Neville was shaking so much, Harry could clearly hear his teeth chattering from where he stood. Hermione stood rooted to the spot, eyes fixed on the man before them. Harry could see her gears turning in her head as she tried to process what he had just said.

"I will put you in five groups of five people. There will be a draw on which group goes first. Inside this forest I have placed a small, square maze. Inside that maze there will be a group of creatures that you must fight off. There will be no killing of course. Just stunning, if possible, although I highly doubt it."

His words did nothing to ease those students in front of him. Each looked about ready to bolt any second.

"Oh, for Salazar's sake!" Snape groaned once he saw the fear still imminent on their faces. "They're not deadly creatures. There won't be any werewolves or dragons, you dunces! The most dangerous thing in there is a Blast-Ended Skrewt! Merlin..."

Harry had no idea what a Blast-Ended Skrewt was, but it didn't sound pretty. Or safe, judging by the name, but the answer was enough to put at least a few of them at ease.

"You will be timed. You have twelve minutes for each group. That equals an hour. Each group will go in five minutes after the other. If you do not complete the maze within that time limit you will fail. There will be no arguments." He eyed them all darkly.

"This is a free-for-all. That means it's fend for yourself. If you want to risk your neck by helping someone else, then be my guest, but don't expect any bonus points. You may use whatever you have read in your books at home if you are able. At the end of the test I will judge you based on your performance. If it is up to my standard, you pass and you will continue on to the castle to be sorted. If you fail, then you must leave." His last sentence was spoken sharply, leaving no room for arguments or protests.

He waved his wand and a large glass bowl materialized in front of them. He reached in and pulled out a small slip of paper.

"Diggles, Granger, Potter, Smithe, and Longbottom, you will be group five. You will go last," he called out, and a large green five appeared on their robes. Harry nearly wept from relief. He wasn't going first. He got to watch, got to figure out what to do. Plus, he had Hermione. She seemed really smart. She would help a lot. She'd know exactly what to do...

Four more times names were called out. Harry gave a pitying glance to the group that was labelled one. They certainly didn't look happy about it. Once all the groups and orders had been named, Snape made the bowl disappear.

"On the count of three, group one will go first. One, two..."

BANG!

Group one jumped at the noise, but took it as their cue to go. Harry watched as one by one, they were swallowed by the inky darkness of the forest. He gulped, gripping his wand tighter in his hand. It was only a matter of time before he had to go. He stood beside the member of his group, watching, waiting...

+======+

Severus started the timer as soon as his wand let out the bang. The soon-to-be first years rushed into his maze. A magical screen blinked into existence in front of him and the small group that was left, allowing them to see inside the forest maze.

The first student came into view, followed by a small group of gnomes. Severus gave a small, almost pitying tsk. Alone, the gnome was practically harmless, but together, fueled by the other's excitement, they could easily be a problem, especially for one that didn't know much magic. A gnome ran behind the boy, nearly tripping him. He fell face-first into the invisible wall instead, and the students still outside gave a groan. It did look like it hurt. But that wasn't Severus' problem.

Another member of group one came into view. She took one look at the boy surrounded by garden gnomes and decided he wasn't worth her time. She dashed ahead, past the gnomes only to smack into a dead end. Severus could see blood smear on the invisible wall and the student grabbed at her newly broken nose. She held out a hand to steady herself and used it to guide her slowly out of the dead end.

A third student made it nearly to the middle, before he was dragged back by a swarm of Doxy's. He pulled and fought back, and even smacked one or two with his wand, but it only resulted in him getting bitten or his hair pulled. Certainly no progress being made.

After five minutes had passed, his alarm went off.

"Group two, go," he instructed, and they shot off like rockets. Hopefully this group would be better than the first.

+=====+

Harry watched on the monitor as groups two exited the maze and three finally made their ways on screen. Only one more left and then it would be him. He wasn't ready, not at all.

"Hermione, do you have any idea what to do?" he asked.

Hermione was studying the screen floating in front of them, her eyes darting between the students shown. One was banging against the invisible maze wall, surrounded by what looked like weird blue fairies. There was no sound, but Harry could tell he was screaming "Help me!" as the blue fairy things tugged at his hair and robes.

"So far, it seems that the creatures are only located in certain spots. Gnomes are at the very beginning of the maze, then it's the Doxys in the middle. Blast-Ended Skrewts and Bowtruckles are scattered randomly throughout the end. But then again, it seems the maze is constantly changing as each group goes in, so that may not be of help..." She continued to mutter underneath her breath, low enough to where Harry couldn't hear her.

Well that certainly helped him none. He continued to watch the screen, and the alarm went off again. He closed his eyes in dread as group four ran in. There was only five minutes left and then it would be his turn.

He couldn't do it. There was absolutely no way. He was going to fail, plain and simple as that. He didn't know magic. He certainly didn't know any way to get rid of those creatures. He didn't have time at the Dursleys to read or prepare.

Harry's heart skipped a beat. The Dursleys. Oh, God. If he failed, he would have to go back. They hated him enough as it was. If he had to go back, they would never let him hear the end of it. He would be ridiculed for the rest of his life. He couldn't even pass a test. What did that say about him?

His hand shook. He couldn't go back. He couldn't. His eyes blurred as he looked up at the screen. Someone was near the end of the maze. They were throwing sparks at a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but it kept advancing, it's odd, lobster-like tail going off in clouds of smoke. Facing up against a Skrewt certainly looked more appealing than dealing with the Dursleys. But if he didn't figure a plan soon, then it was definitely the Dursley route.
The sound of the alarm was muffled as it rang, his ears refusing to hear it.

"Group five, go."

Oh no.

The other members of his group rushed ahead, but Harry still stood there, rooted, frozen. Hermione looked back at him in worry, but with the time slowly ticking closer to the end, she had none to lose. She turned back reluctantly and continued into the maze.

"Potter, what are you doing?" Snape growled at him. "Do you want to fail? Or do you think you're too good for this maze? Go, you dunderhead!"

He barely heard the professor. The dark forest taunted him. He couldn't do it. There was absolutely no way. He was stuck. His body refused to move...

"GO!"

That snapped him out of his trance. He sprinted forward, his legs jittery and shaking, and Harry felt a sense of dread as he felt himself pass through the magical barrier. The leaves closed the opening behind him, trapping him in a tortuous maze and he knew then there was no turning back. Whatever came, whatever happened, he was going to have to deal with it.

Almost instantly, he was swarmed by gnomes. Their tiny little hands clung to his robe as he tried to wade his way through. He kicked one and it went sailing into a wall. He heard it's little squeal of pain as it collided.

"Get off of me, you little buggers!" he growled. He whacked one with his wand, and little sparks shot out. He waved his wand again, sending more out. They shrank away from the sparks, but soon, they began to get more courageous. They continued to advance, until Harry was surrounded at every turn.

"Harry, over here!"

Harry looked up from the gnomes to see Hermione slightly ahead, motioning her way, her wand spitting out short bursts of blue flames. One gnome ventured too close, and he ran away squeaking as his head caught on fire.

"How are you doing that?" Harry asked and he managed to get close.

"It's supposed to keep a constant flame going, but I don't have a great grasp of the spell yet," Hermione replied.

"It's good enough!" He reached forward, grabbing her hand and pushing it in front of them, catching another gnome on fire.

They rushed forward. Harry smacked into an invisible wall on more than one occasion, earning him broken glasses. Hermione kept her sputtering flame on constant, which drew away the gnomes.

"Ouch!" Harry yelled. His foot was knocked out from under him, and he went tumbling down. He spotted something green hopping quickly by, followed by a pair of frantic feet.

"Trevor!" he hear Neville call out. "Trevor come back here!"

Harry painfully sat up. "Trevor?!" he said incredulously. "Neville why is Trevor here? You should have left him with Hagrid!"

Neville spun around. "I forgot!" he hissed. "Help me catch him before he gets away!"

"Neville, we're supposed to be taking a test right now! Not playing hop scotch with a bloody toad!" Harry shouted.

"He's my pet! I can't lose him!" Neville pleaded.

"Ugh! Fine!" Harry groaned. "Hermione, you can go ahead. I'll stay and help Neville find Trevor."

"I'm going to help," Hermione said, which shocked Harry.

"What? Hermione, you're taking a test! At least one of us can pass. Just go! I'll find Trevor," Harry argued.

"No, I'm staying. I found him once, I'll find him again."

"What is wrong with you people?" Harry muttered under his breath, but didn't argue further.

"Here, Trevor, Trevor!" he called out, feeling ridiculously stupid. Oh, he was glad he was in the last group. He didn't know how he would feel if there were twenty or so kids watching him flail around for a freaking toad.

Something nipped at his ear, and he quickly spun around only to see nothing there.

"Neville, did you throw something?" he asked.

Neville gave him a confused look. "No. Why would I?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer when something caught his eye. Trevor was being lifted up by a large Doxy. His frantic ribbits caught Neville's attention, making him go into overdrive.

"Trevor!" he yelled and sped towards the blue fairy.

"Neville, no!" Harry shouted, but Neville didn't hear him. The brown-haired boy threw a rock at the Doxy and the sharp object smacked it square in the chest.

That was the wrong move.

The Doxy let out a loud earsplitting screech. Harry covered his ears and ducked to the ground. He could have sworn his ears were bleeding. A loud ringing began in his ears, and it slowly began to drown out the Doxy's screeches. Beside him, barely audible over the noises, Harry could hear crackling and the sounds of breaking glass as the invisible wall began to split. More and more Doxys appeared, each one screeching, each one louder than the one before it.

The wall Harry that was beside shattered, sending little wisps of magic in the air, and he could hear Hermione shriek. Harry dared to glance up. Doxys swarmed over them in a sea of blue, more coming into the maze now that a wall was down. The wall was beginning to mend itself back together, but it was too slow. Doxys of all sized flew in, one right after the other.

Harry felt multiple tiny little hands grab ahold of his robes, and Harry realized with a start that he was being lifted. He struggled against their clutches, but the fairies seemed to know what they were up against. Their hold tightened if anything, and Harry seriously hoped there wasn't a roof to the maze as he continued to sail higher and higher, or else he was in serious trouble.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled. "Help!"

Hermione looked up from her crouched position, and her face went white when she saw Harry steadily rising.

"Harry!" she screeched.

"Do something!"

She scrambled across the dirt, grasping frantically at blades of grass, searching for her wand where it had fallen. The stuttering blue flame extinguished when it left her hand, leaving them in total darkness save for the light illuminating from the moon and the faint lights still glowing between the trees from the castle.

She finally found it, holding it up with a small "Ah-ha!"

He could feel his hair begin to flatten, and his struggling increased. Shoot. There was a roof. Of course there was."Hermione!"

She mumbled something, swishing her wand high in the air and bringing it down with a flick of her wrist. Harry felt something tingle over his body, but nothing else happened.

"Wingardium Leviosa, Wingardium Leviosa..." she was saying over and over, continuing the wand movements. Nothing was happening. Why wasn't anything happening? Sweat began to pool at his nose, and it dripped to the ground low below.

These things are strong, Harry thought, kicking his feet against the constant tugging. His head was now slowly getting crushed. He could hear giggling from the Doxys as Harry winced. They didn't seem to be bothered by the roof.

"Wingardium Leviosa, Wingardium Leviosa, WinGARdium LeviOsa!"

The tingling sensation was back, but full force this time, covering Harry's entire body. He was taken from the Doxy's hold, floating down, down, away, feather light. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he grabbed Hermione roughly by the arm and sprinted as fast as he could, away from the little blue devils.

He spared a quick glance over his shoulder, past the brown bush that was Hermione's hair flowing as she ran. He could make out the tiny forms of the Doxys zooming towards them, anger very much apparent on their small faces. Harry quickly sped up his pace, and faintly he could hear thuds as Doxy after Doxy hit an invisible wall that shifted behind the duo. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

His relief was very short-lasting however, as he realized he had absolutely no idea where they were going. He felt phantom hands--or was it branches?--snag at his robes, making him stumble in his steps. Hermione pushed him forward, shooting small blue flames everytime she thought she had seen a creature, illuminating their path in short, brief flashes.

They came to a screeching halt when Harry, literally, tackled into Neville, who had apparently went ahead while Harry and Hermione was dealing with the Doxys.

"Neville, what are you doing?" Harry groaned as he spat grass and dirt from his mouth. "Why were you just standing there?"

"I thought I saw Trevor go this way," Neville answered, brushing dirt from his arms.

"And the reason you were standing there like a doof was...?"

"There's something there. I can hear it." He pointed to the darkness in front of them with a shaking finger.

Harry had no idea what "it" was, but he certainly did not like the sound of it.

"The whole point of this test it to face creatures, Neville. Stopping because you heard a noise is a sure way to get yourself a failing grade," he snapped. Hermione shot him a look for his slightly hypocritical attitude, but Harry didn't care. He was already tired of the stupid maze with the stupid Doxys and stupid gnomes, and all he wanted was to get out with a passing grade so he wouldn't have to see the Dursleys for another nine months.

"I...I don't...I can't...," Neville stuttered.

"What about Trevor, Neville? You came all this way just for him. There's no reason you can't continue now. You don't have far to go. If all of us help, we will be through and still make it out in time," Hermione said.

Neville glanced at the two of them, uncertainty very evident in his face.

"If all of us work as the same time, we can make it," Hermione promised. That's exactly what Harry was thinking before he got attacked by the Doxys, and look how that turned out; but he didn't say that out loud. Instead, he gave a nod to Hermione and Neville and tightened his grip on his wand, hoping upon hope that his stream of sparks would be enough to drive away whatever creature was no doubt just feet away.

He gave a deep breath and said, "Hermione, can you shine some light?"

From the rustling, Harry had a slight inkling of what he would see, and sure enough, once the blue flames shone ahead, Harry's worst fears came true.

At least ten fully grown Blast-Ended Skrewts blocked their path, reaching from one end of their path to the other, each of their creepy spider legs twitching just inches from Harry and his friends. And right in the middle, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world as he hopped along, was Trevor. Harry could have killed that bloody frog.

Neville lurched forward, as if he was going to grab Trevor from the horde in front of them, when Hermione grabbed his arm back.

"No. He's hopping closer to the back of the group than the front," Hermione said. "We can try and sneak around them and grab him on our way out."

Harry couldn't see how they were going to sneak around them, but he kept his mouth shut and inched forward slowly, trying hard not to touch any of the squirming creatures.

He held his breath as he gently stepped over them, tiptoeing across the path. He accidentally bumped one, and it scurried forward a few inches, jumping into it's neighbor. He released a relieved sigh when the Skrewts did nothing.

The were halfway around now, Trevor just out of reach. Neville reached forward, stretching his fingers as far as he could, Hermione holding him back by his robes so he wouldn't fall into the Skrewt's way. He managed to snag the elusive toad, fingers brushing against the small, slimy body. Trevor gave a short ribbit of surprise as he found himself suddenly in the air and no longer planted on the ground.

"Gotcha!" Neville yelled triumphantly.

"Good, you got your toad. Now let's get out of here," Harry said.

Neville placed his pet in his pocket and took one step forward. A warbled squeal of pain made each of them stop in their tracks. They looked down, and by Hermione's stuttering light saw a foot planted firmly on one of the lobster like tails. Neville gulped, and slowly inched his foot off of the appendage.

As soon as the foot was off, the Skrewt attacked. They shrieked, and stumbled back, but not before a small torrent of flames singed their robes.

"Their attacking!" Hermione yelled, holding her wand in front of her, hoping the flames of her wand would be enough to draw them back.

Harry knocked one away from his arm by jabbing it repeatedly in the face with the butt of his wand. It fell to the ground and skittered around them. A blast of fire exploded from it's butt, propelling it forward.

They continued to swarm, creeping forward on their spindly legs. Harry was taking the brunt of the attack, having managed to slip his way between the monsters and the other two. Another blast of fire found its way to Harry's robes, and he flailed his arm madly around, hoping to put the fire out.

"Go!" Harry yelled at Hermione and Neville. "I'll hold them off! Hurry!"

Hermione kicked one in what appeared to be the face. Her hair flew wildly as she whipped her head around. "But, Harry!" she protested.

"I'll be right behind you! Just go!" Sweat poured into his eyes, blurring his vision.

Hermione gave one last look to Harry before shoving Neville ahead, away from the Blast-Ended Skrewts.

A few tried to follow his friends, but Harry blocked their path. He kicked and squirmed, making little headway through the blasts of flames that blinded him at every turn. He held out his wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he tried, swishing his wand the way he had seen Hermione do. The Skrewt that he was pointing at fle away a few inches, but otherwise the spell did nothing. He continued to fire the spell, only soaring a few away.

The largest Skrewt founds its way to the front of the pack, directly in front of Harry. It turned around, the tail held high, and Harry could see the beginning of a flame begin to come forth. Quickly, he did the only thing he could in those few seconds; he sent out a large wave of sparks.

That was the wrong thing to do. The flames caught hold of Harry's magic, sending them roaring directly to Harry. A large explosion flared in his vision, taking hold of his robes and arm. A large flash of pain engulfed him and he screamed.

Harry flew back from the blast, smacking against the invisible wall. His arm burned fiercely, and he could feel a trickle of blood flow down his head. His head pounded repeatedly, a ringing noise apparent in his ears, making him groan. He barely managed to get a good feel of the damage before his eyesight began to swim. Darkness tunneled his vision, and the last the he saw before it consumed him completely was a Skrewt, scurrying down the path towards the exit.