Selina left with John, who had fainted on the ground.
Harry and Cedric looked at each other in bewilderment. They still couldn't believe that the problem was solved by a girl they didn't know.
Then, they realized one thing at the same time—
Now there are only two of them left in the entire maze, and they are only one step away from final victory!
At this moment, Cedric stood only a foot away from the Triwizard Cup, with the trophy flashing behind him.
"Take it, it's yours." Harry panted, suppressed his desire for victory, and said to Cedric, "Whoever gets the championship first will get it. You are closer to the semi-final cup than me."
Cedric didn't move.
He stood there blankly, looking at Harry, then back at the trophy.
In the golden light of the trophy, Harry could see the look of longing on Cedric's face.
Cedric looked back at Harry, who was holding on to the hedge and trying to stand up straight.
Cedric took a deep breath.
"Take it, the victory should be yours," he said, "You saved my life twice."
If Harry interrupted Krum's Cruciatus Curse the first time, Cedric could still comfort himself by saying that they were both Hogwarts warriors. But the second time, it was Harry's reminder and help that saved him from being killed by the spider...
Hufflepuffs have always valued integrity and honesty the most. Cedric could not accept that he took the trophy that represented victory in front of Harry after being helped twice.
"That's not the rule," Harry said, shaking his head.
He saw Cedric's hesitation and felt inexplicably annoyed.
Harry's legs hurt badly, and his whole body ached from fighting those two spiders... But after all his efforts, he was defeated by Cedric, just like he had been with Cho Chang before.
"The trophy belongs to whoever gets there first. You got there first." Harry shook off his misconceptions and said to Cedric seriously, "I'm telling the truth. And with my leg injured like this, I might not be able to walk over there."
Cedric remained indifferent, instead he took a few steps towards Harry and moved away from the trophy.
"No." He shook his head again.
"Don't be so cool," Harry said impatiently, "Take it quickly, so we can leave here... Who knows if there will be other dangers waiting for us?"
Cedric saw Harry holding onto the hedge to steady himself.
"You told me there was a fire dragon." Cedric was silent for a moment, then spoke again, "If you hadn't warned me in advance, I might have been eliminated in the first task."
"I got the help first!" Harry said irritably, trying to wipe the blood off his leg with his robes. "And you told me how to deal with the second task - we're even."
"Strictly speaking, I also received help from others." Cedric said, "The book was given to me by Mr. Filch, although his original intention may not be this..."
"But we're even." Harry shook his head.
He cautiously tested his injured leg, and as soon as he put weight on it, the leg began to tremble violently - he had sprained his ankle when the spider threw him down.
"Your score in the second project should be higher, at least higher than mine." Cedric said stubbornly, "You stayed until the end and rescued all the hostages... I should have done the same."
"I was the only one who was stupid enough to take that song seriously! You are all smart people and know that nothing will happen to them." Harry said unhappily, "Hurry up, go get your trophy!"
"No." Cedric still repeated the word.
He stepped over the spider that was not burned by Selina and was knocked unconscious by him and Harry, and walked to Harry's side.
Harry looked up and glared at him.
Cedric meant it.
He was giving up the honor that Hufflepuff House had not received in hundreds of years. As the most low-key house, it was rare for Hufflepuff House to have a warrior in the competition, let alone win the final championship.
"Go ahead," Cedric repeated.
It seemed that he had used all his willpower to say this, but his expression was very firm, without any hesitation, and it was obvious that he had made up his mind.
Harry's eyes moved to the trophy.
In the light of the trophy, his mind was hazy for a moment, as if he saw himself holding it and walking out of the maze -
He held the Final Four Cup high, hearing the cheers of the crowd; he saw Ginny's face filled with admiration, Ron and Hermione cheering loudly, and Sirius smiling and saying he was proud of him...
Then the illusion faded, and Harry saw Cedric's stubborn face in the dimness.
"The two of us together." Harry suddenly thought of an idea.
"What?" Cedric was stunned.
"If two people win at the same time, Hogwarts still wins." Harry said, "We are tied for the championship."
Cedric stared at Harry with wide eyes, his tongue trembling.
"You... really want this?"
"Of course," Harry took a deep breath and said to him heavily, "Of course... We helped each other to overcome the difficulties, right? The two of us got here together, and this is not the credit of one person alone."
For a moment, Cedric seemed unable to believe his ears, and then he smiled.
"I'll listen to you, let's do it together!"
He grabbed Harry's arm and helped Harry limp towards the trophy.
As they walked from the dim hedges to the brightly lit central square of the maze, the gleaming trophy became closer and brighter, just like the immense joy in the two people's hearts.
When they reached the trophy, Harry and Cedric each raised their hands over a gleaming handle.
"I'll count to three, okay?" said Harry. "Let's grab the Cup together. Mr. Bagman said it will bring us back."
Cedric smiled and nodded.
"one two three… "
They both lowered their hands at the same time, and one of them grabbed a handle.
The next moment, their legs left the ground and their hands were tightly glued to the handles of the semi-final cup.
The Four Finals Cup dragged them forward amidst the whistling wind and swirling colors, and no one knew where it was heading...
…
In the gloomy black fog, a group of magnificent ancient Greek-style buildings are looming around.
Dracula put his hands behind his back and walked leisurely in the secret realm, as if he was not engaged in a dangerous battle but a carefree leisurely stroll.
However, there was a faint light in Dracula's eyes, indicating that his mood was not as calm as it seemed.
Although Andros acted tough, his situation was actually not that good.
After all, this old antique who has been alive since the ancient Greek period did not really live for so many years. He just used his unique patronus to place the remaining soul, just to be able to use his own power to trap Herbo in the secret realm.
But in the final analysis, the patronus is created by a person's positive emotions. No matter how heartless Andros is, he can't resist the wear and tear of time.
Dracula could clearly feel that, especially in the last few hundred years, the patron saint of Andros had become increasingly weaker... If he hadn't still had the determination in his heart to stop Herpo from going out and doing evil, he might have disappeared with the wind long ago.
The despicable Herpo must be found in the shortest possible time, otherwise Andros may be completely submerged in this endless darkness.
Dracula's eyes locked onto a location and he then quickened his pace.
The darkness in that direction is much thicker than other places!
The dark aura in the air became more and more heavy. The deeper one went, the more the darkness seemed to turn into substance, becoming so sticky that it formed a dark liquid that blocked others' progress.
But these obviously couldn't stop Dracula.
As one of the purest dark creatures, Dracula walks in this darkness like a fish in water.
In the deep darkness, he saw an unkempt, shifty-looking old man who looked quite wretched, standing hunched over in the place where the dark aura was the thickest.
That was a notorious existence in the thousands of years of history of the wizarding world, the despicable Helpo.
"We meet again, Count."
Seeing Dracula coming, Herbo took the initiative to greet him.
"Oh? You seem different today." Dracula looked at him in surprise. "I remember that every time I came to this secret realm, you would panic and hide away. Why do you seem so confident today?"
"Hehehe..." Hailbo laughed sinisterly, "I've avoided you too many times. I don't want to hide from you again today."
"I want to know, who gave you the courage?" Dracula took out the magic wand and rubbed it gently in his hand.
The eerie wooden staff seemed extremely excited in the darkness, exuding an eager-to-try aura.
Not only that, it seems that some energy is awakening inside the wand...
"Dracula, you don't understand what kind of power I have gained." Hailbo was very excited, with a fanatical look on his face.
Dracula suddenly sneered and curled his lips in disdain.
"If you are talking about the power of the 'God of Death', then I think your sense of superiority is a bit ridiculous." He said indifferently, "You are just a pitiful creature who relies on external forces."
Hailbo's eyes suddenly enlarged, and the expression on his face changed from fanaticism to shock.
"You clearly don't have a Horcrux, so how could you possibly know about the existence of the Grim Reaper?" he asked loudly, "Are you pretending not to be interested in immortality? Have you secretly split your soul? Hypocrisy!"
"I'm not interested in learning your stupid self-harming behavior," Dracula sneered, "Who told you that only by splitting your soul can you have a chance to learn about another world?"
The stone archway in the Death Hall of the Department of Mysteries is connected to another world. No one seems to know this... After all, entering that veil means death, and not everyone has the opportunity to force their way out of that world.
Dracula became more and more curious about his future self, who could actually snatch people from the "God of Death".
"What nonsense!" Herbo's angry voice interrupted Dracula's thoughts.
"The power of that person is absolutely beyond the comprehension of those of you who have never experienced it!"
He suddenly held his hands together, and a vortex of dark energy slowly gathered, gradually forming an extremely terrifying black hole, as if even the sight could be sucked into it...
"Dracula, I admit that I have been suppressed by you for many years..." Herbo's expression gradually calmed down, but his tone was extremely vicious, "But today, I will let you feel the true power of darkness!"
The black hole suddenly exploded, bursting out a dense dark cone in the direction of Dracula.
Dracula's eyes suddenly became solemn.
He realized that if this spike hit the edge of the secret realm, it might be able to directly tear apart this space that brought together the faith and potential of the entire Greek magic world!
However, Helbo did not do so.
In order to avenge Dracula for suppressing him for thousands of years, Herpo chose to use this borrowed power to seek revenge!
Dracula's eyes flickered. He knew he couldn't fight head-on, so he decided to avoid the attack for the time being and wait for the right time to strike back.
However, at this moment, a power in his wand seemed to suddenly awaken.
That was the power that his future self had left in the wand, and Dracula had never discovered what use it could be put to.
So he followed the power and raised his wand.
As the magic wand was waved, the surrounding darkness seemed to be attracted by an inexplicable force and all gathered towards the magic wand... It was as if they wanted to obey the guidance of the magic wand!
Dracula's eyes lit up, and instead of dodging, he turned around and flew towards the terrifying spike.
The tip of the magic wand accurately touched the front end of the cone. At that moment, time seemed to freeze...
“Buzz—”
After a long time, a buzzing sound was heard from the junction of the two.
The extremely solid cone was first torn open, and then shattered into pieces, turning into black spots of light.
Then, under the guidance of the eerie wooden wand, those black spots of light joined the surrounding army of dark energy, and were deprived of control by Dracula little by little, and turned to crush Helbo.
"How... is it possible?" Haierbo's eyes widened, and he was stunned on the spot, "This kind of power... why can you control it..."
Before he could finish his words, the dark forces of "rebellion" around him swept in, like a millstone, crushing Helbo's soul into powder.
Hailbo failed again and could only rely on the Horcrux to wait for rebirth.
"I'm sorry, but it seems that even if you borrow other powers, you still can't seek revenge on me." Dracula raised his mouth happily, "No matter how strong the borrowed power is, it is not your own. Isn't it easy to turn against me?"
Then Dracula waved his wand again.
The black fog in the secret realm dissipated in an instant.
…
…