- And we have a winner!

- How did you do it???

- That's impressive!

- It's cheating!

- It's gonna get dangerous...

- I died fifteen years ago!

- Tom Riddle????

- You freak!

I woke up, panting. What a chaotic dream! I usually enjoy chaos, but this was too much. Luckily, the dormitory was quiet.

In fact, it was a little too quiet. There was no noise at all. Usually I'd hear others breathing while sleeping.

After a minute, I decided to go back to sleep. But there was a problem; a part of me told me to get back to sleep and forget about it while the other part of me (which was slightly stronger) kept saying that this isn't normal. There was a big struggle. At last I decided to make things clear.

I stood up and walked to one of the beds next to me and opened the curtains. No one was in there.

"Maybe she's gone somewhere..."

I walked up to another bed and opened the curtains. It was empty as well. I did the same to all the beds, and all of them were empty.

I was really confused. Then another idea popped into my head; maybe they were doing something in the common room?

I got out of the dormitory and into the common room. Still, no one was around.

Maybe it's something about the tournament? It definitely isn't now. Professor Mcgongall said it was on... on...

Thinking back, she just said that the third task was going to happen this week. That's what she said, right? Maybe I missed the part where she mentioned the day???

I panicked even more. I had no idea what to do. Maybe if I hurried, I could still get there on time. I rushed out of the Slytherin common room, into the dungeons and then into the entrance hall.

I looked around and in a moment, I caught sight of the doors; they were just about to get closed.

- No!

I ran towards the doors as fast as I could, but still didn't make it on time. They got closed. I tried to open them but they were either locked or just too heavy to move.

I was still struggling when a loud voice echoed through the hall.

- Welcome to the third and final task of the triwizard tournament.

My heart collapsed as I heard it.

- Your goal for this task is to get out of the castle before the break of dawn. Good luck.

Once it was spoken, the whole castle started moving around. The walls, the floors, the stairs, everything! Soon, I was standing on a random floor in the castle with no signs to know where I was.

Then there was silence. Complete silence. Even the torches on the walls were burning silently.

- Well, I definitely didn't see that one coming!

I sighed. Just standing there and being confused was not going to help me, so I started walking. But as I was walking, it seemed like I was making no progress at all. Every turn I took would just lead to another hallway with no windows or paintings in it. I felt like I was going around in circles, but I wasn't completely sure which made it even worse.

I decided I needed to make a sign on the wall in order to not go crazy. So I reached out to my pocket to take out my wand. But as my hand went deeper in the pocket, my heart skipped a beat for my wand wasn't there!

I was terrified; even more than when I had to duel Albena Krum. At least I had my wand back then!

Although I knew it's pointless, I still looked around desperately for my wand.

I sighed. In the corner of my eye, I saw something appear on the wall. I looked up; it was a painting. It looked kind of familiar. I took a closer look, It was one of the books that I had borrowed from the library... on the table next to my bed! That was where I left it!

The painting looked so real that I felt like I could put my hand through it and pick up my book.

What if I could actually do it? There was only one way to find out!

Cautiously, I put my hand through the painting and picked up the book. I flipped through its pages. I've been in this castle for six years, it still surprises me with something new.

The book had almost everything you needed to know to get yourself out of any kind of trouble. I borrowed it two days ago because it seemed interesting.

Without thinking, I started looking through the pages hoping I'd find something that could help. I almost missed it, but at last I found something.

"If you're stuck in a maze and keep walking but feel like you're getting back to the same spot each time, eighty percent of the time, you're not the problem. It's the maze. There's probably a hallucination spell on it which makes you think that you're just repeating the same path. In this situation, go neither forward nor backwards. Just go..."

The rest of the sentence was faded. Meaning that I had to figure out the rest myself.

It said go neither forward nor backward. So the only direction left would be... left and right?

I touched the walls on my sides. They were hard as usual. If I couldn't get through the wall, then the only option would be the painting.

I walked towards it and climbed up. It actually worked! I was standing in the dormitory again. There was some hope in me again.

I got out of the dormitory and ended up in the potions classroom.

Definitely not what I thought or expected to happen, but still, better than wandering around in the hallways. I was still in the dungeons and could easily find my way out.

Heh! Who are they challenging?

All my ego-massaging thoughts disappeared as I opened the door and ran straight into the stone wall in front of me.

- Ouch! Wha...?

Last time I checked there wasn't a wall at this spot. I remembered what Tom Riddle told me during the second task while I was leaving the library.

"Remember! If anything is blocking your path and you can't easily lift it, feel free to blow it up."

The thing was, I didn't have my wand with me. So I had to make a potion to get out. (Judging by the fact that I had ended up in a potions classroom, I don't think there would be anything else that I was meant to do.)

There were no books anywhere; only cauldrons and ingredients. So I hoped that my book did have the recipe to an exploding potion.

Luckily, it did. I gathered all the ingredients and started making it. I had to let it brew for an hour.

After it finally brewed, I added some scorpion venom, spilled it on the stone wall blocking the exit and quickly hid behind a table.

Nothing happened at first. Just a quiet hissing noise. But then there was such a big explosion that shattered most of the glass jars on the shelves.

The path was now open. I took my book and walked out.

It was another hallway. I let out a big sigh and started walking. What else could I do?

I kept walking and walking, until I saw something. A pair of doors. They looked so fancy, could they be...?

I ran as fast as I could and threw the pair of doors open.

It was the library.

I was panting... and disappointed. And frustrated. And tired. I didn't want to do it anymore. I just wanted to go back. I've been running around the castle for hours and each room would just lead to another one.

I sat down on a chair to catch my breath. The tiredness was indescribable. They could have the trophy, I didn't want it anymore.

I was resting my head on the table when suddenly a chill went down my spine as the room got colder.

- Hello, Gizelle!

Said a hissing voice that seemed to go through walls and the shelves.

I looked around, terrified. A young man -around 17- was standing next to one of the shelves holding a book. I was relieved.

- Oh hi Tom.

- I see you're willing to quit!

- Um...

He suddenly shut his book.

- I hope that's not true, Gizelle!

His eyes were on fire.

It was getting dangerous, so I stood up and walked backwards slowly and cautiously.

- Of course not! So... I'd better be going now. Bye!

I turned around and walked towards the door, but an invisible force suddenly hit me and I fell down a few meters away.

Tom was pointing his wand towards me with that dangerous look on his face.

- No one lies to me!

I stood up and stumbled backwards with fear.

- I... I didn't lie to you! I...

A bolt of fire got shot out of his wand. I ducked right on time and it hit the library door and blew it up.

I ran out of the library as fast as I could but he appeared right in front of me out of nowhere.

- A true Slytherin does not quit! And the ones who do should face the consequences!

I turned around and started running. I didn't even bother to know what he was doing there. I was tired, sleepy, hungry, angry, frustrated, confused, wounded, and now I had to survive one of the most dangerous wizards in the world without knowing where I was going to end up. Great!

I kept dodging his spells. I didn't have my wand so I couldn't fight back.

Bricks were falling down because of the explosions. I took one of them and threw it at Tom with all my power. It hit him right in the head after he cast another 'Confringo'. I dodged it by rolling behind one of the gargoyle statues.

He was gonna be back on the track pretty soon, so I had to be quick. I took out my book and flipped pages until a page caught my attention.

"Gargoyles:

The gargoyle statues not only symbolize guardianship, but they provide it as well. All you need to do is to put the palm of your hand on its back and tell them that you need help. Not out loud, but in your mind."

I didn't waste time. I put the palm of my hand on its back, closed my eyes and focused.

"I need help. Tom Riddle is following me!"

A moment later the statue started shaking and stood up. By that time, Tom was back on his feet. At first he was confused by the gargoyle, but then he smirked.

- You think a silly statue is going to stop me?

He cast one final spell before I took a turn in the hallway and left him to deal with the gargoyle.

After some more running I stopped, panting and gasping for air. My face was covered in ash and some parts of my shirt were burnt, I was running out of energy.

I didn't notice where I was at first. But then I saw it. The stairs... the doors... I made it! The doors were wide open and a bright light was shining.

I gathered all the energy I had left and made a run for it.

I finally made it to the other side of the door and dropped myself on the ground as soon as I got out. There were people cheering, instruments playing, names being called, I even heard my name. But I didn't care. None of these mattered. I made it out, and that's what mattered. That nightmare was over. I didn't even care who won.

I closed my eyes to rest them for a while; the winners were going to be announced soon...