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Night, 8:30 PM.
Lynn left the Hufflepuff common room on time.
As he walked through the entrance hall, he happened to run into Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who had just reached the door.
"Lynn!" Harry saw him and quickened his pace. "Are you heading there too?"
Lynn nodded.
"Professor Sprout told us—9:00 PM, at the Quidditch Pitch."
"Professor McGonagall said the same," Cedric chimed in, a hint of curiosity in his tone. "I wonder what the third task will be."
Roger yawned.
"Whatever it is, it's bound to be another hassle."
The four of them walked out through the castle gates together, heading across the dark lawn toward the Quidditch Pitch.
The night breeze blew, carrying the warmth and grassy scent unique to late spring. The Forbidden Forest in the distance sat pitch black, with the occasional cry of some unknown creature drifting out of it.
They passed through the players' tunnel and onto the pitch.
"Oh, this is truly spectacular."
Lynn stopped, his gaze sweeping across the field.
The Quidditch Pitch had completely changed.
The flat, wide lawn was gone, replaced by countless intricate, winding hedge walls. The hedges stood at least seven or eight feet tall, packed closely together.
Under the moonlight, they cast heavy shadows, making the whole field look deep and mysterious.
The other champions had already arrived.
Fleur stood not far off, Chloe and Sophie behind her, the three talking in low voices. Krum stood with his arms crossed, staring expressionlessly at the maze, while Louis and Katya flanked him, their expressions growing more complicated by the minute.
Footsteps came from the other side of the pitch.
Ludo Bagman walked over from beside a hedge wall, wearing his signature bright smile. He was dressed in bright yellow robes, particularly conspicuous in the moonlight.
"Good evening, champions!"
The champions all turned toward him.
Bagman walked up to them, hands on his hips, and looked around.
"Well? Coming along nicely, don't you think?"
Without waiting for a reaction from the champions, he went on, "In another month, we'll have them at thirty feet."
He pointed at the hedges, a hint of pride in his tone.
"Thirty feet—just imagine how spectacular that'll be."
Lynn looked up at the hedges, already seven or eight feet tall, and imagined them stretching up to thirty.
It would indeed be spectacular.
And more than a little oppressive.
Bagman's gaze swept over the champions, a smile playing on his lips.
"I expect you've mostly guessed what we've got in store here?"
He paused deliberately, waiting for someone to answer.
"A maze," Fleur's voice rang out, carrying a slight French accent but perfectly clear.
Bagman nodded vigorously, his smile deepening.
"Exactly!"
He turned and pointed deep into the maze—though nothing could actually be seen from outside it.
"The Triwizard Cup sits at the very center. Whichever champion touches it first wins!"
He paused and added, "Quite simple, isn't it?"
The champions looked at each other.
If the third task was really just a maze—
That did sound simpler than the first two tasks. No giant beasts, no going underwater to rescue anyone, just navigating a maze.
But no one actually believed it would be simple.
A thirty-foot-high hedge maze, pitch black... heaven knew what might be hiding inside.
Just then, Ryan's voice cut in.
"Wait a moment."
Bagman looked at him.
Ryan frowned, looking puzzled. "Whoever gets the cup first wins? Then what about the points we've already earned? Do those count for nothing?"
Bagman blinked.
"Of course not."
He cleared his throat and explained:
"The school with the leading score will start closer to the center of the maze. In other words, champions with higher scores get a starting point nearer the cup."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"So the lead is only temporary. Whether you can actually seize the Triwizard Cup in the end will depend on—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Bagman's voice cut off abruptly; his gaze slid past the champions, fixed on something in the distance.
The champions all turned around.
And then—
Everyone froze where they stood.
In the distance, near the Black Lake, the Durmstrang ship was billowing black smoke.
At first the smoke was just a wisp, barely visible against the night sky. But in the next instant—
the black smoke suddenly surged!
Under the night sky, the Durmstrang ship had turned into a vessel of fire.
Flames tore through the darkness, lighting up half the sky. The firelight reflected off the surface of the Black Lake, shimmering like burning liquid. Thick smoke billowed skyward, forming a massive black column against the moonlight.
The champions stared blankly in that direction, momentarily speechless.
The three Durmstrang champions felt as if the sky had fallen.
They'd stepped out for a bit, and now their home was gone.
They didn't bother waiting to hear the rest of what Bagman had to say and hurried toward the shore of the Black Lake.
The three vanished into the night.
"Black flames..."
Lynn narrowed his eyes, staring at the towering fire in the distance, and muttered under his breath.
The color of the flames wasn't right.
Ordinary fire burns orange-red, but at the edges of these flames there was an eerie hint of black.
"Someone set the ship on fire deliberately?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried far enough for those nearby to hear.
Cedric whipped his head around to look at Lynn.
His expression turned serious instantly. "A Dark wizard?"
Lynn waved a hand.
"Not sure."
He paused, glancing again at the burning ship.
The fire grew brighter, the smoke thicker.
"Let's go take a look."
He pulled out his wand and pointed it skyward.
A few seconds later— a broomstick came flying rapidly from the direction of the castle, arriving before Lynn in the blink of an eye and hovering steadily at his side.
Without a word, Lynn mounted it.
He gripped the handle and kicked off the ground.
The broom instantly turned into a streak of light, shooting toward the Black Lake!
The night wind whistled in his ears, snapping his robes loudly behind him.
Behind him, Cedric froze for a second, then pulled out his own wand and tried to summon his broom, but nothing happened.
By then, Lynn had already vanished into the night.
...
A thunderous alarm jolted the Durmstrang students out of their sleep.
The sound was sharp and piercing, cutting through every inch of the ship's planking and echoing back and forth in the confined space.
Some sat up abruptly in bed. Some rolled straight off their bunks. Others simply sat there blankly, not yet grasping what had happened.
One student climbed out of bed, rubbing bleary eyes; hearing the commotion outside, he hurriedly pushed open the door and looked out.
The corridor was already packed with people.
The students were disheveled—some in pajamas, some with only a cloak thrown over their shoulders, others barefoot. They scrambled toward the exit, faces filled with terror.
"Fire!"
"Run!"
"The professors aren't here! Neither's the headmaster!"
"Run—!"
Screams, cries, and pounding footsteps blended together, making the whole cabin shake.
When Lynn arrived above the Black Lake, he caught this scene in full swing.
The Durmstrang ship had by now completely turned into a massive torch.
Flames erupted from the cabin windows, licking at the sides of the hull. Thick black smoke rolled out, blotting out the moon and stars, and the pungent smell of burning carried even from a distance.
On deck, students fled in every direction.
Some tried to make for the side of the ship, hoping to jump into the lake. Others were trampled on the deck, letting out piercing screams. A few older students tried to organize some semblance of order, but no one was listening.
Chaos.
Total chaos.
Lynn hovered in midair on his broom, his gaze sweeping over the burning ship.
Just then—
a flame latched onto the rigging.
It seemed almost alive, crawling up the ropes, climbing across the canvas, leaving a charred trail behind it.
The canvas caught fire.
The flames spread across it, and in the blink of an eye the entire sail had become a wall of fire.
And then—
the mast let out a groan of overburdened strain.
The massive mast, burning now, had a base already charred through, and it began to tilt.
Further.
And further still.
Someone on deck looked up, saw it, and screamed.
"The mast is falling—!"
People scrambled to get clear, but the direction it was falling toward was exactly where the crowd stood thickest.
BOOM!!!
The mast crashed down, hurtling toward the deck!
For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
Lynn wasn't the type to stand by and watch people die; he waved his wand without hesitation.
A powerful Knockback Jinx shot out!
The spell traced a brilliant arc across the night sky, arriving first and slamming hard into the falling mast!
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