Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC Bailey and any alterations to the original storyline plot her presence provides to various readers amusement everywhere across the globe.
A Dog's Purpose Is Strange Magic Chapter 29
To say Harry was freaked out in the morning when he found Bailey missing from his bed would be the understatement of the year.
Harry flew into a full-blown panic when he discovered her absence.
Harry was so out of sorts that one of his classmates ran to get their Head of House. Professor McGonagall asked what all the fuss was about so Harry told her he couldn't find Bailey. He hadn't let her out at all during the night, so he had no clue where she was.
The Fat Lady was questioned about it and it was discovered that Bailey had left Gryffindor Tower on her own, but no one had any idea where.
The Professors and Prefects searched for Bailey with the Ghosts for further range.
A separate Portrait eventually gave them an idea of where he might've seen Bailey. She was then found in the most unlikely of places. Bailey is currently on the out-of-bounds third-floor corridor, pressed against the door curled up and fast asleep by Percy Weasley.
Percy immediately took her away from there much to Bailey's displeasure. She could still hear the calls of the Cerberus behind her as she was withdrawn from that corridor.
Once Harry and Bailey were reunited, he was questioned on how she could've gotten there on her own unchecked in the first place.
It's a miracle that Harry managed to keep a straight face during that brief interrogation. He gave the excuse that she got away from him while he was sleeping, maybe to relieve herself, and got lost.
It's a logical enough explanation especially after Hagrid had his say. Speaking from experience with Fang, it's not uncommon for dogs to have to go to the bathroom late at night. Plus, after everything is said and done, Hagrid offers the possibility that perhaps Bailey smelled the Cerberus's scent and went to investigate.
So Harry and Bailey were left off with a warning much to his relief.
That had been a very close shave.
After this Harry would make sure Bailey is leashed to the bed from now on until further notice so an incident like this wouldn't happen again. Good thing too because there were a few occasions when Bailey temporarily forgot about the leash tying her down and did attempt to get out.
Bailey ended up getting caught red-handed each time, much to her shame. Her tail would be tucked between her legs, head down, and ears pinned back while Harry scolds her.
That very same day Harry received a welcome surprise that took his mind off of it.
Harry got a new broom that had been delivered to him at breakfast. A Nimbus Two Thousand. This is the fastest model of broom yet.
A note attached to the package reveals that this gift is from Professor McGonagall, explaining that he should have a suitable broom and that it had been taken care of.
The Nimbus Two Thousand is sleek and shiny with a mahogany handle, and a long tail of neat and strait twigs. The label is written in emboldened gold near the top.
Malfoy was furious about this.
Not only had his ploy to get them expelled failed, but now Harry was gifted with a racing broom as a new member of one of the school's Quidditch Teams. A privilege that no first year has ever undergone before. This is something that the boys enjoyed rubbing in Malfoy's face gladly.
The meeting Harry had with Team Captain Oliver Wood followed the next day at dusk. Harry and Bailey went there alone without Ron to accompany them.
Oliver Wood is a fifth-year Gryffindor student and a big-time Quidditch fanatic. Among the student body for taking his devotion to the sport to the extreme all the time.
Bailey could tell that right off when he'd shown up while Harry was taking his new broom for a spin in the air. The truth of it is that Bailey kept following her boy on the ground concerned he was going to fall.
She needn't have been.
Harry is a natural-born flyer in the air. An observation, also, voiced by Wood.
Only once Harry had set his feet firmly on the ground did she relax.
As Wood commenced informing Harry of the rules of the game along with each purpose behind the four primary balls Bailey opted to nap on the grass.
Wood had taken out the Snitch to show Harry. As it was buzzing around it got close to Bailey, waking her up from the nap by bopping her on the nose. Wood and Harry laughed as she pawed, jumped, and chased the Snitch around trying to catch it. But that freaking ball was lightning fast and almost impossible to see as it's getting darker.
Bailey refused to pay attention to either one of them for the remainder of the lesson.
If Wood hadn't used a summoning spell to get it back neither he nor Harry would've succeeded in apprehending it.
By the end of this Wood had very high hopes for Harry and the prospects of the new season as he saw Harry catch the ordinary golf balls instead of the Snitch because of how late it was.
All in all, for the next couple of weeks things fell into a routine. Going to classes, meals, Quidditch practice three times a week, and doing homework for classes. Before any of them knew it two months had gone by just like that.
Before, in the Muggle community, Harry struggled with school but here he is thriving without the Dursleys around him. Harry and Bailey are so content in this environment that Hogwarts feels more like home every single day.
This easygoing state would become disrupted on Halloween, bringing along changes.
The majority of them are not in their favor for multiple reasons.
Authors Note:
Hope you all liked this one.