Chapter 453 There are many people in the maze

Harry understood Fleur's unfinished words. The reason why Cedric did not take away the Goblet of Fire first was to take revenge on himself.

After a brief reflection, Fleur came up with a plan: "Why not have a duel according to the ancient traditions of the Middle Ages? I can serve as the referee to ensure fairness."

Their eyes met in the air, and neither Cedric nor Harry hesitated, nodding to accept Fleur's proposal. They seemed to have reached a consensus: the winner would take away the Goblet of Fire, and the loser would give up pursuing Cho Chang.

"Here comes the wand." Cedric called softly, and as if guided by an invisible hand, the wand fell accurately from the hedge into his palm.

Harry frowned when he saw this. He never expected that Cedric not only mastered silent spellcasting, but also mastered the technique of wandless spellcasting. This means that even without any weapons, Cedric can unleash powerful magical attacks.

"Two wizard gentlemen." Fleur reminded them with a hint of seriousness in her smile: "Please abide by duel etiquette!" She took a step back, indicating that it was time to start.

Harry and Cedric held their wands in front of them and bowed to each other as if they were in a dueling club. However, beneath the surface of politeness, there is an undercurrent of tension and hostility between the two.

They turned at the same time, facing away from each other. And began to count down silently in his heart. The atmosphere of the duel gradually reached its peak as the distance increased.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry's voice was firm and powerful.

"Heart-breaking!" Cedric's curse followed closely, his tone full of hatred.

At that moment, two rays of light pierced the air, one blue and one red, like two shooting stars, speeding towards each other.

Harry reacted extremely quickly, his body reacting almost instinctively. The spell he cast was one step ahead, but so what?

What Cedric uttered was the Unforgivable Curse, which was ruthless, deadly, and could not be easily resisted. It ripped ruthlessly through Harry's spell and went straight to his head.

A flash of ecstasy flashed in Cedric's eyes, as if he had seen Harry writhing in pain on the ground, but his joy only lasted a short moment.

Harry's body bent slightly, and with a squatting movement, he easily dodged the fatal blow. Cedric was stunned for a moment, but recovered immediately and rushed towards Harry with a roar.

"The world is spinning!"

"Split into pieces!"

…

The two people's spells collided in the air again, the beams of light intertwined, and the light splashed everywhere. The atmosphere was tense to the extreme. This was no longer just a fight for the Goblet of Fire, but a contest between two men.

Their bodies approached quickly, like rhinoceroses on the grassland, and they collided hard.

Cedric has forgotten all dueling etiquette, he just wants to defeat Harry in the most primitive way. So, he raised his fist and smashed it into Harry's face.

Fleur let out a yelp, raising her wand in an attempt to stop Cedric's foul play. But the two were so close that they were almost touching each other.

She didn't dare cast the spell rashly for fear of accidental injury. He could only stare closely at the two people in the field, praying in his heart that Harry could avoid them.

Harry faced the sandbag-sized fist and endured the punch forcefully. His glasses were immediately broken and his eyelids were swollen. But instead of falling, he remembered the battle between Lupine and Snape. He clumsily used the wand as a dagger and slashed at the wand in Cedric's hand with all his strength.

With one blow, Cedric's wand flew away. Without his weapon, his advantage was lost. There was a flash of panic in his eyes. Without a staff, with a staff, the speed of casting spells would be completely defeated.

The tip of Harry's staff almost pierced the opponent's eyes, and he shouted with a firm and powerful voice: "There are many obstacles!" Powerful magical energy surged in the air, causing the surrounding space to distort and deform.

Cedric felt as if there was an invisible wall in front of him, a powerful force blocking his every move. His fist was swinging slowly in mid-air, as if it was being replayed in slow motion, never able to fall.

Harry seized the opportunity, flicked his wand, and the tip of the wand scratched Cedric's cheek, leaving a long bloody scar. Cedric gasped in pain and fell to the ground in a state of embarrassment.

Harry immediately realized his mistake, his eyes were full of apology, and he quickly said: "I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean to...I didn't expect the tip of the staff to be so sharp."

Fleur glanced at Cedric and secretly cursed: "You deserve it."

She hurriedly reminded: "Don't worry, Harry. Now there is emerald water in the wizarding world that can repair skin."

She pointed to the shining Goblet of Fire on the base again and announced Harry's victory: "You won, Harry, it is yours now. Congratulations, congratulations to Hogwarts." There was a wry smile on her lips. .

Harry's heart jumped. He could hardly believe that he had gone from accidentally participating to defeating others and finally winning. All of this seemed so unreal, as if I was in a dream.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down his emotions, and then slowly walked towards the Goblet of Fire. Just as his hand was about to touch the glittering trophy, Cedric suddenly stood up.

As he rushed over, he shouted: "The Goblet of Fire is mine, I came here first!"

"No, I won the duel!" Although Harry staggered and lost his balance, he still tenaciously reached out to grab the handle of the Goblet of Fire.

The two of them grabbed the Goblet of Fire at the same time, and then they felt as if they were being pulled behind their navels, and then their legs lifted off the ground. The handle of the Goblet of Fire held them tightly, unable to break free.

It dragged them away, amidst the howling wind and swirling colors. Fleur witnessed this scene and felt a little overwhelmed for a moment.

"Is this a special treatment for champions?" she asked herself doubtfully, filled with confusion, "but Mr. Dumbledore has never mentioned this."

Her female intuition allowed her to smell a hint of conspiracy, and combined with Rogge's warning, she quickly raised her wand and pointed it at the sky.

boom!

A red spark bloomed in the sky, and everyone's eyes were attracted by this sudden change. Someone in the crowd shouted, "Look, another warrior has withdrawn."

As soon as he finished speaking, two more red sparks rose. And looking at the direction where the sparks rose, it was exactly in the center of the maze, where the Goblet of Fire was placed.

The stands outside the maze suddenly fell into silence. Fudge stood up nervously and stared at the entrance of the maze. A few minutes passed, and the four patrolling professors came out with Fleur.

Rogge secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Fleur was safe and sound, he was relieved. As for Harry and Cedric, they love life and death, and their fate is left to Mr. Voldemort.

Madam Maxime rushed down from the stands and asked Fleur nervously: "Are you okay?"

Fleur shook her head, then turned to Dumbledore and asked in a questioning tone: "Sir, does the Goblet of Fire have a teleportation function? I saw that the Goblet of Fire took them away, and Mentos was cast on it."

She was quite confident about the magic above, and Rogge once taught her step by step how Mentos applied it. Not to mention, she had used the door key to have many trysts with Rogge.

"What is Mentos?" some junior students asked curiously.

"It's a spell that turns objects into portkeys."

Dumbledore's face immediately turned serious, and he realized that the matter might be more serious than he expected. Fudge seemed to be relieved. He sat back heavily in his seat, his expression looking a little relieved.

Voldemort's request was clear: bring Harry Potter to him. Despite the unexpected addition of a wizard named Cedric to the plan, Fudge still believed he had accomplished his master's mission.

"Albus, what's going on with the portkey? Is this part of the game?" Cedric's father, Mr. Diggory, rushed forward anxiously, and his son was accidentally taken away.

Dumbledore did not answer immediately. He just raised his wand and waved towards the maze. A straight passage immediately appeared in the maze, opening a path to the center for everyone. Without any unnecessary words, he led the way into the depths of the maze, followed closely by the others.

On the path they passed, the burned thorns, Cedric's knocked-away wand, Harry's broken glasses...these traces all revealed the fierce battles that had taken place here.

After arriving at the center of the maze, Dumbledore called to Fleur gently: "Miss Delacour, can you tell us what is happening here?"

Fleur nodded and recounted almost everything she witnessed without reservation: Cedric's sudden attack on Harry, her attempt to stop him, the wizard duel between the two...

She went on to tell the story of the duel, describing how Harry had won. And when he tried to pick up the Goblet of Fire, Cedric suddenly pounced on him, and they were both taken away by the Goblet of Fire.

However, Fleur chose to remain silent regarding the details of the Cruciatus Curse used in the duel and the details of Harry accidentally scratching Cedric's face with his wand. She knew that if these details were revealed, Harry and Cedric could face severe punishment or even expulsion upon their return.

Dumbledore listened carefully to Fleur's every word. His face did not reveal any emotion, but his eyes shone with deep thinking.

Harry had mentioned to him those experiences of dreaming about Voldemort before, and he also knew that there was a deeper conspiracy hidden behind this game.

He originally hoped that Harry could face this challenge, but things developed far beyond his expectations. Looking at the empty base of the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

"No, it's impossible." Mr. Diggory couldn't believe that his son would do a sneak attack. "Cedric can't sneak attack others."

As a father, he could not accept that his son would behave in such a despicable manner, especially in such an important game occasion.

"Albus, I've discovered something interesting." Snape raised his wand and illuminated the hedge with fluorescent light.

Dumbledore quickly walked over and looked in the direction guided by the fluorescent light. One of them, located on a high point, is the dagger Cedric was knocked away from. In another corner, there is a black robe silk thread caught by thorns. The latter would have been impossible to detect without Snape's careful inspection.

Snape glanced at the others and said in a rather cold tone: "They did not wear clothes of such colors when they entered the maze."

"In addition, Professor McGonagall likes to wear green clothes, and Hagrid is wrapped in that smelly moleskin robe." He glanced past the two of them and looked to the other side, "Professor Flitwick does wear black. robe, but the size is too small and does not fit the length of the silk thread. As for Lupin..."

Everyone followed Snape's gaze and looked at Lupin. As the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, he wears extremely simple clothes. The patched robe was probably not something that any junk shop would be willing to recycle. It was completely inconsistent with his status as a professor.

Snape snorted and said sarcastically: "Maybe all his salary was donated."

After the Quidditch Minor League ended, the trustees of Hogwarts made a reform of professors' salaries. In addition to the unchanged basic salary, professors will also receive additional galleons based on their teaching time.

In fact, Lupine's monthly salary is quite considerable. As for why he didn't throw away his old clothes, everyone doesn't know.

"The silk thread left by the hedge is obviously made of silk. This stingy guy is not willing to buy such expensive clothes." Snape sarcastically said again, and then said with certainty: "Albus, there are other things in the maze. Man, he has been monitoring the movements of the four Harrys."

Everyone else felt a chill when they heard Snape's words. Their eyes lingered on the hedge, and they had a strange feeling. It seemed that there was really something around them that was secretly observing their every move.

"The hedge receded," Dumbledore shouted seriously. Anyone who knew him well knew that the kind old wizard was very angry.

The tall hedges began to disintegrate, their branches spreading like loose catkins under Dumbledore's spell. The area of ​​the maze was rapidly collapsing, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace.

Only then did everyone realize that they were standing in the center of the stadium. The cover originally used to block the rain closed the sky, and Boggarts and other magical creatures used to interfere with the players were also exposed.

This sudden change makes it impossible for everything hidden in the maze to escape. Everyone discovered that there were indeed other people in the maze, and more than one.

The professors quickly drew their wands and protected the students behind them. The tip of each staff was shining with an extremely dangerous light. The two uninvited guests quickly signaled that they were not a threat.

"Headmaster, it's me." Sirius hurriedly revealed his identity, but Snape interrupted him forcefully, "Hand over your wand."

His tone was firm and cold, full of an unquestionable sense of command, and he walked towards Sirius with a sullen face.

Faced with the aggressive Snape, Sirius handed over his wand despite his reluctance.

"Snotlout, he's the one you should arrest." Sirius deliberately called out Snape's nickname from his school days, with a hint of provocation in his tone: "This hooded guy has been following Harry and even stole Invisibility cloak.”

"Idiot, you got the wrong person." A helpless sigh came from the hood.

Before he could lift his hat, Dumbledore and Rogge recognized him.

"Old Barty?" Sirius yelled, "The Daily Prophet said you were being treated at St. Mungo's Hospital."

Old Barty glared at Sirius and pulled off his black robe, obviously not wanting to waste any more words with this "idiot" in his eyes.

"Albus, besides us, there is a third person in the maze." He took out a rag from his belt and handed it to Snape. "That person is a Death Eater and lurked in very early. He used The Imperius Curse controlled the short-haired boy..."

"You mean Krum?" Snape frowned, with obvious confusion in his tone, "But he was the first to give up the game. Don't you think what you said sounds ridiculous?"

The look he looked at Old Batty was obviously full of distrust.

"This is an accident." Old Barty took a deep breath and tried to explain: "Another warrior in Hogwarts has a magic item on his body that can warn of danger. Moreover, he knows the Cruciatus Curse."

He looked deliberately at Cedric's father, Mr. Diggory. This guy has been targeting him at the Ministry of Magic, and now is a good opportunity to take revenge.

Diggory realizes that Barty Sr.'s accusations are serious enough to send Cedric to Azkaban. He hid his son's wand hastily, fearing they would examine it for traces.

However, Old Batty did not bother too much. He had more important things to do: "If you don't believe me, you can go check on the kid named Krum."

"Durmstrang has sailed away." Dumbledore said slowly, with a trace of frustration in his voice, obviously underestimating Karkaroff's ruthlessness and decisiveness.

Snape thought for a moment. Even though Old Barty's explanation made him slightly convinced, he still remained highly alert. He said in an interrogating tone: "How did you run into Sirius?"

"Ha, then you should ask this stupid guy." Old Batty shook his head helplessly, with a hint of ridicule in his tone: "He thought I was the mastermind behind this, so he kept biting me."

"This stupid dog! If it weren't for you, what I would have cut off would not be a piece of cloth, but the guy's head."

"Then why did you run?"

"What do you think?" Old Barty pointed at the rag, "I even wonder if everyone in the Black family is mentally ill."

"That is to say, apart from you, there is a third party in the maze." Fudge quickly interjected. He stared at old Barty and added: "Albus, I suggest taking them back to the Ministry of Magic and using the truth-telling method to Agent to re-interrogate."

"For example, why are you here? Why do you think there was something wrong with the last game..."

"No need to go to such trouble." Snape interjected, with a dangerous gleam in his eyes, "I have Veritaserum there. If the dose is not enough, I can prepare it immediately. Double or triple, there is no problem." He Staring at Sirius, he obviously planned to take advantage of the opportunity to retaliate.

Dumbledore shook his head secretly and stopped their actions: "Now, we need to know where Harry and Cedric were teleported to."

As soon as this was said, everyone immediately became silent. If the portkey is backed up at the Ministry of Magic, it can naturally be traced. But this accident was obviously a well-prepared conspiracy. Do Death Eaters still care about laws and prohibitions?

The rag was circulated among professors and referees, hoping to find some clues. Fudge's heart moved slightly and he glanced at Rogge secretly. Because he recognized the owner of this rag, Roger's uncle, Buck Travis.

"Why is that guy here?" He secretly muttered in his heart, "Did the master doubt my loyalty and sent him to monitor me?" Even though there were ten thousand thoughts in his mind, Fudge at this moment had to thank Buck for his help.

Meanwhile, Harry and Cedric, despite being in unfamiliar surroundings, continue to duel... hand-to-hand combat would be a better description.

The Goblet of Fire fell not far away, its light casting mottled shadows on the ground, witnessing the moment Cedric rode on Harry.

Cedric held down Harry's wand-holding wrist with one hand, and struck Harry hard in the face with his other hand. Red and swollen marks quickly appeared on Harry's face, and his eyes were filled with anger and determination.

The yew trees cast thick shadows, and the eerie cold wind continued to blow, adding a terrifying atmosphere to the duel. Their bodies tumbled in the shadows, each collision accompanied by intense pain.

Harry pushed his head against Cedric's big nose as hard as he could. The other party's face immediately burst into tears, and bright red blood flowed from the palms of his hands covering his nose.

He then kicked Cedric off his body and looked around cautiously. Now, he had that strange feeling again, as if someone was watching him.

A figure walked between the tombs, walking towards them step by step. Harry couldn't see the man's face clearly, but judging from his gait and the posture of his arms, he seemed to be holding something.