Rune stone path

End of a tournament; Beginning of a nightmare

The four Champions lined up at the opening to the labyrinth. The huge maze was floating a few feet above the ground of the Quidditch pitch and shaped like a giant egg. The walls appeared transparent from the outside and Harry could see what looked like three or four different levels inside it. There was a bright shining trophy in the center of it that blazed like a beacon. He squinted trying to take note of a possible route to get past some of the shimmering mists and roaming creatures that he spotted through the walls.

"Ah and we have reached the final part of our Triwizard Tournament," Bagman said in an almost sorrowful voice as he approached from the side. Harry mostly tuned the announcer out as his eyes caught on a large set of rune engravings etched onto the side of the giant egg arena. "This last Task is quite simple really. All you have to do is get to the center and touch the trophy! Once you do, you will be whisked to the winner's platform while the floor of the rest of the labyrinth will turn insubstantial and drop the other participants to the pitch. There's a mild sleep charm at that point so that we can separate out the magical creatures that will also fall through."

Harry frowned up at the etchings. Something was…off about the configuration. "Of course, inside the labyrinth there will be several different types of obstacles. The creatures I just mentioned are stationed throughout as are different assortments of traps and enchantments."

The enlargement cluster was fine as was the insubstantial charm segment and sleep compulsion that Bagman had mentioned. What was off? "If you feel overwhelmed for any reason, simply retreat back to the entrance. The path you've taken will be marked off by a colored line. Blue for Miss Delacour, Red for Mr. Potter, Gold for Mr. Weasley and Green for Mr. Krum."

The visibility and marking clusters were fine. The levitation set didn't seem to have any issues. "As with many of the other Tasks, the time limit will be one hour! Your start will be delayed by one minute for every five points you are behind the leader. Mr. Krum has 165 points so he will be first. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter both have 157 points and will enter 2 minutes later. Miss Delacour has 146 points and will enter 4 minutes into the Task. Good luck one and all! May the best Champion win!"

Bagman jauntily walked off to the judging box while Harry's frown deepened. He started to go back over the entire cluster again as the hairs on the back of his neck rose. "Mate, you alright?" Fred asked softly. Harry waved him quiet as Bagman started to talk to the crowd in the background.

" 'arry? What is wrong?" Fleur asked softly as she reached over to grasp his arm.

Viktor pointed up at the egg. "He has seen something. Something they missed. Of course it vould not be this easy."

Harry drew in a hissing breath and clenched his fists his eyes going wide as he stared in shock at the rune array. Turning to Dumbledore's spot in the stands he snarled. "That bloody bastard…guys, no matter what happens one of us has to hit that trophy before an hour is up."

"Well, yeah…that's kinda the point, mate…" Fred said frowning.

"No, I don't mean to win. I mean to live." He raised his hand and pointed out a cluster as Bagman started to wind down his speech. "The expansion cluster is linked to the timer. After an hour is up, that whole thing is going to collapse to its original size crushing whoever and whatever is still inside. Everything else looks fine so as long as one of us hits the trophy before time's up, everyone else drops through and the creatures will be safe as well."

"Someone else surely would've caught something like that…" Fred said staring up at the labyrinth with wide eyes.

Harry's scowl deepened. "Yeah, Dumbledore should've. Shiva's the only other one at Hogwarts who works with runes and wards enough to recognize it."