章 480: Chapter 480 Encouragement

One by one, the champions stood up and left the room amidst the warm applause and blessings of their loved ones, Mrs. Granger held Hermione's hand for dear life, her eyes welled up with tears. "Honey, she'll be fine." Mr. Granger said, hugging his wife.

"I know, I just ..." Mrs. Granger can't able to express her emotions.

Mr. Granger's eyes turned red as he said to Hermione very emotionally, "Your mother got a little agitated ... because of the footage of the second task... We waited in front of the Leaky Cauldron pub the whole afternoon before I found a wizard in a strange costume who brought us in, and then we bought the footage after a lot of inquiry... Anyway, Hermione, we wanted to let you know, that we are proud of you."

Hermione's eyes also became moist. Harry and Ron stood at a loss for words as Sirius and Bill held their shoulders left and right. Sirius slapped Harry on the back so hard that he almost stumbled, then Sirius said to the Grangers', "There are two men on the team!"

"Yeah, right, we'll take care of her." Harry and Ron said hastily.

As they walked through the entrance hall and made their way down the steps, Hermione still remained a little down, Harry and Ron looked at each other, and Ron said, with a grumble, "Hermione, you should tell your parents some common sense about the wizarding community, don't they know that you're the strongest of us three?"

"Oh," Hermione broke into a smile, "they are under the impression that I just went to school in a different place, just like ... well, how to say? A student of the occult? I can't use magic outside of school after all ... Maybe the books I bring back every summer also reinforce that impression."

They walked carefully on the dimly lit yard, a dozen champions walked in a long line, followed by some people in the shadows on both sides.

"Who are they?" Harry looked at the side.

"People from the Ministry of Magic, mostly Aurors." Ron said, seeing Harry's puzzled look, he shrugged, "Someone has to keep an eye on every level in the maze, just in case, Professor Hap can't handle it alone ... Percy told me about it, and I have to admit, he's been making a lot of money lately."

The crowd made their way across the yard, passing near the Quidditch pitch, where several Pukwudgie carrying short bows waved at the champions of Ilvermorny.

Hermione tensed up, "We didn't consider how to deal with Pukwudgie, they're not going to appear in the maze, are they?"

Harry did not speak, just stared at the silhouette of the Pukwudgie, he is not sure. These little things used to live in the forest, so he guessed they would be like a fish in the water inside the maze? He vaguely remembered that the Pukwudgies' bows and arrows are quenched with poison ...

" Do you have any antidote with you, Hermione?" He asked.

"Yes, I brought it, I prepared quite a lot ... but to be honest, it might not be something we could use if we do get sneaked upon." Hermione said as she touched her little beaded pouch.

They remained silent throughout the rest of the way, as they walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest -a path that became more familiar to them - Before turning around a corner, Harry took one last look behind him, the path they had taken before is covered with dense dots of light, a bright light from the wands as the people in the great hall also came out, because they are so far apart, he couldn't hear a single sound.

But Harry could well imagine how excited they are, Seamus and Dean are probably excitedly talking about what will be in the maze, they have been doing so for months; Ginny is probably with Luna, but he really can't guess what they will talk about, maybe about some strange creature 'that has not been discovered yet'?; As for Neville, he had asked Hermione for a list of spells some time ago, and he would surely shine in next year's dueling class ... And Malfoy, he might be gnashing his teeth!

This last thought gave Harry a little boost, "Oh dear!" Hermione groaned next to his ear.

Harry followed her line of sight and his heart shook. In front of him, there is a tower-shaped building that is just a little smaller than Hogwarts Castle, and he can only see the solid triangular prism built with black stone stacked straight upwards, and the space between them is filled with impermeable thorns and bushes. The building is at least a hundred feet high, and Harry secretly estimates how many floors the maze will have.

The people in front of them stopped, Bagman waited for them to gather and led them towards the side of the huge building. They walked through the sparse forest to a clearing where a huge silver tent stood, faintly glowing in the darkness.

Harry fell into a bit of a trance for a moment, he seemed to have gone back to the first task when they had to work together to cope with a dragon ... but now it feels like that seemed to have happened ages ago.

"Well," Bagman said happily, "you should not be unfamiliar with this place, we have built the maze tower used for the competition on its original surface. The school administration has prepared two areas, but I thought the familiarity would make you feel at home ..."

Everyone stared at him.

Bagman looked at the crowd gleefully as if he wanted a compliment or two, and an awkward silence followed, so he had to give up on the idea. "So, uh, let me read out the rules, you need to break through the maze, there are seven levels, the higher you go up the smaller the size and the top level has no traps arranged with only one trophy in it."

"The use of dark magic is forbidden, and the use of potent spells against people is forbidden ..."

He said everything in one breath over a period of ten minutes, Harry listened to it with some annoyance, they analysed these things many times, and finally, Bagman got to the point.

"The order of entering the maze will be presented next. According to the rules," Bagman glanced at Harry, "the two Hogwarts teams will share an average score, but since they came in first and second place, there is no need for that. It is only necessary to enter based on the highest score order-"

At that moment, the curtain of the tent lifted from inside.

"Bagman, the trophies have been put in place."

"Thanks, Yaxley. This should have been my job, but as you can see, I am occupied ..."

Yaxley flashed his teeth and squeezed a raw smile from between them, "You're welcome." The man disappeared into the tent.

"Okay, the trophies are in place, next I'll introduce the guards of the maze. They're all from the Ministry of Magic, well, except for Felix, the guards don't show up easily, even if you've fainted."

The champions looked at each other. "So in case an unconscious champion is discovered by a wandering beast-" one of Beauxbatons' champion, the girl named Jacqueline Bourgeois, asked, and other champions nodded their heads, sharing the same doubt.

"Ah, that's where the guards come in," Bagman displayed a smile, "they'll watch from the sidelines and won't make a move unless your lives are really in danger. If the unconscious person is lucky enough to meet his companion, then he can still continue the game ..."

The curtain of the tent lifted once more. Kingsley and Felix walked out in a pair.

"The spectator area is fully seated, Ludo. In five minutes, the champions can be assigned to enter the maze, and the staff will take them in through the different entrances." Kingsley said stoically.

"Great," Bagman said happily, "I can't wait to host the game."

"Wait, different entrances?" Byers of the Ilvermorny team asked.

"There are four entrances, and which one you enter is determined randomly; the only restriction is that the same team must be separated." Felix answered gently.

"That's right." Bagman echoed, "So-" He looked around.

"May I say a few words?" Felix asked lightly.

"Oh, what - sure." Bagman said.

Felix stood in front of the champions and swept his eyes over each of them, "You have all worked unimaginably hard this year and gained a great deal at the same time, - strength, friendship, courage, cooperation, trust ... Although the third task is incredibly difficult, I believe you can successfully overcome the difficulties, and for that, you just need to mobilize your wisdom, trust your companions, and most importantly - don't give up hope even in the worst-case scenario."

"Today is just one of the important points in your lives, not the end - Time is on your side."

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