#238 - Section 238 - Hogwarts: This wizard wants to make progress too much

As Madam Maxime looked at Hilda Donahue, she began to explain why she had been forced to withdraw.

She had been ambushed by Krum, who used the Cruciatus Curse on her from behind. Having never experienced such pain, she was completely unable to continue, leaving her no choice but to withdraw.

07 Then, she saw Harry ambush Krum, causing him to faint, so they both withdrew.

Hearing this, Madam Maxime glanced at Karkaroff beside her and noticed that he was completely uninterested, not even offering a word of sympathy.

Madam Maxime was instantly furious.

They had agreed to cooperate, but he had stabbed her in the back. Although there were no real teammates in this competition, and everyone wanted to win the trophy, if he wasn't interested himself, couldn't he have done her a small favor?

Meanwhile, Ethan had returned to the Ravenclaw stands. Where else would he go but stand there foolishly?

Terry and the others immediately surrounded him.

Even George and Fred had run over from the Gryffindor side, having been instructed by their parents to find out what was happening.

Ron and Harry were still inside, and the Triwizard Tournament had always been very dangerous. This year was no exception. The first task involved facing dragons, and the second required diving into the Black Lake. It was only luck that no one had been seriously injured.

Now, this third task would be no less dangerous than the previous two. They would rather the two boys be eliminated than see them get hurt inside.

Terry and the others simply wanted to know what was inside the maze for this third task.

They were supposed to be spectators, but they hadn't seen anything, even less than during the second task. At least in the second task, they could see the champions diving into the water. Now, they could only stare at the dark maze, completely ignorant of what was inside.

It could only be said that this Triwizard Tournament was poorly organized and lacked any entertainment value. Even the commentator was like a mute, saying nothing about the champions' conditions inside or explaining the environment and dangers they would face in the competition.

However, Ethan also discovered a problem while chatting with them.

There were Dementors in this competition, although not many. Ethan only encountered two.

But could Harry really face them now?

In the original story, Harry faced Dementors multiple times under Lupin's guidance and eventually mastered the Patronus Charm. By this time, he could easily repel multiple Dementors, so this task shouldn't have been a problem.

But now, due to Ethan's influence, the Dementors had only been at Hogwarts for a few months. Ethan didn't know how much Harry had learned from Lupin, and it hadn't been tested. Moreover, Dementors had a special effect on Harry.

However, Harry hadn't withdrawn yet, so it should be fine, right?

Even Ethan wasn't so sure anymore.

Inside the maze, Harry gripped his wand tightly. He breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the dark figure disappear. He had finally defeated a Dementor.

Although the Patronus Charm hadn't been fully successful, he had managed to repel a Dementor on his first try. He would be happy to tell Professor Lupin about it after the competition.

After checking that there were no other dangers around, Harry hurried down the path that the Dementor had been guarding.

He really didn't want to stay here any longer. The illusion-inducing mist, the Blast-Ended Skrewts, the giant spiders, and the Dementors he had just faced… who knew what else he would encounter?

As soon as he turned the corner, he saw a faint white light ahead. Upon closer inspection, it was the base of a trophy glowing. He had found it!

Thinking this, Harry quickened his pace.

Ron, who was following behind Harry, naturally heard Harry's footsteps. They sounded slightly different than before, so he also quickened his pace.

Ron was very grateful for his choice. Whether it was the terrifying giant spiders or the Dementors, he couldn't have dealt with them on his own.

If he had been alone, he definitely wouldn't have made it this far. He probably would have fired the signal flare the moment he saw the spiders.

Turning into the path, Ron naturally saw the faint white light.

The trophy was right in front of him!

Now, he had two choices. Harry could win the championship and the acclaim, with himself as a mere sidekick following behind.

Or he could snatch the trophy from Harry's hands, so that he would be the one to receive the cheers.

Perhaps he could wash away the shame of getting zero points in the first task.

Thinking this, Ron made up his mind.

"Immobulus!"

Hearing the sound behind him, Harry immediately ducked to avoid the white spell.

He turned around and looked at Ron in disbelief. He was attacking him just to steal the trophy?

Harry had known all along that Ron was following him, but since they were both from Hogwarts, whoever won would add the points to Hogwarts. So he didn't pay much attention and let him follow.

If they were still on good terms, Harry might have given the trophy to Ron. But now…

Not only had they fallen out, but Ron had also let Peter, the culprit behind his parents' deaths, escape. Now, he was even attacking him. Did he really think he had no temper?

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Expelliarmus!"

In the end, Harry's signature spell proved superior.

A red light struck the wand in Ron's hand. Under the burst of magic, Ron couldn't hold onto his wand, causing it to explode and fall into Harry's hand.

Harry glanced at Ron but didn't intend to continue attacking. Holding two wands, he immediately ran towards the trophy.

Having lost his wand, Ron bit his lip and looked at Harry's back with some reluctance. He had always been Harry's sidekick, but not anymore!

Immediately, Ron ran after him. As long as he could still move, he would never give up. So what if he had lost his wand!

Harry ignored everything else and ran to the trophy, bending down to pick it up.

Victory belonged to Hogwarts. He had won the trophy, and Ethan must have succeeded as well. Maybe they had already returned to the stands.

But at that moment, Harry suddenly felt a tug behind his navel, and his feet left the ground. He couldn't let go of the Triwizard Cup, and the trophy dragged him forward through the whistling wind and swirling colors.

This feeling was so much like a Portkey, exactly like what he experienced last summer when he went to the Quidditch World Cup.

But soon Harry felt someone pulling him. He turned his head and saw Ron had come up behind him at some point and grabbed his robes.

Seeing Harry turn around, Ron even gave him a provocative smile.

Now that he had grabbed him, they would arrive at the venue together, and he would get some of the glory.

Harry ignored Ron's smile. He was wondering where the trophy was taking him.

He hadn't heard that it had a Portkey function!

In an instant, Harry felt his feet hit the ground. He was already exhausted from the maze, and now his legs buckled and he fell to the ground, even the trophy rolling away.

Ron, who was holding onto Harry's clothes, wasn't much better off. The sudden change of events had also brought him down.

Without bothering with Ron, Harry looked around in surprise.

Where was this?

Even the mountains surrounding the castle were now invisible. Clearly, this place was not a short distance from Hogwarts.

Now they were in a dark, overgrown graveyard, and he could see the black outline of a small church behind a tall yew tree on the right.

To the left was a hill, and on the hillside was a delicate old house.

Harry was sure he had never been here before.

Ron, who had gotten up from the ground, looked around with a bewildered expression. Where was the venue they were supposed to be at?

"Where are we?"

Harry ignored Ron, but still handed him back his wand. Clearly, Harry also felt that something was wrong here.

Could this be the trap he had been guarding against all along?

He and Sirius had analyzed so much, but he hadn't expected the Death Eaters to do something here. How did they do it?

Just as Harry and Ron were on guard, they saw a figure walking towards them from the darkness between the graves, not bothering to hide.

The person was short, wearing a hooded cloak that covered their face. From the gait and the position of the arms, it looked like the person was holding something.

As the distance continued to shrink, they realized that the thing the person was holding looked like a baby, or just a bundle of clothes?

Before Harry could react, he felt the scar on his forehead throb violently.

Although it had hurt twice in the past few days, this time it was far more intense than ever before, so much so that he couldn't even hold onto his wand and it slipped to the ground.

Covering his face with his hands, his legs buckled and he fell to the ground. Harry felt like he couldn't see anything, and his head was throbbing as if it was about to explode.

"Get rid of the nuisance."

A cold voice came from above.

Who were they going to get rid of, me?

Harry didn't have time to think. He wanted to dodge, but his body was completely out of his control.

He couldn't dodge, was he going to die!

"Didn't you hear what I said?"

From this voice, Harry heard a hint of anger.

Was this an infighting, or what?

"Master, this… this…"

Peter's hand, which was holding the wand, was trembling.

He hadn't expected Ron, this unexpected guy, to come along. If it had been anyone else, he would have unhesitatingly fed them a Killing Curse.

But with Ron, he couldn't do it!

Whether it was the time he spent with Ron as a rat, or the time after he took the potion, or the kindness Ron showed him by sparing his life.

No matter which one, Ron was special to him.

Why did you have to come along!

Peter's heart was also in a battle between heaven and man.

"Peter?"

At the same time, Ron's hand holding the wand was also trembling as he looked at the person in front of him in disbelief.

This figure and build, and the hand with a missing finger, who else could it be but Peter?

Hearing the name Peter, Harry endured the pain and raised his head. He really hated this person.

He was the one who killed his parents and forced Sirius to be wanted by the Ministry of Magic and have to hide everywhere.

The moment he saw Peter's face on the ground, Harry seemed to forget even the pain in his forehead. He struggled to get up to pick up his wand.

But how could Peter let him have his way? He pointed his wand and a rope directly bound Harry to the tombstone. Without his wand, Harry could only be slaughtered.

"Ron, you brought me here, didn't you!"

"You're in cahoots with him."

Harry's mind was in chaos at the moment. Although he and Ron had broken up, he had never done anything to wrong him.

Why did he want to harm him?

This reminded Harry of the scenes from the past, from meeting Ron on the Hogwarts Express to Ron letting Peter go, and he broke up with him.

He didn't expect that his best friend back then had now joined the Death Eaters and wanted his life.

"No, that's not it, I didn't harm you with him!"

Ron, awakened by Harry's shout, yelled loudly.

Although he did let Peter go back then, he really didn't contact Peter.

He also didn't pull Harry over, and he didn't even think about really killing Harry.

Although he was jealous of Harry and had some dissatisfaction with him, he really didn't think about killing him.

He was also unaware of all this, and he was also a victim.