The cat didn’t answer, he only started breathing faster, and Harry tried again. “Come on, aren’t you Professor Snape?” After that the cat fainted in Harry’s chest.

Harry didn’t know what to do, the teacher who hated him and who had insulted him in every single potions class had just had a panic attack in his chest and had passed out. It was crazy! Harry knew the man hated him, but he couldn’t hate his professor. Snape had saved his life too many times.

‘Maybe is because of the fever.’ Harry thought, and leaving the black cat on the bed he went to the bathroom and soaked a towel in cold water. He put it in his professor’s body and he started talking in a soothing voice.

Five minutes later, Severus started regaining consciousness. ‘Am I dead? Wow, that’s been very fast.’ He thought. ‘But why am I in pain?’ Then he heard that voice. Harry was whispering again, and he felt something wet and cold in his body. Severus opened his eyes and when he saw Harry started trembling and breathing fast again, and Harry could see that he was scared.

“Shh professor. Calm down, everything will be fine, you’ll be fine.” Harry, while he continued petting the cat’s head. “Your fever is high, but I can’t give you more fever reducing potion yet.”

Severus relaxed a bit. Wasn’t Harry going to kill him? He was still petting him and he could see concern in his eyes. He was telling him to calm down, so maybe he wasn’t very mad, maybe he wasn’t going to kill him.

“Can you drink some water, please? You’ll feel better if you drink a little bit.” He said still whispering, not wanting to scare more the cat. When the cat nodded he started pouring water in the cat’s mouth and massaging the throat gently, helping him to swallow.

“Better?” The cat nodded and Harry placed his hand near the cat, but he didn’t dare to pet him again. Not now that he was more calmed. Snape wouldn’t want Harry to touch him. But to Harry’s surprise, Severus moved a little bit, placing his neck on Harry’s hand and closed his eyes, exhausted.

Thirty seconds later, Harry moved away his hand and Severus felt his heart clenching painfully. ‘Of course he doesn’t want you to touch him, you idiot! You are worse than his family.’ He felt some tears that were wetting his face even with his eyes closed. He couldn’t even control his damned emotions! Then he heard Harry near him again, and the boy picked him up. He thought that the boy would put him in the box, or even worse, outside the house. But instead of doing that, Harry climbed to the bed, wiped the tears of the cat’s face and he hugged him.

“What’s wrong sir? Are you hurt?” Harry asked and Snape shook his head pressing it against his student chest. ‘What are you doing Severus?’ He asked when he realised what he was doing.

“Fine, I suppose you’re only scared. I would be if I were you, sir. By the way, I find a little strange to be calling a cat ‘professor’ or ‘sir’ so, would you mind if I call you Severus? Only while you are a cat, of course.” Asked Harry, still hugging the black cat. When he felt the weak nod in his chest, he continued. “Good. You know, you’ve saved my live more times than I can remember, so believe me, you’ll recover soon and you’ll be fine Sev, I promise you.” He felt that the cat was still slightly tensed and he said a foolish sentence, trying to make him relax in his arms. “Don’t worry or I’ll take points from Slytherin.” Said Harry smirking and it worked almost immediately. The cat pressed his body even closer against Harry and he fell asleep with a smile in his heart.

“What?! They said they would be back in the after lunch, not in the morning!” Harry started yelling at 7am looking at the car that uncle Vernon was parking in the street. Severus was still in bed, looking at Harry. He had been sleeping since Harry had stopped talking last night, without waking during the night. He had only woken when Harry went to the window and started yelling.

Harry had slept without nightmares, but he had been awake since 6.30am. He had been watching Severus asleep, grateful that he didn’t have a high fever, because there wasn’t much fever potion left.

“Sev, I’m going to put you in the box of the wardrobe, I’m sorry, but the Dursleys are here and I don’t want them to see you if they open the door, alright?” The cat hesitated but nodded. He didn’t want to be alone, but there wasn’t anything Harry could do. “Good, stay still and don’t make any noises or they will kill me. I will leave the wardrobe door open.”

Harry left the room and ran downstairs. He picked a broom and started sweeping the floor before his uncle entered the house. Severus could hear them talking.

“Oh! Hi uncle Vernon.” Said Harry like if he was surprised. “I thought you were going to come back this afternoon.”

“Shut up freak! I have to attend a meeting in my job. Today I’ll sleep here and tomorrow morning I’ll go to pick Petunia and Dudley. Leave that broom and take my suitcase from the car. NOW!” Vernon yelled.

“Yes, uncle Vernon.” Harry said, and after bringing the suitcase from the car he asked “Do you want me to cook anything?”

“No, but go to the grocery store and buy some chicken and something else for dessert. I want the change back. And continue doing your chores or else!” Vernon said, leaving a 10 pounds note on the table, and he slammed the door.

Harry went upstairs and he took the potions and the water. When he picked Severus up he saw that his temperature was raising again. After giving Snape the pain reliever and the last dose of fever reducing potion, he gave him some water and he put him in the box again. He took some money that he had hidden in the wardrobe to buy something for Severus and him while he was buying what his uncle had said, and he promised his professor that he would be back soon.

Severus fell asleep after Harry had left the room. Harry woke him up when he was back from the grocery store to give him some milk that he had bought. Then he fell asleep again and the next time he woke up it was 12.30 am. He heard the whale man yelling Harry for more food. He was feeling slightly better, he was scared of being alone again, he wanted to be in Harry’s arms. He was scared about the boy too, who knew what that filthy muggle could do. He tried to drink some water because he remembered that when he was having the panic attack the night before, he felt better after drinking some water; and he saw a letter. It was the letter that Sirius had sent Harry a month ago. The only letter that Harry had received during the summer. Snape read it becoming angrier and angrier with each word. So Harry couldn’t be with him alone. Black had become even more idiot with his 12 years in Azkaban. But wait, Harry had slept with him, why hadn’t he done what his dogfather wanted? He thought that they were very close, but he must had been mistaken (once again). In that moment he saw another parchment written with a pen. It was a letter that the boy had written but that he hadn’t sent, replying to Black’s letter. He was amused to see that the letter of Harry was full of sarcasm. If someone of the school had seen the letter they would have thought that it was Severus the one who had written it. But he felt bad, realizing that the boy had been suffering a lot because of his horrible uncle’s treatment and he had been very lonely this summer with no letters from his friends. Harry wouldn’t return there after they escaped.

“Hi Sev.” The cat jumped and whimpered after hurting his broken leg. Harry picked him up with concern. “Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you. I have some chicken broth for you. And no, don’t put that face, I know that you are injured and you are not hungry, but you have to eat something or you won’t recover. You barely had milk before so you’ll drink this. My uncle won’t return until late in the evening, we have time. I will bring some chicken for dinner, you can’t have only liquids.”

With a lot of patience, Harry gave all the chicken broth to Severus, cleaning the excess from the corners of the cat’s mouth. He had to go downstairs four times to use the microwave, because the cat was eating so slowly, that the broth was becoming cold all the time. After lunch, Harry held Severus in his arms, talking until he fell asleep. Then he put him inside the bed, knowing that he was more comfortable there. He cleaned the box, and he put the jumper into it again, in case he had to put Severus in the box again; and then he headed downstairs to finish his chores and prepare the dinner.

“Goodnight Uncle Vernon, thanks for letting me eat the leftovers.” Harry said, and run upstairs with a small bowl with chicken for Severus.

“You should be grateful, freak and you don’t deserve to eat!” Vernon replied.

Severus was awake on the bed, waiting for Harry. He woke up when he heard the whale shouting. He flinched when he heard Harry’s words. Letting him eat the leftovers? And what was his uncle saying? Freaks don’t deserve to eat. What was Albus thinking when he left Harry with this monsters? He felt like if someone had kicked him in the stomach. Definitely, the boy wouldn’t come back to this house after this summer. The door opened slowly, taking Severus out from his thoughts.

“Hi Sev, how are you feeling? I have some chicken for you, try to eat it while it’s hot.” Harry said, and started taking tiny pieces of chicken and giving them to Severus, who was doing his best to eat fast because he could see that Harry was tired.

After half an hour, Harry saw that Severus couldn’t eat any more, so he ate the rest of the chicken and drank the milk that he had left in the morning. Then he changed his clothes and Severus realized that he didn’t have any pyjamas when he dressed himself in the same rags that he had used the day before. Harry moved Severus a little and he climbed into bed next to him, petting with his hand the cat’s head until both of them fell asleep.

Severus wake up two hours later due to Harry’s shouts in the middle of the night. He was begging someone (most likely Voldemort) not to kill his friends.

Snape tried to move to wake him up when he heard the whale shouting the boy’s name in the other room. Then Harry stopped, but Snape didn’t know that it was already late.

“Shit!” Harry cursed standing up. He quickly took Severus and put him in the box but in that moment his uncle opened the door and he couldn’t close the wardrobe’s door, so Severus was going to see everything.

“I’m so sorry uncle, please don’t beat me, I won’t fall asleep again this night, please don’t use the belt.” Harry begged, knowing that his uncle will do it anyway, in fact, the man already had the belt in his hand.

“YOU BOY! YOU THINK YOU CAN SHOUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO WAKE ME UP AND GO AGAIN TO SLEEP WITHOUT BEING PUNISHED? TAKE OFF YOUR T-SHIRT!”

Severus saw the man using the belt on Harry, making deep wounds on a back full of scars while he was shouting “YOU LITTLE FREAK, IDIOT, ARROGANT BOY!” with his voice full of hate.

Flashback

End of the flashback.

‘I’m just like his uncle.’ Severus thought. After seeing Harry this night, he realized that the boy had shouted in class because he was exhausted, most likely, because he had had a nightmare during the night. Malfoy had destroyed a perfect potion and after that Severus had called him ‘boy’ with the same voice that his uncle was using now. And not only that, he had also called him idiot and arrogant at the end. The same bloody words. Severus felt sick.

Harry heard Severus throwing up and he started shouting. He knew that his uncle would beat him more, but if his uncle heard Severus, both of them would be dead within a minute.

“No uncle Vernon, please, stop! Please uncle Vernon!” Harry begged, knowing that it wouldn’t work, and he continued saying that until he was sure Severus wasn’t making noise anymore.

“SHUT UP FREAK! YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU SHOUT YOU ONLY EARN YOURSELF MORE PUNISHMENT!” Vernon shouted while he continued beating his nephew.

Five minutes later, what seemed like an eternity for Severus, the whale told Harry to take his towel and go to shower. Harry took his towel and the jumper from the box, in which Severus had thrown up. He put his hand softly in the cat’s head and said in a whisper “I’m sorry sir, I’ll be here in five minutes.”

Severus stayed still in the box, with tears sliding down his face. His stomach was twisted. He deserved the pain, actually, he deserved to feel more pain. He was a monster. He had been a monster with Harry. Hell, he had just thrown up in the best jumper that the child had, the jumper which Harry had put there for him to be more comfortable; and that whale had beaten his nephew for more time because the boy had shouted to cover up the noise he was making. And then before going to the shower he had apologized. ‘I don’t deserve to live.’ Severus thought, more disappointed with himself than he had ever been.

Harry came back to the room five minutes later, just like he had said. His uncle locked the door and shouted that he would unlock it next day, when he was back from Marge’s house.

Harry found out that Severus was crying in the corner of the box. He picked him up and held him against his bare chest, while he was taking the stomach soothing potion. He remembered that he had almost decided not to take that potion when he was in the school, and he was grateful he had finally taken it.

He put Severus in the bed and the potion on the table. He took some potion with the syringe and he knelt in the floor, beside the bed to give the potion to Severus. But he didn’t want to open the mouth.

“Come on Severus, I’m sorry you don’t feel well, and I apologize for making you eat chicken in the dinner, but you had to eat something. Please, take the potion and you will feel better.” Harry, started whispering, while he was rubbing Severus back in circles. Severus had just been sick because he had made him eat the chicken, so why didn’t his professor want to take the potion?

Severus was feeling better; well, besides his stomach. Being petted by Harry always had that effect on him. But he couldn’t take the potion, he deserved to suffer, he was a monster. He opened his eyes and he glanced at the box and then the soaked jumper that was in Harry’s chair and the young wizard realised that the man was feeling guilty.

“What happens? I hope you’re not feeling bad for throwing up in the box.” Harry said realising why he didn’t want to take the potion. The cat closed his eyes. Yes, of course he felt bad about that, together with other things. “Look, the jumper is clean I’ve washed it, and I found the box in Dudley’s room, have you seen it? It’s horrible!” Harry said laughing while he was wiping the tears that came from Severus’ eyes. “Please Sev, take the stomach soothing potion, take it for me.” Harry begged, looking right in his professor’s eyes, and with that Severus finally opened his mouth, unable to disobey after seeing those green eyes filled with concern.

Harry poured the potion in his mouth and started massaging the cat’s throat until he was sure he had shallowed all the potion. Then he put the potion in the wardrobe. He decided to drink a pain reliever for his back and he climbed into the bed. He curled, lying in a foetal position, and he moved Severus until the cat was between his chest and his legs.

“Are you feeling better?” Harry asked, and Severus nodded moving even closer to Harry and leaning his head on the boy’s chest. Harry put an arm around the cat hugging him tightly. “Dumbledore sent you here, didn’t he?” Harry asked and the cat nodded. “Good, then he will see that you aren’t coming back and he’ll come to rescue. But if he doesn’t, I will think about something, I promise. So don’t worry.”

‘Or you will take points from Slytherin.’ Severus thought, feeling much better.

“Or I’ll take points from Slytherin.” Harry finished smiling. And looked down to the black cat that was beginning to doze in his chest, breathing slowly and rhythmically.

He watched the sleeping cat for the rest of the night, not wanting to fall asleep and have a nightmare again. He heard his uncle leaving the house early in the morning and taking the car. And when he was thinking if he should wake Severus up to give him the potion and to clean the wounds, the door of the bedroom exploded with a loud “BOOOM!!!”