Ever notice how Tom Riddle's plans always rely on excessive luck, and the incompetence of others? What would have happened if his opponents were slightly competent?
31 Aug 1991
Dear Hagrid,
My wife and I wish to express our thanks to you, for allowing Headmaster Dumbledore to borrow Fluffy. He has relayed to us how much you enjoy working with animals, and how well trained Fluffy is. We rest easier knowing our stone is protected by a cerberus; if there is anything we can do to return the kindness you have shown us, the headmaster is willing to relay a letter to us.
Kind regards,
Nicolas Flamel
While a cerberus looks impressive, and would do wonders to keep the students away from the truly dangerous traps, the fact is that, for a modestly competent wizard, a chained cerberus that cannot reach the door, let alone fit through it, is no threat, and can be dispatched at leisure. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, not being a fool, knew he needed to give Fluffy an edge. Since Fluffy was large enough to give even Hagrid some trouble, he and Hagrid had trained and charmed Fluffy to sleep whenever Fluffy heard music. Hagrid was one of the kindest souls Dumbledore had ever met, but he could not keep a secret no matter how important it was. This did not worry Albus; in fact, he was counting on it. While killing the cerberus would be easy, it would be noisy, set off alarms, and tire even an adult wizard. By providing an easy way to bypass Fluffy, Albus hoped that Fluffy would survive. Having made up his mind, he pointed his wand at the giant dog. "Imperio."
Late spring, 1992
"Hurry up Hermione, Snape could already be at the stone."
"I'm going as fast as I can, it's not like either of you can cast this. Alohomora."
Harry Potter and his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, were trying to stop Severus Snape from stealing Flamel's stone. Hagrid had told them how to get past the giant three-headed dog, and they figured Snape knew too. With Dumbledore out of the castle, and his deputy not believing them, they were on their own. The lock clicked in response to Hermione's spell, and the door opened a crack; the faint sound of a music box could be heard through the crack in the door. Ron reached out to open the door, but paused to take a deep breath and calm himself. "Oh merlin, what's that smell?"
Harry and Hermione, standing just behind him, took a moment longer to detect the stench, before harry said "I don't know, we'll have to open the door to find out... Kinda smells like when they were feeding the lions at the zoo." Ron twisted the knob and pushed the door open. The first thing the three students noticed was the blood, splashed out liberally over the floor. Hermione put her hand in front of her mouth and stumbled back, trying not to faint. Ron fared a little better; he was used to seeing disturbing things thanks to his twin brothers, even so, he was queasy. Harry steeled himself; he'd dealt with worse at the Dursleys', "come on, we have to stop Snape, since he killed Fluffy". He stepped past Ron, then took a closer look at the room. Inside, the smell was much stronger.
Behind him Ron said "It almost looks like Fluffy is just asleep, that git didn't have to kill him." Harry had to agree, especially since he noticed that Fluffy was still breathing. He also noticed that there were no wounds visible on the enormous dog, and that blood was dripping from the closest head's jowls. Looking closer, he noticed scraps of fabric under the sleeping head. The trapdoor was still closed. As he crept forward, careful not to make any noise, he saw the closest eye crack open for a moment, tracking his movement, then close quickly. He crept a step closer, then froze. It almost looked like Fluffy was only pretending to be asleep, waiting for him to get closer. As he took his first step back, all three heads shot up, Fluffy turned, and lunged at him. Fortunately for Harry, the floor under Fluffy was still slippery with blood. Large dogs on lubricated stone floors often overestimate their own agility, and Fluffy only managed to cover half the distance between them. While Fluffy regained his footing, Harry scrambled from the room.
"I don't think anyone got past Fluffy".