Became good friends with the Boy Who Lived

Chapter 123: The Hangover

A week passed in a flash. After finishing a day's classes, Aries was enjoying dinner with his friends at the dining table when Professor McGonagall walked over.

"Mr. Grindelwald, Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall, "after dinner, go to the Quidditch pitch. Mr. Bagman and will give you instructions for the third task."

After informing Aeris and Harry about this, Professor McGonagall left on her own.

"What do you think our third project will be?" Harry asked Aris.

"Who knows!" Aesius replied, "It could be a maze, or it could be a wilderness full of dangers. Whatever it is, it will definitely be a comprehensive test."

Draco came over. "For our age, we did pretty well, didn't we?" Draco said proudly. "I gained a lot after that day, Grindelwald..."

Aeris quickly stuffed a juicy chicken leg into Draco's mouth and shook his head slightly at him. Draco was a little confused, but he still started to chew the chicken leg.

After finishing dinner, Aris, Harry and Draco set off for the Quidditch field together. After saying goodbye to Zhang Qiu, Cedric quickly followed.

"What do you think the third project will be?" Cedric asked with interest. "Fleur kept chattering about going to an underground tunnel or something like that to look for treasure..."

"That's easy," said Aeris. "We can each borrow a Niffler from Hagrid, and we can pass the third level easily. By the way, Cedric, when did you become so familiar with Miss Delacour? Will she also call you: Ced?"

"No... No... Don't think too much..." Cedric's face turned red, "We are just... normal communication between friends... about magic..."

"You are excellent, Cedric," Aerys said, "It is normal for girls to like you, but Zhang Qiu is not inferior to Miss Delacour in terms of excellence. Miss Delacour will leave sooner or later, and Zhang Qiu will always stay by your side. I just want to remind you not to be seduced by Miss Delacour's charm skills."

"She cast a charm on me?" Cedric said in disbelief. "No wonder I felt attracted to her the moment I saw her. So that's it... No... What are they doing?"

At this time, the four brave warriors of Hogwarts came to the edge of the Quidditch field. Not only Cedric, but also Harry and Draco were looking at everything in front of them with unfriendly expressions.

The Quidditch field has changed a lot. The Quidditch goal has been removed and the field is no longer flat. Some tough vines are growing out of the field. These vines are entangled and coiled together, forming a series of low plant walls. Countless low walls spread irregularly in all directions.

"Good evening, gentlemen... and ladies!" a cheerful voice came from Mr. Ludo Bagman. "Please come over here."

Mr. Bagman stood in the center of these low walls, with Viktor and Fleur beside him.

The four Hogwarts warriors crossed the low walls and came to Mr. Bagman. Fleur greeted Aris and Harry warmly. Ever since her sister Gabrielle was rescued from the Black Lake by Aris and Harry, Fleur's attitude had obviously become much kinder.

Aeris nodded to Fleur as a greeting, and Harry waved his hand. Cedric seemed a little uncomfortable not looking at Fleur.

"Mr. Bagman..." Draco said in a dissatisfied tone, "You are going to requisition our Quidditch pitch? We don't have to choose this as the venue for the game, right? There are plenty of spacious places in the Forbidden Forest..."

"This is what Dumbledore meant, children," Mr. Bagman explained patiently without being impatient. "In a month, Hagrid will be able to find a way to make these walls grow to more than 20 feet high. But you don't need to worry. Once the competition is over, it will be restored to its original state. Now you can guess what your third task is."

Everyone was silent, and a gruff voice rang out, "Maze..." Viktor said.

"That's right!" Mr. Bagman said happily, "It's the maze. The final reward of the Triwizard Tournament, the Triwizard Cup, will be hidden in the center of the maze. The first person to touch the Triwizard Cup will get full marks."

"It can't be that simple?" Furong said, "Just crossing the maze?"

"Of course not," Mr. Bagman said as a matter of course. "There will be all kinds of tests hidden in various places in the maze. There will be all kinds of magical creatures, all kinds of magic traps, all kinds of evil spells, sigils, and so on. You must avoid or solve these obstacles. Also, the warrior with the highest score will enter the maze first..."

Mr. Bagman looked at Aris and said, "Mr. Grindelwald was the first to enter the maze, followed by Mr. Malfoy, Harry was the third, Mr. Diggory was the fourth, Mr. Krum was the fifth, and Miss Delacour was the last to enter the maze..."

"You all need to do your best, kids," Mr. Bagman said at last. "Do your best to get the trophy first in the shortest time. The moment one of you touches the trophy, the game is over. Do you have any questions? No more? Then go back quickly. The wind is a little chilly today."

Once everyone had crossed the growing wall, Mr. Bagman joined Harry.

"Can I have a word with you, Harry?" Mr. Bagman inquired.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Bagman," said Harry. "I don't have to take exams, but I'll have plenty of homework to do. If I don't finish it, the professors will make me do double my homework, won't they, Aris?"

Looking at Harry who was winking at him, Aris sighed and said, "That's right, Mr. Bagman, and it's almost curfew. If we don't go back soon, the gatekeeper, Mr. Filch, might lock us out of the castle."

Harry quickened his pace, and Aeris, Draco, and Cedric quickly followed, leaving only Mr. Bagman, who looked disappointed.

"I've always wanted to ask," Draco said with a strange expression, "Why is that old fellow Bagman so special to you? Potter, when did you get in touch with the Ministry of Magic officials?"

Harry rolled his eyes at Draco and said, "How should I know? He... Mr. Bagman... has always wanted to help me complete the competition. He seems to care more about it than I do. I have no idea whether I can pass those tests..."

"Maybe someone made a bet," Aris said casually. "Mr. Bagman bet that you would win in the end, and the odds are so good that if he loses, he will go bankrupt or get into some trouble..."

"Mr. Bagman really likes gambling," Cedric said. "I heard from my father that Ludo Bagman is a complete gambler. Ah... We have to say goodbye here. Good night, all of you."

"Good night..." the others said in unison. After Draco greeted them, he also walked towards the basement.

"Dobby?" In a corridor, Harry saw a house-elf trying to hide another house-elf.

"Mr. Harry Potter!" Dobby shouted in surprise, rushed over and hugged Harry's waist.

"Good evening!" Harry pushed Dobby aside calmly, "What are you doing? Is that... Winky?"

"Yes, sir," said Dobby, "Winky has come to work at Hogwarts, but she doesn't care about the job. She drinks half a dozen butterbeers every day..."

"So he's... drunk now?" Harry said incredulously. "Is butterbeer that strong?"

"Not for us," said Aeris, "but not necessarily for the house-elves..."

Aeris noticed some tear-like substances flowing out of Shining's closed eyes. Aeris waved his magic and those silver thread-like substances floated up. Aeris stored these substances in a small crystal bottle.