Hey everybody! At first a big thank you to DrKrzy, who drew the amazing cover for this fic for only the price of a meal. Check out her Devianart for more cool stuff. Then another big thank you for Melira, who literally forced me to write and upload this through her neverending faith and support. Since this is the first thing I have ever dared to publish I would love to hear your thoughts, whatever they are, so please leave a comment, any kind of feedback really makes my day.
A cup sat inside a cupboard. It was not a very nice cupboard to be honest, it was rather dark and even a bit dusty. But the cup didn't mind, in fact it was an inanimate object and as such it didn't mind very much at all. Instead it waited patiently inside its cupboard, together with the rest of the mismatched tea set. Each of them had been acquired separately and with a noticeable absence of good taste. The blooming flowers on the fine china cup clashed terribly with the cozy winter scene on the cheap teapot next to it and almost worse with the detailed but plain gold designs on most of the saucers. But it was dark inside the cupboard and the cup didn't mind much.
Sometimes the door would open and the inside of the cupboard would be flooded with light. It was not often that the tea set came into use, but it was known to happen. Never for guests though, the last time the cup had been involved in entertaining a guest had been before small bits of its floral decorations had come off and the subsequent trip to the flea market. That had been ages ago, at least in the lifetime of a cup. Still, it would sometimes be brought out and filled with tea from the teapot and maybe a shot of milk to enjoy while reading a book or keeping awake while brooding over travel maps late at night.
Today, the man who had stuck his nose inside the cupboard seemed to have different plans. The cup was taken out into the small shed the cupboard was located in, but the pot and the saucers stayed put. While the shed was stuffed, mostly with books and tools and knick-knacks, there was a sturdy table located in the middle and on it a small area had been cleared. The cup was set down on the table and the tap of a wand filled it with water. Another tap and the water was warm, not hot like when brewing tea, but a gentle warmth that spread quickly through the china.
A finger was dipped into the heated water and the temperature apparently approved, because next the wizard reached into one of the many pockets of his brightly blue coat and pulled something from it. A velvety ball of black fur was transferred from his hand into the cup and the warm water with a mumbled encouragement of "Here we go."
It only took a second, then the animal squirmed, its little clawed paws clicking against the china as it tried to find purchase on the smooth surface. It let out an indignant squeak and the man's voice answered "Don't be like that, I know you don't like bathing, but it is the fastest way to warm you up."
Indeed, the creature in the cup shivered pitifully, but that didn't keep it from voicing its displeasure at the treatment.
"Do I need to remind you, whose idea it was to escape the case in the middle of winter and then diving right into the water? You are quite lucky I noticed in time."
The small animal in the cup sat quietly now, letting the warm water soak its fur. It had almost stopped shivering and must have sent the wizard an offended look, because he admitted
"Well, the muggles are probably also at fault. Who in their right mind threw all those shiny coins in a well? It was practically waiting for a Niffler to drown himself."
Said Niffler let himself be patted happily and snuggled a bit deeper into the warmth of the cup.
The man got up a bit later and after the animal was gently scooped up and dried, he vanished the water in the cup.
"Here you are, that wasn't so bad, was it? I hope you have learnt your lesson about jumping after every shiny bauble you see. Next time you ask me to get it, ok?"
The moment of sternness was dissolved by the jingling of the muggle coins that were placed on the table and immediately disappeared into the creature's pouch. It then hurried away and whether it took the advice to heart would remain to be seen.
The cup on the other hand was placed in the cupboard again, in its usual place. When the door was closed it was once again dark inside and even a bit dusty. But the cup didn't mind, it waited patiently for the next time it would be brought out.