Chapter 9: The Chase is on
Madame Pomfrey returned to Hogwarts that evening. When she entered the hospital wing she was surprised to see Argus Filch hiding under one of the tables clutching Mrs. Norris tight. "Are you alright? She asked. "Is the three headed beast still out there? Filch asked. "What three headed beast?" asked Madame Pomfrey. "It was in my office. It tried to eat Mrs. Norris and then it got Snape." Filch told her in a panic. Madame Pomfrey looked at Filch as if she didn't quite believe him but she still decided to go check on Snape just in case.
When Madame Pomfrey got to Filch's office she don't see the three headed beast but she did see Snape laying on the floor in a pool of blood. She took him back to the hospital wing and bandaged him up. She couldn't fix him up an antidote until professor Sprout returned.
Later that evening Dumbledore returned. He placed a tray of food in the Great Hall for the staff meeting he was planning that night. As he unpacked, Fluffy helped himself to the food in the Great Hall. When Dumbledore returned to the Great Hall he was amazed at how fast the food had disappeared. He wasn't surprised because he received a letter from Snape explaining that a beast was on the loose at Hogwarts.
At 7 o'clock sharp, Dumbledore started rounding up the staff. When he found out that Snape was in the hospital wing, he decided to move the meeting into the hospital wing so that Snape wouldn't have to struggle to get to the Great Hall.
In the meeting Argus Filch described Fluffy as a horrible, horrible beast with sharp teeth and went on and on about how it almost ate Mrs. Norris. Snape got so tired of hearing Filch go on and on that he finally said "that is no beast, it's Fluffy. He belong to Hagrid. By the way where is he?" "Oh so you've known about Fluffy the whole time." Professor McGonagall said to Snape. "Yes, I thought the thing would have died by now." Snape replied. "Hagrid loaned Fluffy to us when we had the Sorcerer's Stone hidden on the third floor. I guess we must have forgotten he was up there." Dumbledore explained. While in the middle of the explanation, Hagrid walked in.
"See what your Fluffy did to me?" snapped Snape. "Fluffy! Oh yea Fluffy. I fergot all bout him." Hagrid said. "Where is he?" "I don't know." Snapped Snape "the last time I seen him, he was in Filch's office. That is where he attacked me."
Hagrid went upstairs to the third floor corridor to see if Fluffy was still there, but he was gone. So he checked in Filch's office but he wasn't there either. So he went back in the hospital wing to alarm the others that Fluffy was loose in the building.
"Who wants to help us look for Fluffy?" Dumbledore asked. "I can't" Snape happily replied. "I'm not looking for that thing. How can you call such a horrible beast Fluffy?" replied Filch. "Oh, I just remembered I have to get ready for my book signing tomorrow" replied Lockhart "you know it is a big day for me.
Madame Pomfrey stayed in the hospital wing with Snape, Gilderoy Lockhart went into his office and locked the door and Professor McGonagall, Argus Filch and Mrs. Norris went to Hagrid's house. Hagrid and Dumbledore searched the building for Fluffy but couldn't find him. The Hagrid had an idea to put some food out and hide. Soon as Hagrid put out some food, Fluffy came and ate it. But before Hagrid or Dumbledore could grab him he ran. They chased Fluffy all around Hogwarts. They ran upstairs, downstairs, through the Great Hall and even through the library, but they still couldn't catch Fluffy. So everyone at Hogwarts stayed where they were for the night.