When Kael returned to the group of Champions, the four professors responsible for patrolling the maze to ensure the Champions' safety had already arrived.
"We will patrol the maze," Professor McGonagall said to the Champions. "If you encounter trouble and need rescue, send red sparks into the sky, and we'll come to help you. Understand?"
Everyone nodded in unison.
Afterwards, she and Hagrid, Professor Moody, and Professor Flitwick went off in different directions, dispersing around the maze.
But what no one noticed was that a small Billywig flew into the maze along Hagrid's wide robe.
Perhaps someone saw it, but didn't pay it any attention... After all, the area had been transformed into a maze full of hedges, so having one or two Billywigs or Bowtruckles around was considered quite normal.
At this point, Bagman followed the usual procedure, pointing his wand at his throat and uttering "Sonorus".
"Ladies and gentlemen, the final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!" His voice echoed across the stands.
He was met with a tidal wave of applause and cheers.
Then Bagman loudly announced the current scores... With 98 points, Kael was undisputedly in first place, followed by Krum. Fleur was in last place due to losing too many points in the second task.
But Kael had no mind to care about these; he couldn't help but glance at where the judges were seated.
At that moment, Dumbledore was no longer present, his seat now occupied by the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
The Minister seemed quite pleased, clapping enthusiastically along with everyone else.
A short whistle brought Kael back to his senses.
Realizing it was the signal to start, Kael immediately dashed into the maze.
The tall hedges cast dark shadows across the paths, and the sound of the audience vanished as soon as Kael entered, as if some magic had been cast over the maze.
Upon reaching the first fork, Kael laid his wand flat on his palm.
"Point Me!"
The wand spun around and pointed at the hedge on his right, which wasn't actually a passageway.
"Confringo!"
The dense hedge exploded instantly, leaving a large hole.
Kael didn't pause, rushing through and continuing to run swiftly forward.
Ahead was a patch of golden mist.
"Scourgify!"
A violent gust of wind swept by, dispersing the mist instantly, and several Red Caps hidden in the hedges emerged with wooden clubs.
But before they could do anything, they were swept back faster than they had come out.
Running and reflecting on what just happened, Kael deduced that Harry had undoubtedly been taken by the Death Eaters.
If they hadn't yet left the castle, Dumbledore would certainly be able to find him. But if they had left... A simple Disillusionment charm could render Dumbledore helpless.
Kael had thought that, since Harry's name hadn't come out of the Goblet of Fire and Professor Moody hadn't been replaced, everything would be fine. Unexpectedly, things still went awry in the end.
No doubt the Death Eaters took Harry to resurrect Voldemort, but the problem was that Kael didn't know where the resurrection ceremony would be held.
He had tried searching, but Riddle Senior was just an ordinary man with no presence, with no documentation recording his deeds.
Could it be in Little Hangleton, at Riddle's Old Mansion?
Kael wasn't sure, but he had no other target either. He had to get out as soon as possible to tell Dumbledore about this place.
Moreover, there was another crucial point.
Someone had wanted to bring Harry into the tournament as a "hostage," which couldn't be a coincidence and wouldn't have been done just to make the tournament more exciting, as Ludo Bagman had claimed.
Perhaps there was something here that could take Harry out of school... Like making the Goblet of Fire into a Portkey.
It was only because the last three judges had vetoed the hostage proposal before the tournament started that they had to change their plan and directly took Harry.
If that were the case, then they must have tampered with the Goblet of Fire early on...
And that proposal was only vetoed just before the tournament started when the Goblet of Fire had already been placed in the center of the maze, unreachable by anyone. In other words, the Portkey charm should still be in effect.
Though it was only a possibility, Kael still felt it necessary to try. It's the quickest and most reliable way to find Harry...
Little Hangleton was just a guess by Kael, just like Professor Moody hadn't been replaced and Harry's name hadn't appeared in the Goblet of Fire, no one knew for sure if Voldemort was really there.
If he went and there was no one there, it would be a real problem.
Of course, the premise was that he could quickly find the right direction; if not, he would have no choice but to take a gamble.
Just as he was thinking, Kael suddenly heard a buzzing sound and looked up to see a Billywig swaying up and down to his left.
No wizard is allowed to fly above the maze, but this has no effect on a Fantastic Beast like the Billywig.
And from this movement, it seems that it has found the direction, as Cho thought, it's not due north.
Kael immediately turned around, pointing his wand in the direction of the Billywig.
This distance should be about right... let's give it a try.
Kael gently flicked his wrist, and from the tip of his wand, strange symbols floated out and gathered together.
The surrounding temperature began to rise rapidly, and little flames sprouted on the hedges, dancing like sprites around Kael.
In just the blink of an eye, these flames gathered together to form a surging, leaping tide of gold and red.
As if sensing the danger, the Fantastic Beasts within the maze began to riot, with sharp cries echoing from different places, especially in the direction Kael's wand was pointing, where almost every hedge was shaking violently.
"Periculum!"
It was as if a piece had been torn from the maze, and all the hedges and Magic Traps before Kael turned to ashes and vanished in an instant.
...
Meanwhile, in the stands, under the dark azure night sky, the sudden flames within the maze appeared exceptionally conspicuous... Everyone in the stands simultaneously turned to look.
Even Ludo Bagman, who was preparing to blow the whistle for the second time, was drawn in.
He seemed somewhat panicked, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
"Impossible... he just went in, hasn't even been a minute! How could he have gone so far?"
In his anxiety, Bagman couldn't care less; he blew the whistle for Krum to start in advance.
However, his whistle was drowned out by the exclamations from the stands.
In their view, the flames that were originally intertwined suddenly changed, like a sharp spear hurled with full force by a Giant, instantly piercing through half of the maze, leaving only a wide golden-red path on the ground.
And at the end of the path stood the Goblet of Fire, symbolizing honor.
After a brief silence, a cheer erupted from the stands, loud enough to scatter the clouds.
On the judges' bench, Ms. Maxime suddenly stood up.
"This is impossible, you're cheating!" she shouted. "Someone must have helped him!"
To increase the challenge of the tournament, the hedges in the maze are fireproof and cut-proof, even a normal Blasting Curse could create only a small opening.
But now, those hedges were like steaks under a dining knife, effortlessly penetrated with not even a moment's pause.
Maxime refused to believe it; such magic that even made her feel fearful was cast by a mere fifteen-year-old student.
"I don't think so, Ms. Maxime," said Fudge beside her.
Though he had been too shocked to speak moments ago, as he collected himself, he immediately wore a nonchalant expression.
"Both Dumbledore and I think highly of this child; he has great talent," Fudge said with a smile. "Perhaps in a few decades, he could succeed Dumbledore and become the headmaster of Hogwarts.
"Although I believe he is more suited for the Ministry of Magic, and I am confident I can groom him to become the youngest Minister of Magic."
Maxime paid no mind to Fudge's words, did not even glance at him.
If this is considered talent, then what is Fleur, another Champion? A Flobberworm with a wand?
After hitting a wall with Maxime, Fudge felt a bit displeased, but Kael's decisive victory in the Triwizard Tournament made him quite proud.
The frustration of losing year after year in the Quidditch World Cup was finally offset by this triumph in another competition.
He felt the need to show his presence, to let others know his good relationship with Kael...
It didn't matter if Maxime didn't respond, there was still Karkaroff.
Yet, as Fudge turned his head, he saw the seat to his left empty, the place where Karkaroff had been moments ago now vacant.
"Where's Igor?" he asked a Durmstrang student behind him.
"The headmaster just left," the person said. "Probably forgot something on the ship."
"Is that so?" Fudge said.
Though finding it odd, he assumed Karkaroff simply didn't want to see his school's defeat and chose to hide instead.
...