Can't Catch Me Now / Severus Snape

8. Catch It

Loving yous a little bit hard sometimes / Bruce Banner out now!

" What's happening?" Harry demanded. 

"The staircases change, remember?" Hermione recalled.

" Let's go this way."

"Before the staircase moves again." Ron agreed. They opened a door and moved down a dark corridor.

" Does anyone feel like...we shouldn't be here?"

"We're not supposed to be here. This is the 3rd floor. It's forbidden." Hermione agreed. Mrs Norris came meowing up to them and they jumped.

"Clean up your plate please." Severus instructed. Aria grumbled bringing her plate to the dishwasher aka her mother.  "Thank you Aria." Severus agreed. Lilith shoved it in the stack of dirty dishes and waved a hand turning back to Aria. The dishes started cleaning themselves.

"Im bored without harry." Aria remarked plopping down by ser pounce. "Him and draco always played with me now they are in school... its no fun."

"Narcissa was telling me about a preschool program for littles like you..." lilith remarked. "We could look into it. You could be with kids your own age for a few hours a day..." although she hated to let her baby go for even an instant.

"No that sounds boring." Aria corrected and lilith let out a relieved breath.

"LETS GO!" Harry demanded. Mrs. Norris meowed alerting their presence.

"It's Filch's cat!" Hermione realized.

"Run!" they got to a door thinking they could hide but it was locked.  " It's locked!" harry tugged uselessly.

"That's it, we're done for!" Ron realized.

"Oh, move over!" Hermione pulled out her wand. "Alohomora." The lock opened for them.

"Alohomora?" Ron questioned as they headed in.

"Standard book of spells, Chapter 7." Hermione agreed. "SHouldnt you know this?"

"I get nervous under pressure." Harry countered. "Come on lets get out of here."

"Does he not love us anymore?" Aria questioned as she threw a toy mouse for Ser pounce. He pounced on it.

"Who my dear?" Severus questioned.

"Harry. He is never around anymore."

"He loves us but hes dealing with his studies." Severus reminded her.

Lilith wiped her hands on her pants as she sat down beside severus on the couch. It was hard letting harry go. Of course it was. They were such a close family and harry being so far away in the gryffindor tower was daunting. They were in the same building butnit was a castle.

"Just wait until his first quidditch game honey," lilith remarked. "We will be seeing so much more of him out on the pitch."

"Okay..." aria agreed softly. Pip and Mouse landed on the top of the door and stared down at the toy mouse that ser pounce jumped on eagerly. Hootie was nestled into her bed. Yes a bed not a nest not a perch. She had a luxurious dog bed where her and the little owls snuggled up in.

The door pushed open and severus head snapped around to the door.

"Hey mum... dad." Harry said from the door.

"Baby boy!" Lilith declared jumping up from the couch. She hugged him tight.

"Harry!" Aria shouted running to him.

"Hey, I missed you too Ari." Harry said as she hugged him.

"We were just talking about you." Severus remarked getting up as well.

"Ummm can I talk to you two for a moment?" Harry questioned nervously.

"What happened?" Severus demanded.

"Aria honey can you get your pjs on?" Lilith questioned. "Then you can play with harry before bed." Aria slumped off before running to her room to change.

"I sort of... stumbled into a... I was somewhere I should not have been but it wasnt my fault." Harry decided.

"Okay... great start." Lilith mused. "Keep going."

"I was with Hermione and Ron and well... they... I dont know how to explain it." Harry admitted.

"Just tell me where you ended up."

"The third floor."

"Obvoiusly." Lilith agreed.

"And we unlocked a door we shouldnt have and there was this dog but it wasnt a dog-"

"The three headed dog." Severus agreed.

"yes." Harry agreed. "What is that doing here? Children could stumble upon it and get killed! Me! Me in partiuclar." harry declared.

"And now you know why its restricted." Lilith agreed.

"Mum-"

"Dont go up there. He is there for a purpose." Lilith assured. "Trust me."

"Okay." Harry agreed as aria came back out.

"Im ready to play!"

+

" Quidditch is easy enough to understand. Each time has seven players, 3 chasers, 2 beaters, 1 keeper and a seeker. That's you. There are three kinds of balls." Oliver remarked and picked up a red ball, "This one's called the Quaffle. Now, the chasers handle the Quaffle and try to put it through one of those three hoops." he Pointed to the hoops in the Quidditch pitch in the distance. "The keeper, that's me, defends the hoops." he threw the ball to Harry. "With me so far?" Harry threw it back. Aria lifted her hands. Oliver threw her the ball.

"My mum played quidditch." Harry reminded him. "I know the game I just havent played it in the air before."

"What do you mean?"

"What are those?" Aria pointed to two squirming chained down balls.

"You better take this." oliver remarked and handed Harry a small bat. He bends down and releases one ball. With an angry growl, it flies off into the air. The two boys watch it soar. "Careful now, it's comin' back."   Aria screamed as The ball came whizzing down, and Harry cracked at it with the bat. Aria cheered out. The ball soars off through a statue, surprisingly without damaging it. Oliver looked up impressed before looking back at harry. Lilith and severus stood in the archway arm in arm.

"Hes good. Got my skills thats for sure." Lilith whispered.

"You were the best seeker there ever was." Severus agreed.

"I was very focused." Lilith agreed. "On winning so I could get back to kissing you."

"Eh, not bad, Snape, you'd make a fair beater... Uh-oh." The ball zoomed down, and Oliver grabbed it, wriggling to get it back in the box. He succeeded in securing it back down but looked to Harry out of breath.

"What is that?" Aria questioned. "We just use fake balls when we play. They dont move magically."

"Bludger. Nasty little buggers. But your brothernis going to be a seeker, and the only thing I want you to worry about is this... the Golden Snitch." he handed Harry a walnut sized golden ball.

"I like this ball." Harry agreed. Aria snatched it from him.

"Its pretty im going to keep it." Aria decided

"Its not yours to keep Ari." Harry corrected. She grumbled handing it back to harry.

"Ah, you like it now. Just wait. It's wicked fast and damn near impossible to see."

"Then what good is it?" Aria questioned. "What donyou do with it? Are you sure I cant keep it?"

"Im going to catch it before the other team's seeker. I catch this, the game is over. I catch this, and we win."