Changing Maps

"This morning, we hid the Goblet of Fire in the maze, and no one knows its exact location... The maze is treacherous; if anyone encounters an insurmountable danger, raise your wand and unleash a red spark..."

"Whoever touches the trophy first is the champion!"

"Now... listen to my whistle!"

"Three... two..."

"The match begins!"

As the short, sharp whistle rang in his ears, Harry held his breath and rushed into the maze.

Passing through the bush wall, the entrance behind us was immediately surrounded by plant branches, and the audience's voices were instantly silenced. The tall hedges cast dark shadows on the path, and the strangely shaped bush branches looked like a group of twisted monsters hidden in the darkness, waiting for careless Champion to fall into their trap.

Several "Lumos" sounded one after another, and several bright lights appeared nearby.

The maze was winding and twisting, with two-way intersections every few steps, and sometimes three-way intersections. Harry quickened his pace, turning left and then right. The few lights that had been following him had unknowingly been swallowed up by the thick darkness of the night.

His leather shoes crunched on the soft grass and fallen leaves, the sound of his footsteps mingling with the rustling of the surrounding foliage. The screech of Leprechaun reached his ears from all directions. The maze of bushes and high walls surrounded him tightly, but Harry could always feel a cool breeze on his face.

Every minute the maze darkened, and the sky above it gradually turned a dark blue-green.

Harry held his glowing wand in one hand, constantly looking behind and around. He felt as if someone was watching him from a hidden place, but upon closer inspection, the suspicious figures turned into the shadows of tree branches.

The slender, twisted branches and leaves resemble the shadow of House-elf.

Harry's thought flashed through his mind. He smiled and continued running forward. He never encountered any obstacles, as if the entire maze was empty. He didn't know how long he had been walking when he suddenly turned into a narrow path and encountered a fork in the road again.

Looking at the silent fork in the road, Harry wasn't sure if the maze was deceiving him with a false sense of security. He dared not choose again, so he held his wand flat in his hand and whispered to it:

"Give me directions"

The wand spun twice like a compass needle, finally fixing its tip on the dense forest to the right, which was the north.

Harry recalled the maze map he had seen before, roughly estimated his current location, and felt more confident. The maze's center was to head northwest; the best way was to take the left fork in the road and then turn right as quickly as possible.

"Rustling..."

Turning into the left passageway, the roots and branches of the bushes on both sides grow wildly, and the plants on both sides merge together, immediately squeezing the narrow passageway in the center with hard branches.

To avoid being swallowed by the plants and getting embedded in the tree wall, Harry took off running nimbly.

The entire maze seemed to have finally come alive, and all sorts of monsters jumped out from both sides of the road as the journey continued.

The enormous stone monster could spew out magma-like sparks from both ends. Harry used Impediment Jinx to temporarily hinder its movement, and after running out of a safe distance, he glanced back and, with the help of the firelight, barely saw that it was actually a Blast-Ended Skrewts.

That thing was enormous, ten feet long, and looked like a giant scorpion, with a long stinger coiled on its back and thick armor supporting it as it rampaged through the maze.

Then there's the Dementor that Boggart transforms into, twelve feet tall, with a hood covering his face, and his rotting, scabbed hands reaching straight out at him, with only a thin layer of skin covering the bones, and a cold, sticky mist enveloping his entire body.

He didn't recognize him immediately, but fortunately, the Patronus Charm was enough to scare away the Boggart.

Harry continued forward, trying to keep his steps light and silent, listening carefully to the sounds around him.

Turn left... turn right... turn left again...

The cunning Devil's Snare would suddenly dart out while he was traveling, grab his ankle, lift him up, and throw him upside down. Fortunately, he had experience dealing with Devil's Snare...

Hinkypunk was a golden mist floating in the air, strange and dazzling, which innocently shimmered at him in the moonlight when he broke free from the Devil's Snare ' restraints.

For the next thirty minutes, he encountered nothing, twice taking the same wrong turn and coming to several dead ends... When he was walking on a long, straight path, he encountered an incredibly strange monster, one he had only seen before in Loren's letters, in the "Monsters Book of Monsters".

The Sphinx has a body like a frighteningly large lion, with a long yellow tail covering its huge paws and a tuft of soft fur at the tip of its tail. However, it has the head of a woman, with an oval face, almond eyes, and a bright, radiant expression. Its voice is deep and hoarse.

"You're very close to your goal. The fastest way is to get here from me..."

Ten minutes later, Harry passed the friendly-looking Sphinx and nodded reservedly at it. He silently recited the riddle about the spider, intending to test it on Ron when they got back.

Following the direction indicated by the magic wand, I ran along a small path, then turned a corner, and suddenly the view opened up before me.

A hundred meters away, on the base of a stone table, the Goblet of Fire gleamed with an alluring light.

Just as Harry was in a daze, a familiar figure rushed over, but at the same time, a huge thing was moving rapidly toward them from the hedge on the left, and Cedric was about to crash into it.

"Watch out on the left, Acromantula!"

As night deepened, the moon appeared as a crescent hook.

Quidditch Pitch stands.

The two female professors sat in the far corner of the back row, gazing idly at the bush maze, which was isolated by towering hedges, with only occasional flashes of magical light that quickly disappeared.

Professor Bathsheda Professor Babbling, dressed in a form-fitting long robe with wide sleeves and a flowing hem, attracted many eyes simply by sitting there. Her charming face, fair skin, and graceful figure made her stand out.

She yawned boredly. "Pomona, don't you think this way of watching the game is a bit unwise?"

"Hmm..." Professor Sprout clenched his hands together tightly, his lips pressed together.

Professor Babbling put her arm around her shoulder and shook her. "Alright, don't be so nervous. Cedric is currently leading in points, and his chances of winning the championship are still very high."

"It's precisely because the chances of winning are so high that I'm so nervous," Professor Sprout said, his voice trembling. "If he were tied with Delacour of Beauxbatons in points right now, I would be relieved."

"Why is that?"

"Hufflepuff hasn't achieved such glory in centuries. I've barely even seen the Goblet of Fire, let alone the House Cup," Professor Sprout muttered.

Babbling sighed. The Hufflepuff wizards were gentle and the most popular of the four houses, but they were also the least competitive. The House Cup had always been passed between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and occasionally it would fall into the hands of Ravenclaw, but Hufflepuff only had a stroke of luck.

"Pomona, don't be too nervous, being nervous won't help." Babbling patted her back, trying to comfort her.

"It's okay if we don't win the championship..." Professor Sprout said softly, "I'm more worried that Cedric will get injured and be disappointed..."

"That kid has been outstanding since he entered school. He has excellent grades, plays Quidditch very well, and has never given me any trouble. When he was selected as Champion a few months ago, he even came to me wanting to learn more magical skills..." Sprout's face turned slightly red. "I'm not good at that, so I asked Filius to help me tutor him. You saw it yourself, he learned the Bubble-Head Charm very quickly and well."

"I heard that Minerva and Headmaster Ilvermorny are doing dueling training together, and I asked him if he wanted to join in. He was interested, but then felt that it wouldn't be fair to Harry, who is also Champion ..."

"She's a good child." Babbling looked at the twinkling lights in the maze with a complicated expression.

The spider's massive, overturned body collapsed a hedge, its long, hairy legs sprawling haphazardly on the ground.

"Harry! Are you alright?"

"Fine!"

Harry and Cedric were panting heavily over the spider's corpse, their robes torn by the spider's long legs, stained with disgusting, sticky secretions, and some bloodstains from abrasions.

After the cold sweat on their bodies dried, the two looked at each other and smiled.

"Go get it, you almost got it." Harry leaned against the hedge, letting his sore legs rest for a while.

Cedric glanced at Harry, then turned to look at the trophy, its golden gleam reflecting the longing on his face. He took a deep breath:

"Take it, you should win, you saved my life."

"That's not how the rules are, stop being so stubborn." Harry was annoyed by his inflexibility. "Whoever gets there first scores. You got there first, and I can't outrun you."

"No..." Cedric shook his head, "You told me there were Fire Dragon. If you hadn't warned me beforehand, I would have been eliminated in the First Task."

"You told me the secret of the Golden Egg, so we're even."

"You should have scored higher on your Second Task; you stayed behind and rescued all the hostages."

"Only I was foolish enough to take that song seriously!"

"..."

Just as the two were arguing fiercely, a hoarse, deep voice rang out from behind. "You two can take it together!"

"Professor Moody!"

Harry and Cedric cheered in unison, "What are you doing here?!"

"Something unexpected happened. Phoebe and Gravis sent out a distress signal, so I came over." Moody limped toward them as he spoke. "Even if both of you win, Hogwarts still wins, and you are tied for the championship."

"This..." Cedric's eyes flickered with interest.

Harry said with a grin, "Let's do as the professor says."

Just as Harry and Cedric each grabbed a handle, Harry caught a glimpse of Professor Moody gripping the trophy's thin stem. The next second, hooks suddenly appeared behind their navels, lifting their feet off the ground. The trophy carried them forward amidst the whistling wind and swirling colors.

"Sir! Mr. Morgan!"

On the afternoon before the finals, the House-elf in the Kitchen were preparing dinner. The busy house was filled with the aroma of various soups. Fortunately, Hogwarts Kitchen was underground and not hot.

Amidst cheers and jubilation, House-elf dressed in a well-fitting waiter's uniform came running over, swinging his long, thin arms and legs with such exaggerated movements that Loren worried he might throw his limbs off.

"Mr. Morgan, Winky misses you so much! Summer vacation is almost here, and Winky thought I wouldn't see you for a long time... Winky received the Easter eggs you and Miss Granger sent. The chocolates were delicious, and the stockings inside were very comfortable..."

Winky Grawp on and on, finally slowing down as he looked at Loren with guilt. "But the weather is getting warmer, Winky doesn't want to wear socks. Winky just wants to go barefoot."

Loren smiled gently, "The gift I gave you is yours now. Wear it whenever you want."

The House-elf's bat wings twitched. "Yes, sir."

"How's the note-taking for the book I asked you to look at coming along?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Morgan ..." Winky's relaxed muscles tensed up again as she answered softly, "I'm reading very slowly. I've only finished two chapters so far: the discovery of the New World and the conflict between the colonists and the natives..."

He recognized each word individually, but he couldn't understand them when they were put together.

"It is a bit slow, indeed," Loren muttered nonchalantly, "But we agreed from the beginning that there's no rush, you can take your time."

"Yes, sir."

Just then, Winky, wearing a blue and white dress, came running over quickly. "Excuse me, Mr. Morgan, I'm frying meat patties and can't leave for a bit."

Loren looked at the House-elf. Her cheeks were much fuller than when they last met. Her grayish skin was no longer clinging to her bones, but rather had more flesh and blood. Her large, protruding eyes were no longer dull and lifeless.

"The Goblet of Goblet of Fire final is just around the corner. After tonight, Barty Crouch will be leaving Hogwarts. Are you ready?"

Winky's face suddenly froze, even her breathing slowed, and the unusual moments of the past few months flashed before her eyes...

At the Elegant Wizarding Apparel, Dobby pointed at the shelves and exclaimed:

"Look at this hat! Winky, and pink!"

After her first shopping trip, she burst into tears by the Kitchen fireplace. "House-elf shouldn't be paid, and they certainly shouldn't use their owner's money to buy their own things!"

Gradually, she became able to use the wages given to her by Headmaster Dumbledore to shop without worry, and she could lie in her little bed and plan where to go for fun on the weekend...

Later on, it was Dobby that she went shopping and vacationing with Dobby, but rather that she was able to Dobby places to go to Dobby's house...

After a long silence, Winky choked back a couple of sobs, rubbed her nose with her fist, and looked up at the little wizard in front of her. "I'm ready, sir."

Loren gave a soft "hmm": "I'm assigning you a task..."

"Yes, sir!"

The three people who had touched the trophy vanished instantly. The Acromantula's body collapsed into the hedge wall, and its two tennis ball-sized eyes blinked a few times before slowly disappearing into the dark shadows.