A Doggy for Christmas - Advent's Calendar Story 2022
by Teddylonglong

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

Back in his dormitory, Harry placed the small dog bed, which Hagrid had transfigured from a small piece of wood, on the floor next to his bed, motioning Whisper to lie down and sleep.

However, the canine had other ideas. She patiently waited until Harry was in his bed, before she jumped up onto the bed, scrambled under the covers and cuddled close to his stomach, letting out a huge yawn.

"So, you're going to sleep here with me?" Harry asked in surprise, although he realised that he liked the idea. The canine felt very cuddly, and lured by the warmth of her fur, he soon fell asleep feeling very happy.

From that time onwards, Whisper always slept in Harry's bed cuddled close against him, and for the first time in many years, Harry felt loved.

HP

Needless to say, Hermione asked who had given Whisper to him, before she informed him that the canine had to be the magical equivalent of an Irish Red Setter.

"She's very cute," Hermione admitted, "although I'm still more fond of cats. I wished I could get a cat for myself sometime."

"Whisper gets along well with cats. She's even become friends with Mrs. Norris."

"Yeah," Ron spoke up. "Yesterday morning, we met that ugly cat on our way to breakfast, and she…," he pointed at Whisper, "… and the cat spent ages licking each other's fur, while we were waiting for her and were starving."

Hermione let out a small snort, grinning at the idea of always hungry Ron waiting for a cat and a dog stopping to cuddle with each other. "I didn't know that cats and dogs got on so well together."

"Whisper prevented me from checking out the restricted section of the library, by the way. Sorry, Hermione; I wasn't able to find out anything about Nicholas Flamel."

The friends looked up towards the high table, startled, when Professor McGonagall banged a teaspoon against her glass.

Dumbledore rose from his seat. "Dear students, welcome back to Hogwarts. Tonight, I won't keep you long. I have just one small announcement to make. The third corridor, which had been off limits since the beginning of this school year, is now open again."

Hermione rose from her chair. "But professor, what about the three-headed dog? Is he…"

"Fluffy has been returned into Hagrid's care," Dumbledore replied in a soothing voice, while Harry noticed McGonagall and Snape glare daggers at them. 'Oh right, we weren't supposed to know about Fluffy,' he recalled, as the headmaster continued. "Fluffy has been guarding something, which has been removed from Hogwarts and returned to his owner in the meantime."

'How strange,' Harry thought in surprise. 'Perhaps, someone got to know that Snape wanted to steal it.'

HP

While Whisper usually did not leave Harry's side, she decided to not attend classes together with him. One the one hand, he was disappointed, as he had got used to having the cute dog with him at all times. However, on the other hand, he felt relieved. 'Who knows what Snape would do to her in the Potions classroom?' he thought in disdain. 'It's safer for her to remain in Gryffindor.'

'I'm not going to stay in the common room at all times. When I'm not asleep, I might go for a run around the grounds,' Whisper informed him, and Harry arranged with the Fat Lady that she would open the portrait hole for the canine, even if he was not with her.

"Of course, I will. She's such a cutie," the Fat Lady promised, grinning broadly at the canine.

"Be careful, Whisper. Do not go into the forest, and beware of the Slytherins. They might try to hex you." Harry cast his familiar a look of utmost worry.

=I will.= Whisper waggled her tail, seemingly unconcerned.

HP

To Harry's relief, Whisper was always waiting for him on time for his last morning or afternoon class to end. On most days, she joined him for lunch and sat between his feet under the Gryffindor table, enjoying every little bit of food that Harry or his housemates accidentally let fall onto the floor. Only very rarely, she stayed away until before dinner time. Occasionally, she would be seen in the halls cuddling or mock fighting with Mrs. Norris. Needless to say, the students always cheered for her against the cat; however, Harry was sure that it was just a mock fight, which was equally fun for the feline as for the canine.

HP

At the end of February, the Quidditch match Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff took place, and Harry and his friends were shocked to hear that Professor Snape was going to referee the match.

"But he was the one who jinxed your broom during the last match." Hermione's voice was laced with apparent disbelief.

"He won't be able to do anything on his broom in front of everyone now, will he?" Ronald reasoned, although he cast the Potions professor a sceptical look.

=Oh, if he does anything, it will be the last thing he does for a long time.= Whisper let out a small growl to emphasize her promise, which Harry swiftly translated for his friends.

"That's good." Hermione nodded, contentedly.

Ron grinned. "You show him, Whisper. He's a real git and deserves what he gets."

'Please don't do anything too drastic. We don't want them to kick you out of Hogwarts,' Harry quietly warned his familiar.

'And if they threw me out? Would you come with me?'

Harry looked at his familiar, startled, before he let out a deep sigh. 'Yes, I would, but I'd prefer for you and me to stay here together with Ron and Hermione. I really like it here.'

"Whisper, come and sit with Ron and me," Hermione invited the canine, who obediently followed them to the Gryffindor stands, while Harry joined his team to receive last minute instructions from captain Oliver Wood.

To Harry's relief, no interference from his familiar was needed, as he managed to catch the Snitch and ended the match in favour of Gryffindor just a few minutes into the game.

The victory party in the common room was loud and funny, and Harry, Ron and Hermione enjoyed some butterbeer, which the older students had brought from their last Hogsmeade visit. Whisper was fast asleep on Harry's and Hermione's feet.

HP

A few weeks later, Harry received a letter at breakfast.

"It's from Hagrid," he told his best friends in excitement. "He has a dragon egg, and the dragon is just about to hatch. He wrote we should come and visit him after curfew tonight."

Whisper growled. =You're not going anywhere after curfew.=

Once Harry translated for his friends, Ron growled at the canine. "You're almost as bad as Mrs. Norris."

Whisper returned a growl and licked Hermione's hand, when she countered, "Whisper is not bad, she is just very protective of Harry, which is understandable, as she's his familiar."

"Well, then we'll go without Harry. Can we borrow your invisibility cloak?" Ronald cast him a pleading look.

Harry shrugged. "Sure."

"You know, we usually do everything together," Harry whispered to the canine, once they were in bed, knowing that his best friends had gone to visit Hagrid.

'Sorry, but you're my familiar, and I don't want you to get into trouble,' Whisper replied, before she began to meticulously clean his face.

"Thanks," Harry replied, torn between feeling annoyed because of her interference and happy to be loved and needed.

tbc tomorrow...

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