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Chapter 335: Harry and Harry
Chapter 335: Harry and Harry
Today's dinner at Hogwarts was much more lavish than usual.
Harry still showed no signs of tension. He ate slowly from the long table, waiting for the enchanted ceiling to shift from blue to the deep purple of twilight.
Dumbledore stood up from his position, and the Great Hall fell silent.
"In five minutes, we will ask everyone to head to the Quidditch pitch to watch the final event of the Triwizard Tournament. Now, please have the champions follow Mr. Bagman to the field."
Harry stood up, and the students at the Gryffindor table applauded for him. The Weasley family and Hermione wished him luck. He walked out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Krum.
After leaving the Great Hall, Harry deliberately lagged behind a bit. He made a probing gesture, and sure enough, someone soon approached him.
"How are you feeling, Harry?" Bagman asked as they descended the stairs. "Confident?"
Harry gave him a meaningful look.
"Pretty good."
Bagman, seemingly oblivious to Harry's odd gaze, observed that he wasn't particularly nervous. He then led them into the Quidditch pitch.
The field was no longer recognizable as the Quidditch pitch. A twenty-foot-high hedge surrounded the perimeter, leaving only one gap, which was the entrance to the maze.
The sky had turned completely dark, and the entrance to the maze looked ominous and foreboding, making the other three champions even more anxious.
Soon, hundreds of students filed in and took their seats in the stands. The air was filled with excited chatter and the sound of shuffling feet.
Professor Mcgonagall, Professor Flitwick, Mad-Eye Moody, and Hagrid all wore the standard wizard hats.
They were the safety officers for the evening, patrolling outside the maze during the competition. If the champions encountered any danger, they could send up red sparks, and the professors would rush over, but this would also automatically end the competition.
Bagman used the Sonorus charm on his throat.
Harry was secretly watching him, noticing that his hand holding the wand was trembling slightly with excitement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the final event of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Here are the current scores! First place—Viktor Krum with 85 points! Second place—Cedric Diggory with 80 points! Third place—Harry Potter with 75 points! Fourth place—Fleur Delacour."
"Now, listen to my whistle. The first to enter the maze will be Viktor!"
A sharp whistle sounded, and Krum hurried into the maze, followed by Cedric. Although Cedric hadn't won the first two tasks, his consistent second-place finishes kept his average score high.
Harry was third. He had won the first task but performed poorly in the second, which affected his score significantly.
As for Fleur, it wasn't a lack of skill but bad luck—both with the fire dragon and in the Black Lake—that placed her last.
After the third whistle blew, Harry quickly walked into the maze.
However, once he entered the dark maze, his pace slowed down. He aimlessly wandered through the twists and turns until he found a corner where he wouldn’t bump into anyone else. From his pocket, he pulled out a peculiar-looking bird.
The bird had a ring of patterns around its eyes that resembled glasses. Harry looked at the bird and raised an eyebrow.
"Let’s go. Pay attention, it’s at the Headmaster's Office. Don’t go anywhere else."
The bird nodded in a human-like manner, flapped its wings, and flew out of the maze.
With no burden on him, Harry relaxed completely. He hummed a tune from his hometown, as if he were strolling in his own backyard.
At crossroads, he made no choices. He simply pointed his wand at the ground, and whichever direction it pointed, he followed.
Before long, he encountered a bedraggled figure running back.
It was Cedric. His robe seemed to have been burned by some creature, and smoke was still rising from his sleeve.
Cedric also saw Harry and shouted as he ran.
"It’s Hagrid’s Blast-Ended Skrewts! There are too many. I barely managed to escape."
He didn’t choose to walk with Harry but rushed down another path. Even now, he was still taking responsibility, trying to lead the Skrewts away so they wouldn’t harm Harry.
Harry marveled at Cedric’s character but didn’t offer to help him with the Skrewts chasing behind.
For someone of such high moral character, offering help might have been an insult.
Harry turned onto another path. As soon as he entered, he found a group of Skrewts there.
He muttered that Hagrid’s tastes were truly unique and drew his wand.
If someone had been observant enough to see his wand, they would have noticed that it was different from the one he usually used.
But the maze was dark, and there was no one else around, so no one noticed.
The Skrewts, upon spotting Harry, immediately charged at him.
These creatures had a strong attack instinct, and the explosions from their tails were powerful. Most importantly, they were horribly deformed, making a large group of them crawling forward utterly revolting, almost to the point of making one vomit. It was no wonder Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures class never had much positive feedback.
Harry made no extra movements. He simply waved his wand casually, without even uttering a spell. The dozen or so Skrewts suddenly rose into the air, floating up to the height of the maze’s hedges.
After completing this, Harry calmly put his wand back into his sleeve and walked down the now clear path.
About a minute after Harry left, the Skrewts, which had been levitated by the charm, fell to the ground, struggling to right themselves.
This display, which was entirely out of character for Harry, was seen by no one else.
The spectators in the stands, like those who had watched the events at the Black Lake, couldn’t actually see the competition. They could only wait foolishly for the final victor to emerge with the trophy.
Harry felt that being a spectator was incredibly foolish. If he were still a spectator, he wouldn’t have sat in the stands, freezing in the cold wind all night.
(End of Chapter)
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