The joy came so suddenly that Draco and the others could hardly believe it.
Draco blinked several times, even rubbed his eyes, but what he saw was still the raised platform standing on the grass, and the glittering trophy placed on top of it.
The light on it flickered as if it were breathing, tugging at Draco's heart until it beat faster and faster, his breathing growing more and more urgent.
If he was the first to seize the trophy this time, then for the first time in six years, he would have defeated Harry Potter in a complete, fair match!
The temptation was so great that he unconsciously leaned forward, lifting his foot as if something were pulling him in.
"Seriously? Don't tell me you didn't realize this was a trap, Malfoy?"
Although Ron had also been tempted into taking a few steps forward just now, that did not stop him from mocking Draco the moment Hermione pulled him back.
Provoked by that, Draco finally realized something was wrong with his state.
He had been affected by the professor's magic again!
His face flushed as he came back to his senses, but he still stubbornly snapped back at Ron, "As if! I was just trying to see what was lying in ambush up ahead. Do you think I'm some brainless idiot like you?"
"Then tell us what's lying in ambush."
"Er..."
Draco was instantly embarrassed by the question.
"I'd already noticed something, but then you interrupted me, so I didn't get a clear look!"
However, as if realizing that its disguise had failed, the darkness around the trophy suddenly began to churn.
Just as Draco and the others stared in alarm, the darkness billowed like a sheet of black cloth whipped by a violent wind, growing fiercer and fiercer before sweeping toward them with unstoppable force.
"Protego!" x6
This time, it was not only Harry and the others, who reacted quickly. Even Ron and Michael Corner frantically maintained a Shield Charm around themselves.
But to their shock, the darkness passed through the Shield Charms they had struggled to hold up with effortless ease.
And just as easily, it passed through their bodies.
"What's going on?" Ron hurriedly patted himself down, but found no trace of having been hit by any spell.
What he failed to notice was that as the darkness dispersed, the once-dim surroundings had brightened considerably.
Or rather, they had returned to their original state.
"Congratulations. You are the only ones who successfully saw through the trap before the trophy."
Bathed in sunlight, Tver stood neatly in front of the trophy, a simple smile on his face, as though he were about to present them with an award.
Only, when he thought of all the students who had charged ahead and foolishly crashed into the trap he had personally arranged, a trace of helplessness entered that smile.
The earlier trick had been meant for those who tried to be clever. This final trap, of course, was meant for the fools.
So most of the students who only knew how to charge forward, even if they had been lucky enough to avoid the earlier trick, still had not escaped the final trap before the Golden Cup.
Fortunately, Sirius had become so excited at the sight of that large crowd of students that he had taken on the "task" of dealing with them himself, allowing Tver to appear here at his leisure.
"So... we won?" Draco said in disbelief.
Although he had not won alone, for him, this was the first proper first-place victory he had achieved since entering Hogwarts.
Just thinking back on all the competitions over the years between him and Potter, and between Slytherin and Gryffindor, made Draco feel a pang of bitterness.
He had been chasing this victory for far, far too long.
"Of course..." Tver's smile widened slightly, finally allowing the group to sense the thick ill intent behind it. "Not."
"You still need to defeat the final guardian before the trophy before you can claim true victory."
"Guardian? What is it?"
At those words, Harry and the others instantly became alert, gripping their wands tightly as they searched the surrounding woods.
Knowing Professor Fawley's habits, this so-called guardian was definitely something like a statue he had Transfigured.
But no matter how they looked, all they saw was the professor's helpless face.
"It's not a thing..."
"..."
"What I mean is... it's me."
Under their ominous stares, Tver calmly gripped the ancient wand in his hand.
"Only the one who defeats me, or rather, the one who survives until the end, will be able to lift the trophy!"
The moment he finished speaking, an incredibly swift red light shot from the tip of the Elder Wand. The group, still reeling in shock, did not even have time to raise their wands.
"Bang!"
The red light struck the grass in front of Draco cleanly, blasting out a fist-sized pit.
Was that a miss?
Having narrowly escaped disaster, Draco stretched his neck in alarm and confusion. But before he could see what was inside the pit, someone yanked him backward.
"Boom!"
Like an explosion, the tiny pit suddenly sent a huge wave of dirt and dust into the air. The violent impact instantly threw Draco, along with Harry behind him, backward, sending them crashing hard into the soft grass.
Even Tver was startled by the explosion.
It had originally only been an ordinary Expulso. Although he had added a delicate little design to test the Elder Wand, it was still just a spell he had cast casually.
Looking at the six students collapsed on the ground, even Michael, who had been the farthest from the blast, was groaning in pain.
He had not expected it to produce such a powerful effect.
No wonder Dumbledore rarely fought others, and even when he did, he mainly used Transfiguration.
With this kind of power, if he cast at full strength, there would be few people in the wizarding world who could withstand it.
Feeling a trace of guilt, Tver allowed them to remain lying on the ground to recover. Even when Hermione began taking out potions, he did not stop her.
After a while, once the potions began to take effect, they finally supported one another and stood up.
"Professor, that was way too harsh," Draco complained loudly. "When I got blasted away just now, I really thought I was going to die!"
"This is a real battlefield. Your enemy may very well be stronger than all of you combined, and the magic they cast will be far more lethal than anything you usually encounter," Tver said coldly.
"And the only thing you need to think about is how to survive by any means necessary."
The cruel words froze the complaint on Draco's face. Although he had seen the professor's cold side before, it had always been directed at others.
Now that this suffocating chill was rushing straight at him, he finally understood, in the deepest sense, why those Death Eaters in that meeting had been so afraid of Professor Fawley.
Amid the heavy atmosphere, Harry suddenly raised his wand.
"Expelliarmus!"