Chapter 95: Labyrinth
Once Harry passed the threshold, the hedges sealed behind him. Because the hedges were so tall they blocked any light from getting through. The rain pounded his head and his shoulders. Rolling said shoulders back, Harry stepped forward confidently. After a stretch, he came to the end of his path with an option to move right or left.
"Point me," Harry held his wand in his palm and the wand spun to the right, indicating that was due north. He knew the cup lay at the center of the map which was northwest of the starting point. With that in mind, Harry turned right, hoping he could take a left before he moved too far north.
On he went. Three times he encountered a dead end and had to double back.
"So I went left that's a dead end," Harry said. "Why don't you find your way, idiot."
"It's not the easy you blithering idiot!" Harry retorted to himself. Back and forth he walked along the path. "I'm too far north so I need to go back. You missed something, Harry."
Harry walked back along his path a little slower, using the light from his wand to look for anything out of the ordinary. Halfway back down the path, he felt the wind shift and the rain started to hit the side of his face.
"That's not right," Harry turned toward the hedge as the water now hit him full in the face. "Fumos."
Smoke puffed from his wand and Harry waved the smoke across the hedges and watched it penetrate through them. Tentatively, Harry extended his hand toward the hedge. When his fingertips made contact, his entire body was pulled through and he found himself on a new path.
"Point me," Harry cast again and his wand pointed just off to his right. He knew he was on the right path again.
As he moved along, the hairs stood on the back of his neck and he felt like he was being watched.
"Imperio," a voice whispered. Harry waited for the free-floating sensation to wash over him but it never came. Vaguely, he knew the voice sounded familiar but as it was whispered, he couldn't quite place it. Harry advanced to the next intersection four paths of the maze. Harry pressed his back against the corner of the hedge and, when he heard rustling, he raised his wand and peeked around the corner. Once his eyes came around the hedge, he pulled back instantly as a swarm of Cornish Pixies flew out of the hedge, straight at his lit wand.
"Immobulous," Harry cast, freezing the pests in mid-air. "Depulso."
The banishing charm threw them all back into the hedge. With the pixies dealt with, Harry heard another sound of rustling alerting him to something else coming. Again he raised his wand and waited. As the sound approached, Harry threw himself around the hedge with his wand at shoulder height.
"Whoa!" Cedric shouted as he threw his hands up in surrender. "It's me, Harry!"
"Who came up with the strategy that allowed Gryffindor to beat Slytherin in my second year?" Harry asked, keeping his wand up.
"What?" Cedric stepped back as the question startled him. "Harry, what's going on?"
"Answer the question!" Harry said, his grip tightening on his wand as he advanced on Cedric.
"I did!" Cedric shouted as he backpedaled. "I told you that the Slytherins brooms were fast but they weren't used to them and quick maneuvers could negate their speed!"
"Okay," Harry finally relaxed. "I heard someone cast the Imperius just now. I had to be certain."
"Moody would be proud then," Cedric said. "Just don't go the way I came. They put one of Hagrid's Skrewts in here. Bloody thing is massive, I just barely escaped."
"Well keep your guard up," Harry said. "Something's not right. I haven't encountered anything yet."
"You too," Cedric said. "You go straight, I'll go left then?"
"Right," Harry took a deep breath to calm himself. The darkness of the maze and the rain made this entire experience off-putting. "Be safe."
"You too," Cedric said and once again Harry was alone.
He continued his path toward the cup, keeping his eyes alert for any movement. What he didn't see, however, was the path drop-off. His only warning was a blast of cold air and he was on his back sliding down toward an encroaching blackness. Before he could do anything, his feet hit solid ground, his knees buckled and he collapsed face-first onto the floor of the maze. Before he could catch his breath, he felt vines encroaching on his legs. He tried to stand but they held him to the ground.
"Way to fall into Devil's Snare, Harry" Harry admonished himself for not paying attention. "Incendio!"
Flames shot from his wand and he turned the tip backward, feeling the heat from the flames near his legs. The vines retreated and Harry stood. As he took his first step, his ankle gave way.
"Ah," Harry inhaled sharply as pain lanced up his entire leg.
Any pressure he put on his ankle had him in near agony. Harry tried his basic healing spells. He knew the bone was fine as the bone-mending spell did nothing so his only alternative was to remove his shoe, numb his ankle and then wrap it tightly.
"Let's start the Triwizard Tournament, they said," Harry grumbled as he treated his ankle. "Dragons, frozen lakes and murderous hedges and your favorite teenaged wizards. What's not to like? Everyone will love it!"
Once he finished mocking the organizers, he put his shoe back on, he found he could walk, albeit with a limp. Turning the next corner, he discovered Cedric was right.
In front of him, blocking his way forward, was one of the Skrewts, its Gray carapace glinting in his wand light. Its forward pincers clicked and the ground crunched with every step. He knew from handling it that it was also about to blast off right in his direction.
"I don't have time for this," Harry said. Flicking his wand, he transfigured the ground below the Skrewt. The creature dropped just as it fired off, making the Skrewt shoot forward into the wall of dirt now in front of it. The creature toppled onto its back and writhed on the ground.
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall," Harry said as he conjured a bridge to walk over the pit he just created. Before he could ponder his next move, he heard Fleur scream. He rushed to the sound where her screams came from but stopped halfway down the path. A low growl came from the shadows near the closest intersection.
A hand black as night grasped the corner of the hedge and a huge bipedal creature stepped out with horns as wide as its broad shoulders. Its height was equal to that of Hagrid but without Hagrid's kind face. In its other hand was a battle axe with two curved blades.
"You have entered my domain," the Minotaur's guttural voice made Harry's skin crawl.
"I don't want to fight," Harry raised his hands as he spoke.
"That's not how this works," the Minotaur spun the axe and advanced on Harry with a two-handed grip.
"Stupefy!" Harry started out simple but the spells glanced off its black hide. The Minotaur actually laughed and charged at him. Harry limped backward as quick as he could but his ankle protested anything faster.
"Glisseo," Harry cast desperately, making the Minotaur slip and slide past him, his horns barely missing him, grazing his shoulder and tearing the sleeve of his robes as they passed.
"Clever," the Minotaur slammed his axe into the turf and used it to push himself up. "I was told not to kill. That order I can't follow. You are mine, boy."
Harry launched his signature blue balls of flame but again they glanced off. Not even his strongest piercing hex was enough. Harry knew he had only one option left.
"Lumos Solaris!" Harry shouted as the Minotaur charged again. Harry ducked underneath the horns and sprinted back the way he came. Quickly, he set up his next option and waited.
"You survived this long, longer than they thought you would," the Minotaur chortled. "No more tricks. You die now."
"Come and get me," Harry shouted back.
Advancing again, this time slowly with its axe firmly within its grip, the Minotaur closed quickly. Harry cast the Bat Bogey hex that he knew Ginny favored. The mucus that flowed freely from the monster's nose turned into bats to harass the Minotaur. With the Minotaur distracted, Harry raised the ground and cast the glisseo hex again. The Minotaur lost its footing and slid into the same pit Harry dropped the Skrewt into. Harry watched and listened as the sounds of a fight ensued. The Skrewt shrieked and the Minotaur roared. The sickening sound of an axe impacting the dirt cut off all sounds from the Skrewt. Harry looked around the corner just as the axe swung and crested the top of the pit.
"You're mine now, Ferdinand," Harry smiled. "Wingardium Leviosa."
Harry breathed a quick sigh of relief when the axe pulled itself from the ground into the air.
"Give it back!" the Minotaur roared, placing both hands above the pit to push itself out.
"You got it," Harry canceled the spell and the axe dropped… right onto the Minotaur's exposed neck. The axe sliced through flesh and sinew like butter. Its body flopped into the pit and the head remained on the surface, settling against the metal of the axe.
"What's ne-: Harry stopped himself short. "On second thought, let's not tempt fate, shall we?"
Harry pushed himself off the wall, his energy starting to flag from the magical and physical exertion. Pushing on, he limped his way onward. At the next intersection, he turned right as his eyes caught a glimmer of a brilliant golden light. Walking toward it, Harry found his way blocked by a Sphinx. The cat-like creature prowled around the opening. Three paths lay beyond it.
"Greetings champion," the Sphinx said. "You are close to your prize. To get through you will need to solve my riddle. Behind me are three paths. One leads nowhere, the other to doom and the third to glory. If you wish, may retreat and go around. However, the most direct path is behind me. Are you ready?"
"Yes," Harry said, shakily.
"Very well," the Sphinx said as it sat on its hindquarters. "The riddle has four parts. You will need all four to solve it. A warning: cast any spell in this chamber and I will attack."
"Part 1: You need me to live but if you get too much of me, I die. What am I?
Part 2: Give me food and I will live but if you give me water, I will die, what am I?
Part 3: You can smell me, feel me but never see me. What am I?
Final Part: You think you named me when in fact I named myself. What am I?"
Harry pondered the riddles as the Sphinx continued.
"If you follow the second, you will encounter the first. If you follow the first, eventually the third will surround you on all sides. If you follow the third, it will lead on directly on your way but you will need the first to get by the second to successfully pass. But above all else, you need to use the fourth. If you follow these clues, you will find the direct path to glory."
Harry sat down and pondered.
"Something you need to live but if you get too much, you die. You need air though too much oxygen can become toxic. You also need food but if you eat too much you could die, I guess…
"The second part is easy: fire. If you give fire more material, it will continue to burn but water will kill it. The third part has to be the air. As for the fourth, I have no clue."
Harry dropped his head into his hands as he wracked his brains but then it came easily.
"Brain," Harry said as he picked his head up. "We named the brain but the brain, in fact, named itself. That only leaves the first part."
As rain fell on his head, the water became obvious.
"You need to drink water to live but if you get too much, you can drown," Harry said. "Water, Fire, Air and Brain. Those are the answers."
"Excellent reasoning. You may now pass but choose your path wisely, Champion," the Sphinx instructed. "You may only pick once and from your choice, there is no going back.
Harry stood and noticed the paths were stone, not grass. At the base of them was an indentation on the stone. The left path had a fire icon, the center a cloud, and the right a droplet of water."
"So if I follow the second, I will encounter the first. If I follow the first, eventually the third will surround me on all sides. Follow the third, it will lead directly to the cup but I will need the first to get by the second. But above all else, I'll need to use the fourth.
"The path to the left will lead to water. The second path will lead to air on all sides. Did that earlier, it wasn't fun. The right one is my way forward."
The Sphinx didn't answer, it just continued to pace. Harry tentatively stepped toward the third path. On the way, he encountered a wall of fire.
"Auguamenti," Harry sprayed water to douse the flames. Behind them, on a plinth sat the Triwizard cup gleaming in its golden splendor. Before he could advance, a shadow stepped in front. Cedric was within arm's length of the cup. Before he could make contact, a spell hit him. Cedric writhed on the ground in pain as Viktor moved to stand over him, staring dispassionately down at the writhing boy. Harry whipped his wand out and stunned Viktor. He bound the dark-haired boy and hobbled to Cedric.
"You okay?" Harry asked as he turned Cedric onto his back.
"Bloody hell that hurts," Cedric replied, his hands still shaking. "Thought he was alright, you know?"
"He's imperiused," Harry said. "I heard someone cast it earlier. Maybe someone wants him to win. I don't know."
"Neither do I," Cedric said. "What do you say, shall we end this thing?"
"Together?" Harry asked, his eyelids starting to droop.
"Together," Cedric smiled.
Before they advanced on the cup, a shadow blocked the cup's light. With eight beady eyes and an equal number of hairy legs, the acromantula advanced quickly.
"I'm not in the mood," Harry said.
Before Cedric could pull him back, Harry limped forward and as the steel grey pincers moved inexorably closer, Harry cast his lightsaber spell, thrusting it into the spider's eyes. The spider dropped like a stone as Harry pulled the saber out of its brain, deactivating it after it was clear.
"That's new," Cedric quipped.
"Not really," Harry said. "Just really, really secret. I'll get Hermione to teach you once this is all over."
They walked past the spider, sent up sparks for someone to collect Krum and made their way to the cup.
"On three," Cedric said. "One,"
"Two," Harry counted.
"Three," they both said.
As their sweaty hands closed on the cold metal, Harry felt an all-too-familiar jerk around his navel. The portkey activated, pulling both of them away from the maze.
When Harry landed, his ankle gave out. He looked around, expecting to hear cheers and to see everyone celebrating. Instead, it was a clear night. There was no rain and he noticed the portkey deposited them in a graveyard. Looking behind him, he read the tombstone.
"Here Lies Tom Riddle," the stone read.
"Oh shit," Harry said as a figure walked up behind them.
(A/N: A very Merry Christmas eve and Christmas to all of you who celebrate. Happy Holidays to everyone. The external monologue of Harry's took on a little John McClane "Die Hard" vibe and so I ran with it. I wanted to include the Minotaur since Minotaurs are famous for patrolling labyrinths.
The next two chapters will be released within a day of one another, hopefully to be done next week.)