Inside the maze, Vladimir frowned deeply.
He had entered nearly ten minutes later than Cedric and the others, and since then had been wandering aimlessly like a headless fly. Even now, he couldn't catch a glimpse of the tower.
He needed to employ some special methods.
The hedge wall before him—if he could blast straight through it, he'd reach the tower quickly.
Having made up his mind, Vladimir wasted no time. Drawing his wand, he aimed it at the vines covering the hedge.
"Incendio!"
A long streak of flames shot from his wand tip, only to be instantly extinguished upon touching the vines.
Vladimir wasn't overly disappointed. If the shortcut were this easy, the tournament organisers would have been terribly negligent.
He'd only been testing his luck.
"Bombarda!"
A deafening explosion rang out, accompanied by thick smoke. When it cleared, Vladimir gaped at the result.
"You've got to be kidding me! This tough?!"
His spell had worked, but only left a dent in the hedge—far from creating a hole large enough to pass through.
"I don't believe this."
Gritting his teeth, Vladimir tapped into his Command Seal's power. The Blasting Curse's might suddenly doubled, successfully creating a large opening that let him advance to the next section.
While it seemed to save time, wasting a Command Seal left Vladimir alone to judge whether it was worth the cost.
...
Spectator stands.
"Vladimir chose to breach the wall violently? Ah, Mr Crouch says this doesn't violate the rules. Very well! Meanwhile, contestant Diggory encounters a new challenge—a moving wall blocks his path."
Words appeared on the wall:
"In 1774, by what means did witch Clamir murder her husband?"
Cedric thought for a moment, then magically wrote Draught of Living Death.
Clamir had used the potion to make her husband sleep for ten days and nights, starving him to death so she could inherit his vast fortune.
This had been on their fifth-year History of Magic exam. Thankfully, he remembered.
'Since when did mazes have quizzes?'
Cedric watched as the wall split open to create a passageway, somewhat speechless.
Elsewhere, Harry also encountered a wall.
"Seven monkeys sit in a tree. You stun one. How many remain?"
Harry: "..."
Was this ridiculously simple question meant to insult his intelligence?
Without hesitation, he wrote six.
The letters flashed briefly before vanishing.
"Idiot! You think the other monkeys would just sit there?"
Large characters replaced the original question. As Harry stared dumbfounded, the wall began rumbling toward him, forcing him to retreat hastily.
Seeing the moving wall glow increasingly brighter, Harry felt instinctive alarm and cast the Shield Charm.
BOOM!
Flames and spells erupted simultaneously. A powerful shockwave sent Harry flying, though the Shield Charm spared him injury.
By the time he stood up, covered in dust, the wall had already shattered into fragments.
"Pah!"
Harry rose, mentally cursing the sadist who designed this obstacle and its trick question. What he didn't know was that the live broadcast screen also displayed the questions he was answering. When everyone saw Harry being chased by a wall, the entire audience burst out laughing.
"Who came up with such a wicked question?"
"Exactly! Why only stun one? Why not knock them all out?"
"Don't just laugh! Look at Potter's Shield Charm—he's so fluent he didn't even need to incant it!"
Listening to the surrounding comments, Wayne subtly curled his lips.
'What's wrong with this question? Wizards shouldn't just know magic—brains matter too. This kind of educational yet entertaining challenge is perfect!'
Others might not have noticed his expression, but Cho, sitting beside him, certainly did.
Not that she found it strange. A question like this would never occur to Dumbledore or other Headmasters.
Bagman analysed the field situation.
"Diggory remains firmly in the lead. Unless he takes any drastic detours, he should reach the final tower soon."
"The following competitors are locked in fierce competition. Krum wasted too much time in the marshland and encountered Devil's Snare. Doesn't Durmstrang teach students how to repel Devil's Snare? Just light it up! Why waste a Command Seal? Such a pity!"
Karkaroff's face darkened. Devil's Snare—a plant that thrives in dark, damp conditions—was hardly common at Durmstrang. Was it so strange that Krum, having learned it years ago, might have forgotten?
Was such relentless mockery necessary?
Oblivious to Karkaroff's resentment, Bagman continued loudly: "Contestants Worley and Delacour have crossed paths. Rather than fighting, they exchanged polite nods and chose separate routes. They seem quite amicable."
Hermione secretly pinched Wayne, who exaggeratedly grimaced in mock pain, prompting Astoria to rub his waist sympathetically.
"Contestant Sakura Kinomoto has demonstrated astonishing prowess. Red Caps, Graphorns, and that... whatchamacallit..."
"Blast-Ended Skrewt," Dumbledore quietly reminded.
"Ah, Blast-Ended Skrewts! These monsters couldn't hinder her at all—her card magic is truly remarkable. The only issue is that this lovely girl seems rather directionally challenged. She's currently heading completely away from the tower..."
Another wave of light laughter spread through the arena—not mocking, but good-natured amusement.
Sakura had already proven her capability. Even if she didn't win, nobody would attribute it to a lack of skill, just sheer misfortune.
Headmaster Koga smiled bitterly. Had he known about Sakura's poor sense of direction, he would have implemented specialised training at Mahoutokoro.
"Finally, Vladimir and Buso are making determined progress. They seem to be doing well."
The maze, enhanced with Undetectable Extension Charms, now spanned nearly half the Forbidden Forest's size. Half an hour into the tournament, no one had yet reached the final stage.
Champions employed their unique strengths, utilising potions brewed from materials obtained in the second task.
Krum's body was smeared with repellent powder, keeping weaker magical creatures at bay.
Sakura carried an assortment of potions—even Molotov cocktails. The northeast corner of the maze blazed with towering flames and billowing smoke.
Harry pulled out a vial of Liquid Courage and downed it in one gulp. Instantly, he felt invincible—ready to take on any monster without hesitation.
Hearing footsteps from another entrance, he didn't pause for even a second before striding towards the sound.
It was Krum. The two competitors faced each other.
This was Harry's first encounter with another champion since entering the maze. They locked eyes for a brief moment before simultaneously firing spells at each other.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Impedimenta!"
The spells collided in a shower of sparks. Harry dodged Krum's hidden curse and swiftly counterattacked.
They'd nearly come to blows during the second round when collecting potion ingredients, but both had restrained themselves then.
Now, at the final hurdle, Krum had set his sights on Harry's key. There was no avoiding this confrontation.
The audience noticed their battle too, erupting in cheers across the stadium. This marked the first direct clash between champions in the Holy Grail War.
After a few probing attacks, Krum realised Harry wasn't nearly as weak as he'd assumed. Without hesitation, he activated his first Command Seal.
Seeing the glow on Krum's hand, Harry didn't dare hold back either, activating his own Command Seal. Immediately, he felt magical power flooding through his entire body.
"Bombarda!"
"Protego Diabolica!"
Runes emerged from Harry's body, coalescing into crimson-gold flames that rained down in a circular formation.
Up in the stands, Dumbledore abruptly rose to his feet, eyes wide with shock.
This spell...
Though the colour was different and it wasn't Fiendfyre, Dumbledore couldn't possibly mistake it—this was Grindelwald's favourite greeting: Protego Diabolica!
This comprehensive spell, combining offence, defence and even mind-reading, had been perfected by the two of them together in Godric's Hollow.
How did Harry know this magic?
Instinctively, Dumbledore searched for Wayne in the crowd, wondering if Grindelwald had taught him first before he passed it to Harry. But noticing the confused looks from those around him, he reluctantly sat back down, explaining:
"This spell is too dangerous. I fear Harry might lose control."
"Professors are already on their way. There won't be any problems," Fudge reassured him with a smile. On the screens, Professor Flitwick could be seen approaching the fiery scene.
Though both were enhanced by Command Seals, there was a vast difference in their magical tiers. Krum's explosive curse was effortlessly consumed.
When the relentless flames came surging towards him like a tidal wave, Krum's face turned ashen. Swinging his wand desperately to repel the advancing fire, he fled blindly until cornered in a dead end.
"Hand over your key, and you can continue the tournament. Otherwise, I'll eliminate you right now."
With practised ease, Harry disarmed Krum and issued his ultimatum.
Wandless and defeated, Krum had no choice but to surrender his portion of the key to Harry.
Keeping fifty metres between them, Harry returned the wand with a Levitation Charm.
Karkaroff closed his eyes in despair. He knew this was effectively the end.
Meanwhile, Cedric had become the first to reach the central tower. Having failed to obtain a key, he'd need to start from the first challenge...
Entering the final stage, the difficulty of the challenges skyrocketed. The first floor alone had a Graphorn, and several Fwoopers circled overhead.
Five minutes later, Fleur and Cassandra arrived at the tower one after another.
"It seems the champion will be decided soon," Fudge said cheerfully. C
urrently, Hogwarts had the highest chance of winning, which reflected well on him as Minister for Magic.
"Buso, look out!" Zaka, Headmaster of Uagadou, suddenly exclaimed, cutting him off.
Gasps erupted from the spectator stands.
On the screen, Buso and Vladimir had come face-to-face. Just two more turns and they'd see the tower, but the two chose different paths.
The moment Buso turned away, Vladimir swiftly drew his wand and cast a powerful spell enhanced by an incantation, successfully ambushing Buso and knocking him unconscious.
Instead of leaving immediately, Vladimir crouched down and began searching Buso's body.
Soon, he found a herb and stuffed it into his mouth. His body gradually faded from view, and he casually took the key from Buso as well.
Students from Koldovstoretz cheered loudly while Uagadou's students cursed Vladimir's underhanded tactics.
A heated war of words broke out between the two sides.
With the invisibility herb, Vladimir vanished from everyone's sight. The magical creatures and obstacles on the path now posed almost no threat to him.
Buso had originally planned to save the herb for use inside the tower, never expecting someone would steal his advantage.
Zaka shot Katerina a furious glare before turning to Dumbledore and declaring:
"Uagadou withdraws from the competition. Send the guards to retrieve our student."