In the stands, Lia's brow furrowed slightly.
"The magical fluctuations in the maze are strange," she said quietly to Hermione.
"Some areas are violent, full of aggression, like that Skrewt just now. But other places are terrifyingly quiet, waiting for someone to fall in."
Hermione took out her binoculars, looking futilely at the tall hedges. "We can't see anything."
"I can'smell' it."
Lia closed her eyes, concentrating all her energy on her sense of smell.
"Hermione... Krum's scent has changed. That solid, black-bread-like scent of his own has vanished, replaced by a hollow, puppet-like smell. The string attached to it... is connected to 'Moody' Professor!"
Hermione's heart leapt into her throat.
"Controlled? The Imperius Curse!"
"The magic controlling him smells the same as the scent on 'Moody'! He's heading towards Harry and Cedric right now."
Deep in the maze, Harry and Cedric were trying to solve a Sphinx's riddle.
Just as Cedric gave the answer and the Sphinx moved aside to let them pass, a vicious green curse shot towards them from behind.
"Crucio!"
A voice devoid of emotion rang out.
Harry and Cedric whirled around to see the expressionless face of Viktor Krum.
His eyes were empty, like dusty glass beads, staring fixedly at Cedric as he raised his wand again.
"Get out of the way!" Harry yelled, pushing Cedric aside with all his might.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry roared in retaliation.
Krum's wand flew from his hand. But the man himself lunged forward, bare-handed.
"Impedimenta!" Cedric cast the spell in time. An invisible force slammed Krum hard against the hedge, knocking him unconscious.
"Has he gone mad?" Cedric asked, shaken and pale.
Harry stepped forward and checked Krum's eyes.
The dark irises were dilated and lifeless. "He's under the Imperius Curse."
Cedric's voice trembled slightly. "He was using the Cruciatus Curse just now."
Not daring to linger, they bound Krum securely with spells and continued towards the center of the maze.
And at that moment, a shrill scream, abruptly cut off, tore through the silence of the maze.
It was Fleur's voice.
In the stands, everyone stood up in alarm and uncertainty.
A red spark shot up from somewhere in the maze—the signal for a champion in distress.
"Fleur Delacour is out of the tournament!" Bagman's voice held a note of regret.
"It's Barty Crouch Jr.," Lia's voice was icy. "I smell it. That stench mixed with the bitterness of Polyjuice Potion and the rot of lies erupted where Fleur was attacked, then quickly disguised and receded. He's imitating a defeated person!"
"Hermione, he's going into the maze himself now!"
Hermione murmured, "He's going to personally ensure... ensure that Harry is the first to get that trophy."
In the maze, Harry and Cedric were getting closer and closer to the center.
They could see the triwizard cup standing quietly on a pedestal not far ahead, emitting an enticing, dreamlike blue glow.
Side by side, they walked towards the trophy radiating the blue light.
In the stands, Lia's body went rigid, the fur on her ears and tail standing on end.
"It's there!" Her voice was tight, filled with unprecedented gravity. "It's that trophy! All the scent of death, all the threads, are emanating from that trophy!"
In her [Eye of Truth], that trophy was no symbol of glory at all.
It was enveloped in a thick, ink-black cloud of dark magic.
Countless invisible, foul black threads extended from the trophy, entangling the entire maze.
And the two thickest threads were tightly bound around Harry and Cedric's ankles, tightening with every step they took closer!
All around was a roaring sea of cheers, the stirring music for the soon-to-be-crowned champion, a spectacle of flying confetti and waving flags.
And in this ocean of joy, Lia's scream seemed so tiny, so powerless.
"Don't touch it—!"
No one heard. No one looked back.
In the maze, Harry and Cedric's hands, under the gaze and blessings of the entire world, simultaneously grasped the cold trophy emitting its alluring glow.
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