Harry moved carefully through the maze. His encounter with Devil's Snare had shaken him, and he did not dare let his guard down.
Rumble— The walls shifted. Harry stood still, scanning his surroundings warily. He had no intention of gambling on whether he would run into another trap.
This time, though, Harry faced an opponent he had not expected. As the walls moved, Krum appeared at the end of the passage, looking around in confusion. When he saw Harry, he raised his wand.
"Potter." Krum narrowed his eyes. His English was accented. "Hello."
"I won't hold back," Krum said.
Harry nodded and tightened his grip on his wand. He said nothing; his throat still hurt.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, then struck at the same time.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted.
"Stupefy!" Krum cried almost simultaneously.
The spells collided in midair, bursting into sparks. Harry dodged sideways and fired again. "Expelliarmus!"
Krum dodged and countered with "Reducto!"
Harry rolled across the ground. The spell struck the hedge behind him, blasting a huge hole through it.
Both moved at astonishing speed. Spells flew back and forth through the narrow passage, scattering sparks. In the stands, the spectators held their breath, hardly daring to blink.
"Harry Potter and Viktor Krum are facing off!" Bagman cried, his voice rising with excitement. "A real wizard's duel! A clash between two champions!"
In the Gryffindor stands, people shouted themselves hoarse. Even Fred and George had gone unusually quiet, their eyes fixed on the projection.
Ron yelled at the top of his lungs, "Get him, Harry!"
But shouting louder did no good. When Krum found he could not bring Harry down quickly, he began using more powerful Dark Magic.
"Down to the side, kid!" Harry heard Strange warn. He dropped at once, narrowly avoiding