Fluffy the Three-Headed Dog

On Saturday morning, William, Cedric, and Cho left the castle and crossed the fields toward the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid lived in a small wooden hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A crossbow and a pair of rubber boots stood outside the door.

On Thursday, William had received a letter from Hagrid inviting him to visit the hut and pet the three-headed dog while he was there.

So William brought Cedric along, and Cedric persuaded Cho to come too.

When William knocked, there was a frantic scuffling from inside, followed by several low barks.

Then Hagrid called, "Back, Fang, back!"

Hagrid opened the door a crack, revealing his great, bearded face.

Without engine oil slicking down his hair, Hagrid looked rough, but much more normal.

"Wait a moment," he said. "Back, Fang."

Hagrid pulled the door open and ushered the three of them inside, struggling all the while to hold on to the collar of an enormous black boarhound.

The dog was huge and especially intimidating. William quickly tossed him a dried fish. Fang broke free of Hagrid's great hand, caught it in his mouth, and swallowed it. Then he waited for more, tongue out and drool dripping.

William took a package out of his pocket, drew his wand, and said, "Engorgio!"

He took a large bag of dried fish from the enlarged package and set it on the table, then opened a tin of beef bites made for pets and put it on the floor.

Fang charged over, wagging his tail.

The others all looked at William strangely. Who carried that sort of thing around?

William explained, "These are Bobocha's snacks. He can't finish them all anyway, so I'm giving them to Fang."

Cho couldn't help saying, "Your cat certainly eats well."

Cho still remembered how Bobocha had turned up his nose at her lunch on the train!

"Oh, right," Hagrid asked. "Where's Bobocha? How come I don't see him?"

"He's had too many scares lately, so he went to Mrs. Norris for some comfort and to recover from the psychological trauma." William shrugged.

Ever since that Transfiguration lesson, Bobocha had kept well away whenever he saw Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall's tabby cat form had wounded the fragile heart of a young tomcat!

"Blimey," Hagrid said, astonished.

"Mrs. Norris belongs to that old fool Filch. You know, whenever I go to the school, she follows me everywhere, and I can't shake her off. Filch must have put her up to it."

"I'd love to introduce her to my Fang, but since Bobocha gets on well with her, I'd better not."

Hagrid looked quite regretful and felt terribly sorry for Fang, while the silly dog wagged his tail and wolfed down the beef bites.

The hut had only one room. Hams and pheasants hung from the ceiling, water boiled in a copper kettle over the fire, and a large bed stood in the corner, covered with a patchwork quilt.

The three sat down on a bench.

"This is Cho," Cedric said, introducing her to Hagrid.

"Oh, hello." Hagrid hurriedly held out his hand.

Cho wasn't afraid and readily shook Hagrid's great hand.

Hagrid was delighted. "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?" he said with a smile.

He got up and poured the boiling water into a large teapot, putting Rock Cakes on a plate as he did so.

He also pulled off some crumbs and put them in Fang's tin, but Fang pushed them out with his nose.

The Rock Cakes nearly broke William and the others' teeth, but all three pretended to enjoy them.

Luckily, Bobocha wasn't there, or things would surely have gotten very awkward.

After finishing the tin, Fang brought his head over and rested it on William's knee, soaking a large patch of his robes with drool.

William didn't give him any more snacks, and Hagrid put the dried fish away too, leaving Fang very disappointed.

Hagrid drew the curtains tightly shut and opened the fireplace.

It was pitch-black inside, with a tattered blanket laid in it.

The three gathered excitedly around Hagrid like little birds. They were about to see the legendary three-headed dog.

He wasn't what William had imagined. William had expected to see the handsome head of a husky, but the truth was... he was hideous.

He looked like a deformed child. His three heads were different sizes, enough to drive anyone with obsessive-compulsive disorder mad.

Worst of all, the biggest head was cross-eyed. His eyes were squeezed together in the middle, and he was ugly from every angle.

The slightly smaller head on the left had densely packed teeth filling his entire mouth and extending all the way down his throat!

The smallest head on the right was even worse to look at. He had a huge, black birthmark on his face.

What the fuck kind of monster was this?!

At the sight of Hagrid, the three-headed dog squeezed toward the fireplace opening. Drool hung from his three mouths in sticky strands, dangling from his sharp, slender teeth.

Hagrid smiled dotingly, took a plump pickled chicken down from a roof beam, and tossed it inside.

The three-headed dog fought over it, the heads baring their teeth at one another.

"Damao, leave some for Sanmao," Hagrid said loudly. "Look how thin his head is. He's malnourished."

Hagrid had even given each head a name: Damao, Ermao, and Sanmao.

The three-headed dog also had a grand name that was both impressive and elegant-Fluffy!

Hagrid looked very pleased with himself.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" Hagrid reached out and stroked Damao's head.

Damao bit down on his finger, showing his long, pointed teeth.

"Goodness, look how strong his jaws are! For a mother, that's the greatest reward!" Hagrid said excitedly.

William, Cedric, and Cho exchanged glances, feeling that Hagrid had become obsessed with his world of role-playing.

Hagrid picked up a little under half the bag of dried fish William had brought and put it in the fireplace.

The three heads began tearing at it again, crunching away.

Fang was furious. That was his present. He pawed at the stone walls of the fireplace, glaring at the three-headed puppy.

Fluffy dropped the dried fish and rushed toward Fang. He was only a few months old and still wanted milk!

But Fang was a male dog. He looked down at a certain part of himself and, as if deeply insulted, let out a howl, turned, and ran for the door.

"There, there, time for bed, baby Fluffy." Hagrid dotingly patted Damao's head and began singing a lullaby.

It sounded like ghosts wailing and wolves howling, but despite the dreadful song, Fluffy really did lie down and fall asleep very quickly.

Hagrid closed the fireplace and said proudly, "Fluffy always falls asleep as soon as I sing. He really does think of me as his mother."

Cedric asked, "Hagrid, have you told Professor Dumbledore you're keeping a three-headed dog?"

Hagrid scratched his hair and stammered, "I'm going to tell him soon."

William said in surprise, "Weren't you going to tell him before term started?"

"I... don't know how to say it. What if Professor Dumbledore won't let me keep him?"

"That's trouble," Cedric said worriedly. "My dad works in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic, so I know all about it.

"Private individuals aren't allowed to keep magical creatures like this. If he's discovered, they'll definitely kill him on the spot."

Hagrid went pale.

(Adorable Fluffy asks for recommendation votes!)