The days at Hogwarts

……

"Cedric, come on!"

"Hogwarts depends on you!"

The Gryffindor table and the Hufflepuff table were next to each other, and in the afternoon when they were quietly waiting for the game to start, Loren could always hear the cheers coming from next door.

Throughout the afternoon, Cedric was not impatient at all. No matter who passed by him, no matter what important passage he was reading in his spell book, whenever someone greeted him, he would look up and smile gently at the visitor.

"I will."

"There's still Harry at Hogwarts."

"..."

Loren's ears twitched, he stretched, and murmured in his mind, there won't be any accidents tonight. Although Dumbledore has his own plan, the plan can't keep up with the changes...

"I'm going to use the bathroom."

Loren stood up and walked out of the auditorium. He turned a corner outside the door, walked down the stairs a few steps, turned another corner, opened the door and saw the fruit hanging painting.

After scratching the green pear, the kitchen door opened with the pear's giggle.

"Excuse me, are Mai and Shining here?"

……

Time is like the water mist on the shore of the black lake, evaporated by the midsummer sun and then blown away by the breeze. Little by little, the little wizards watched the magic dome of the auditorium turn from blue to dark purple at dusk. The heat of June followed the night. Advent gradually converged.

I talked to him all afternoon, ranging from summer vacation homework to previewing the contents of the next school year, from traveling after the holidays to where to go fishing... After dinner, the girl may be a little tired, and gradually calmed down, holding the silver in her hand The small spoon poked the strawberries on the ice cream. When the smoothie was stirred, white water vapor escaped, which was cool and refreshing.

Loren took a spoonful and put it into his mouth, exhaling:

"Why is it flavored with strawberry again? Don't you get tired of it?"

"Not boring."

"Stay in the auditorium and watch the game tonight, don't run around."

"You seem to have some hidden meaning in your words."

"I don't. It mainly depends on what Principal Dumbledore arranges."

"?"

The two shared smoothies and chatted. At the guest of honor, Dumbledore stood up. His beard was carefully groomed, smooth and neat:

"Ladies and gentlemen, please line up to enter the Quidditch pitch to watch the last event of the Goblet of Fire. Now the warriors and Mr. Bagman are invited to enter first."

The auditorium was filled with excitement. Watching Bagman lead them away, every student applauded the warriors they supported.

"Feeling okay, Harry?"

"Confident, Cedric?"

"Krum! Krum! Krum..."

"Come on, Graves!"

"Fleur, I like you!"

"..."

Five minutes later, the professors organized the audience to walk to the Quidditch pitch.

The sky was a clear dark blue, stars began to appear, and the moon was still only a narrow hook.

Molly held Ginny in one hand and Hermione in the other, as if she had forgotten what happened yesterday afternoon, and said with a smile on her face:

"What a great change! It's even more lively than the night of the Quidditch World Cup. I can come to watch Harry's final without having to cook... Arthur must be so jealous!"

"Mrs. Weasley..."

Hermione was led away with a helpless expression: "There were tens of thousands of spectators on the night of the Quidditch World Cup, and there were only a few hundred spectators on the Goblet of Fire. How could it be more lively than that night?"

The smile on Molly's face never stopped: "Hey, listen to me, the most popular person on the night of the Quidditch World Cup was Viktor Krum, right? But now Krum is only one of the five warriors. One, there are four others who are the same as him or even stronger than him.”

"..."

George and Fred, who were following behind, had sad expressions on their faces, watching the audience pass by them one by one, as if customers were passing by one after another.

The snacks and drinks in those people's hands, the banners and signs above their heads...

It was originally the capital of their joke shop!

George couldn't bear to close his eyes, and Fred next to him looked even sadder.

The Quidditch pitch was originally surrounded by four stands in the outer ring. The ground lawn was divided into different areas with white lines, and the scoring rings stood on both sides.

But now the place has become completely unrecognizable. The four stands have lowered their height and gradually increased from the inside to the outside. A twenty-foot-high hedge from the inside surrounds the edge of the field. The traceless stretching spell causes the light to be misaligned. The audience can barely get a glimpse of what's going on inside the maze.

Hundreds of students filed in, and the air was filled with excited voices and chaotic footsteps.

I don’t know why the people around them moved, but in the end, only Loren and Hermione were left, and the others dispersed. Fortunately, there were plenty of seats, but only a few little wizards who didn't like the excitement sat in the back. Most of the audience squeezed into the front row, standing on tiptoes to look into the maze.

Why are so many people squeezing to the front? The first row can't see clearly what's going on in the maze.

"Let's move back a little."

Loren took Hermione's hand and walked back.

When they got to the fourth row, it was a little more spacious. They were surprised to find many familiar people sitting in the back, such as Neville and Hannah, Draco and his little gang...

The most conspicuous ones are Luna and Rolf wearing lion-head hats. Their lion-head hats have a conspicuous lightning-shaped scar on their foreheads, which can be seen at a glance as Harry's supporters.

Luna sat on her seat, her feet dangling slightly in the air, her silver eyes shining slightly, and she had no expression but gave people a happy feeling.

Loren and Hermione sat over and joked with a smile:

"Hey, why do Hufflepuff people carry Gryffindor's mascot?"

Luna hummed and said nothing, Rolf translated for her: "Cedric does not lack the support of both of us, but Harry needs it."

"Be careful if you go back at night and be considered a traitor."

"will not."

"Where do you plan to go on vacation?"

"Well..." Rolf pondered for a moment, "Mr. Graves and Mrs. Graves invited us to go to New York again."

"Pickley's parents? Invite you to New York?"

"The main thing is to invite my grandpa."

"..."

The couple with different skin colors appeared in front of Loren's eyes, and he also recalled the major case Newt Scamander committed in New York: "Isn't your grandfather banned from entering the country and needs to be strictly scrutinized?"

"This time there is a valid reason to investigate the albino basilisk, but the main task is to help MACUSA establish an ecological park for magical animals. The incident of the werewolf inferi gave the International Federation a new understanding of non-human magical creatures. Knowing, they realize that magical animals can play a greater role..."

"Would your grandpa agree?" Hermione tilted her head and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Scamander has always opposed wizards using magical animals. As you know, the preface to every volume of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" advocates Let the animals return to nature.”

"It's because he didn't agree that he came to me."

Rolf sighed quietly, "I really don't know what they think. I'm only in the third grade. I'm just a little wizard who hasn't graduated. How can I persuade the adults in my family?"

"Yes, you are still a child..." Loren comforted and patted his shoulder lovingly.

"..."

Rolf's eyebrows slowly knitted together.

No, why does this sentence sound so awkward coming out of your mouth?

"They're out!"

Not far ahead came Mr. Amos Diggory's rough cheer: "Look, that's my son, the tallest one! Do you see..."

The warriors came out of the locker room, wearing capes of different colors. The night wind blew and the capes flew up and down.

The professors who followed him were also dressed differently than usual. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Moody all had bright red stars on their hats. Hagrid was a little different. Hagrid's red star was on the back of his velvet vest.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the last event of the Goblet of Fire Four-wizard Tournament is about to begin!" Bagman's magically amplified voice echoed in the stands, "Let me report the current score! Harry Potter, 53 points! Cedric Diggory, 54 points, they won first place in the first two events, and Hogwarts School firmly occupied the first place..."

Applause and cheers frightened the birds of the Forbidden Forest into the darkening night sky.

On the referee's bench, Dumbledore sat in the middle of the seat. The red light of a torch not far away illuminated the wrinkles on his face, but he did not look old.

He turned to look at the special referee from the Ministry of Magic beside him, and smiled: "Before the game starts, do you want to check the settings inside the maze, Barty?"

Crouch said unhurriedly: "You are still as cautious as before, Headmaster, but many of the mechanisms in the maze are disposable and difficult to restore in a short time after use. I believe that the construction workers of the Ministry of Magic and Sparrow Professor Te is rigorous and conscientious in his work, so there is no need for further testing.”

He raised his eyebrows, as if he remembered afterward: "By the way, there is also Professor Hagrid. Please forgive me, I always forget that he is now the Care of Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts."

"Correct me, he is an excellent and competent professor." Dumbledore smiled.

“Yes, I have noticed it at work.”

Crouch chuckled and pointed at the big man standing on the court scratching his head and laughing: "He is also the inspector of this game. If he sees the signal from the Warriors, I believe he will rush into the maze as soon as possible and will be injured." The warriors rescued him.”

"..."

Ms. Maxim, who had been prepared for a long time, heard the huge gap between the scores and other schools, her olive-colored face still showed fluctuations, and she sighed softly.

Furong failed to complete the second event and was too far behind to catch up.

The Goblet of Fire is over for Beauxbatons, but she's not just at Hogwarts to compete.

The hybrid giantess' eyes quietly moved and fell on the back row of the auditorium. A young wizard with black hair and black eyes was playing with the lion's head hat of the person next to him. During the fight, the pendant around his neck was looming.

Listening to the noisy voice in his ears, Karkaroff came back to his senses. The commentator had already finished reading Krum's penultimate score, but he didn't care at all. He looked around expressionlessly, with a hint of hiddenness in his eyes. Secret restlessness.

Chapter 497 Changing Maps

"This morning, we hid the Goblet of Fire in the maze. No one knows the exact location... The maze is difficult and dangerous. If someone encounters a dangerous situation that is difficult to cope with, hold up your wand and shoot red sparks..."

"Whoever touches the trophy first will be the champion!"

"Now...listen to my whistle!"

"three two……"

"Game start!"

As a short, sharp whistle sounded in his ears, Harry held his breath and ran into the maze.

After passing through the shrub wall, the entrance behind you is immediately surrounded by plant branches. The voices of the audience are instantly inaudible. The high hedges cast dark shadows on the path. The strange-shaped shrub branches are like a group of twisted monsters hidden in the darkness. , waiting for the warriors who let their guard down and become careless to fall into their trap.

Several "fluorescent flashes" sounded one after another, and there were several bright lights nearby.

The path of the maze was twists and turns, and every few steps you could see double or even three-way intersections. Harry sped up his pace and ran, turning left and then right. Several bright lights followed him. Unknowingly, it was submerged in the thick night.

The leather shoes stepped on the soft grass and fallen leaves, and the sound of footsteps was mixed with the rustling swaying of the surrounding forest leaves. The neighing of the leprechauns reached the ears from all directions. The high walls of the maze shrubs made the surrounding area airtight. But Harry could always feel the coolness on his face, as if there was wind blowing through him.

The maze is getting darker every minute, and the sky above the maze gradually turns dark blue.

Harry held up the glowing wand in one hand and kept looking behind and around him. He seemed to feel that someone was watching him from a secret place, but when he looked carefully, those suspicious figures turned into the shadows of tree branches.

The slender and twisted branches and leaves are more like the shadow of a house elf.

Harry's thoughts flashed across his mind. He smiled and continued to run forward. He never encountered an obstacle, as if the entire maze was empty. He didn't know how long he walked when he suddenly turned into a narrow passage and encountered a fork in the road again. mouth.

Looking at the silent fork in the road, Harry couldn't tell whether the maze was trying to fool him with the illusion of safety. He didn't dare to make random choices anymore, held the wand flat in his hand, and whispered to it:

"[Show me the way]"

The wand was like the pointer in a compass, spinning around twice, and finally the tip of the wand was fixed on the dense woods on the right, which was the north.

The maze route map he had seen before appeared in Harry's mind, and he roughly estimated his current location, feeling confident. To go northwest in the center of the maze, the best way right now is to take the fork on the left and then turn right as quickly as possible.

"Susu..."

Turning into the left aisle, the roots and branches of the shrubs on both sides grow wildly, the plants on the left and right close together, and the narrow aisle in the center is immediately squeezed by the hard branches.

In order to avoid being swallowed by the plants or being embedded in the tree wall, Harry threw away his steps and ran quickly.

The entire maze seemed to have finally been activated. All kinds of monsters jumped out from both sides of the road along the way.

The huge stone monster could emit magma-like sparks from both ends. Harry used the Obstacle Curse to temporarily hinder its movement. After completely running away from a safe distance, he turned around and with the help of the firelight, he could barely see that it turned out to be a Blast-Ended Skrewt.

The thing was huge, ten feet long, and looked like a giant scorpion. Its long stingers were rolled up on its back, and its thick armor supported it as it rushed through the maze.

There is also the dementor transformed by the Boggart, twelve feet tall, with a hood covering his face. His rotten and scabbed hands stretched straight towards him, with only a thin layer of skin covering the hand bones, which was cold. Slimy water vapor enveloped the whole body.

He didn't recognize it right away, but fortunately the Patronus Charm could also scare away Boggarts.