Surprise in the Maze
As Li announced the start of the competition, all the students entered the maze.
William repeated his previous tactic, heading along the road toward the entrance of the other Champion.
Follow other people's paths and leave others with nowhere to go.
Then, he encountered Malfoy again.
Little Horse definitely hasn't had a chance to drink Felix Felicis yet, otherwise how could his luck be so bad?
"What are you going to do, Granger?"
Malfoy's legs trembled as he saw Granger walking towards him with his wand.
He recalled some unpleasant memories.
In second grade, he called the other person Mudblood.
Anne Stark slapped him, then Granger hit him... and finally Professor Snape reprimanded him.
In third grade, he insulted Hagrid and was slapped by Granger.
Is she in fourth grade now, and she wants to hit herself again?!
Why should she? I've been exceptionally well-behaved all year and haven't provoked her at all.
Most importantly, there was no one else around, so if he was attacked, he had nowhere to call for help.
"Give me Felix Felicis," William beckoned, his words concise and to the point.
Malfoy paused for two seconds, clutched his pocket, and refused:
"No... no, Professor Snape gave this to me."
He invoked his powerful backer, attempting to intimidate the enemy, and said with a fierce but weak tone, "If you dare to steal, I'll tell Professor Snape..."
This kind of Dialogue had been repeated many times, and William had no patience to continue wasting time talking to him.
He moved with lightning speed, a longsword appearing in his left hand, which he struck Malfoy's hand, knocking his wand away.
William's right hand trembled, and the remaining force of the longsword sent the blade arcing upwards, striking Malfoy's left waist.
William casually sidestepped, grabbed Malfoy's sleeves with both hands, and pulled him to the left, causing Malfoy to fly forward as if he were staggering.
The movements were executed flawlessly in one smooth motion... without a single mistake.
William picked up the bottle of Felix Felicis, drank it down in one gulp, and then turned and left.
Malfoy lay on the ground, kicking his legs in frustration, and howled, "You can't take things! That's mine!"
Stealing my things, what kind of ability is that?
"If you're so capable, ask Professor Snape for it yourself. What makes you so arrogant?"
William turned his head and gave Malfoy a look, and Malfoy immediately shut up and buried his head in the grass.
William followed his instincts and walked to the other side, where he soon encountered Chimpanzee Captain.
The captain was out of luck; he was so frightened by an adorable Boggart that he fainted.
Boggart, looking like a demon from the Black Mountain, was lying on top of Gorilla Captain, sucking air into his mouth... You'd think he was absorbing his yang energy.
It turned its head and saw William.
"You guys carry on, I just happened to be passing by," William said with a smile.
Boggart roared, abandoned Gorilla Captain, and Accio toward William.
William's eyes became lifeless, and the Occlumency was activated.
Boggart transformed into a small pufferfish in mid-air.
Pufferfish taste delicious, but they are poisonous.
Its most distinctive feature is that when threatened, it swallows water or air, causing its body to inflate into a spiky sphere, making it difficult for enemies to bite it.
It looks like it's "angry," so it's also called the angry fish.
William reached out and accurately caught the capybara, which immediately puffed up and turned into a ball.
William took it, made a small crossover dribble with his left side on the ground, stepped to the right, turned and jumped back for a jump shot...
Her posture was as beautiful as a painting.
William played with it for a while, then used the pufferfish to wipe the dust off his boots.
The pufferfish stared wide-eyed, as if to say: I may not be human, but you are a real dog.
William was even happier wiping.
Of course, as someone who loves pigs, I would condemn this behavior.
Doing so will undoubtedly cause irreversible psychological damage to the pufferfish.
You see, it's like a warrior, capable of one-for-one trades, a being of unyielding spirit, yet it's being used for dribbling and shoe-shining—such a humiliating disgrace... It gets even angrier, and its bulge grows even bigger.
William scrubbed even more vigorously, finishing his left foot and then his right.
Then, he tossed the ball high, and with a beautiful right foot... he unleashed a world-class goal.
After Malfoy had cried himself out, he pulled himself together and started walking forward.
He wants to win the championship through his own abilities and give Granger a good slap in the face.
But just as they stepped out of the intersection, a female zombie emerged from the bushes, wielding a large stick.
Malfoy was terrified and was about to fight back when a pufferfish flew over and stuck its mouth into his head.
Then blow air out quickly.
Malfoy's mouth was filled with an unknown gas.
With a thud, the pufferfish vanished, and Boggart transformed into a female zombie.
Both female zombies stared at Malfoy and simultaneously raised their wooden clubs.
"Don't come any closer!!"
After William took Felix Felicis, that blissful feeling became even stronger.
He walked a few blocks and then encountered the Fluffy.
It had somehow caught a Tebo and was eating it with gusto.
After William walked up to Fluffy's three enormous heads, he stepped on its nose and walked up to its face... literally, he stepped on its nose and walked up to its face.
Faced with this behavior, Fluffy just grunted three times, blinked his six eyes almost simultaneously, then crossed them and stared at William.
"Let's go, let's head that way." He thought for a moment, then pointed in a direction.
A strange feeling told William that going that way... was definitely the right choice.
Fluffy glanced at the pork ribs he hadn't finished eating, then reluctantly got up and walked away.
Autumn finally arrived at the location of the three-headed dog, but on the ground, there was only a pile of large bones.
She was completely stunned, standing in the wind utterly bewildered.
What,
Her adorable Fluffy... got eaten?!
William rode Fluffy at breakneck speed, almost defying all conventions, smashing its way through the walls and leaving dog bite marks.
Reaching a certain intersection, it suddenly braked, bared its teeth, bristled its fur, and growled.
A Sphinx blocked the way.
Her body resembled a frighteningly large lion: enormous paws, a long yellow tail with a tuft of hair at the tip.
But she had a woman's head, her long almond-shaped eyes turned toward William, and her voice was low and hoarse.
If you can answer my riddle correctly, I'll let you pass.
If I guess wrong—I'll pounce on you. If you don't answer—I'll let you go, and I won't hurt you.
A young stranger.
The Egypt Sphinx, a creature with a human head and a lion's body, has been used by sorcerers for thousands of years to guard their precious possessions and secret places.
William reached out and patted Fluffy's head, signaling him to be quiet.
"Bring it on."
The Sphinx sat on her hind legs and said:
It will devour everything.
Insects, fish, birds, beasts, flowers, grass, and trees
It can bite through pig iron and corrode through diamond;
Turn the rocks into fly ash
Kill lives, slaughter towns
The sea turns into mulberry fields, mountains become mountains...
William interrupted, "Time."
Sphinx frowned; she hadn't even finished speaking when the other person guessed it.
Wow, not bad!
"Want to play another round?" William chuckled.
That smile seemed like a provocation, and the Sphinx, his competitive spirit ignited, slowly said:
"If you can answer that, I'll tell you what's guarding the trophy."
William beckoned to her, signaling her not to waste her time.
Twenty-eight white horses,
Standing on the red hill,
They first chewed and devoured it...
"Teeth," William said.
The Sphinx stood up and stared at William.
Hey ho, I've met my match.
"I'll ask you one more question. If you answer it correctly, I'll take you to get the trophy."
William nodded.
After thinking for a long time, the Sphinx decided to bring out her most treasured riddle.
Hmph, foolish stranger.
"Not breathing..."
"Fish."
"..."
I haven't even started yet, and you've already learned how to answer first?
Of course William could answer that first. The Sphinx always asked the same few questions, which he knew by heart.
If the Sphinx knew about this, he would surely curse, "You despicable stranger!"
"Clever stranger, I'll show you the way..."
William was about to follow her when he suddenly heard a scream coming from afar.
He had encountered the Sphinx many times, but at different times and in different places; this was the first time he had heard a scream.
Fluffy charged toward one side, while William pondered carefully; it might be Ron's shout.
After all, it was in the maze that Krum killed Ron.
William deliberately avoided the two of them because solving the mystery of their deaths would end the time loop.
These people all died at Hogwarts... William thought it would be easy to crack.
But this time, Felix Felicis told him that he should go and take a look.
There seems to be... a surprise.
Sure enough, a wonderful surprise awaited us around the corner.
A House-elf Apparition, grabbed Krum, and... vanished into thin air with him.
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