Chương 250: Chapter 250

(A/N: Want to read ahead of what I have posted so far? Go to my Patreоn and get your early access chapters :3

By becoming a patron, you'll instantly unlock access up to 40 chapters ahead of the Webnovel update (Chapter 289 already!)

https://www.pаtreon.com/HPMan

Thank you and have fun!

______________________

As soon as Harry and I stood up, all the Gryffindors applauded. We were wished good luck and, along with Krum and Fleur, we left the Great Hall. Bagman immediately walked up to Harry on the stairs and began to cheer him on, but the guy seemed to be holding up pretty well.

Soon we got to the stadium. The Quidditch pitch had really transformed. There was a hedge no less than six meters high all over it, except for a tiny spot. We were led to just that vacant spot. It was here in the hedge that the only passage darkened, and behind us, there were stands for many people. The ministry employees conjured up four large and round magic screens in the air, from which we will be watched.

After a couple of minutes, the stadium and the bleachers began to fill with the first spectators, and the air was filled with excited voices and the sound of hundreds and hundreds of footsteps as wizards hurried to take their allotted bleachers. I looked up at the sky and saw the first, brightest evening star - it was getting dark fast, too fast. Hagrid and Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Fake Moody approached us. Professors had big red stars glowing on their hats, and Hagrid had them on the back of his vest.

"We'll be patrolling outside," McGonagall spoke up after looking us over. "If anyone gets in trouble and feels that help is needed, send a sheaf of red sparks into the air, and we'll come to the rescue immediately. Is that clear?"

After receiving an affirmative nod, Bagman gave the command to begin patrolling. As the professors dispersed, Bagman touched his throat with his wand, conjuring up Sonorus.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Bagman's amplified voice echoed throughout the stadium. "The third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament begins. Let me remind you of the standings of the participants for today! First place goes to Mr. Maximilian Knight, Hogwarts! Ninety-four points!"

Shouts and thunder of applause echoed far into the Forbidden Forest, stirring up the sleep-ready birds.

"In second place is Victor Krum, Durmstrang, eighty-two points! In third place, Mr. Harry Potter, Hogwarts, seventy-nine points! And in fourth, Miss Fleur Delacour, Beauxbatons! Sixty-five points!"

After waiting for the storm of applause to subside, Bagman continued:

"All right, Mr. Knight, start on my whistle! Three... Two... One..."

Bagman whistled sharply, and I rushed into the maze, out of the corner of my eye, noticing an almost completely invisible tiny golem flying almost over my shoulder - a slight distortion of its outline gave it away.

Almost immediately, all sound was cut off, and I was immersed in the silence of the labyrinth, where only the slight vibrations and rustling of the hedge above made me lively. It was dark, and more and more stars were appearing in the sky. I bet it would be pitch black in a few minutes.

I took out my wand and touched it with the tip of the index finger of my other hand, imperceptibly, even to myself, turning a drop of blood into a slightly luminous one. I dropped it in my left eye, creating a special Cat's Eye charm. I was able to see the labyrinth's darkness, and every leaf, curl of the hedge, or the grass beneath my feet became clear and distinct, though I lost the lion's share of its color. Without wasting time, I moved swiftly through the labyrinth. My sense of direction wasn't bad here, so I knew the direction I needed to go.

"The rhinoceros has poor eyesight, but with its size, that's not its problem."

Accelerate the perception, but not the body, Rowena.

After performing perception acceleration with hemomancy and magic, I jogged through the maze. Turn, straight, turn, another turn. An acromantula appeared in front. I pumped more magic into Stupefy. Twelve blue clots come off the wand in different directions, but following my will one by one, go to the spider already jumped in the attack, literally knocking it in the air and driving it into the far wall of the fence. Pointing my wand at the hedge with the spider, I uttered:

"Herba Incrementis."

A sparkling but dim blue blob instantly struck the plants, causing them to grow wildly. Then, in a couple of moments, the spider disappeared into that wilderness, and I set off further - the magic invested would be enough for another couple of seconds, and the spontaneous mutational growth would cease. Good spell, if it weren't for those mutations.

Actually, I could pass the labyrinth with a modification of Incendio, or other powerful fire spells up to Fiendfyre, but I considered it unnecessary. Completely unnecessary.

When I turned another corner, I felt magic on the ground and in the plants, and it was as if the passageway was blocked by a white mist. As I came up close, I began to move my wand around.

"Are they freaking kidding me?!" I didn't hold back my indignation as I realized the meaning of the trap. The Mirror Labyrinth of Consciousness, a powerful mental trap capable of driving a wizard mad rather quickly while growing from his magic.

Poking my wand at certain places in the mist, I picked up a few semblances of sensory threads and control threads and pulled them out at the tip of my wand, immediately ripping them off. The fog soaked into the ground and walls, disappearing.

And there I was, running through the labyrinth again. I wish I could say it was hard, but no - I ran into five more traps, including another perception game, the Hamer's Mirror. You feel like the world is turned upside down. I even liked it - I'll put one of these at Grimmauld. It's easy to pass - you just have to overpower your fear of falling into the sky. A modern person wouldn't consider it a trap, but it's so dusty and ancient that people used to pray to thunder back then, let alone change their perception of gravity.

A sudden scream made me stop. Fleur was screaming. On the one hand, we have observer golems, and help will arrive, but on the other, they are not indestructible. Who knows what could have happened?