Chapter 572: Blazing a Trail
Chapter 572: Blazing a Trail
By the time Kyle returned to the group of champions, the four professors responsible for patrolling the maze and ensuring the safety of the champions had also arrived.
"We will be patrolling the maze," Professor McGonagall said to the group. "If you encounter any difficulties and need rescue, shoot a red spark into the sky, and we will come to your aid. Understood?"
Everyone nodded in unison.
Then, she, Hagrid, Professor Moody, and Professor Flitwick went their separate ways, dispersing to different areas around the maze.
However, what no one noticed was a tiny Billywig, which had flown into the maze, hitching a ride on Hagrid's large robe.
Perhaps someone had spotted it but hadn't paid it any mind... After all, the area had been transformed into a maze of hedges, and having a Billywig or two, or even a few Bowtruckles, was only to be expected.
Bagman then pointed his wand at his throat and cast a Sonorous charm.
"Ladies and gentlemen," his voice echoed across the stands, "the final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!"
A thunderous roar of applause and cheers greeted his announcement.
Then, Bagman loudly announced the current scores... Kyle, with ninety-eight points, was indisputably in first place, followed by Krum, while Fleur, having lost too many points in the second task, was in last place.
But Kyle's mind was elsewhere; he couldn't help but glance at the judges' area.
Dumbledore was no longer there; in his place was the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who had come to watch the tournament.
The Minister seemed to be in high spirits, clapping along cheerfully with the rest of the crowd.
A short, sharp whistle snapped Kyle back to attention.
Realizing it was the signal to start, Kyle immediately sprinted into the maze.
The tall hedges cast dark shadows on the paths, and some sort of magic seemed to be at play overhead, for as Kyle ventured further in, the sounds of the spectators faded away.
When he reached the first intersection, Kyle held his wand flat in his palm.
"Point the way!"
The wand spun and pointed to the right, towards a section of hedge that wasn't a path.
"Bombarda!"
The dense hedge instantly exploded, leaving a gaping hole.
Without hesitation, Kyle rushed through and continued running at full speed.
Up ahead, a golden mist hung in the air.
"Ventus!"
A fierce gust of wind swept through, dispersing the mist instantly, and several red-capped wizards, brandishing wooden clubs, jumped out from their hiding places among the hedges.
But before they could make a move, they were sent flying backwards at an even faster speed.
As he ran, Kyle's thoughts turned to what had just transpired. There was no doubt that Harry had been abducted by a Death Eater.
If they hadn't left the castle yet, Dumbledore would surely be able to find him, but if they had... All it would take was a simple Disapparating spell to leave Dumbledore with no leads.
Kyle had thought that with Harry's name not emerging from the Goblet of Fire, and with Professor Moody not being impersonated, everything would proceed without incident. He never expected such a twist of fate.
There was no need to speculate; the Death Eaters' motive for taking Harry was undoubtedly to resurrect Voldemort. However, the problem was that Kyle had no idea where the ritual would be taking place.
He had tried to search for information during this time, but Tom Riddle Sr. was an utterly insignificant Muggle with no notable achievements, and thus, there were no records of his existence.
Could it be at Little Hangleton, at the Riddle House? Kyle couldn't be sure, but for now, he had no other leads. He had to get out of here as soon as possible and inform Dumbledore of this location.
And there was one more crucial point.
The attempt to bring Harry into the tournament as a "hostage" was no coincidence, and it wasn't simply to add an element of excitement to the tournament, as Ludo Bagman had suggested.
Perhaps there was something within the maze that could facilitate Harry's abduction from the school... like turning the Goblet of Fire into a Portkey.
It was only because the final three judges had vetoed the proposal to include a "hostage" that they had been forced to change their plans and directly abduct Harry instead.
If that was the case, they must have tampered with the Goblet of Fire in advance...
And this proposal had only been rejected just before the start of the tournament, when the Goblet had already been placed in the center of the maze, out of reach of anyone... In other words, the Portkey spell should still be active.
Although this was just a possibility, Kyle felt it was worth a try. It was the fastest and most reliable way to find Harry...
Little Hangleton was just a guess, just as the absence of an impersonated Moody and Harry's name in the Goblet were guesses. No one could be sure if Voldemort was indeed there.
As he was thinking, Kyle suddenly heard a buzzing sound and looked up to see a Billywig flitting about to his left.
Flying was not permitted in the airspace above the maze, but this did not affect magical creatures like the Billywig.
Its movement seemed to indicate that it had found the right direction, and indeed, it was not heading true north, just as Autumn had predicted.
Kyle immediately turned and pointed his wand in the direction of the Billywig.
This distance should be about right... it was worth a try.
Kyle gently flicked his wrist, and strange symbols began to float out from the tip of his wand, converging together.
The temperature around him started to rise rapidly, and flames sprang up one after another on the hedges, dancing like sprites around Kyle.
In the blink of an eye, these flames merged together, forming a surging, leaping wave of golden-red.
Sensing the danger, the magical creatures in the maze began to riot, emitting sharp cries from different locations, especially in the direction that Kyle's wand was pointing. Almost every hedge in that area was shaking violently.
"Make way, fire of the gods!"
It was as if someone had torn away a section of the maze, as all the hedges and magical traps in front of Kyle instantly turned to ash and disappeared without a trace.
...
Meanwhile, in the stands, under the deep blue night sky, the sudden appearance of flames in the maze was particularly eye-catching... and everyone in the stands looked towards it.
Even Bagman, who had been about to blow the whistle a second time, was drawn to it.
He looked flustered and was sweating profusely.
"Impossible... he's only been in there for a short while... has it even been a minute? How could he have gotten so far so quickly!"
In his panic, Bagman forgot about everything else and blew the whistle to signal Krum's turn to start.
However, his whistle was drowned out by the exclamations from the stands.
In their line of sight, the flames that had been entwined together suddenly transformed, like a sharp spear thrown by a giant, piercing through half of the maze and leaving behind only a wide, golden-red passage.
And at the end of this passage stood the symbol of honor, the Triwizard Cup.
After a brief silence, a thunderous cheer erupted from the stands, loud enough to scatter the clouds.
On the judges' platform, Madame Maxime stood up abruptly.
"This is impossible, you're cheating!" she shouted. "Someone must have helped him!"
To increase the difficulty of the task, the hedges in the maze were made fireproof and resistant to cutting charms. Even a standard blasting curse would only create a small opening.
Yet now, these hedges had been penetrated as easily as a steak sliced by a dinner knife, and without the slightest pause.
Madame Maxime refused to believe that such magic, which even frightened her, could be performed by a student as young as fifteen.
"I don't think so, Madame," said Fudge, sitting next to her.
Although he had been shocked into silence initially, he now wore an expression that suggested he had seen it all before.
"Dumbledore and I both have high hopes for this boy. He's very talented," Fudge said with a smile. "Perhaps in a few decades, he'll be able to succeed Dumbledore as the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
"However, I think he'd be better suited to working at the Ministry of Magic, and I'm confident that I can groom him to become the youngest Minister of Magic."
Madame Maxime paid no attention to Fudge's words, nor did she even glance in his direction.
If this level of talent was considered impressive, then what of Fleur Delacour, who was also a champion? Was she a mere Feeblebug on a wand? After being rebuffed by Madame Maxime, Fudge felt somewhat displeased, but Kyle's dominant performance in the Triwizard Tournament had also made him proud.
The repeated losses at the Quidditch World Cup had been a source of gloom, but now, they had found some consolation in this separate competition.
He felt the need to assert his presence and let others know about his good relationship with Kyle...
It didn't matter that Madame Maxime wasn't listening; there was still Karkaroff.
But as Fudge turned his head, he found that the space to his left was empty. Karkaroff, who had been sitting there just moments ago, had suddenly disappeared.
"Where's Igor?" he asked a Durmstrang student sitting behind him.
"The Headmaster just left," the student replied. "He probably forgot something on the ship."
"Is that so?" said Fudge.
Although he found it a bit strange, he assumed that Karkaroff had hidden himself away because he didn't want to witness the failure of his own school.
...
(End of Chapter)
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