Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

“That’s right, that’s right!” The other two Ministry of Magic staff members who accompanied them quickly echoed, their tone full of expectation and trust. “You performed exceptionally well in the first two projects, so you’ll definitely be fine this time too! Show the other schools what Hogwarts is all about! Good luck!”

As they spoke, the four of them arrived at the entrance area of ​​the maze. Eight huge stone gates were neatly arranged along the edge of the maze, each with a corresponding number engraved on it. The stone gates were tightly closed, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura, waiting for the warriors to begin their challenge.

There was a considerable amount of time between the second and third projects.

Now, ten enormous screens float above the Quidditch pitch. The size of the screens has been precisely calculated to ensure that no matter where the audience sits in the pitch, they can clearly see the images displayed on the screens. The layout of these screens is extremely ingenious. Each screen is divided into four rows and four columns of clear areas to form an independent image, which corresponds exactly to the participating warriors. Each image will automatically track the movements of one of the warriors through magic, transmitting their dynamics in the maze in real time.

After all the warriors had finished the draw and taken their places, Ludo Bagman rushed to the referee's table without stopping. He ran quickly, his cheeks flushed, and he gasped for breath several times until his breathing gradually became smooth. Then he raised his wand, pressed the tip against his neck, and it flashed.

As the amplification spell took effect, his voice instantly became powerful and resonant, echoing throughout the entire Quidditch pitch: "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the final battleground of the Triwizard Tournament! After a long wait, our long-awaited final event is finally about to begin!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the students of Hogwarts erupted in deafening cheers, waving their flags and scarves, their shouts rising and falling.

The moment Harry stepped into the maze, all the noise of the outside world was completely shut out, as if he had entered a secluded, enclosed space.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; every breath was clearly audible, and the sound of the heart pounding in the chest was amplified infinitely, thumping and pounding against the eardrums.

What was even more suffocating was that the thick darkness enveloped him as if it were a physical entity, so dark that he could not see his own hand in front of his face, and he could only feel the stone path under his feet by touching it with his toes.

Without the slightest hesitation, Harry immediately raised his wand and quickly chanted the Illumination Charm: "Fluorescence!" A warm yellow halo the size of a fist lit up at the tip of the wand, faint yet persistent.

But he soon realized something was wrong—the light seemed to be firmly bound by some invisible magical force in the maze, only able to hover within half an inch of the tip of the staff, unable to spread outwards no matter what, not even illuminating a meter in front of him, let alone dispelling the darkness.

"This trick didn't work?" Harry frowned, a hint of anxiety flashing through his mind, but he quickly forced himself to calm down.

He quickly recalled the various contingency plans he had prepared before the match, and soon came up with another idea. He took a deep breath, adjusted his stance, and steadily pointed his wand at the darkness directly in front of him. His wrist deftly drew a standard circular trajectory in the air, and he muttered in a deep voice, "Patriot!"

A burst of silver light erupted from the tip of the staff, coalescing into a lithe and upright stag guardian. The stag leaped forward lightly, its limbs gliding gracefully. Wherever it passed, silver light spread outwards like ripples on water, illuminating the once dark passage and making the patterns on the walls and the pebbles on the ground clearly visible.

"It really works! The Patronus Charm can break through the magical suppression here!" Harry's face showed a relieved smile, but he quickly frowned again. "It's just that it's too scattered. The light moves with the Patronus, and then it quickly falls into darkness again behind us. It's hard to control."

Suddenly, the special magical techniques Dylan had shared before the match flashed through his mind—improved lighting methods for dark environments and underwater scenes. Harry immediately adjusted his movements, gently pressing the tip of his wand against his chest, closing his eyes to feel the flow of magical energy within him, and then slowly and evenly drawing a complete circle on his chest before firmly reciting the spell: "Patriot!"

This time, the silver light did not transform into a leaping stag, but instead spread out from the tip of his staff on his chest, turning into a soft mist that spread along his neck and arms to his entire body, as if draping him in a shimmering silver cloak.

Immediately afterwards, the light mist continued to spread smoothly in all directions, forming a circular lighting area with a radius of several meters. The light was bright but not dazzling, illuminating the road ahead and protecting the retreat route behind, perfectly solving the problem of mobile lighting.

Meanwhile, the projection screen in the Quidditch stadium lit up, transmitting the scene inside the maze to the audience in real time.

"My goodness! This is such a wonderful surprise!" Ludo Bagman's voice resounded throughout the hall through the Amplification Charm, filled with barely suppressed excitement. "The four heroes of Hogwarts have given us a pleasant surprise as soon as they entered the maze—they dispelled the darkness in three completely different ways! Their adaptability is truly outstanding!"

"Mr. Malfoy has demonstrated a level of magical control beyond his years; the ordinary Illumination Charm has proven remarkably effective in his hands..." Ludo Bagman was about to explain Dylan's unique approach in detail when Dumbledore's calm and gentle voice suddenly came from behind him, "Mr. Bagman, perhaps we can leave some suspense for the heroes to come."

Dumbledore's reminder snapped Ludo Bagman back to reality. He slapped his forehead, a hint of annoyance on his face. Only the Hogwarts team had entered the maze. If he were to explain the solution to the darkness and the characteristics of the maze's environment in too much detail, it would undoubtedly be leaking crucial information to the other school warriors who would enter later, which would violate the principle of fair competition.

He immediately changed the subject, his tone still enthusiastic: "However, in any case, we can clearly see that the four warriors of Hogwarts showed no panic whatsoever, and every movement was calm and composed, clearly indicating that they had made the most thorough preparations before the competition! Let's continue to look forward to their wonderful performance in the maze!"

Inside the maze, Harry quickened his pace, aided by the steady silver light surrounding him. He hurried along the winding passages, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily, keeping an eye out for potential traps while carefully searching for the entrance to the next level of the maze.

As Barty Crouch emphasized before the match, the difficulty of this maze increases with each level. The obstacles he is currently facing are not particularly difficult; they are mainly some strange fairies attracted by the light.

These fairies were small, only the size of a thumb, with transparent wings that shimmered with iridescent colors. They flew around Harry's silvery aura in groups, the sound of their wings flapping like the tinkling of wind chimes. They were not aggressive, but they always hovered around Harry's ears, occasionally touching his cheeks and the backs of his hands with their soft wings, trying to distract him.

Even more interestingly, some fairies laid their eggs in the recesses of the walls on both sides of the passage. These eggs, like sparkling pearls, emitted soft red, orange, yellow, and green light, making them particularly eye-catching in the darkness. Looking at these shimmering fairy eggs, a thought suddenly flashed through Harry's mind—Dylan had mentioned before the competition that the design of magical mazes often incorporates natural elements as guides, and the more dangerous the area, the more likely it is to hide clues in the opposite direction.

He observed that whenever he encountered a fork in the road, there would always be more glowing fairy eggs on the walls of one of the roads, and the light would be brighter.

So he made a decisive decision to name the light made of fairy eggs "Fairyland Light". From then on, whenever he encountered a branching path, he would firmly choose the one with the brightest "Fairyland Light", believing that it would be the guide to the right direction.

The core difficulty of the first level of the maze lies in the dark barrier woven from powerful black magic. This darkness is not naturally formed, but is carefully suppressed by magic. Ordinary lighting magic is greatly reduced in it, and may even be less than 30% of its original effect.

For the warriors, as long as they can find a way to break through the darkness, the man-made obstacles on the ground—the loose rocks, hidden tripwires, and shallow ditches—are not real barriers; they can be easily overcome with a little care. Among all the warriors, Draco has a unique understanding of the Illumination Charm. He is not limited to the basic usage of the spell itself, but through years of practice, he has developed the skill of precisely controlling the output of magical energy. He can highly concentrate the energy of the spell while cleverly avoiding the suppressive frequency of dark magic. Therefore, without the need for other assistance, he can create a stable area of ​​light in front of him with just the pure Illumination Charm, calmly dealing with the darkness.

Meanwhile, at the Quidditch stadium's commentary booth, Ludo Bagman realized he had almost leaked crucial information. To avoid giving the warriors entering the stadium any opportunity, he simply kept quiet and stopped providing detailed commentary.

He walked to the edge of the viewing platform, glancing down at the maze entrance from time to time, patiently waiting for all the warriors to enter the maze.

However, he did not remain completely silent. Occasionally, he would pay attention to the real-time movements of the warriors on the projection screen and give brief progress reports: "Ladies and gentlemen! The warriors of Hogwarts are advancing at an astonishing pace!"

Before long, he raised his voice again, his tone full of admiration: "Benchbatton's heroes haven't even officially entered the maze yet, but Hogwarts' four heroes have already successfully found the exit of the first floor and smoothly arrived at the second floor of the maze!"

These words not only caused the faces of the Beauxbatons warriors who were about to enter to change, but also made the other school warriors who were still in the waiting area tents tense up instantly.

Only then did they truly realize that a five-minute entry interval could cause such a huge difference. Fortunately, the maze had many levels, and there was still enough room to catch up. They felt a little more at ease and secretly resolved to speed up their pace once they entered the maze.

Although Ludobagman temporarily stopped his detailed explanation for the sake of fairness, the other judges did not have such concerns. As the warriors from each school entered the maze one after another, the principals of the judging panel began to quietly comment on the warriors' performance around the screen.

As time went by, Durmstrang's warriors entered the maze one after another. Suddenly, the image on the projection screen changed significantly. The Durmstrang warriors, who had been lagging behind, quickened their pace and moved swiftly through the maze passages with agile and nimble movements, showing no trace of their previous hesitation.

"Look! Durmstrang's warriors are accelerating at full speed!" Ludobagman's voice rang out immediately, filled with undisguised surprise. "They're not slow at all, and they're closing the gap with the warriors ahead with astonishing momentum. It seems they've mastered the key to dealing with the darkness!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Karkaroff straightened his back on the referee's stand, a smug look on his face, and said with a boastful tone, "This is the magic I personally taught them! Without relying on any lighting magic, with just this one spell, they can clearly perceive their surroundings, accurately judge where there are obstacles and where the safe path is, and naturally move forward at full speed!"

After relaying Karkaroff's words to the audience, Ludobagman couldn't help but exclaim, "It's truly astonishing that such a practical countermeasure was personally taught by Principal Karkaroff!"

These words instantly darkened Karkaroff's expression, his previous smugness vanishing completely. He abruptly turned to glare at Ludobagman, his tone full of dissatisfaction and accusation: "What nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean by 'truly surprising'? I am the headmaster of Durmstrang, and teaching magic is my duty! Are you questioning my teaching abilities?"

Faced with Karkaroff's anger, the others chose to remain silent.

Mrs. Maxim picked up her water glass, took a small sip, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips.

"Oh dear, Mr. Karkaroff!" Ludobagman quickly chuckled, apologetic. "I was just pleasantly surprised, nothing more! I'll be careful with my words next time! I'll be careful next time!"

After saying that, he immediately turned back to the projection screen, quickly changed the subject, and continued his explanation, thus avoiding further embarrassment.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the intense competition. In the blink of an eye, the maze challenge had been going on for nearly an hour. Ludobagman was still in high spirits, and his voice carried throughout the entire arena through the amplification spell.

"Alright, everyone! After a series of twists and turns and challenges, Harry Potter has successfully broken through the fourth level and entered the fifth level of the maze!" His tone became increasingly excited. "This means that all four heroes of Hogwarts have advanced to the fifth level! They still firmly hold the lead, and it seems that no one can shake their advantage!"

"Especially noteworthy is Harry Potter! He was attacked by a large group of Bowtruckles on the fourth level. Although those little guys are small in size, they are exceptionally fierce, attacking in droves with great aggression. But Potter displayed amazing combat talent and adaptability, calmly dealing with the dense siege and ultimately escaping unscathed, successfully passing the level!" Ludobagman paused, his tone carrying a hint of teasing and warning, "Of course! This also serves as a warning to all of us: never underestimate a large group of Bowtruckles united; their fighting power is far greater than we imagine!"

"However, if we're talking about the safest way to pass the level, I still recommend that everyone learn from Dylan Hawkwood!" He changed the subject, his tone full of admiration, "No one expected that he would have such a deep understanding of magical creatures, let alone be so meticulous and cautious!"

"I think everyone saw what was shown on the screen. When Hawkwood was traversing the first few levels of the maze, he deliberately collected a lot of fairy eggs. When he encountered the Bowtruckles, he didn't choose to fight. Instead, he fed the hungry Bowtruckles the collected fairy eggs. After the Bowtruckles were satisfied, they not only didn't attack him, but also made way for him. This made him the first warrior to successfully enter the fifth level! Such wisdom and thoughtfulness are truly admirable! No wonder he was awarded an extra spot!"

As Ludobagman provided commentary, the entire audience turned their attention to the Hogwarts warriors on the screen, and cheers and applause erupted once again, giving them the warmest applause for their outstanding performance.

Deep within the maze, the warriors from each school continue their arduous journey, as the challenge of the fifth level unfolds, and the excitement of this ultimate contest continues to escalate.

After introducing the leading position of the Hogwarts champions, Ludobagman immediately turned his attention to the progress of the other schools, his tone still full of enthusiasm: "Next, let's see how the other champions are doing!"

"The warriors of Beauxbatons have maintained their consistently steady style!" He changed the subject, turning his gaze to another scene, "Although they are still quite a distance from the entrance to the fifth level, thanks to their excellent teamwork and solid magical skills, they are still steadily catching up!"

At the end of the passage on the sixth level of the maze, a huge Sphinx stood quietly. It had the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle, but its face had the gentleness of a human.

Before Dylan arrived, it had already slowly recited the poem containing the riddle, and the projection screen in the arena simultaneously transmitted this content, which aroused discussion among the audience. Some people frowned and pondered deeply, while others discussed it intensely in groups of three or five, all trying to solve this seemingly complicated riddle.

While the audience was engaged in a heated discussion, with various guesses and deductions intertwined, Dylan, having finished pondering the riddle, looked calmly at the Sphinx with a composed smile and clearly replied, "Your Excellency, the answer to your riddle should be Owl." (End of Chapter)