The Final Trial P2
The air inside the maze seemed to grow slightly heavier. Maybe it was because Fleur still had her wand pointed at Harry, ready to launch a direct attack at that annoying face of his.
But Harry, as if it didn't bother him at all to have her aiming at him, didn't stop smiling as he looked straight at her.
"Why are you ignoring me?" Fleur finally said, her voice low, but filled with irritation, like she had to swallow her pride just to say that.
Harry tilted his head slightly, with an innocent, confused look worthy of a professional actor.
"I thought that's what you wanted. Wasn't it?" he asked, looking straight into her eyes.
Fleur's frown deepened, like she could see right through the act in that answer, staring into those green eyes that seemed to glow softly thanks to the Lumos floating in front of him, while he kept that same smile.
Her wand didn't tremble even a little. "You're irritating. Childish," she said, her voice heavy with reproach.
"I've been hearing that a lot lately," Harry said with an amused smile, looking at her directly; after all, she was the one who had said it.
She frowned even more at him. "Aren't you going to take out your wand?" she asked.
"Should I?" Harry replied calmly.
At that, Fleur seemed to get even more annoyed, like she thought he believed she wouldn't attack him; then he was wrong. Fleur flicked her wand and attacked.
"Expelliarmus!" she shouted.
A blue beam shot straight toward Harry's chest, fast enough to cross the distance between them in a blink.
But Harry just took a small step, letting the spell pass by him calmly.
It brushed past his clothes and struck the ferns behind him.
Immediately, Harry looked at Fleur in surprise and pretended to be hurt.
"How could you attack a child like that?" he said. The worst part was that his acting was so forced it only made her angrier.
Fleur didn't respond. She was already casting another.
"Stupefy!" she shouted, as another spell shot out from her wand at surprising speed toward Harry. "Depulso. Expelliarmus," she fired in quick succession, even before the first spell had reached halfway.
Harry raised his hand and, calmly, gave the first spell a light tap, sending it off course with ease, like he was swatting a small ball flying toward him.
The second he dodged with a slight lean to the side, and the third he caught with his bare hand, which for a moment pushed his hand back, shaking his arm, but nothing more, as Harry shook his wrist like it had stung a little.
But he didn't look rushed at all.
"Ouch… that stung a bit. Honestly, for someone older, you're pretty mean to younger people," Harry said again.
That was what annoyed Fleur the most, who seemed to grow even more furious at Harry's dumb act. She knew perfectly well what he was capable of.
"Stop playing with me," she shouted angrily, though it wasn't clear if she meant this fight in general… or something else.
Harry smiled again, this time with a bit more mischief.
"I could say the same," he said suddenly.
And then…
In an instant, his body turned into red mist, moving at high speed toward her.
Fleur spun her wand immediately, casting a spell to her right without hesitation.
But she missed.
Harry appeared behind her, reforming from the mist.
Very close.
His hand was already raised, like he was about to touch her…
Fleur reacted on pure instinct, releasing a burst of magic that forced Harry to take his mist form again, pulling back slightly before reappearing with a smile.
"Come on, Miss Villain, why don't you let everything out?" he said calmly, as he slowly pulled his wand from his sleeve, and just touching it seemed to activate his magic.
At once, the ferns forming the maze walls began to move on their own, while the corridor they stood in seemed to twist and open up, making space for their fight.
"I can take anything you want to throw at me now. It's your moment," Harry said, a slight mockery in his tone, but also clear amusement.
Fleur stared straight into his eyes, meeting Harry's green gaze, while Harry looked into Fleur's almond-shaped blue eyes.
…
On the other side of the maze—
The sound of metal crashing against something solid rang out sharply.
Draco stepped back half a step, adjusting his grip on his wand while his gaze never left the front. In front of him stood a massive tower shield, made of pure, solid gold.
Or at least, that's what it was supposed to be… because now, one of its corners seemed to be missing a piece, which lay at Draco's feet, cut cleanly but with melted marks along the edges.
Luciel suddenly dropped back to his original position, softening the landing by bending his legs slightly, while in his hand he held his well-known sword-shaped wand. But it seemed to be glowing faintly with a reddish hue, as if it were burning at a heat that left it almost red-hot.
When he landed, he was still smiling, rising as he glanced at his sword for a moment, which slowly began to regain its normal color and temperature.
"This is quite difficult to use… I might have to change my wand later," Luciel said calmly, before looking at Draco.
Draco was staring at him… or rather, at his sword, since it felt very familiar to see a blade like that. Then he fixed his gaze on Luciel for a moment.
Unlike how all the champions had entered wearing comfortable outfits for this competition, each reflecting their school's style, Luciel's had been entirely blue, with the Beauxbatons crest, also looking quite expensive. But now he wore half a set of metallic armor, surely taken from the golems along the way, though Draco could see on every piece he wore clear signs of alchemical modification… and very familiar ones at that.
"How did you learn to modify things like that?" Draco asked, watching him seriously.
Luciel glanced down at his own additions for a moment, and smiled.
"Well, I made a trade with Harry. In exchange for some information, I thought it would be useful after seeing him create those objects in the first trial. And since I can't bring my own armor, it's easier to just build one from whatever I find here. I only had to maintain the enchantments the golems already had, so it was much easier than I thought," Luciel explained calmly, not caring at all about telling Draco.
"Yeah… figures. Only that idiot would find a way to create a monster just to—"
Before Draco could finish speaking…
Suddenly, Luciel's boots flashed for a moment, and like a blur he moved at high speed toward Draco.
But Draco, without any surprise, flicked his wand slightly, and the shield in front of him moved instantly to his side, right where Luciel appeared, attacking with his sword. It struck the shield, sending out sparks and the sound of metal scraping hard against it.
"Oh, sorry… I'm just a bit excited. I thought Harry would be the only one who could give me a real fight in this trial, but… you're hiding quite a bit too," Luciel said with an excited smile.
"…"
Draco looked at him in silence, his gaze steady.
And then, he moved his free hand, raising a finger slightly.
And suddenly, a massive sword shot up from the ground beneath Luciel's foot, aiming straight at him.
Luciel reacted instantly, raising his sword and gripping both the handle and the blade, blocking the massive golden weapon, but he was pushed back and sent flying.
Still, Luciel twisted midair, regaining his balance before landing, glancing at his hand for a moment, feeling a slight numbness from the force of the blow he had just blocked.
But his smile didn't fade, as if he was pleased to have been proven right.
"Hahaha… I knew it. Looks like you hide pretty well behind Harry," Luciel said as he took his stance again.
Draco looked at him calmly, seriously, before speaking.
"No… it's just that guy is much more noticeable. But as I've grown alongside him, I realized something…" Draco said, as he suddenly slid his wand back into its holster, which was on the opposite sleeve from where Harry wore his.
"If I didn't want to stay behind him, I had to push myself to reach him. And I'm not the only one who worked to keep standing by his side," he added, raising both hands slightly.
Suddenly, from the ground itself, cutting through the earth, blades of swords, spears, daggers, and all kinds of sharp weapons began to emerge, surrounding them in an instant, like a battlefield filled with weapons made of pure gold.
And the most unsettling part…
Was that this gold was different from the leprechaun gold Draco used to shape his weapons.
No.
This gold seemed to be pulled straight from its purest veins, buried deep beneath the earth.
"And they call me a monster…" Luciel said with a smile, looking at the massive field of weapons as if he were standing on a battlefield.