The Wall of Stone
This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.
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Chapter 10 Third TaskA week before the final task scheduled for the Triwizard Tournament; Harry groused at the Gryffindor table about the stupidity of the judges. He explained his bad attitude, "They could have held this third task in March or April. Then Hogwarts could have gone back to normal."
Dean opined, "But Mr Bagman and Headmaster Dumbledore used all this time to try and get people interested in the tournament again. It was strange when 'someone' published all those stories and the previous tournaments where so many of the champions died."
Luna Lovegood, who was visiting her Gryffindor friends that morning added, "Yes, and then Daddy published those certified reports from the ICW on the numbers of spectators who died at the same tournaments. Parents flooded the ministry with Howlers for a week and I don't think there is a single student who has permission to watch Harry run through the maze of shrubbery."
Lavender pouted, "The only people there to see Harry race through the maze will be professors, politicians and reporters. Even Colin Creevey couldn't get permission to go and make photographs."
"What maze of shrubbery, Luna?" asked Neville. "Hogwarts doesn't have a maze on the grounds."
"It does now," Luna replied. "Professor Hagrid planted an enchanted and impossibly complex maze on the Quidditch pitch. It is magically enlarged using boxwoods that are almost three metres tall."
"WHAT?" shouted Quidditch lovers up and down the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. The terrible news spread to the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables leading to protests at the head table about the damage done to the historic and much-beloved pitch behind Hogwarts Castle.
Harry frowned in concentration before he turned to Hermione and asked, "An enchanted maze can be unenchanted, can't it?"
"Disenchanted," Hermione replied. "Like everything at Hogwarts this year, the word is disenchanted."
She nodded and said, "Come on. The library will have what we need. There are scads of books on enchantments, and we just need to find a good spell to tear and rip the enchantment charm apart."
After having paid attention to Hermione's lectures closely all year, Harry asked, "But Hagrid is half-giant. His magic might resist regular disenchantment spells and charms."
Pausing to stare at the Boy-With-Insight, Hermione grinned and added, "That's something we'll have to research then too."
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"Harry, I hate we can't go with you to this…this thing," Parvati said when the friends sat at their table in the Great Hall waiting for supper to begin.
"Thanks," Harry replied sincerely. "But I'm glad everyone will be safe here in the castle."
Neville, Dean, and Seamus exchanged a look before Seamus asked, "You got your broom? Can you get out of there if everything goes nuts like the stories from the old tournaments say?"
Grinning, Harry said, "I have my broom in my pocket always. And I have another secret way to get out of the maze if it goes sideways."
Pureblood Neville didn't understand the muggle expression, but Dean and Seamus explained it to him. The herbology prodigy grinned and said, "I prefer the expression 'ass over tea kettle'. It's more fun to imagine someone flying through the air."
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Standing in front of his throne at the head table, Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore called for the attention of the students and visitors. Few persons ceased their personal conversations until the peeved wizard cast a loud cannon ball charm with his wonky wand. The interruption to their conversations brought everyone's attention to the wizard in bright yellow and blue robes.
He smiled thinking his face appeared congenial, but since the night sleeping under the cold water of the Black Lake in February, Albus had lost his touch with convincing others of the authenticity of his expressions. Nonetheless, he announced, "Now, the judges, officials from the British Ministry for Magic, and all of our guests from the newspapers here in Britain and from Europe will depart for the stands erected on one side of the Magical Maze behind the castle. In one hour, Mr Harry Potter, the sole…the remaining contestant of the Triwizard Tournament will enter the maze to search for the trophy that will make him the champion of this tournament."
Professor Sprout broke down in tears as she remembered the horrifying death of her Hufflepuff student and fled for her quarters. Professor Snape, Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, Professor Moody, Professor Flitwick, and Headmaster Dumbledore would represent the school at this final task. The other professors would remain within the castle to maintain order. Professor Silvestri corralled the Weasley twins and glued them to their seat at the Gryffindor table.
As he walked alone from the Great Hall to the front door of Hogwarts, Harry asked, "You there Dobby?"
The elf remained invisible, but his bubbly voice replied, "Yes, my Mr Harry James Potter. Dobby be going with you into maze."
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Inside the MazeA bright red smudge of magic floated through the maze of boxwood shrubbery that Rubeus Hagrid had planted and magically raised to be three meters tall in just two months' time. Earlier, the magic had tagged each monster and trap with more magic; the beasts in the maze included Hagrid's Cerberus, Boggarts (pest in the forbidden forest), Acromantula (an invasive species), Blasted End Skrewts (a hybrid creature bred by Hagrid), a large, unpleasant Sphinx that hated wizards, and three Dementors (borrowed from Azkaban). The traps had each been disabled then disassembled.
The Cerberus was fast asleep while a tune played in its six ears. The Boggarts were exhausted by constantly cycling through the worst memories of Albus Dumbledore – the death of his sister, the heart wrenching breakup with Gellert Grindelwald, and the day that Hogwarts ended his connection to the wards to deny him the position of headmaster. The giant spiders huddled underneath hastily spun webs to survive the impossibly cold temperatures that surrounded them, forcing the Acromantula into hibernation.
Three true Dementors were chained to the ground, and they struggled desperately to escape the parade of Patronus creatures who dove upon them over and over. The Goblet of Fire learned that each time a Patronus passed through a Dementor, an imprisoned soul was freed. Half a dozen Blast Ended Skrewts were confided to a pair of pathways in the maze where the magic of the Goblet of Fire had caused the boxwoods to grow thick and close off the entrances.
The Sphinx who guarded the last turn in the maze before the trophy sat and feasted on a giant spider that wandered too close. The magic promised her more of the delicacy of Acromantula juice and shells. Like the spiders, the Sphinx injected her magic into the spiders to solidify their internal organs before crushing the carcass and eating them like a person snacked on candy or crisps while reading a book.
Outside the maze, no one knew what the monsters inside were experiencing. Only Rubeus Hagrid would have been concerned about the creatures, though everyone would have been fascinated when one of the Dementors lost the last soul it had kissed. The monster turned to dust and blew away, leaving only two Dementors in the maze.
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Harry was the only person under seventeen who approached the maze that desecrated the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. On the far side lay the Forbidden Forest; a ward lay along the border between the pitch and the dark woods to prevent the giant spiders from wandering into the area next to the castle. On the side closer to the castle, the stadium seating for the students to watch the Quidditch matches had been augmented with enough seats for three thousand witches and wizards who'd come to see the final task.
To the Boy-Who-Lived, it appeared that only one third of the seats were occupied by reporters and photographers, a few curious or bored individuals, and serious gamblers – small tents were set up across the top of the stands were queues of persons could place bets on the final task. Professor Flitwick made his way to the top tier as soon as he reached the stands.
Around the edges of the occupied seats, Harry saw vendors selling hot drinks, beer, and finger foods from small stands. And further away were the water closets brought out by the house elves for use by the wizards and witches.
Albus Dumbledore led the other judges to the platform where they would sit and watch the proceedings. Harry noted the headmaster greeting Headmaster Karkaroff, Headmistress Maxime, Percy Weasley, and the crippled Ludo Bagman. (Hogwarts house elves had learned to care for the wizard who would be next year's DADA professor quickly).
While attempting to find his seat on the platform for the judges, Professor Severus Snape grew confused twice. Professor McGonagall had to direct the wizard to the last set of steps leading to the judge's stand where Headmaster Dumbledore spoke to him earnestly. That conversation caused Snape to find Harry's figure at the entrance to the maze and sneer before looking away.
Last minute arrivals included Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge and some unpleasant witch in pink robes that were as bright and headache inducing as the bright yellow and blue ones worn by Dumbledore today.
At the entrance to the maze, Harry was met by Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody. There followed a short lecture on the rules that ended when Moody explained that he and McGonagall would patrol the outside of the maze and apparate into the maze to pull Potter out if he signalled for help with a stream of sparks.
"You're to make your way to the far side of the maze, dodge around all the creatures or dispose of them, and reach the champion's trophy on a stand," Alastor explained. "Once you grab the trophy, you'll be transported to the judge's station where Minister Fudge will award you the thousand galleons in prize money."
McGonagall added, "If you need to drop out because you're injured, fire up the sparks from your wand and I'll come retrieve you."
"Would that end the task? And the tournament?" asked Harry with the notion to concede the task quickly.
"You must try to win!" insisted Moody. "You have no competition, and the galleons will be yours!"
Harry grimaced. "What would Delacour, Diggory, and Krum think was more important right now – the thousand galleons or being alive?"
The bright red smudge of goblet magic listened closely to the conversation before it sent a piece of its power to begin aggravating the peg leg. Barty Crouch lost all use of the artificial eye just after Halloween and tonight, the peg leg would splinter, crack and collapse every ten minutes. 'Alastor Moody' would be in constant contact with the dirt on the pathways this evening.
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Into the BoxwoodsDobby waited until the two professors were gone and Harry had stepped into the maze before he appeared and said, "Mr Harry James Potter, Dobby confesses he been through this twisted forest of bushy shrubberies twice today. There be included Gamekeeper Hagrid's pet three-headed dog, bouncing Boggarts, giant Acromantula spiders who all be sleeping or snacks for the mean Sphinx, and more of Gamekeeper Hagrid's exploding Skrewts locked behind tall shrubberies, and three – no, now only two dying Dementors chained to ground."
"Dementors?" exclaimed Harry. "Where…what do you mean dying Dementors? Can those things die?"
"All things can die, Mr Harry James Potter," Dobby replied sternly. "No thing has immortality long life!"
Frowning, Harry asked, "Dobby, can you pop me just outside the reach of the Dementors?"
"Yes, Dobby do," the elf replied. The pop moved his wizard beyond the Cerberus, and Blast Ended Skrewts.
When they arrived deep in the maze, Harry stared at the two Dementors as they struggled to avoid the small but bright figures of the many Patronus animals that swam through the air. Each Patronus appeared lighter than Harry remembered Prongs appearing, and he decided these small ones might be memories of a Patronus.
Lifting his wand, Harry thought of his happiness over the winter holiday to meet the portraits of his parents and grandparents in the manor house that Dumbledore had kept hidden. With those thoughts at the forefront of his mind, Harry cast, "Expecto Patronum."
The bright white stag shot out of the end of the wand and thundered across the distance to the two remaining Dementors. Prongs stabbed the first creature and passed through it, dragging the last of the kissed souls out of the black cowls. The Dementor keened a high whistle as it collapsed and then vanished away.
The remaining Dementor tugged so violently on the chain that held it to the ground, it tore off its arm and tried to fly away, leaving the appendage behind. But Prongs leapt at the rising Dementor as it rose above the maze and flew through it, causing the Dementor to expel the last souls and turn to dust.
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In the stands, the spectators shouted and cheered. Photographers clicked away, capturing photos using the telephoto lenses that the Creevey boy had taught the wizards to use. On the platform where the judges waited, Headmaster Karkaroff asked, "How is Potter already at the Dementors? They are the halfway mark in the maze, aren't they?"
"Dumblesdore, did you cheats again?" demanded Headmistress Maxime.
Albus stared at the maze and replied, "I did not. And I don't have any idea how Mr Potter moved so far in just a few moments."
The headmaster looked for Minerva and Alastor and found McGonagall levitating Alastor into an upright position. The retired Auror's peg leg had collapsed. The pair argued and Dumbledore winced when he noticed photographers taking pictures of the argument where wands were brandished about. He thought, 'Bother! They should be watching the maze, not arguing with each other.'
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After dispatching the Dementors, Harry plodded along the path in the maze until he came upon Professor Quirrell from his first year. The man whipped around to reveal the hideous face of the Dark Lord on the back of his head and Harry realized this was a boggart and snarled, "Riddikulus!"
The spell flew from the wand and hit the figure that morphed from Professor Quirrell into a giant bouncing ball with the Dark Lord's face grimacing as it smacked into the ground or the bushes of the hedge. Dobby cast a spell that threw the boggart into the air and out of the maze to land in the stands where screams filled the air.
"That's You-Know-Who!" shouted several voices. Moving along that path for fifteen minutes, Harry encountered Boggart after Boggart – Angry Uncle Vernon morphed into Uncle Vernon in a nappy, sucking his thumb and crying. Furious Aunt Petunia with a frying pan in her hand, morphed into a braying horse in a house dress. Shouting Professor Snape morphed into a potion bottle that cracked and exploded. Dismissive Professor McGonagall morphed into a vase of dried-up flowers. Most strange of all was the Boggart with Professor Moody's face and form that morphed into an unknown wizard. Dobby threw the last boggart out of the maze and into the stands where spectators shouted, "Barty Crouch, Jr! But he's dead! How does Potter know him?"
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Once Harry got through the section of the maze infested with Boggarts, he and Dobby found themselves creeping through the area with the sleeping Acromantula spiders. The area was as cold as the air outside of Hogwarts in January and February and that explained why the spiders hibernated. (Moody/Crouch intended to give Potter a helping hand to reach the trophy with the portkey that would take the boy to the Dark Lord).
"There be much magics here, Mr Harry James Potter," Dobby said, pulling his wizard's hand to hurry them through the cold air without disturbing the Acromantulas. The young wizard understood the elf's wish to hurry and willingly followed Dobby around the corner to another passage where the Sphinx sat, still eating the remains of the spider that had wandered within her reach.
The creature looked up at the young wizard and smiled dangerously, before she said, "Welcome champion and your little friend!"
Harry bowed to the Sphinx who blinked at the polite move by the wizard and continued, "To get passed me, you must answer my riddle. If you fail, you may not pass and must turn back."
But Harry had noticed that the Sphinx was chewing on parts of a giant spider and seemed to enjoy the taste of the spider. He smiled politely and replied, "Yes, Ma'am. A riddle…but might I ask first if you truly enjoy the taste of the Acromantulas? It appears the one you're eating was a large beast."
"I am very hungry – that half-giant hasn't fed me in over two weeks so that I would be grumpy when you came along. The spider wandered too close, and I smashed it and feasted," the Sphinx replied. The creature belched very loudly and smacked her lips. "I could eat a couple more and drink a barrel of fire whiskey before sleeping for a month."
Harry glanced at Dobby who was standing very still. He prompted the elf, "Dobby, go get a barrel of fire whiskey for the lady."
The little fellow swallowed loudly before popping away to fetch the barrel. Harry turned back to the Sphinx who was watching him closely. The wizard motioned with his hand and said, "Just around this corner in the maze of shrubbery is a section enchanted for some reason to be cold as winter air. There are at least two giant spiders hibernating there that you could feast upon."
Dobby popped back with two barrels of fire whiskey and Harry motioned toward the wooden containers, and said, "And I'll provide you with the fire whiskey…as a gift."
The Sphinx thought for a moment and then said, "Spiders and whiskey! You are most kind young wizard! Then my riddle is this, 'What is your name?' "
Harry grinned and answered, "My name is Harry James Potter."
The Sphinx rose and waved Harry and Dobby to pass as she stepped forward to hunt a hibernating spider as her second feast.
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Harry and Dobby stepped into the final path of the maze, less than an hour after entering the shrubberies. A plinth stood in the centre of the path with a silver trophy gleaming brightly – the artefact that would end the Triwizard Tournament.
"Let's do this Dobbs!" Harry said. The house elf grabbed hold of his wizard's robes and ran at his side as they crossed the last metres of path to grab the handle of the trophy. As expected, they were swept up by a portkey, but the spinning went on much longer than expected.
Unsure what this meant, Harry was thrown from the spell and landed on the ground of dark graveyard. Dobby whispered, "Be this another task in stupid wizard games?"
"I don't know Dobby," Harry replied.
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In the stands beside the maze of shrubberies, the audience was bored but some persons kept careful watch – the sounds of the belching sounds had occurred and generated speculation that Potter had been eaten by something within the maze.
Dumbledore shook his head and explained, "No. Mr Potter is alive. If one of the creatures killed and ate the last champion, the walls of the maze would have fallen. When the champion reaches the trophy, a bell will sound, and he'll be transported here by a portkey, before the hedges fall."
At just that moment, the bell sounded but Harry didn't appear on the platform where the judges sat. There was confusion for a moment but then everyone panicked because when the hedges fell, this freed all the creatures that had been confined to the maze – Hagrid's angry and hungry Cerberus, a half dozen panicking Acromantulas freed from forced hibernation while being hunted by the hungry Sphinx, and peevish, aggravated Blast Ended Skrewts – were freed to run away.
Rubeus Hagrid leapt upon Fluffy to gain control of the angry monster while the giant spiders crawled over spectators (and carried a couple off) while being pursued by the Sphinx who appeared able to leap great distances. The Blast Ended Skrewts began setting everything and everyone on fire with their explosive discharges of flames that clung to clothing, skin, and the wooden stands.
Dumbledore, Karkaroff and Maxime fought off two of the spiders though a third spider carried a struggling Ludo Bagman into the forest. The Sphinx collected the carcass of one spider and leapt across the pitch to land on a second spider scrambling to return to the safety of the Forbidden Forest.
Severus Snape battled the creatures and the flames until he received a summons and vanished. Dumbledore looked away from the fight for a moment to see that Snape had vanished. That second took the headmaster's attention off the latest Acromantula that scurried up the stands. It stabbed Dumbledore with one of its needle like teeth and injected the poison that dissolved internal organs into the headmaster's left arm. Karkaroff used his wand to blast the spider back into the flames on the pitch while Maxime cast a cutting charm with her wand to remove Dumbledore's arm at the shoulder. He was just one of almost four hundred wounded or dead in the disaster.
The most spectacular photograph captured in the confusion and battle was Cornelius Fudge grabbing and swinging Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge around to act as a shield from the Sphinx chasing the spider that poisoned Dumbledore. The Sphinx used her right rear hip to push Umbridge forward and the pink robed witch smashed into Fudge, knocking both off the platform and into the flames of the stands. Aurors arrived just moments later and levitated the burning duo out of the stands and apparated with them to Saint Mungo's.
The Cerberus was set on fire by a Skrewt that Hagrid tried to corral while holding onto Fluffy. The screams of wizards and witches caught in the flames were terrible and the photographers who managed to apparate away returned at safe distances to continue to make more pictures as the stands burned to ashes. The half giant died fighting the flames trying to keep his pets alive while they fought each other.
Percy Weasley apparated to the Ministry for Magic in London and raised the alarm with the DMLE. Director Bones cursed and dispatched every coven of Aurors to Hogwarts (protect the school, fight the creatures, and get the fire under control) and notified Saint Mungo's that triage and casualty teams were needed at the school.
Over an hour passed before the flames were under control, the creatures dispatched (though the Sphinx hid in the Forbidden Forest and hunted the clutter of Acromantulas to extinction over the next century), and the injured were transported to London from the triage tents set up just outside the burn zone. Then Madam Bones asked, "Where's Mr Potter?"
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