The approaching figure did not seem to be in any hurry, moving at an easy pace as the distance between them and Harry's hiding place closed little by little, the soft crunch of footsteps the only sound breaking the stillness of the maze.
Blonde, curly hair caught the faint glow of wandlight, and the curvy shape... cough, cough… in other words, Harry could tell even from a distance that it was one hundred percent not Cedric.
And with that, his mind settled, and his fingers tightened around his wand, watching, letting the witch come just a little closer.
Now—
"Expelliarmus!"
However, it was not him who fired first. The flash of light burst from ahead instead, and he swore under his breath, dragging his wand up just in time. "Protego—"
Boom!
The impact hit him full on and flung him straight into the hedge, branches snapping and leaves tearing as he crashed back.
Cough Cough...
He groaned, but he was already moving, pushing off his feet and springing forward, only to throw himself aside again as another bolt of magic crashed past, grazing his face.
The rough scrapes from the hedge still stung, and he was certain he was bleeding in more than one place, but there was no time to think about that. He had to end this, and quickly.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The witch answered almost in the same instant. The spells met between them with a sharp crack, the force of it pushing the air outward in a brief shock that stirred the leaves around them, but Harry did not pause.
"Bombarda!"
And neither did she.
"Proteg—"
The witch was good, Harry had to give her that, but he was better. His spell struck her shield just as it formed, and that was all it took. The barrier flared and bent under the impact, and the force hurled her back across the path until she slammed halfway into the hedge.
A taste of her own medicine, but to her credit, again, she was really good and still managed to keep her footing despite it. That had to hurt, he knew, he could still feel the sting himself.
Impressive as it was, Harry did not give her even a moment to catch her breath. He sent a binding hex at once, and this time she was not fast enough. In the next instant, she was bound from head to toe, and only then did he step forward and yank her out of the hedge.
Phew.
Harry let out a breath. That was… exhilarating, to say the least. He had nearly messed everything up.
"Alright… how did you know I was there?" he asked, lifting her chin with the tip of his wand and holding her in place with magic, her arms stretched out, her posture like someone on a cross. The bindings only made it worse, it was… well, not a pretty sight.
Cough…
She let out a groan, her eyes boring into his green pupils, but who was he? What looks had he not faced? Heck, he had even locked eyes directly with that noseless wanker, so her glare could only be called cute to him.
"If you don't talk, then I'm taking your wand," he said expressionlessly. Though her arms were bound, she still stubbornly held on to her wand, even if she could not move it an inch.
"You know what, I don't really care…" he added, then moved to snatch her wand directly, when she suddenly called out, "Wait!"
"I… I was here already… I was watching you when you turned into this path and just stood there… I walked back, then pretended to come in clueless… saw you cancel your Lumos… and hide…"
"Just stood? I was not— ah… so that's it…" Harry wanted to argue, but then remembered he might have, probably, while trying to figure out the path, just like she said, he had zoned out back then.
The girl let out a chuckle, looking at his expression. "So… will you let me go?" She asked, and for some reason even softened her voice.
Harry chuckled, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "What do you think?"
He moved again, however—
"Wait, don't… I… I'll do you a favor… we can team up…"
"Not interested…"
"I… I'll give you a kiss…"
This time, Harry was genuinely caught off guard, even his arm, already halfway outstretched, paused mid-air for a moment as he stared at her, trying to make sense of what she had just said.
They locked eyes, but to the witch from Beauxbatons, it was not the expression she had expected. The look Harry gave her was not flustered or tempted, just confused, the kind of look someone gave when they thought the other person had said something ridiculous.
Indeed, how was she supposed to know that the famous Boy Who Lived was completely useless when it came to things like this? In Harry's mind, though she was cute, it made no sense at all. Why would he want to be kissed in the middle of a competition?
Damn… is he gay or something…? she cursed inwardly, and before she could say anything else, Harry had yanked the wand from her hand.
"You asshol—"
Harry didn't know what she said, it was in French, and he didn't even get the chance to ask, because the instant he snatched her wand, she had disappeared from his sight. According to the rules Mr. Diggory had explained to them inside the champions' tent, the moment a champion lost their wand, they would be immediately teleported out of the competition.
"I suppose that's one down…"
He brushed the dust and leaves off his shoulder, wincing. That really hurt, that mess from earlier…
Anyway, he started forward again, then paused, remembering something, and turned around, heading the other way, the corner of his brow twitching when his brain corrected him at the last second.
From here it should be… his mind went back to the practice again… there were three paths ahead, and he had to turn to the right. Merlin above… please let this be the way.
---
"Ahahaha!"
A burst of hysterical laughter rang through the stands as the commentator's voice followed, full of disbelief and delight. Never had he expected to see something like this in a competition like this, and yet here it was.
"Well now, ladies and gentlemen… what will Mr. Potter do?" he mused loudly. "A difficult choice for the Boy Who Lived, I must say. On one side, eliminating a rival… on the other, a kiss from a beautiful witch two years his senior. I wonder, does Mr. Harry Potter have a girlfriend… and if so… is she watching?"
The screens showed it all in clear detail, Beauxbatons' own Élodie Marchand bound tightly and completely at Harry's mercy, their entire exchange carried across the grounds for everyone to hear.
After such a fast and thrilling duel, no one had expected this turn of events. It was… entertaining, to say the least.
"Kiss her!"
"Kiss her!"
"Kiss her!"
The chant rose quickly, spreading across the stands as the crowd leaned into the moment, clearly far more interested in drama than any quick and clean finish.
"Kiss her— ouch! Bloody— what was that for, Hermione?"
Ron rubbed his shoulder, wincing as he turned to face the glare aimed straight at him.
"I will hex your tongue, I swear, if you say that again."
Ron gulped. She didn't look like she was joking.
"I… I won't… I swear…"
High above, Maverick's brows twitched again. In fact, they had not stopped since the moment Harry began taking one wrong turn after another.
"Idiot…" he muttered under his breath.
He glanced sideways just in time to see Flitwick laughing, and for a brief moment, he seriously considered pushing the midget off his broom.
"Come now, give the boy a break," Flitwick said between chuckles. "He must be under quite a bit of pressure. At least he seems to be on the right path now..."
"And would you look at that," he continued, pointing at the screen. "Very decisive. He didn't fall for that little witch's charm."
The screens showed the rest of the exchange, and almost immediately, a chorus of boos followed. The crowd, it seemed, preferred something far more dramatic than an ending like that.
Though it did not happen the way they had hoped, at least in their eyes, Harry was very decisive in his decision.
Maverick, however, knew better. Potter was simply dense. Thank Merlin for that.
But then he sighed again, seeing the idiot turn and start walking the wrong way once more.
"What an idiot…" he muttered under his breath for what felt like the hundredth time that night, then decided to just send a mental message to the moron.
Fortunately though, it did not come to that. A second later, he saw Harry paused, turned back, and finally headed in the right direction.
"Ahahaha!" Flitwick burst into laughter once more.
---
Back to the idiot... uh no, Harry.
It turned out to be the right path after all, and he jogged on, taking turns as his memory guided him. To anyone watching, his pace looked steady, almost relaxed, but only he knew how hard his mind was working, going over every step, every turn, trying not to lose the path again.
Taking another corner, he had to pause once more. This time though, it wasn't because he was a road idiot, but because his path was genuinely blocked by something.
And yes… it was a thing, or rather, several things.
He counted them quickly, nearly a dozen of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts crowding the path ahead. Merlin, they were enormous, easily two meters long, their bodies a strange mix of scorpion and something far less pleasant, pale, plated, and wrong in all the ways that made his skin crawl.
Worse, they were firing bursts of flame from their rears, sudden jets that lit up the narrow passage and forced him to stay well back. Their tails twitched, stingers raised and ready, and Harry had no idea whether they were venomous, though he was not keen to find out.
Getting close was not an option.
The real problem was getting past them without blasting them apart. Harry was fairly certain Hagrid would be watching, and the last thing he wanted was to make the big man cry.
Sigh… Harry exhaled a helpless breath and stood where he was for a moment, watching.
The Skrewts clattered and scraped against one another in the narrow passage, their shells knocking with dull clicks, tails twitching, then—whoomph—one of them blasted a jet of fire that lit the hedge walls orange for a heartbeat. The others answered in bursts, the path filling with heat and smoke before settling again.
Not getting through that by running.
He adjusted his grip on his wand, eyes moving from one creature to the next, trying to make sense of the mess. They were not guarding anything on purpose. Just… in the way.
Which meant… he did not need to fight them. He just needed them to move.
"Alright… think…" muttering under his breath, he stepped back a pace, then raised his wand slightly, not aiming at them, but just, slightly beyond.
"Confringo."
The Blasting Curse cracked against the hedge a few yards to the left of the cluster, leaves immediately bursting apart with a loud bang, shaking the branches violently.
At once, the Skrewts all froze at the disturbance, then, as one, they turned.
The nearest let out a sharp clicking hiss and fired, flame blasting straight toward the disturbance. Another followed, then another, the group moving, bodies turning, dragging themselves toward the noise.
Harry took that chance and moved the moment the path opened, darting forward along the right edge, keeping low, slipping past while their attention stayed fixed elsewhere.
One of them, however, seemed to be a smart ass, and twitched as he passed, lifting its tail and sending a burst of flame toward him.
"Protego!"
He conjured a shield while moving, not stopping as he pushed through the gap before it could turn fully.
But then a second Skrewt moved, and this time, the little shit was directly blocking his way.
"Move," he muttered, flicking his wand. "Depulso!"
The spell struck the creature's side, not enough to kill it, just enough to shove it half a body-length aside. The creature skidded, claws scraping, confused more than anything.
Harry, though, did not bother to check if it was fine or not. He had done his part to be careful enough, and sprinted faster, not slowing until he had turned the next corner.
Only then did he stop, breathing out, lowering his wand slightly.
Phew, he exhaled, glancing back once. "The big guy better appreciate that…" A small grin tugged at his face.
But more importantly… he was through.
"Let's see…" he muttered, pacing a few steps. After this, and two more corners later…
His mind began to work again, not as sluggish as before. The point where he would switch with Sirius was about halfway through the maze, thank Merlin for that. Sirius would handle the rest, and he...
His eyes narrowed.
There was not an ounce of fear on his face. Nervous, perhaps, but not afraid. He trusted his professor, his headmaster, everyone. He knew they would have his back.
Until then, he had to play his part.
—————————
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