In the stands, Mr. Bagman announced the start of the match with his magically amplified, booming voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The final task of the Triwizard Tournament begins—now!"
The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers, and flags waved like a rolling sea.
Because Harry and Cedric were tied for first place in points, they would be the first to enter the maze.
They stood at the maze entrance, the towering hedges casting deep shadows behind them.
Harry instinctively looked back, searching the Gryffindor stands for familiar faces.
He saw Ron vigorously pumping his fist, and he also saw Hermione and Lia.
Hermione's face was filled with overflowing worry, while Lia simply watched him quietly. Her sky-blue cat eyes held no cheers, only a deep, bottomless gravity.
Then, she mouthed a word at him.
"Be careful."
Harry understood. He nodded and tightened his grip on his wand.
Filch's whistle pierced the air sharply.
Harry and Cedric exchanged a glance, then stepped forward simultaneously into the darkness.
The maze hedges were a full twenty feet high. The moment they stepped inside, the roaring noise from the outside world was instantly cut off by an invisible barrier.
All that remained was the sound of their own heavy breathing and the rustle of their feet on the damp earth.
The biting air carried the strange scent of rotting vegetation interwoven with unknown magic.
Lia sat in the stands, but her senses had already transformed into intangible tendrils, extending into that enormous maze.
"It's so quiet," she said to Hermione. "All the sound is being swallowed. I can only smell damp earth and leaves, and a rust-like scent of fear."
Lia became a commentator, explaining the situation inside to Hermione.
Five minutes later, Krum entered the maze.
Another five minutes after that, Fleur Delacour also disappeared into the entrance.
Inside the maze, Harry advanced cautiously.
He gripped his wand tightly, being exceptionally careful at every fork in the path.
He remembered 'Moody' Professor's advice: turn right, always right.
But Headmaster Dumbledore's meaningful look in the end, along with Lia's silent warning, had planted an instinctive seed of doubt about that advice in his mind.
At a three-way fork, he, as if guided by a ghost, chose the left path.
Not far ahead, a grating, rustling sound reached his ears.
A Blast-Ended Skrewt suddenly charged out from the shadows of the hedge, its body covered in thick armor, its tail spewing scorching flames.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted.
The red light hit the Skrewt, but only made its massive body sway. It only succeeded in thoroughly enraging it.
Harry dodged frantically, retreating while casting spells continuously.
This monster was much larger and fiercer than the ones Hagrid had raised.
Just as he was about to be backed into a corner, another, more powerful red light shot from the side, striking the Skrewt's unprotected underbelly.
The monster let out a piercing shriek and collapsed to the ground with a crash.
Cedric ran over from another path.
"Are you alright?" he asked breathlessly, his handsome face full of lingering fear.
"I'm fine, thank you," Harry also sighed in relief, his back already soaked with cold sweat.
The two looked at each other, seeing the same gravity in each other's eyes.
The dangers in this maze far exceeded their imagination.
"Should we go together?" Cedric suggested.
"Yes," Harry agreed without the slightest hesitation.
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