The final results came out. Among the approximately 1,670 young wizards in two grades, nearly half of them chose to give up. Among them, the majority were from Hufflepuff and Slytherin houses, followed by Ravenclaw. Gryffindors are the fewest people who choose to give up.
This result is not unexpected. Amosta quickly divided the teams of the little wizards who signed their names and counted them carefully. There are ten groups of first-year students, and more second-year students. There are two groups in total. Eleven groups of people.
Harry and Draco stood together with dark faces, looking at each other with disgust.
"If you are willing to kneel down and beg me now, Potter, when you are stuffed into your mouth by some monster later, I may be merciful and pick up your pieces of meat and return them to your mud... , your silly friends, so that they can at least have something to remember you by!"
Malfoy said viciously with the corners of his mouth raised.
"I'm surprised, Malfoy,"
Harry, whose 'dream' came true, stared into Malfoy's gray eyes without any sign of weakness.
"I thought you couldn't even walk without your two big followers!"
At this time, Amosta, who had finished his group work, returned to the door of the classroom. "Time is precious. Everyone, is there anyone who volunteers to take the lead?"
No one spoke. The little wizards who had exhausted their courage stared at their toes, not daring to look into Professor Blaine's eyes.
"In that case..."
Amosta was a little disappointed when he couldn't get a response after looking around for two times. He looked at Harry and Malfoy, who were quarreling with each other's eyes, and smiled happily,
"Then, let's first ask Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy to show everyone their dazzling courage and wisdom!"
When the time came, Harry felt a little regretful that he had impulsively signed the contract. He turned his head and found that Ron, Hermione and Neville at the back of the queue were all looking at him worriedly. In order not to worry them too much, Harry forced himself to smile more like a forced smile. Then, in full view of everyone, he took a deep breath and touched the door handle.
"Is that that..."
And Malfoy no longer had the sarcastic expression. He was breathing rapidly and looked at Amosta almost pleadingly, hoping to get some hints.
Amosta turned a blind eye to Malfoy's look for help, and only raised his voice slightly to look at Harry who was twisting the handle.
"Most dark creatures don't like light, Potter. It may be a little dark in the room. Be careful not to fall--"
If it weren't for the encouraging voices of Hermione and Ron coming from outside the door, and if it weren't for Malfoy who was slowly walking in behind him and hadn't completely closed the door, then Harry wouldn't even be sure whether he was still in the castle or not!
He stared blankly at the room in front of him, racking his brains to recall every spell he had ever learned or heard about, wondering which spell could turn an ordinary classroom into a Quidditch pitch. Circular maze!
Click---
When Malfoy closed the door, the light and sound outside were immediately completely cut off, and the space in the classroom immediately took on the darkness and obscurity of a rainy day when the sun was about to set.
The air was filled with cold smoke and the stench of rotten meat that Harry had smelled at Nick's death anniversary party. There was silence around him, and there was only a vague sound of water droplets hitting him. A tick-tock-tock sound on the brown stone.
In this situation, Harry's vision was greatly restricted. He did not dare to move forward rashly. He only pointed tremblingly ahead with his wand, trying hard to open his eyes to see more.
Fear and the unknown made Malfoy temporarily put aside his hatred for Harry. Unconsciously, he took small steps to stick to Harry's side, and his tone of voice lost his usual arrogance.
"What do you think lies ahead for us, Potter?"
"I know as much as you do, Malfoy." Harry's tone was not so aggressive. His eyes did not waver at all, and he tried hard to penetrate the thin mist that filled the air in front of him.
"Come here, Draco—"
At this time, a gloomy voice that was very familiar to both of them came from behind the mist. The appearance of this voice immediately restored Malfoy's energy and made Harry's uneasy heart sink to the bottom.
"And you, Potter, do you want to get through these ten minutes by dilly-dallying? Unfortunately, as long as I don't announce the beginning and end, you have to stay in this house forever!"
Snape said again in a tone of extreme disgust, but Harry was already used to it. In this strange environment with unknown dangers hidden, he even felt that Snape's disgust was a bit friendly!
"Professor, are you here to guide me on how to defeat the dark creatures behind the wall?"
Malfoy ran to the entrance of the maze, looked at the professor who cared for him the most in the school and asked happily,
"Can you tell me what's locked inside and what's the trick to deal with it..."
"You have to rely on yourself, Draco. Professor Brain also asked me to sign a magical contract, not allowing me to reveal any information."
Recalling the process of being forced to sign the contract by the friendly-looking Amosta, Snape's face became sullen. What he said next also caused the joy in Malfoy's face to disappear completely.
"President Dumbledore and Professor Brain placed me here to minimize the casualty rate of this dangerous project..."
Snape looked at Harry, who was five feet away from him, looking uneasily at the entrance to the maze. A wicked smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said in his usual light voice during class,
"But you have to know, Draco, sometimes if danger comes suddenly, I may not have enough time to snatch you two back from the monster's mouth..."
Harry knew that Snape's words were actually meant for him. If he and Malfoy were in danger at the same time, it would be obvious who Snape would save first!
"professor--"
Harry pretended not to understand what Snape meant. He pointed with his wand at a pool of viscous brown liquid on the wall at the right entrance of the maze that was slowly dripping to the ground. His voice was so sharp that even he couldn't hear it. Noticed,
"That...could it be blood stains..."
hiss!
Harry's guidance made Malfoy notice this. He suddenly took a breath of air and turned around in a panic to run towards the door, but Snape grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Professor Brain's magical contract has very strong restrictions. Once signed, it cannot be abandoned. Draco, your father will not be happy to see you become a squib..."
...........
In any case, since they stepped into this classroom, there was no room for regret. No matter how scared they were, Harry and Draco still chose an entrance one by one under Snape's stern gaze, and walked into this classroom calmly. This maze exudes the aura of ominousness and death, and the desolate and helpless figure quickly disappears into the darkness that is ready to choose people and devour them...
