He Listened by watercrystals

Severus growled mutely in a very non-catlike manner as he glanced over at the emerald-eyed Potter.

The boy was sitting up in his bed with a sheet over his head, reading a book with the aide of a battered yet operational torch, since the batteries appeared to be functional even if they had been dug out of a dusty drawer.

Despite how much he may claim to loathe Harry Potter, Severus was not unfamiliar with what day it would be tomorrow. The 31st of July. Had he really been in this infernal household with the annoying brat and even more irritating relatives for that long?

A usual glare set on his features, Severus dug his paw at the blankets until he could slip his head underneath them and crawled beside the boy until he was sitting near his shoulder. Looking down at the book, he noticed that it was a Transfiguration textbook. Beside him were two more textbooks for Charms and Potions. This didn't make sense to Severus as he could not understand why the boy would be staying up at night (it had recently turned 11:30pm, judging by the boy's watch), to read his school textbooks.

'Sev.' Harry glanced at him with surprise. 'Sorry, I almost forgot you were here.' He blushed and smiled at the feline as he removed the sheet over their heads and switched off his torch.

Raising a hand, he gently brushed it over the cat's head and back, though his gaze had drifted towards the window, which had been left open despite letting in the cool night breeze.

Severus was suspicious as he watched the brat shift through a drawer and pull out a mirror large enough to show all of his face, and a pair of scissors. Inching away in case Harry had ill-intentions, Severus sat at the end of the bed to observe what the Gryffindor was up to, though it appeared as though he was examining his own hair.

Sensing trouble, the cat lunged forward and grabbed the scissors with his mouth before he dove out of sight under the bed, not trusting the disaster-prone child to give himself a haircut.

'Hey!' Harry hissed and crawled on the floor towards the bed, trying to get the scissors back but had been bitten by the cat. 'Ouch! Seven, give that back.' He recoiled his hand and complained. 'I need those. C'mon, I've done this before...I'll be careful, okay?'

Harry jumped back and nearly smacked his head on the underside of his bed when the cat emerged from the shadows and marched out from under the bed. He had left the scissors behind, therefore Harry had to spent several minutes hassling to reach them. Pulling back, with the stolen object in his hand, he glanced over at the black cat and wondered what that had been about.

Shaking his head, Harry moved back to the bed and watched the creature carefully when it jumped up to sit beside him.

As the Gryffindor slid onto the wooden floor and propped the mirror up against his knees, Severus observed carefully as strands of hair were cut with the scissors and littered the space around Harry.

With five minutes until midnight, Harry stood in front of his full-length mirror with an accomplished grin on his face, admiring his shortened and spikier hair. He had grown sick of how his hair had been before and wanted to try something new. In preparation for becoming a teenager, he thought it was not only fitting but also an excellent way to pass the time.

'What do you think?' He spun around and asked the cat, still careful to keep his voice low as it was almost midnight.

Atrocious. I think you look ridiculous.

Severus glared at Harry, though he hadn't failed to notice the way the boy was careful to hide his lightning bolt scar on his forehead, whereas he had shown little concern with the rest of his hair. He had to admit, though only to himself, that Harry hadn't done too bad a job really. He did look a bit different, as expected, yet also more like the teenager he was about to become...something Severus dreaded immeasurably.

He was convinced that no matter how troublesome magical children (or any in general, really) may be...teenage wizards were always worse.

'Sixty seconds to go!' Harry's eager tone brought Severus from his grumblings as he looked over at the boy, who was now staring at his watch and constantly glanced towards the window.

Anxious and curious, Severus watched the window as well, wondering what the boy was up to and how it was going to bode ill for the disguised professor who was forced to be in his company.

As an alarm went off on Harry's mended watch, the newly-thirteen Gryffindor quieted it instantly and then hurried to his window, peering at the sky expectantly. Severus soon realised why as he dove under the bed to shield himself from the onslaught of owls with packages.

If even one of those were from Hagrid then Severus had no intention of being near it.

After many minutes of hiding, Severus cautiously emerged and paused to watch the teenager unwrap gifts, foods and cards. He shifted closer and wasn't sure what he thought or felt about the scene before him. The delight in Harry's eyes was uncommonly sighted by the professor and it seemed all-too-familiar.

Those eyes had never looked so Lily-like, to him, at least.

When all the gifts had been unwrapped, cards read, and a sample of the food tasted (apart from the one from Hagrid, of course), the boy yawned and stashed his presents under his secret floorboard and headed off to bed with a smile on his face.

Severus jumped onto the bed and walked towards where the boy was sleeping. With a lot of effort and determination, he pulled out a book from under the boy's pillow with mostly his teeth. Sighing, he used his paws to flip the pages until he was hit with the image of Lily.

Swallowing, he turned another page and looked down at the grinning three Gryffindors. It was Potter with his two friends on either side; Granger and Weasley...the bookworm and the redhead. Severus looked from the picture of the eleven-year-old boy to the slumbering thirteen-year-old.

They seemed like two different people.

Harry had woken at his usual time, with the nagging knocks of Petunia's knuckles against his door, and had proceeded to make breakfast and do his chores as though it was any other day of the week. It confused Severus. The Dursleys hadn't even blinked in acknowledgement of the boy's big “thirteenth birthday”, nor did they appear to notice that the boy had given himself a haircut in celebration of the event. For a moment, Severus actually had to check that he hadn't gotten the date wrong because he'd somehow slept through it and skipped the event entirely.

Not that he would have minded.

After nibbling a piece of toast and barely-edible slice of cheese for lunch, Harry ventured into the backyard to sit outside in the sunshine. With a sigh, he looked down at the cat beside him and smiled, though there was sadness in his eyes.

'I'm a teenager now.' He realised. 'Wow, it doesn't feel like it...I mean, it came so fast! It's just weird, really.' Harry conversed with his cat as he looked around and finished his pathetic little meal. Though he didn't seem too hungry, likely because he had eaten some of his food he'd received the night before.

It wasn't exactly healthy, yet at least he was eating more than the Dursleys allowed him to.

'It's still a month away.' Harry sighed miserably. 'But at least I'll be on my way back to school this time next month. I miss my friends, the magic...' He glanced around cautiously when he said that word, as if he was expecting the Dursleys to start yelling about it and punish him for such a thing.

'Bloody hell, I even almost miss Malfoy and Snape!' Harry chuckled as though it was a joke instead.

Severus was not amused.

'Though, to be honest...I think I would prefer to be around them than this lot. At least I can get away from them and be with my friends and magic once the round of insults are finished...but here, it's nothing. There's no escape.' He frowned and lowered his gaze. 'And with Aunt Marge coming in a few weeks...urgh.'

Slowly, the teenager looked over at his cat and smiled in a way that he would never direct at who the creature really was. For a moment he had actually started Severus.

'I'm glad you're here, though.' Harry confided. 'You're...well, you're different. Not because you're a cat but...' He pondered on the right words. 'I can tell when you're listening...you look at me with that stare and you hardly move. I've tried to talk to people before, like teachers at my Muggle school, then my friends. I know Ron and Hermione care about me and they do hear me out, yet somehow it's not the same. They hear me but...they don't listen, not like you do...if that makes any sense.'

Hardly. However, simply because I am able to follow your senseless rambling does not mean I am listening to you, brat! Not really, though it would be unwise to ignore your words, given our current situation.

'You don't have an owner, do you, Sev?' Harry asked and glanced over at the cat when the creature shook his head. 'A family?' Another shake of the feline's head actually made the Gryffindor a little sad. 'We're not so different then.' He whispered to himself and looked over across the yard again, seemingly lost to his own thoughts.

When the emerald eyes filled with tears, Severus jumped onto the boy's lap, which startled Harry enough to look at him. Meeting gazes, Severus searched the surface of the saddened boy's mind to discover what had him in such an emotional state...

Harry at about five or six years old was sitting huddled on his campbed in the cupboard under the stairs. His arms were wrapped around his knees as he sniffled and stared at a few things in front of him. There was a pinecone, a bright green leaf and a shiny, round rock that had been cleaned.

'This is from my mummy.' Little Harry said to himself as he touched the pinecone. 'This is from my daddy.' He rubbed his fingertips over the rock. 'And this is from my best friend.' He lifted the leaf and tried to smile at the way the light touched its surface.

'They love me very much.' Harry sniffled again. 'I'm five today. I'm a big boy now and they got me presents, made me a cake and lots of cuddles.' He glanced towards the closed door as a tear slid down his cheek.

'My aunt and uncle didn't. They don't love me and Dudley wrecked my shirt.' Little Harry glanced down at his shirt, which was torn at the hem and a speck of blood from Harry's lip had dripped there...

Severus pulled out of the memory and forced his gaze away from the boy. He cursed his curiosity and wished he hadn't seen that. But he could not deny how it made him feel. A small child so absent of love on his own birthday that he had collected three items from outside to pretend they were gifts from someone who cared about him and the fact that he had turned a year older.

Looking up at the sad teenager the five-year-old had grown into, Severus felt guilty for being so harsh to him in the past. Not much, as he believed it was justified on accounts, yet it was harder to ignore the remorse after seeing such a glimpse into how miserable and lonely the unloved orphan truly was.

But what could he do?

Severus was a cat and therefore how could he improve anything in this moment when he didn't even have hands, a wand or even a voice to remind the Gryffindor that he still had friends who missed him and sent him gifts on his birthday. Lily had once told him that cats were creatures of comfort just as dogs were, that children often sought their company over people because they didn't speak and were merely soft, while seeming to understand the pain their companions endured.

Sighing inaudibly, Severus nudged Harry with his paw to get the brat's attention.

When the emerald eyes focused on his form, Severus rubbed his head against the boy's hand as though seeking a pat. A tiny smile formed on Harry's face as he rubbed his hand over the head and back of the black cat as he had moments earlier. He seemed to calm with the motion and drew the cat closer, almost as if he was contemplating cuddling it.

Severus was thankful when Harry chose not to do such a thing.

'Thanks, Seven.' Harry smiled and brushed tears from his eyes with his free hand. 'I'm glad I have you here. You're a good friend, even for a cat.'

A friend? I have done so little and said nothing...yet you deem a cat who simply tolerates your rambling and sentimentality to be your friend? And me...of all people? I don't deserve it, Harry. I do not deserve your kindness nor friendship.

Though...if the roles were reversed, I would dare say that you may deserve mine.

'Potter!' Petunia's screech interrupted the moment. Harry was startled and instead of dropping the cat, clung to him instead, as though he was fearful of losing him.

'Yes, Aunt Petunia?' Harry replied dutifully once he had calmed from his shock. 'Am I to wash up and go to my room now?'

'Hurry up.' Petunia nodded.

Severus remembered this. The Muggles had a guest dropping by for an hour or so and Harry had been told to be in his room the entire time.

He jumped off the teenager's lap and followed the Gryffindor inside. Sitting nearby to smugly make Petunia uncomfortable while still keeping and eye on the boy, Severus waited until Harry was done before he made a move towards the stairs. They were halted by Vernon, who had just come downstairs wearing an ugly tie and expensive suit. Dudley appeared to be similar, while Petunia was removing her apron to reveal a nice dress underneath, which the others had taken little notice of until this moment.

'Boy?' Vernon glared at Harry. 'Do you remember what you'll be doing when Mr Gordons arrives?'

Severus, not recalling such tasks, looked up at Harry and noted the stiff back, steeled yet angered and sad expression, which was entirely contradicted by his obedient and dull tone that accompanied such.

'Yes, Uncle Vernon.' Harry replied dutifully. 'I'll in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I don't exist.'

'Right you are.' Vernon nodded with approval. 'And take that beastly thing with you.' He glared at the feline.

'Yes, Uncle Vernon.'

Harry picked up Seven and headed to his room as instructed, even if the company was yet to arrive. Sometimes it was better to do as he was told sooner rather than wait for them to start yelling about it.Things seemed to run a little smoother for all when he did that.

Chewing on a piece of birthday cake sent to him by Molly Weasley the night before, Harry sat on his bed and didn't seem to mind the fact that he wasn't included downstairs as he was either used to it or hadn't really wanted to be involved anyway. Since he would likely act as some sort of waiter or cleaner if he had been, Harry was quite content to just sit up in his room and ignore what went on downstairs as he enjoyed some solitude with his cat friend, Seven.

'At least I don't have to pretend with you, Sev.' Harry smiled.

'Not only do I exist, but I don't have to be some sort of hero either. I'm not just “boy” or even the “Boy Who Lived”. I'm not “Potter” or “freak”...I'm just Harry. You don't expect me to know tons of magic, to be some sort of house-elf, to remember loads of stuff from a book, to save everyone from an evil wizard, or anything like that. You don't care who I am. I can just be Harry.' The teenager reached over and brushed his hand over the cat's head.

'Thank you, Sev...it's nice knowing that I have a friend like you.'

Severus swallowed nervously and inched away, moving to sit on the end of the bed and away from the Gryffindor who had just turned thirteen as the would-be brat read over his school textbooks once again. His mind shifted from the scene and Severus found himself falling into one of his own memories as they waited for the time to pass before they could go back outside again and return to usual habits.

'Please don't be sad, Lily.' Ten-year-old Severus said.

He crouched in front of his friend who was sitting on a swing with her head bent low. He offered her a flower he had picked nearby. It was a dull white and the petals a little bent, but he didn't notice as he hoped it would make her smile.

'But she hates me!' Lily sniffed. 'Tuney hates me.'

'No one could hate you.' Severus told her and nudged her shoulder.

She glanced up at him with teary emerald eyes, which soon landed on the sight of the flower. Brushing the tears away, she left the swing with a budding smile and accepted the offered object as though it was a bright and wonderful rose.

'Thank you, Sev.' Lily said and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, which startled the boy though he didn't pull away. 'I'm glad I have you as my friend. And we'll be friends forever...I just know it!' She stepped back and flashed him a happy smile, which caused a blush to colour his cheeks.

'You're always there for me, Sev.' Lily said. 'You're my best friend.'

'You're mine too, Lily.' Severus said with embarrassment, though a small smile played across his face as well. 'And I'll never stop being your friend..Always.'