The Potter Twins and the Goblet of Fire
Chapter 21: The Third Task
After their meeting with Dumbledore, Michael and Harry had told Ron and Hermione everything, except for what happened to Neville's parents. They knew it wasn't their place to say so. They did talk about the trials they saw, and what they learned about Bagman and the others who were at the trials.
Hermione drew a connection to Rita Skeeter and the whole situation with Hagrid, and what she had said about Bagman.
Ron couldn't let go of the fact that Snape had been a Death Eater going undercover for Dumbledore.
When they had returned to their dorms, they had run into Neville.
Michael had given his friend a hug with no words.
Neville was confused, but was happy about the hug.
It took a long time for Harry or Michael to fall asleep that night….
….
Ron and Hermione were supposed to be studying for their exams, which would finish on the day of the third task, but they were putting most of their efforts into helping Harry and Michael prepare.
The mood in the castle as they entered June became excited and tense again. Everyone was looking forward to the third task, which would take place a week before the end of term. The brothers were practicing hexes at every available moment. They felt more confident about this task than either of the others. Difficult and dangerous though it would be, Moody was right: the twins had managed to find their way past monstrous creatures and enchanted barriers before now, and this time they had some notice, some chance to prepare themselves for what lay ahead.
Tired of walking in on them all over the school, McGonagall had given them permission to use the empty Transfiguration classroom at lunchtimes. Harry had soon mastered the Impediment Curse, a spell to slow down and obstruct attackers; the Reductor Curse, which would enable him to blast solid objects out of his way; and the Four-Point Spell, a useful discovery of Hermione's that would make his wand point due north, therefore enabling him to check whether he was going in the right direction within the maze.
Michael had become adept in pretty much every fire spell known to wizards.
Harry was still having trouble with the Shield Charm, though. This was supposed to cast a temporary, invisible wall around himself that deflected minor curses; Hermione managed to shatter it with a well-placed Jelly-Legs Jinx, and Harry wobbled around the room for ten minutes afterward before she had looked up the counter-jinx.
Michael's scarf still acted as a protective barrier; so he didn't need the shield charm, though he still did his best to learn the charm, just in case.
At one point they had spotted Malfoy talking into something in his hands, but they didn't pay too much attention to that.
Sirius was sending daily owls now. Like Hermione, he seemed to want to concentrate on getting the twins through the last task before they concerned themselves with anything else. He reminded them in every letter that whatever might be going on outside the walls of Hogwarts was not their responsibility, nor was it within their power to influence it.
"If Voldemort is really getting stronger", he wrote, "my priority is to ensure your safety. He cannot hope to lay hands on you while you are under Dumbledore's protection, but all the same, take no risks: Concentrate on getting through that maze safely, and then we can turn our attention to other matters."
Both brother's nerves mounted as June the twenty-fourth drew closer, but they were not as bad as those they had felt before the first and second tasks. For one thing, they were confident that, this time, they had done everything in his power to prepare for the task. For another, this was the final hurdle, and however well or badly they did, the tournament would at last be over, which would be an enormous relief.
Breakfast was a very noisy affair at the Gryffindor table on the morning of the third task. The post owls appeared, bringing Harry a good-luck card from Sirius. It was only a piece of parchment, folded over and bearing a muddy paw print on its front, but Harry appreciated it all the same.
Michael had gotten a pair of mittens with the same protective charm his scarf had.
Nosey and Fleet were sitting in front of Michael, both nibbling on some bread.
A screeching owl arrived for Hermione, carrying her morning copy of the Daily Prophet as usual. She unfolded the paper, glanced at the front page, and spat out a mouthful of pumpkin juice all over it.
Harry, Ron and Michael, "what?"
Hermione quickly said, "nothing."
She tried to shove the paper out of sight, but Ron grabbed it.
He stared at the headline and said, "no way. Not today. That old cow."
Harry, "what? Rita Skeeter again?"
Ron said as he also attempted to push the paper out of sight, "no...'
Michael, "it's about us, isn't it?"
Again Ron tried to say, "no..."
But before the towns could demand to see the paper, Draco Malfoy shouted across the Great Hall from the Slytherin table.
"Hey, Potter's! Potter's! How's your heads? You feeling alright? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?"
Malfoy was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet too.
Harry, "let us see it. Give it here."
Michael, "how bad is it this time!?"
Very reluctantly, Ron handed over the newspaper. Harry turned it over and found he and Michael staring at their own picture, beneath the banner headline:
HARRY AND MICHAEL POTTER
"DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS"
The boy's who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about the Potter's' strange behavior, which casts doubts upon their suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School.
The Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, they regularly collapse at school, and are often heard to complain of pain in the scars on their forehead and cheek, (relics of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill them.)
On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed the two of them storming from the class, claiming that their scars were hurting too badly to continue studying.
It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that their brains were affected by the attack inflicted upon them by You-Know-Who, and that their insistence that the scars are still hurting are an expression of their deep-seated confusion.
"They might even be pretending", said one specialist, "this could be a plea for attention."
The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about the Potter's that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public.
"Harry Potter can speak Parseltongue", reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year, "there were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. They have made friends with werewolves and giants too. But his brother might be worse! He spends more time with wild animals than people. Probably because he can't get any girls or boys to like him. We think they would do anything for a bit of power."
Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Force Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue, "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers."
Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants, and especially wild animals, would appear to have a fondness for violence."
Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether boys such as this should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that either twin might resort to the Dark Arts in their desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening."
Harry, "gone off ua a bit, hasn't she?"
Michael, "it's like she's out for blood."
Over at the Slytherin table, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were laughing at them, tapping their heads with their fingers, pulling grotesquely mad faces, and wagging their tongues like snakes.
Ron, "how did she know your scars hurt in Divination? There's no way she was there, there's no way she could've heard-"
Harry, "the window was open. I opened it to breathe."
Hermione, "you were at the top of North Tower! Your voice couldn't have carried all the way down to the grounds!"
Michael, "well, you're the one who's supposed to be researching magical methods of bugging! You tell us how she did it!"
Hermione, "I've been trying! But I…. But…."
An odd, dreamy expression suddenly came over Hermione's face.
She slowly raised a hand and ran her fingers through her hair.
Ron, "are you alright?"
Hermione, "hey. I've had an idea. I think I know…. Because then no one would be able to see…. Even Moody…. And she'd have been able to get onto the window ledge…. But she's not allowed…. She's definitely not allowed…. I think we've got her! Just give me two seconds in the library, just to make sure!"
With that, Hermione seized her school bag and dashed out of the Great Hall.
Ron, "oi! We've got our History of Magic exam in ten minutes! Blimey. She must really hate that Skeeter woman to risk missing the start of an exam. What're you two going to do in Binns's class, read again?"
Exempt from the end-of-term tests as Triwizard champions, Harry and Michael had been sitting in the back of every exam class so far, looking up fresh hexes for the third task.
Harry, "s'pose so."
Michael, "what else is there?"
But just then, McGonagall came walking alongside the Gryffindor table toward them.
McGonagall, "Potter's, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast."
"But the task's not till tonight", said Harry, accidentally spilling scrambled eggs down his front, afraid he had mistaken the time.
McGonagall, "I'm aware of that, Harry. The champions' families are invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you two to greet them."
She moved away. Harry and Michael gaped after her.
Harry, "she doesn't expect the Dursleys to turn up, does she?"
Michael, "I hope not. The only one I would wanna see is Aunt Petunia."
Rob, "dunno. I'd better hurry, I'm going to be late for Binns. See you both later."
Harry and Michael finished their breakfast in the emptying Great Hall. They saw Fleur Delacour get up from the Ravenclaw table and join Cedric as they crossed to the side chamber and entered. Krum slouched off to join them shortly afterward. They stayed where they were. They really didn't want to go into the chamber. They had no family…. No family who would turn up to see them risk their lives, anyway. Even Aunt Petunia, they doubted she'd be able to show up. But just as they were getting up, thinking that they might as well go up to the library and do a spot more hex research, the door of the side chamber opened, and Cedric stuck his head out.
"Harry, Michael, come on, they're waiting for you!"
Utterly perplexed, they got up. The Dursleys couldn't possibly be here, could they? They walked across the Hall and opened the door into the chamber.
Cedric and his parents were just inside the door. Viktor Krum was over in a corner, conversing with his dark-haired mother and father in rapid Bulgarian. He had inherited his father's hooked nose. On the other side of the room, Fleur was jabbering away in French to her mother. Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle, was holding her mother's hand. She waved at the twins, who waved back, grinning.
Then they saw Mrs. Weasley and Bill standing in front of the fireplace, beaming at them.
Mrs. Weasley said excitedly as she smiled broadly and walked over to them, "surprise! Thought we'd come and watch you, boys!"
She bent down and kissed Harry and Michael both on the cheeks.
Bill, "you two all right? Charlie wanted to come, but he couldn't get time off. He said you were incredible against the Horntail, Harry. And we're all impressed with how you calmed Norberta down, Michael."
Fleur Delacour, the twins noticed, was eyeing Bill with great interest over her mother's shoulder. The brothers could tell she had no objection whatsoever to long hair or earrings with fangs on them.
Harry, "this is really nice of you."
Michael, "we thought for a moment that the Dursleys…. Well…."
Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips. She had always refrained from criticizing the Dursley's in front of Harry and Michael, but her eyes flashed every time they were mentioned. Except for Petunia. Literally the only Dursley who had any likability.
Bill, "it's great being back here."
Violet, the Fat Lady's friend, winked at him from her frame.
Mrs. Weasley said, "haven't seen this place for five years. Is that picture of the mad knight still around? Sir Cadogan?"
Harry, "oh yeah."
Bill, "and the Fat Lady?"
Mrs. Weasley, "she was here in my time. She gave me such a telling off one night when I got back to the dormitory at four in the morning-"
Bill, "what were you doing out of your dormitory at four in the morning?"
Mrs. Weasley grinned, her eyes twinkling, "your father and I had been for a nighttime stroll. He got caught by Apollyon Pringle, he was the caretaker in those days, your father's still got the marks."
Bill, "fancy giving us a tour, Harry? Michael?"
"Yeah, okay", said Harry, and they made their way back toward the door into the Great Hall. As they passed Amos Diggory, he looked around.
He said, "there you are, are you? Bet you're not feeling quite as full of yourselves now Cedric's caught you up on points, are you?"
Michael, "what?"
Cedric in a low voice to Harry and Michael, frowning after his father, "ignore him. He's been angry ever since Rita Skeeter's article about the Triwizard Tournament, you know, when she made out you were the only Hogwarts champions."
Amos, "didn't bother to correct her, though, did they? Still…. You'll show them, Ced. Beaten Harry once before, haven't you?"
Mrs. Weasley said angrily, "Rita Skeeter goes out of her way to cause trouble, Amos. I would have thought you'd know that, working at the Ministry!"
Mr. Diggory looked as though he was going to say something angry, but his wife laid a hand on his arm, and he merely shrugged and turned away.
Michael didn't let this go, though, and growled, "at least your son isn't having his name constantly slandered in the news! At least he is in a happy relationship with no one badmouthing him!"
Mr. Diggory looked ashamed of himself for a moment as Michael and Harry left with Mrs. Weasley and Bill.
After that, the twins had a very enjoyable morning walking over the sunny grounds with Bill and Mrs. Weasley, showing them the Beauxbatons carriage and the Durmstrang ship.
Mrs. Weasley was intrigued by the Whomping Willow, which had been planted after she had left school, and reminisced at length about the gamekeeper before Hagrid, a man called Ogg.
Harry, "how's Percy?"
Bill, "not good."
Mrs. Weasley said, lowering her voice and glancing around, "he's very upset. The Ministry wants to keep Mr. Crouch's disappearance quiet, but Percy's been hauled in for questioning about the instructions Mr. Crouch has been sending in. They seem to think there's a chance they weren't genuinely written by him. Percy's been under a lot of strain. They're not letting him fill in for Mr. Crouch as the fifth judge tonight. Cornelius Fudge is going to be doing it."
Michael, "and…. What does he think about me being…. Y'know…."
Mrs. Weasley, "he says he accepts you, Michael. He would never judge you for being gay."
Michael smiled. That was good enough for him.
They returned to the castle for lunch.
Ron, "Mum- Bill? What're you doing here?"
Mrs. Weasley, "come to watch Harry and Michael in the last task. I must say, it makes a lovely change, not having to cook. How was your exam?"
Ron, "oh…. Okay. Couldn't remember all the goblin rebels' names, so I invented a few. It's all right", he said, helping himself to a Cornish pasty, while Mrs. Weasley looked stern, "they're all called stuff like Bodrod the Bearded and Urg the Unclean; it wasn't hard."
Fred, George, and Ginny came to sit next to them too, and Harry and Michael were having such a good time they felt almost as though they were back at the Burrow; they had forgotten to worry about that evening's task, and not until Hermione turned up, halfway through lunch, did they remember that she had had a brainwave about Rita Skeeter.
Michael, "are you going to tell us?"
Hermione quickly said, "later."
Michael, Harry, Bill, and Mrs. Weasley whiled away the afternoon with a long walk around the castle, and then returned to the Great Hall for the evening feast. Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge had joined the staff table now. Bagman looked quite cheerful, but Cornelius Fudge, who was sitting next to Madame Maxime, looked stern and was not talking. Madame Maxime was concentrating on her plate, and Harry and Michael thought her eyes looked red. Hagrid kept glancing along the table at her.
There were more courses than usual, but the twins were starting to feel really nervous now and didn't eat much. As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I 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."
Harry and Michael got up. The Gryffindors all along the table were applauding them; the Weasleys and Hermione all wished them good luck, and they headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor.
Bagman, "feeling alright, Harry? Michael? Confident?"
Harry, "okay."
Michael simply nodded.
They walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. 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 it 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. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Moody, McGonagall, and Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.
McGonagall, "we are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze. 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?"
The champions nodded.
Bagman, "off you go, then!"
Hagrid whispered, "good luck, boys."
The five of them walked away in different directions, to station themselves around the maze.
Bagman now pointed his wand 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 how the points currently stand! In first place, Mr. Michael Potter with eighty-six points each, of Hogwarts School!"
The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky.
Bagman, "tied in second place, with eighty-five points each, Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!"
Cheers once again filled the entire area!
Bagman, "in third place, with eighty points, Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!"
More applause.
Bagman, "and in third place, Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"
Harry and Michael could just make out Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione applauding Fleur politely, halfway up the stands. They waved up at them, and they waved back, beaming at them.
Bagman, "so…. On my whistle, Michael! Three- two- one-"
He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Michael hurried forward into the maze.
The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment they entered the maze. Michael felt almost as though he were underwater again. He pulled out his wand and muttered, "Lumos."
After about fifty yards, they reached a fork.
Michael heard Bagman's whistle for the second time. Harry and Cedric had entered the maze. Michael sped up. His chosen path seemed completely deserted. He turned right, and hurried on, holding his wand high over his head, trying to see as far ahead as possible. Still, there was nothing in sight.
Bagman's whistle blew in the distance for the third time.
Krum was now in the maze.
As Michael continued on, he suddenly spotted some sort of creature made of vines. It tried to attack Michael, but Michael quickly pulled out his wand and shot a ball of fire at the vines, making it screech and run off!
Michael took a breath before he used his Animagus powers to turn himself into an Arctic fox and began running through the maze.
He then heard the whistle blow for a fourth time, indicating that Fleur was now inside the maze.
All of the champions were now inside.
Michael kept looking behind him. The old feeling that he was being watched was upon him. The maze was growing darker with every passing minute as the sky overhead deepened to navy. He reached a second fork.
"Point Me", he whispered to his wand, holding it flat in his palm.
The wand spun around once and pointed toward his right, into solid hedge. That way was north, and he knew that he needed to go northwest for the center of the maze. The best he could do was to take the left fork and go right again as soon as possible.
The path ahead was empty too, and when Michael reached a right turn and took it, he again found his way unblocked. He didn't know why, but the lack of obstacles was unnerving him. Especially after he faced the vine creature so early on. Surely he should have met something else by now? It felt as though the maze were luring him into a false sense of security. Then he heard movement right behind him. He held out his wand, ready to attack, but its beam fell only upon Cedric, who had just hurried out of a path on the right-hand side. Cedric looked severely shaken. The sleeve of his robe was smoking.
Cedric, "Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts! They're enormous, I only just got away!"
Michael sighed. He had something to say to Cedric.
Michael, "Cedric?"
Cedric looked at Michael.
Michael, "I…. I'm sorry about how I've treated you…. I know Cho loves you…. So as long as you make her happy…. I won't hold any grudges…. And if you want…. Why don't we go to Hohsmeade and hang out?"
Cedric gave a surprised but happy look and said, "I'd like that. And, I'm sorry for what my dad said about you and Harry."
Michael smiled and said, "water under the bridge."
And with that, Cedric and Michael went into different directions.
Michael dived out of sight, along another path.
Keen to put plenty of distance between himself and the skrewts, he hurried off again. Then, as he turned a corner, he saw Harry, with a dementor gliding towards him. Twelve feet tall, its face hidden by its hood, its rotting, scabbed hands outstretched, it advanced, sensing its way blindly toward him. Michael ran over to Harry, and they could both hear its rattling breath; they felt clammy coldness stealing over them, but knew what they had to do….
They summoned the happiest thoughts they could, concentrated with all their might on the thoughts of getting out of the maze and celebrating with Ron and Hermione, raised their wands, and cried, "Expecto Patronum", together!
A silver stag and Arctic fox erupted from the end of their wands and galloped toward the dementor, which fell back and tripped over the hem of its robes….
They had never seen a dementor stumble.
Harry, "hang on..."
Michael, "you're a boggart! Riddikulus!"
There was a loud crack, and the shape-shifter exploded in a wisp of smoke. The silver stag and Arctic fox faded from sight.
They moved on, quickly and quietly as possible, listening hard, their wands held high once more.
Left…. Right…. Left again…. Twice they found themselves facing dead ends. Michael did the Four-Point Spell again and found that they were going too far east. He and Harry turned back, took a right turn, and saw an odd golden mist floating ahead of them.
They approached it cautiously, pointing the wands' beams at it. This looked like some kind of enchantment. They wondered whether they might be able to blast it out of the way.
Harry, "Reducto!"
The spell shot straight through the mist, leaving it intact. The twins supposed they should have known better; the Reductor Curse was for solid objects. What would happen if they walked through the mist?
Was it worth chancing it, or should they double back?
They were still hesitating when a scream shattered the silence.
Harry said in shock, "Fleur?"
Michael, "this doesn't bode well…."
There was silence. They stared all around them. What had happened to her? Her scream seemed to have come from somewhere ahead. They took a deep breath and ran through the enchanted mist.
The two found themselves whirling through the air, going upside down, feeling blood pounding in their ears and the world around them swirling like a rollercoaster.
After what seemed like an eternity, the world righted itself. The twins fell forward onto their knees onto the wonderfully solid ground. They both felt temporarily limp with shock. They each took a deep, steadying breath, then got up again and hurried forward, looking back over their shoulders as they ran away from the golden mist, which twinkled innocently at them in the moonlight.
Michael, "remind me to smack whoever had the idea for THAT obstacle."
They paused at a junction of two paths and looked around for some sign of Fleur. They both were sure it had been she who had screamed.
What had she met? Was she all right? There was no sign of red sparks, did that mean she had got herself out of trouble, or was she in such trouble that she couldn't reach her wand? They took the right fork with a feeling of increasing unease…. But at the same time, they couldn't help thinking, One champion down….
The cup was somewhere close by, and it sounded as though Fleur was no longer in the running. They had gotten this far, hadn't they?
What if they actually managed to win? Fleetingly, and for the first time since they had found themselves champions, they saw again that image of themselves, raising the Triwizard Cup in front of the rest of the school…. Michael, of course, couldn't stop imagining Cho as one of the people praising his victory.
They met nothing for ten minutes, but kept running into dead ends. Twice they took the same wrong turning. Finally, they found a new route and started to jog along it, their wandlight waving, making their shadows flicker and distort on the hedge walls. Then they rounded another corner and found themselves facing a Blast-Ended Skrewt.
Cedric was right, it was enormous. Ten feet long, it looked more like a giant scorpion than anything. Its long sting was curled over its back. Its thick armor glinted in the light from the twins' wands, which they pointed at it.
After a few tries, they managed to get past it by knocking it on its back and stunning it before running off.
They kept running around for a few minutes until they heard something in the path running parallel to their own that made them stop dead.
Cedric, "what are you doing? What the Hell d'you think you're doing?"
And then they heard Krum's voice.
"Crucio!"
The air was suddenly full of Cedric's yells. Horrified, the twins began sprinting up the path, trying to find a way into Cedric's. When none appeared, they tried the Reductor Curse again. It wasn't very effective, but it burned a small hole in the hedge through which Harry forced his leg, kicking at the thick brambles and branches until they broke and made an opening; he and Michael struggled through it, tearing their robes, and looking to their right, saw Cedric jerking and twitching on the ground, Krum standing over him with a glazed look in his eyes.
The twins pulled themselves up and pointed their wands at Krum just as Krum looked up. Krum turned and began to run.
"Stupefy", Harry yelled.
The spell hit Krum in the back; he stopped dead in his tracks, fell forward, and lay motionless, facedown in the grass. Harry and Michael dashed over to Cedric, who had stopped twitching and was lying there panting, his hands over his face.
Michael, "are you alright?"
Cedric, "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…."
Cedric got up. He was still shaking. He, Michael and Harry looked down at Krum.
Harry, "I can't believe this…. I thought he was alright."
Cedric, "so did I."
Michael, "did you hear Fleur scream earlier?"
Cedric, "yeah. You don't think Krum got her too?"
Harry, "I don't know."
Michael, "I hope she's okay."
Cedric, "should we leave him here?"
Michael, "no. I reckon we should send up red sparks. Someone'll come and collect him…. Otherwise he'll probably be eaten by a skrewt."
"He'd deserve it", Cedric muttered, but all the same, he raised his wand and shot a shower of red sparks into the air, which hovered high above Krum, marking the spot where he lay.
Michael, Harry and Cedric stood there in the darkness for a moment, looking around them.
Then Cedric said, "well…. I s'pose we'd better go on…."
Harry, "what? Oh…. Yeah…. Right…."
Michael, "yeah…. We should…."
It was an odd moment. They and Cedric had been briefly united against Krum, now the fact that they were opponents came back to the twins.
The three of them proceeded up the dark path without speaking, then Harry and Michael turned left, and Cedric right. Cedric's footsteps soon died away.
The twins kept using the Four-Point-Spell to make their way through the maze.
Their desire to reach the cup first was now burning stronger than ever, but they could hardly believe what they'd just seen Krum do. The use of an Unforgivable Curse on a fellow human being meant a life term in Azkaban, that was what Moody had told them. Krum surely couldn't have wanted the Triwizard Cup that badly….
Every so often the twins hit more dead ends as they sped up, but the increasing darkness made them feel sure they were getting near the heart of the maze.
They soon came across an extraordinary creature, one which they had only seen in picture form, in the 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 the boys as he approached. They raised their wands, hesitating. She was not crouching as if to spring, but pacing from side to side of the path, blocking their progress. Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice.
"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."
Harry, "so…. So will you move, please?"
She replied,"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."
Harry and Michael were terrified of getting the riddle wrong, but they knew they needed to solve it.
Michael, "okay. Can we hear the riddle?"
The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, 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 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?"
The twins tried to solve the riddle, having to hear it again to figure it out. All the clues add up to a creature they wouldn't want to kiss.
They slowly put it together.
A person in disguise…. A spy?
The last thing to mend…. Middle of middle…. The sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word…. Er…. Er! Er is a sound!
Put them together…. Spy…. Er…. A creature I wouldn't want to kiss…. A spider!
That was the answer!
The sphinx smiled more broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for them to pass.
Harry, "thanks."
Michael, "and good riddle by the way!"
They dashed forward! They had to be close now, they had to be…. Their wands were telling them they were bang on course; as long as they didn't encounter anything too horrible, they might have a chance!
They broke into a run. They had a choice of paths up ahead.
They used the spell to point them in the right direction, where there was light ahead!
The Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth a hundred yards away. Suddenly a dark figure hurtled out onto the path in front of them.
Cedric was going to get there first. Cedric was sprinting as fast as he could toward the cup, and the twins knew they would never catch up, Cedric was much taller, had much longer legs-
Then the twins saw something immense over a hedge to their left, moving quickly along a path that intersected with their own; it was moving so fast Cedric was about to run into it, and Cedric, his eyes on the cup, had not seen it!
Michael, "Cedric! On your left!"
Cedric looked around just in time to hurl himself past the thing and avoid colliding with it, but in his haste, he tripped. The twins saw Cedric's wand fly out of his hand as a gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down upon Cedric.
This began a furious battle, with all three young wizards using various spells to fight back against the spider. Harry's already injured leg got even worse before the boys were able to use a combination of spells to send the spider flying into a hedge wall, knocked out.
Cedric, "Harry! Are you all right? Did it fall on you?"
"No", Harry called back, panting.
He looked down at his leg. It was bleeding freely. He could see some sort of thick, gluey secretion from the spider's pincers on his torn robes. He tried to get up, but his leg was shaking badly and did not want to support his weight. He leaned against the hedge, gasping for breath, and looked around.
Michael ran over to his brother and helped him stand as they saw Cedric was standing feet from the Triwizard Cup, which was gleaming behind him.
Harry, "take it, then. Go on, take it. You're there."
But Cedric didn't move. He merely stood there, looking at Michael and Harry. Then he turned to stare at the cup. The twins saw the longing expression on his face in its golden light. Cedric looked around at them again.
Cedric took a deep breath, "you two take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here."
Michael, "that's not how it's supposed to work!"
Michael felt angry; his brother's leg was very injured, he was aching all over from trying to throw off the spider, and after all their efforts, Cedric had beaten them to it, just as he'd beaten Michael to ask Cho to the ball.
Harry, "yeah. The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg."
Michael, "go ahead Cedric. You win."
Cedric took a few paces nearer to the stunned spider, away from the cup, shaking his head.
Cedric simply said, "no."
Harry, "stop being noble."
Michael, "yeah, just take it, then we can get out of here."
Cedric watched Michael helping Harry to steady himself, holding tight to the hedge and his brother.
Cedric, "you told me about the dragons. I would've gone down in the first task if you hadn't told me what was coming."
Harry, "I had help on that too. You helped me with the egg, we're square."
Michael, "and I already made an attempt to bury the hatchet between us."
Cedric, "I had help on the egg in the first place."
"We're still square", said Harry, testing his leg gingerly; it shook violently as he put weight on it; he had sprained his ankle when the spider had dropped him.
Cedric, "you should've got more points on the second task, Harry. You stayed behind to get all the hostages. And Michael went back in to help you. I should've done that."
Harry, "I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously! Just take the cup!"
Michael, "yeah, give Hufflepuff a win!"
Cedric again said, "no."
He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join Harry and Michael, who stared at him. Cedric was serious. He was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff House hadn't had in centuries.
Cedric, "go on."
He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms were folded, he seemed decided.
Michael and Harry looked from Cedric to the cup. For one shining moment, they saw themselves emerging from the maze, holding it, holding the Triwizard Cup aloft, heard the roar of the crowd, Michael saw Cho's face shining with admiration, more clearly than he had ever seen it before…. And then the picture faded, and they found themselves staring at Cedric's shadowy, stubborn face.
Harry, "all of us."
Cedric asked, "what?"
Michael, "we'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it."
Cedric stared at the twins. He unfolded his arms.
Cedric, "you- you sure?"
Harry, "yeah. Yeah…. We've helped each other out, haven't we?"
Michael, "we all got here. Let's just take it together."
For a moment, Cedric looked as though he couldn't believe his ears; then his face split in a grin.
Cedric, "you're on. Come here."
He grabbed Harry's other arm below the shoulder and he and Michael helped Harry limp toward the plinth where the cup stood. When they had reached it, they all held a hand out over one of the cup's gleaming handles.
Harry, "on three, right? One…. Two…. Three!"
Harry, Michael and Cedric all grasped a handle. Instantly, the twins felt a jerk somewhere behind their navels. Their feet
had left the ground. They could not unclench the hands holding the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling them onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, Cedric at their side….
….
Reviews:
Canadude2029: yep, the plot thickens as things are getting more and more intense.
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