Much to the surprise of Fleur and Viktor, Madame Grindelwald first offered them a few words of pleasant encouragement before calling Harry aside alone.
"Harry."
The two walked to the side, and Veratia smiled, reaching out to pat Harry's head.
Harry actually quite enjoyed the sensation of being petted. He spoke somewhat happily, "I thought you wouldn't come."
"Why?" Veratia asked with interest.
"I saw the morning paper," Harry said. "Oh, I haven't congratulated you on becoming Minister for Magic yet."
"That isn't something worth congratulating, Harry," Veratia sighed softly. "Becoming Minister for Magic means shouldering more responsibility. It looks glorious, but at the same time, I carry the burden of hundreds of thousands of wizards across the Greater Germany region..."
The way she puts it, you'd think she was a weightlifting champion. Why don't you just say the entire continent of Europe is resting on your shoulders?
Harry only thought this to himself; his emotional intelligence wasn't so low that he would actually say it out loud.
"Sometimes I wonder, just how high of a rank is considered truly high?" Veratia clasped her hands behind her back and lamented. Given her current status, there was actually some weight to her words.
If an ordinary Ministry official said this, it might be laughable. But as the Minister for Magic—specifically, a Minister who had swallowed up the ministries of several nations—Veratia was qualified to say it.
"Can I interpret that as a humble-brag?" Harry asked, curling his lip.
"Let's say it is." Veratia smiled faintly, tucking her hair behind her ear, and said to him, "The European wizarding world has been divided for too long, and MACUSA is watching from the sidelines like a tiger eyeing its prey, seeking supreme authority. If Europe remains a plate of loose sand, it will be difficult to contend with the Magical Congress of the United States of America. We would only be divided and conquered. Harry, do you understand me?"
As she spoke, Veratia's eyes shimmered, seemingly looking forward to Harry's answer.
"Of course, I understand," Harry nodded without hesitation. "I will always support your decisions, Veratia!"
"That is wonderful." Veratia smiled with satisfaction. She took out a silver-white princess tiara, thought for a moment, and decided against placing it on Harry's head.
"You were going to put that on me?" Harry looked at it and felt that the princess tiara was likely, probably, and almost certainly not intended for him.
I'm a grown man; why would I wear a princess tiara?
"It doesn't suit you."
Veratia said, then produced a silver-white bracelet from somewhere, engraved with a phoenix spreading its wings to fly.
"Wear this," she said. "It will be of some help to you, Harry."
"Okay." Harry took the bracelet and put it on without hesitation. "I feel filled with power... POWER!"
As he spoke, he struck a comically exaggerated power pose, causing Veratia to tremble with laughter.
"Alright, alright," she said, beaming. "Although this bracelet cannot provide you with power, it can precisely track your location. Furthermore, it will assist you and provide some protection... I hope you stay safe, Harry. Wait until..."
"...I will come find you," she added.
"Okay," Harry nodded.
"Go and compete," Veratia said. "I've delayed things for too long. The other two champions must be impatient to start."
She walked a few steps away, then turned back. "Good luck!"
"Good luck!" Harry smiled and waved to Veratia.
At this moment, seeing Veratia leave, Mr. Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and muttered, "Sonorus." His magically amplified voice echoed through the stands.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me announce the current scores! Harry Potter—87 points, in first place, from Hogwarts School!"
Applause and cheers startled the birds in the Forbidden Forest, sending them flying into the darkening night sky.
"Viktor Krum—80 points, second place, Durmstrang Institute!"
Another round of applause.
"Fleur Delacour—third place, Beauxbatons Academy!"
Harry could make out Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione in the stands, politely applauding for Fleur.
He waved to them, and they smiled and waved back.
"Now... Harry, listen for my whistle!" Bagman said. "Three—two—one!"
With a short blast of the whistle, Harry drew his wand and walked into the maze.
The towering hedges cast pitch-black shadows over the path. Whether due to the height and density of the hedges or because of enchantments, the moment he entered the maze, the sounds of the audience vanished.
Harry felt almost as if he were underwater again. Holding his wand aloft, he intoned, "Lumos Vivus!"
A silver-white ball of magical light rose from his wand, illuminating the surroundings like a lightbulb.
He continued forward. After walking about fifty meters, he reached a fork in the road.
"Point Me!" Harry held his wand flat in his palm and whispered to it.
The wand spun like a compass for a moment before selecting the path to Harry's right.
Harry heard Bagman's whistle blow again; Krum had entered the maze.
He quickened his pace, turned right, and hurried forward, the glowing orb of light following above his head like a searchlight, scouting the path ahead.
From the distance came Bagman's third whistle. All the champions were now in the maze.
Suddenly, Harry felt as though someone was following him from behind.
He raised his wand and traced a circle.
"Revelio!"
The detection spell expanded rapidly in all directions. Immediately, a massive red silhouette appeared not far in front of Harry.
Harry took only a few steps before he smelled that signature stench.
"Blast-Ended Skrewt..."
He really couldn't forget the trademark foul odor of the Blast-Ended Skrewt. It seemed to have become the defining trait of this notorious creature—he truly didn't know why Newt would like such things. It was one thing for Hagrid to like them, but following suit? What was the meaning of that?
The Blast-Ended Skrewt was enormous, fully ten feet long, looking like a giant scorpion carrying a shell.
Its long stinger was curled over its back, and its thick, hard armor glistened under the illumination of the light orb.
Abruptly, the Blast-Ended Skrewt seemed to detect Harry's presence. With a crackling explosion sound, it lunged toward him.
Outside the maze, Mr. Bagman seemed to be watching Harry's perspective. He used the amplifying charm to explain to the audience, "It looks like Harry's situation isn't going too well. A Blast-Ended Skrewt has suddenly popped out of the maze. Very mysterious... the mist it spews has a chemical composition, and it is deadly strong..."
Meanwhile, at the High Table, Dumbledore and Veratia were nowhere to be seen. Gone with them were Professor McGonagall, Sirius, and Lupin.
They had gone to deal with Barty Crouch Jr.
Inside the maze, Harry had already begun his counterattack against the Skrewt.
"Bombarda!"
The spell struck the Blast-Ended Skrewt. Seemingly due to certain special chemical substances within the creature, the spell triggered a secondary enhancement.
BOOM!
A violent explosion rang out. The blast could be heard within a ten-mile radius of Hogwarts castle.
From the audience's perspective, a small mushroom cloud even rose from within the maze.
"Merlin's beard..."
Ron covered his mouth in shock. "No, seriously, what spell did Harry use? Why does it feel like he's gotten stronger again?"
"No," Hermione said with a grave expression. "It's not that he got stronger. Harry likely used an explosive spell, and the Blast-Ended Skrewt is naturally flammable and explosive. When hit with that kind of spell, the power naturally increases geometrically."
"Of course," Hermione added, "if the spell's power wasn't sufficient, it wouldn't have breached the Skrewt's defense, nor would it have caused such earth-shattering devastation."
Harry, inside the maze, felt a bit miserable. He had only managed to cast a Protego in time. Debris from the Skrewt smacked against the spherical shield, making pata-pata sounds, and a lump of something resembling intestines landed on the hedge beside him, emitting an unbearable stench.
"Ugh..." He retched. Normal attacks were one thing, but this biological warfare was truly hard to endure.
Just you wait until I get out, Hagrid. When I get out, I'm definitely settling this score with you!
Harry dry-heaved twice, then continued forward with a pale face.
Every minute, the maze grew darker. The sky overhead turned a deep indigo. At the same time, he arrived at the second fork.
"Point Me." He held his wand flat in his palm and whispered.
The wand spun like a compass for a while before pointing to the dense hedge on his right.
That was North. He knew he had to head Northwest to reach the center of the maze.
The best method was to take the left path and then turn right as soon as possible.
He hadn't gone far when, upon turning a corner, a Dementor suddenly rushed toward his face.
The Dementor was twelve feet tall, its face hidden by a hood, its rotting, scabbed hands stretching straight out.
It approached step by step, feeling its way toward him. Harry could hear the rattling breath in its throat.
Harry felt a sudden curiosity—was there actually a Dementor in this world that wasn't afraid of him?
Then, the Dementor swayed twice and transformed into the appearance of Veratia.
She looked just as she had in the study in Slytherin, slumped over the desk, but devoid of life, her face a pale grey-green.
Harry's heart seized violently.
Then, he realized something was wrong.
It was a Boggart!
"Protego Gubraithian!"
Azure flames exploded outward with Harry at the center, expanding rapidly in all directions.
As the fire passed over the corpse of Veratia created by the Boggart, the creature didn't even have time to make a sound before it was burned to ash.
The flames did not stop after burning the Boggart. Simultaneously, two agonizing screams came from Harry's flank and rear.
When he turned his head, he saw two figures in black robes and skull masks looking in terror at their own bodies, which were being slowly consumed by the azure fire. They wanted to do something, but they were powerless.
Dark Wizards?
How could there be Dark Wizards in the maze?
Did Dumbledore recruit them from the Death Eaters as obstacles to stop the champions?
Dumbledore's network is pretty wide, Harry thought idly as he continued walking forward.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the surrounding silence.
It was Fleur.
Harry knew she must be out of the game.
God bless that girl; her skills are a bit lacking. I hope she didn't run into the Dark Wizards. Harry crossed himself and prayed for Fleur for half a second.
He continued walking. Suddenly, the path ahead opened up.
Then, appearing before him was a door that looked like a mass of black mist.
To proceed along the path behind the door, one had to pass through it.
Harry took a deep breath...
He cast a detection spell; the door ahead held no danger.
Just to be safe, he used Transfiguration to turn a nearby bush into a snorting pig and directed it to walk into the mist door.
The pig was fine.
He cancelled the spell and walked into the mist door.
The scenery changed abruptly. He couldn't see his hand in front of his face.
Harry summoned the light orb again, only to discover that he was in a vast, wide hall.
In the center of the hall was a floor of transparent crystal.
Harry walked over and, under the illumination of the light orb, saw sixteen statues wielding swords and axes arranged around the perimeter.
The statues were about twelve or thirteen feet tall, all styled like medieval knights, holding heavy weapons. They looked like trouble.
He rubbed his chest, feeling a bit dizzy.
Needless to say, this was definitely Veratia's handiwork...
As far as Harry knew, the only people aware of this kind of mechanism, aside from Veratia and himself, were Professor Fig.
Professor Fig had long since passed away, so who else but Veratia could have set up this level here?
This level was simple in a way, but also quite difficult.
First, the shadows beneath these statues all pointed in a specific direction, while the statues themselves did not align with their shadows.
And light would attract the statues to rotate their bodies.
What Harry needed to do was use the light to pull the statues so that they aligned with the shadows beneath their feet. Only then would the next step trigger.
He directed the light orb to float upward.
Meanwhile, he lowered his head to observe the orientation of the statues.
There had to be a specific point that would allow all the statues to align with their shadows simultaneously.
He constantly tested different angles. Finally, all the statues aligned perfectly with the shadows beneath them.
At that moment, the sound of gears grinding echoed through the entire hall.
The sixteen statues stood up in unison. Immediately following that, a massive statue, nearly thirty feet tall, burst through the glass floor in the center of the hall.
The sound of shattering glass was crisp and clear, and the giant statue's eyes suddenly turned crimson.
Then, the eyes of the sixteen smaller statues also turned blood-red.
They raised their weapons, took heavy steps, and charged at Harry to kill!
--
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