The Third Task

To Phoebe and Viktor's surprise, Ms. Grindelwald first offered them a few words of encouragement in a gentle tone before calling Harry aside alone.

"Harry".

The two walked to the side, Veratia smiled and reached out to pat Harry's head.

Harry seemed to enjoy being touched, and he said happily, "I thought you weren't coming."

"Why?" Veratia asked with great interest.

"I saw the newspaper this morning," Harry said. "Oh, I haven't congratulated you on becoming Minister for Ministry of Magic yet."

"This is nothing to celebrate, Harry," Veratia sighed softly. "Becoming Minister for Magic means taking on more responsibility. It may seem glamorous, but you also bear the weight of hundreds of thousands of wizards in Greater German region on your shoulders..."

The way you're saying this makes it sound like you're a weightlifting champion. Why don't you just say that the whole of Europa is on your shoulders?

Harry only thought about it in his mind; he wasn't so emotionally inept as to say it aloud.

"Sometimes I think, how high does one have to go to be considered a truly high-ranking official?" Veratia sighed, her hands behind her back. Considering her current position, her words actually held some truth.

If an ordinary Ministry of Magic officials said this, it might be quite laughable, but as Minister for Magic, especially Minister had swallowed up the Ministry of Magic of several countries, Veratia was qualified to say such a thing.

"Can I take that as you being in Versailles?" Harry asked, pursing his lips.

"Let's say that for now." Veratia smiled faintly, tucking her hair behind her ear, and said to him, "The Europe Magical World has been divided for too long, and the American Ministry of Magic is eyeing us covetously, wanting to gain the ultimate say. If Europe is just a disorganized mess, it will be difficult to compete with the American Ministry of Magic. We can only be divided and ruled by them. Harry, do you understand me?"

As she said this, Veratia's eyes sparkled, as if she was eagerly anticipating Harry's next answer.

"Of course I understand." Harry nodded without hesitation. "I will always support your decisions, Veratia!"

"That would be perfect." Veratia smiled with satisfaction. She took out the silver Princess crown, thought for a moment, and then decided not to put it on Harry's head.

"Are you going to put this on me?" Harry looked at it and felt that the Princess crown was probably not meant for him.

How did I, a grown man, end up wearing Princess crown?

"This is not suitable for you."

Veratia said that she somehow produced a silver-white bracelet with Phoenix with outstretched wings.

"Wear this," she said. "It will help you, Harry."

"Okay." Harry took the bracelet and put it on without hesitation. "I feel so powerful!"

As he spoke, he made a funny, powerful gesture, which made Veratia laugh so hard she trembled.

"Alright, alright," she said with a smile. "However, while this bracelet won't give you power, it can pinpoint your location and provide some assistance and protection... I hope you're safe, Harry, until..."

"... I'll come find you," she added.

"Okay," Harry nodded.

"Go and participate in the competition," Veratia said. "I've already wasted too much time, and the other two warriors must be eager to start the competition."

She took a few steps, then turned back and said, "Keep it up!"

"Go for it!" Harry smiled and waved to Veratia.

At that moment, seeing Veratia leave, Mr. Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and said, "Sonorus!" His magically amplified voice then echoed through the stands.

"Lady and gentlemen, the final match of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me announce the current scores! Harry Potter – 87 points, in first place, from Hogwarts School!"

The applause and cheers startled the birds in the Forbidden Forest into the darkening night sky.

"Viktor Krum – 80 points, second place, Durmstrang Institute!"

Another round of applause followed.

"Phoebe Delacour —Third place, Beauxbatons Academy!"

Harry could recognize Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione in the stands, politely clapping for Phoebe.

He waved to them, and they smiled and waved back.

"Now... Harry, listen to my whistle!" Bagman said, "Three—two—"

With a short whistle, Harry drew his wand and entered the maze.

The tall hedges cast dark shadows on the path, and whether it was because the hedges were so tall and dense, or because of some kind of magic, the audience could no longer hear him once he entered the maze.

Harry felt almost like he was underwater again. He held up his wand and chanted, "Lumos Vivus!"

A silvery-white ball of magical light rose from his wand, then, like a light bulb, helped Harry illuminate his surroundings.

He continued walking forward, and after about fifty meters, he came to a fork in the road.

"Point Me!" Harry said softly, holding his wand flat in his palm.

The wand spun around like a compass for a while before choosing the fork in the road to Harry's right.

Harry heard Bagman's whistle sound again; Krum had entered the maze.

He quickened his pace, turned right, and hurried forward, with Lumos orb above his head acting like a searchlight to help him find his way.

Bagman's third whistle blew in the distance, and several warriors were all in the maze.

Suddenly, Harry felt as if someone was following him.

So he raised his wand and drew a circle.

"Revelio (The Revealing Charm)!"

The detection Charms expanded rapidly in all directions, and then a huge red phantom appeared not far in front of Harry.

Harry had only taken a few steps when he smelled the signature stench.

"Blast-Ended Skrewt..."

He could never forget the signature stench of the Blast-Ended Skrewt, which seemed to have become the symbol of this infamous creature—he really didn't know why Newt liked it. Hagrid liked it, fine, but what did it mean that he liked it too?

The Blast-Ended Skrewt was enormous, a full ten feet long, and looked like a giant scorpion with a shell on its back.

Its long stinger was coiled on its back, and its thick armor Winky under the glow of the fluorescent orb.

Suddenly, the Blast-Ended Skrewt seemed to sense Harry's presence. It made a Snap Explosions sound and pounced on Harry.

Offstage, Mr. Bagman seemed to have seen Harry's perspective. He used Amplifying Charm to explain to the audience, "It looks like Harry's situation isn't good. A mysterious Blast-Ended Skrewt has suddenly emerged from the maze, and the cloud of mist it spews has chemical components—it's incredibly strong..."

Dumbledore and Veratia were nowhere to be seen at the High Table. Professor McGonagall, Sirius, and Lupin had also left with them.

They went to cause trouble for Barty Crouch Jr..

In the maze, Harry, having encountered the Blast-Ended Skrewt, has begun his counterattack.

"Big Bomb!"

The Charms struck the Blast-Ended Skrewt, and it seemed that due to some special chemical substances on the Blast-Ended Skrewt, the Charms was amplified a second time.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion rang out, and the sound could be heard for miles around Hogwarts Castle.

From the audience's perspective, a small mushroom cloud even rose from the maze.

"Rendering oil..."

Ron covered his mouth in astonishment. "Wait, what Charms did Harry use? He seems to have gotten stronger again?"

"No," Hermione said gravely, "It's not that he got stronger. It's that Harry used an explosive Charms, and the Blast-Ended Skrewt is a highly flammable and explosive creature. When it encounters an explosive Charms, its power will naturally increase exponentially."

"Of course," Hermione added. "If the Charms wasn't powerful enough, it wouldn't be able to break through the Blast-Ended Skrewt's defenses, nor would it have such earth-shattering power."

Harry felt a bit sorry for himself in the maze. He only had time to cast a Shield Charm on himself. The fragments of the Blast-Ended Skrewt hit the spherical shield with a pattering sound, and a lump that looked like intestines landed on the hedge maze next to him, emitting an unbearable stench.

"Ugh..." He gagged. Normal attacks were one thing, but this kind of mental attack was really hard to bear.

Don't wait until I get out, Hagrid. Once I'm out, I'll settle this score with you!

Harry gagged twice, then continued walking forward with a pale face.

The maze was getting darker every minute, and the sky above turned a dark blue-green. At the same time, he arrived at the second fork in the road.

"Point Me," he whispered, holding the wand flat in his palm.

The wand spun around like a compass for a while, eventually pointing to the dense hedge on his right.

That's north; he knew he had to head northwest to get to the center of the maze.

The best way is to take the left-hand road and then turn right as soon as possible.

He hadn't gone far when, as he turned a corner, he saw a Dementor suddenly rushing towards him.

The Dementor was twelve feet tall, its face hidden by a hood, and its rotting, scabbed hands stretched straight out.

It approached step by step, reaching out to touch him by feel, and Harry could hear its gurgling breaths coming from its throat.

Harry was immediately curious: were there really Dementor in this world who weren't afraid of him?

Then, the Dementor swayed twice and transformed into Veratia's appearance.

She lay sprawled on the table, just as she had in Slytherin's Study, but lifeless, her face ashen.

Harry's heart clenched.

He then realized something was wrong.

It's Boggart!

"Protego Gubraithian (Protego Gubraithian)!"

The Azure flame expanded rapidly in all directions from Harry's center.

As it passed the corpse of the Boggart that had become Veratia, the Boggart was burned to ashes before it could even make a sound.

The flames didn't stop burning a Boggart to death, and at the same time, two screams came from Harry's side and back.

When he turned around, two men in black wearing Skull Mask were watching in horror as his body was slowly being engulfed by azure flames, wanting to do something but powerless to do anything.

Is it Dark Wizard?

How could there be Dark Wizard in the maze?

Could it be that Dumbledore borrowed them from the Death Eater to stop the warriors' progress?

"It seems Dumbledore of connections," Harry thought casually as he continued walking.

Suddenly, a scream shattered the surrounding silence.

It is Phoebe.

Harry knew she was definitely out.

May God bless this girl who's a bit lacking in skill, and hopefully she won't encounter Dark Wizard. Harry made the sign of the cross and prayed for Phoebe for half a second.

He continued walking forward, and suddenly, the view ahead opened up.

Then, what appeared before him was a door that resembled a black mist.

To get to the path behind the door, you must go through this door.

Harry took a deep breath...

He cast a Detection Charm, indicating that there was no danger at the door ahead.

Just to be on the safe side, he used Transfiguration to turn a nearby clump of bushes into a grunting pig and directed it into the fog gate.

The pig is fine.

He broke the Charms and stepped through the fog gate.

The scenery suddenly changed, and it became pitch black all around.

Harry summoned the orb of light again and found himself in front of a vast hall.

In the center of the hall is a transparent crystal floor.

Harry walked over and, illuminated by the orb of light, saw sixteen statues wielding swords and axes placed around him.

The statues were about twelve or thirteen feet tall, each depicted as a medieval knight, holding heavy weapons, and clearly not to be trifled with.

He rubbed his chest, feeling a little dizzy.

Needless to say, this was definitely Veratia's doing...

As far as Harry knows, besides Veratia and himself, only Professor Figg knows about this kind of mechanism.

Professor Figg has long since passed away, so who else but Veratia could have placed such a barrier here?

These levels can be simple in some ways, but quite difficult in others.

First, the shadows cast by these statues all point in a certain direction, while the statues themselves do not face the same direction as their shadows.

The light will attract these statues to turn around.

All Harry needs to do is use the light to guide the statues so that they align with their shadows at his feet, which will activate the next step.

He directed the ball of light to float into the sky.

He kept his head down, observing the direction of the statues.

There must be a point where all the statues can simultaneously overlap with their shadows.

He kept trying different angles, and eventually, all the statues overlapped with the shadows at his feet.

At the same time, the sound of an engine turning echoed throughout the hall.

Sixteen statues rose at once, and then a huge statue, nearly thirty feet tall, burst forth from the glass floor in the center of the hall.

The sound of shattering glass was clearly audible, and the eyes of the enormous statue suddenly turned scarlet.

Then, the eyes of all sixteen statues turned blood red.

They raised their weapons and marched heavily toward Harry!

(End of this chapter)