The maze grew darker by the minute, and the sky overhead turned a deep blue-black.
Harry and Draco were both getting anxious. They had faintly heard four whistles behind them and knew that all the other Champions had entered the dense forest.
"Harry, we could clear out all these Blast-Ended Skrewts eventually, but it's taking too long. Let's go around!"
Harry hesitated, knowing they would be overtaken sooner or later at this rate, then nodded in agreement.
"All right. We'll correct our course after we go around. You go first; I'll cover our retreat!"
Draco wasted no time on politeness. He fired an Incendio at the swarm of Blast-Ended Skrewts, then turned and ran down another fork.
"Expelliarmus!" × N
Red light flashed again and again as Harry deftly unleashed several powerful Disarming Charms, blasting more than a dozen Blast-Ended Skrewts into snot-like sludge.
Then he followed Draco down the other fork without looking back.
The two ran blindly through the twisting hedge paths, only stopping once they had completely shaken off the Skrewts' frenzied pursuit.
Draco felt as though his chest was about to burst, but he struggled to maintain his elegance. He knew tens of thousands of spectators were watching the live broadcast outside.
The Malfoy family's Platinum Prince cared deeply about appearances.
He put on a thoughtful expression and said,
"Harry, wasn't that stretch a little too easy?"
Harry had no such concern for appearances. He braced his hands against his waist and gasped for breath, then nodded at Draco's remark.
"We must have gone off course. And have you noticed it's getting colder and colder? Just like... just like..."
As Harry spoke, his face suddenly turned pale. An icy, clammy sensation washed over him, filling him with utter despair.
Beside him, Draco stared in terror at