So I know I promised that I would update like twice a month and that has passed. And It's almost the end of the month. But hey! I fulfilled. This is a pretty long chapter and some parts are taken from the book itself with added flair and cut stuff too. So…

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Now I will like to thank all of you who have stayed with me on this long road of Demigod Trials. And DON'T WORRY! There's only a few chapters left of this wonderful fanfiction. One of my very first. And I would like to say (*getting sentimental*) that this was a great experience and I know my writing has greatly improved from before. This will help me with my current novelS (yes, I have so many ideas that there are currently too many to count that I'm working on) and maybe publishing in the future? If you guys want to check it out I can work on sending you some links for editing and feedback. But for now….. The THIRD TASK!

Chapter 22-The Third Task

Leo
"But Dumbledore! Cho is proof that Voldemort's out there!" screamed Annabeth.

I yawned and started counting the oil spots on my overalls. All the demigods were crammed into Dumbledore's humongous office.
Dumbledore's eyes merely twinkled.

Jason further explained, "If Voldemort is that hellbent in destroying Harry, there's no doubt he will strike along with associate Professor Moody!"
"Are you sure Professor Moody is in league with Voldemort?" The man continued smiling.
Hazel nodded, "We are sure Professor."

"Do you know why I hadn't done anything yet to stop this threat?"
I whispered, "Maybe too scared?"

Piper elbowed me and glared at me to shut up.

"No Mr. Valdez. It's because I have the Ministry of Magic breathing down my necks. As such, I entrusted you to keep Mr. Potter safe. And you have the information now to help him. There's truly no point in telling me as I can rarely do much except tighten security. And don't worry about Professor Moody. I'm sure he will show his true colors. But I really doubt Professor Moody is the one in league with Voldemort. Only time will tell."

Frank shrugged, "That makes sense. Your hands are tied. But you can still help us in other ways."
"In what ways Mr. Zhang?"
"You can stop the Tournament."

"I'm afraid I cannot. That would alert Voldemort's agents and Voldemort that we know something is wrong. The only way we can go further is to keep with the Tournament."
Nico nodded, "We understand sir. We'll try our best to protect Harry."

Will interjected, "Remember though. We can't defeat Voldemort. That would only ruin and interfere with his destiny. Our duty now is the titans Atlas and Hyperion."

Percy asked, "Wait. Who's holding up the sky?"
I shot up, "What? This isn't Chicken Little Percy. The sky isn't falling."

Annabeth shook her head, "No Leo. In the myths, Atlas is usually holding up the sky to prevent earth from being destroyed. But Percy's right. If Atlas is to carry his plans, he has to have someone carrying them out or holding the world for him. And we still don't know what they want with Harry."

Piper shrugged, "We could ask Cho to find out? She was curious too and sent a letter to her brother a few days ago. First letter apparently. She's hoping for some answers."

Dumbledore smiled, "Seems you have this taken cared of. Now if you can excuse me, I have a staff meeting to attend to."

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"You're too late demigod" whispered the shadows. This was most definitely a dream. Probably Voldemort or Atlas or Hyperion or whoever entering my mind the night before the third task. Try to stop me. Say it's too late. It's futile. This villain monologuing is usually the luck we demigods need to beat our enemies.

Out of the shadows appeared a stony man the size of a skyscraper. Atlas. He continued, "Our plans are already in action. Our men in position. Our goal almost in our reach. You godlings can't beat us. You can't-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have a question," I said to the shadows.

"What is it demigod?"
I shook my head. "Couldn't you have been nicer, like 'yeah what's your question?'. But anyway, what are you planning with Harry?"

"You mean the Cursed Potter."

"Yes, wait 'cursed'?"

"The one with the lightning bolt. Make sure we are talking about the same Potter."

"Yeah, no. It's the same one."
"Good. This boy was cursed by the pale noseless man. He has special magic since his mother sacrificed herself to protect him. A special magic that's hard to find. And it's all tappable through his scar."

"You mean the power of love right?"

"Ugh, that ghastly product of Aphrodite."
"Well why do you need this power?"
"For what else then bring back my brother and mother back. It will be the end of the gods' reign. We Titans will rule! And not those Giant half-brothers. They aren't coming back. I'd be too much to compete for our share of the earth if they come back."

"Meaning you have to share your mother Gaea, who prefers the giants. Wow, who knew Titans were such mommy boys."

"Insolent demigod! Shut your little mouth. We will use Potter to gain power. What else."

"Just making sure. Who knows, maybe world peace. End poverty, hunger. Something good. But why are all powerful beings want more power."

"You wouldn't understand leech."

"Well, I think this dream has been dragged on long enough. Bye Atlas."

...

"And that's what happened."

Piper shook her head, "That was pretty sassy against a giant, and Atlas no less. And I can't believe you took a nap before the third task!"

I shrugged, "Being a hyperactive demigod requires thousands of calories and ten hours of sleep."
"Yeah, but now we know their plans." said Percy amongst handful of pudding and pastries.

Jason sighed, "Well. We have a tournament to prepare for. Piper and I are going to get into our positions." With that Piper, Jason, Hazel, and Percy (being half-dragged with food stuck in his mouth) went to find seats in the stands to watch the third task.
Nico asked, "Does anyone know what the third task is?"
Will shrugged, "I saw them grow hedges. As in a maze. Maybe something like that."

Frank nodded, "And probably no ordinary maze. Maybe booby traps and monsters."

Annabeth laughed, "As expected of a Triwizard tournament."

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Harry

"Harry, you ready?"
"As ready as I can be Hermione."
"Blimey mate, you'll be fine." said the twins in unison.
Ron nodded, "You'll win for sure."

There were more courses than usual for the dinner, but I was too nervous to eat much. It was sure to bite me back later. When the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall turned a dusty purple, Dumbledore rose from the staff table. The hall turned silent.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

As Harry got up, the Gryffindor table exploded into applause. The Weasleys and Hermione wished him luck as he headed out of the Great Hall with the other champions.
Annabeth came trotting besides him until they fell into a comfortable walk. She said, "Don't worry. My friends will make sure nothing will happen to you."

"I appreciate it, but sooner or later I'm going to have to face Voldemort."
She shook her head, "It's what the Fates laid out, but you aren't ready now. It took Percy a few years to be ready to defeat Kronos. Right now, you aren't mentally or physically prepared. There's still much to learn Harry."

Bagman came up to me and put an arm around my shoulder.
"Feeling all right, Harry?" Bagman asked as we went down the stone steps onto the grounds. "Confident?"

"I'm okay," I said. Sure I was nervous, but all the hexes and spells I've been practicing were all in my mind. It made me feel better to know I'm prepared.

We walked onto the Quidditch field, which was more of a garden than a field. A twenty-foot high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them; the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond the little void looked dark and creepy.

Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. They sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Not a cloud in sight.

Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached us.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," said Professor McGonagall to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?"
We all nodded. Annabeth and I exchanged glances. If Moody was directly a part of the task, things could go wrong quickly.

"Off you go, then!" said Bagman brightly to the four patrollers.
"Good luck, Harry," Hagrid whispered, and the four of them walked away in different directions, to station themselves around the maze. Bagman now pointed his want at his throat, muttered, "Sonorus," and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you have the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each- Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!"
Cheers and applause send birds fluttering into the sky.

"In second place, with eighty-three points, it's Miss Annabeth Chase of Pythia Academy!"
The demigods all stood up and cheered and danced for Annabeth so loudly that everyone was just looking at them weirdly. I saw Annabeth just smack her head against her hand in embarrassament..

"In third place, with eighty points-Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause.

"And in fourth place- Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"
All the boys dog-whistled and cheered loudly to the discontent of their fellow students.

I looked out into the stands, but I could just make out Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione halfway up the stands. I waves up at them, and they waves back, beaming.

"So… on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three- two- one-"
He gave a short blast on his whistle, and I hurried forward into the maze.

The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were sto tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment they entered the maze. I pulled out my wand, muttered, "Lumos," and heard Cedric do the same just behind him.

After about fifty yards, there was a fork in the path. We looked at each other and I took the left while he took the right.

I heard the whistle a second time. Annabeth had entered. I sped up and chose a path that seem completely deserted. I turned right, holding my wand as high as possible, trying to see as far ahead as possible. Nothing.

The whistle. Krum was in the running. I kept looking behind me. The old feeling that I was being watched was upon me. The maze was growing darker with every passing minute as the sky overhead deepened to navy. I reached another fork.

Another whistle. Fleur was in. All champions were now inside this dark maze. I had better speed things up.
"Point me." I whispered to my want, holding it flat in my palm. The wand spun around once and pointed towards his right, into solid hedge. That way was north, and I knew that I need to go northwest for the center of the maze. The best I could do was take the left fork and go right again as soon as possible.

The path ahead was empty too, and when I reached a right turn and took it, I again found my way unblocked. I whispered, "That's strange. They would at least stock the maze with monsters or creatures as such. It would make it harder. Surely I should have met something by now?"
It felt that the maze were luring me into a false sense of security. Then I heard movement behind me. I held out my want, ready to attack, but the beam fell only upon Cedric, who had just hurried out of a path on the right-hand side. He looked severely shaken. The sleeve of his robe was smoking.

He cursed, "Hagrid's Blast-ended Skrewts! They're enormous- I only just got away!" So there are monsters. That's strange. Why is my path still deserted?

He shook his head and dived out of sight, along another path. Keen to put plenty of distance between myself and the skrewts, I hurried off again. Then, as I turned a corner, I saw… a dementor gliding toward me. These creatures were once the ban of my existence back in Second Year with Lupin as my DADA teacher.

Twelve feet tall, its face hidden by its hood, its rotting, scabbed hands outstretched, it advanced, sensing its way blindly toward him. I could hear its rattling breath; I felt clammy coldness stealing over me, but… I summoned the happiest thought I could, and concentrated with all my mouth of getting out of the maze and celebrating with Ron and Hermione. I raised my wand, and cried, "Expecto Patronum!"

A silver stag erupted from the end of my wand and galloped full stead toward the dementor, which fell back and tripped over the hemp of its robes… wait, dementors never stumble.

"Hang on!" I shouted, advancing in the wake of my silver Patronus, "You're a boggard! Riddikulus!"

There was a loud crack, and the shape-shifter exploded in a wisp of smoke, while the silver stag faded. I could've used some company, but I needed to move on.

Left...right...left...right. Twice I found myself in dead ends. I did the Four-Point Spell again and found I was too far east. I turned back, took a right, and saw an odd golden mist floating ahead of him.

I approached it cautiously, pointing the wand's beam at it. It looked like some I blast it?

"Reducto!" The spell shot straight through the mist, leaving it intact.
"Blimey! I should have known. Reductor Curse was for solid objects. Should I walk through…?"

I was still hesitating when I heard a scream.
I yelled, "Fleur?"

There was silence. I stared all around me. What happened? Her scream was from somewhere ahead. I took a deep breath and ran through the enchanted mist.

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Annabeth

"Fleur! Are you okay?" I rocked her limp body to get her awake. She moaned but no sign of conscious.
I cursed inwardly, Great. I have no idea how to get the red sparks from her wand. I have to try somehow.

Snap! I whipped around, holding my knife and flashed it in every direction. I cried, "Who's there?"
Silence. Think Annabeth, think!

"Harry's not here! And I have no intention of winning the Triwizard Tournament! So whoever you are, come out immediately!"
Leaves fell as something stirred from inside the hedge. A voice whispered, "Two champions down. Two more to go."
Hades' underpants. Plan B it is.

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Cedric (surprise! Didn't expect to see me, eh?)

"What are you doing?" I screamed, "What the hell d'you think you're doing?"

Krum raised his wand. His eyes were all misty, as if he was being enchanted. Or maybe he was always like that.
"Crucio!" I fell to the ground and started squirming in pain. It was as if I was being stabbed everywhere in my body with poison for blood.

Some footsteps and a voice cried, "Stupefy!" The pain stopped and I panted on the ground. Two Harry's became one. He asked, "Are you all right?" He grabbed my arm roughly to get me back on my feet.

"Yeah. Yeah… I don't believe it..he crept up behind me… I heard him, I turned around, and he had his wand on me…"
I got up, but I was still shaking. We both looked down at Krum.
"I can't believe this… I thought he was all right," Harry said.
"So did I."

"Did you hear Fleur scream earlier?"
"Yeah. You don't think Krum go her too?"
"I don't know."

"Should we leave him here?"
"No," said Harry, "I reckon we should send up red sparks. Someone'll come down and collect him. Otherwise he'll probably be eaten by a skrewt."
"He'd deserve it," I mumbled, but I still sent red sparks in the air.

I looked at Harry and said, "Well...I s'pose we'd get going. We are competitors after all."

"Oh...yeah...right…" We went up the dark path without speaking and I turned right. I silently hoped that Annabeth and Harry would be alright in this maze

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Harry

I used my spell to make sure I was going the right direction. I couldn't stop thinking about Krum. Using an Unforgivable Curse on a fellow human being meant a life sentence in Azkaban. Surely, he didn't want the Triwizard Cup that badly…

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

It was a sphinx. It had the body of an over-large lion:great clawed paws and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes upon me as I approached.

She paced side to side, blocking my progress. 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?" I begged.

"No. 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."

My stomach dropped. Where is Hermione or Annabeth when you need them. If the riddle was too hard, I could just keep silent and find a different path. But doesn't hurt trying.

"Okay. Can I hear the riddle?"
The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, and recited:

Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.
What am I?

I gaped at her. Voiceless it cries? Mouthless mutters? It can't be an animal. Maybe an element. Water? Wingless flutters? Wings? Maybe the sky? Toothless bites? Fire can be painful.

I walked to the far side of the path and just hoped some higher power could save me. I waited and thought. But something wispy came. The hedges' leaves flew a bit. And the howling wind. Wind! That's it!

"You are the wind!"

The sphinx smiled broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for me to pass. I broke into a run. Victory was so close!

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Annabeth

I turned corner after corner. I looked behind me, hoping no one was following me. I ended up creating some sparks to get Fleur to safety, but now Harry was in danger. He can't have that Triwizard Cup! He just can't win!

I ran through this dark path until I was faced with a sphinx, laying down. She tilted her head and said, "This is the closest path to your goal. Be wary, one before you has passed me."

Must be either Harry or Cedric! But, nonetheless, they can't reach the cup!

"I see. I must answer a riddle to pass?"
"Yes. If you are wrong, I shall attack. If you are silent, I will let you leave unharmed."

"Ok. Hit me."

First think of the person who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,
The middle of middle and end of the 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?

Unwilling to kiss? There's so many. Wait, let's think this through logically.

First, a person in disguise. Secrets and tells lies. Spies?

Second, Middle of Middle? ….. That's 'D'. And End of end must be the same logic. 'D D'

The sound often heard During the search for a hard-to-find word ?... 'Er'!

"I would not kiss a spider!" Ugh, just thinking of one gives me goosebumps.

The sphinx nodded and let me through. Finally. I'm coming guys. Just stay away from that cup!

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Harry

The Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth a hundred yards away. Suddenly a dark figure hurtled out onto the path in front of me.
Cedric! Cedric was going to get there first. He was sprinting as fast as he could toward the cup. I could never catch him.
Then I saw something immense over a hedge to my left, moving quickly along a path that intersected with my own. It was moving so fast Cedric was about to run into it.

I bellowed, "Cedric! On your left!"
Cedric looked around just in time to hurl himself past the thing and void colliding with hit, but in his haste, he tripped. I saw his wand fly out as a gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down upon Cedric.

I yelled, "Stupefy!" to no effect. The spider jerked, scuttled around, and ran at me instead.

"Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy!" But it was no use. The spider was either so large, or so magical, that the spells were doing no more than aggravating it. I had one horrifying glimpse of eight shining black eyes and razor-sharp pincers before it was upon me. I was lifted into the air in its front legs; struggling madly, I tried to kick it, but when my leg connected with the pincers,, excruciating pain resonated throughout my body. I could hear Cedric yelling, "Stupefy!" But he had no better luck.

I shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

Thankfully the Disarming Spell made the spider drop me, but I fell twelve feet onto my already injured leg that crumpled beneath me.
Without a second thought, I raise my wand and aimed for the underbelly of the beast. "Stupefy!" just as Cedric yelled the same thing.
The combined attack from our spells was super effective. The spider keeled over sideways, flattening a nearby hedge, and strewing the path with a tangle of hairy legs.

"Harry, are you all right?" Cedric shouted.

I called back, panting, "I'm all right." I looked down at my leg. It was bleeding, and I could see some sort of thick, gluey secretion from the spider's pincers on my torn robes. I tried to get up, but my leg shook so badly that I had no support. I leaned against a hedge, gasping for breath, and looked around.

Cedric was standing feet from the Triwizard Cup, gleaming behind him.
I called, "Take it. Go on, take it. You're there. End this giant mess."
But Cedric didn't move. He just stood there, looking at me. Then he stared at the cup. I saw a look of longing on his face in its golden light. I understood him. It was finally his time to shine. His time to prove that Hufflepuff had a chance amongst all of Gryffindor's glory.

But….Cedric said, "You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here."
"That's no how it's supposed to work." I felt angry. Despite all my efforts, Cedric beat me there. Just like how he beat me to Cho. "The one who reached the cup first gets the points. And besides, I'm not going to win any races on this leg."

He merely shook his head.

"Stop being noble. Just take it, then we can get out of here."

Cedric watched me. "You told me about the dragons. I would've gone down in the first task if you hadn't told me."
I snapped, "I had help helped me with the egg. We're square."
"I also had help on the egg in the first place."

"We're still square."

"You should've got more points on the second task. You and Annabeth both were transports somewhere else due to someone else's tampering of the task."
I bitterly said, "Just take the damn cup!"

"No," said Cedric. He stepped over the spider's legs and walked towards Harry. He was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff House hadn't had in centuries.

"Go on," Cedric said.
I looked at the cup. For a moment, I saw himself emerging from the maze, holding it. I saw myself holding the Triwizard Cup aloft, heard the roar of the crowd, saw Cho's face shining with admiration, more clearly than I had ever seen it before… and then the picture faded, and I found himself starting at Cedric's shadowy, stubborn face.

"Both of us."

"What?"
"We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it."
"You- you sure?"
"Yeah… we've helped each other out, right? We both got here. Let's just take it together."

"You're on. Come here."
Cedric grabbed my arm and helped me toward the plinth where the cup stood. We were about to reach for it when a voice called out, "Stop! Don't touch it! It's a trap!"

A hand pulled ours back and shoved us onto the ground. There was Annabeth, bruised and bleeding, kicking the cup away from us.

She panted, "It's a trap. Just don't touch it."

Cedric asked, "Annabeth, what are you going about? If we don't take the cup, the game won't end!"
She shook her head, "It's better than facing Voldemort."

Cedric and I exclaimed at once, "What?"

"It seems she figured it out. The poor little godling. But don't worry. We planned for this." A voice muttered.

From the hedge emerged a Professor Moody covered in leaves. He glared at Annabeth, who stood firm with her knife.

"It seems my Lord had underestimated you godlings despite Hyperion's warnings." The current godling stared at Moody and bared her knife. She asked, "Are you really Professor Moody? I searched him up. Apparently he was an avid fighter against Voldemort. So who are you really?"
The man cackled, "Right you are! I'm not the real Professor Moody. But that doesn't matter because my lord will have Potter no matter what."

The man pointed his wand up and green smoke came billowing out of the maze. It all rearranged itself into a green skull with a snake coming out of it.

Cedric yelped, "The Death Eater's Sign! A sign of Voldemort!"
Suddenly, noise raged from the crowd. They must have seen the sign.

I sent red sparks from my wand, hoping to gather someone's attention to come help us. However, our worries were just beginning as black smoke came spiraling downwards toward us. From the smoke, arose a noseless pale man. Voldemort is here.

So that was a pretty long chapter. Don't worry Atlas and Hyperion will also make an appearance. So just wait for the next installment! And for those starting school soon, good luck, cause I will be too!-hope4all