Chapter 738 - 288: The Third Task (Part 2)
Chapter 738: Chapter 288: The Third Task (Part 2)
Suddenly, Harry felt as if someone was following him from behind.
So he raised his magic wand and drew a circle.
"Revelio!"
The Detection Spell rapidly expanded around him, and soon, not far in front of Harry, a giant red shadow appeared.
Harry hadn’t walked far before he detected that distinctive stench.
"Blast-Ended Skrewt..."
He could never forget the distinctive stench of a Blast-Ended Skrewt, which seemed to have become the signature of this notorious creature—though he really couldn’t understand why Newt would like such things; it’s barely understandable for Hagrid, but what does it mean for you to like it too?
The Blast-Ended Skrewt was enormous, a full ten feet long, resembling a giant scorpion with a shell on its back.
Its long stinger coiled up on its back, and its thick shell gleamed under the light of the fluorescent ball.
Suddenly, as if noticing Harry’s presence, the Blast-Ended Skrewt made a popping sound and leaped at him.
Outside the arena, Mr. Bagman seemed to have seen Harry’s perspective, and using an Amplification Spell, he explained to the audience, "It looks like Harry is in a bit of a pickle. A Blast-Ended Skrewt suddenly popped out in the maze; very mysterious, and the fog it emits has a very potent chemical component..."
Meanwhile, in the main stand, Dumbledore and Vivi were nowhere to be seen, leaving along with Professor McGonagall, Little Sirius, and Lupin.
They went to trouble Little Batty.
In the maze, Harry, who had encountered the Blast-Ended Skrewt, began to fight back.
"Bombarda!"
The spell hit the Blast-Ended Skrewt, and perhaps due to some special chemical substances on the creature, the spell was enhanced a second time.
"Boom!"
The sound of a violent explosion echoed, and it was so loud, it could be heard within a radius of ten miles around Hogwarts Castle.
From the audience’s perspective, a small mushroom cloud even rose in the maze.
"Holy..."
Ron covered his mouth in shock, "I mean, what kind of spell did Harry use? Why does it seem like he’s gotten stronger?"
"No," Hermione said seriously, "He hasn’t gotten stronger, it’s just Harry used a spell with explosive properties, and the Blast-Ended Skrewt is inherently a highly flammable and explosive creature, so encountering such a spell, the power would naturally increase geometrically."
"Of course," Hermione added, "If the spell wasn’t powerful enough, it wouldn’t have been able to penetrate the Blast-Ended Skrewt’s defense, nor would it have such an earth-shattering impact."
In the maze, Harry felt rather miserable. He barely had time to cast an Armor Protection spell on himself—a spherical shield upon which the Skrewt’s fragments were pattering down, along with a piece that looked like intestines landing on the hedge maze beside him, emitting an unbearable stench.
"Ugh..." he gagged, normal attacks were one thing, but this mental attack was indeed a bit intolerable.
Don’t wait until I get out, Hagrid, wait until I come out and I’ll definitely settle this with you!
Harry gagged twice, then, a bit pale, he continued walking forward.
Every minute in the maze was growing darker, the sky overhead turning a shade of indigo, meanwhile, he arrived at a second fork.
"Show me the way." He levelled his magic wand on his palm and spoke softly to it.
The magic wand spun around like a compass, indicating his path towards the dense hedge on the right.
That was north, and he knew to head to the center of the maze he’d need to go northwest.
The best course was to take the path on the left, then quickly turn right.
He hadn’t gone far when, after making a turn, he was met by a sudden Dementor rushing towards him.
The Dementor was twelve feet tall, hood shadowing its face, its decaying, scabbed hands reaching out straight towards him.
It closed in step by step, groping its way towards him, and Harry could hear the raspy breathing from its throat.
Harry suddenly felt curious, was there a Dementor in this world that wasn’t afraid of him?
Soon, the Dementor wavered and turned into Vivi’s form.
She lay on a desk, looking lifeless, her face grey ashen, just like she had in the Slytherin study before.
Harry’s heart clenched abruptly.
Then, he realized something was off.
It’s a Boggart!
"Protego Gubraithian!"
Brilliant blue flames expanded rapidly from Harry in all directions.
As it passed over the Boggart turned Vivi’s body, the Boggart was incinerated to ashes before it could make a sound.
The flames didn’t halt their progress just because a Boggart had perished; from behind Harry and to his side came two screams.
When he turned around, two black-clad men wearing skull masks were watching in horror as the blazing blue flames gradually crept over their bodies - they wanted to do something, but were powerless.
Dark Wizards?
How could there be Dark Wizards inside the maze?
Could it be that Dumbledore borrowed them from the Death Eaters, to obstruct the warriors’ progress?
Clearly, Dumbledore had a wide network, Harry thought idly to himself as he continued on.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the surrounding silence.
It was Fleur.
Harry knew she was definitely out of the game.
God bless this somewhat lacking girl; he hoped it wasn’t a Dark Wizard she encountered. Harry crossed his chest and prayed a half-second for Fleur.
He continued onward, and suddenly, the path ahead opened up into a clearing.
What appeared before him was a doorway resembling a black fog.
To continue beyond, he would have to pass through this gate.
Harry took a deep breath...
He cast a Detection Spell; the gate ahead was safe.
To be cautious, he used a Transformation Spell to turn a nearby bush into a snorting pig, directing it to walk through the misty door.
The pig was fine.
He lifted the spell and walked through the misty doorway.
Suddenly the scene shifted, and he was enveloped in complete darkness.
Harry summoned another light ball, and only then did he realize he was standing in a vast, giant hall.
At the center of the hall was a section of transparent crystal floor.
Harry walked forward, in the light of the ball, he saw sixteen statues, each holding swords and axes, placed around him.
The statues were about twelve or thirteen feet tall, each styled like a medieval knight, wielding formidable weapons—not something to be trifled with.
He rubbed his chest, feeling slightly dizzy.
No doubt, this was Vivi’s handiwork...
In Harry’s knowledge, apart from Vivi and himself, only Professor Feige was aware of such mechanisms.
Professor Feige was long deceased, so who else there to place such a setup if not Vivi?
This mechanism was simple yet complicated.
Firstly, the shadows beneath the statues were facing certain directions, and the direction of the statues was not aligned with their shadows.
And light would cause these statues to turn their bodies.
What Harry needed to do was use light to guide these statues, align them with their shadows to activate the next step.
He directed the light ball to float towards the ceiling.
Meanwhile, he bent his head, observing the direction of the statues.
Surely one spot would allow all the statues to align with their shadows.
He kept experimenting with angles, and eventually got the statues all aligned with their shadows.
Simultaneously, a mechanism’s rumbling sound echoed throughout the hall.
All sixteen statues rose, then, from the glass floor at the center of the hall burst forth a gigantic statue almost thirty feet in height.
The sound of breaking glass was crisp; the eyes of the giant statue turned suddenly blood-red.
After which, the eyes of the sixteen statues all turned blood-red.
They raised the weapons in their hands and, with heavy steps, advanced towards Harry!