Disclaimer: I hold no rights over the Harry Potter series or the Danny Phantom series. Any and all direct quotes and texts belong to J. K. Rowling and are used for entertainment purposes only and not for profit or any additional benefits.

ΔOl

Chapter Thirty-One: The Third Task IV

Harry moved on, continuing to use the Four-Point Spell, making sure he was moving in the right direction. It was between him, Danny and Cedric now, His desire to reach the cup first was now burning stronger than ever, but he could hardly believe what he'd just seen Krum do. The use of an unforgivable Curse on a fellow human being meant a life term in Azkaban – that was what Moody had told them. Krum surely couldn't have wanted the Tetrawizard Cup that badly… Harry sped up.

Every so often he hit more dead ends, but the increasing darkness made him feel sure he was getting near the heart of the maze. Then, as he strode down a long, straight path, he saw movement once again, and his beam of wand light hit an extraordinary creature, one which he had only seen in picture form, in his Monster Book of Monsters.

It was a sphinx. It had the body of an over-large lion: great paws and a long yellowish tail in a brown tuft, which was flicking lazily. Its head, however, was a woman. She was seated in front of the pacing figure of Danny, blocking his path.

"Tell me the riddle again? From the start," Danny murmured.

Harry saw the sphinx's almond-shaped eyes roll over towards Harry before turning back to Danny and reciting:

—

"First think of something that is near never seen,

To describe something small, to the eye just a glean.

Next tell me a letter with which none of the five have flowed,

It does not mark the spot, merely forms the crossroad.

And finally; does the cent make sense when it is not in the centre?

It is the search towards the end with which people flounder.

Now line them up, and the answer you make,

Will tell you; which creature can death not take?"

—

Harry shuffled closer as Danny ran his hands down his face with a groan.

"'None of the five letters'… could it be vowels? So it's a consonant… 'Marks the spot' – like treasure? 'X' marks the spot! Oh, hold on, it's not 'X', but it looks like it?"

Harry walked up next to Danny who grinned weakly at him, warily watching the sphinx.

"What are you doing?" Harry whispered to Danny, watching the Sphinx flick its tail lazily.

"She won't let me through unless I answer right. I've only got one shot, otherwise…" Danny slashed a thumb across his throat dramatically. He looked rather pale in the shadows; his breathing rattled in his chest and sweat seemed to be accumulating on his forehead. There were deep shadows under his eyes that Harry swore hadn't been there that morning.

Harry quickly looked away before Danny could see and turned to study the sphinx, who flicked her tail lazily with a patient expression. Danny shrugged.

"I haven't got a clue," the older boy admitted, clapping Harry on the shoulder resignedly. Harry saw that his entire hand had turned a crippled black, spreading like wildfire past his forearm to his elbow. He could see the veins were tinged a soft purple.

Danny noted Harry's pointed stare, slipping his hand off his shoulder and stuffed it behind his back, before throwing on a practised grin and cheerily stating, "She's all yours, Harry!"

Danny twisted and ran through a passage to his left and disappeared from sight. Harry turned back to the sphinx, who had risen from her seat and was wandering back and forth along the path, stopping Harry from slipping past. Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice.

"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."

"So… so will you move, please?" asked Harry, already knowing what the answer was going to be.

"No," her pace quickened, "Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess – I let you pass. Answer wrongly – I attack. Remain silent – I will let you walk away from me unscathed."

Harry's stomach slipped several notches. It was Hermione who was good at this sort of thing, not him. He weighed his chances. If the riddle was too hard, he could keep silent, like Danny did, get away from the sphinx unharmed, and try to find an alternate route to the centre.

"Okay, what was the riddle again? Something about never being seen?"

The sphinx shook her head, "No, you shall get a new riddle."

"Oh," Harry mumbled, "Okay. Can I hear it then?"

The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, just as she had earlier, and recited:

—

"First think of the person who lives in disguise,

Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.

Next, tell me what's always been the last thing to mend,

The middle of middle and end of end?

And finally give me the sound often heard,

During the search for a hard-to-find-word.

Now string them together, and answer me this,

Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

—

ΔOl

My whole life is late right now. Completely over university.

Can any of you guys guess the answer to Danny's riddle? It's a bit of a toughie considering I am rather awful at writing riddles. I am certainly no Bilbo Baggins. I'll reveal the answer and break it down for those who did not get it in the next chapter, so give me your guesses! (To make it easier, I'll let you know that it is ghost-related – aren't I so stupidly clever? Well… more just plain stupid, but I love a good bit of irony.)

Also shout-out to RandomCitizen, who reviewed nearly every chapter in the span of just a few hours. Dedication, my friend. My junk mail is stuffed with notifications now, thank you.

Review! x