GOF (XXVII) & Third Task (III)…

[POV Rumi(Roxanne)]

I entered the maze and was immediately confused… the reason for my confusion was, I was standing in front of a fork of paths. I didn't know which path to take… it is so confusing… wish I had Reo's power, then I would be able to feel the cup and head in that direction.

Suddenly something clicked in my mind… I pulled out my wand and cast the point me charm towards the goblet, sadly it didn't work but I have already decided and took the path towards my right. After running for a few seconds, my senses blared loudly and I immediately jumped and saw vines run to the place where I was.

Tch! I clicked my tongue and activated Armament Haki on my legs, my legs were immediately covered by a glossy black material with a silver tint on it. I landed on the ground and those vines immediately grabbed my feet but I wasn't even bothered by them. I continued running tearing them off and crushing them beneath my feet.

Devil's Snare… I think that's what they are called. It's kind of embarrassing but I failed in Herbology. Its more embarrassing because I lived in a forest and loved the wildlife… but magical trees aren't my cup of tea. After running for a minute, I arrived before another fork. Again, I was confused and didn't know which path to take.

Tch! I clicked my tongue when I heard the cannon go off again… which means five minutes have passed since I have entered the maze. After me, Harry was supposed to enter, Harry has already entered the maze. Last time I took the path to my right… so, this time left it is. I decided and immediately dashed into the left path. Only after, running for a few seconds, I felt a presence in front of me.

I got ready to fight and my hands were covered in Armament Haki… after training for so many years I was finally able to cover my whole body but I could feel that I still had a long way to go before I completely master it. I was excited just thinking about the beast I was going to face first but I found something I didn't expect… I found a bloodied corpse of Reo. Its head turned towards me in a horrifying way… no human should be able to turn its head like that.

"You were weak… you were pathetic… that is why I died…" the bloodied Reo started to speak in a slow manner. It was about to continue but I slammed down my foot on the body's head… the corpse dispersed along with a loud screech. The ground beneath my feet cracked.

I didn't pay any more attention and continued my path. Fucking Boggart! At first, I was slightly taken aback… it is true, my fear is being weak and not being able to fight beside Reo but I know that if there is anything in the world which Reo can't win against then he would happily sacrifice himself to save us. Yes, I would be beside him… and I will also go down with him with a smile on my face.

Another cannon went off meaning another participant has entered the maze. Meeting another fork… I took the path to my right this time and it seems like I wasn't disappointed. I felt a presence in front of me and it was different than the boggart… it must be a magical beast.

Looks like I was right and I found myself facing some kind of abomination… I don't even know what to call this thing… its scorpion… and a crab at the same time. Fuck it! I will call it an abomination… I was checking for its weak spot. I might be a battle maniac but I won't fight an unknown creature with unknown abilities… yes, it was really hard… I wanted to bash my fist into its body but I held myself back.

But the abomination didn't seem to have thoughts like me… as it spits fire out in my direction. Even though I didn't expect the abomination to spit out the fire out of its ass… I was still able to move away from the fire. Is that head or its ass? Until now, I was thinking that the abomination was looking away from me… but it was facing me all this time? Damn! How sad it is… having your face and ass looking exactly the same.

I didn't waste any more time and dashed towards the beast, I put a lot of force behind my lunge and the ground caved slightly… the abomination has a really fast reaction speed as it was somewhat able to match my speed and tried to hit me with its stinger but it won't be fast enough… my fist met with its outer shell and the whole abomination was blown apart painting the walls of the maze with its innards. Thankfully, my punch had a lot of force and everything was blown away from me… it smelt really bad, I was somehow able to hold my stomach's contents.

I quickly move away from that place and continued my navigation through the maze. I finally appeared in a clearing and I could feel my blood boiling… I strong presence was in front of me. Again, my instincts proved to be right as a huge lion with a woman's face showed up. A Sphinx! A class XXXX magical beast… it was much weaker than a Manticore as a Manticore is a class XXXXX magical beast but there is a huge difference… their intelligence.

Manticores are intelligent, of course… but when compared to a Sphinx it doesn't hold a candle. Sphinxes were used by wizards and witches since ancient times to guard their treasure.

"To go ahead… you must answer the riddle…" the Sphinx to say but I immediately cut it off. It was clear that she would give me a riddle and I had to answer it correctly if I wanted to go ahead… it was kind of similar to what we have in Ravenclaw Dorm entrance… but I never bothered with them so why should I bother now?

"Stop blabbing and fight me!" I said and covered my whole body with Armament Haki. When fighting a class XXXX magical beast physically, I didn't want to take a chance…

The Sphinx wanted to protest but it didn't even have that chance I punched it right on its face. The Sphinx was bewildered as it skidded a few meters because of my punch… I understand that I didn't use my full power but I expected a crack sound. No matter… if it is able to fight longer then it's much better.

The Sphinx didn't hold back this time… as soon as it was able to get rid of the dizziness it lunged towards me with its paws towards my head… seeing that it has started to fight back, a huge grin appeared on my face.

[POV Harry]

I was really nervous today… not because of the task but because of what was going to happen after the task. I received a message from Edgar before the task that I should willingly give my blood. I didn't know what it meant but it must be something related to Voldemort's resurrection. Even though, I knew that Reo and the others are going to be there… I couldn't stop myself from feeling nervous.

I mean… what if Voldemort is able to run away… what if, someone gets killed. Even though, I had all these worries… I have decided to follow Edgar's plans, I have seen his girlfriends trust him blindly and he has saved me from hell before… so I decided to trust him. If this works… Voldemort will be killed in a permanent manner and I will be finally able to avenge my parents. I will be also free from the prophecy hanging over my head.

I have thought this through… and even if I ran away now… I know that Voldemort would be back one day and I can't keep living while looking over my shoulder. I finally entered the maze and all these thoughts were put away for later contemplation… not that I had any more time.

I quickly navigated through the maze and the first thing I faced was Voldemort… I was scared at first then I remembered it must be a Boggart… I have read about them and Tonks has also told me that there could be Boggarts in the third task. I used the spell Riddikulus and the robes of Voldemort changed into a pink cardigan… after that, I banished the Boggart and continued to run through the maze.

Devil's Snare was quickly dealt with, with help of Incendio but the next magical beast I found made me retreat. Blast-Ended Skrewt, Hagrid was a nice guy and I became his friend in a short time but his love of dangerous magical creatures isn't something I support. Hagrid might be the gentle giant but this thing is not.

After retreating from that path, I finally found another way but what I found there scared me even more. The whole place was blown apart and several craters have formed on the ground. I saw a magical beast… A Sphinx laying inside such a crater… it was battered and bloody but it was still alive. I decided not to go near it and sneaked past it… it looked towards me but didn't do anything. It was better to say that it wasn't able to do anything.

I ran past the place and what I found after that horrified me even more. Body parts of Acromantulas were everywhere… I kept my wand pointed and ready. I was the second person to enter the maze, Roxanne was first… this must be her work… I honestly don't want to know how she was able to do all this.

I finally arrived before the cup… but shouldn't Roxanne be here too… I felt a chill run down my spine but I didn't know what to do. I don't know if Roxanne was supposed to be there with me or if her job was only to clear my path… whatever it is I decided to follow the plan and went to the cup. As soon as I grabbed the cup I felt a familiar tug around my navel… it was like a Portkey… with that, I suddenly appeared in a graveyard… I didn't say anything and got up.

With my wand ready I looked around but nothing much was visible… it was because of mist. I finally noticed the grave near to me… Thomas Riddle. I heard a twig snap and whipped my head in that direction but I didn't get any time to react… a red spell hit me and I knew no more… my world turned completely black…