DISCLAIMER: THE BOOK BELONGS TO J. I HAVE ONLY BORROWED BOTH CHARACTERS AND PLOTLINE.
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Note: the rest of the story will be finished, but in another book as I have to up the rating to an 'M' so if you guys are still interested I will be starting it in a new book.
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CHAPTER 68
Harry stood gawking at the massive maze built over the school grounds and suddenly felt a nervous pang. Bloody hell, the third task was not going to be as simple as he'd envisioned, was it?
The structure before him was enshrouded in a dark, somewhat menacing fog and there was an undefinable chill in the air. Balling his hands into tight fists, he exhaled loudly and proceeded towards where the other champions had already gathered.
"Blimey Harry! What took you so long? We were just about to send someone to fetch you" Darren said running over to him, impatiently tugging on the sleeve of his robes as he dragged him towards where Professor Dumbledore was patiently waiting for him.
"Harry my boy, you just made it before the last call" Dumbledore gently admonished him and then looked apologetic as he said "Unfortunately your parents have had to be sent back to the stands to join the other spectators as it was almost time for the tournament to commence."
"What! Mum and dad were here?" Harry asked weakly, suddenly feeling foolishly glad as his earlier fears dissipated somewhat.
"Yeah mum was totally cheesed off with you for not being there to greet them and she left me with the task of telling you that no matter what, 'Get. Out. Alive'!"
Harry smiled involuntarily, feeling a tiny bit relieved that he had not actually met her. The hugging and kissing would have been humiliating.
A loud gong suddenly rang through the air and taking it as their cue Darren, Hermione, Cedric and Harry gathered around to form a huddle clasping each other's hands tightly, "Ready?" Darren asked, almost squeezing the blood out of his twins' hand a sickly grin plastered on his face.
"Never been readier" Hermione said and grinned back at him almost manically "Never readier!"
"Shall we?" Professor Dumbledore asked invading their circle wearing a kindly smile on his face while he looked at the four champions with a hint of pride in his eyes.
They nodded numbly as the Headmaster clapped his hands and made the announcement in an enhanced voice to the crowds in the stands while ushering the four of them to stand at the four entrances of the maze readying them for start of the tournament.
"On my mark then" Dumbledore said softly and held his wand aloft when a huge red-gold Phoenix shot out at the end of it and flew into the sky bursting into a million colors.
"Best of luck" Dumbledore murmured, but there was no one there to listen to him as the champions had already entered the maze and the doors were closed behind them securely, preventing them from leaving unless they forfeited the game on their own terms.
The final task was underway and Dumbledore hoped that they would all return back safely.
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Harry stood inside the maze trying to adjust his eyesight to the dim light that came from the torches on the walls and saw thick, long vines growing out of the cracks in the walls and roof. On closer inspection he saw stunning carvings all along the walls of magical creatures and objects, flickering ominously in light of the flames as if they were alive.
Sucking in a deep breath, Harry walked cautiously further down the narrow corridor holding his wand aloft ready to ward off any surprise attacks that might come his way.
The absolute silence of his surroundings left him feeling more and more unnerved when suddenly a deafening blast rocked through the walls and the ground almost toppling him over, leaving him temporarily paralyzed.
After the aftershocks had ceased, he looked around quickly to find the source of the explosion through the debris and fine dust but after a thorough search he came to the conclusion that whatever it was had completely vanished!
When he decided that there was nothing he could do but advance further on, he suddenly saw a spark light up from within the walls of the maze itself!
Retreating from the spark while expecting another blast, he covered his face and crouched low on the ground to minimize the damage in the next explosion as it shook the ground so that all he could feel were its vibrations. Standing up he saw with shock that the wall from where the blast had emitted was moving!
It was as if it were coming alive! Stumbling back, Harry saw an enormous, deadly looking blast-ended skrewt emerge from the very carvings on the wall and drop to the earth with a loud thud.
Without giving him time to think or process what was happening, it scuttled quickly towards Harry with its tail sparking behind it menacingly.
Unable to move out of the way quickly enough, Harry apologized in advance to Hagrid in his head and cried out 'Obstructio murus' creating a thick glowing wall of magic separating him from the hasty beast immediately.
The stupid creature was moving so fast it was unable to move out of the way in time and rammed right into the wall with a nasty bang, flipping over on its back. A single frisson passed over its spine and then it lay still and unmoving before him as the wall disappeared.
"Can't say I'm all that unhappy about your little accident sparky, consider it a small revenge for singeing my hair last month" Harry said quietly while stepping over it complacently.
Continuing to walk down the winding, narrow corridor he figured out some kind of pattern with the help of the 'point me' spell all the while defending himself against tiny creatures and other obstacles that kept creeping out of the walls and attacking him, managing to fend them of quite easily.
He was just starting to think about how easy it was when he was suddenly plunged into total darkness and felt the walls become a smooth, glassy black as he apprehensively felt his way ahead.
It was an all-encompassing silence when a thin keening sound surrounded him and the entire length of the passage lit up with his darkest nightmares, showing him scenes where his family was being tortured by hooded men, where his friends were brutally murdered before his eyes while a sinister laugh that sent chills down his spine rang out with glee almost triggering a panic attack 'What kind of fresh hell is this?' he thought, running faster and faster covering his ears with his hands, trying to get away from all the death and screaming.
Breathing became difficult after a while and he was starting to see black spots in his vision from fear and exhaustion when the wall suddenly shone a blinding green and he heard a cold and dispassionate voice cry out 'Avada kedavra!'
Falling to the ground, Harry shut his eyes tightly and trembled from shock but as he came to his senses and saw that nothing had changed he understood then what was happening. 'Riddikulus' he whispered and watched as the blackness faded away.
Somehow the walls had projected a boggart's transformation and had made it into a regular house of horrors. Ingenious yes, but definitely not good for his heart!
Standing up slowly using the support the walls provided, Harry cursed at his wobbly legs willing them to stop shaking and drawing in a deep breath which came out in a noisy whoosh he took his first step forwards and then carried on with his quest silently.
No way was a damn boggart of all things going to mess things up for him now.
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Harry had walked an almost uneventful strip of the maze when suddenly he came across a huge gaping chasm in the ground separating him from the rest of the maze by a fairly large gap. Sighing he looked around for some kind of inspiration that would get him across when he heard a shrill scream that sounded like Hermione's followed by a loud thud of a body falling.
"What the hell have you done?" Harry heard Cedric shout, sounding frustrated and helpless "God, somebody help! Help!"
Fumbling with his wand, Harry looked up at the vines on the roof and doing his best to recall Professor Wright's teachings he made the vines grow longer, thicker and stronger right up to his waiting hand and then gripping them tightly, he swung across the divide not daring to look down letting go of the rope abruptly when he reached the other side.
Without pausing, Harry rushed towards the cries for help and saw utter carnage around him.
There were man shaped gaps in the walls and standing in front of the gaps in two neat rows were fully armored knights made from stone and brought to life by magic, and standing in the very center was a blank faced, hollow looking Ronald Weasley!
Harry quickly assessing the situation saw that Hermione had fallen to the side, unconscious, and Cedric was hovering over her protectively with the shaft of a spear sticking out of his bloody leg.
Calling for his bow and arrow which appeared in hands all golden and gleaming in the darkness radiating a power so great that it drew Ron's gaze to him immediately. Notching an arrow Harry hit one of the knights square in the chest and watched it crumble with satisfaction when almost immediately it reformed in seconds making Harry come to the conclusion that the only thing that would stop the stone warriors would be to stop their controller.
Looking at Ron, Harry saw him smiling like a Cheshire cat when he very snidely said "Ooh how unfortunate for you Diggory! You ask for help and it's the little ponce! I truly feel sorry for you man, I really do!" he said while laughing loudly.
Abruptly he screamed "Attack him!" while pointing his wand at one of the knights that suddenly became animated throwing its spear up into the air, deftly catching it and hurling straight at Harry!
Watching the solid weapon rush at him, Harry with movements faster than what was normal caught the spear with his bare hands and with a touch of magic let it crumble to pieces at his feet.
Ron looking livid and red faced launched another volley of attacks but Harry ready for it, almost danced his way around them escaping with tiny scratches only and finally catching hold of one he used it to vault over a knights head while simultaneously drawing an arrow which split into many on being let loose destroying most of the nearest knights and then very gently, with one finger he touched a stunned Ron on his forehead and watched him fall unconscious to the ground.
The remaining stone figurines stopped their attacks and retreated back into the walls leaving Harry free to walk over to Cedric and Hermione.
Kneeling down beside them, he winced at the sight of the broken shaft sticking out of Cedric's leg and asked him softly "Is Hermione alright?" following the steady rise and fall of her chest.
"Yeah just knocked out" Cedric managed to spit out through gritted teeth trying to rein in his pain.
"What about you? Think you can continue?" Harry asked him, knowing fully well that the injury was a grievous one, one that was out his league to treat.
"Na, think I'm about done Harry" Cedric said with a small but sad smile "I don't know how Ron got in here but he wasn't himself Harry, both Hermione and I could easily tell, something about this entire situation is not right and I thinks it's going to get worse."
"I know" Harry sighed "I feel it too."
"Do you know this is the second time you've saved me? Quite the damsel aren't I?" Cedric said in a slightly self-derogatory voice.
"Shut up Ced, this was not supposed to happen, the squid, Ron, none of it. Even so, you protected Hermione when you couldn't save yourself so tell me what about that action makes you feel cowardly huh?"
Cedric looked up at Harry his face riddled with pain but his eyes gleaming with a hero's worship leaving Harry feeling a bit uncomfortable "What you did was amazing Harry, it's inexplicable. When you fight there's this aura around you, like a gathering storm! I could…I could almost feel your power resonate inside of me, it truly was brilliant!"
"Thanks Ced, but I think it's coz you've lost lots of blood and you're not fully conscious right now."
"Harry take-care yeah? I think we're almost at the ending. Shame Hermione and I can't continue but both you and Darren can, so best of luck and I hope you end up the victor!"
Harry nodded and then avoiding his fallen comrade's gaze, he slowly raised his wand and shot up red sparks.
Ooooooooooooo