Krum was so terrified that all four limbs instantly went weak.
In that moment of shock, the female ghost's hair suddenly lashed out and bound his limbs!
The hair coiled around him like a python, pinning him in place. The female ghost let out a burst of eerie, cackling laughter, sharp and piercing, echoing through the narrow cave.
She dragged Krum along, cackling as she burrowed into the hedges.
Krum struggled, but couldn't break free at all. His figure sank deeper and deeper into the hedge until he vanished completely.
Not long after—
Krum's shrill screams rang out from within.
They tore through the hedge and echoed across the maze, raising goosebumps on anyone within earshot.
Over at the commentary box, Ludo Bagman urgently called a halt to the detector that had been about to burrow into the hedge after him.
He stared at the pitch-black hole for a long while before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence:
"Although we can no longer see what's happening to Krum, judging by the sound... he may have suffered significant harm."
He paused, then added:
"Whether Krum's life is in danger is uncertain, but one thing's for sure... he's definitely going to have to sacrifice a little something."
A wave of confused muttering rippled through the stands.
"Sacrifice his body? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what you think it means."
"Can a female ghost even... do that?"
"Who knows? Either way, he's in for it."
—
While Krum was frantically clawing his way out of the female ghost's grip...
deep in the maze, Harry caught a faint echo of that scream too.
But he had no time to worry about it.
Because he was running for his life as well.
"After escaping the clutches of those 'mutated Fire Crabs,' Harry Potter's now been targeted by Acid Beetles!"
Ludo's voice rang out over the stands, full of enthusiasm.
"The venom this creature secretes is extremely corrosive—it can burn through skin and even some low-level protective gear instantly. Extremely dangerous stuff!"
On the big screen, Harry ran flat out.
Behind him, a giant beetle gave chase.
Its body gleamed glossy black, its carapace patterned with eerie markings, viscous fluid dripping from its mouthparts—wherever it hit the ground, white smoke rose instantly, corroding small pits into the surface.
Harry was running out of breath.
Suddenly—
the scar on his forehead flared with pain!
It came without warning, fierce and sudden, as if someone had pressed a red-hot iron to his skin. His whole body went limp, and he nearly collapsed.
But the pain vanished just as quickly as it had come.
Harry's reflexes moved faster than his thoughts.
"Protego!"
He shouted, pointing his wand behind him.
An invisible wall snapped into existence at his back!
The venom the Acid Beetle sprayed slammed into it, splashing everywhere. Wherever it landed on the hedge, the branches and leaves instantly blackened and withered with a hiss.
Its first strike foiled, the beetle took flight, gearing up for another attack.
Just as Harry was about to cast another spell—
the scar on his forehead flared again.
Worse than before, this time.
A piercing pain exploded through it, like someone was stirring a blade inside his skull. His head felt ready to split in two, his vision blurring right along with it.
The world spun around him.
He saw it—
found himself seated in a chair.
Kneeling before him were over a dozen figures in black robes.
They lay prostrate, foreheads pressed to the floor, their devotion bordering on madness.
At their center stood an absurdly oversized cauldron. Something inside it churned, giving off an eerie, enchanting green glow.
A voice rang out.
Raspy, cold, carrying an indescribable weight. "My loyal servants—"
The voice drew out the words.
"Bring Harry Potter back to me. Proclaim to the world that the Dark Lord has returned!"
Harry's eyes snapped open.
The blow from the beetle he'd braced for never came.
He gasped for air, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, wand still gripped tight in a white-knuckled hand.
Then he heard the sound of something being eaten.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Rhythmic, like something enjoying a meal.
Harry clutched his forehead and slowly turned his head.
Then he froze.
Lynn stood beside an Acromantula.
The Acromantula crouched on the ground, legs curled beneath it, its posture as submissive as a dog's. Bits of carapace scattered around its mouth as it chewed.
At its feet lay an Acid Beetle, already torn to pieces.
Its shell had been peeled back, organs scooped out, several legs snapped off and tossed aside.
Lynn held his wand, gesturing at the pile of remains.
"Don't want this piece," he said, pointing at a section of the beetle's abdomen. "Useless. You eat it."
The Acromantula leaned in at once and swallowed it whole.
"This one works," Lynn said, pointing to a sac-like organ on the beetle's back. "Venom sac—I'll keep that."
A flick of his wand detached the sac from the remains, floating it toward him. He pulled a bottle from his pocket and dropped the sac inside.
"And this—"
Before he could finish, the Acromantula had already reached out a leg, dragged the piece to its mouth, and started chewing.
"Hey, cut it out!"
Lynn rapped it on the head with his wand.
The Acromantula pulled its leg back, dejected.
"I wanted that one," Lynn said, pointing at what was left by its mouth—one of the beetle's venom glands. "Spit it out!"
The Acromantula opened its mouth, but more than half the gland had already gone down. It looked at Lynn pleadingly, its seven eyes blinking.
Lynn: "..."
"Fine, fine. One more or less won't make a difference."
The Acromantula perked right back up and went back to gnawing through the pile.
Lynn turned and noticed Harry had woken up.
"Yo," he said. "Awake already? Thought you'd need a bit longer."
Harry sat up, still holding his forehead, feeling a little dizzy. He shook his head and looked at Lynn.
"Thanks, Lynn."
"You really should be thanking me," Lynn agreed, nodding as if it were obvious. "One rescue per task. Next time, I'm charging for it."
Harry: "..."
Lynn paused, his gaze landing on Harry's hand still pressed to his forehead.
"Wait, why are you holding your head like that? I don't think that beetle actually got you."
He nudged the pile of beetle remains torn apart by the Acromantula with his foot.
Harry had mostly recovered by now.
He remembered what the old Headmaster had told him once about his scar acting up—something about not dwelling too much on dreams...
So he just shook his head at Lynn.
"It's nothing," he said, lowering his hand. "My scar just hurt, and I had another weird dream."
Lynn gave him a suspicious look, gaze lingering a moment on the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.
"You should really get that checked out at St. Mungo's," he said, unusually serious for a second. "Might be some rare, hard-to-treat condition. Get it cured, and maybe it'll stop hurting."
Harry nodded in agreement. "I'll go over the summer."
Lynn didn't say anything else.
He turned, walked back to the Acromantula, and swung a leg over to mount it.
The Acromantula stayed perfectly still, obedient.
Lynn patted its head.
"Let's go."
Its eight legs pushed off together, lifting it back up.
Watching this, Harry suddenly remembered something.
"Hey!" he called out.
Lynn glanced back.
"You're welcome!"
He waved a hand at Harry.
Then—
the Acromantula shot forward with startling speed, vanishing around the corner in an instant.
Harry stood there, his raised hand still hanging in the air.
He opened his mouth, the words stuck in his throat.
Several seconds later, he finally managed to shout: "The exit's that way—"
But Lynn was already too far to hear him.
The Acromantula was simply moving too fast for the sound to catch up.
...
Time crept on.
The sky had fallen into complete darkness.
Thick clouds swallowed the moon and stars, and not a single beam of light reached the maze. The Lumos glow at the tip of each champion's wand had become the only light source in the dark, tiny flickering stars against the black.
But darkness meant something else too—
the creatures inside the maze grew far more active.
Things that had spent the day hiding in corners, deep within the hedges, or tucked into burrows now began stirring.
Whiz—Bang!
A sharp whistle split the night.
On the big screen, a red firework burst above the maze, brilliant and unmistakable.
A gasp rippled through the stands.
"Someone's called for help!"
"Who is it?!"
The screen switched.
Chloe Bell, the Beauxbatons champion, was slumped on the ground, pale-faced, gasping for breath.
Her robes were torn open, revealing a bloody wound. Several Blast-Ended Skrewts paced nearby, held off by her spells.
Staff rushed in quickly.
A moment later, Chloe was helped up and led out of the maze.
Her third task ended there.
More time passed.
Whiz—Bang!
Another firework burst overhead.
Nicolas Santos of Castelobruxo, surrounded by a swarm of Ashwinders, finally chose to give up.
Whiz—Bang!
Louis Auguste, the Durmstrang champion, cornered in a dead end ringed by guillotines, was forced to call for help.
Whiz—Bang!
Sophie Bell, the other Beauxbatons champion, scared witless by a giant spider, fired off her signal flare without hesitation.
Bright fireworks kept bursting through the sky, one after another, marking champion after champion falling out of the final task.
The mood in the stands grew tenser by the minute.
"Someone else called for help!"
"Who was it, who was it?!"
"Nema of Uagadou!"
"Is Beauxbatons completely out?"
"Is Katya really the only one left for Durmstrang?"
"Thomas from Ilvermorny's out too!"
On the big screen, the list of remaining champions kept shrinking.
Amina Okoro was among them.
At 1:2.1 odds, she'd been a favorite, trailing only Lynn, Ryan, and Cedric.
A Swooping Evil had ambushed her from the shadows before she'd even managed to cast a Transfiguration spell.
The fireworks kept coming.
One after another.
Jordan of Ilvermorny, out.
Roger of Hogwarts, out.
Finally, the fireworks stopped, and the maze settled into relative silence.
On the big screen, the final list of survivors appeared.
Lynn, Harry, Cedric, Fleur, Katya, and Ryan.
The Hogwarts students in the stands erupted into thunderous cheers. Still three champions standing—the championship looked all but locked in.
But the fact that Katya was still in the running was something absolutely no one had expected.
---
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