(Third Person POV)
While Professor Lockhart led a remarkably content Fleur Delacour out of the maze, Harry Potter continued deeper into its twisting corridors.
The young Gryffindor had already overcome several obstacles.
A patch of enchanted quicksand.
A swarm of particularly aggressive pixies.
And one rather unpleasant encounter with a Devil's Snare that had nearly wrapped itself around his ankles.
But none of them had managed to stop him for long.
Harry was determined to reach the end. He had spent months preparing for this moment.
The Third Task was supposed to be the culmination of everything he'd learned throughout the tournament.
Dragons.
Merpeople.
Underwater spells.
And now...
A maze filled with all sorts of horrors.
Harry wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead as he hurried through another corridor, his wand held firmly in his hand.
The hedges seemed to grow taller the deeper he went.
The sunlight filtering through the leaves had become dimmer, and an unnatural chill had begun creeping through the maze.
Harry slowed, feeling that something was wrong.
The temperature had dropped too suddenly.
His breath appeared before him in a white cloud.
Harry tightened his grip around his wand and stopped walking.
A figure was standing at the end of the corridor.
Tall, thin, completely covered in a black, tattered cloak.
Its face was hidden beneath a hood, and long, skeletal fingers emerged from its sleeves.
Harry froze and watched how the creature began gliding toward him menacingly.
The temperature dropped even further.
The world around Harry seemed to grow silent.
Even the distant sounds of the audience disappeared.
The Dementor was coming closer, and Harry Potter… was terrified.
The crystal sphere immediately focused on him. The enormous image appeared above the stadium.
Ludo Bagman nearly jumped out of his chair.
"And Potter runs into the Dementor!"
The audience gasped.
Several students immediately began whispering among themselves.
"A Dementor?"
"Why is there a Dementor in the maze?"
"Who allowed that?"
Bagman continued staring at the crystal, then his expression suddenly changed, his smile turned into a frown.
"...Wait."
He leaned toward the crystal sphere.
"Hold on."
As the Dementor continued advancing toward Harry, Bagman slowly turned his head toward the judges.
"When did we put a Dementor in the maze?"
Everyone stared at him in silence.
Bagman blinked. "...What?"
Dumbledore calmly stroked his beard. "If my eyes do not deceive me..."
He leaned forward slightly. "...that is not a Dementor."
Bagman stared at him. "What?"
Dumbledore smiled. "I believe our champion has encountered a Boggart."
There was a pause, then Bagman looked back toward the crystal.
Then back at Dumbledore.
Then toward the maze.
"...Oh. That makes considerably more sense."
He immediately turned toward the audience and raised his voice.
"Ah! Ladies and gentlemen!" His voice echoed throughout the stadium.
"Potter has encountered his greatest fear!"
The audience grew silent, but Bagman kept grinning enthusiastically.
"Let us see whether our young champion is brave enough to conquer it!"
Harry's face had gone pale. The sight of the Dementor had brought back memories he'd spent a long time trying to bury.
The sound of his mother's scream.
His father's death.
That cold, terrible sensation of helplessness.
The feeling of being completely alone.
Harry's fingers trembled slightly around his wand and watched helplessly as the Dementor continued gliding toward him.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Harry took a step backward, his heart hammered against his chest.
For one terrible moment… He was eleven years old again, trapped beneath the stairs, alone and afraid.
Then… he suddenly remembered something.
Professor Lupin.
The Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
The first time he'd encountered a Boggart.
The lesson had been simple, a Boggart became whatever its victim feared most, and it turns out his greatest fear was Dementors.
Which was the equivalent of being afraid of fear itself.
All that had resulted in asking the professor how to deal with Dementors, which ended with him learning the Patronus Charm.
Harry swallowed as he remembered Lupin's calm voice.
Don't give it what it wants, focus on your happiest memory.
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he finally opened them, the Dementor was almost upon him.
He raised his wand and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
A brilliant explosion of silver light erupted from the tip of his wand, illuminating the entire corridor.
The crystal sphere nearly became nothing but a blinding white glow, making the audience gasp.
As Harry's Patronus burst forward, the silver light rapidly took shape.
Antlers emerged first, then a powerful head, a long neck, four muscular legs.
A magnificent silver stag emerged from the spell in a shower of sparkling light, landing between Harry and the approaching Dementor.
The enormous stag lowered its antlers and charged.
The Boggart didn't even have time to react.
The silver Patronus slammed into it with enough force to send the creature flying backward.
The "Dementor's" shriek echoed through the maze as the Patronus continued its charge.
The silver stag kept chasing after it, driving the illusion deeper and deeper into the maze until the creature finally disappeared around a corner.
As the magical chill vanished, warmth finally returned.
Harry remained standing in the corridor breathing heavily, wand still raised.
The stag returned after a while and circled him once.
Harry watched it in wonder.
He had seen it before, but this time it felt different.
Stronger, more powerful, almost tangible.
The stag lowered its head toward him, and for a brief moment, the two simply stared at one another.
Then the Patronus dissolved into silver mist and the audience erupted into thunderous applause, rolling across the stadium.
Bagman practically screamed his lungs out. "What a magnificent Patronus!"
He gestured wildly toward the crystal. "Absolutely magnificent!"
The audience continued cheering.
"Potter has conquered his greatest fear!"
Bagman paused. "Well..."
He scratched his chin. "Technically, it was a Boggart."
A few people laughed.
"But still! A magnificent display of courage!"
When Harry lowered his wand, he was still breathing hard.
But now he was smiling.
Somewhere in the stands, Sirius Black was already on his feet.
"THAT'S MY BOY!"
His voice echoed across the stadium.
Harry's smile widened. Even from inside the maze, he could faintly hear the familiar voice.
Sirius.
Harry shook his head.
"So loud," he muttered.
When he lifted his head, the maze seemed to stretch endlessly before him.
But he knew that somewhere ahead, the Triwizard Cup was waiting.
He adjusted his glasses and tightened his grip around his wand.
He had already defeated his greatest fear. Now he just had to reach the end.
…