, though admittedly not many, were in his other reality and though there wasn't a whole lot he wished to salvage, the thought of losing his broom, Hedwig, and his prized photo album hurt a bit. He let out a small whimper that caught James' attention.

"What's wrong Harry?" James asked, concerned.

"I.. um it's nothin'. It's not important." Harry told him rather shyly.

Lily rested her hand on his shoulder, causing Harry to look up. "You can tell us, sweetie. It seems important to you."

Harry mumbled something like 'yeah that's why it's not important.'

"Harry, if it's important to you, then it's important to us. Won't you tell us?" James asked almost pleadingly.

"Nothing you could do about it anyway, it doesn't matter." Harry told them. The last thing he wanted to do was to put these people out for fear that he was as his aunt and uncle said, nothing more than a freakish burden and then they would send him back for sure and that would kill him, he just knew it would.

"Honey, even if there is nothing that can be done, sometimes it helps to talk about it. If it's upsetting you this much, then it must matter to you. Please, we only want to help." Lily said as she wrapped Harry up into a hug.

Harry jumped a little from the hug; he was still getting used to physical contact with others and not initiating it first was still awkward for him, besides Hermione this past year no one had ever sought to hug him of their own accord.

"It's just, well, my owl and other stuff they are in my own reality. I didn't have much but what I did have was kinda important to me." Harry said in a whisper.

Lily tightened her hold on Harry and James clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I'm sorry son, I know this must be hard to leave all you knew behind." James said.

"I didn't leave very much behind. My friends, well the people I thought were my friends, didn't even write to me all summer and they promised they would." Harry told them with real sadness in his voice, but he supposed it was a good thing they didn't write. It let him know they didn't really think of him as a friend and made them easier to leave behind as besides his invisibility cloak, photo album and Hedwig, he wasn't leaving anything important behind.

It was at that moment that the family heard the sound of someone clearing his throat.

As one they all turned to look at Dumbledore, a little startled because they had thought he had already left.

"I thought that before I leave I should tell you what to tell people about young Harry here." Dumbledore started in.

Lily looked concerned. "Do we have to make up a cover story? It will be strange to have another child just appear out of nowhere. What if..."

Dumbledore cut her off. "We will need to do no such thing. Dimensional travel, unlike time travel, is not illegal. It is rare and we will need to get Harry registered at the ministry." Dumbledore paused as he thought. "And also we must change Jamie's name." He said as an afterthought.

Harry's expression brightened a bit at the thought of being registered at the ministry, that meant that he was legally there and that he didn't have to be sent back. That was a relief. Now the only problem was not letting them know what a worthless freak he was; if they found that out then they would send him back for sure whether or not he was there legally.

Harry was startled out of his thoughts when Lily touched his arm. "Are you okay, sweetie? Why don't we get you to bed?"

Harry looked up at her and gave a small smile.

"Yeah, I guess I'm kind of tired." He said. Truth was, he wasn't really tired but he wanted to please his mum, and he had never been tucked in before.

Lily led the way to Jamie (and now Harry's) room. Upon arriving there, Lily waved her wand and with a quick bout of spell work had enlarged the room and conjured a new bed.

"We'll get you a new bed in the morning, dear. I'm afraid conjured beds really don't last that long. It's not the best; Transfiguration is more your father's specialty." Lily told Harry.

Harry didn't care; he had had worse before, and the conjured bed looked softer than the old bed that he had been using back at the Dursleys'.

"It's fine Mum, really, I've had worse." He assured her.

A dark look crossed Lily's face as she was reminded of Harry's treatment at the hands of her sister.

Harry noticed his mother's change of expression and cringed. Oh, no! What did he do? "I'm sorry!" He said quickly.

Lily's expression quickly morphed to confused and then concerned. "Oh Sweetie, I'm not angry with you. I'm just angry at what those monsters have done to you."

Harry nodded sheepishly. Of course his mother wasn't mad at him, what was he thinking?

"Well, now, let's get you into bed, Harry." Lily said and, with a flick of her wand, transfigured Harry's baggy t-shirt and sweat pants into some well-fitting pajamas. She then lifted the covers and motioned Harry to get in.

Harry got in, sighing in contentment as his mother brought the covers up to his chin and swept the stray lock of hair from his eyes. Lily then bent over and planted a kiss on his forehead.

It was only as his mother turned to leave that panic gripped him. What if he went to sleep and woke up and it was all a dream? Without really meaning to, his hand snaked out and grabbed at his mother's skirt.

Lily turned around and Harry immediately let go, unsure of what to say. He turned red and stuttered. "I-I, I mean, I..."

Lily smiled for she had recognized the pleading look on Harry's face, and knew exactly what he needed. "I'll stay with you, dear. Until you fall asleep."

Harry gave a sheepish nod and settled back in. Lily began to stroke his hair and hum a gentle lullaby. It was under his mother's watchful gaze that he drifted off to a deep, restful slumber.

oOoOoOoOoOo

A fond smile tugged at James' lips as his wife led his now youngest son off to his room to tuck him in. He was happy that they were keeping the boy; maybe now Harry would learn what a real family was like. It was only as Lily and Harry went up the stairs and out of sight that he turned toward the study. With a sigh, he steeled himself for what he would have to do. Gathering up his resolve, he made his way to his waiting son.

Opening the door, James was not surprised to find his eldest son sitting in the desk chair, fidgeting with nervousness. Jamie looked up, startled, as his father opened the door, even though he was expecting it.

Jamie stood up. "Please, Dad, I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Please don't spank me!" He pleaded.

James looked at his son sternly. "You know the rules, and we've had this discussion before. You know you have a spanking coming."

"I am sorry, Dad. Please, it's my birthday." The child protested feebly.

"As your mother said before, 'birthday or not, it doesn't excuse naughtiness.'" James reminded.

Jamie pouted and squirmed. "But I don't want a spanking!" He protested.

"Well, you should have thought of that before you broke the rules." James pointed out. "Now, it's late, let's not drag this out any longer than we need to." James walked over and pulled his son off the chair and sat down. He gave his son a pointed look. "Bare your bottom and lie over my lap."

Jamie whimpered and gave his dad the pouty lip. He hated having to have his spankings bare bottom, especially now that he was getting older! Plus they hurt so much worse that way. But seeing the look on his father's face, he knew it best not to push the issue and so he slowly pushed his pants and underpants down to his knees and lied over his fathers lap, wriggling a bit.

James gathered his resolve and then brought his hand down with a terrific SMACK!

Jamie let out a loud yelp of pain and surprise. Why was his dad's hand so bloody hard? He bit his bottom lip and scrunched his face to keep from crying out was twelve now, practically an adult, he wouldn't cry over a little smacking.

After the initial spank, James lit into his son's bottom at a furious pace, rapidly turning Jamie's bottom from white to pink to a rosy red.

Jamie couldn't help but start to wriggle and squirm as his father brought the sting in his bottom to an unbearable level. Soon he couldn't help but start to whimper and yelp with every swat.

When Jamie's bottom had reached an acceptable shade of red, James reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a ruler. He tapped the ruler on Jamie's flaming bottom to let him know of the change of implements.

By that point Jamie was crying and wriggling about trying to escape the swats. When he felt the ruler, he let out a sob.

"Nooo Daddy! Pleaseeee no more! Not that ruler! I w-wont do it a-againnn, I won't!!" Jamie cried.

"This is the second time Jamie! You know this warrants more than a hand spanking." James said sternly. "Now, what is this spanking for?" He asked, while still tapping the ruler on Jamie's bright red bottom.

Jamie cried miserably. "I-I went out flying without p-permission at n-night. Daddy, please no more." he begged.

James nodded. "Yes, you know that's against the rules, and since this is the second time, you will be getting six smacks with the ruler all on your sit spot." James declared while raising his leg to have better access to the sensitive undercurve.

"No, no please!!" Jamie begged frantically. "Not there, Daddy please," he said, throwing his hand back in an attempt to prevent his father from carrying out the sentence.

"Ha-Jamie!" James said sharply as he gathered his son's wayward hand up and pinned it to the small of his back. "You know the penalty for trying to cover up!"

"Nooooo, I'm sorry!!" he cried, kicking his legs. His bum was already so sore!

"Okay, Jamie, you'll get an additional three strokes, half of the remainder." James said, and then he brought the ruler down with a loud CRACK! as it impacted the upturned bottom.

Jamie cried out, his legs kicking frantically as the ruler cracked down on his most sensitive spot.

"You CRACK! do CRACK! not CRACK! go CRACK! night CRACK! flying!" James punctuated each word with a sharp swat. "Do you understand me?"

Jamie sobbed ."Yesssss Daddy! Pleaseeee! Never again! I won't e-ever againnnn!!!" he cried hard, his legs kicking.

"Good!" James said and landed the last three in rapid succession.

Jamie yelped loudly as the last swats landed, the thin piece of wood biting into the same red and sore spot.

James put the ruler back in it's drawer and rubbed soothing circles on Jamie's back, trying to calm the sobbing boy.

Jamie began to calm a bit. "I'm s-sorry." he sniffled out.

James pulled the boy up and into his lap. Mindful of Jamie's sore bottom, he spread his legs so that Jamie could sit between them. James ruffled his son's hair. "I know you are son, but you just have to learn."

Jamie nuzzled into his father's chest, resting his head there.

"I did. I promise, dad, I won't ever do it again." He promised

After the last of Jamie's tears had dried, James stood Jamie up and helped right his clothes. James then turned his wand to his son and transfigured his clothes into pajamas. Jamie looked up curiously.

"I'm sure your brother is already asleep and we don't want to wake him with you changing into your pajamas. I'll transfigure these clothes back to what they were tomorrow." James explained.

Jamie nodded and rubbed a bit at his eyes. He was tired and his eyes were sore from crying. He leaned a bit into his father as they walked back to his room.

oOoOoOoOoOo

When they arrived at the boys' (now) shared room, James was mildly surprised to find Lily still there. She was carding her hand through Harry's hair and humming softly. James smiled as he was reminded of when his son was a baby, and Lily would do the same thing.

Jamie crawled into his bed and under the covers, settling himself uncomfortably on his stomach and hugging his pillow. His gaze fixed across the room to where his mother was humming to his new brother and he felt a pang of jealousy. He turned his head to the other side so he wouldn't have to see them. The throbbing in his bottom made it hard to focus on trying to sleep, but he found his mother's lullaby just as soothing as he had when he was a small child. Before long, his eyes fell closed and he started to drift off to sleep.

Lily joined her husband in the doorway, wrapping her arm around his waist and leaning into him as he draped an arm across her shoulders. Together, the Potter parents gazed at their son and their newest son. They had been blessed with one wonderful son, but now they had two. James turned his head and placed a soft kiss atop Lily's hair, both of them reflecting on just how lucky they were as they watched their two sons sleep.