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The third challenge…
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"…so I can welcome our guest. Avada Kedavra!"
Harry opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of his dorm as he lay still on his bed. He no longer woke up from the nightmare all panting and panicking. After having the same nightmare for almost a year now he had grown accustomed to it. He had also learned of the people that he would see in his nightmare. They were Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Junior. And after knowing that the latter had been impersonating Moody since the start of the term Harry now knew that he having that nightmare over and over again wasn't a coincidence.
He sat up on his bed before slowly getting off. It was a little after four in the morning so it was still dark outside. However, Harry knew he couldn't go back to sleep and so he had to kill time. He walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face before looking at his reflection in the mirror. Today was the day – the day of the final challenge of the Tri Wizard Tournament.
It had been over a month since Draco had told them about fake Moody and as much as Harry and Daphne would've wanted to tell about it to a faculty or Dumbledore for that matter they decided not to. Surprisingly it was Harry's decision because he had never seen Draco so scared before. Seeing him like that Harry couldn't bring himself to go against the Slytherin's request.
Coming out of the bathroom he went straight to the room of requirement where he asked the room for the special arrangement that he and Daphne had come up with soon after knowing about the fake Moody. It was Daphne's idea.
After realizing where he stood in his comparison with Fleur and Viktor in terms of magical skills and of his fated clash with Voldemort Harry knew he had to improve himself. He had then told Daphne about it (leaving the prophecy part out) and she suggested him only one thing – to train and learn to control his magic. Harry knew why she had said that. He wasn't really good at controlling his magical outflow whenever he would cast a powerful spell like the patronus charm or something similar which required a lot of focus. It resulted in him getting exhausted very quickly. Not to mention his aiming wasn't that great either as Daphne made him find out after she had him pop balloons that were charmed to constantly float around. There was also the fact that he didn't know how to duel properly which meant that he needed to improve on his physicality as well which was quite essential in a duel according to Daphne.
And so keeping all those things in mind the two had made a training arrangement in the room of requirement and for the last month Harry had been practicing there and he could definitely see the improvements.
The first week of training was like hell as he would feel exhausted both magically and physically but once his body had accustomed to the change and the routine practice he started getting better at it. Daphne taught him the basics of dueling and Harry was shocked to see how good she was. He also realized why she had told him that being physically fit was a must to be a good dueler. It was a known fact that using magic exhausted one much quicker than physical movements which is why good duelers relied more on dodging the incoming spells rather than stopping or blocking them with shields, conjured objects or other magical spells. This meant that they needed to be fit enough to not tire themselves while dodging the incoming spells when in duel with another person or a group of people for that matter.
As the room completed turning into the training area numerous flying targets filled the space along with a board which displayed a timer and the number of targets that Harry would hit in the given time. Calming down his mind he gripped his wand and got ready and once the timer started Harry went after the targets, taking them out one-by-one with ease and efficiency. Two weeks ago he was struggling as he would get tired both magically and physically. However, he was now much more prepared and better thanks to the continuous training. As the timer stopped after a minute he looked at how many targets he had hit and was pleased that it was more than half now. While he knew it was still probably a lot less than what Fleur and Viktor would've done, for him it was an improvement and that is all that mattered to him.
After training on his magic for another hour he left the room and headed out of the castle to do his physical exercise which simply consisted of him running laps around the castle. Currently he could manage four and a half laps before exhausting himself. However, he couldn't even do a quarter of the lap when he had first started. The castle was spread over a huge area and on uneven terrain so it was understandable not to do a complete run-around of it at the beginning.
As he finished his morning run and lay on the ground catching his breath the sun started to rise. The feeling of cold dew on his back felt good as Harry watched the sunrise before slowly getting up and walking back inside the castle when suddenly his mirror buzzed.
"What is it?" he asked as soon as Daphne's face appeared on the mirror.
"I think I might have found something," she said.
Ten minutes later he walked into the classroom where Daphne had called him to meet and saw she was there already. The two hugged each other before she took out the marauders' map. About two weeks ago, while having a casual conversation Daphne had asked Harry how he knew where Theo had taken her on the night of the Yule Ball. At first he had hesitated but then Harry had told her about the map before showing it to her. Needless to say Daphne was beyond surprised seeing something like that. A map which showed everyone's position inside the castle in real time, it was a marvelous piece of magical artifact and she couldn't help but admire it.
Harry looked at her slightly confused as he took the map from her. "Last night I was watching 'Moody' in his office after curfew hours wondering if he was up to something, you know, seeing that today is the final challenge of the tournament," she said. "It was then that I saw Viktor walk into his office. The two remained there for a few minutes before Krum left the place. I think you need to steer clear from him. He might be working for Moody for all we know."
"It's possible," Harry said thinking about it. "Seeing that Karkaroff used to be a death eater I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to go back to being Voldemort's pawn and also dragged Viktor along with him."
"Do you think it will be better to warn Cedric and Fleur?" Daphne asked.
Harry nodded. "I don't want them to be unnecessary targets," he said. "However, we'll have to come up with an excuse. Suddenly asking them to be wary of Viktor would sound suspicious to them. I'll think of something." Daphne nodded before looking down. Harry knew what she was thinking. "Hey, I'll be alright," he said lifting her face to look at her.
"You don't know that," she said.
"I promised to go to your place this summer with you, didn't I?" Harry said smiling. "I really want to hold on to that promise." He then hugged her and they stood there for a whole minute without saying anything and just embracing each other.
"Just…be careful," Daphne said.
"I will," Harry responded.
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The sound of drums banging loudly filled the air along with the cheering cries of the students and audience members who had all arrived in full numbers to watch the final challenge of the Tri Wizard Tournament take place.
The Quidditch ground had been enlarged ten times its size with the majority of it being covered in fog. Unlike the last two challenges the audience was full-fledge in showing the sides they were supporting which meant a good number of them were cheering for Harry as well. When he saw how most of the Gryffindors were rooting for him Harry mentally scoffed. He couldn't believe that he still got surprised by their two-faced nature.
As he walked into the arena Harry looked at Fleur and Cedric before quickly nodding at them. He had told them that he had heard Karkaroff tell Viktor to go to 'any lengths' to win the tournament, leaving it on the two champions to decide what 'lengths' Viktor will go to. While Harry's words had surprised the two they didn't think that he would be lying to them. They had been through enough danger together to develop an unbreakable trust for each other. Not to mention, Harry had helped both Cedric and Fleur during the tasks more than anyone else. He had provided Cedric with information on the dragon's egg following the first challenge and had helped protect their goals during the second one.
Deciding to stick to their original plan the three also promised to look out for each other just in case Viktor decided to go hostile on them.
The announcement was made for the champions to take their positions and Harry saw Moody waiting for him at his spot. He gulped before slowly walking up to him and the impersonator smirked when he saw Harry before patting the boy on the back.
"You alright there, Potter?" he said.
"Just a little nervous, professor," Harry said with a forced smile.
"Don't worry, you'll do fine," Moody said in a knowing tone which Harry would've otherwise missed if he didn't know of Moody's real identity. "Just remember to not trust anyone. This is the final challenge. They'll probably do anything to win this thing."
"I'll be careful, professor," Harry said. Moody grunted and patted him once again on the back before leaving. Harry watched him go before looking at the audience's stand and saw Daphne and Tracey. He quickly moved his gaze before locking eyes with Draco. He didn't know why but Harry gave Draco a curt nod which confused the Slytherin. Suddenly the drummers stopped drumming and the audience quieted down. Barty Crouch Sr. took to the podium before touching the tip of his wand to his throat to enhance his voice for everyone to hear him clearly.
"Welcome, to the third and final challenge of the Tri Wizard Tournament!" his voice boomed through the air loud and clear as everyone cheered and clapped. "Over the course of these months we have seen remarkable display of magic and skills from our four champions and despite encountering some complexities that were unheard or unseen before, I have to say the champions didn't disappoint."
Harry knew that Barty was talking about him as he rolled his eyes before he saw Cedric smirking at him like a proud big brother. He smiled back. He had never expected that the one person who he thought to be his biggest competitor in the challenge would actually turn out to be the one he felt most close to. The fact that Cedric didn't see him as a rival in this tournament spoke volumes about why the Hufflepuff was liked by everyone.
"Now we have all gathered here to see the third and final challenge which will decide who gets to take home the title of the winner of the Tri Wizard Tournament and the prize of one hundred thousand galleons with it!" Barty said before he waved his wand and the thick fog behind him covering ninety percent of the enlarged Quidditch ground was lifted up, revealing a huge hedge maze.
"The Tri Wizard Cup is placed in the centre of the maze that you see behind me," he continued. "Whoever reaches to the cup first will win this tournament. However, seeing that this is the final challenge, the champions wouldn't just have to worry about finding their way to the cup. There are also hidden traps and obstacles that they will have to face as they find their way towards the center of the maze. Also, if anyone wishes to forfeit the challenge they can fire a signal spell following which they will be rescued. Now, for the champions, I see that they have already taken their positions to enter the maze. Good luck and…" he looked at Filch who was standing by the cannon holding a torch. Barty signaled him and the caretaker fired the cannon signaling the start of the final challenge. "…begin!" Barty's voice rang throughout the arena as the four champions entered the maze.
As soon as Harry walked into the maze it closed on behind him and all the noises from the arena disappeared, leaving him surrounded by an eerie silence and twelve foot tall hedge walls on both sides of him. The ground was covered in thick fog so he couldn't see below his knees which made him wonder whether there were traps on the ground. So he cast a wind spell and dispersed the fog for a few meters and saw that the ground was covered with vines. They looked similar to the ones that he, Ron and Hermione had encountered in their first year when they were going after a possessed Quirrell. Thinking that these vines were the same he cast a lumos charm to see if they'd move apart. However, it didn't work which made Harry curse under his breath.
He knew that if he stepped on them than they would probably wrap around him, entrapping him in their grip and who knows what will happen then. Deciding to avoid that risk Harry started moving forward by stepping wherever he could see the ground underneath those vines. In an experimental attempt he also cast a fire spell and a slicing hex to see if the vines could be damaged. The fire had no affect on them and while the slicing hex cut them clean the vines re-grew their lost appendages in seconds. This made Harry stick to his original plan of simply avoiding them altogether if he could help it and even though it caused him to slow down tremendously he would rather be safe than sorry. It's not like he was trying to win.
However, he needed to find Fleur and Cedric because knowing that Viktor was probably working for fake Moody there was no telling whether the Quidditch star would kill the two just so he could clear the path for Harry to win this challenge. Harry knew that is what would happen as Barty Crouch Junior's plan was for him to win the tournament. This is why Harry wanted to stay with Fleur and Cedric at least until they had all reached to the center of the maze. Once there they could then decide what to do next. They had their own agenda of taking revenge on the tournament and its coordinators for what they had done in the second challenge but now Harry was seeing their plan to be essential just so he could foil Barty's attempt to make him win the tournament.
As he walked deeper and deeper into the maze the fog started to get thicker and a few minutes later he couldn't see anything beyond a few meters from him. The wind charms helped clear some of the fog but Harry knew he couldn't rely on them the entire time as it would tire him.
Suddenly he heard faint thumping sound and stopped. Every few seconds the sound got louder and louder. Something big was definitely approaching him, Harry thought. He wondered whether it was a mountain troll. Following the first two challenges Harry had left his imagination open to all possibilities over how the coordinators could make the challenges more and more dangerous. He wouldn't be surprised if there actually was a mountain troll in this maze. However, he also remembered from his past experience that mountain trolls give off a really stinky smell and he couldn't smell anything. Could it be that it was something else, he thought.
He cast a silencing charm on his feet so whatever it was couldn't hear him. Harry then tried to hide in the hedge wall of the maze but realized he couldn't. The wall was solid like an actual brick wall. He sighed as he looked around for places to hide as he didn't want to face this unknown thing. Suddenly something slimy and silvery went past him, barely missing his head. Harry ducked down quickly before looking behind him and saw a patch of thick, slimy web sticking to the hedge wall. He recognized it immediately and knew what was in front of him. The thumping sound had stopped. He slowly turned around before looking up and saw the arcamantula looking down at him with its pincer-like mouth dripping thick blobs of saliva.
He immediately rolled to the side before the giant spider could have Harry's head. He then fired off a series of slicing hexes and one of them connected to the spider's front left limb, cutting it clean as the monster came crashing down on the ground with a loud screeching cry. Because the spider was blocking his path Harry knew he had to deal with the arcamantula if he wanted to continue further. However, he didn't want to kill the spider if he could help it. The creature was probably forcefully put into this maze just like the dragons were in the first challenge. So he fired a knock-out spell which hit the spider, but it kept moving. However, its movement had slowed down so Harry fired a couple more spells until the spider was unconscious all the way.
He then stood there for a minute, catching his breath. The challenge had just begun and Harry was already tired. He realized he had probably used too much magic when fighting the arcamantula. He made sure not to repeat the mistake again as he didn't know what else was hiding in this maze. He then floated the spider out of his way before moving ahead.
He didn't encounter any other obstacle other than the vines crawling on the ground which Harry made sure not to step on as he tried to find Cedric and Fleur for the next half hour or so. He didn't know how long he had been in this maze now but it definitely had been a while, probably about an hour even when suddenly he heard someone running towards him and Harry stopped.
The sound was coming from behind him so he turned around and prepared himself with his wand pointing right in front of him when the fog cleared and he saw Fleur. The half veela stopped when she saw Harry and breathed with the look of relief on her face before she came over and hugged him.
"Finally! Found you!" she said between breaths as she broke the hug. "Where is Diggory?" she asked.
"I don't know," Harry said. "Did you see Viktor?" Fleur shook her head. "Alright, that's good I think. I just faced an arcamantula a while back. I don't know what else is hiding in this maze."
"It's alright," Fleur said. "At least with us together now we have a better chance at surviving this place and finding Diggory."
Harry nodded as he couldn't have agreed more. The two then continued moving forward even though they didn't know whether they were going on the right direction. They just needed to find Cedric.
As they continued to walk deeper into the maze the fog also started to get thicker and the temperature began to drop too. It soon became chilly and Harry and Fleur had to rely on warming spells. It was then that Harry smelled something familiar and stopped. Fleur looked at him in confusion and he simply signaled her to remain quiet. A few seconds later they both heard the ground thumping as the sound slowly approached towards them.
"Mountain trolls," Harry whispered as Fleur looked at him in shock.
"How do you know?" she asked.
"Let's just say I remember their smell a little too well," he responded. "I don't think there's just one of them."
"You look tired," Fleur said. "Let me handle them." Before Harry could say anything she cleared the fog in the front and saw two mountain trolls standing a few feet away from them. Needless to say they had noticed Harry and Fleur who then heard another one behind them. Harry cleared the fog this time to reveal the creature. With three trolls blocking their path the two champions knew that they had no other choice but to face them.
From whatever little he had studied on these creatures Harry knew that their skin was impervious to most spells but not magically impenetrable like the dragons or the basilisk. He also knew how dangerous these things were when they were equipped with their clubs and unfortunately all three of the mountain trolls were swinging theirs, ready to strike at Harry and Fleur.
The half-veela wasted no time, hitting the two trolls in the front with a rapid succession of spells. Harry didn't know what spells she had fired but it had definitely worked as the trolls groaned in pain before stepping back. He was shocked to see how quick she was with her wand and even though he knew that Fleur was way more skilled than him in comparison he still stood there surprised when he realized he had his own mountain troll to deal with.
He fired a blasting hex, aimed at the troll's club. Luckily his target practice came in use as he hit that thing in the first try, obliterating the club and surprising the creature who, then looked at Harry before charging at him angrily.
It didn't go without saying that these trolls didn't care about the vines that were on the ground as they stepped on them without any care in the world causing the vines to move around and wrap around the trolls' legs.
Two of the trolls fell down as a result while the third (the one on Harry's side) still came in charging at him and Fleur.
"Bind them together," she said changing places with Harry who wasted no time as he cast magical binds on the two trolls who had fallen on the ground because of the vines. He then destroyed their clubs before successfully knocking them out.
Meanwhile Fleur had dismembered the third troll by rapidly firing slicing hexes at it as the troll's painful cries filled the air. It fell on the ground before the vines started to wrap around it, pulling it under the hedge wall just like the other two. However, the vines didn't stop there as they then begin to make their way towards Harry and Fleur.
"We need to move," she said as they saw the vines coming at them.
Harry nodded before the two ran the other way. Luckily the vines weren't quick. However, they seemed to be connected to the rest of the vines spread in the entire maze as those under Harry and Fleur's legs started to wrap around them.
Fleur got caught and fell on the ground. Harry stopped and fired slicing hexes at the vines, freeing her before he helped her on her feet. The two then continued to run hoping to not get caught by the vines when, a spell came flying at them. They dodged it at the last second as it hit the vines on the ground, incinerating them.
"This way!"
Harry and Fleur saw Cedric appear out of the fog along with Viktor who kept aiming his wand at the vines. While the situation seemed confusing Fleur and Harry said nothing as they knew saving themselves from the vines was more important right now. Cedric then took them through a path before they came to a rather large opening. There was no vine on the ground there and the fog wasn't thick either.
"What is this place?" Harry asked.
"I don't know but I found it a while back," Cedric said when Viktor arrived as well. Harry and Fleur immediately had their wands pointed at the seeker who raised his hands. "Relax, he's alright," Cedric said causing Harry and Fleur to look at him in confusion. "Yeah, my reaction exactly when I first met him in the maze and he told me everything."
"Told you what?" Fleur asked.
"That Moody isn't really Moody," Viktor said. Harry looked at him in utter shock.
"What do you mean?" Fleur asked looking at the seeker.
"He called me last night in his office to tell me that he wanted me to kill you and Cedric and clear a path for Potter so he could win the challenge," Viktor said. Both Cedric and Fleur were now looking at Harry who still couldn't wrap his head around what was happening. "He is the one who put Potter's name in the goblet because he wants Potter to win the tournament."
"Harry?" Cedric said looking at the Gryffindor.
"It's Barty Crouch Jr.," Harry said.
"You mean the death eater?" Cedric asked. "Didn't he die?"
"His death was staged," Harry said. "I only found out about it a month ago. He has been impersonating Professor Moody since the start of the term. I don't know why he wants me to win this tournament though." He didn't want to tell them everything. It was a trick that Daphne had taught him – never to trust anyone completely, especially in dangerous situations.
"And you didn't think of reporting it to the faculties?" Cedric asked.
"If I did then people would be in a lot more danger," Harry responded before he looked at Viktor. "So you are not working with him?"
Krum shook his head. "He threatened to kill my family," he said. "At first I thought that I had no choice but now I think otherwise. I have a plan. All four of us grab the cup at the same time and get done with this tournament. Then we tell everyone about Moody and let the grown-ups deal with the problem."
"I hate to say this but I agree with him," Cedric said. "Does anyone else have a better plan? If not then we are going with Viktor's." Neither Harry nor Fleur said anything so Cedric nodded. "Alright, then let's go look for the cup." He looked at each one of them as if silently asking for their approval. Viktor and Fleur nodded before Cedric looked at Harry who then nodded hesitantly. He didn't know how to feel about this entire situation but he couldn't think of anything else so he agreed to go along with the plan.
"I know where the cup is," Viktor said as everyone looked at him in surprise. "Moody told me about its location."
"How far is it?" Cedric asked.
"Not too far," Viktor said before he took the lead and the rest started to follow him.
Harry and Fleur were at the back while Cedric was with Viktor, talking to him about whether their plan would work. "Are you okay?" Fleur said putting a hand on Harry's shoulder as he looked at her.
"I don't know," he said. "I don't know how I feel about any of this! Barty wants me. You all don't have to put yourself in danger."
"Well, whatever he has planned for you I am sure it will affect all of us one way or another and it wouldn't be anything good," Fleur said, "so let us help you. Besides, after everything that we've been through I guess it's safe to say that we should be able to trust each other."
Harry smiled slightly when Viktor's voice made him stop. "We are here," the seeker said as Harry and Fleur looked right ahead at the Tri Wizard Cup placed at the centre of the opening that they had just arrived.
Suddenly the place started to fill with fog along with strong winds. It was as if a storm had appeared inside the maze out of nowhere.
"I don't think it wants all of us to grab that thing at once," Cedric said.
"Well, they have to learn that not everything will go according to their plan!" Viktor said grinning ear-to-ear as he looked at Fleur and Harry. "Ready? On my mark we all grab the cup at the same time and get out of here! To hell with this blasted game!"
Fleur grinned as well while Harry just smiled. He didn't know he will form such a bond with these three. As the wind started to get stronger and stronger the four stood around the cup before Fleur, Harry and Cedric looked at Viktor.
"One…" the seeker began counting, "…two…three!"
They put their hands on the cup and disappeared from the maze.
A few seconds later the portkey travel came to a halt and just like it had happened before Harry lost his balance and fell chest first on the ground hard as all the air from his lungs was knocked out. He groaned in pain. This was the second time he had travelled using a portkey. The first time was when he and the Weaselys had gone to watch the finals of the Quidditch World Cup before the start of his fourth year term.
As he tried to push himself up Harry looked around and saw they weren't in the Quidditch grounds. He stood up looking confused when he suddenly felt like he had been to the place before. He saw the many graves and the tombstones on them when his eyes fell on one. Harry went numb reading the name on it.
'Tom Riddle' the name on the tombstone read. However, reading the year underneath it told Harry that it wasn't Voldemort's grave when he spotted something else in the near distance. It was the same building which he saw in his nightmare that had haunted him for a year now.
Harry exhaled shakily as he realized that it was the same place that he had been seeing in his nightmare every single night. "Uh, guys…" he said as he turned around to see whether his fellow champions were alright. They needed to get out of this place. However, as soon as he turned around he found himself looking at Fleur, Cedric and Viktor aiming their wands at each other. "Guys…what are you doing?" Harry asked.
They didn't answer. They just stared at each other with expressionless faces and hazy eyes before they cast the killing curse on each other and fell on the ground, dead.
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Thanks for reading…