When Kael returned to the champions' group, the four professors responsible for patrolling the maze and ensuring the champions' safety had also arrived.
"We'll be patrolling the maze," Professor McGonagall said to the champions. "If you encounter difficulties and need rescue, shoot red sparks into the air and we'll come to help you. Understood?"
Everyone nodded in unison.
After that, she, Hagrid, Professor Moody, and Professor Flitwick walked off in different directions, spreading out around the maze.
But no one noticed that a tiny Billywig, clinging to Hagrid's wide robes, had just flown into the maze.
Maybe someone did see it, but simply didn't care… after all, the whole area had been turned into a maze of hedges, so having the odd Billywig or Bowtruckle around felt completely normal.
At that moment, Bagman, as usual, pointed his wand at his throat and murmured, "Sonorus."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the final event of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!" His voice echoed around the stands.
He was answered by a tsunami of applause and cheers.
Next, Bagman loudly announced the current scores… Kael held an undisputed first place with ninety-eight points, followed by Krum, and Fleur was in last—she'd lost too many points during the second task.
But Kael wasn't interested in any of that. He couldn't help glancing toward the judges' stand.
Dumbledore was already gone. In his place now sat Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, here to watch the match.
The Minister seemed quite pleased, clapping along with the others in high spirits.
A sharp whistle brought Kael back to his senses.
Realizing this was the signal to start, Kael dashed into the maze at once.
The high hedges threw deep, inky shadows across the path, and it seemed like some magic had been cast on the sky above the maze; once Kael stepped inside, the sound of the crowd immediately vanished.
At the first fork in the path, Kael placed his wand flat on his palm.
"Point me!"
The wand spun, then pointed toward the right hedge—but it wasn't a passageway.
"Confringo!"
The thick hedge instantly exploded, leaving a large hole.
Kael didn't hesitate. He ran through and kept sprinting ahead.
Up ahead was a patch of golden mist.
"Scourgify!"
A strong gust of wind blasted through, immediately scattering the mist, and a few Red Caps wielding clubs leapt out from the hedges.
But before they could do anything, they were knocked back even faster, tumbling straight back in.
Kael ran as he pieced together what had just happened. Harry had been kidnapped by the Death Eaters; that was beyond doubt.
If they were still inside the castle, it wouldn't be a problem—Dumbledore would find him for sure. But if they'd left… a simple Apparition would leave Dumbledore helpless.
Kael had thought things would be fine since Harry's name hadn't come out of the Goblet of Fire, and Professor Moody hadn't been replaced—he really hadn't expected things to go so wrong in the end.
No question, the Death Eaters took Harry to revive Voldemort. But the problem was, Kael didn't know where they'd perform the ritual.
He'd tried to find it, but Riddle Senior was just a completely forgettable Muggle—there weren't any records about him at all.
Would it be at Little Hangleton, in Riddle's Old Mansion?
Kael couldn't be sure, but he didn't have any other leads. He had to get out and tell Dumbledore about this place as soon as possible.
And there was something even more important.
Someone had wanted to bring Harry into the tournament as a "hostage." That couldn't be a coincidence, and it definitely wasn't just to make the tournament more exciting like Ludo Bagman said.
Maybe there was something here that could get Harry out of the school… like making the Goblet of Fire a Portkey.
But in the end, the three judges vetoed the idea of adding a "hostage," so they had to change tactics and just took Harry directly.
If that was the case, they must've tampered with the Goblet of Fire in advance…
And that suggestion was only vetoed right before the game started. By then, the Goblet was already placed in the center of the maze where no one could get to it… in other words, the Portkey magic was probably still on it.
It was just a possibility—but Kael thought it was worth a shot. This was the fastest and surest way to find Harry…
Little Hangleton was just a guess, like how Professor Moody hadn't been replaced, like how Harry's name hadn't come out of the Goblet of Fire. No one really knew if Voldemort was there.
If he went and found no one… that would be real trouble.
Of course, that was only if he could quickly find the right direction. Otherwise, he'd have to take a gamble.
Just as he was thinking about this, Kael suddenly heard a buzzing noise. He looked up to see a Billywig wobbling up and down to his left.
Wizards weren't allowed to fly above the maze, but that didn't affect Fantastic Beasts like Billywigs at all.
And from the way it was moving, it looked like it had found the way—just as Cho had guessed, not due north.
Kael immediately turned, aiming his wand toward where the Billywig was.
That distance seemed about right… time to try it out.
Kael gave a little flick of his wrist, and strange symbols drifted from his wand's tip, gathering together.
The surrounding temperature soared rapidly. Flames began bursting out from the hedge, flickering and dancing around Kael like tiny elves.
In just the blink of an eye, the flames merged into a golden-red wave, surging and leaping forward.
As if sensing danger, the magical creatures in the maze erupted into chaos, all sorts of shrieks and cries echoing from every direction—especially where Kael had aimed his wand, every patch of hedge was shaking violently.
"Periculum!"
It was as if someone had torn away a chunk of the maze—every hedge and magical trap in front of Kael was instantly reduced to ash, disappearing without a trace.
...
Meanwhile, in the stands, under the indigo night sky, the sudden flames in the maze looked shockingly bright… everyone in the stands turned to look at once.
Even Bagman, who was about to blow the whistle for a second time, was engrossed.
He seemed flustered, sweat pouring down his forehead.
"Impossible… he just went in, hasn't even been a minute, has it? How could he have gotten so far?"
In his anxiety, Bagman couldn't care less and blew the whistle to let Krum start early.
But his whistle was drowned out by gasps of astonishment from the stands.
In their view, the fire—at first coiling together—suddenly changed. Like a giant's javelin hurled with all his might, it speared through half the maze at once, leaving a wide golden-red path on the ground.
And at the end of that path stood the Goblet of Fire, symbol of glory.
After a brief silence, a thunderous cheer rolled through the stands, as if it could shatter the clouds.
At the judges' table, Ms.Maxime shot to her feet.
"That's impossible, you're cheating!" she shouted. "Someone must have helped him!"
To make the maze harder, the hedges had been made flame- and cut-proof—even a regular Blasting Curse would only poke a small hole.
But now, the hedges were sliced through as easily as steak under a dinner knife, with no resistance at all.
Ms.Maxime simply couldn't believe that such terrifying magic could come from a fifteen-year-old student.
"I don't think so, Ms.Maxime," said Fudge beside her.
He'd been shocked speechless just now, but once he snapped out of it, he immediately wore a blasé look.
"Both Dumbledore and I have high hopes for this kid—he's very gifted," Fudge said with a smile. "In a few decades, perhaps he'll take over for Dumbledore and become the headmaster of Hogwarts."
"Personally, I think he's even better suited for the Ministry of Magic. And I'm confident I could make him the youngest Minister of Magic ever."
Ms.Maxime ignored Fudge, not even glancing his way.
If that was what people called gifted, then what did that make Fleur—just a Flobberworm with a wand?
Brushed off by Ms.Maxime, Fudge was a bit put out, but Kael seizing the Triwizard Cup so dominantly also made him quite proud.
After all the years of Quidditch World Cup failures, it finally felt like he'd reclaimed some glory at another event.
He thought he ought to show off, remind everyone just how close he was with Kael…
If Ms.Maxime didn't want to chat, there was always Karkaroff.
But just as Fudge turned his head, he found the seat to his left completely empty—Karkaroff, who'd just been sitting there, was gone.
"Where's Igor?" he asked a Durmstrang student behind him.
"The headmaster just left," said the student. "Probably forgot something on the ship."
"Is that so?" said Fudge.
He thought it odd, but figured Karkaroff just couldn't stand to see his school lose and went off to sulk.
...