Chapter 10

Jack grinned. "Capture the flag."

They all perked up at that.

"Now, you all know the rules. To win, you must capture your opponent's flag, return it to your side, and plant it next to your own, got it? Alright then, Sophie, choose two captains while I think up a new maze." He quickly left them and went off toward his balcony.

Sophie quickly chose Ron and Seamus to be captains, as they had ended up on the same team all day. Ron won the coin toss and got to choose first.

Ron couldn't believe his luck. "I choose Harry," he said almost immediately.

"What a surprise," Seamus muttered under his breath.

Harry grinned and went over to stand next to his best mate. "Hey Ron, finally got tired of having to strategise against me?"

"Git. I almost had you this last time. I don't know how Seamus could've missed you," he said lowly.

Harry just smiled and shrugged. He chose not to tell Ron about Seamus' mistake. Not only did Harry not want to embarrass his friend, but he thought it would be more amusing if Ron didn't know how he'd foiled his plan.

He looked over at Seamus, who had just made his choice. "C'mere Neville, you're on my team mate." Neville smiled and eagerly went over to join him.

"Typical Gryffindor's," said Terry.

Harry and Ron quickly put their heads together. Once they were done, Ron responded with, "We pick Susan."

Susan smiled at them both and joined their team. After Ernie had been chosen, Ron picked Anthony, leaving Terry on Seamus' team. With the teams set, they huddled together to begin preparing for the new maze.

"What do you think Jack will throw at us this time?" asked Anthony.

"No clue, things are different now. It's a game, not a scenario," said Susan.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning he could try anything," she answered.

"Exactly," said Harry. "There will probably be a lot more obstacles to overcome. Plus he could switch the terrain, or even change the maze itself. It's all in his imagination.

"Like the maze in the Triwizard tournament?" Susan asked.

"Sweet Merlin, I hope not," said Ron.

"Why's that?"

"Well, there were all kinds of magical creatures in that maze. There were Boggarts, Blast-Ended Skrewts, Acromantula's," Ron shuddered at this point, "and a Sphinx," Harry finished. "At least, that's all I heard about."

"Wow, really? I'd only heard about the Acromantula's," said Anthony.

"Can we stop talking about Acromantula's," Ron pleaded.

"Why?" Anthony asked.

"Ron's scared of spiders," Harry told him.

"Am not, I just don't like them is all," grumbled Ron. "Oh shut up Harry."

Harry chuckled as he put his arm around him. "Aren't you glad you picked me now?"

They got serious at this point, going over their strategy and determining who would be working together. They decided that Susan and Anthony would defend their flag, leaving Harry and Ron to go after the other one. Their thinking being that this combination was the most likely to get through the maze, and would be quicker than anybody else.

The teams stood lying in wait at opposite sides of the room, their flags in hand. Seamus' team flag was red with the Auror Department's crest upon it, while Ron's was the same, except in black. They looked over at Jack, who was again watching from above, though this time Sophie was with him.

Slowly, the maze began to materialise around them. The room seemed to expand along with it. Harry had thought the last maze was big, but this one appeared to be three times its size. He groaned inwardly, knowing that after making their way across, they would still have to come back.

"Alright," said Jack once it was finished. "Begin!"

They quickly set to work on preparing their defenses around the flag. Because the flag needed to be seen easily, the ground around it had been elevated. Because that meant they already had the higher ground, they instead used their wands to create mounds of dirt all around so they could maneuver around and still have cover. While Susan and Anthony worked to put up the rest of the shields, Harry and Ron set off toward the opposing side of the maze.

They moved forward quickly, always choosing the straightest route they could use. After a while, they heard movement in front of them. They abruptly stopped. Ron and Harry crept forward slowly. They could hear numerous steps heading in their direction.

"It can't be the others, can it?" Ron asked at a whisper. "It's much too early."

Harry shook his head. "Sounds like footsteps, but I doubt it's them." He looked around them, they could only go back, or head straight. "We'll have to check it out. There's no way around. Ready?"

Ron nodded, "Yeah, stunners on three." He silently counted down from three before him and Harry then rounded the corner. They found themselves standing in front of a gigantic hairy beast almost fifteen feet tall, and just as wide too. It's massive body took up the whole corridor. Ron didn't even have time to notice its eight long legs before he, along with Harry, shouted, "Stupefy!"

The spells connected with the spider and it made a bone-chilling screech before it keeled over on its side.

Harry turned to his best mate. "You can open your eyes now Ron."

"What? Oh yeah, right," said Ron, opening up one eye, then the other. He put his back against the wall and slowly stepped over the spiders legs. After much difficulty, he got past it without it touching him. He breathed a sigh of relief. "That was a close-, aaah!" Ron bellowed as the Acromantula vanished in a swarm of dark smoke.

Harry smirked at him, trying to hold in his laughter. "Um, are you okay Ron?" he asked.

Ron held up his hand as he caught his breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. By the way, this maze sucks so far."

Harry chuckled, "Agreed."

They moved on, putting as much distance as they could away from that area. Just in case the spider decided to reappear somehow. After they had walked on for a while, Harry and Ron heard a piercing scream from within the maze. The sound was so loud it made them put their hands to their ears. After a few seconds it subsided.

Ron winced in pain as he massaged his ears, trying to get them to stop ringing. "What the hell was that?"

Harry shrugged as he too massaged his ears. "Don't know. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."

They kept moving and soon they came to a clearing. They pulled up, hesitating for a moment. Both of them had noticed the same thing.

"There's only one exit."

"I know, that seems to be a trend," said Harry. "What do you reckon?"

Ron stared out into the clearing. There were some large boulders that sat off to the right. Ron put his hand to his chin. "I'll go in first, just to check it out. I'll head right, where those boulders are. If nothing happens, then you come in and meet me."

Harry processed this. "Could work," he said, "Though it could also be a trap."

"Why do you think I'm going in first?" Ron said smugly. "It's a trap either way, Harry. There's only one doorway in or out. At least this way we'll have something to block us," he pointed out.

"Good point," Harry conceded. He poked his head into the clearing to check it one last time as Ron prepared himself. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Harry turned back to his best mate.

He stood hunched over, rubbing his hands over his knees. "Ugh, this is gonna suck."

"If you want me to go. . ." Harry began.

Ron stood up straight, a grin on his face. "And steal all the glory. No way, not this time."

Harry smiled, "Never mind. Are you good to go?"

Ron took a deep breath and nodded. "Wish me luck."

He gulped as he stepped out into the clearing. Ron had his shield up just in case something came after him. He moved fast, swiftly crossing to the cluster of boulders. Soon enough, he'd reached them without incident. Ron turned and signaled for Harry to come across. He saw Harry take a few steps forward and suddenly heard sounds coming from beneath the ground.

"Harry, hurry! There's something coming up from the ground!" he yelled. Ron looked down, he could feel the earth shaking beneath him. The ground was becoming too unstable so Ron climbed on top of a boulder. As Ron climbed to the top, he saw what was causing the ground to shake so violently. A small mound of dirt appeared five feet away from him and out of it popped a small black creature with a long snout. It bared its sharp teeth and jumped at him.

Thankfully, he was too high and it fell short.

"Harry, it's Nifflers! They're after our watches," said Ron as more began to appear.

"Stupefy!" Harry shouted, stunning the Niffler that had been going for his arm. "Ya think!" he yelled, before stunning another. He ran towards Ron and the safety of the boulders. He and Ron combined to stun the other Nifflers in his path. Harry finally reached the boulder and Ron helped to pull him up.

They stood there, surrounded by dozens of Nifflers who were still jumping at them while more kept coming up from the ground.

Ron hurriedly cast a shield charm around them. "Hagrid was right. These things would not make good pets," he said.

Harry cracked a smile. He glanced at the watch on his arm, the one he'd received from Mrs. Weasley last year when he came of age. "Wish this watch wasn't so special. I could just throw it at them and be done with it."

Ron looked at his own watch. The thought of getting rid of it, or Harry's watch, to save themselves did not even cross his mind. The watches had originally belonged to Fabian and Gideon Prewett, his Mum's older twin brothers. Near the end of First Wizarding War, five of Voldemort's Death Eaters had attacked them. They fought valiantly, but eventually, Ron's Uncles were killed. They had been wearing their watches at the time.

Ron shook his head. "No way is that happening," he said.

"I know," Harry said breathlessly. "But we can't stay here Ron, they'll overrun us."

Ron quickly assessed their situation. "There's no other way Harry. We're going to have to make a break for it. You see the exit?" Harry nodded. "On my count, we cast Reductor curses and we run. Sound good?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Ready?"

"When you are."

Ron lowered his shield and they both instantly shouted, "Reducto!"

Their spells had the desired effect as several Nifflers were blown out of their path and launched into the air, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

They jumped down from the boulder and ran for the exit. As they went, more Nifflers began to block the doorway, their only means of escape.

"Reducto!" they yelled once more, blasting them all aside. They were nearing the edge of the clearing. All of a sudden, a stray Niffler came out of the ground and lurched at Harry's hand, its teeth bared.

Harry caught sight of it at the last second and swatted it away. It righted itself and came at them again.

"Damn things. Get away!" Ron said as he kicked it. It flew twenty feet and knocked over a few of its neighbours.

"Impedimenta!" cried Harry as more came at them. He used his spell to block the Nifflers progress as he and Ron backed away toward the doorway.

"Do it Ron, seal them in," Harry said once they had got through the doorway.

Ron pointed his wand at the walls forming the exit, "Confringo!"

Ron's blasting curse struck the walls and they exploded, creating a mass of rubble. They both began to cough as the dust from the debris enveloped them. Once the dust had settled, they were able to see that the walls had caved in quite effectively.

"You know we're going to have to come back through here again," said Harry.

Ron smirked, "Yeah, but so does Seamus."

"True," said Harry. He looked at the massive pile of rock in front of them and smiled. "Who would've thought Nifflers could do so much damage."

They both stared at each other, before they burst out laughing.

Ernie, Neville, and Seamus crept through the maze, being sure to keep themselves along the wall. Neville was still in the lead with Ernie behind them. Seamus was at the rear of their party, nervously looking around for anything that moved.

"Do you think there are more of those things?" he asked.

"Doubt it," Neville replied. "Besides Seamus, I doubt very much that it was a real Banshee. It was probably just a Boggart."

"Seemed pretty real to me," Seamus countered.

"If it had been real, its scream would've killed all three of us," reasoned Neville, but Seamus wasn't listening. He was still on edge after their encounter with his worst fear, a Banshee, two of them to be precise.

Seamus had handled a Banshee in Boggart form with no problem during their third year. However, that encounter had been much less traumatic. This time, the Banshees had seemed much more real, as well as aggressive. Neville and Ernie had needed to make quick work of them before their screaming became too much to take. Thankfully, their cutting curses had not only stopped the Banshees from screaming, but they had taken off their heads. Normally, Neville doubted seeing this would have affected Seamus that much. Unfortunately, when Seamus had dropped down to avoid their curses, one of the Banshee's decapitated heads had rolled right into his lap.

"Hey guys," Ernie spoke, bringing Neville out of his thoughts, "Do you hear something?"

They stopped and listened for a moment. "I don't hear anything," Seamus whispered.

"Exactly," said Ernie. "It's too quiet."

All three of them stood there, unmoving, waiting to hear any movement or sound that came their way. The air was silent, with only the soft sounds of their own breathing. Neville was about to lower his wand when he felt a shiver go through his body.

Ernie stared at him, "What's up Neville?"

Neville met his eyes. His face became as pale as a sheet. "It's getting cold."

A feeling of dread spread through each one of them. The small amount of light they had began to fade away. The temperature was dropping rapidly.

"They're coming," said Neville.

Seamus and Ernie followed behind him as he sped them forward, deeper into the maze. It seemed no matter how much they ran, the cold kept catching up with them. Soon, it began to overtake them. When they reached a narrow passageway, Neville decided it was time to make their stand.

"Hold here. This passage will make certain the Dementors can't get behind us."

"And bottle them up," said Seamus.

Neville nodded, "Both of you, think of your happy memory."

"Make sure ya don't hesitate when you see 'em," said Seamus. "Just focus on the memory and cast the Patronus."

They stared straight ahead, lying in wait. It was so cold, despite being inside, they could see each breath they took. That's when they saw them, the Dementors. They came swooping forward, at least a dozen dark figures moving through the blackness. They were on them in seconds, bringing with them feelings of misery, despair, and hopelessness.

"Here they come," said Ernie. He cast his Patronus and a silver boar erupted from his wand, followed shortly by Seamus' fox.

Neville saw their Patronuses meet the Dementors head on. They stopped them cold and forced them back. As the Dementors fought against the Patronuses, Neville quickly willed his mind to remember. He thought back to that night with Luna, and their first kiss. He smiled to himself. "Expecto Patronum!" he shouted.

From his wand came a silver mist. It kept streaming out until finally it took shape. Suddenly, a bright shining mongoose had joined up with Ernie's boar and Seamus' fox. They concentrated their efforts, combining to push the Dementors back until at last they drove them off for good.

The darkness slowly faded, along with the icy temperatures. All three men collapsed to the ground, feeling utterly exhausted.

Seamus stared at his teammates. He groaned as he spoke, "Are ya'll alright?"

Ernie sighed, "Never better," he choked out.

Neville nodded slowly, "I'll be good in a minute, you?"

Seamus grimaced as he sat up. "Yah, just one question," he said.

"What is it?"

"Ya got any chocolate?"

Ron gasped, "You have got to be kidding me. We're right back where we started!"

"Looks like it. No matter where we go, the maze leads us back here. We're gonna have to cross." Harry said.

He and Ron stood on the very edge of a lake. They had tried to find an alternate route to the other side, but the maze kept leading them back to the same spot. The lake was not very large. On the other side of its banks, there was a cluster of trees that covered their view of the rest of the maze.

Harry stared out across the water. It was too dark for him to see how deep it was. He could only imagine the number of creatures that may be waiting beneath its surface. He'd been hoping to avoid the lake when they saw it before, but it seemed as if they were going to have to brave its murky waters.

"It's alright Ron, things will be fine," he said, trying to sound convincing.

"Are you sure, Harry?" asked Ron, showing concern for his best mate.

Harry smiled, "Just say it Ron."

"Well, you don't really have the best track record when it comes to lakes. I mean you did almost drown in a lake," Ron pointed out, "Three times."

"It was two times, Ron. The last one was a pond so it doesn't count," Harry countered. "C'mon, let's go. We've wasted enough time trying to avoid this lake as it is."

There were a couple of boats along the shoreline. Harry and Ron went over to them. They were small boats, about the same size as the ones at Hogwarts, but each still capable of accommodating the both of them comfortably. After pushing a boat into the shallows, Harry slowly got in and waited for Ron to do the same.

Ron still hadn't put his foot in. He paused to stare at the water. It had a calm, peaceful feel to it, which he thought just made it seem more creepy. "Maybe we should take two boats."

Harry rolled his eyes, "It was two times, Ron. Besides, you are not going to leave me alone in this boat so I can get attacked. Now get in."

Ron smirked, "Fine, but when we get attacked, it's your fault."

Harry made a face at him. "Just row, Captain," he spat.

They made their way out into the middle of the lake. Once they were there, it wasn't long before something attacked them.

"Damn Grindylows!" Ron cursed. "Stupefy!" he yelled, stunning the Grindylow that had tried to jump into their boat. "Keep rowing Harry!" he called before stunning two more.

Harry had his ore in hand, but instead of rowing, he was swinging it at the Grindylows. He swung it once more, sending three of them flying back into the lake. "I'm tired of this," he said. Harry dropped the ore and took out his wand. "Cover me," he told Ron before bending over the edge of the boat.

Harry dipped his wand in the water and shouted, "Relashio!"

A purple light flashed from his wand before jets of boiling hot water came shooting out of it. The Grindylows quickly scattered away from the boat after that.

Ron took a deep breath and relaxed. "Good thinking Harry," he praised.

Harry smiled at him. He was about to bring himself back into the boat when it was struck suddenly from the opposite side, tossing him out of it.

"Harry!" Ron cried as he struggled to hold onto the side of the boat. He stared desperately at the water, searching for any sign of his best mate.

A few heart-stopping seconds went by before Harry resurfaced. He was now ten feet away from the boat. "Ron! Over here," he called.

Harry quickly began to swim towards the boat as Ron tried to row it a bit closer to him. Before they could reach each other however, Harry saw something moving through the water. It was big, and it was coming right at him.

Ron caught sight of it too. A wave of terror spread over him as he realised what it was. Until now, Ron had never seen one before. It was another kind of water demon, kind of like the Grindylows. But this creature was much larger, and also, much more deadly.

"Harry, it's a Kelpie! Get out of there!"

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He dived underwater and began frantically swimming to shore. The Kelpie kept swimming straight toward him. Ron rowed as fast as he could to keep up with them but he was falling behind. He saw Harry come up for a breath before again diving under. They were nearing the shore when Ron noticed Harry resurface once again. To his horror, Ron saw him rise up right out the water. Harry was now riding on the Kelpie's back.

Ron finally got a good look at it. Kelpies were shape-shifting demons that could take the form of almost any animal. This one was completely black and had a massively large head. Its long face held piercing eyes of all white. Water dripped down the Kelpie's head, through its flowing dark hair and all the way to its powerful long legs. It was the biggest horse Ron had ever seen.

Harry gripped his hands into the hair along the Kelpie's mane. It tried to shake him off but he hung on with all he had. For a second, he tried to hold on with one hand to free up his wand but he almost unseated himself. The Kelpie then brought its head back and tried to bite him. Thankfully, it was unable to get its head around far enough.

Ron could only watch as the Kelpie tried to throw Harry off its back. The horse reared back in the water but Harry still clung to it. "Hang on Harry, I'm coming!" Ron shouted as he steered the boat toward them. He hoped the Kelpie wouldn't decide to change form. If it were to change shape, it could easily shake Harry off, depending on what form it took. As Ron was thinking this, his other worst fear was realised. The Kelpie dived underwater, taking Harry along with it.

"Harry!"

Ron finally reached the spot where Harry and the Kelpie had disappeared. He stood up in the boat and lit his wand. Then he dove in. The coldness of the lake water shook his body to its core. Ignoring this, he surveyed the area, looking for any disturbance in the water. He could barely see a few feet in front of him. He stayed down for a long while but he was getting nowhere. Ron knew he was never going to find them this way so he came up for air. He swam back to the boat and clung to it. A whole minute passed by and there was still no sign of either of them.

"Damn it Harry! Where are you!"

Almost immediately, Ron heard the sounds of something large beginning to surface from behind him. He turned, wand at the ready and watched as the Kelpie came rising up out of the water, Harry on its back. Ron looked at the both of them wide eyed. Harry had a Bubble-Head charm around his head, and he was smiling. The Kelpie also had something around its head. Ron thought it looked like a bridle. Along with that, it's eyes appeared to have changed colour. Instead the glowing white they had been before, they were now a deep brown.

Harry waved his wand and canceled the Bubble-Head charm. He had started to have trouble breathing. He looked down at Ron, who was staring at him blankly.

He grinned, "Hey Ron, miss me?"

Ron glared daggers at him, "You prat. I dove in looking for you."

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Harry. "Guess this makes three, huh?"

"No, it's still two since apparently you weren't in any real danger."

Harry laughed. "Then why did you dive in?"

Ron scoffed, "I'm still asking myself that question," he said pointedly. With a loud grunt, he heaved himself back into the boat. "Still, I'm glad you're alright, Harry. At least I don't have to row by myself."

Harry laughed. "Or you could not row at all," he said. He gestured to the seat behind him. "Just climb on."

Ron looked at him like he was crazy. "On that thing?" he asked in disbelief.

"Why not, with the bridle on it's completely harmless," said Harry as he patted the Kelpie. It seemed to enjoy the attention it was receiving.

Ron couldn't believe the irony. Not even a couple minutes ago, the beast had tried to eat him. Now here Harry was, petting it. Like some sort of pet.

"No thanks. I'll meet you at the shore," was Ron's reply.

"Suit yourself," Harry told him. He then patted the Kelpie on its side and it began to swim to shore. He wrapped his hands around the reins of the bridle and held on tightly to keep from falling off.

The Kelpie had a glistening coat of hair along the back of its neck. Harry noticed it was in deep contrast to its skin, which felt sort of blubbery against his hands. He still couldn't believe he was riding on the back of a Kelpie. As they moved swiftly through the water towards the shore, Harry recounted his ordeal.

At first, he had been trying everything he could to stay on the Kelpie's back. As soon as he'd gone under, it had become impossible not to stay on. His legs had become glued to the Kelpie's skin, making it impossible to shake himself loose. The beast had then tried dragging him to the bottom of the lake. With his legs attached to its back, his hands were then free to use his wand. After casting the Bubble-Head Charm, Harry had remembered from his schoolbooks that a Kelpie could be tamed by placing a bridle over its head. He had just needed to put a Placement Charm over its neck. It took a few tries, but once that was done, he suddenly found himself rocketing to the surface.

Soon, he and the Kelpie reached the shore and he climbed down from its back. Surprisingly, it had been a rather comfortable ride. They had cut through the water with a smooth, easy, quickness. Although Harry would never compare it to a ride on a broomstick, it was much more enjoyable then when he had ridden Buckbeak the Hippogriff.

Harry went to go help Ron drag the boat ashore. He chuckled as the Kelpie followed him and kept moving its head towards his hand so he could keep petting it. After he and Ron got the boat out of the shallow water, he turned back to the Kelpie.

"Don't tell me you're gonna say good bye to it. It's not even real," said Ron.

The Kelpie made a sound like a snort. Harry patted its head. "Don't listen to him. He's just jealous."

"Okay Hagrid," Ron quipped as the Kelpie nuzzled Harry's face. "Alright, we should be near the end of the maze by now." He stared into the forest of trees, "Looks like it continues through these trees and opens up after that. Let's go Harry, we have to keep moving."

Harry began walking toward the trees, leaving his newfound friend by the lake. He took one last glance back at the Kelpie. It stared at him for a few seconds, its big brown eyes making it seem so real. Finally, it turned away from his gaze, and disappeared back into the water. Harry turned as well, following Ron into the forest of trees.

Terry could hear something coming towards him. He moved from his spot amongst the trees to one further away, near some rocks. He crouched down, hidden behind the rocks, and waited. Soon enough, he saw two figures appearing from out of the forest. It was Harry and Ron.

Terry had always known it would be them. His team had relied on the fact that they would be the two to come after the flag. Unfortunately, they all knew once those two reached their flag, there would be no stopping them, at least not without all four of them there to defend. So, instead of that, they had chosen to leave only one person, him, with the simple task of slowing them down. 'Simple' being the operative word.

Harry and Ron crept forward until they were on the edge if the forest, still just inside the trees. They could see the flag from where they stood. It was positioned on top of a large grassy hill, with nothing else around it.

"Homenum Revelio," Harry whispered. He detected Ron's presence next to him and that of one other person nearby.

"How many?" asked Ron.

"Just one."

Ron raised his eyebrows. "You smell a trap?"

"Yeah, and check out that hill. There's nowhere to hide," said Harry. "He must be hiding in the trees, like us."

Ron nodded. "Okay, but we still need to check for defenses."

They slowly exited the safety of their hiding spot. While Ron watched the trees, Harry began probing the hill and the area around it for any defensive spells. He fired spells at the hill, threw rocks at it, and even tried summoning the flag. The only defenses he could find were around the flag itself.

"Strange. Why would they leave essentially no defenses?" Harry questioned.

Ron shrugged. "No reason I can think of."

Harry sighed, "What do reckon, should we look for this person first, or try to get the flag?"

"Well, since we're sitting ducks out here, I think we should do both. You cover me from down here and look for him, while I get the flag so we can get out of here. Who knows, I might even be able to spot him from atop the hill."

"Maybe," said Harry. "Let me know if you see him."

Ron went over to the hill and began climbing. It wasn't a very easy climb, but he soon found himself on top of the hill. He stared at the flag, then remembered he was supposed to check the trees. He turned and looked down from the hill. The trees were much too dense to see through, but he kept up his search for anything suspicious. Ron noticed that there were a few rock piles near the edge of the forest,. He examined each one closely. The first two didn't show anything out of the ordinary. He was about to move his eyes toward a third pile when he noticed something move in the second.

"There!" he shouted, pointing.

Harry glanced right and saw where Ron was pointing to. He moved toward the rocks but it was too late. A wave of blue light shot out from the rocks and towards the hill. Harry cried out, but he could only watch as Terry's Reductor curse struck the hill, with Ron still on top of it.

Ron felt the ground beneath him begin to rumble. Thankfully, Terry's curse was not as strong as Harry's, otherwise he would have been in a pile of rubble by now. Leaving the flag, he jumped from atop the hill, just as it imploded. Dirt and grass were sprayed in all directions as Ron flew through the air. Before he could come crashing down, he used his wand to cast the Cushioning Charm, allowing him to land harmlessly on the ground. He lay there, covered in dirt and grass from what was left of the hill. Harry reached him and helped him up.

"Sorry Ron, I couldn't stop it."

"It's alright Harry," he said, wiping some of the dirt off his clothes. "Where is he?"

"Terry? He ran into the forest," Harry told him. "Did you want me to get the flag for you?"

Ron sighed in frustration. "No I'll do it." He looked at the huge mess of grass, dirt, and dust that he had almost been buried under. He shrugged. "Accio Flag."

Harry was surprised to see the flag come shooting out from a pile of dirt and right to him. He plucked it out of the air. "Guess Terry must have disabled the defenses when-," he stopped himself short. "Well you know."

Ron nodded, a fierce look in his eye. "I know. Let's get him."

They tore off into the forest, maneuvering past dozens of broken tree limbs and large rocks in the process. Harry and Ron were nearing the lake when they saw a doorway to another part of the maze appear before them. They hadn't noticed it when they had come this way before. They hesitated for a moment but then they heard the distinct sounds of splashing water.

"He's at the lake," said Ron.

They left the doorway and headed towards the lake. By the time they got there, Terry was a third of the way across. He had taken their boat across the lake.

Ron began firing jinxes at Terry and the boat, but to no avail.

"I hope it sinks," Ron called in anger. He groaned. "How are we supposed to get across?"

Harry smiled at him.

"Don't say it Harry."

Harry grinned, "I'm not saying anything."

They were riding on the back of the Kelpie, nearing the other side of the lake before Harry spoke again. "Hey Ron, what do you think of the maze now?"

"Shut up Harry," Ron said as he held onto Harry's waist.

When they had reached the shore, Harry and Ron stayed on the Kelpie. They began riding their way through the maze on its back, with Harry using the bridle's reins to steer through the twists and turns.

They quickly found themselves at an obstacle. It was one they had made themselves. Harry and Ron stared up at the wall of stone debris that meant they were just outside the Niffler pit.

They both nodded to each other. Harry backed them up a bit before he and Ron aimed their wands at the wall.

"Expulso!"

The combined power of their spells created a tremendous explosion. The wall of debris was blasted apart, along with the two supporting walls that had been holding everything up.

Terry had been knocked off his feet during the explosion. He gulped as he stood up and examined the wreckage before him. All of a sudden, Harry and Ron came galloping forward. They were riding on the back of a rather large horse, which for some reason had water constantly dripping from its body.

Ron stared at the field. "No Nifflers? "Guess Terry doesn't have any jewelry on him," he said. Ron dismounted from the Kelpie. Right away, a few Nifflers began to appear from out of their holes. However, none of them came within twenty feet of them.

"I'm starting to like this horse," he said with a smile. Harry shook his head in laughter. Ron took off his watch and gave it to him. "Hold this for me, Harry." Harry pocketed the watch. Ron reached up and handed something else to him.

"And this as well," he told him.

Harry reached down, taking the flag from Ron's grasp. He nodded as he furled it up and put it away. Harry stared across the field toward Terry, who was gazing at him on horseback and scratching his head.

He smirked, "I take it you got this."

Ron winked, "You go on ahead."

Harry left then. Terry watched as he and the horse dashed across the field. He could do nothing to stop them. Soon enough, they reached the other side of the field, and disappeared into the maze.

Terry stared straight ahead. "Nice horse."

"It's actually a Kelpie," said Ron.

Terry raised his eyebrows, "Really?" He looked thoughtful, "That makes sense."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Enough small talk." He took a deep breath. "You ready?"

"Are you?"

Terry put up his shield to block the stunning spell Ron had sent at him. It's power surprised him. He moved left and sent a stunning spell of his own.

Ron parried it away with a flick of his wand. "Stupefy!" he called again.

Terry lunged aside to avoid his spell. "Petrificus Totalus!" he cried. Once again, his spell was blocked away easily. Ron began to bare down on him so he decided to change tactics. He let Ron come a bit closer before he shouted, "Incendio!"

Flames erupted in Ron's path and Terry took advantage by sprinting off to the side.

"Aguamenti!" Ron yelled as he doused the flames. He looked around for Terry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of scarlet. He dropped to the ground.

Terry's disarming charm missed him by inches. From the ground, Ron sent an Impediment jinx in Terry's direction. Terry was knocked backward several yards. He quickly crawled behind a boulder.

Ron got up and crept towards it. As soon as he got close, Terry came out from behind it.

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!"

Ron's shield shattered. Before he could defend himself once more, Terry cried, "Incarcerous!"

Ropes sprang from Terry's wand and wrapped themselves around Ron. He fell to the ground. Terry sprang forward. Before he could get near enough to stun him, Ron whispered, "Accio."

Terry was forced to duck as the boulder he had been hiding behind came flying at him. It stopped and landed in front of Ron, blocking him from view.

Terry pointed his wand at it. "Evanesco!"

The boulder vanished. Ron was standing before him, his ropes cut free.

"Stupefy!" he yelled.

Terry was thrown backward. He hit the ground with a soft thud and lay there, unconscious.

Seamus whispered, "Homenum Revelio." He looked at Neville and Ernie, holding up two fingers.

They were huddled together, on the outer perimetre of the flags defenses. It sat planted at the very top of a hill, just like their own flag, except there were mounds of dirt around the bottom, surrounding it on all sides.

"What's the plan on getting past them?" asked Ernie.

"Easy, two of us will need to occupy the other two, leaving one person free to go in and get the flag," said Seamus. He turned to Neville. "Do ya think Susan and Anthony are the ones left in there?"

Neville nodded. "Harry and Ron will have teamed up for certain. And I doubt they would have been the ones to stay behind and defend."

"I agree," said Seamus. He turned his head in surprise as he heard the sound of an explosion in the distance. "That's not good, is it?"

Neville shook his head. "Nope, we have to get that flag now. On my go, we each send blasting curses at their shields, alright?" They both nodded.

Soon, the air was filled with the cries of, "Confringo!"

The curses connected with the massive shield, and seemed to do some major damage, but somehow, it remained intact.

"Hit 'em again," said Seamus. They did, and this time the shield came crashing down.

All three of them charged, each with his own individual shield up. They were soon buffeting with spells, curses, and jinxes from both sides. Susan and Anthony's attacks appeared to be trying to draw them together. Neville quickly realised this and directed Seamus toward the right, while he went left. Ernie ran straight up the middle, his path unimpeded as the attacks seemed to stop.

As soon as he reached the hill, he realised why. Once his foot touched the hill, the ground beneath him caved in.

Susan smiled as the pitfall she'd set up had done the trick. She didn't have time to celebrate this small victory though as Seamus and her were engaged in a duel. Red lights flew in all directions as they each kept trying to stun the other. Seamus' last spell had come so close to hitting her she had felt it go right over her head. Susan had needed to dive behind a mount of dirt to protect herself from further assault. Seamus took advantage and started climbing the hill.

"Oh, no you don't. Impedimenta!" she shouted.

Seamus was knocked backwards and began rolling down the hill. Luckily, he came to a stop when his body collided with one of the dirt mounds. He rubbed his head and crawled behind it to regain his composure.

Susan waited behind a mound of her own for him to reappear. "Hey Seamus, you alright?" she called.

"I'll be fine love, don't you worry."

Susan smiled. "Even if you get the flag, Seamus, there's no way you'll be able to make it back before Harry and Ron."

"So, I can still try, can't I?"

Susan chuckled. She was about to say something else when she spotted someone running up the hill. It was Neville. Susan looked left and saw Anthony lying on the ground. He'd been stunned. She groaned, knowing she couldn't reach him without exposing herself. She decided to risk it anyway.

Susan popped out from her hiding place and ran toward Anthony. She avoided Seamus' first Body-Bind curse and her shield took out his second. Susan was almost there when a Tripping Jinx caught her around the ankles. She fell face first into the ground and her wand flew out of her hand. Susan rolled over and groaned in pain. She rubbed her face and looked up.

Ernie stared down at her. Apparently, he must have got himself out of her pitfall. He helped her to her feet before he tied her up. Ernie turned to Seamus. "Got her," he said.

Seamus nodded, "Good. Now we wait, and hope Terry was able to do his job."

Neville came down the hill and joined them, flag in hand. Seamus stared at him. His robes were burnt in several places and smoke was still coming off him. "What happened to you?"

Neville winced, "Don't ask."

"Hey guys, something's coming."

Neville and Seamus stared at Ernie before turning to where he was pointing. A large creature was coming down the pathway from within the maze.

Ernie tilted his head. "It looks like a horse," he speculated.

"Well, its coming right at us," said Seamus. He pointed his wand at the horse. "Impedimenta!" His spell had no effect. The horse didn't even slow down.

"Lets all try this time," said Neville.

"Impedimenta!"

Again, the horse kept coming.

"Dang, it must be impervious to spells."

Ernie groaned. "What do we do?"

"Don't know," Seamus told him. "Wait, it looks like its slowing down."

They watched as the horse slowly came to a stop near the bottom of the hill. It stared up at them. They all stood there waiting in anticipation, even Susan.

Finally, the horse turned, and trotted back into the maze.

Ernie sighed. "Well, that was weird."

Before he could say anything else, he was tackled to the ground. He and Anthony were halfway down the hill before anybody realised that Anthony was no longer unconscious.

Seamus grabbed Susan before she could make a move to follow them. He looked at Neville, "I thought he was stunned?"

"He was," said Neville. "Shields up."

Seamus nodded as he gripped Susan tightly to him. He knew whoever had woken up Anthony must be nearby. He also had a feeling he knew who it was. He and Neville stood back to back, each with his shield up. They could hear Ernie engaged in a duel with Anthony at the bottom of the hill, but otherwise they didn't pay them any attention.

"Show yourself Harry," said Seamus. He didn't. They kept looking around for any sign of him, but none came. Not until Seamus saw something flicker in the air right in front of him.

"Stupefy!"

"Impedimenta!"

Seamus' spell missed, Harry's didn't. His spell separated all three of them. Neville was thrown to the side and Seamus and Susan were knocked to the ground.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Seamus became rigid. Harry disillusioned himself then. "Here, Susan!" She ran to him and he cut her ropes. He then summoned Seamus' wand and gave it to her. "Anthony's using your wand. Help him, will you?"

"Gladly."

Susan left to go help Anthony. Neville had just stood up. Harry faced him, "Hey Neville."

"Harry," he said casually.

"I'm guessing you have the flag."

"What flag?"

Harry smiled, "Guess I'll just have to take it from you then."

"You can try."

Red lights flew through the air as they each tried to stun the other. Neville knew that eventually Harry would get the better of him. That's when he pulled out a second wand.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Is that Anthony's?" he asked.

"Yes."

Harry smiled. Then he too pulled out a second wand.

"Stupefy!"

Their four identical spells connected and they were both thrown backward. Harry was first to recover. He slowly got up and surveyed the damage. The hill had been torn apart. Large chunks of it were missing. Poor Seamus had been unable to move away so he had bits of dirt and grass all over him.

Harry got up and started forward. He moved past an unmoving Seamus. If he'd been able to move his face, Harry thought he would've been glaring at him.

He used his second wand to shield himself while his own remained ready to attack if need be. He soon found Neville, lying still on the ground. Harry saw his hand twitch.

"Expelliarmus!"

Both of Neville's wands flew from his hands.

Harry smiled down at him. Neville matched his smile. "That was fun."

Harry chuckled, "I still need the flag, Neville."

"I know," said Neville. He pulled out the flag. "Can I ask you a question first?"

Harry grinned, "Yes, what you saw was a Kelpie."

"Really? I thought it was a horse."

"Nope. It's a Kelpie, and a long story."

"I'll have to hear it later." Neville shook himself. "I actually wanted to ask you something else." He pointed at the wand in Harry's left hand. "Who's wand is that?"

Harry had a gleeful look in his eye. "Draco's."

A minute later, Ron came running forward, ready for battle. He stopped short when he noticed the two flags planted atop the hill.

His team had won.

Harry and Neville were helping Seamus down the hill. Once they were on level ground, the maze began to disappear. Ron walked over to them.

"Hey guys, what'd I miss?"