What? The Competition Is Over Before I Even Started?

Boom ~

As the two ran, the Blast-Ended Skrewts that were following behind them spat out huge flames from time to time as they approached at an unimaginable speed.

In front of them, giant spiders appeared out of thin air and charged at them, waving their forelimbs in what Harry understood to be a pre-attack display.

"Petrificus ~ (All petrified)"

"Reducto ~ (crushing)"

… .

Harry managed to petrify one of the spiders and blast its head off, but before he could do so, another spider leapt from the side hedge and charged at him.

By the time Harry realised something was wrong, eight glittering black eyes and razor-sharp mandibles were in front of him, and he realised that the spiders had crawled through the towering hedge.

However, it was too late. The foul smell coming from the mouthpart almost knocked Harry out cold.

Ivan, who was beside him, managed to cast a spell in time to send the giant spider flying. He then used the Exploding Spell to clean up the spiders blocking the way.

Harry breathed a slow sigh of relief, but he could not relax. He turned and saw the Blast-Ended Skrewts closing in on them.

"Ivan, what do we do now?" Harry asked anxiously, thinking that he was unlikely to outrun the creatures on his own.

"Don't worry, it won't be hard to get rid of them!" Ivan said soothingly.

When they reached the end of a passage, Ivan stopped running and pointed his wand at the Blast-Ended Skrewts.

An astonishing magical wave swept out in all directions, centered on the wand. Under the influence of the Transfiguration Charm, thick vines extended from the hedge, crisscrossing to form a large net.

Several Blast-Ended Skrewts that were close to the front were unable to stop in time and crashed into them. The terrifying impact broke the sturdy vines.

However, the "huge net" was simply too thick and dense. Getting caught in it was like stepping into a swamp. A steady stream of vines surged out from both sides, snaking around the unwieldy Blast-Ended Skrewts and binding them tightly.

Harry ran for a while, then stopped when he heard no more movement behind him. He turned around and was shocked to find that the entire corridor was blocked by dense vines, and he could vaguely see something struggling inside.

"If you can deal with them, why were we running?" Harry asked curiously.

Yvonne did not reply, but pointed up at the hedge.

Harry looked up in the direction Yvonne was pointing and saw several giant spiders approaching from the other side of the hedge.

"See, there are so many of them! There's no end to the fighting…" Ivan explained, waving his wand to bring down the spiders.

Harry nodded, understanding that the key to victory was to get the trophies back, and that there was no point in wasting time with them.

The two of them ran through the maze, and all they could see for the first time in four weeks were the towering hedges and the occasional monster. If Ivan hadn't known better, he would have thought he was lost.

About half a minute later, as Ivan led Harry around the final bend, the maze exit finally came into view.

To Ivan's surprise, Fleur Delacour, Beauxbatons' champion, was standing on the edge of the exit, as if she had only just entered the maze…

Fleur was stunned to see Ivan running towards her with the trophy.

"Hi, Fleur!" Ivan greeted her kindly, seeing that she had no intention of attacking him, and ran past her without stopping.

Even after Ivan had disappeared behind her, Fleur was unable to react, her face frozen in shock.

'The game's over?'

But she had only just entered…

… .

"Mr. Bagman, is it not time yet?"

At the same time, Krum was anxiously questioning Ludo Bagman in the arena outside the maze.

It had been almost seven minutes since Ivan's departure, and although Krum could not see into the crystal ball as a champion, he guessed from the reactions of the spectators that Ivan had probably won the Cup, and he had to wait.

"Soon… soon… wait!" Bagman ignored Krum, his eyes fixed on the image in the crystal ball.

Krum had no choice but to stand there and wait anxiously.

A dozen seconds later, Bagman was so excited that Krum thought he was going to announce the start of the game, but then Ivan came running out of the maze, holding a golden trophy aloft.

"Bravo! I declare victory for Hogwarts' champion, Ivan Hals!" Bagman's hoarse cry, amplified by the Resounding Charm, rang through the stadium.

In fact, even before Bagman spoke, Dumbledore was applauding, and the young wizards in the audience cheered enthusiastically.

After all, the crystal ball that had been floating in the air recorded everything that happened in the maze, including Ivan's successful win.

Krum was stunned, frozen in place.

The game was over before he even started?

Harry soon followed Ivan out of the maze, followed by a forlorn Fleur.

However, when Fleur saw Krum, who was still standing in front of the maze, unsure of what was going on, she smiled again, as she realised that she was not the worst off.

"Good, the champions are out…" Bagman turned to Krum with a smile and patted him on the shoulder. "Come along, Krum, the referees will make a simple ranking based on the champions' performance in the third match…"

Though the champions were now decided, the remaining champions needed to be ranked.

"But…Mr. Bagman, I haven't even been inside yet…" Krum said hastily.

"So I'm afraid you're going to be at the bottom of the pile, Mr. Krum!" Bagman exclaimed, looking at Krum with a hint of schadenfreude in his voice.