Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 127: Brute Force
The maze was alive.
Harry had expected hedges… simple green walls that could be burned or blasted aside.
But these were something else entirely. All the plants seemed to have a mind of their own. They moved… and every few steps, a corridor would shift behind him, closing off his path and forcing him to find a new route.
He walked slowly, Excalibur still hidden on his back, his hand held loosely at his side. The Disillusionment Charm on the sword was holding for now, but he could feel it straining. The sacred blade did not like being concealed.
A sound echoed from somewhere to his left...it was a low, rumbling growl.
Harry ignored it and kept walking.
The first real obstacle came around five minutes in. It was a Sphinx.
It looked like a beautiful lady with golden eyes and the body of a lioness. It was also massive, blocking the entire corridor.
The Sphinx looked down at him and began to speak. "You may pass… if you answer my riddle."
Harry stopped. "I don't have time for riddles."
"Then you don't have time to pass."
He sighed. "Fine. Speak."
The Sphinx smiled, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?"
Harry stared at her. "A map."
The Sphinx's smile faltered. "That is—"
"Correct. Now move."
She did not move. Her golden eyes narrowed. "That was too fast. You are not—"
Harry raised his wand. "I said move."
The Sphinx hissed but stepped aside, melting into the hedges. Harry walked past her without a backward glance.
'A riddle,' he thought bitterly. 'After everything I've faced, they send a riddle.'
He was about to turn a corner when the sky above the maze, what little he could see of it through the gaps between the hedges, lit up. Something large was falling fast.
The impact was powerful enough to shake the ground, and soon after that came a scream.
It was high-pitched, terrified, and unmistakably feminine.
'Delacour,' he thought, before taking off running.
<><><><><><><><><><>
He found her in a small clearing where several corridors converged. The hedges around her were scorched, as if a powerful spell had struck them.
Fleur herself was pressed against the hedge wall, her wand raised and her hands shaking.
And in front of her, standing tall and silent, was a nightmare.
The figure was massive, easily over seven feet tall. His armor was pure black and unadorned.
A black cloak hung from his shoulders, tattered and torn. In his hands, he held a greatsword that was almost as long as Harry was tall, its dark blade stained with something that might have been rust… or perhaps blood.
From the slit of his helmet, a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen.
Harry knew that armor. He knew that sword. He knew that figure.
"Mordred." The name left his lips like a curse.
The undead knight turned his helmet toward Harry. The crimson eyes flared.
Fleur looked between them, her face pale. "You...you know this thing?"
"Yes, I think I do," Harry said quietly. He stepped forward, positioning himself between Fleur and the knight. "Miss Delacour, I need you to run."
"Run? But I am a champion! I can—"
"You cannot." Harry's voice left no room for argument. "This is not a creature or an enchantment from the maze. This is something else entirely. Something far more dangerous… something that does not belong here in more than one sense. Now run, go find the other champions and get them out of here."
Fleur's jaw tightened. For a moment, she looked like she was going to argue. Then her eyes flicked to Mordred's greatsword, still radiating whatever dark magic animated it, and her courage faltered.
"Be careful," she whispered. Then she turned and disappeared down one of the corridors.
Harry waited until he heard her footsteps fade. Then he reached over his shoulder and pulled back his cloak.
The Disillusionment Charm shattered. Excalibur blazed to life, its golden runes burning bright against the darkness of the maze. The sacred sword hummed with eagerness to be used.
Mordred tilted his head. The crimson eyes fixed on the blade.
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but just like the others, he was unable to produce a single word. The only thing that came out were sounds that no human could produce.
However, Harry understood that look he was giving the blade. "You remember this sword, right? Of course you do. This blade has already killed you at least twice."
The knight did not answer. He simply raised his greatsword and charged.
Mordred was faster than Gawain.
Harry barely had time to throw himself sideways. The greatsword passed through the space where his head had been and carved a trench in the stone floor beneath. Harry rolled and came up firing.
"Confringo!"
The red jet of light struck Mordred's chest. The knight didn't even flinch. His armor absorbed the spell like a sponge absorbing water.
"Of course, your armor is resistant to magic…" Harry muttered.
Mordred spun, his greatsword sweeping horizontally. Harry jumped over it, using a burst of wandless magic to propel himself higher. He landed on top of the hedge wall, looking down at the undead knight.
'He's stronger than Gawain. Faster too. And his armor is better protected against direct spells.'
Harry raised Excalibur and swung.
A golden wave of force erupted from the blade, screaming toward Mordred. The knight raised his greatsword to block.
Mordred's weapon seemed to scream at the contact with the energy produced by Excalibur.
The knight immediately reacted by pulling away from the attack, allowing the wave of light to pass through.
When he steadied himself, Mordred looked down at his sword. There was a deep gash on the surface of the metal.
He growled.
Harry smiled. "Magic is no good, but this looks like it will work." He now held Excalibur in both hands.
It was time for melee combat.