Chapter 183: The Maze
Time rewound to several hours earlier.
It was afternoon, just as the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament began.
At the sharp blast of Mr. Ludo Bagman’s whistle, Jon Hart stepped into the maze amid the thunderous cheers of the crowd.
Upon entering, Jon immediately slowed his pace, scanning his surroundings with deliberate calm.
He was waiting.
More precisely, he was waiting for the fake Moody—or rather, Barty Crouch Jr.
This was why Jon had deliberately rescued all four hostages during the Second Task. By doing so, none of the other champions had anyone left to save... especially Harry Potter.
That ensured Harry’s score would be much lower than his, and Harry would enter the maze far later.
In this situation, the one most desperate would be Crouch Jr.
By entering the maze nearly an hour before Harry, Jon had already made it nearly impossible for Harry Potter—who would only enter much later—to claim the Triwizard Cup.
For Crouch Jr., who needed Harry’s blood to resurrect his master, Tom, that was unacceptable.
Over the months following the second task, Jon had been exceptionally cautious. With Dumbledore’s protection, he had given Crouch no chance to strike at him.
To guarantee Harry reached the cup, Crouch Jr. had only one option—
To enter the maze under the guise of a referee and take Jon out... Of course, from Crouch’s perspective, Jon suspected he might prefer using the Imperius Curse, forcing Jon to eliminate Fleur or Krum instead—that would be more convenient.
Crouch Jr. was indeed a gifted wizard. Back at Hogwarts he had been an outstanding student, and afterward he learned much under his master, Tom.
But in Jon’s eyes, Crouch lacked true combat experience. After all, he had been sent straight to Azkaban after graduation, and later imprisoned at home for years under his father’s Imperius Curse... only a few months ago was he finally freed.
With Fawkes at his side and his mastery of Occlumency to counter the Imperius Curse, Jon felt confident in his chances. It was a risk worth taking.
...
Events unfolded just as he had anticipated.
Less than five minutes after Jon entered the maze, he ran into a Dementor.
As he cast his Patronus and tore the Dementor apart, the fake Moody appeared behind him.
With that all-seeing magical eye and Harry Potter’s Marauder’s Map, Moody had little trouble tracking Jon down.
“Imperio!”
Moody’s raspy voice rang out from behind.
Jon’s mind went blank, a surge of overwhelming happiness flooding through him, threatening to bend his will... but he immediately called upon Occlumency, driving the foreign influence from his thoughts.
At that moment, Fawkes’ hopeful song echoed from the top of the maze.
Like the Diricawl, phoenixes were born with the ability to traverse space. The instant Jon had heard Moody’s footsteps, he pressed the phoenix mark on his shoulder... All those months of feeding Fawkes precious herbs had not been in vain.
The combined power of the phoenix’s song and Occlumency freed Jon from the Imperius Curse with ease.
Bravely, Fawkes dove at the fake Moody, raking several claw marks across his face and tearing the magical eye clean from its socket...
Furious, Moody unleashed a flash of green light at the phoenix. Poor Fawkes plummeted like a kite with a broken string, hitting the maze floor before crumbling into a pile of black-gray ash.
Taking advantage of Moody’s distraction with Fawkes, Jon—still feigning Imperius control—went unnoticed.
He raised his wand, aimed it at Moody, and roared:
“Stupefy!”
...
Just as expected, Jon and Fawkes had subdued the fake Moody.
With a Summoning Charm, Jon seized Moody’s wand. Then he cast a Blasting Curse, breaking both of his arms.
Only after making certain Moody was completely incapacitated did Jon carefully gather every trace of Fawkes’ ashes and place them into a bag.
“Rennervate!” he incanted, reviving Moody from unconsciousness before dripping several drops of Veritaserum into his mouth.
The fake Moody slowly transformed back into Barty Crouch Jr., and little by little, the truth spilled out.
How he had escaped Azkaban...
How his father, Barty Crouch, had kept him imprisoned at home under the Imperius Curse...
How he conjured the Dark Mark during the Quidditch World Cup...
How Voldemort and Wormtail freed him, then placed his father under the Imperius Curse...
How he tricked Moody into opening the door using his father’s name, then overpowered him with his father and Wormtail...
He spoke too of how he had “helped” Harry throughout the year—and finally, how he had killed his own father.
Jon knew much of this already, but he carefully recorded every word in his notebook. He also pressed Crouch Jr. for more details—
His interactions with Voldemort and Wormtail, the way they addressed one another, and so on...
The answers were fewer than expected. This devoted Death Eater had spent only a few days with his master, Tom, before being sent to Hogwarts as a spy.
Jon noted it all down.
...
Once Jon had extracted everything he needed, he pulled out a small vial of Polyjuice Potion mixed with his own hair and forced it down Crouch Jr.’s throat.
Watching as Crouch Jr. slowly transformed into his likeness, Jon retrieved the flask hanging from his neck, which still contained some Polyjuice Potion.
He drank the potion laced with Moody’s hair, then strapped on Moody’s prosthetic leg and magical eye.
After exchanging clothes with the Crouch Jr. who now looked identical to himself, Jon retrieved the Marauder’s Map from his pocket.
With the map and the magical eye, the maze was no longer an obstacle.
Through the magical eye, Jon could see through walls, easily avoiding every trap.
Carrying the unconscious “Jon Hart,” he reached the Triwizard Cup in less than twenty minutes.
Three Acromantulas lay in wait at the corner, ready to ambush.
Jon tossed several Devil’s Snare spores their way... Within minutes, the giant spiders suffocated and died.
When he reached the Triwizard Cup, he placed the unconscious “Jon Hart” nearby.
Then he arranged the three Acromantula corpses beside him.
Author's Note
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