Under Dumbledore's lead, the Hogwarts students lined up neatly and entered the hall together with the Beauxbatons students.
The round tables used for banquets had already been set up again, and they were already full of Durmstrang students in red robes. But almost none of them paid any attention to the two groups that had just entered. Instead, they were all looking at the same place...
The Goblet of Fire.
The crackling blue flames inside that great wooden cup seemed to be burning more fiercely than they had yesterday. Every now and then, they would suddenly draw inward, only to erupt again with a sharp burst and spit out one or two blue-white sparks, tugging at the nerves of every student staring at it...
"Oh, our guests from Hogwarts and Beauxbatons have arrived."
Karkaroff was seated right behind the Goblet of Fire. When he saw the two groups enter, he stood up. After motioning for Dumbledore and Madame Maxime to take the seats beside him, he said to the students,
"I know you are all eagerly awaiting the result—but unfortunately, the Goblet cannot satisfy your curiosity just yet. It will probably need another half hour or so before it is ready."
"So, to help pass this difficult stretch of time, please enjoy the feast before you to your hearts' content!"
Karkaroff clapped his hands, and just like yesterday, abundant food appeared on every round table. But since there had already been a banquet last night, and since there was now something far more important occupying everyone's minds, almost nobody showed much interest in the feast. The clearest sign of that was that the endless traffic of students getting up for more food, which had filled the hall the day before, had now almost completely vanished.
'Come to think of it... isn't this Karkaroff acting a little differently from the original story?'
Avada naturally belonged to the group with no interest in eating, but what occupied his thoughts was not the soon-to-be-announced champions. Instead, he was carefully observing the five judges, searching as hard as he could for any abnormality, no matter how slight—because the trial he had to face was far more than just the Triwizard Tournament.
'He seems a little too friendly. Friendly in almost the same way Dumbledore is. I remember that in the original story, he only acted like this toward Krum and Dumbledore. Toward everyone else, including the other elite students under him, he was much colder... But judging from his spiritual state, Karkaroff doesn't seem abnormal at all. He really does look happy?'
'If he's simply delighted that his school gets to host the Triwizard Tournament again, that's one thing. But if it's because something else is going smoothly—like his plans not having encountered a single hitch so far...'
Avada could not help narrowing his eyes slightly.
'If I become champion, maybe I'll get a chance to test him a little...'
As he thought, he mechanically shoveled food into his mouth bite after bite, quickly emptying his plate. But he did not get up for more. He simply sat there, staring blankly at the bread crumbs left on the plate.
In fact, most of the students were in the same state now. The rest were either passing the time by chatting, or had started piling Knuts and Sickles onto the tables, looking as though they were already gambling on who the champions would be...
At last, the annoying plates that signaled the banquet was still ongoing vanished from the tables—and Karkaroff rose once more. The sparse murmuring throughout the hall instantly disappeared without a trace.
"The Goblet of Fire is about to make its decision."
Before speaking, Karkaroff seemed to take a deep breath, and the flames jumped several times in response. He looked quite excited himself. Beside him, Dumbledore was smiling as he watched the dancing flames, Madame Maxime was leaning slightly forward like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Ludo Bagman was gripping the edge of the table with eager anticipation, and even old Barty, normally so stern, was staring fixedly at the Goblet of Fire...
"Once the champions' names are announced, I hope they will come forward to the Goblet, present themselves before all the students, and take a photograph together. After that, I will publicly announce the detailed schedule for this Tournament."
Karkaroff's hands were braced on the table, and he was leaning so close to the Goblet that it looked as though he was almost about to stick his face into it, seemingly unafraid that the sparks popping out of it might set fire to that delicate goatee of his...
Suddenly, the flames inside the goblet turned red, and sparks flew everywhere, making Karkaroff hurriedly draw back. Then a tongue of fire shot into the air, and from it flew a charred slip of parchment.
The hall was now so silent that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
"First, let us congratulate Durmstrang's champion—"
Karkaroff looked at the name on the slip in his hand, and a brilliant smile instantly spread across his face.
"Viktor Krum!"
Someone was the first to shout something in German or some other language, and then the whole hall was swept up in tremendous cheering. Apparently Krum was quite popular among the local students, and since he was also a famous Quidditch star, even the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students were willing to cheer for him...
A burly young man rose to his feet with a broad smile, said something to the people around him, and strode to the side of the Goblet of Fire, where he even shared an embrace with Karkaroff.
The applause and cheering gradually subsided, and everyone's attention focused once more on the goblet. A few seconds later, the blue flames turned red again. The second slip of parchment shot out under the force of the flames—
"Beauxbatons' champion is,"
Karkaroff's excitement visibly diminished quite a bit, though he still maintained a smile as he read aloud,
"Fleur Delacour!"
Amid a round of polite applause and a few cheers, a silver-haired girl rose briskly to her feet and walked to the other side of the Goblet, chin held high. Her headmistress, Madame Maxime, stood up excitedly, then realized she could not hug her from that height and sat back down again...
'Exactly the same as in the original story.'
Avada had already gripped the edge of the table.
'Now it all depends on Hogwarts. If I didn't misread that vague prophecy, then next will be...'
The Goblet turned red once more, sparks spraying everywhere, and a tongue of fire shot high into the air. Karkaroff plucked the third slip of parchment from the tip of the flame and brought it in front of his face—
Then a baffled expression appeared on it.
'...Oh, for fuck's sake.'
The Hogwarts students all turned in unison to look at one particular person.
They all knew there was only one name that could produce that kind of expression from someone reading it for the first time.
"Hogwarts' champion is..."
Karkaroff even showed the slip of parchment to Dumbledore. Only after Dumbledore nodded to confirm it was correct did he raise his voice and read it aloud:
"...Ken!"
That one short syllable was simply no match in sheer presence for the long, imposing names that had come before it.
"..."
(End of Chapter)