Harry

Left… Right… Left again… Harry stumbled through the maze. Another dead end. The Four-Point spell he'd learnt with Ron and Hermione told him he was heading too far east. He turned back, took a right turn, and saw an odd golden mist floating ahead of him.

"Reducto!"

The spell passed through the mist, leaving it intact. Of course – the Reductor curse was meant for sold objects. If he wanted to pass, he'd have to walk through it, but he'd never seen an enchantment like this before… Was it worth chancing or should he turn back?

He was still hesitating when a scream shattered the silence.

A girl's scream; Fleur.

Silence. The scream had come from somewhere ahead. Harry took a deep breath and plunged into the mist.

The world turned upside-down, leaving Harry hanging from the ground staring terrified into the bottomless, star-spangled sky stretching out below him. He clutched his glasses to the end of the nose and tried to think, but not one of the spells he had practiced had prepared him for the sudden reversal of ground and sky.

Think… he could hear the blood pounding in his ears, think…

He had two options; try and move or send up red sparks and get rescued. But he'd be disqualified and somehow the thought of all he'd done being for nothing was worse than tumbling into the starry void.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he pulled his right foot as hard as he could, away from the grassy ceiling.

Immediately the world righted itself and he fell forward onto wonderfully solid ground. He took a deep, steadying breath, then stood up and hurried forward, looking around for some sign of Fleur. Was she alright? There was no sign of red sparks – did that mean she had got herself out of trouble or was she in such trouble she couldn't reach her wand?

He reached a junction and still no sign of Fleur. He took the right fork with a growing sense of unease, but he couldn't help thinking, one champion down…

If Fleur really was out of the running and it looked like she was, that left only Percy. For the first time, Harry pictured himself winning the Tournament – really pictured it - bearing the cup aloft with Ron and Hermione cheering him on… He'd got this far, hadn't he? Maybe he could actually do this.

As though the maze was sensing his sudden determination, he was met with nothing but dead ends for ten minutes. Twice, he took the same wrong turn. Once, he found himself facing a Blast-Ended Skrewt. His desire to reach the cup was burning stronger than ever and 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 and his beam of wand-light hit an extraordinary creature straight out of the pages of his Monster Book of Monsters.

The body of an overlarge lion, great clawed paws and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft; a sphinx. Looking up, Harry saw it had the head of a woman, with long almond-shaped eyes. She paced from hedge to hedge, blocking his path.

Then she opened her mouth and, in a deep, hoarse voice, spoke, "You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."

"Um- can you move, please?" he asked hopefully.

"No," she said, swishing her tail, "Not unless you answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess – I let you pass. Answer wrongly – I attack. Remain silent – I will let you walk away unscathed."

This was the sort of thing he needed Hermione for, but he was so close. He couldn't give up now and he knew Percy – he'd be near the centre, by now.

"Okay, can I hear the riddle?"

The sphinx smirked, settled on her hind legs 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 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?"

Harry gaped at her.

"A person in disguise," he muttered, "An imposter? No! A spy? Last thing to mend… I'll come back to that. Middle of middle and end of end – er… no idea. Um, could I have the last line again, please?"

She gave him the last four lines.

"The search for a hard-to-find word. Er… Er! "Er"'s a sound!"

The sphinx smiled at him.

"Spy… er… spy… er… A creature I wouldn't want to kiss?" it clicked, "Spider!"

The sphinx smiled more broadly, "Very good! That other boy took much longer… Ooh, I was so hoping he'd get it wrong! I haven't had demigod in so long…"

Harry's stomach slipped several notches. Percy had already been here. He dashed past with a hurried, "thanks!" now desperate to reach the cup. He had to be close now, he had to be… His wand was telling him he was bang on course…

He had a choice of paths up ahead. "Point me!" he whispered again to his wand, and it spun around and pointed him to the right-hand one. He dashed up this one and saw light ahead.

The Triwizard cup was gleaming on a plinth up a hundred yards away. Harry sprinted forward. He could make it… He could win…

Percy stood in front of the plinth, his face glowing blue in the cup's light. Harry skidded to a halt. Everything he'd done, and Percy had still beat him, but why hadn't he taken the cup yet?

"Percy?" he asked tentatively.

"We have to take it together," Percy's brow was furrowed as he stared at the cup, "I can't explain it, I just have this feeling that we have to draw."

Harry stared at him. Percy wanted to draw, why?

"I can't…" the words tasted bitter in his mouth, "You got here first, you won fair and square."

Percy shook his head agitated, "No, we do it together… Trust me, Harry. It has to be this way."

Harry looked from him to the Cup. He saw himself emerging from the maze by Percy's side. Equals, at last. If Percy wanted him to share that glory, then why shouldn't he?

"You're sure?" he checked.

Percy nodded, "On three, right?"

Hardly believing his luck, Harry approached the plinth and held his hand over one of the cup's shining handles. To his right, Percy did the same.

"One- two- three-"

He and Percy both grasped a handle.

Instantly, Harry felt a jerk beneath his navel. He feet left the ground. He could not unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling him on, in a howl of wind and a swirl of colour, Percy at his side.

I'm uploading the next chapter straight away so I'll reply to all reviews then. I thought they worked better as two separate chapters but since this basically covers what happens in the maze in the book, I decided to upload them at the same time. Enjoy!