Whoosh—
A magical storm that only Luna noticed swept through the void. Luna, moving around the arena, immediately raised her voice.
"Cedric, they're at your side!"
Cedric, standing atop the stone slope beside Entrance One, immediately focused and prepared himself.
Several bushes along the path swayed back and forth amid the howling snowstorm. The snowy mist shrouding the depths of the path began to churn, and three small black shadows gradually emerged from the haze.
They were here!
Cedric narrowed his eyes, his wrist twitching slightly.
They really were three ice sculpture House-elves. These ice monsters had been sculpted lifelike by magic. Once they drew close, Cedric could even see the fine fuzz on their large ears!
Cedric had made no effort to hide himself, yet the three House-elves seemed completely oblivious to him. They only waved fruit knives likewise carved from ice, babbling as they charged toward the stone platform guarded by Fleur and Viktor!
There could not have been easier enemies to deal with.
Cedric breathed a sigh of relief. With a downward slash of his wand, exploding firelight instantly blasted the three House-elves to pieces.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fragments of ice, large and small, flew everywhere. A trace of pity appeared in Cedric's eyes when he saw the upper half of a House-elf fly past him, its face actually wearing an expression of pain!
Whoosh!
A sudden streak of green light grazed his cheek, startling Cedric. He abruptly stepped back, nearly falling off the stone slope!
The House-elf's upper body struck the stone wall and shattered, while Cedric subconsciously brushed his fingertips over his cheek. Dots of crimson rapidly blossomed into icy flowers before freezing onto his hand.
"Are you okay, Cedric?!"
Hermione called out anxiously when she noticed something was wrong with Cedric's movements.
"You need