Kapitel 270: The Third Task Begins

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze. If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you; though you will be eliminated. Do you understand?" Professor McGonagall was saying to the three champions.

"There's our fourth champion!" exclaimed Bagman, upon spotting Oleandra rushing onto the Quidditch Pitch.

The first thing Oleandra noticed when she arrived were the thirty-foot-tall hedges. The second were those in charge of safety, who were all wearing red, luminous stars on their hats: Professors Hagrid, Moody, McGonagall and Flitwick. And the third, her fellow champions, who were probably wishing she had stayed missing, as she was leading them in score.

"Sonorus," Bagman muttered, pointing his wand at his throat, before turning to face the stands, where the other students were watching.

But hang on, what exactly would they be looking at? This was a repeat of the lake fiasco! There was nothing to watch, the walls of the maze were much too tall to see over, even for those at the top of the stands!

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! First place, on eighty-nine points— Miss Oleandra Greengrass, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! In second place, on eighty-eight points— Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute! In third place, on eighty-three points— Mr. Harry Potter, also of Hogwarts School! And in fourth place— Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

Bagman had avoided saying Delacour's score to avoid embarrassing her and her school, but Oleandra remembered her score— it was fifty-two.

"So… on my whistle, Oleandra!" said Bagman. "Three— two— one—"

Tweet! The sound of the whistle blasted into her ears, and she dashed into the maze under a storm of cheers and applause. Not even a second later, Bagman blew into the whistle a second time, and Oleandra knew that Krum was hot on her heels.

Upon reaching a fork in the maze, Oleandra decisively turned to the right, while Krum, who had caught up to her thanks to his long legs, took the left path. A few seconds later, Oleandra heard the whistle again; Harry's turn was up!

Upon turning a corner, Oleandra immediately happened onto an enormous, pallid creature, which possessed numerous segmented legs and a stinger. A Blast-Ended Skrewt!

"Too bad Professor Hagrid's not here to save you this time," Oleandra grinned to herself. Payback time!

"Cambio Exuvia!" Oleandra shouted, before whispering, "Banana Hanger!"

Bright light shone forth from her body, blinding the arthropod-like monster. Bands of cloth wrapped around her body as her school robes replaced themselves with her combat robes, and complex runes appeared over her exposed skin. The stars and the nearly full moon shone brightly in the sky above them; her runic magic was at full power tonight!

Oleandra tapped the pattern of the Pleiades on her shoulder, and bright bands of twisted starlight emerged from her body— seven in all. And upon her command, they rained down onto the Blast-Ended Skrewt's hardy chitin carapace. The first six beams glanced off its armour, but the final one pierced straight through it, causing it to shriek and ignite its behind, sending it rocketing through the hedge.

It had blasted a gaping hole in the hedge, but it was rapidly closing; Oleandra decisively followed the Skrewt through the smouldering opening. The hole led towards the centre, so why not avail herself of the shortcut?

"Flipendo!" Oleandra shouted, finally drawing her wand and pointing it at the scurrying Skrewt.

The Skrewt, which had turned around and begun charging towards her, stopped in its tracks, before flipping a hundred and eighty degrees in the air and landing on its back. Its little insect-like segmented legs wriggled in vain; it was unable to right itself.

It then occurred to Oleandra that if she could pass through the walls, then there might be a chance she could fly above the labyrinth's walls and straight to the Triwizard Cup. Oleandra tentatively hovered to the top of the hedges, but before she could reach her destination, the world flipped upside-down; she was now flying straight towards the ground!

Oleandra righted herself before she flattened herself against the ground; good thing she hadn't flown full speed, or she would have turned herself into a pancake. Now that she knew she couldn't just fly to the centre of the maze, she wasn't about to try again, and so she set off at a brisk jog, checking the polar star above her head once in a while to confirm that she was heading in the right direction: north.

She then heard the sound of a whistle in the distance; Fleur Delacour was now in the running, though she would have a lot of catching up to do. Oleandra hoped that the maze could change its configuration on the fly, because if it didn't, then Fleur wouldn't have to face any obstacles, as Oleandra and Krum were already clearing them all! And worst still, Fleur and Harry would be freshly rested while they would be exhausted!

Nevertheless, the next few dark creatures weren't as impressive as the Skrewt had been; mostly Red Caps and other monsters from Professor Lupin's repertoire; Oleandra easily dispatched them. And speak of the devil…

"A Hinkypunk!" Oleandra laughed, when she spotted the wispy, gaseous little thing at a crossroads. "Thanks for showing me the right way…"

Hinkypunks lured travellers towards danger and off the beaten path, which meant that whichever path they didn't shine their light on was the right one!

Suddenly, a woman's piercing scream resounded not far from her location. Oleandra sighed; in all likelihood, Fleur had once again been vanquished by a low-level dark creature.

"Fleur?" Harry's voice rose from behind a hedge; Oleandra and Harry were separated by no more than a few yards.

Oleandra froze; she had wasted too much time already if Fleur and Harry had already caught up to her. She'd leave it to Harry if he wanted to play the hero; the teachers wouldn't let her die, so it was a waste of time to go looking for her.