For those of you who are waiting on The Art of War I apologize profusely for the delay. I'm still working on it but writing has been hard as of late. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I won't abandon you.

My mother passed away a few weeks ago from an illness we didn't know she had that got very serious very quickly. She was present and 100% healthy (or so we thought) when I gave birth to our new son in November, but declined pretty rapidly after that.

This one is based on the song "Dad's Old Number" by Cole Swindell. It's not my usual fluff, but I kind of used it as a coping mechanism. Hope you enjoy it anyway.

"Hello?"

Severus Snape had only had a phone installed for less than a full day, so he had been quite surprised when it rang. He literally hadn't told anyone his phone number, nor did he know anyone who would be calling his muggle phone. After surviving Nagini's attack (because no self-respecting potions master would work around a notoriously venomous snake without making an antidote) and being cleared of all charges (and awarded a gaudy Order of Merlin, First Class, which he planned to melt down as soon as he got his fireplace working) he had begun to remodel his dingy muggle home at Spinner's End.

Thanks to Dumbledore's estate and his Order of Merlin he now had enough money to move into almost any magical community he desired, but, due to the disgusting abundance of well-wishing witches who wanted to "reward" him for his heroics and disabuse him of his unrequited love for a long-dead redhead, the house he once hated had become a very necessary solace for him.

He had just installed the muggle phone yesterday, primarily so he could get a better package deal on the internet service with which he was so keen to experiment, so the fact that it was ringing was a bit of a shock to him. After he answered, he heard nothing on the other line except for a soft sniffling sound, so he tried again.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Erm, yes, sorry. Um….sorry."

"Excuse me?"

"Uh yeah, I didn't mean to call this number. I mean, I did mean to call this number, but it's not...well it's not…"

And then the caller broke down into what were clearly sobs of utter anguish, despite the fact they had clearly covered the receiver with a hand to muffle the noise. Severus Snape was not a man that had ever been accused of being good with women, not to mention emotional strangers who called him for no reason, but he couldn't find it in himself to hang up on someone so clearly in pain.

"Are you okay, miss?"

There were some loud sniffles as the woman on the other side clearly tried to pull herself together. The sound of a nose being blown rang through the static-filled connection before the woman spoke.

"Yes, I mean no, not really, not yet anyway. Or maybe not ever again at this rate. I just...I'm sorry." She finished rather deflatedly.

He let the pause hang for an uncomfortable minute, not sure if he was trying to solicit more information or just unsure how to proceed.

"Yeah, sorry. Um...this isn't your number. I mean, of course it's your number. Or it is now. Um...you got a new phone number." The caller was clearly trying to pull herself together, but if her stammering was anything to go by she was failing mightily.

"Yes. I did. It is my number after all."

The sarcasm left his mouth before he could stop it, but instead of accidentally hurting the already shattered feelings of hid mystery caller he heard the single huff of a small chuckle.

"Yes, you would probably be aware of such a thing, wouldn't you."

He could hear a small smile in her voice.

"Generally that is the case. I'm assuming you weren't intending to reach me then?"

"No. This is my father's phone number." He heard the beginnings of the smile disappear from her voice as she faltered. As she spoke again it was through tears just barely kept at bay. "Was. It was my father's number. He passed away a few weeks ago. I didn't think the phone company would change it so fast. I mean, I didn't think at all really. I just…"

Another awkward silence stretched over the open phone line.

"My cat died," she stated flatly.

"My condolences. Primarily on the loss of your father, but also for your cat." He wasn't sure how any of this involved him, but he wasn't close to knowing how to ask so he just sat there wondering why he didn't just hang up on a stranger or why he cared about her cat.

"Yes. I mean thank you. I mean….I always used to call him when something went wrong. Or when something went right. I...just...it's muscle memory, you know? I'd just dial and...well, I didn't know who else to call. I don't have anyone else to...to call." She finished abruptly as a new wave of silent tears robbed her ability to speak.

Another long pause hung heavy in the air as she tried in vain to collect herself.

"Would you like to talk to me about your cat?" he heard himself ask lamely. "Was he old or did something happen?"

He heard a fresh sob break through her tenuous control. Thinking he had done something wrong he readied himself to hang up in defense, but was surprised by a shaky voice.

"His name was Crookshanks. I got him as an adult so I never actually knew how old he was, but I'd had him for the better part of a decade so I can only assume."

"What was he like?" he heard himself ask, surprising himself again with his uncharacteristic sympathy.

"He was bright orange, smart as a whip. He had a smooshy face that everyone but me thought was hideous, but something about a face only a mother could love comes to mind...or a cat owner, I guess."

The pit of his stomach dropped. Orange. Ugly as sin. He knew the name Crookshanks had sounded familiar. Bollocks. Of all the phone numbers in the world he had to inherit the one that belonged to Hermione Granger's newly deceased father. And now her comment about not having anyone else to call made sense. Her messy split with the youngest Weasley boy had been all over the Prophet, along with the public engagement of the Chosen One with the Weaslette. He could only imagine that the boy who lived to be a constant reminder of his shortcomings had been forced to choose sides and his fiancee and her brother had won out over the girl who kept him alive for a decade. Oh I really do need to hang up this very instant.

"I had a similar pet as a child. Well, it wasn't mine, but it was a neighborhood cat. Ugly as hell, scarred all over from fights with the neighborhood dogs. I was the only person who could ever get near it. Kindred souls I guess. Never knew what happened to it. I went away to school one year and it was just gone. I hadn't thought about it for years until just now, actually."

He heard the small beginnings of a smile return to the edges of her voice, "there's something about ugly pets. I don't know. They just love more because they don't feel entitled to any attention I guess. Or they're grateful. Or...something."

I know the feeling.

"I couldn't agree more."

"Thank you. For asking, I mean. About my cat."

"Well, what kind of stranger would I be if I didn't inquire about your cat?"

He definitely heard a chuckle this time.

"Do you need any help with it? I mean, logistically speaking? I assume he died at home?"

"No. I mean yes. He was napping in his favorite spot and just didn't wake up. I, um, I buried him outside under the tree he loved to get stuck in. Figured he spent so much time there waiting for me to come retrieve him he should feel right at home. So I already took care of everything. I just...I guess I forgot that...well...so I called anyway. I'm sorry to bother you."

"It wasn't any trouble. Really."

Another prolonged pause.

"If you wanted, I mean, I know you said you didn't have anyone else to call." He paused, half to collect himself half to question why the surprises kept coming out of his mouth today. "I don't have any family either. If you ever need someone to talk to I would not mind if you called again. I assume you remember the number."

Oh that was such a terrible joke. I need to have my mouth surgically shrunk so as to not fit my feet quite so well.

"Really?"

"I would not have offered if I didn't mean it."

"Thank you. That would actually be, well, incredibly welcome."

"I'm glad," another awkward pause. "Well, it's 3am now so I'll be getting back to sleep, but I'll talk to you again soon then?"

"Yes. Gods, yes, its late! I'm so sorry."

"It's no problem. I'm glad I was here to answer."

"Me too." A brief pause. He almost hung up but heard her start to speak again and put the phone back to his ear just in time to hear what she was saying.

"Thank you for not hanging up on me, Severus."

A shocked pause.

"How did you…?"

"Your voice. I've spent 7 years listening to your voice. I'd know it anywhere. As soon as I got my wits about me I knew immediately."

"Yet you confided in me anyway?"

"I was already a bit down the rabbit hole on that one, but yes. I'd always imagined that if we'd met under different circumstances….very different circumstances...we could have been friends."

"Friends?"

"Yes."

"I think I would like that."

"So would I."