For the first time, everyone felt that Saturday was unbelievably long.
Time seemed to have slowed down; the Wizard Chess and Exploding Snap they usually couldn't get enough of suddenly became boring and stale. Every once in a while, they'd look up to check if the sky outside was getting dark.
From morning to noon, then afternoon... it felt like a month had passed before the sky finally darkened.
When the moon rose, everyone hurried impatiently to the Auditorium.
Maybe because there had been banquets two days in a row, the carefully prepared feast wasn't as appealing anymore.
People just ate a few bites and set their utensils down, constantly standing up to check if Professor Dumbledore was done eating.
"Sit down, already." Hermione finally couldn't take it when Ron stood up for the third time. "It takes time for the Goblet of Fire to decide— not even Headmaster Dumbledore can announce the results early."
"How do you know?" Ron said. "Does putting your name in the Goblet of Fire make you a time expert?"
"Of course not!" Hermione said impatiently. "Have you never read 'Hogwarts: A History'? It's all written in there."
"I doubt anyone actually reads such a thick book," Ron muttered, but seeing Hermione look ready to snap, he quickly switched tactics: "Alright, can you please be nice and just tell us what time it's going to be?"
The people nearby all turned to look as well.
"The book only mentions that the Goblet of Fire will extinguish after one day," Hermione said. "But it was brought out at the end of yesterday's banquet, so it should be around seven thirty."
Ron checked the time—it was seven ten... which meant they'd have to wait another twenty minutes?
Feeling annoyed, he grabbed a plate of pudding. Instead of eating it, he began stabbing it repeatedly with his fork and asked:
"What do you think, who will be Hogwarts' Champion?"
Harry glanced around, saw Fred and George on the opposite side of the table, then lowered his voice: "I hope it's Angelina."
"I'd love to see Fred picked," Ron said. "Then I'd be the Champion's brother— maybe Krum would even give me his autograph."
Hermione let out a mocking snort.
"But I think it could be Hermione." Harry remembered suddenly that there was another person with them who had entered their name, and quickly added, "Your final scores are even higher than Angelina's."
Hermione blushed for once, but tried to look as normal as possible.
"That's only because I chose all the courses last year, so my scores look higher."
"No, I think Harry makes a good point," Ron said seriously, nodding. "You always finish the professors' assignments first, and even Snape can't find any fault with you."
Hermione turned her head to stare at Ron, as if she was meeting him for the first time.
Actually, since she threw her name into the Goblet of Fire, Ron, although he never said it aloud, had clearly felt uneasy about it— ever since that morning, he hadn't initiated a conversation with her.
So Hermione really hadn't expected him to say something like that now.
Ron, however, didn't notice any of this. He kept stabbing the pudding and went on: "If you really become Champion... could you get me Krum's autograph?"
Hermione's face instantly went cold. She grabbed a book and tossed it at him.
The thick "Medieval Magic Rune Evolution" landed on the table in front of Ron, making him nearly drop his fork in shock.
"What are you doing? That book nearly hit me!" Ron yelled, thoroughly annoyed.
But Hermione was already looking away, not sparing him another glance.
Finally, twenty minutes later, the last dessert vanished.
Dumbledore stood up, and the Auditorium became utterly silent.
"Alright, the Goblet of Fire is about to decide." Dumbledore said, and he looked just as nervous and expectant as everyone else.
He waved his wand, and more than half the candles in the Auditorium went out, leaving only the ones in the pumpkin lamps.
In this half-light, the Goblet of Fire looked brighter than ever; the brilliant blue-white flames shone dazzlingly.
Beside the Hufflepuff table, Cedric was breathing hard. "I've never been this nervous before."
"It's almost time," Mikel, who had been watching the clock, said.
When the time hit seven thirty.
With everyone watching, the flames in the goblet suddenly turned red, sparks crackling and sputtering out like a volcano about to erupt.
Then, a tongue of flame shot into the air and spat out a scorched piece of parchment... the Auditorium fell instantly silent; everyone held their breath.
A large hand caught the parchment.
"Durmstrang's Champion..." Dumbledore proclaimed loudly. "Is Viktor Krum!"
"Brilliant!"
"It's Krum..."
"No surprise at all!"
Applause and cheers swept through the Auditorium.
Krum stood up from beside the Slytherin table, and Ludo Bagman immediately stepped forward to escort him to the adjoining room.
"Fantastic, Viktor!" Karkaroff boomed.
Once the applause quieted down, the second parchment sprang from the goblet.
"Beauxbatons' Champion..." Dumbledore announced, "is Fleur Delacour!"
Next to Conna, Fleur stood up with grace, slipping lightly between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables.
This time, the applause wasn't as enthusiastic because so many people were just staring at her, and Ron's mouth was hanging open, completely stunned.
By the time people snapped out of it, Fleur had walked into the adjoining room.
The Auditorium sank into silence again, but this time, beneath it surged a clear and fierce excitement.
Now it was time for the Hogwarts Champion...
When the third parchment appeared in Dumbledore's hand, nearly half the crowd couldn't help but stand up.
"Hogwarts' Champion..." Dumbledore looked at the name on the parchment and suddenly smiled. "Is Kael..."
Out of nowhere, Kael felt his mind buzz— like hundreds of Billywig were throwing a dance party, making it impossible to hear anything.
In fact, the Auditorium had literally gone deaf—
A deafening roar of cheers erupted, like a tsunami rolling in, threatening to tear the ceiling off.
"I knew it!"
Kael felt himself being hugged— it was Conna, who was jumping and shouting, ears bright red with excitement.
"Can you not consider my feelings for once?" Cedric said, helpless.
Even so, he hugged Kael, too, glowing with excitement. "Amazing! I knew you could do it!"
At the same time, Cho, Fred, and George ran over, surrounding Kael in the middle.
"Sorry to interrupt," Dumbledore had to remind them, "the other two Champions are waiting. You'd best let him go."
Everyone quickly stepped aside, making way for Kael.
On the main table, Chris was smiling at him, gesturing toward the side door— urging him to hurry over.
Nearby, Karkaroff couldn't help but laugh aloud when he heard Kael's name called.
After the Triwizard Tournament rules were finalized, he'd looked into the Hogwarts students.
The first one was Kael, who'd been awarded the Merlin Knight Order Second Class medal.
But Karkaroff didn't think much of it.
A three-meter-tall brute, plus the famous Magizoologist Silvanus Kettleburn— with those two around, you could solve the werewolf problem with a Muggle tagging along.
To him, Kael's second class medal was just a lucky kid with two generous wizards and the influence of Dumbledore... nothing more.
What mattered more to him was Kael's age— just turned fifteen, literally skimming the age limit.
Krum, on the other hand, was already eighteen. For two not-yet-graduated students, three years made a huge difference— it was practically handing the championship to them.
Durmstrang was destined to win!
Just then, Dumbledore turned around.
"Albus," Karkaroff chuckled, "He's the youngest Merlin Knight Order member, right? Hogwarts sure is full of talent."
"Igor, if you want to talk talent— Durmstrang has the most popular legendary Seeker."
The two looked at each other and then broke into genuine smiles.