Every Night and a Dog
Every night when the next door neighbour's dog barked, Hermione would awaken, and she would jump out of bed, expecting the offending sound to be her alarm clock, and to begin her morning schedule of muesli, teeth brushing, dressing, and hurriedly attempting to tame her wild mane of bushy hair.
Every night, the dog barked at the exact same time: 3:04 AM. Perhaps this was considered morning, but Hermione was always too annoyed at the dog to decide whether it really was morning or not. In any case, it was four hours before she was supposed to wake up, and this annoyed her because she needed rest for a long and potentially stressful day at the Ministry.
Every night, or morning, she would clamber messily back into her bed, thanking random deities for the warmth of her bed covers compared to the chilly night air inside her house, and for the warmth of the person who slept beside her every night, who was more faithful than any dog.
"Ron. Ron," she would whisper after jumping out of bed and tiredly returning. "The dog woke me up again." Ron would mutter incoherently before Hermione poked him sharply, and repeated what she said every night.
"Want me to hex him?" His groggy voice answered, his eyes glued shut by lethargy. "Charm a magical harp to put it to sleep."
Hermione would remember Fluffy the three-headed dog, and smile. "No, no. I'm going back to sleep." Her voice was crisp and clear, whisper quiet. She cuddled up to Ron, feeling his warm, freckled skin sliding against her own, and they both smiled sleepily.
They both forgot about the dog by the time morning came. When Hermione was chewing her muesli and struggling to put on her work shirt at the same time, Ron helped her with the buttons whilst a piece of crumby toast dangled from his mouth, and they both smiled, knowing each others' thoughts.
They both loved the dog, but for different reasons.