Nikolai was nervous.

The first task he knew he was going to compete in but the second.. he really did not expect to make it this far, and now he was a jittery mess. On the inside, of course. He forbade himself to let anyone know he what he was feeling.. it was not manly at all.

Back towards the stands, his eyes were focused on the entrance way of a.. maze? He was correct in thinking that the second task would be harder than the first, and by the looks of it, it was dark as well. Why not just put a blindfold on them?

At least he had his wand this time around.

After a few cautious steps you can see a pale light up ahead. In your current state of mind, you might imagine all kinds of strange creatures waiting for you, but the four-legged thing in the middle of a small, overgrown clearing of sorts is comfortingly mundane and ordinary: a sturdy wooden table. The clearing itself doesn't appear to have another exit. That's odd, but something to worry about later.

On the table, in a row neat as you please, stand five potions. They each emit a faint glow, bathing the clearing in multi-coloured light. In front of them, there is a small piece of parchment. Directly past the table; a tiny door.

Feet finally moving, Nikolai took a deep breath before drawing his wand and disappearing into the maze. He half expected to be ambushed by creatures or perhaps some more Venomous Tentacula as soon as he stepped inside but, there was nothing. He'd still be cautious. After the last task he learned he could never be too careful.

Taking a few more steps inside, a light up ahead caught his eye. He dared not to quicken his pace, so, with a slow and steady pace, he neared closer until he found himself in a clearing. The clearing was small, but not as small as the passageway he walked through to arrive there. He looked around quickly, ignoring the table for the moment. He doubted the table would be a danger, but there could be something..

Nothing again.

With the clearing clear, he took those last few steps until he was standing in front of the table. Standing in a row, a few potion bottles stood, along with a note. Leaning over, he read the parchment and..

"A BLOODY RIDDLE?"

Of all the things to place in a maze, they put riddles. Nikolai would rather fight a Chimaera! It would be far more manly than solving a riddle. Unless, of course, he got the riddle wrong. He read one line at a time, mentally eliminating the bottles as he went. One bottle was left, and he hoped to Merlin he was right.

He did not want to know what would happen if he was wrong. Would he be finished right then or there, or would he have another chance to drink?

Erm..

Reaching out, he grabbed the fourth bottle before uncorking it and taking a sip.

You must be tiny for this trip... It's a Shrinking Potion! And a strong one, too. You become smaller and smaller until the phial itself is taller than you are and the table looms over you like a mountain. Now the overgrown grass has replaced the hedges as an obstacle to struggle through.

But what trip? Which direction? There was no obvious way to the clearing earlier...


To move onward through the maze, answer the following riddle:

What is it that was given to you, belongs only to you, and yet your friends use it more than you do?

As soon as the potion slid down his throat, Nikolai was having doubts. He should have put more thought into his choosing, but it was too late for that. He barely had time to place the bottle back on the table before the potion took it toll.

Smaller.

Smaller.

And smaller still.

The table he was once so much bigger than was now towering over him, and the only thing he could see was grass. Grass everywhere, in each possible direction. He couldn't even tell which direction he came in through!

GREAT!

Nikolai wished that parchment would have told him what to do if he drank the right potion. He was going to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, never to be found again! He would not dare call out for help either. No way. His voice was probably squeaky! How manly would he be sounding like a child? He would not do it. He would stand right where he was until something decided to happen.

Something had to happen eventually, right?

Like that riddle he needed to answer.

What is it that was given to you, belongs only to you, and yet your friends use it more than you do?

That makes no sense! If it belonged to him, why would he let others use it more than he did? He was selfish with his belongings, so this riddle did not pertain to him! Unless, which he was sure it was, this thing given is not an actual item. It could be something like..

"My name?"

The grass is difficult to get through, It's highlands grass, very tough and entangled all over. The hedges high above you are silent now as you creep onwards, but that's no great consolation. Sure, a Blast-Ended Skrewt might not be able to find you, but what if there's an ant colony somewhere behind the next patch of grass?

Somewhere off to your right side, something titters. Oh, that little chuckle is worse than clicking mandibles. It implies intelligence. You whirl around, wand out, just as you hear the unmistakable sound of little footsteps, but there are just more blades of grass in front of you. You begin struggling forward blindly, trying to get to the end of the clearing.

Nikolai could not just stand there, he needed to find a way out. He didn't know how long the shrinking potion would last, and there had to be a reason he was small. A small cave.. a small door? He thought of different possibilities as his feet once again started to move.

Thanks to the tough grass, he didn't get very far when a noise caught his attention.. giggles? He didn't think anything would be in the grass, and what could possibly be small enough, besides himself, to hide and not be seen? Slight worry taking over him due to the heard but unseen, Nikolai pulled out his wand and turned on the spot. Still nothing noticeable except the grass and the giggles were then exchanged for footsteps.

It was a creature, he knew it!

He lied when he thought he'd rather fight a Chimaera! He failed at his creature class!

Turning back around, he started walking with a quickened pace away from the mysterious sounds and through the tough grass.

A door appears! This is a second clearing, with mercifully trimmed grass. It's lit well, too – there's a fire ahead. Standing on top of it is a large soot-stained cauldron. Next to it stands a small table. Both are regular sized, but someone has considerately placed a small ladder next to the table that you can climb to get on top of it.

On the table are a number of phials and boxes - Peppermint, Moonstone, Fluxweed, Pomegranate, Doxy Eggs, Frozen Chizpurfles, Hellebore, Ginger Roots, Spine of a Lionfish, Lacewing Flies, Puffer-Fish Eyes - all carefully labeled. Potion ingredients. The one closest to the ladder has a second piece of parchment attached to it.

It's another riddle. Even if you can solve it, though, how will the ingredients get into the cauldron? The ladder seems to be just a little bit too short. Levitating something into it could work – if nothing gets spilled – but what if the potion needs stirring?

A huge sigh of relief as he saw the door, Nikolai glanced behind himself to see if he could get a glimpse of whatever was following him and giggling. Definitely not fangirls, since he was small he wouldn't have been noticed. Plus, his voice was squeaky. No one would fangirl over him with a squeaky voice!

Behind the door came a clearing, and just like the last clearing, a table sat lined with phials and now added boxes. He, at first, thought he was just going around in circles but the fire and cauldron told him otherwise. With his wand still in his hand, just in case something decided to reside in the clearing, he glanced around, and spotting a ladder, he made his way towards it.

At least the grass was much more manageable to walk through.

Nowhere to go but up, Nikolai started his climb. Climbing ladders were easier than trees, even with his wand in his hand, and as he climbed the labels on the phials and boxes became more visible. Ingredients? He needed to brew a potion, didn't he? Scoffing over the fact he was little and it would be hard to brew something, he reached the top of the ladder and climbed up onto the table, only to come face to parchment with another riddle.

When they are caught,
they are thrown away.
When they escape,
you itch all day.

Eyes narrowing, he read and re-read the riddle. They were just getting harder and harder as he went! Thiiiiiiiink!

"Fleas." he squeaked said, a little uncertainly.

Now, how was he supposed to add the ingredients.. and which ingredients was he supposed to add?

From where you now stand you can see the potion simmering inside the cauldron. It gives no indication of being complete.

A good view from where he stood, Nikolai could see directly into the cauldron. A potion was already simmering inside, and to say he expected that would be a lie. He thought he would have had to make the whole thing himself, but this made it just a tad bit easier.

Not really, because he had no idea what was already inside the cauldron. How was he supposed to figure this one out?

Slight worry taking over him again, he turned back towards the line of ingredients, reading off the labels as his eyes passed over them. He could have been making a number of potions with those ingredients, but one ingredient in particular caught his attention; the Puffer-Fish Eyes. He knew what potion they were used for, and he was getting tired of being tiny.

But, what would happen if he was wrong? Would the potion be ruined? More importantly, what would happen to him? The shrinking potion would wear off eventually, yes?

The questions running through his head were not making him any less worried, so before he had a chance to change his mind, he levitated the Puffer-Fish Eyes towards the cauldron.

Gut feelings were usually right.

With the Puffer-Fish Eyes added, the potion began to smoke. When the air cleared, the potion appeared unchanged.

Nikolai was wrong for adding the Puffer-Fish Eyes. He was so sure he'd have to brew a Swelling Solution, but he was wrong. That had been happening a lot lately, and he was going to blame it all on the Hogwarts weather. How was he supposed to think when it was too hot? Yes, they were in the middle of January, but it was still to hot for him.

At least his little mess up did not ruin the potion that was already inside the cauldron. What would he have done if it was ruined?

He did not want to think about that, though. He still had another chance to correct himself. The only thing, how many chances would he get? He did not want to think about that either, so turning back to the ingredients set out for him, he started to levitate the Frozen Chizpurfles towards the cauldron.

They reminded him of fleas.

Even someone not afraid of bugs might not like the look of the Chizpurfles much. They're not alive, of course, tumbled on top of each other in a tightly corked phial.

But they're also much larger than usual in comparison, and there's something in that glassy, dead stare of theirs that just, well, creeps you out. And now that you're this small, you can study their bodies much more closely. They certainly look fearsome, and one can only imagine how much worse it would be if they suddenly sprang to life again, all scurrying legs and clicking chitin and... Shudder.

A small scrap of parchment, almost hidden completely underneath the phial, catches your eye. Glad for the distraction, you retrieve it.

Nikolai was not scared of bugs. Nope. He was a manly man, and bugs did not bother him at all. But that was before he levitated the phial of Frozen Chizpurfles towards the cauldron. As the phial passed by, an uncontrollable shudder came over him as he looked into the cold, dead eyes of those insects.

They. Were. Frightening.

Aiming the phial towards the cauldron as quickly and carefully as possible, he did not hesitate to pour them inside. A relief rushed over him as no smoke emitted from the cauldron, like last time, and he levitated the phial back onto the table. Setting it down, he caught a glimpse of another piece of parchment and he went to retrieve and read it. He knew what would be on it; another riddle.

What creature can you make if you take,
the head of a Dragon,
the middle of a Troll,
the hind of a Fox,
and the tail of a Plimpy?

Harder than the last, but at least he now knew the answer would help him figure out the next ingredient. That's if he could figure this one out.

He wasn't very good in the creature department, but he knew one thing for sure; Plimpy's did not have tails. Dragons had heads, Trolls had middles, even if they were BIG middles, and Foxes had hinds..it was the Plimpy that threw him off until..

Tracing his finger over each creature, a smirk appeared on his face, and with a simple levitating spell, Nikolai sent the Doxy Eggs over towards the cauldron.

Head of the Dragon.
Middle of a Troll.
Hind of a Fox.
The tail of a Plimpy.

Like the creature that lays them, the Doxy eggs aren't really bad as such, just... Well. If the grown Doxy is a pest, then its egg is pestilential. In its smell. It would make a compost heap pinch its nose shut. A troll's eyes would water.

Funny how these things don't get noticed until one is the size of a normal-sized goblet. Gives you a new perspective on everything. Perhaps the smell is some sort of defence mechanism or something?

In any case, just as before, there is another hint hidden underneath the box of eggs. Here's what it says:

Oh gross!

Nikolai had never smelled something so horrible in his life and considering he enjoyed harvesting bubotuber pus, that was saying something. As the box of doxy eggs passed by him, he turned his head away until he felt it was far away enough as to where he wouldn't be able to smell them anymore.

The smell would probably just linger, and if he had nostril hair, they would surely be singed. Luckily, he took good care of himself.

A slight flick of his wrist sent the box tilting, releasing the doxy eggs into the cauldron. No smoke once again, and a small sigh escaped him. This wasn't so hard now, but he was sure it would just get harder. It always happened that way.

Levitating the empty box back to the table, another piece of parchment caught his attention and he went to retrieve it. Another riddle.

Out of the ground,
I grow round and upright,
Sometimes picked,
By the full moon's light.

A riddle dealing with Herbology! Sure, after the last task he swore he would never meddle with plants again, but he was just saying that. Caught up in the moment type of thing. It didn't take him long to figure out the answer, and when he did, he grinned smugly.

Pointing his wand, he levitated the ingredient labeled Fluxweed and sent it on it's way towards the cauldron.

The swirling, thin potion now glows with a cerulean hue. Right away you notice the taste is terrible. Did you mix it wrong? But even as you fret, you start to grow again. You notice one foot keeps growing much larger than the other! A side effect of an extra ingredient perhaps?

As you regain your regular height, the hedges in front of you change as well, pushing themselves apart to reveal a narrow opening. Which way will you go?

To move forward along the path, answer the following riddle:

What ship has no captain but two mates?

It seemed like no time before the potion in the cauldron started to glow, and Nikolai took that as a sign of being complete.

Levitating the empty phial that once held the Chizpurfles, and after a quick cleaning charm used, he directed it towards the cauldron. Just like he did when emptying the box of doxy eggs, he gave a slight flick of the wrist, and when the phial was full, he brought it back towards him. He was so glad they let him have his wand for this task or else he would have given up on the task already. There would have been no way he would have picked up the doxy eggs to throw into the cauldron.

The phial now in his hand, his eyes lingered on the glowing, swirling potion. He was supposed to drink it, right? Since there was no other way out of the clearing?

Placing the phial up to his lips, he quickly drank, causing his his face to screw up in disgust. That was just horrible, and he was going to blame the doxy eggs for that. Coughing and more coughing, he felt himself start to grow, and it could have just been his imagination, but he seemed a little unbalanced all of a sudden. It could have been just from the rapid growth spurt he just had, but when he looked down at his feet..

Why did everything happen to his feet? His ruined shoe count was now up to two.

With his enlarged foot hanging and flopping out of his ripped and tattered shoe, he smoothed out his clothes and moved away from the table. He was still handsome even with a very large foot, and if people said otherwise, he'd use that foot to teach them a lesson. Stopping in front of the moving hedges, a path was revealed and that was the way he wanted to go.

What ship has no captain but two mates?

A riddle about ships? Ships that swayed and rocked on water.. did the creator of this riddle know Nikolai got seasick? Just thinking ships and water made his stomach turn, and not giving the riddle any thought, he answered.

"Friendship."

Left, right, left again... The maze seems to stretch out forever. The rustling hedges are with you once more, closing in on all sides. Suddenly you see another flickering light source up ahead. Another potion to brew, perhaps?

No. The next clearing (there are numerous paths leading to it, so any initial spark of pride of having reached this part of the maze before anyone else is quickly extinguished) houses several burning torches, two doors, and, in front of them, a Sphinx. A living Sphinx. Very large, too.

Quick, what did you learn about them in Care of Magical Creatures... Are they aggressive? Are they even carnivorous? The Sphinx is sitting there utterly impassive, watching you calmly. She seems to know exactly what you're thinking – the intelligence in her eyes is almost unsettling – but she remains silent. Waiting.

Nikolai's enlarged foot was not making walking any easier. He found himself practically hopping along the path just to catch up to himself. He was wearing himself out already and he still had Merlin knows how much further to go.

Hedges around him once again, he held his wand out in front of him just in case something were to appear. Something did appear; flickering light, but it was welcoming rather than alarming. Quickening his awkward hopping, he found himself in another clearing with numerous paths leading to it. Not only did those paths all lead to the clearing, they all lead to.. SON OF A BANSHEE! It was a Sphinx! A HUGE Sphinx and it was right in front of him. Nikolai didn't even notice the doors, he was too busy looking into the intelligent eyes of the creature.

With a rapidly beating heart, he tried to remember what he knew about them, but with the creature looking at him as well, he was to scared it was hard to think. Besides, when he attended his Creature class, he never really paid attention.

Giving riddles.. guarding things.. Merlin! He was going to be eaten.. if they even eat people.. he didn't know that bit of information.

Gulping, he slowly, as not to alarm the Sphinx, placed the hand holding his wand behind his back. He'd wait for it to make the first move.

The Sphinx continues to simply regard the young man. Even though, she practically radiates calmness, the way her eyes are always fixated on the Champion makes it quite obvious that she is ready to defend whatever she is protecting. Ready to attack. Ready to kill, should there be the need to.

After another moment of complete silence has passed, the creature finally shows some kind of reaction to the young man approaching her. Her human lips slowly curl into a small smirk, her dark eyes still locked on the boy. "You may pass." And then with a rather intimidating raise of her eyebrows she added, "Or you may not. It all depends on you." A small pause ensued during which she regarded the boy once again, as if figuring out whether he was worth it.

In the end it seems he has proven himself worthy, as the Sphinx raises her head briefly and finally addresses the champion again,

"Deep in the wood in an orchard of old,
An apple tree grows, a sight to behold.
The branches are full and the limbs hand down.
It must be magic, there's none on the ground.

From the twisted old trunk, four branches sprout.
And from each long branch, fifteen twigs stick out.
From each of these, three ripe fruit dangle free.
Tell me the number of pears in the tree."

Nikolai wished the Sphinx would stop looking at him. It was making him uncomfortable.. like the creature could read his mind.. and he didn't know if it could read his mind since he knew practically nothing about them! Perhaps she was just waiting for him to do something..

No.

She spoke first, and hearing the voice made him jump slightly. Yes, he knew they were capable of speech, but it was still frightening, more so because she was talking to him. Shifting his weight as she spoke about passing, his eyes flickered to the now noticed doors briefly before giving the Sphinx his full attention once more. And there it was; the catch.

He suspected a riddle..

"Deep in the wood in an orchard of old,
An apple tree grows, a sight to behold.
The branches are full and the limbs hand down.
It must be magic, there's none on the ground.

From the twisted old trunk, four branches sprout.
And from each long branch, fifteen twigs stick out.
From each of these, three ripe fruit dangle free.
Tell me the number of pears in the tree."

..just not a riddle like that one.

Nodding his head as the Sphinx spoke, he closed his eyes and mentally pictured what she spoke of.

An apple tree growing in an old orchard.
Full branches, with branches even growing from the trunk.

Strange tree.

The branches from the trunk have fifteen twigs each.
Three ripe fruit dangle from each twig.

That's a lot of fruit.

With the last sentence spoken, Nikolai's eyes shot open. Did he just hear correctly? How many pears were on the tree? But..

Giving the Sphinx a smirk of his own, he answered, "None."

It was an apple tree!

For a few minutes there is no visible reaction from the Sphinx as the champion finally attempts to answer the riddle. No reaction. Neither positive, nor negative. She is just regarding him with unreadable dark eyes with her head slightly cocked to one side, considering his answer.

Then, all of a sudden, the Sphinx bows her head gracefully before taking a step back. However not to get ready to attack but rather to move out of the way, allowing the champion to pass.