The long line of students would occasionally shuffle forward, looking like a slow-moving snake from above. The trio—Harry, Ron, and Hermione—initially stood at the very back, but soon, a dozen more people joined the queue behind them.
"It's almost dinner time," Ron said, hopefully looking at the line ahead. "I hope everyone goes to eat, and then it'll be our turn right away."
"Trust me, everyone else is thinking the same thing," Harry replied.
Hermione nervously bit her finger. "Listen to me, Michael and the others said that they've put some dangerous magical creatures in there... and some plants cultivated by Professor Sprout..."
"I really should have reread One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi before I came, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them... Why isn't there a Care of Magical Creatures class until third year?"
"Probably because we can't handle those dangerous creatures until third year," Harry said casually.
Hermione visibly grew more anxious. "Maybe we should get out of the line first? I don't think my Shield Charm is very good..."
"No way, that's too embarrassing! Look, there are even first-year students trying it!" Ron said disapprovingly.
At that moment, a Hufflepuff student behind them spoke up. "Potter, is this your first time trying the challenge?"
Harry nodded.
The boy laughed. "Don't worry. The first layer is just ordinary animals and plants. As long as you're careful, even a Muggle wouldn't get hurt. It'll definitely be easy for you."
"Yo, little Ronnie, and Harry and Hermione! I've been waiting for you to come!"
A voice suddenly came from above. Before Harry could turn around, he heard Ron say in an annoyed tone, "I told you not to call me that, Fred!"
"When you can tell that I'm George and not Fred, I'll stop calling you by your nickname," said one of the red-haired twins.
Ron was speechless. After all these years, even his mum couldn't always tell the two twins apart, let alone him.
"George, what's in your hand?" Hermione asked.
"Good question."
George was holding a large cage covered with a green cloth. A strange squeaking sound came from inside, as if he were carrying a cage of mice. Hearing her question, he reached in happily and pulled out a slender, root-like green creature. It had two small brown eyes and long, vine-like fingers.
"A Bowtruckle!" Hermione exclaimed. "I know it's a creature that guards trees and is very fond of woodlice."
"Well said, Hermione, but unfortunately, I can't give you points."
George winked, pulled out a slip of paper, and scribbled "Hermione Granger" on it before handing it to the Bowtruckle. The little creature grabbed the paper and timidly climbed onto Hermione's shoulder and sat down.
Hermione watched it carefully. "...?"
The Bowtruckle also looked at her. Unfortunately, its eyes were as small as sesame seeds, so it was impossible to see any emotions.
"Take good care of these little guys," George said as he gave a Bowtruckle to Harry and Ron as well. "They've been bred for generations at Mr. Scamander's estate. They're very intelligent and are your scorekeepers."
"Scorekeepers?" Harry repeated.
"That's right!" George said. "You can't expect a professor to follow every challenger and keep score, can you?"
He prepared to leave but turned back after taking two steps. "By the way, in case you haven't heard—if your Bowtruckle dies during the challenge, all your points will be reset to zero! Whether you can participate in the challenge again is also an unknown!"
"What?" Ron's voice rose in panic. "But it's so weak!"
His Bowtruckle angrily tugged on Ron's hair.
"That's why it's the ultimate challenge!" George waved his hand dismissively. "You can understand, can't you? We don't have an infinite supply of these intelligent Bowtruckles!"
He went to distribute Bowtruckles to the other first-time challengers, and the trio exchanged glances.
"If we encounter danger, should we cast a Shield Charm on them first?" Hermione suggested.
Harry nodded silently.
Ron's face was long—although Harry was also teaching him the Shield Charm, Ron hadn't mastered it yet. He thought about it all the way and, just before reaching the entrance, his eyes suddenly lit up. Ron picked up a few nutshells from the ground and used an unpolished Sticking Charm to stick them together, making a "suit of armor" for his little Bowtruckle.
"I hope it can protect you, and you have to protect yourself well and not make me worry," Ron said, carefully putting the "armor" on the little creature. The Bowtruckle didn't know if it understood. It tapped the armor with its long fingers, as if it found it a little uncomfortable.
The line finally reached them. Ron entered first, then Harry, and finally Hermione. When Hermione went in, she found that Harry and Ron, who had entered a few seconds before her, were already gone.
"Well, I guessed as much. Since they're making us enter one by one, they're probably not going to let us all be together," she said to herself, cheering herself on as she explored and walked forward. "It's only the first layer. It can't be that hard. Right? Hmm... how about I call you Glories? Do you like that name?"
The Bowtruckle with a new name suddenly chirped and pointed to the side with its hand. Hermione was startled. She turned her head and saw a small, snowy white rabbit.
"Oh—"
Hermione's expression softened. She slowly walked over, wanting to reach out and pet it.
The little white rabbit took a step back.
"Squeak—"
Glories suddenly chirped again.
Hermione was stunned and suddenly realized. She also wanted to retreat but suddenly found herself surrounded by seven or eight rabbits. When she turned her head, the little white rabbit leaped up and charged at Hermione, headfirst!
Inside the maze, the students' screams came one after another. Even the most ordinary animals could be startling when they showed aggression.
Wade, who was temporarily serving as a patrol officer, was circling above the maze on the back of a Thestral. Ron was running around with his head in his hands, chased by a flock of geese. After getting away from the rabbits, Hermione was tangled up by monkeys. It wasn't that she couldn't handle them, but her on-the-spot reactions were always a bit slow. Harry, on the other hand, was handling it very smoothly. He had already entered the second loop and was trying to get his glasses back from a Niffler. He couldn't see the path clearly and fell several times, looking a little disheveled all over. Neville finally found the passage from the outer layer to the second loop but accidentally fell into a trap and was hung upside down. This little friend's luck was always very low.
Wade waited for a while nearby. Seeing that he hadn't given up and was still trying to cut the vine holding him with a Severing Charm, he went to check on other places.
Theo had just been sent out by a house-elf, and Ryan was still holding on in the third loop. Several Augureys in the vicinity were making a trembling cry, causing him to fall into a state of low sadness and not want to move for a while. A Redcap was stealthily approaching Ryan from behind. If he couldn't wake up in time, he might be eliminated like this. Wade saw that a house-elf was already guarding nearby and turned around with a sense of relief.
Padma had just been eliminated by a Boggart... Rolf had also reached the third loop. Most of the students here were third-year or above... Wade then thought that Rolf, with his family background, was probably more at ease dealing with these magical creatures than most students. Some of them even came from his family's luggage compartment. Rolf had been feeding them since he was a child, so he naturally didn't have to worry about being harmed by these creatures. If it weren't for the various obstacles set up by Hogwarts in the maze, this little guy might have made it all the way to the seventh loop.
Wade observed for a while from above. Seeing that Rolf was trapped by a riddle from Professor Snape and couldn't get away for a while, he continued to check on the other students.
"Ahhh—"
Suddenly, several screams came from inside the maze. Wade was startled. Without him needing to give a command, the Thestral quickly flew toward the direction of the screams.
Bang!
Under the horrified gaze of several girls, Harry was sent flying backward. A flash of blood shot out from his chest! What the others couldn't see was a Thestral raising its hoof high and stomping down hard on the boy on the ground!