The Girl Who Hid | ✓

|51| Mr. Crouch

Finally, in the last week of May, Professor McGonagall held Harry and me back in Transfiguration.

"You are to go down to the Quidditch field tonight at nine o'clock, Potters," she told us. "Mr. Bagman will be there to tell the champions about the third task."

So at half past eight that night, Harry and I left Ron and Hermione in Gryffindor Tower and went downstairs. As we crossed the entrance hall, Cedric came up from the Hufflepuff common room.

"What d'you reckon it's going to be?" he asked as we went together down the stone steps, out into the cloudy night. "Fleur keeps going on about underground tunnels; she reckons we've got to find treasure."

"That wouldn't be too bad," I said.

We walked down the dark lawn to the Quidditch stadium, turned through a gap in the stands, and walked out onto the field.

"What've they done to it?" Cedric said indignantly, stopping dead.

The Quidditch field was no longer smooth and flat. It looked as though somebody had been building long, low walls all over it that twisted and crisscrossed in every direction.

"They're hedges!" said Harry, bending to examine the nearest one.

"Hello there!" called a cheery voice.

Ludo Bagman was standing in the middle of the field with Viktor and Fleur. Harry, Cedric, and I made our way toward them, climbing over the hedges. Fleur beamed at Harry as he came nearer. Her attitude toward him had changed completely since he had saved her sister from the lake but stayed the same towards me. Lovely.

"Well, what d'you think?" said Bagman happily as Harry, Cedric, and I climbed over the last hedge. "Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them a month and Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high. Don't worry," he added, grinning, spotting the less-than-happy expressions on Harry's and Cedric's faces, "you'll have your Quidditch field back to normal once the task is over! Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making here?"

No one spoke for a moment. Then —

"A Maze," I breathed.

"That's right!" said Bagman. "A maze. The third task's really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the center of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."

"We seemply 'ave to get through the maze?" said Fleur.

"There will be obstacles," said Bagman happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures... then there will be spells that must be broken... all that sort of thing, you know. Now, the champion who had the lead on points will get a head start into the maze."

Bagman grinned at me.

"Then Mr. Diggory and Mr. Potter will enter... then Mr. Krum will enter... finally Miss Delacour. But you'll all be in with a fighting chance, depending how well you get past the obstacles. Should be fun, eh?"

I, who knew only too well the kind of creatures that Hagrid was likely to provide for an event like this, thought it was unlikely to be any fun at all. However, I nodded politely like the other champions. Harry grabbed the back on my arm and gave me a squeeze letting me know he thought the same thing.

"Very well... if you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly..."

Bagman hurried alongside Harry as we began to wend our way out of the growing maze. Harry held onto my wrist, not wanting to be alone with him. Just before Bagman could say anything to Harry or me, Viktor tapped Harry on the shoulder.