[143] Beneath the Dark Mark

The weather was fine on the day of the final task — the ultimate battle.

Cedric's grades were outstanding. Even the usually quiet Hufflepuffs had assembled a band to cheer him on. Normally, the headmasters of each school led their champions into the arena. But Hogwarts was different.

Sirius led Harry in — his tall, handsome figure drew screams and a glare from Snape. Cedric was accompanied by his father, Mr Diggory, his face beaming with pride. Mum entered with Hall, her eyes filled with love and tenderness.

They stood in the centre of the arena, basking in the cheers. The sound was overwhelming, crashing against them like waves. Amidst the shouts of "Diggory!", Hall could faintly hear his and Harry's names. He looked towards the sound — Draco and Ron, standing up, necks red, shouting as if in a fierce competition.

Although Hall's previous matches had been exciting, he was still young, and the matches had taken too long, resulting in low scores. Everyone's attention remained on Cedric, who was ranking high. Draco had told Hall excitedly that Cedric's odds were almost one-to-one, while Hall's were approaching one-to-fifteen.

Dumbledore appeared, accompanied by several Ministry members. Barty's situation had attracted some attention but had not caused panic.

Dumbledore walked onto the stage, his voice booming. "This morning, Professor McGonagall hid the Triwizard Cup within the maze. Only she knows its exact location. The participants this time are —" His gaze swept over the audience. "Mr Diggory! Mr Potter! They are tied for first place and will be the first to enter the maze."

In the previous rounds, Cedric and Harry had been the fastest to finish. Hall noticed Harry looking at him worriedly, so he made a face to reassure him. Harry smiled slightly.

"And then, Mr Krum!"

Karkaroff shouted impatiently towards the Durmstrang stands.

"Miss Delacour, and Mr Weasley."

Hearing Hall's name, Draco's shouts echoed through the stands. He waved his arms excitedly, his voice sharp and loud. Blaise, standing nearby, had already covered his face, exasperated by Draco's behaviour.

Dumbledore continued. "Whoever touches the trophy first is the champion. I have arranged for people to patrol around the maze. If anyone wishes to withdraw, they only need to shoot red sparks from their wand. Contestants, come to my side."

The five champions approached. Dumbledore lowered his voice. "There will be no dragons or monsters in the maze. But you will face a greater challenge. Things will change when you enter. Try your best to find the trophy. But be careful — you might lose yourself."

He raised his voice. "Champions, prepare yourselves! I will count to three —"

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Filch's cannon fired before he could finish. Dumbledore looked on helplessly. Filch shrugged innocently.

Boom.

Cedric and Harry entered the maze first. Hall waved to Harry, signalling him to go. Harry clutched his pocket — Hall's secret weapon — and followed Cedric inside. Their figures disappeared at the maze entrance.

Then, one by one, Krum, Fleur, and Hall entered.

The vine wall behind them began to slowly close, rustling, completely isolating Hall from the outside noise.

Inside the maze, the vine walls stretched as far as the eye could see, blocking out the warm sunlight and creating an eerie atmosphere.

Hall remained vigilant, his wand gripped tightly. His eyes scanned his surroundings warily. Something wriggled at his feet. Hall tensed. He raised his wand cautiously; a glimmer of light gathered at its tip. A black spider scurried away.

"Expelliarmus!"

A beam of light shot towards his face. Before Hall could react, a dark figure rushed from the other side and tackled him to the ground.

Hall narrowly escaped the attack. His saviour was Cedric. The attacker was Krum.

"I did not expect someone would actually save you." Krum was displeased, his eyes filled with hatred and anger.

Cedric stood, his wand pointed at Krum. "I want fairness in this match. Not trickery — deliberately using fake spiders to deceive and ambush. That is not honourable."

Krum sneered. "Competition is cruel. We are all competitors. Eliminating the weaker party first is common sense."

"Expelliarmus!"

Hall unleashed his magic. Red light shot towards Krum, who dodged.

"Arbitrarily defining the weak is bad behaviour."

Hall did not back down. Krum, seeing the unfavourable situation, turned and left.

After confirming Krum was gone, Hall looked at Cedric gratefully. "Thank you. I did not expect him to ambush me."

Cedric shook his head slightly, his gaze growing cold. "Krum is not wrong. We are all competitors. I saved you because I did not want to see you eliminated like this. From now on, we are opponents. I hope you give me a good fight. But the first place will be mine."

Cedric left quickly.

Hall frowned, watching Cedric disappear into the maze.

Deep in the maze, Hall continued cautiously, looking around curiously. A gust of wind swept past, rustling the leaves. Hall felt as if the leaves were knives.

Then he saw them — Cedric and Harry running towards him.

Behind them, restless rose roots, like thick tentacles, were relentlessly attacking them.

In the dimly lit maze, the air seemed to freeze. Faint light filtered through gaps in the vines but could not dispel the suffocating atmosphere.

"Hall!"

Harry's voice echoed through the maze, filled with urgency and panic. He ran towards Hall from afar, waving frantically, urging him to run.

Hall did not have time to think. His heart leaped, and he took off running. He did not know what those things were, but being caught was no joke.

"These are not spiders. They are the maze's rose roots — the most dangerous thing in here," Cedric shouted, his face grave.

Harry was almost at Hall's location. But a poisonous root seized his ankle with lightning speed. Harry's face turned pale.

Hall grabbed Harry's hand without hesitation, but the root caught them both. The moment they touched, the root transformed into sturdy vines, quickly enveloping them.

"Incendio!"

Hall shouted, flicking his wand. Red light flared, and flames erupted, raining down like droplets. Sensing the heat, the root retracted and burrowed underground.

Hall and Harry seized the opportunity and broke free.

"Run!"

Hall grabbed Harry and ran towards Cedric.

Cedric, sensing the commotion, quickened his pace. But after only a few steps, the three were separated.

The maze was alive. Each vine seemed to possess a life of its own, wriggling, shifting position, opening and closing. In the blink of an eye, the passage beside Hall had closed. The vines around him were rapidly closing in.

He ran, intending to call out to check on Harry and Cedric — but then remembered there were others lurking in the darkness who meant them harm. He shut his mouth.