Aurum Fiend
A radiant serpent flew high above the labyrinth, slowly making its way deeper. If one were to pay attention to its movements, they'd be confused, as for some reason the serpent didn't fly in a straight line but instead followed the labyrinth's patterns.
'Maybe having it so high up isn't very smart,' Harry thought and quickly willed the glowing apparition to lower itself. 'Can't have the other champions following me.'
Having done that, he continued his trek into the maze, making note to follow the flying serpent.
'Here we go.'
Just as he thought that, Harry was assaulted by an awful, unpleasant smell that reminded him of Dudley's old socks…
It didn't take long to come face to face with the mountain troll, which had been flaring in his senses from the moment he stepped into the labyrinth.
'Trolls,' he corrected himself, and readied his wand at the barging troll.
"Mortis Anathema," Harry muttered, and the sickly purple light met the first creature right on its chest.
"ROARRR."
The troll let out a deafening roar right before it staggered and fell on its back. It continued to wriggle in pain for a few seconds before it simply fell limp.
The two remaining trolls, which had been watching the scene in amazement, broke out of their stupor and, with a battle cry each, rushed towards Harry.
'Woah. Moody's spell is more powerful than I thought, huh,' Harry noted with idle interest before blasting the two trolls with overpowered blasting curses.
The result… was gruesome.
Troll bits flew in all directions as the two flashes met their targets. Harry had anticipated that and conjured an air barrier to protect himself from the gore.
Not giving any more attention than necessary to the scene, he moved forward.
He hadn't taken more than two steps, however, when another presence flashed in his awareness.
'What the hell is that?'
Harry felt something akin to a goblin's presence, yet it was so much more. Fused with the element of fire and something dark, something evil, the creature awaited him a minute's walk away.
'It's even exuding some sort of magical aura,' Harry noted and moved closer to check it out.
As soon as he reached its perimeter, he let his senses encompass it. 'Huh. It's a trap to draw its prey to it.'
Harry's eyes narrowed as he drew closer, wand clenched tightly in his right hand. Of course, he was unbothered by the magical snare.
A bloodcurdling rasp cut through the silence, and at once, the acrid stench of molten metal washed over him. Harry's eyes watered as he peered past a bend in the corridor-like path, catching a glimpse of glowing embers suspended in black mist.
A shape emerged, large and twisted, drifting forward with a predatory grace that made his insides clench.
Harry swallowed, stepping fully into the clearing. The creature was… dreadful.
Tattered flags, reminiscent of old Gringotts vault banners, clung to its bat-like wings, fluttering as though caught in a breeze from the depths of some nether realm. Its flesh seemed crafted of congealed darkness, but streaked with lines of shimmering gold that pulsed like veins.
The… thing hovered inches above the ground, trailing a smoky cloak of black vapour shot through with flickers of gold. Its claws, hooked and dripping with what looked like molten metal, raked at the air in agitation.
Then came its voice—though voice was too generous a term.
"Human die today," the creature hissed.
"You're an Aurum Fiend, aren't you?" Harry hissed back, hardly believing what was happening.
Ministry records claimed the species had been exterminated centuries ago. Yet here stood living proof of that dreadful classification.
At the sound of the words, the fiend let out a keening wail, a hollow moan that reverberated along the hedge walls. Shadows lengthened ominously, and an unnatural chill coiled in Harry's gut. He forced himself to steady his breathing.
'How come these things keep happening around me?' he wondered with exasperation.
Up close, he could see how the Aurum Fiend's golden veins crawled along its torso like living runes.
A moment later, the creature lifted an armoured hand and curled its talons, conjuring a swirl of flickering shapes in the air. Harry's warning senses flared—he could practically feel the raw intent in the creature's magic, laced with corruption.
With a flash of his wand, Harry cast a quick Shield Charm that practically drained the monster's attack.
Without dropping a beat, Harry waved his hand, and black, shrieking crows burst into being all around the fiend, each with razor-like feathers that tore at the air. They dived towards it, wings glinting with an uncanny sheen.
The flurry of conjured crows slammed against the monster, sparking greenish light as they scrabbled to break through. One by one, though, they turned to molten shadow upon contact, screeching in furious protest.
And as the last crow dissolved, Harry felt a tug deep in his consciousness.
Whispers about gold, about lost hoards, about treasures beyond imagining. He shook his head, focusing on his Occlumency shields.
'The fiend is even trying to ensnare me… What the hell is wrong with the Ministry?'
To bring such creatures into a tournament meant for greater international magical cooperation…
Harry clenched his teeth. "I don't need gold," he said, voice steady. "Die, bastard."
He simply drew the Greek omega symbol with his wand and let his magic burst.
A raging power drew every drop of moisture within their surroundings.
The maze's leaves curled and withered as the air turned bone-dry. Frost that had formed on the hedges sublimated instantly, and even the damp earth beneath their feet crackled with sudden aridity.
The fiend let out an agonised screech as its golden veins began to rupture, molten gold dripping to the ground, sizzling and hissing as it touched the arid earth.
Yet, even as its twisted form began to unravel, a last desperate fury lit up within the creature's glowing eyes. It arched its back, wings stretching wide, banners tearing away to reveal jagged bone beneath.
"GOLD! MINE!" it shrieked in madness, abandoning any pretence of cunning.
With a burst of dark magic, the fiend exploded forward, hurtling towards Harry with reckless abandon, talons outstretched and dripping molten gold in a trail behind it. Its wounds leaked shadowy smoke and burning metal, each agonised shriek fuelled by a frenzy beyond reason.
Harry dodged quickly to the side, his senses blazing as the creature crashed into the labyrinth's hedge, setting the foliage ablaze. The fiend swung around, flailing wildly, scattering molten droplets in every direction. The heat was blistering, the air heavy with acrid smoke and charred magic.
But it was too late.
"Glacialis Lux Aeternum."
The spell surged forward.
It was a concentrated cloud of frozen space meant to encase and destroy anything it passed through.
Dumbledore's spell.
It was precise, very precise, even more so than the Killing Curse.
And it was cast perfectly.
The Aurum Fiend shrieked, sensing its impending death, and tried to move away.
But it knew that it wasn't fast enough…
Instead, it raised a clawed hand, glowing rivulets of molten gold rolling down its talons. The labyrinth corridor seemed to darken further, shadows layering themselves against Harry's feet.
Harry barely paid any attention to the ground.
The freezing light hit the fiend on the chest, and the creature shrieked again, gold-scorched mist spraying out in thick gouts.
It writhed, limbs contorting unnaturally and then… crack.
"Rrraaaaa—!" Its voice warbled into a final hiss.
The creature shattered, its frozen remains crashing to the ground like shards of broken ice…
'This spell is too powerful,' Harry mused as he watched ahead.
Dumbledore's spell didn't stop at the Aurum Fiend's. No.
Behind its remains, Harry could see a large tunnel-like hole, the frozen magic having bored straight through the maze's hedge wall.
It was eerily perfect, like a glass tube carved through the foliage. Through the newly created passage, he could glimpse another section of the maze that would have taken him several more turns to reach normally.
Trill.
Harry looked up to see Fawkes circling above him. 'Be careful, young one. You have grown far too powerful, and your actions may now have dire consequences.'
'I know,' he replied, and walked ahead.
There was no time to waste.
'After all, I can't be late to my date with Voldemort, can I?'
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Chapter 104: Hello Tom
Chapter 105: Voldemort's Soul
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Chapter 113: Battle of Wills