Year Four: The TriWizard Tournament

Part 23

The mood in the castle as they entered June became tense and exciting again. Everyone was looking forward to the third task which would take place a week before the end of term. Harry was practicing hexes at every available moment, thanks to the private lessons Anne and Hermione were giving him. He felt more confident about this third task than either of the others. Difficult and dangerous though it would undoubtedly be, Harry had managed to find his way past monstrous creatures and enchanted barriers before now, and this time he had some notice, some chance to prepare himself for what lay ahead.

His nerves mounted as the third task drew near but they were not as bad as those he had felt before the first and second tasks. For one thing,  he was confident that this time, he had done everything in his power to prepare for the task. For another, this was the final hurdle, and however well or badly he did, the tournament would at last be over.

When the day of the third task finally arrived, the whole school was filled with intense excitement. The Quidditch field was unrecognizable as everyone made their way into the stands. A twenty-foot high hedge came all the way around. There was a gap right in front: the entrance to a vast maze. The passage beyond looked dark and creepy.

The air was filled with excited voices and the rumbling of feet as hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue, and the first stars were starting to appear.

Harry, Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur stood uneasily together as Dumbledore gave them some last minute advice. After fighting dragons and rescuing their friends from mer-people, what other dangerous challenges would they be facing in this task?

According to Dumbledore, each champion will enter the maze and navigate their way to the TriWizard Cup, which has been placed somewhere inside. Whoever touches the cup will be declared the winner of the TriWizard Tournament.

The four champions exchange glances. Compared to what they had gone through, this task seemed fairly mild. There must be some hidden dangers ----and incredible ones at that ----that will make claiming the cup much more difficult than it seems.

Each champion was guided to the entrance of the maze. A cannon goes off and the crowd cheers as each champion enters the maze, which then closes behind them.

"Surely what they'll be facing can't be as bad the dragons and mer-people," said Ron optimistically. "All they have to do is navigate their way and race to touch the cup."

Hermione shook her head. "Ron, Dumbledore wouldn't make the final task easy. There obviously has to be more to this."

Anne said nothing. She felt uneasy and was not sure why. Some terrible sense of foreboding seemed to be permeating the air. Dumbledore wouldn't place the champions in real danger. Whatever difficult task laid ahead, they were capable of confronting and defeating it.