Chapter 21: Touch, Hearing and Vision
We return to the common room just as Severus received the note.
Severus takes a deep breath before swallowing hard. -"Dad wants to see me in his office"- He sighs in exasperation. –"Okay, it's official, I'm dead"-
-"It doesn't say anything about me, right?"- Kat says as she grabs the note from his hands, the second she touches the note her vision goes out again. She can see Alex running in his office and her father's facial expressions getting angry, she also saw some things flying, but it wasn't entirely clear. -"Shit"- She says as she rubs her temple and blinks quickly -"You're screwed"- She says as she tries to force herself to return back to normal.
Severus groans and takes the note for Kat to stop having her visions. -"That doesn't help me"- He reads the note again. -"No, it doesn't say anything about you"- He looks at Kat. -"How mad did you see him?"-
-"Thank you"- Kat says, letting out a breath as he takes the notes out of her hand, realizing that she can't really touch anything without having a vision. -"Uh, pretty angry"- She says feel bad for him -"Would you like me to come with you, buffer some of the anger away from you"-
Severus nodded -"Yes, that will help a lot and maybe if you mention your new ability to her, we could deflect the topic"- He said with a big sigh before leaving the common room.
-"You're lucky I'm so nice"- Kat said with a sigh as she followed him out of the room, not excited to get shouted at and doing it voluntarily.
Severus growled. -"I don't want him to yell at me, my ears still hurt from listening to Alex cry"- He sighed. -"That kid, why did he have to leave the common room and go to dad's"-
-"Because he didn't have a better idea"- Kat said with a sigh as they arrived at the office, she knocked and got ready to walk in first to take some of the fire.
-"Come in"- Snape said with a growl.
Severus swallowed hard before opening the door, by his father's tone, Kat was right his father was angry. He to see his father's office, he was actually surprised that his father wasn't livid, his office was a mess, there were sheets of papers and scrolls everywhere and the windows were cracked. His eyes roamed the office until his eyes landed on his father, who was sitting on the couch with the one responsible for this whole situation clutched around his neck as he sobbed softly.
-"Don't let me touch anything"- Kat whispered to Severus as they walked in, she glanced around at the mess in the room. Anything she touched in there she was sure she would see as Alex trashed the office, but now it made sense of the flying objects she had seen in her last vision.
Severus nods as he kicked the sheets of papers and scrolls, so Kat didn't have to touch anything, and stood in front of his father. He pulled up some chairs that were on the floor in case his father asked them to sit down, so Kat wouldn't have to touch it.
Snape raises an eyebrow at seeing his daughter there, he hadn't called her over, but he doesn't say anything. -"I only have two questions"- He said, looking at Severus. –"First, what is this kid doing out of his dorm, alone? And second, why has he come to my office having an emotional breakdown to the point of destroying my office?"- He said with an intimidating tone.
-"I was also there, so it's not just his fault that Alex was out alone"- Kat chimed in wanting to take some of the blame away from Sev, she sat in one of the chairs Severus had pulled up, trying to stay as far away from everything as possible, so she wouldn't touch anything. The only thing that would happen was that Alex might run at her to comfort himself.
Alex looked at Kat for a few seconds before turning and putting his face against his father's neck as he sobbed a little louder and hugging his father's neck tighter. He still felt that he had done something wrong, and although he wanted to be comforted by her, he did not want her to reject him again.
Snape sighed at his daughter's words as he rubbed Alex's back without taking his eyes off Severus, waiting for his response.
-"Well, he got like that because I told him that his ability wasn't normal"- Severus began to speak trying not to say too much so as not to get into more trouble -"He got upset, I stopped seeing him for a few moments, and then he was gone, but I don't know why he came here"-
Snape raised an eyebrow as he listened to Severus, now having a slight idea of what had happened. -"Severus, did you tell him or did you tease him? Because I think I already told you that Alexander would have a hard time controlling his emotions!"- He raised his voice slightly. He knew his eldest son loved to tease his brother, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but in his youngest son's current situation he had to be careful when teasing him.
Severus gulped hard, making a slight grimace at his father's voice. -"Well, yes, maybe, I did tease him a little bit, but I thought Kat could comfort him, I didn't think he'd get that bad about it"- He said rubbing the back of his neck, hoping he wouldn't start yelling at him now.
-"He just freaked out, I didn't even think he'd get that scared"- Kat said with a shrug as she stayed away from everything.
Snape took a deep breath -"Severus Salazar Snape, you and I have had this conversation before haven't we!"- He said, raising his voice even more.
Severus nods as he covered his ears. -"Yes, I know, I know, but I didn't think it could be like this, it didn't seem to be a big deal"- He when he was younger used to play pranks on his brother, but after playing a prank on him, very funny for Sev, but very scary for Alex, he only teased him now with words, but it seems that now, until he learns to control his ability, he will have to be a more careful how he teases him -"Besides, Kat was there, and she tried to comfort him, but her ability woke up, so she couldn't, he was crying really loud, and my ears hurt, so I cast a silencing spell on him while talking to Kat, but then, he just left"- He tried to defend himself, he didn't want to be grounded now, he had a lot of potions to practice, he couldn't ban him from his lab now.
Snape relaxed his gaze and looked at Kat -"So you already have your ability, I'd like to know what it is"- He looked down at his youngest son with a frown. -"Alexander Severus, you want to explain why you came here, knowing that you can't go down to the castle alone"-
-"I just wanted to feel your magic"- Alex murmured softly.
Snape sighed and decided to question him later; he looked at his daughter as she began to speak.
-"Why would you bring me into this right now"- Kat growled at Severus, she just wanted time to learn her ability before telling her father. -"It's touch, when Alex grabbed onto me my vision went black and showed me why Alex was upset, when I touched Sev it showed me why he was so aggravated. It worked on the note you sent to Sev too, I saw you, angry when Alex walked into your office"-
Severus shrugs. -"You told father about my ability, I thought it would be fair for me to tell him"- He whispers to Kat -'And I wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible'- He thinks, hiding a smile, since it had worked, now they were talking about their abilities and not about how Alex came into the office alone.
Snape thinks for a moment. -"So Katarina has a touch ability, Severus has a hearing ability, and Alexander has a visual ability"- He stands up and sits Alex on the couch and walks over to the bookshelves.
Alex pouts as he loses the only source of comfort and security he had, he crawls to a corner of the couch while hugging his knees to his chest. He would throw little glances at Kat and her lap, wanting to go there.
-"Yes, I can't control it yet though, so everything I touch shows me some sort of vision"- Kat said with a sigh, she was mentally exhausted and just hoped her father wouldn't ask her to demonstrate her ability for him.
Snape picks up three books. -"After Alexander described his ability to me, I suspected that two of you might manifest similar abilities, so I got certain things for you"- He put the books on the table, took out his wand and touched two books, making one come out a headphones and another with gloves. -"These books were created exclusively for people with sensory abilities. These gloves are for people with touch abilities, this will not stop your ability from manifesting, but it will help you as you learn to master it, and it will hurt less. You will be able to get in and out of your visions easier and if you concentrate very well you will be able to not have them with anything you touch, but you must practice"- He explains looking at Kat and then looking at Severus. -"These headphones are for people with hearing abilities, and they do the same thing as the gloves. You don't hear things loud enough to hurt your ears, but like Katarina, you will have to practice so that you will be able to hear what you want to hear at the volume you want to hear"- He looks at the two of them. -"These books will guide you both when your abilities are fully developed, of course if you want them"-
-"I need to sort this s shit out, so I can actually touch things without losing my vision"- Kat said, walking over to the desk and picking up the gloves and book. Immediately, she is shot into a vision of their father picking out the books and gloves for her. She sighed as she shook her head to pull herself out of the vision.
Snape stared at her. -"Put on the gloves, Katarina, that will help you come out of your visions faster, breathe and stay focused"-
Severus shrugged and put on his headphones. -"I can still hear"- He frowned.
-"They are not soundless, Severus, as I told you, they are so that you do not hear things so loud as to hurt your ears"- Snape explained again.
Severus nods, his voice wasn't as loud anymore, but it still wasn't like before.
-"Would you like me to shout to test them?"- Kat asked jokingly as she slipped the gloves onto her hands.
Severus looks at her as he picks up the book. -"Very funny, why don't you touch something Alex ruined in the office to see if the gloves work"- He smirked. He regretted at that moment to bring up Alex again. He glanced at his father.
-"We're not done talking about that yet"- Snape picks up the third book and walks over to Alex.
Kat just laughed softly -"Yeah well at least I'd understand how much hell happened and what kind of trouble you'll be in"- She said glaring at him, the last thing she wanted was to have another vision. As she watched her father and Alex, she began to wonder how their father would deal with all of this, he was never a kid's person, but now all of his kids we're causing him even more problems.
-"Here, Alexander, this book is more specific, since your abilities seem to be more developed than your siblings, this book is specifically about magical aura readers"- Snape said as he held the book in front of him.
Alex looked at the book suspiciously before taking it. Then he looked at his father in confusion.
Snape sighed. -"Alexander, now I need you to listen to me, you and your siblings have magical abilities, magical abilities are very rare abilities that only a few wizards or witches have. As you have noticed your sister has the ability to have visions to everything she touches and your brother to hear things that other people couldn't and his ears are more sensitive"- He stopped to see if his son understood him, when he saw him nodding he continued speaking -"Your ability is the ability to see and feel the magical auras, Alexander you are normal, but you have a special ability, but unlike them, you were born with it while they just developed it, that's why you never realized you had it, do you understand?"-
Alex really had a lot to process, but he was getting the idea, he looked down at the book that day 'Magic Aura Readers'. When he read it he guessed this was where his ability was called -"Yes, dad, I understand"- He said softly, he would have to read the book to understand better, but now he knew that what he saw and felt could only be seen and felt by him, plus it seemed to affect his emotions as well, which would explain why he had been feeling so weird for so long and desperately wanting to feel Kat's magic.
Snape nodded. -"Good, now, Severus, from now on, for the next two weeks, I don't want you to take your eyes off Alexander, unless you are in your lessons or in classes I want you by Alexander's side at all times. This cannot happen again and as for the three of you, these abilities come with a huge increase in your magic, as you saw how it looked in my office because of an overflow of Alexander's magic. So every time you feel something new or different in your abilities I want you to inform me immediately, understood?"- He said with a tone that did not accept complaints. When he saw his three children nod, he looked at Alex sternly. -"And you young man, you can't run away from your siblings again, if you want to come to see me you ask them, and you feel like today again, you seek your sister's comfort or ask them to bring you, understood?"- He said sternly.
Alex's lip trembled as his father spoke to him -"I didn't want to be there I felt like I was suffocating, and I couldn't breathe"- He mumbles while pressing the book against his chest.
Severus grunts under his breath at his father's words, once he's been distracted talking to Alex, but doesn't dare complain. He knew it was going to be the longest two weeks of his life.
Kat sighed as she understood that it had to do with what happened when she had her first vision -"I understand, that's my bad for shoving you off of me, sorry "- She said looking at Alex with an apologetic look then over at her father's face, she had forgotten he wanted informed of her reaction to him hugging her, so she was a little worried her father would be mad at how she reacted. -"I'm sorry, it's just that when he hugged me I had my first vision and I pushed him off me, it was a self-reflection"- She explained to her father.
Snape runs his hand over his face, he took a deep breath, he shouldn't be mad with his daughter, it wasn't her fault, but she should have said something earlier. -"That explains his emotional breakdown better"- He touches the tip of his nose. -"As I have told you both, Alexander will find it hard to control his emotions, especially when situations, of fear, discomfort, annoyance, or stress occur, and I expect you to be careful with your actions towards him. Severus Salazar, I don't want you to tease your brother just to see his reaction, I know you! And Katarina Lily, I expect you to stop Severus when he tries!"- He says sternly to Kat and Severus.
-"Yes, father"- Kat said, nodding; she knew the next few weeks would be hell with Alex's emotions, especially since it would cause her problems if he touched her. She knew that if he got upset enough, he would just run and grab her, so she always had to be prepared for a vision to come out of nowhere.
-"Yes, father"- Severus said swallowing a growl, this was really going to be difficult, he was regretting offering to take care of Alex. He looked at his sister out of the corner of his eye and figured she would be worse off than he was, as long as the kid didn't cry or throw a tantrum, it shouldn't bother him any more than normal.
Snape nodded before looking at Alex. -"And you too, you need to breathe and calm down and not let your emotions control you"-
Alex hugs the book tighter. -"Yes, dad, I'll try"-
Snape nodded once more before looking at them all. -"And I expect you to tell me everything next time, and not to forget any details, these abilities are new to all of us and withholding information will only make things worse. Katarina, you will be in charge of keeping me informed, and you two must tell everything to your sister, I'm not joking, I don't want you to overlook any of this, I've been clear enough for you!"- He finished saying in a very serious and stern tone.
-"Yes, sir"- The three of them said at the same time.
Snape cleared his throat as he relaxed his gaze. -"Very well then"- He looked down at Alex with a sigh, knowing that there was one more thing to do. -"Alexander, come here"–
Alex got up from the couch and walked over to his father. -"Yes, Dad"- He said slightly nervously.
Snape gently pulled Alex by the arm and put him under his armpit to spank him. -"Smack! Smack! Let this be the last time you run away from your siblings! Smack! Smack! And breach your grounded! Smack! Smack! Understand?! SMACK! SMACK!"- He gave the last few harder ones to make his point.
-"No, Daddy, please!"- Alex pleaded when he realized what was happening -"Ow! Ow! Waaahhh! Owie! Daddy! Ow! Ow! I understand, I'm so sorry! Waaahhh!"- He whimpered and sobbed softly.
Kat winced at the sight of Alex getting spanked, she honestly didn't think her father would still do that to him, she was just proven wrong.
Severus looked at his little brother with sympathy at the sight of him being spanked, he was glad he wasn't being punished like that anymore, it was so embarrassing.
Snape stopped and pulled him up straight in front of him, -"I hope so, young man, because next time I won't be so lenient"-
Alex rubs his bottom as he sniffs. -"I'm so sorry"- He wipes away tears, looks sideways at his siblings and blushes a little, even though it wasn't the first time they saw him being spanked he was still embarrassed.
Snape kneels down to the height of his son, took his wrist and put a bracelet on his wrist. -"You don't need some object to help you control your ability, but you do need one to control your magic. I haven't been able to find something for you to feel Katarina's magic yet, but this will keep your magic from overflowing like today"- He stands up. -"Alright, that would be all for today, it's late, it's almost curfew, and Alexander should be in bed by now"-
Alex jumps a little when his father grabbed his wrist, but he couldn't help but be surprised when he saw the bracelet, it was pretty. He couldn't help but smile a little; his father only gave them things on their birthdays or Christmas.
-"Yes, father, good night"- Kat said softly as she clutched the book in her arms and walked towards the door, stopping in front of it to wait for one of her brothers to open it for her.
-"Good night, Father"- Severus walked to the door and opened it when he saw that Kat did not.
-"Night, dad"- Alex said quietly as he walked out of the office behind his siblings.
Kat followed Severus out as he got the door for her, waiting for Alex to walk out before they continued back to the Slytherin dorms. Kat's head hurt so bad she couldn't even think of anything to say, so she just sat in silence until someone else spoke.
Alex bites his lip, looks at Kat out of the corner of his eye, he wanted Kat to take him in her arms and rub his back, but he was so afraid she would reject him again; he just stayed silent as he tried not to cry.
Severus sighed heavily; the atmosphere between them was heavy, so he was the first to speak to break the tension. -"Well, it didn't turn out so bad, well, apart from the fact that I'll have to be 24 hours a day with this kid, at least I can listen at an acceptable volume"- He says trying to find the good side of the situation, after all they had been scolded, Alex spanked, and Kat, and he had more responsibilities now, more Kat than him, since he would finish watching Alex all the time in two more weeks.
-"Well I'm glad you're happy with your ability, I bump into a wall and get a vision, so I don't even know how I'm supposed to sleep and play Quidditch"- Kat said with a sigh as she looked down at the ground exhausted, glancing over at Alex to check on him
Severus shrugged. -"Well that's what those gloves are for, just don't touch anything and concentrate on not having your visions, and I'm not happy with my ability, I'm just glad I don't have to listen to people talk like they're yelling at me"- He was really trying hard to look on the bright side, he wanted her to feel better, after all it would be hell on everyone for a while.
Alex rubbed an eye feeling tired emotionally, mentally and physically, his emotions were still running high. He just wanted Kat's comfort, but he didn't want to be a bother to her, he knew her ability already had her uncomfortable. Unconsciously, he looked up slightly at Kat with teary eyes.
Kat sighed as she glanced down at her brother and saw his eyes. Her mind fought with itself for a second before she shoved her book into Severus's hands and bending down to pick Alex up. Stopping for a second to let the vision pop up and then go away before she continued to walk. -"Why do you look like you're about to cry?"- She asked him with a sigh as her head began pounding again.
Alex hesitated a little, but then clung to Kat's neck as he rested his head on her shoulder; he began to feel a little better and more relaxed. -"I just don't want to be a nuisance to you, I don't want you to suffer because of me and I don't want you to reject me again"- He sniffed. -"But I also want to feel your magic, and for you to comfort me since the conversation with Sev I've been feeling so bad"-
Kat just sighed again -"You can stay in my room tonight, but you have to be prepared for me to have more visions while I sleep"- She said walking into the common room.
Alex bites his lip as he thinks for a moment before nodding. -"Okay"- He said quietly as he yawns.
Severus looks at her with a raised eyebrow. -"You'll have an interesting night, good luck"-
-"Yeah, I am aware that this is going to be hell"- Kat said with a sigh as she brought Alex to his room to get ready and then back to her dorm for the night.
Severus shrugged and followed Kat to her room; he set the book down on her desk and went to his dorm.
Alex ran into his dorm as Kat set him down, put the book on his bed, put on his pajamas. He went to Kat's room and sat on the bed while he waited for her.
Kat went into her bathroom to change into pajamas; she sat in there for a little bit just trying to prepare herself for what she would endure during the night. Walking out of the bathroom and laying down, taking a deep breath as she prepared herself for Alex to grab onto her.
Alex lay down next to her before putting his arms around Kat and putting his face against her chest. -"Night"- He said, feeling very tired and sleepy, he fell asleep almost immediately as he touched his pillow.
Kat tried to shake herself out of the vision as fast as possible once he touched her. Sighing to herself as she laid her head back and closed her eyes, she should have asked Severus for some kind of potion to help with the pain in her head. She didn't know how long she struggled with the visions until she fell asleep.
Severus didn't feel much like going to sleep, yet it was still a little past his usual bedtime, so he organized all of his lesson material, sighing as he realized he had to take off his headphones to sleep. -"Well, at least my roommates are quiet"- He sat down on the floor and started making Alex's sleeping potions, he finished at almost midnight, but he made a big batch of potions. He put on his pajamas, took off his headphones and went to sleep.
{Snape's POV}
Once the children left, Snape set about cleaning his office, then went back to his desk and went over everything he had planned for Kat's lessons one last time. A few hours later, he sent Kat her books, scrolls, and lesson schedule. He sighed wearily as he leaned back in his chair, now more than ever, he had to be more attentive to his children, knowing that the next few days, weeks, or even months were going to be difficult for all of them. He got up and retired from his office to his quarters, he would have a lot more work to do from now on, and he had a feeling there would be a massive amount of problems before the Christmas vacations.
I've been having a little trouble coming up with story ideas, so ideas or suggestions are welcome.
