Chapter 515: Third Test (Edited)

After dinner, the four champions exited the Great Hall first, to the applause of the crowd, and joined Ludo Bagman on the quidditch pitch.

A six-meter hedge surrounded the edge of the pitch, and in front of them was a huge hole, the entrance to the great maze. The passageway inside was so dark that even Fish couldn't see what was going on inside.

Five minutes later, the bleachers began to fill. Hundreds of students and groups of the champions' families filed into the stands, the air filled with animated chatter and the sound of shuffling feet.

Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick entered the stadium, walking toward Bagman and the champions. They all had bright red stars on their hats, except Hagrid, whose red star was on the back of his thick flannel vest.

"Minerva~"

?●w●?

Fish rushed over, but Professor McGonagall reached out and held his head.

"We'll be patrolling the outside of the maze," Professor McGonagall motioned for Fish to be quiet, then said to the champions, "If you get in trouble and want to be rescued, shoot red sparks into the sky and we'll have someone to help you, got it?"

She then looked at Fish, who was pouting at stopping him, and asked, "Do you have any more questions?"

Fish cocked his head thoughtfully and raised his hand, "Fish has a problem nya!"

(?ΦwΦ?)?

"Say."

Professor McGonagall knew Fish had the weirdest ideas, so she started by asking Fish to explain what she could do later.

"Fish can punch holes in the wall nya?"

(?ΦwΦ?)?

Fish asked, pointing to the six-meter-high walls of the maze.

The walls were made of hedges, so even the others, let alone Fish, could punch a hole in them... even though Dumbledore and the others had enchanted the walls, they could still be destroyed with a little effort.

And for Fish it would be even easier, so Professor McGonagall responded decisively.

"No!"

"What if we climb the wall?"

"No!"

"Under the ground?"

"No!"

"Jump over it?"

"No!"

"How come this doesn't work, and that doesn't work either nya!"

(〃｀3′〃)

Fish questioned.

"The whole point of this competition is that you can solve the various obstacles in the maze, and you're cheating."

Professor McGonagall patiently explained and cajoled Fish, "And if you go straight through the maze and find the trophy, you won't be able to encounter all the interesting scenarios in it, you said you wanted to have a good time."

"Right..." Fish realized, "Then Fish is fine nya."

The other champions also said they didn't have as many tricks up their sleeves as Fish did.

"Alright, you guys go ahead!"

Bagman said unpleasantly to Professor McGonagall and the other three patrollers, if she hadn't asked, Fish would have won easily.

The four smiled at Fish and walked off in different directions, scattering through the maze. At that moment Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and said "Sonorus," and his magically amplified voice echoed through the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the final match of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me give you the scores so far. Victor Krum: 93 points, first place, Durmstrang College!"

In the stands, the dozen or so Durmstrang Academy students let out a resounding salvo of applause and cheers.

"Fleur Delacour: 89 points, second place, Beauxbatons College!"

The Beauxbatons students cheered nonchalantly.

"Harry Potter: 87 points, third place, Hogwarts School!"

The Hogwarts students were outnumbered, drowning out the other two cheers, and even scared the birds in the Forbidden Forest into the dark night sky.

"Fish McGonagall: 86 points, fourth place, also from Hogwarts!"

The most enthusiastic applause and cheers so far erupted from the stands, which were also mixed with much laughter.

"Now... Viktor, listen to my whistle!" Bagman said, "Three... two... one..."

With a brief whistle, Krum stepped into the maze.

A minute later, the whistle blew again and Fleur entered the maze, followed by Harry, before it was Fish's turn.

As soon as Fish entered the maze, all the sounds from outside disappeared, and the inside of the maze, which had been difficult to see, became clear, and Fish could hear the sounds of three other people walking not far away.

He didn't think about where he was going, he simply turned left when he came to a fork, so he could walk the entire maze.

He could smell the scent of his own footstep, so unless he was unlucky, he couldn't have gotten lost.

Only about a hundred yards into the maze, Fish ran into a wooden golem blocking his path.

"Hey!"

(???w???)=o

The wooden golem quickly got back to its feet, but on its body was a deep fist mark.

[Flame Strike]

A layer of faint red light covered Fish's hand, which lunged at the golem and hit it with a flurry of blows, balls of flame ignited where the golem was hit, and in a short time it turned to charcoal.

"It's a bit weak..."

(?w?)

Fish muttered dissatisfied as he looked at the scorched wood in front of him that had lost its ability to move.

He then continued on his way, only to round the corner and see another stone golem.

"Nya?"

Fish cocked his head to the side and, without a second thought, pounced on it and disassembled it into pieces, a little tougher than the wooden golem, but still too weak for Fish.

Fish kept scurrying around the maze, but after a while he stopped dead in his tracks, as Fish found himself swamped with all kinds of golem and nothing else.

Something's not right....

"This maze is no fun at all! Fish has been tricked nya!"

?(? `w′?)?

Losing patience, Fish switched to his clouded leopard form.

[Stride] [Freedom of Movement] [Leopard's Swiftness] [Gallop] [Ant's Strength] [Bull's Brute Force] [Wild Strength] [Beast's Claw] [Flame Strike].

After filling himself with spells, Fish began to rampage through the maze as fast as he could, ramming any golem he came across and smashing it to pieces in an instant.

"Roarr~!"

As a result, after running a short distance, Fish encountered more than just a golem: the Blast-Ended Skrewt raised by Hagrid and Krum, who was being chased by him.

"Roarr~!"

?(=`▽′=)?

At last he saw something that wasn't a golem, and Fish pounced on it excitedly, and it was amazing how big Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewt had grown over time: he was ten feet tall and looked like a giant scorpion.

Its back is covered with a thick layer of hard armor, and there are long sharp needles wrapped around the carapace.

"Boom!"

Fish slammed his claw into the armor with a thud, knocking the body of the Blast-Ended Skrewt sideways.

However, Fish was unable to damage the Blast-Ended Skrewt, his sharp claws leaving only a few shallow marks on its armor.

But Fish was experienced in dealing with such thick-skinned creatures, and he sank his claws into the ground, using a soft stone spell to sink the Blast-Ended Skrewt into the ground that was trying to fight back.

"Are you all right, Victor?"

?w?

Fish, who had regained his human form, looked at Krum, who was a bit embarrassed.

"He's fine," Krum swallowed as he looked at the collapsed Blast-Ended Skrewt, "Thanks, Fish."

"Fish is off to get the trophy then, see you later nya."

Fish waved at him and then looked for a direction where he didn't smell.

He hadn't taken more than a few steps, however, when he heard Krum's voice behind him-.

"Crucio!"