Maze

The Care of Magical Creatures went very smoothly, and no one was injured by the end of the class.

After leaving Hagrid's paddock, the group walked back, chatting and laughing.

As they arrived at the castle gate, a group of first-year students came out. Judging from their direction, they were probably on their way to Flying Class.

Speaking of flying... This time of year is usually the most stressful for every Quidditch player, as they prepare for the final game and all four teams want to use every spare second for training.

The field is always occupied; it's never empty.

But now, because of the Triwizard Tournament, Quidditch Match has been canceled, and the busiest time of the year has suddenly become quiet, which Kyle is not used to for a while.

Qiu was also finding it difficult to adapt, but not because of Quidditch Match; it was for another reason.

One weekend, she suddenly said mysteriously, "Have you noticed that a ghost has been missing from the castle lately?"

"No way..." Fred squinted, thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I feel like all the ghosts are here."

"Nearly Headless Nick ... Peeves ..." George counted them off one by one, "And Moaning Myrtle upstairs. She's not content staying in that little washroom anymore; I've seen her in other places several times."

"Not them, but the ghosts of Ravenclaw, Lady Grey..."

Qiu said, "He used to show up in our common room every day at six o'clock, standing in front of a statue, lost in thought, but recently he hasn't come even once."

"I see." Fred nodded, but he wasn't very interested in the topic and simply said perfunctorily, "Could it be that Lady Grey doesn't want to go?"

"Like Nearly Headless Nick," George added, "He used to like being in the tower, but in recent years he prefers to spend more time in the more crowded Entrance Hall."

"No, we've searched the entire castle, but Lady Grey isn't there."

Qiu shook her head. "Do you think ghosts can just disappear into thin air?"

"Theoretically, yes," Cedric said seriously, "But as far as I know, it has never happened. According to the records in <Hogwarts Hogwarts, A History>, these ghosts have existed for hundreds of years, and not a single one has disappeared."

Kyle listened silently to their conversation without saying a word.

He knew where Lady Grey was.

She's been staying at the Room of Requirement ever since the Easter holidays, with the Ravenclaw's Diadem.

But because he had promised to keep it a secret, he couldn't tell anyone else.

Fortunately, Qiu wasn't particularly bothered; she was just a little curious about suddenly not being able to see the ghosts of her academy.

Before long, their conversation shifted to the last event of the Triwizard Tournament.

Everyone was curious about what the final event would be and how they would choose the champion.

Kyle had no idea about that; the only thing he could guess was that Hippogriff would appear in the match.

After the holiday, the weather got warmer and warmer, and everyone put away their thick robes.

This continued until the last week of May, when Professor McGonagall kept Kyle behind after finishing her Transfiguration Class.

"You're at the Quidditch Pitch at nine o'clock tonight," Professor McGonagall said. "Mr. Bagman will be there to tell the Champion what the Third Task is... Good luck." She gave a rare smile.

So, at 8:30 p. m. that evening, Kyle left the Hufflepuff Common Room on time.

"I said, why are you all following along?"

As Kyle walked through the empty Entrance Hall, he suddenly spoke as if to himself.

"Of course, it's out of curiosity," came Fred's voice from the side... or maybe George's.

Their voices were more similar than their faces; even Kyle had a hard time telling who was speaking without seeing their faces.

"That's right, we spent half a year learning the Disillusionment Charm, wasn't it all for this?"

A ripple appeared in the air, but then disappeared.

"Oh, Cedric, you stepped on me."

"It's not me, I'm over here..." Cedric's voice came from the other side of Kyle.

"Fred, what have you done!"

"Hey, I didn't mean to."

As they passed through the Entrance Hall, Madame Maxime and Phoebe came over from the other side of the venue.

Fred and the others immediately quieted down and stopped following Kyle.

"What do you think it could be?" As the two walked together through the overcast night, Phoebe suddenly said, "I think it's an underground tunnel. We're going to find treasure."

Madame Maxime glanced in their direction, seemingly wanting to stop them, but ultimately said nothing, simply quickening her pace to walk ahead.

"That's easy," Kyle said. "Maybe we can borrow a few Niffler from Hagrid and let them do the job. Those little guys might even be able to dig up the Triwizard Cup."

They walked along the dark lawn toward the Quidditch Pitch, then through the tunnels into the stadium.

"Oh, this is truly spectacular."

As the field became uneven, countless intricate and winding hedge walls were built there.

Bagman walked over from the middle of the field, talking to Dumbledore. Not far away were Chris and Barty Crouch, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Oh, poor Barty Crouch Sr., that investigation had a huge impact on him."

As Kyle and Phoebe walked over, they overheard Bagman whispering to Dumbledore, "He didn't want to get involved anymore, but we think he should participate since he did a lot for the Triwizard Tournament."

"Of course, the referee will remain the same. To be honest, he's not in the right condition to give scores right now."

"Oh, hello." Just then, he saw the two people walking over and quickly changed the subject, saying, "How's it going? You think things are progressing well, right?"

"In another month, Hagrid will have them twelve feet tall... Oh, Krum is here too."

Bagman's tone became much more cheerful.

"Alright, I think you can probably guess what we're going to do here."

"A maze," Kyle said.

"Absolutely right," Bagman said. "The Triwizard Tournament trophy is located in the center of the maze. Champion is the first to touch it will become the champion... It's simple and clear, isn't it?"

Bagman said cheerfully, "There will be many obstacles in the maze, Hagrid has provided a whole bunch of Fantastic Beasts, Pomona has provided a lot of plants, and there are some spells that must be broken... things like that, it should be a lot of fun."

"Wait a minute, does winning the trophy mean we're champions?" Krum asked gruffly. "What about our previous points? Aren't they useful?"

"Of course not, the Champion who lead in points can enter the maze first." Bagman smiled at Kyle. "Mr. Krum, you are second, and Miss Delacour is last."

"Of course, the lead is only temporary. Whether you can ultimately win the Triwizard Cup depends on your ability to overcome obstacles..."

"Alright, if there are no other questions, let's go back to the castle... it's getting a bit cold here."