Homecoming from Hogwarts

Absolute darkness brings absolute terror.

As time passed second by second, the three people standing still did not even dare to move. Although they had explored and found solid ground under their feet, the illusion of falling into a bottomless abyss kept tormenting them.

Hermione was still holding the school badge and map given to her by Professor Brain, while Ron was carrying a funny backpack filled with food brought from the Great Hall.

“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.

"Huh, maybe we missed a clue."

At this time, Hermione was very clear about the importance of staying sober and rational. She tried hard to control herself from looking at the darkness around her and focused all her attention on Harry and Ron.
"What did Professor Brian say? He said that through the stone gate, we will be teleported to different areas of the Forbidden Forest. Oh, that's right, but now we..."

“We should keep going.”

Harry still gritted his teeth. He knew what Ron was going to say, so he said in advance,
“Maybe there is no right way. The most important thing is to keep going.”

Harry's words surprised Hermione and Ron. Hermione opened her brown eyes wide with fear.
"How did you come to that conclusion, Harry?"

“I can’t say, maybe.”

Harry knew that what he said might be a little ridiculous, but in the current situation, it seemed that they really had no better way.

"intuition."

Harry said, and then immediately added,
"We can't give up here, right? If we are defeated by something dangerous in the game, there will be nothing to say, but now we haven't even officially entered the field. If we fall here, we will make Gryffindor and Hogwarts a laughing stock!"

There was a silence, then Ron said tremblingly,

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

Making judgments based on intuition is undoubtedly inconsistent with Hermione's habit of thinking rationally, but there is really no other good way besides doing so.

"You're right, Harry. We can't waste time here. We have to at least try."

After a brief thought, Hermione took a deep breath.

"I'm in the front, Harry is five feet behind me, Ron you are five feet behind Harry. If you see me and suddenly lose sight of me -"

Hermione said as casually as possible.

"That means there is a trap ahead. Just change direction."

Harry ignored Hermione's suggestion. He walked past Hermione and said casually,

"This was my idea, Hermione, and of course I should lead the way."

Before Hermione could say anything, Ron, whose face was pale, suddenly laughed twice. His smile was ugly.
"Maybe this is the purpose of the Warriors' assistant."

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 the fear that was growing in their hearts.

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

Harry said something without thinking, then he stretched out his hand, holding the glowing wand, and moved forward step by step.

It is hard to say how long they had been groping in the dark, or how far they had come.
In fact, in this space without any reference points, it is difficult for them to keep moving straight in one direction, and perhaps they are always going around in a big circle.

Apart from themselves, there was no light at all, and no exit or trap could be found.

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

Even Ron's pale face gradually faded and became rosy.
"How far have we come?"

Ron suddenly asked, having continued chatting in a disjointed manner in an attempt to allay his fears.

"At least I walked from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade."

Harry estimated the extent of his own physical exertion and gave an answer.

The light that breaks through the darkness is as sudden as the darkness itself.

The three people who felt like they were in a large closed room suddenly felt a damp, corrupt air "hitting" their faces, and then the living world reappeared before their eyes. There was no doubt that they were in the forbidden forest. The huge tree canopy blocked the sunlight in the sky, and everything in sight was dark green, and even the earthy brown tree trunks were covered with lush green vines and mosses.

Harry turned around blankly. Ron and Hermione behind him had funny dazed expressions. He guessed that his expression was probably similar to theirs.

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

The swamp was unfamiliar. It was not the one where I had helped Snape catch leeches before.

"How long has it been?"

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

Harry glanced at Hermione, then looked down at the watch on his hand, his expression indescribable.

His expression made Hermione and Ron nervous.

Could it be that a long time has passed?
The dim light made it impossible for the two of them to judge the time accurately.

"perhaps--"

Harry blinked hard to make sure he was seeing correctly.

"Two minutes."

The three of them looked at each other in silence.

"So, this is just another bluff?"

Ron grinned and gave a dry laugh.

"I think so."

Hermione said,
"Psychological tactics. It's interesting, isn't it? Professor Brain is good at this. It was like this when we were dealing with the Inferi in the second grade, and it was also the same when we were practicing against the Hinckley Punks in the third grade."

However, from Hermione's stern face, it was clear that she didn't find the 'little trick' just now very funny.

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

Ron adjusted the backpack on his shoulders, looking like he had just survived a disaster.

Not to mention the physical exhaustion, their spirits were severely tested in that isolated and helpless environment, which resulted in them all looking exhausted.

Suddenly, a sharp howl was heard in the dim woods. The three of them immediately raised their wands and looked in the direction of the sound.

Several surveillance cameras created faint ripples in the humid air, and then hovered around them in an encircling posture.

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 looked away from the surveillance camera, put his fist between his lips and coughed twice.
"You think we should now, oh, Merlin's beard!"

Ron's scream was even sharper than the sound of the surveillance camera breaking the air just now. Harry and Hermione were immediately horrified and before they could ask anything, they saw in horror that Ron was lifted upside down into the air!

“This thing is!”

The green vines that twisted and twisted like snakes made Harry stunned for a second, but when he wanted to jump up, he found that his ankles that were stuck in the mud had been tightly entangled by the green vines, and those green vines were still quickly climbing up along his calves!

"Damn it, we've fallen into a devil's net!"

At this moment, Hermione, who had always admired Professor Brian, was complaining in her heart about Professor Brian's cunning and "excessiveness"!
He totally ignored the fact that the warriors who had just emerged from the darkness might need some time to catch their breath, and actually set the landing point for the teleportation to be in a devil's net!
However, they are not first grade after all, so this kind of thing is not enough to make them feel at a loss.

Almost simultaneously, Harry and Hermione pointed their wands at their feet.

Hermione's wand emitted a bluebell-like flame, while Harry's was a bright orange flame.

Two flames baked the shallow puddle, and the devil's net that was lingering around them immediately loosened its entanglement with them and quickly shrank 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 screamed.
“This whole area is full of them!”

There was no need for Hermione to remind him. Harry looked around and quickly aimed at the nearest place to get ashore. Ron, who had fallen badly, did not waste time. He didn't care about the mud on his face and his wet sportswear. He coughed hard to get out the water in his nose and throat, and tried to follow Harry and Hermione to the shore.

At least dozens of vines rose from the swamp, which was covered with a thin layer of miasma. They swayed like snakes in an attacking posture, following the three people and keeping a distance that the flames could not reach.

Hermione and the other two had no time to care how many spectators cried out in fear at this horrific scene.

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.
(End of this chapter)