Harry cautiously walked forward in the dark passage, the light from the tip of his Magic Wand casting wavering shadows on the damp stone walls.
Suddenly, he heard a faint moaning coming from a narrow crevice on the side, and instantly tensed up.
He initially planned to leave directly, but as he got closer, he felt the sound was somewhat familiar.
Harry hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Cedric?"
The moaning stopped abruptly, and moments later, a weak voice called out from that side: "Harry?"
Harry's heart tightened. He quickly stepped through the crevice and into a small stone chamber where he saw Cedric, half of his body trapped in the steps, unable to move, his limbs stuck by something.
There were also a few little devils, about an inch long, surrounding him, yapping noisily, poking his nostrils, pulling his ears, yanking his hair—not very harmful, but quite distressing.
Harry hurriedly used a Knockback Jinx to drive away these little devils and crouched down beside Cedric to ask, "What happened?"
"It's Salem Academy," Cedric coughed twice and said, "Be careful, there are three of them."
"All three champions from the same school have teamed up?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Yeah." Cedric smiled wryly and said, "They're pretty lucky."
He originally thought the Fire Dragon was the biggest challenge, but after entering the Chamber of Secret's passage, he realized the real danger was this place.
The narrow passage, with almost no branches, meant that if the first contestant to arrive didn't leave in time, they would certainly encounter the later arrivals.
Those who came in earlier had to break mechanisms, detect traps, and deal with the Magical Creatures in the passage—the process of searching for the Golden Egg couldn't possibly be smooth sailing. A slight delay would mean a group of enemies behind.
The early arrivals could set ambushes in the passage, which was their advantage. But the subsequent arrivals might set traps on the way back, making it hard for either side to trust each other upon meeting.
Furthermore, the participants couldn't hear the competition's commentary and didn't know how many had already taken the Golden Eggs and left, how many were left in the Chamber, or who all were in each passage.
It was like everyone was trapped in a black box, and because no one knew how many Golden Eggs were left, whenever there was an opportunity, they had to do their utmost to eliminate the competitors in front of them, grasping at the nearest and most certain qualification to pass.
Salem Academy's students had long known the crisis of this competition, but Cedric still held the naive thought that "half of the people can make it to the second round, so we can help each other when finding the Golden Eggs."
Or at least he thought they could talk it over face to face and then decide whether to fight, just like he did with Ryan and others before.
However, the people from Salem were much more aggressive than he had imagined. Hearing footsteps from afar, the three of them quietly set an ambush. As soon as Cedric showed his head, they took his Magic Wand, and then threw him into this inescapable trap.
"Hold on, I'll get you out." Harry stood up, took a deep breath, aimed his Magic Wand at the floor beside Cedric, and said, "Defodio!"
A crack appeared on the stone with a "crack," Cedric shrugged his shoulders, but his arms still couldn't move.
"It's no use," he said gloomily, "I feel like I'm stuck in a big barrel of glue that's solidified... you should go, I don't even know how to undo this kind of Magic."
Harry also felt a bit anxious. He glanced towards the depths of the passage, worried that someone else might take all the Golden Eggs. But seeing Cedric trapped in the stone steps, he felt he couldn't just leave him.
"What will you do if I leave?" Harry asked, "You couldn't handle the little devils, what if you run into something else, like a Red Cap or something..."
Cedric looked at him and said rationally, "Dumbledore must've put effective safety measures in place. I'll just be stuck here at most, without life-threatening danger. But if you..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Cedric suddenly seemed to see a golden light flash past the edge of his vision, and he quickly turned his head, but saw nothing.
Cedric frowned and asked puzzledly, "What just ran past?"
Harry turned his head a beat slower and still asked, "...what?"
Cedric said, "I think I saw a golden light..."
"Stop! Put the Golden Egg down! You thief!"
An exasperated voice echoed through the tunnel, and Harry and Cedric watched in astonishment as the three from Salem Academy ran past the passage, as fast as if propelled by a horse.
Harry didn't understand, but Cedric, who often attended class with them, knew very well that the people from Salem were usually gloomy and silent, rarely displaying such... lively behavior.
He paused for a moment, then said to Harry, "Looks like someone just stole the Golden Egg they found. What about you? Are you going to chase down the thief or continue exploring?"
He didn't offer options like "figure out how to save me" or "stay with me."
Harry stood frozen in place, looked at Cedric, then towards the Golden Egg and the pursuers disappearing into the darkness.
As soon as Cedric finished speaking, Harry realized his worries were actually unnecessary. Dumbledore wouldn't allow students in the competition to be killed by dangerous creatures while unable to resist.
Staying any longer... he really didn't know what else he could do.
Harry gripped his Magic Wand and stood up: "I'll continue exploring... maybe I can find another Golden Egg?"
As he slipped back through the crevice, the passage quieted once again. Harry explored a bit further and saw broken slabs, burnt scarecrows, and a few unconscious big-headed trolls.
Further ahead, a particularly bright flower bowed its head, emitting a strong foul smell, with a circular base thrown nearby.
——Was this where the Golden Egg was originally hidden?
It seemed to test Herbology skills...
Harry thought, "Looks like the Golden Egg has already been taken away, I wonder how many are left ahead."
He then saw a hole opened up in the stone wall, with a dozen cut vines, revealing an empty little hole on the wall.
——This also looks like a place where a Golden Egg might have been hidden... hopefully, there's still one left for me.
Harry was getting a bit anxious and quickened his pace towards the depths of the passage until suddenly he heard a rustling sound nearby.
Following the sound, he saw a strange crab poppet with a Golden Egg on its back, scuttling along the wall.
Harry: "...?"
Crab: "...!!!"
Harry opened his mouth, about to say something, but then saw several of the poppet's legs flip over suddenly, quickly grabbing the Golden Egg from its back and struggling to stuff it into its overgrown belly.
Harry: "...?"
It was unsuccessful because the crudely made belly was solid.
The crab poppet stood frozen for a while, reluctantly pushed the Golden Egg towards Harry's feet, and then clattered away.