Chapter 13: Maybe I should just give up


{Alex and Sev's POV}

Severus' eyes widened as he saw his sister fall off the broom. -"Shit"- He stands up and looks at Alex who had frozen as he watched Kat fall to the ground. -"Ok, shortie, the game is over, you and I are leaving"- He picks Alex up by his armpits to put him on the ground and then grabs him by the wrist.

Alex shook his head at Severus' words. -"No, no, let me go, Kat, Kat!"- He pulls his arm trying to break free from Severus' grip without taking his eyes off his sister who was now lying motionless on the ground of the pitch.

Severus took one last glance at this sister before sighing and climbing down from the bleachers dragging Alex and heading back to the castle.

-"No, no, Kat, Kat!"- Alex dug his heels into the ground and pulled his arm still trying to break free from Severus' grip wanting to get back on the pitch -"Waaahhh! Kat!"- He cried aloud, still fighting against his brother's grip.

Severus sighed heavily before stopping and looking at his little brother. -"Alex, you don't have to cry"- He bent down to pick Alex up, still not letting go of his wrist, he didn't want him to run away. He wanted to get to the common room as fast as possible and if the kid kept resisting it would take them a long time to get there, so carrying him in his arms was the best option. –"She will be fine, don't worry, it's not the first time this has happened to her anyway"- He says softly while he speeds up the pace, and he puts Alex better on his hips.

-"Waaahhhh! No, no, let's go back, Kat, Kat! Waaaahhhh! Waaaahhhh! Kat! Kat!"- Alex stops fighting and just cries into Severus' shoulder while crying Kat's name.

Severus walked into the common room, thankful that it was empty; he didn't want people looking at him funny for having a second year crying inconsolably over his shoulder. He locked his dorm door, so he wouldn't be disturbed as he tried to calm Alex down. -"Alex, calm down, you don't have to be like this, you already know this isn't the first time this has happened to Kat."- Well, she had been hurt many times from a match, but she had never fallen from such a high height, or at least too high for Alex.

Alex was so scared; he didn't hear Severus' words. He clung to his brother's neck as he continued to cry out loudly -"Waaaaaaahhhh! Kat! Kat! Waaaahhhh!"-

Severus sighed and sat on the bed sitting Alex on his lap as he rubbed his back. -"I told you, she'll be fine, just stop crying."- He sighed heavily as Alex tightened his grip against his neck more -'Kat better win the match after all this'- He thought.

-"Waaaaaaahhhh! Kat! Kat! Waaaahhhh!"- Alex just wanted his sister; he wanted her since the night before when he had that nightmare. He wanted her comfort and that she was okay.

Severus leaned against the headboard of the bed. - "Come on, calm down"- He said as he put Alex on his chest while still rubbing his back.

Alex began to feel tired after crying for a long time and stopped crying little by little as his eyes closed. He stopped crying completely when he fell asleep on Severus' chest without letting go of his neck.

Severus tried to convince Alex that Kat would be okay and to stop crying without stopping rubbing his back. He looked down at his brother when the crying stopped completely, and sighed in relief when he saw Alex asleep on his chest. -"Finally"- He very carefully managed to get Alex off his neck and laid him face down on the bed, then slowly got out of bed and covered him with a blanket.

Alex frowned slightly as he lost touch of Severus' body, but took the pillow as a replacement.

Severus let out a breath he had held as he saw that his brother didn't wake up. He rummaged through his things until he got a pain potion. He walked out of his dorm and headed to Kat's room, he could hear people starting to arrive in the common room after the match officially ended. He walked into Kat's room and put the potion on her desk. He sighed. -"It's worth a try, though I'm sure she won't drink it"- He mutters to himself and walks out of Kat's room and back into his own. Once he's inside the room, he sits down at his desk and pulls out a book to study before looking at the time and realizing he spent almost an hour to 'calm Alex down' or rather for him to fall asleep after crying so much.


{Kat and Snape's POV}

Kat knew how high up she was, so she tried to grab onto her broom, but she couldn't get a good enough grip and her fingers slipped. She fell all the way to the ground, laying on the pitch for a second, before she got up slowly. As she lifted her head, you could see her cheekbone starting to bruise up badly, and it was obvious that her body would hurt like hell. Her team rushed over to help her up and once she was standing her held out her hand that was still tightly wrapped around the snitch.

Snape sighed in relief when he saw his daughter get up from the ground with the snitch in her hand, ending the match. He saw the bruise that she had on the cheekbone and frowned.

Kat grabbed her broom off the floor and headed into the Slytherin tent with the rest of her team, changing out of her uniforms and into casual clothes. Madam Pomfrey had come into the tent to check on Kat, checking on her quickly before nodding and leaving as she saw nothing was too serious with Kat. The whole team left together to go back to the common room to shower and get ready for the victory party, as they walked, Kat's adrenaline started to go away, and she could feel the pain coming to her body.

Snape no sooner saw Madam Pomfrey leave the tent than he stood up from his seat and climbed down the bleachers with a neutral expression. He walked towards her, who was returning to the infirmary at that moment. He asked about his daughter's condition and when she told him it was nothing serious, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He thanked her before turning on his heel and going back to his office to work, and celebrate in his own way that Slytherin had won their first match of the season.


Kat walked into the common room and went separate ways from the rest of the team, going into her dorm and showering quickly. When she came out she saw the potion from Severus, she didn't want to drink it and the pain wasn't unbearable yet, so she left the potion there. She changed into clothes for the party and then got ready, once she was done she left her dorm and met up with the rest of the team before headed to the common room

Severus looked up from his book towards the door when he heard the noise coming from the common room getting louder and louder, so he assumed it was the party. -"At least they won the match"- He rolled his eyes and cast a silencing spell on Alex, so the noise wouldn't wake him up. He returned to read the book, ignoring the party. He took out a bit of food that he had stored and ate some.

Kat went to the party, celebrated with her teammates and friends the victory. But her fun didn't last as long as she would have liked, because after a while she started to get tired and the pain became a little bit too much to handle. So she decided to quietly withdraw from the party to the dorms. She changed into comfortable clothes when she got to her dorm, crawling into bed and read until she fell asleep.


Later that night when the party was over, Severus rubbed his temples at having to deal with the kid sitting on his bed, who had woken up a few minutes ago from the very bad mood, and was now pouting as he crossed his arms.

-"I want to go see Kat"- Alex demanded of Severus. He had woken up in a very grumpy and cranky mood to see that he still wasn't with his sister, he wanted his sister, he wanted to feel her magic, he wanted to see that she was alright.

Severus sighed as he summoned a pajama and put it on the bed next to Alex -"You'll see her tomorrow, put on your pajamas and go back to sleep."- He would let Alex sleep with him again; because of the events of a few hours ago Alex wouldn't want to sleep alone.

-"No, I want Kat!"- Alex demanded more sternly to Severus before his eyes watered. -"I want to sleep with Kat, I want my sister"- He said on the verge of tears. He only wanted his big sister, why Sev couldn't understand that.

-"Don't cry"- Severus said between a tone of exasperation and pleading.

-"Wahhhhhhhh! Wahhhhhhhh!"- Alex let big tears run down his face as he cried loudly.

Severus groaned and ran his hand over his face. -"Fine, put on your pajamas, and I'll take you to her."- He ended up agreeing, he was too tired to deal with or calm the kid at this point.

Alex climbed out the bed and put on his pajamas without stopping crying. He looked at Severus and held out his arms for him to pick him up.

Severus picked Alex up and walked out of his dorm and walked to Kat's. -"Stop crying"- He said when the kid wouldn't stop crying.

Alex took several deep breaths as he stopped crying, he stopped crying completely when they were in front of Kat's door.

Severus slowly opened the door and put Alex on the floor. -"Don't wake her up."- He whispers to him.

Alex barely touched the floor and walked quickly to Kat's bed and climbed up onto it and then lay down next to his sister under the blanket.

Kat stirred a little as Alex climbed into her bed; she turned over to face him, revealing the dark bruise on her face. She was still asleep through all of this; she was so tired that her body didn't even bother to wake up all the way when it noticed something moving around her. She became still again after she wrapped Alex up in her arms.

Alex frowned at the sight of the bruise, but he was too tired, so he ignored it for now, at this point he just wanted to be with his sister. He wrapped his arms around Kat's waist and rested his head on her chest. He smiled widely as he felt Kat's magic, he began to feel very sleepy and fell asleep immediately.

Severus rolled his eyes and left the room, closing the door behind him. He walked down the hall, and he went back into his dorm and lay down on his bed and slept.


{Sev's POV}

Severus woke up in a bad mood, looked up at the ceiling as he sighed. He looked at the time, not wanting to get out of bed. He was tired; dealing with Alex yesterday was exhausting, and more so having to put up with his crying. He pulled the blanket over his face as he decided to let Kat take care of Alex for the time being.

Severus stood in thought for a while, wondering if he could really keep his deal with his father. He groaned, thinking about how he was going to keep the kid under control if every time he cried or something happened, he wanted Kat and only Kat. -"Maybe I'm not cut out for this and Alex prefers Kat more than anyone else."- He muttered to himself.

-"Maybe, I should just give up"- Severus frowned before shaking his head -"Ugh, this really hurts my pride, but Kat is more reliable than me in these things"- He said with a tone of surrender before getting up from the bed and sighing heavily.

Severus walked to the bathroom to take a shower. -"But still, Alex's attitude these last few days has been very, very odd, I just hope it's nothing bad"- He came out of the bathroom and got dressed for the day. Then he left the dorm, went into the common room and sat on the couch while he waited for Kat and Alex.


{Kat and Alex's POV}

Kat woke up in the morning to the feeling of someone laying on her, when she looked down she was met with Alex literally sprawled out on her bed on top of her. She sighed at the fact that she didn't even remember waking up to him coming into her room. She slid out from underneath him carefully not to wake him and headed into her bathroom, her whole body hurt, and she needed to check how much of it was bruised.

Alex frowned slightly as he stopped feeling the magic and Kat's body; he curled up in bed, all without waking up, grabbed the pillow and hugged it to replace Kat. Although he had slept well, without any nightmares, he was still a little tired from the events of the previous day.

Kat sighed as she saw half of her body was bruised darkly; she left the bathroom and grabbed her uniform skirt and shirt, then headed back into the bathroom to change. Once she was done she got out and went over to Alex, shaking him softly as she told him it was time to get up -"Alex, get up, you have to go change, so we can go to breakfast."- She said softly as she grabbed a brush and brushed her hair, she didn't even try to put makeup on and cover the bruise on her face.

Alex slowly sat up in bed while rubbing his eyes. -"Morning"- He opened his eyes and looked around, so much of remembering why he was in his sister's dorm. His eyes stopped moving as Kat came into his field of vision, or more specifically the bruise on her face, and he remembered what happened yesterday. He jumped off the bed and ran over to where Kat was. -"Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?"- He said worriedly and with tears in his eyes.

-"Good morning."-Kat said before turning to look at the kid who was now running to her -"Yes I'm fine, no, it doesn't hurt."- That was a lie, but she knew her brother would start crying if he knew the truth -"Please don't cry, it's too early and there's nothing to cry about."- She said as she got her school bag together.

Alex wipes away his tears before smiling at her. –"Okay, I'm glad you're okay, I was really scared when you fell off the broom and Sev dragged me to the castle without being able to know if you were okay or not"- He says slightly annoyed by Severus' actions, he didn't understand why he didn't let him go with his sister when she was hurt.

-"I know, I told him to get you out of there if I got hurt."- Kat said as she patted his head -"Go to your dorm and change into your uniform."- She said as she grabbed her uniform robe and her Quidditch bag.

Alex pouts, he now understood why Severus did what he did, but that didn't mean he liked it, he understood, but he didn't like it at all -"Okay, but I was still scared"- He turned around and walked out of Kat's room and went to his own.

-"Well, I'm fine, so there's nothing to be worried about."- Kat said as he left her dorm. She made sure she had everything she needed for classes and then made her way out to the common room slowly.


Alex walked into his dorm and took a quick shower before changing into his uniform and checking that he had everything he needed for his classes today.

Severus raised an eyebrow as he watched Kat walk into the common room. -"Well, I tried at least."- He sighs. -"At least you would have drunk half of it, and you would have been walking well"-

-"I'm fine; I can stand, so I don't need anything"- Kat said with a sigh as she sat down on the couch.

Severus rolls his eyes and shrugs. -"Fine, whatever you say, but I'll pick you up when you pass out from the pain at some point of the day"- He leaned over the couch. -"How was your morning with Alex, because, the way he reacted yesterday, I don't think he wants to get away from you today"-

-"I won't pass out from the pain."- Kat said as she waited for Alex -"It was ok, but he's already cried once about the whole situation yesterday."-

Severus snorted. -"He cried twice"- He said as he held up two fingers –"And it took me an hour trying to calm him down, and I couldn't, he fell asleep from crying so much and the second time, he calmed down when I took him to sleep with you"- He put his hand to his face.

-"He's been very attached to me recently, and it's a bit odd. I know I fell from pretty high, but I didn't think it was that traumatizing to watch."- Kat said with a shrug.

Severus shrugs. -"I guess the fact that the night before he had a nightmare, that he couldn't talk to you all day yesterday, that you fell from a considerably high height, and more so for someone as small as him, after being hit with a bludger, and that he couldn't see you until the night, if you add all that up I think it made the boy explode and be very traumatic by the end of the day"- He sighs -"Yesterday he kept repeating over and over again, I want Kat, I want to go with Kat, Kat this, Kat the other, I really even got tired of hearing your name from so many times that he repeated it"-

-"I don't know, maybe you're right, but something's wrong, he's never been so attached to me before, so something must have happened."- Kat said with a shrug. Alex had never acted like this every time she got hurt in a match, although she had never gotten hurt that badly or had her injuries show with the naked eye, so Alex was never aware of how much she had actually been hurt.

Alex slung his backpack on his back before walking out of his dorm humming and into the common room to meet up with his siblings -"I'm ready,"- He said as he stood in front of them.

-"Alright, let's go."- Kat gets up before heading out of the common room.

Alex smiles and walks over to Kat's side and walks beside her.

Severus gets up and grabs his school bag and walks behind them.

Kat looked down at him as he ran up to walk next to her, looking forward again as they entered the Great Hall.

All three siblings went their own ways and sat with their own friends.

Alex's friends sat next to him, Alex smiled broadly, happy that his friends wanted to be with him again.

Severus was chatting with his friends about an interesting book he got from the library and what he was planning to do with it.

Kat was chatting with her friends about yesterday's game as the team came over to check on her. They stayed by them for a little bit to talk before they left to go it down on their own.

Severus gets up and then stands behind Kat. -"Hey, could you do me a favor and take Alex to his first class, I want to talk to dad about something"-

-"Yeah, I can, just let him know, so he knows to come to me once he's done"- Kat said with a nod as she glanced back at Severus before returning to her food.

Severus nods. -"Okay, thanks"- He walked to stand behind Alex. -"Hey, shortie, I need to talk to dad, Kat will take you to your first class."-

Alex turns and nods. -"Okay."- He smiles at him before going back to talking to his friends. He was happy to be able to more time with Kat.

Severus turns around and heads to the professors' table. He had a slight frown on his face, but he was a little nervous, he had been practicing for days what he was going to say to his father.

Kat was curious to what he was talking about with their father, but she didn't feel like pressing him to tell her. He seemed to be in a bad mood, so she decided she was probably better to just leave him alone and ask later.

Snape watched his second-eldest walk towards him. -"Severus, do you need me for something?"- He raised an eyebrow, thinking that he had happened something with Alex, or he would speak about the fall of Kat yesterday.

-"Yes, I need to talk to you about something and ask you for certain things."- Severus glanced at the professors. -"In private"-

Snape looked at his son intrigued.-"Okay, but shouldn't you take Alexander to class?"-

Severus rolled his eyes -"I've asked Kat to take him for me, just to his first class; I'll take care of him later"- He really wasn't in his best mood at the moment, so he didn't notice that he just rolled his eyes at his father and spoke in a slightly rough and annoyed manner.

Snape raised an eyebrow. -"Okay, but did you just roll your eyes at me, mister?"- He decided to overlook his son's tone, he wasn't being rude, but he still scolded him a bit.

Severus swallowed spit and blushed faintly at what he had called him. -"I'm sorry"- He said softly, trying to control his temper and bad mood, he didn't want to be disrespectful towards his father.

Snape stood up. -"Let's go to my office"- He said before walking towards him and stopping next to him. -"And don't roll your eyes at me again."- He muttered sternly before walking back towards the entrance of the Great Hall.

-"Yes, father"- Severus took a deep breath, ignoring the professors' laughter, and walked behind his father.

The professors found this mildly amusing, as both father and son had exactly the same personality and attitudes.


{Kat and Alex's POV}

Kat watched as the two of them left the Great Hall, everyone else was getting up and getting ready to go to class. Kat gathered her things and stood up, signaling for Alex to come and that they were going now.

Alex turned his head and put on his backpack and followed Kat out of the Great Hall to class. He walked to her side as he hummed, happy to go with Kat to class.

-"Remind me what class you have first."- Kat said as she looked down at her brother, before Severus took over Alex she really didn't have to walk Alex to class, so she wasn't really familiar with his schedule.

Alex looks up at his sister, smiling. -"I have charm classes"- He smiled even more he loved to do spells; it was one of the few things that he did not usually hurt himself.

-"Alright, let's go quickly, so I'm not late to class."- Kat said as she walked through the corridors and led him to his class. Waving at his professor quickly once they arrived -"I'm going to my class, I'm not sure if me or Severus will be picking you up though."-

Alex nods. -"Okay, I still have to stay here at the door until one of you two comes to pick me up."- He waves before turning around and walking into the classroom and sitting next to the use of his friends.

Kat turned around and walked slowly to her classroom.


{Sev and Snape's POV}

Snape and Severus walked down the hallway until they reached the office and walked inside.

Snape sat at his desk and watched with his son sat across from him. -"So, Severus, what do you need to talk about?"-

Severus sat down in one of the chairs in front of his father's desk before taking a deep breath, knowing this would be difficult. –"I want to learn how to transform into an animagus, plus I wanted to ask you for your lab and certain ingredients, so I can practice and make the potion right"- He said very seriously.

Snape took a deep breath. -"Severus, you know how dangerous the procedure to transform into an animagus is, don't you?"-

Severus nods. -"Yes, da...father, I know all the risks and the steps to follow, I have been reading and studying about it, I have thought it through very well, I don't take it lightly"- He said seriously and tried to show a lot of confidence in his words.

Snape put his arms on the table and made a very serious face. He thought for a moment, he didn't doubt his son's capability, he wasn't against him doing what he was asking, but he had to be sure very sure of certain things before agreeing. -"I will ask you some questions, and it depends on what you answer me, I will think about whether to give you permission or not, and if I said no, I hope you do not disobey me and if I say yes, it will be under my rules and conditions that you cannot deny or disobey, because you wouldn't like the consequences, have I been clear, Severus?"- He said slowly and in a stern tone.

Severus swallows and nods. -"Yes, father, I understand perfectly."- He was not stupid; he would never do this alone and without his father's permission. Unlike Alex, he thought before he did something stupid. But he was still nervous; he hoped his answers were good enough.

Snape nodded -"First, how do you plan to become an animagus, you don't plan to try it alone?"- He finished by raising an eyebrow.

Severus shakes his head. -"No, I have spent several days talking with Professor McGonagall, about this, I have asked her advice, and she is willing to teach me, only if you give me permission"-

Snape nods -"What will you do with your brother? According to our deal you have to take care of him for three weeks and when his punishment is over you must watch every afternoon and keep an eye on him, plus watch him every time Katarina has training until the end of the season"- For him this is a very important question.

Severus sighs. –"I was thinking of giving the job of watching Alex back to Kat, when his punishment weeks are over of course I still plan to continue the deal until the end, but I don't think I'm the right one for the job"- He said hoping not to disappoint his father.

Snape nods in agreement. -"I will talk to Katarina about it, and I appreciate your sincerity very much, now answer the question please"- He tried not to let his relief show, but really that job should remain his daughter's, Severus has very little patience anymore with his little brother.

Severus nods. -"During these three weeks Alex will be in his dorm, I'll put a charm on his door, so I'll know if he comes out, and if he does come out I'll stop whatever I'm doing to go see him. And Kat's training is only two hours; I can go to my lessons or practice the potion afterwards. Plus, I can ask Kat to keep an eye on him when she's not busy. In the worst case, I'll ask some of my friends who can watch him, or I'll suspend my lesson for the day. But he can be left alone during that time, doing his homework or knitting, he is so into his new hobby that he will be able to be unsupervised while knitting. But I will keep him completely away from my lessons; I won't even mention it in front of him. He hasn't even studied animagi yet."- He tried to give the most complete answer he had, giving solutions to all possible scenarios; he really wanted to be able to have those lessons.

Snape thinks for a moment before nodding. -"Okay, you've kept Alex from getting hurt, and he hasn't gotten into trouble in your care, so I'll trust you that you'll have everything under control."- He wasn't lying at all, he was very proud of how his eldest son had been able to handle his youngest son these past few days.

Severus sighed in relief. Feeling relieved, knowing that would be the hardest question his father would ask him to answer.

-"Last question, how long do you plan to wait until you try to transform into an Animagus?"- Snape hoped that his son was aware of how difficult and time-consuming the procedure was and that he would not be careless in trying to accomplish it as quickly as possible.

Severus thinks for a moment. –"That will depend on whether Professor McGonagall thinks I am ready, and I know I am being very idealistic in saying this, but I want to achieve it or at least have a good foundation on this transformation before or just finishing this school year, but I am sure and willing to wait as long as is prudent to do it safely even if that takes me until beyond graduating from here."- He said staring at his father extremely confident and sure of his words.

Snape looked at his son for a few minutes before nodding. -"Okay, you have my permission..."-

Severus smiled broadly, something rare for him. -"Really, thank you!"-He said, unable to contain his excitement.

-"Severus, don't interrupt me!"- Snape raises his hand towards him as well as his voice. Understand his son's excitement, but he hated to be interrupted.

-"I'm sorry"- Severus said, trying to contain his emotion, but that visually was kind of impossible.

Snape takes a deep breath. -"I will talk to Minerva to schedule your lesson days and allow you to use my lab, I will leave you the necessary ingredients to make the potion and I don't want this to interfere with your studies."-

Severus nods as he bites his lip so as not to interrupt his father again.

-"Neither you, your brother, nor your sister can get hurt in any of this, if Alexander finds out about this, he tries to imitate you, and if he tries to imitate you, you will not only be punished, but I will suspend your lessons and will not let you try to transform into an animagus until you graduate. You must also follow instructions to the letter without complaining to Professor McGonagall, if she comes to complain that you have disobeyed her, I will suspend your lessons. I also have to evaluate the potion you will make until I give her the go-ahead, you will not drink it, and you will have to go through the process again, understood?"- Snape said each word extremely seriously, emphasizing each word very well.

Severus nods. -"Yes, father, I will, I will not disobey you."- He said still being excited, but used a serious tone so that his father knew that he was taking this very seriously.

Snape wrote a note. -"Here, give it to your professor, so you won't get in trouble if you're late, I'll let you know when I talk to Minerva"-

Severus gets up, takes the note and slings his school bag over one shoulder. -"Yeah, dad, thank you."- He leaves the office in a better mood. He was completely happy now.