Hogwarts Homecoming

Absolute darkness brings absolute fear.

As time passed by second by second, the three people who stood frozen on the spot did not even dare to move. Although they had already explored and there was solid land around their feet, the fear of falling into the bottomless abyss was always there. Torture them.

Hermione was still holding the school badge and map given to her by Professor Blaine, while Ron was carrying a funny backpack containing food brought from the auditorium.

"We have to do something."

Suddenly, Harry gritted his teeth and said,

"We can't stay here forever."

"But we can't find the way."

Ron gasped for air, his voice desperate.

"Phew, maybe we missed some hint."

At this time, Hermione knew the key to staying clear and rational. She tried hard to control herself not to look at the darkness around her and focus all her eyes on Harry and Ron.

"What did Professor Brain say? He said that through the stone gate, we will be transported to different areas of the Forbidden Forest. Oh, yes, but we are now"

"We should keep going."

Harry still gritted his teeth. He knew what Ron was going to say, so he said it in advance,

"Maybe there is no right way at all. The most important thing is to keep going."

Harry's remarks surprised both Hermione and Ron. Hermione opened her fear-infected brown eyes.

"How did you come to that conclusion, Harry?"

"I can't say, maybe."

Harry knew that it might be ridiculous for him to say this, but in the current situation, they really didn't seem to have any better way.

"intuition."

Harry said, then immediately added,

"We can't give up here, right? If we are defeated by some danger in the game. That's nothing to say, but now we haven't even officially entered the arena. If we fall here, we will let Gryffindor Hogwarts Become a laughing stock!”

There was a moment of silence, then Ron said tremblingly,

"You're right, Harry, Fred and George will laugh at me for the rest of my life because of this."

Making judgments based on intuition is undoubtedly not in line with Hermione's habit of thinking rationally, but apart from doing so, there is really no other good way.

"You're right, Harry. We can't waste any more time here. We must at least try."

After thinking briefly, Hermione took a deep breath,

"I'm in front, Harry is five feet behind me, Ron, you're five feet behind Harry. If you see me fall and suddenly you can't see me -"

Hermione said as nonchalantly as possible,

"That means there is a trap ahead, so you should change direction."

Harry ignored Hermione's suggestion at all. He walked directly past Hermione and said lightly,

"It was my idea, Hermione, and of course I should be the one to lead the way."

Before Hermione could speak, Ron, whose face turned pale, suddenly laughed twice, with an ugly smile.

"Maybe that's what Warriors assistants are for."

As he spoke, he reached out and took Hermione's arm, pulling her behind him.

"Hey, you two!"

Hermione screamed angrily, but it was undeniable that in this endless dark abyss, Harry and Ron's actions dispelled a lot of fear growing in their hearts.

"At least we can't lose to Cedric."

Harry said something nonchalantly, and after giving up, he stretched out his hand, held up the bright wand, and moved forward step by step.

It is difficult to say how long they groped in the darkness, or how far they traveled.

In fact, in this kind of space without any reference, it is difficult for them to keep moving straight in one direction. Maybe they are always going in a big circle.

Except for each of them, there was never any light, and no exit or trap could be found.

But strangely, as time went by, the fear in their hearts did not deepen. Instead, they felt an inexplicable sense of security.

Even the paleness of Ron's face was gradually fading away and turning rosy,

"How far have we come?"

Ron suddenly asked after chatting non-stop in order to eliminate his fear.

"At least from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade."

Harry assessed his physical exertion and gave an answer.

The light that tore through the darkness was as unexpected as the darkness falling.

The three people who felt like they were in a large closed room suddenly felt a damp, corrupted air 'hit' their faces, and then the vivid world reappeared in front of their eyes.

There is no doubt that they are in the Forbidden Forest. The huge tree crown blocks the sunlight in the sky, everything in sight is dark green, and even the earthy brown tree trunks are covered with green green vines and moss.

Harry turned his body blankly. Ron and Hermione behind him had funny dumb expressions. He guessed that his current expressions were similar to theirs.

Then, Harry also found the three of them standing in a large swamp, covered with ferns and green vines, with water up to their ankles.

The swamp was unfamiliar, not the one where Snape had caught leeches before.

"How long has it been?"

Hermione saw Harry looking at the watch on his wrist and subconsciously asked.

Harry glanced at Hermione, then looked down at the watch in his hand, with a look of confusion on his face.

His expression made Hermione and Ron nervous.

Could it be that a long time has passed?

The dim sky made it impossible for the two of them to accurately judge the time.

"About--"

Harry blinked hard to make sure he was not mistaken,

"Two minutes."

The three looked at each other in silence.

"So, this is another bluff?"

Ron grinned and laughed hoarsely.

"I think so."

Hermione said,

"Psychological tactics. It's interesting, isn't it? Professor Braine is good at this. It was like this when we dealt with the Inferi in the second year, and it was also when we practiced dealing with the Hinky Punks in the third year."

However, from Hermione's stern face, it can be seen that she did not think the "little trick" just now was interesting.

"Where did the door go? Oh, never mind, I finally got out."

Ron put the backpack on his shoulder together, with a look of surviving a disaster.

Not to mention the physical exhaustion, in that isolated environment, their spirits have been severely tested, which makes them all look tired.

Suddenly, a shrill whistle came from the dim forest. The three of them immediately raised their wands and looked in the direction of the sound.

Several surveillance cameras drew faint ripples in the humid air, and then hovered around them in a surrounding manner.

The three people standing in the water immediately became nervous. They knew that they should have appeared in front of the entire European magic world.

"Ahem--"

Ron's eyes moved away from the surveillance camera, he clenched his fist and blocked his lips and coughed twice,

"Do you think we should now, Merlin's beard!"

Ron's scream was even sharper than the sound of the surveillance camera breaking through the air just now. Harry and Hermione, who were immediately horrified, had no time to ask before they saw in horror that Ron was lifted up in the air in an upside-down posture!

"What is this thing!"

The snake-like twisting green vines made Harry sluggish for a second, but then he wanted to jump up and found that his ankles, which were deeply stuck in the mud, had been tightly entangled by the green vines, and the green vines were still quickly jumping up along his calves!

"Damn, we fell into a devil's net!"

At this moment, Hermione, who always admired Professor Brian, was complaining about Professor Brian's cunning and "excessive" in her heart!

He didn't consider that the warriors might need some breathing time after just escaping from the darkness, and actually set the landing of the teleportation in a devil's net!

However, they were not first-year students after all, so this kind of thing would not make them at a loss.

Almost at the same time, Harry and Hermione pointed their wands at their feet.

A blue bellflower-like flame emerged from Hermione's wand, while Harry's was a bright orange flame.

Two flames roasted the shallow puddles, and the devil's nets that were lingering around them immediately loosened their entanglement and quickly shrunk to a farther place, and Ron also fell heavily into the water from seven or eight feet in the air.

"Let's get out of here!"

Hermione shouted,

"This whole area is full of them!"

Without Hermione's reminder, Harry looked around and quickly aimed at the nearest place to get ashore. Ron, who fell hard, did not waste time. He ignored the mud on his face and the wet sportswear, and coughed hard to choke out the water in his nose and throat, while trying to follow Harry and Hermione to the shore.

On the swamp with a thin layer of miasma, at least dozens of vines were raised, swinging like snakes in an offensive posture, following the three people, keeping a distance that the flames could not reach.

This horrible scene caused many spectators to scream in fear, but Hermione and the other two had no time to pay attention.

Before the three people who had just jumped onto the shore could express their gratitude for surviving, their attention was attracted by a faintly visible red firework that shot up into the sky.