Who let this Dementor into Hogwarts!

Chapter 373 A Real Headache for the Dementor

After the introductions, Mr. Crouch took over explaining the rules.

"Regarding the rules for the third match."

Crouch spoke meticulously, his face revealing no emotion.
"The warriors' current rankings will affect their order of entry into the maze. Their goal is the Triwizard Tournament trophy at the end of the maze. The competition ends the moment they obtain the trophy. We will not provide any information about the dangers and challenges that may occur within the maze. Warriors will need to be adaptable and use their abilities freely. If any warrior encounters difficulties and needs rescue, they should fire a red spark into the sky. The Aurors and professors patrolling nearby will come immediately."

"Now, the game begins!"

Hagrid blew his whistle immediately after Crouch shouted "Start the game!"

"You're the first one, Cohen, come quick!" Hagrid called out to Cohen at the entrance and waved.

"Good luck," Hagrid whispered as Cohen approached. "There are some familiar faces inside."

“A frizzy-tailed snail, huh…” Cohen said in a helpless low voice.

Hagrid's last remaining Bombtail has grown to the size of a baby carriage, which could be quite a problem for the other warriors.

But it doesn't really have a big impact on Cohen - as long as Cohen doesn't get lost for too long, there won't be any surprises in this game.

Upon entering the maze, Cohen was immediately confronted with a three-way intersection. Tall hedges cast dark shadows on the path, and due to the magic, he could not hear a sound from the audience outside.

This reminded Cohen of Azkaban—perhaps this is what Azkaban would be like if it weren't for the Dementors' cacophony of thought.

It has a familiar feeling of coming home.

The "Give me directions" spell can only determine where north is; the trophy is located in the northwest of the maze—which is actually more difficult for Cohen, who is somewhat directionally challenged, than fighting a fire dragon.

So Cohen chose to send a portion of his soul directly to the sky above him, using a top-down perspective to find his way.

X-ray vision isn't considered cheating, and being a little bit OP isn't considered cheating.

That's how stand-ins are used (I'm sure of it).

When Cohen saw the dense network of branching paths, a sudden urge to pin the maze designer down in the arms of the other Dementors and beat him up surged within him.

Damn it, is this because they're afraid the warriors will clear the game too quickly and leave the audience with too little time to feel bored?

“Fluorescent light.” Cohen heard Harry’s voice from the right, turned his head and saw Harry’s spirit on the other side of the hedge.

Having planned his route, Cohen intended to meet Harry first, just in case he arrived before Harry—or Harry arrived before him.

As for the other warriors... apart from Cedric, none of them have entered yet.

If Cohen and Harry were to fall behind, to prevent Cedric from being teleported to Voldemort, Cohen would take Harry on a shortcut—for example, by using the Goat Cult's spell to open a teleportation rift.

Turn left, turn right, turn right again and go in a big circle, then turn left again...

According to Cohen's observation, he will meet Harry at the next intersection where the road branches into five.

However, there is another creature at this intersection.

A dark, lumpy creature that looked like a standing lump of mud—transformed into a Dementor the instant it sensed Harry's approach.

“Cohen?” Cohen heard Harry ask tentatively from the other side of the fence on the right.

“I’m here,” Cohen said, peeking out from around the corner.

"Huh? Then it's not—" Harry was surprised to see Cohen pop out from around the corner to his left, and nervously looked at the Dementor at the intersection not far away.

The Dementor turned to look at Cohen, then at Harry on the other side, and made the most correct and the most wrong decision of its life—it lunged at Harry.

"Palmtophanath Shield!" Harry shouted, raising his wand immediately.

A silver stag leaped from its wand and headbutted the Dementor, knocking it to the ground.

"It looks a bit painful," Cohen clicked his tongue.

“No—it fell down—Dementors don’t fall down, do they?” Harry asked Cohen. “Why are you asking me? I—I think I am…”

Cohen said,
"Hilarious, hilarious."

After a loud bang, Boggart turned into a wisp of smoke and drifted into the sky.

“You scared me…” Harry said, still shaken. “I almost thought it was you…”

“I’m not that ugly, am I? I always try to make my cloak as intact as possible when I transform into a Dementor,” Cohen said. “That way I don’t look so shabby. Dementors’ tattered cloaks make them look like beggars.”

"Then... together?" Harry stood there for a long time, then asked Cohen uncertainly.

"If you really want to play Guardian Brawl, just say so. There's no need to hesitate for so long," Cohen joked.

"But you kept saying before the match that we'd be opponents during the game..." Harry said with a sigh of relief.

“Then I won’t build you a fish tank head.” Cohen waved his hand. “Take the second road on the left at the next intersection.”

"You know the way?" Harry asked in surprise.

“No, I smell a familiar lion scent,” Cohen said.

This is true—because Cohen really did smell a lion scent that was very similar to that of a chimera.

And you can see a very distant creature with a soul strength of fifty points.

If nothing unexpected happens...

When Harry finally arrived at their destination after being led around the bends by Cohen, he gasped.

A huge, yellow-furred "animal" blocked their way. Its body resembled a large, frightening lion, with enormous paws, long yellow fur, and a tuft of fur at the tip of its tail.

But it had a woman's head, and it seemed to know someone was approaching all along, its long almond-shaped eyes fixed on the corner where Cohen and Harry appeared.

“Sphinx…” Harry whispered.

"You actually knew that?" Cohen said in surprise.

“I’ve read Hagrid’s Monster Book of Monsters to some extent…” Harry nudged Cohen, as if to remind him not to joke around at a time like this.

Because the Sphinx seems dangerous—it will pounce fiercely if you don't answer the questions posed to it.

“You’re in a bad spot,” Sphinx said, pacing back and forth at the intersection, watching Cohen with interest. “I only patrol a few streets.”

“Can we go now?” Harry said.

“Of course.” Sphinx looked at Harry, but quickly turned his gaze back to Cohen. “If you answer my question correctly, you can pass, and if you want, you can talk to me about other things, such as how to proceed on the right path... But if you answer incorrectly, I will pounce on you. Of course, if you leave on your own, I will not do anything.”

"What's the problem?" Cohen asked fearlessly.

“Cohen!” Harry whispered.

“It’s alright, we’ll change routes if it gets too difficult.” Cohen turned his head and whispered to Harry, “Besides, I feel like it knows lions well—we can ask her after we answer the questions.”

“Well…” Harry said cautiously, “can we hear a riddle?”

Cohen remembers that the answer to the riddle Harry encountered in the book was a spider.

But this time it seems a little different.

“Okay,” Sphinx said readily.
"Think about it, what in hell is good at sophistry?"
They donned human masks and wolfed down their food.
Think again about the objects in your mind.
The biggest difference between similar individuals is the daily task of distinguishing them within a crowd.
Finally, in front of the tortoise, behind the alligator.

Connect them together and tell me.

What is it that makes people afraid to even look at it?

(End of this chapter)