"Barty, what's wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?" Bagman looked at Crouch's bloodshot eyes in alarm, even reaching out to feel his forehead.
"No fever... Oh, that doesn't matter. What's going on with that cup? Didn't you check it?"
As he spoke, he pointed at the Tree-Wall Maze shrouded in the black Spectral Screen. "You didn't tell me about this, either."
Crouch tried to say something, but the moment he opened his mouth, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed into Bagman's arms again. This terrified Bagman, who thought Crouch had caused a disaster and was trying to dump it on him rather than deal with it himself. He hastily moved to shake Crouch awake.
But before he could start shaking him, another gasp rose from the stands.
Bagman looked up and saw that things inside the Spectral Screen had changed again.
The blaze unleashed when Tris touched the cup swept through the entire Tree-Wall Maze. Wherever it passed, the tree walls instantly turned to ash, while the fantastic beasts placed inside as challenges and obstacles were killed or injured.
The three Champions fared a little better.
An explosion erupted deep in the maze, its thunderous roar racing ahead of the shock wave. All three Champions had practiced extensively over this period, and their reactions were lightning-fast.
Although they had no idea what had happened, they all cast protective spells on themselves in time. When they saw the blaze sweeping toward them, they were startled, but still did everything they could to add more protective spells.
The spreading blaze had considerable destructive power, but the three Champions were indeed among the most accomplished young wizards. Gritting their teeth, they poured more magic into their shields and managed to withstand it.
Yet when the blaze turned into the black