Homecoming from Hogwarts

The second key was sealed in the giant ice-blue ice block!
In the last round of Starry Skywalk, the two Hogwarts teams lost Neville and Ron, and it was only with Fleur's inspiration that they finally overcame the difficulties and got a key.

Everyone expected that there would be a second key.

But they didn't expect that the second key would appear in front of them so soon!
Although the function of the second key is still unknown, it does not prevent everyone from knowing that it must be an extremely crucial prop.

After seeing the key sealed in the center of the huge diamond-shaped ice block, Furong was stunned for a moment, then she slowly stepped back a few steps and smiled at everyone whose eyes were fixed on her.
"I already have one."

Objectively speaking, the more of these props that will definitely play a key role you have, the better. However, this will undoubtedly bring more competitive risks.

Fleur was the only one left in Beauxbatons, so it was indeed wise for her to withdraw at this time.

The remaining three teams formed a triangle to surround the ice, and the atmosphere between them became as subtle as when they had just discovered the first key.

"Ahem-"

But this time, Cedric quickly broke the silence and turned his gaze towards Hermione and Harry.
"Wait until you take out this key before discussing its ownership?"

Harry hesitated for a moment and nodded, but Hermione just stared at the ice and didn't say anything.

"What do you think, Viktor?"

Cedric looked at Viktor again.

Originally, Victor wanted to determine the ownership of the second key first.

Excluding Fleur's three teams, Hogwarts accounts for two of them. With the key exposed so directly in front of them, there is a high possibility of a violent dispute later, which is undoubtedly very disadvantageous for Durmstrang.

But then again, what else can we do?

"Just do it."

Victor's brows became sinister again, and he nodded slowly.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy--"

Just as Cedric, Luna and Harry raised their wands and prepared to split the ice, Hermione, who was staring at the ice in silence, suddenly spoke.

"What did you find, Hermione?"

Harry immediately stopped what he was doing and asked curiously.

"I just used magic fire to burn the ice--"

Hermione exhaled, pointed at the ice and said,
"The fire melted the snow covering the ice. But the ice was not affected at all. It should have melted at least a little, right?"

Everyone's eyes quickly focused on the ice, and then they all frowned at the same time.

Hermione was right.

The surface of the ice that had just been burned by the flames for a moment was still as hard as steel, with no signs of melting at all!
"perhaps--"

Cedric hesitated.

"It needs to be burned for a while longer. It's very cold here, isn't it?"

"Let's try it."

Hermione didn't explain anything further, just said this.

So, the five people who were trying to take out the key stepped back and raised their wands towards the ice.

"The keys are flying!"

Viktor was the first to shout, but unfortunately, the key buried deep in the center of the ice showed no signs of moving.

call!
boom!
Hermione and Harry released magic fire at the same time, burning the ice.

"Thunderbolt explosion!"

Cedric shouted back, and Luna released her explosive notes.

In an instant, the surface of the huge ice-blue ice block standing in the snow and ice was covered with colorful bright lights, and the hot wind caused by the explosion drove away the cold!

The explosion only lasted for half a minute before it stopped. Now everyone was in the awkward situation of not having enough magic power and couldn't afford to waste it.

The shattered light dissipated, and everyone looked at the ice block. Upon seeing it, they all fell silent.

Under the fierce bombardment of five people, the huge block of ice remained intact, its surface was as smooth as a mirror, and not even a trace of ice chips fell.

"It seems that Professor Brian didn't leave any loopholes for us to exploit this time."

Cedric retracted his wand and sighed, but he didn't look particularly disappointed.

"If we want to melt the ice and get the keys, we have to get into these doors."

Hermione turned around and looked calmly at the stone door.

"It seems so."

Cedric folded his arms and looked at the doors with a critical eye.
"There are four doors in total. It seems that a team enters one door at a time. There must be some difficulties inside. If you overcome the difficulties, you can get something that can melt the ice."

"That's fair."

Victor's brows relaxed, and his expression brightened.
"Whoever gets through this first and makes the ice melt gets the key."

"That makes sense." Harry nodded. He didn't want to fight for the key by force. If the rules of the game were set like this, it would be like Professor Blaine was giving them, the physical education students, a backdoor.

Furong put her hands behind her back and listened to their discussion with great interest. Obviously, she had no intention of entering those doors.

In this case, there are four doors and three teams.

From the outside, the doors look exactly the same, and it's impossible to tell which one is good or bad. It's very likely that the challenges inside are exactly the same.

So, there is no need to pick and choose.

Hermione, Cedric and Viktor quickly picked a door at random.

“Wish us good luck!”

Cedric led Luna to the door first, smiled and waved to the others, then stepped into the door eagerly. Viktor followed suit and stepped into the stone door he had chosen.

"Let's go, Harry!"

Hermione said in an urgent voice.

"I hope I don't run into anyone else in there."

Harry grunted, pulled Hermione behind him without further ado, and stepped into the vortex of illusion.

After the light flashed before his eyes, the scene stabilized again in Harry's eyes.

It's still a land of ice and snow here. However, there is something empty around.

They seemed to appear in an ancient Greek duel arena.

The huge circular plaza was surrounded by a thirty-foot-high wall, above which were rows of stone steps for seating.

Harry stumbled as he rounded the stone door; the ground was covered with a layer of solid ice and was extremely slippery.

Harry moved carefully across the ice, and before he stood in front of the wall he stroked the patterns carved into the brown rock tiles.

The patterns on the stone are exquisite, and it doesn't look like they were randomly carved out with magic. They must have a source, and I don't know where Professor Brian saw them.

"Harry."

Just as Harry squinted his eyes to look at the lines stained with white frost, Hermione, who was standing motionless in front of the door, called out softly.

"What did you find? Oh!"

The slippery ice made Harry stumble again. He grimaced and looked at the ice under his feet in annoyance.

Is Professor Brain planning to let them put on an ice skating show in front of the European wizarding world? !
"there--"

Harry returned to Hermione, who was holding his arm with one hand and pointing in a direction.

Just like outside, in the hazy space covered by snow and wind, there were two huge, oppressive black shadows standing silently on both sides of the center line of the circular duel arena.
Harry pursed his lips and his heart beat faster and faster.

Although the two shadows were not as tall as the wall, they were still about ten feet tall. Most importantly, their swollen outlines looked a bit like humans.
"Troll?"

Harry lowered his voice unconsciously.

"It could also be a giant."

Hermione's voice trembled.

Harry looked at the hard ice under his feet and was speechless.

Whether it is a troll or a giant, they are not something they can deal with in this environment.

"Look closer."

Taking a deep breath, Harry said.

This round of competition is a race between three teams. They are wasting time here because of fear of the unknown. Maybe Cedric and Victor have already started to act!

Hermione nodded, and just as she was about to take a step, Harry pulled her back.

Facing Hermione's puzzled gaze, Harry pointed to the ground.
"It's not easy to move on the ice, Hermione. I'll go closer to take a look. If there's any danger, you can use the rope to pull me back."

This was indeed sound advice. Hermione bit her lower lip and did not object. She just looked at Harry with concern.

"Watch out, Harry!"

Harry nodded solemnly, and when Hermione used her wand to conjure a rope to tie around his waist, he began to move forward carefully.

"Oh, if I could skate, things would be much easier."

Harry complained as he trudged forward.

Skiing and skating were not difficult sports, but it was ridiculous to expect the Dursleys to pay for him to learn these recreational sports.

Harry's progress was slow, as he had to overcome both the ice and the crosswind.

On a normal road, he could cover the distance in 20 to 30 seconds, but he took two minutes to do it.

The moment the two huge monsters came into clear view, Harry's face suddenly became dull, and the oppressive feeling coming towards him made it difficult for him to breathe!
boom!
Hermione, who was waiting anxiously, suddenly felt the rope in her hand move forward a little. At the same time, a faint strange sound coming from the dull whistling wind made her heart beat in her throat.

In a hurry, Hermione pulled the rope back desperately! (End of this chapter)