Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as Moody, had already taken action against the maze. It seemed the Dark Lord's resurrection wasn't far off.
Just after the maze was fully constructed, Regulus Black inspected it once more. Sure enough, several of the magical focal points had been tampered with. The modifications were clearly meant to sabotage the arena when necessary.
That might sound a little exaggerated, but it was certainly possible to trigger powerful attacks within the maze.
In fact, the tampering was so well hidden that, if not for Regulus Black being the chief designer himself, it would have been nearly impossible to notice the flaws. No wonder the Aurors hadn't detected anything during their inspections.
Especially considering Moody had already double-checked everything.
This time, the event was scheduled to take place at night. Everyone wore custom-made badges to support their champions.
The entire maze was a massive magic array, formed by two interlocking equilateral triangles, one upright and one inverted. Each small triangle along the edges housed a backup pedestal for the Triwizard Cup. Each of these pedestals was nine meters in diameter, and the cup itself was currently placed at the center of the maze.
The central pedestal had a nine-meter diameter, and the final stretch to reach it was just a little over four meters—just a few steps. Yet even those few steps could be sabotaged with a mere tap of the foot.
Before the match began, Regulus Black gave a demonstration of the pedestal design. In response, several champions glared at him with hostility. Clearly, provocation was effective. For now, their anger was aimed at Regulus, but soon, that hostility would turn toward their fellow champions.
To ensure fairness, the champions from each of the three schools were separated. The maze had six entrances, and the two champions from each school were assigned to opposite ends to minimize the chances of them assisting each other.
"Sister!"
Gabrielle, a little uneasy, was led away by an Auror. All the champions were escorted by Aurors—it felt like they were prisoners. But in reality, it was merely a welcoming protocol. It wasn't their fault most Aurors weren't exactly easy on the eyes. It was rare to see someone as stunning as Judy Fox—and even she was already taken.
"Don't worry, Gabrielle. I'll find you."
Fleur was very worried about her sister. Since the competition had essentially allowed wizard-on-wizard combat, the danger for her naive little sister had increased dramatically.
Fleur was also worried about her own safety, but her concern for Gabrielle outweighed everything else.
Regulus Black had designed all of this—should she resent him for it?
The maze was built with overwhelming grandeur. Standing at the entrance, one could clearly see the Triwizard Cup at the center. But almost immediately, the entire maze began to shift. Tall hedges moved side to side, blocking the line of sight layer by layer, all the way from the center to the outer edge.
"I hereby declare the third task of the Triwizard Tournament officially underway!"
Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge had been invited by Cedric's father to attend. After the success of the first two tasks, there was no reason not to show up for the final one. As a result, it was Fudge who made the opening announcement this time, with Bartemius Crouch Sr., Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, attending as his escort.
Due to the Minister's presence, the number of Aurors on site had increased significantly. Regulus Black noticed that Moody didn't look well—he was once again drinking from his flask of Polyjuice Potion.
Compared to the original story, a lot had changed.
The Minister of Magic had shown up, but not by his own initiative—it was Barty Crouch who had invited him.
Where there were previously barely any Aurors, now there were dozens.
Then there was what happened earlier: Sirius Black had infiltrated the event using his Animagus form and got injured.
Harry Potter had acquired gillyweed, but it was from Snape rather than from Dobby.
The only question left was whether the Dark Lord's resurrection would unfold differently. After all, he had already stolen Voldemort's beloved pet, Nagini.
While these thoughts passed through his mind, the champions were already moving through the maze at full speed. With the help of maps, they each kept on the move, although magical traps and obstacles constantly gave them trouble.
Suddenly, a swarm of spiders appeared, spinning webs over what had been a clear passageway. Viktor Krum, running too fast, ran headfirst into the web. These spiders' silk was clearly very sticky—within seconds, he was wrapped up.
"Oh no! Krum's going to be eaten by spiders!"
Ron, who already had arachnophobia and was a fan of Krum, shouted in panic at the sight.
Then, a Devil's Snare suddenly appeared and wrapped itself around Cedric's legs. Another vine snaked up and bound his arms before dragging him into the thicket.
"Cedric! Our love! We're here to help you!"
Several members of the Thebes Legion prepared to charge into the maze to rescue him. The Aurors, who had been watching the match, were forced to intervene and stop them, which naturally led to some discontent.
A young unicorn blocked Gabrielle's path, refusing to let the little girl pass. It even bit down on her hair and wouldn't let go.
"This unicorn clearly doesn't want Gabrielle to go through this area."
"I think it just wants to keep Gabrielle here."
"Maybe it just wants someone to play with."
The girls from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic saw what was happening and began to whisper among themselves.
Stanislav Ivaneski clearly wasn't heading straight for the trophy. He hacked his way forward but instead veered into another champion's area. As a result, he fell into a pit of tar. The slick pit walls made it impossible to climb out.
"That idiot. All the champions are moving toward the trophy, and he's going sideways? Who does he think he'll find?"
Igor Karkaroff knew this student of his had intended to ambush another champion but had gone about it the wrong way.
"Headmaster Igor Karkaroff! Has the Durmstrang champion lost his way? Is he directionally challenged?"
Rita Skeeter once again barged in recklessly for an interview. The former Death Eater and current Headmaster of Durmstrang was instantly photographed by flashing cameras, capturing the exact moment of his frustration.
Headmaster Karkaroff had already made the front page of the Daily Prophet several times, each with a different expression.
Harry Potter entered an area filled with even more traps. What appeared to be ordinary plants suddenly turned into prank mechanisms. Harry had lost count of how many times he had been flipped, thrown, or catapulted by clown-themed spring traps. Fortunately, each trap could only be triggered once, and after that, Harry learned to avoid them.
However, just as he was nearing the trophy, a massive catapult lay in wait.
"Ah…!" With a sharp cry, Harry was launched high into the air. He flew over much of the maze and landed squarely in a pool covered in floating water plants. At a glance, it looked just like the grassy areas inside the maze. This was actually a spot near the maze's entrance—one Harry had previously avoided.
Fleur Delacour was being chased by various magical creatures. At first, it was magically hypnotized wild dogs that pursued her through the maze, though they were confined to specific areas and could be repelled with basic magic blasts.
But Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts were not so easily dealt with. The Skrewts, now the size of washbasins, exploded with deafening bangs and surged forward with increasing speed toward their target.
There were simply too many of them, and the timing of their explosions was hard to predict. Fleur had no choice but to increase her magical output. The Confringo spell conjured intense flames, and the Blast-Ended Skrewts… actually exploded.
Truly exploded—the soft flesh inside their shells turned to slurry, splattering the entire area with meaty paste.
"Urgh~!" Fleur vomited, and so did the audience.
"Hagrid! Haven't you ever eaten one of these things? They explode when exposed to fire!"
Regulus Black looked disgusted as he questioned Hagrid. After all, Fleur was basically someone he had his eye on. Getting drenched in meat paste was more humiliating than being injured.
"How could I eat my little darlings? I worked so hard to raise them!"
Hagrid protested bitterly. Moments ago, all his little darlings had been wiped out.
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