"Harry Potter," Krum spoke, his tone oddly flat.
"Do you need help?" Harry asked cautiously. Krum looked terrible—his robes were torn to shreds, his arms covered in bloody scratches, and a massive lump bulged on his forehead.
Krum didn't respond. He took half a step forward, then suddenly raised his wand:
"Stupefy—"
"Protego!" Harry was faster, casting the Shield Charm and deflecting Krum's spell back at him. Just then, Cedric came running from nearby. Seeing himself outnumbered, Krum turned and fled.
"Stupefy!" Cedric's spell struck Krum squarely in the back. He stopped abruptly, pitched forward, and collapsed face-down on the grass, motionless.
On this side of the mirror, Orli and Snape had nearly charged into the maze the moment Krum began casting. Fortunately, Cedric's arrival had stabilized the situation—for now.
"Professor, what do you think?" Orli asked.
"Imperius Curse," Snape replied curtly, pointing toward Krum in the mirror.
"Looks like he fought someone but failed. The girl was probably eliminated the same way."
"What's going on?" Inside the maze, Cedric kept his wand trained on Krum but glanced at Harry.
"You all right?"
"I'm fine," Harry panted.
"Just hard to believe... I thought he was decent enough."
"So did I," Cedric said.
"Did you hear Fleur scream?" Harry asked.
"I did," Cedric replied.
"Think Krum attacked her too?"
"I don't know," Harry said slowly.
"Should we just leave him here?" Cedric whispered.
"No," Harry said.
"I think we should send up red sparks so someone can collect him... Otherwise he might get eaten by a Blast-Ended Skrewt."
"He'd deserve it," Cedric muttered, but he still raised his wand and shot a stream of red sparks into the air. The sparks hovered above Krum, marking his location.
Harry and Cedric stood in the darkness for a moment, scanning their surroundings warily. Then Cedric said:
"Er... I suppose we should keep moving..."
"What?" Harry said.
"Oh... right... yeah..."
They walked together down the dark path—this time not splitting up. They kept watch on their surroundings, each alert for any sudden movement. Along the way, Harry cast the Four-Point Spell again, and they followed a corridor to its end, where light appeared ahead.
It was the cup.
The Triwizard Cup stood in the very center of the maze, placed on a meter-high pedestal, its metal surface gleaming softly in the moonlight.
"It's not a Portkey or some other trap, is it?" Orli's nervous voice nearly cracked.
"Of course not. Dumbledore personally inspected it and placed it there himself," Snape replied, though he too stared intently at the scene in the mirror.
"Go on, Harry. Take it," Cedric said.
"No," Harry shook his head.
"Don't be so noble—you just saved me back there. And if you hadn't told me about the golden egg, I'd have been eliminated ages ago."
"You should've scored higher in the second task," Cedric insisted.
"You stayed behind and rescued all the hostages. I should've done the same."
"I was just an idiot who took that song literally! I actually thought the hostages would die if we went over an hour..." Harry said irritably.
"Just take the cup!"
"No. You take it." Cedric looked absolutely determined.
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