章 75: Burning Paths
Harry had memorized the entire layout of the maze in preparation for the task. He quickly turned left and after about fifteen meters, he stopped and stood there, waiting for Fleur to enter the maze.
When her turn came, Fleur ran forward and turned left. She was a bit shocked to see Harry Potter standing in the middle of the path, blocking her way. Annoyed, she said, "What do you think you are doing, Harry Potter?"
Harry quirked an eyebrow at her tone and silently stepped aside for her. He knew what was around the bend and he wasn't sure if he wanted to face a Boggart right now. He was pretty sure what his greatest fear was and that was something best left for another time.
When he heard Fleur shout something in French, he figured that she had found the Boggart. Deciding that enough time had passed, Harry turned towards the hedge wall leading to the center of the maze. With a sharp jab, and a twist of his wrist, flames shot out of the tip of his wand. When he ended the spell there was a hole large enough for him to slip through. 'Only five more to go.' He thought to himself happily. He had checked and re-checked the rules and they only said that he had to reach the Cup to be considered the winner. They didn't mention how.
Inwardly chuckling at the Wizarding World's stupidity, he began burning his way towards the center of the maze where the Triwizard Cup was waiting to be claimed.
The moment Harry's dot seemed to appear in a different row for the second time, Hermione almost broke out in laughter. She had been trying to wheedle his plan out of him for weeks but all she got was that sly smile of his and a peck on the cheek.
Sirius thought that his map was malfunctioning when Harry's dot seemed to melt through a wall for the second time. It took a few seconds before he figured it out. 'This was a prank worthy of his father. Now all we have to do is train him to be an Animagus.' Sirius thought proudly as he watched Harry's dot slip through another wall. He focused on Harry's path and noticed that he was heading right for the giant spider.
Harry knew that there was only one more hedgerow to pass through before he reached the cup. His problem lay in how to deal with the very large Acromantula on the other side. He stretched out his magical senses fully and began burning his way through the final hedge. When the hole was large enough, he peered into the next chamber.
The giant spider was already moving towards him. Sighing in resignation, Harry leveled his wand at the large insect and took aim. He thought, 'Aranea Exanimus.' as the spider bore down on him. There was a brilliant flash of white as the beam shot out of his wand and hit the spider right between the eyes.
There was a loud crashing noise as its lifeless body thudded to the ground. Bits of dirt and grass were sent flying from the spider's momentum.
Ironically, Voldemort taught this spell to him inadvertently in his second year. Translated, it meant lifeless spider. 'How appropriate.' Harry thought sardonically as he looked at the lifeless arachnid in front of him. He didn't feel nearly as bad for killing the spider compared to the dragon. The oversized arachnids were definitely on his list after they had tried to eat him and Ron during his second year. Harry's disgust and disappointment came from the fact that he had killed something in each task.
Turning his attention fully to his surroundings, Harry noticed that there was so much magic emanating from the Cup that he didn't know what to do. His skill at sensing magic was still developing and he lacked the experience to identify spells and enchantments quickly.
Slowly, Harry circled the plinth that supported the Triwizard Cup, looking for any signs of a trap. Ruefully, he thought, 'The problem with ancient artifacts is that they are so heavily magical that it could take me weeks or months to figure out the magic on this blasted Cup.'
Remus Lupin had finally reached his old office, which the unconscious imposter had obviously been using for quite some time if he was able to fool Dumbledore for so long. He ended the Disillusionment Charm and was pleased to see the black and blue bruise already forming where he had slugged Crouch.
He sat the figure down in a chair and conjured ropes that bound the prisoner tightly. With nothing to do but wait, Remus sat down in another chair to watch for the signs that the Polyjuice Potion was wearing off. He didn't have to wait long; it seemed that Crouch had forgotten to take another dose to continue the charade.
When the transformation was completely reversed, Remus sat there shocked and a little bit dismayed. Growling in disgust, he began removing everything that was on Crouch's person. When everything magical had been removed, Remus performed a Switching Spell on Barty's clothes with a blanket that he had conjured.
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