Even though they only chatted a bit, after that, Conna and Fleur's relationship began to skyrocket at an unbelievable speed.
Just five minutes later, Kael, who was stuck in the middle, was mercilessly kicked out, falling from the enviable seat among the boys to being stuck with Mikel instead.
Watching Conna talk to Fleur, Kael couldn't shake the feeling that she seemed a bit different—her expression was a little... overdone.
But Kael just pretended he hadn't seen anything, and lowered his head to devour the giant steak and French bouillabaisse that had just popped up on his plate.
Because if he dared to say anything, even the smallest hint, he'd be dead—very, very dead... in every sense of the word.
So Kael wisely chose to keep his mouth shut and focus on his food.
I have to say, those French dishes were pretty tasty, especially the bouillabaisse—the flavor was almost identical to what he'd had at Nicolas Flamel's house.
The kitchen probably had House-elves from France; maybe he could ask about it later, see if they could add this dish to the regular menu and ditch the corn soup.
Aside from the bouillabaisse, the next round of desserts included lots of things he'd never seen before.
Kael eyed a block of snowy French vanilla almond panna cotta, but before he could grab it, Conna pushed the plate to Fleur.
"This is for the guest... Don't you like Yorkshire pudding?"
Fleur just smiled, not giving in at all.
Alright, fine... not messing with her.
Kael sighed and randomly picked out a pudding instead.
Twenty minutes later, as all the golden plates were once again spotless, Dumbledore stood up again.
A mood both excited and tense began to fill the Auditorium.
"The moment is finally here!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin. I'd like to explain a bit first, and then—"
"Bang!"
At that moment, the Auditorium doors were suddenly pushed open from outside, and two people walked in one after the other.
"Hope we're not late, Dumbledore." A voice everyone knew rang out.
Kael stared blankly at Chris, who was in the lead, not understanding why he was here.
"Too bad, you missed a feast," Dumbledore said. "The French cuisine was truly splendid."
"Oh, damn." Chris said in frustration. "There's been too much going on at the Ministry lately. I was only told to come here ten minutes ago."
"I get it. Luckily, you've made it in time for the most important part." said Dumbledore.
Then he turned to everyone, "Allow me to introduce our guests, since some of you may not know them. This is Mr. Chris Chopper, Minister from the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures..."
The room erupted in applause, with Fred and George making the most noise, Ginny and Ron nearly jumping onto the table.
"He's Kael's dad," Ron explained to Hermione and Harry. "A really chill guy. He remembers all our birthdays, and the only new robe I own was from him."
Harry nodded; he knew Kael's dad worked at the Ministry of Magic, but had never heard he was a Minister... that's a pretty high position.
"And this is Mr. Ludo Bagman, Minister for the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Games and Sports," Dumbledore continued.
Meanwhile, over at Hufflepuff, Kael was full of confusion.
Minister... Chris got promoted?
But that shouldn't be possible, a Minister swap at the Ministry of Magic is a huge deal, second only to the election of the Minister, and the Daily Prophet would definitely mention it.
But he read all the recent papers—none of that was in them.
Or maybe Dumbledore thought it sounded better introduced that way?
While Kael was pondering, Dumbledore had already finished introducing the judges—Chris, Ludo, and the three headmasters including himself.
At the same time, the side door of the Auditorium opened, and Filch walked in holding a big old wooden box inlaid with jewels, looking ancient.
The students watched as Filch placed the box on a table in front of the main guest seat.
"This year's Champion competition will have three tasks, scheduled at different times throughout the school year... They'll test the Champions' magic abilities... bravery... reasoning skills... and of course, their ability to overcome danger..."
The room fell dead silent—everyone seemed to be holding their breath.
Dumbledore went on calmly, "And the one responsible for selecting the Champions is a fair judge—The Goblet of Fire!"
Dumbledore pulled out his wand, tapped the box three times, and took out a very rough-carved, wooden goblet with blue-white flames dancing on it.
"Anyone wishing to be a Champion can toss their name in, and the Goblet of Fire will, tomorrow night on Halloween, select whoever it believes best represents each of the three schools as Champion.
Of course, I mean students who are old enough. In a moment, I'll be drawing an age line around the Goblet to keep out those who are too young."
"One last thing—I must remind everyone, the Triwizard Tournament is not a game. It carries deadly danger, and once your name is chosen by the Goblet, it forms a binding contract—you must see the competition through to the end..."
Honestly, Dumbledore's last words didn't do much.
Far from calming folk down, everyone was even more hyped. They couldn't wait to write their names and chuck them in, and this excitement lasted all the way until the feast ended and they headed back to their common rooms.
Fleur was headed back to the carriage for the night—she and Conna parted ways at the Auditorium door.
Kael went to wait near the Auditorium's side door.
About twenty minutes later, Chris finally came out from inside.
"I knew you'd be here," he said, grinning. "Surprised?"
Kael nodded, "Beauxbatons is in France, Durmstrang is in Northern Europe, this all sounds like Department of International Magical Cooperation business."
"Yeah, it was supposed to be Barty's..." Chris paused, "But he's busy with something—no time to come for now..."
"Because of Sirius Black?" Kael asked.
"That's right," Chris said. "After Black was cleared, someone accused Crouch of convicting him twelve years ago without a trial. That big mistake affected loads of people...
Anyway, those people have to go through an investigation now, prove they had no personal agenda back then. During this time, Barty can't leave the Ministry of Magic."
"Loads of people?" Kael mused. "So your position..."
"Oh, it's only temporary." Chris didn't seem to want to discuss Ministry business with Kael, and brushed it off vaguely.
"Once things are sorted out, I'll hand back judging power to Barty."
He glanced at the time.
"Sorry, I've got to get back to the Ministry now."
"Really hope the investigation speeds up. Nobody told me before that being a Triwizard Tournament judge involved so much work... Merlin's beard, I have to write eight reports tonight alone!"
With that, Chris hurried off towards the castle gates.