Mr. Filch carefully placed the box on a table in front of him as Dumbledore continued explaining.
"Messrs. Crouch and Bagman have already examined the trials the champions will face and made all the necessary preparations... There will be three trials spaced throughout the school year that will test the champions in several different aspects: their magical skills, their daring, their powers of deduction, and of course... their ability to overcome danger... As you know, three champions will compete in the tournament, one from each participating school... The perfection with which they perform each trial will be judged, and the champion with the highest score at the end of the three trials will win the Triwizard Cup... The champions will be chosen by an impartial judge... the Goblet of Fire!"
Dumbledore drew his wand and tapped the lid of the box three times with the tip. When the lid popped open, he reached inside and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden chalice. The chalice was unremarkable except for a few flickering, bluish-white flames. Dumbledore closed the lid and placed the chalice back on the box.
He then explained that those wishing to be nominated as champions should write their names and the name of their school on a piece of parchment in clear handwriting and drop it into the chalice. They would have only 24 hours, as the champions would be selected during the Halloween celebrations. The chalice would then return the names of the three champions deemed most worthy to represent their schools.
The chalice was left in the lobby so that those who wished to participate could easily access it. He also placed the age line when he left the chalice in the lobby to ensure that no minor could put their name on the chalice. He also warned those who wished to participate to think carefully, as if their names were chosen they would be obligated to participate because a binding contract would be formed that would make them compete until the end and they would not be able to back out.
Once the teachers had left, Fred and George were discussing how they could circumvent the age limit, and for some reason, Hermione seemed to be encouraging them further by telling them they couldn't do it since Dumbledore was the one who established it. I don't know if she was aware of it or not, but her words only motivated them more to try. While they were talking about this, others, mostly boys, were asking where the Durmstrang students would be staying. I think some of them were hoping to spend more time with Viktor Krum, but they would be greatly disappointed when they learned that both schools would be staying in their carriage and ship respectively, as they preferred this arrangement even though they were offered rooms in the castle.
Once we managed to separate Hermione from her argument with the twins, we were about to leave the Great Hall when we saw Karkaroff showing obvious favoritism towards Krum, treating him almost like his own son, while being cold and indifferent to his other students. As they were about to leave, we almost bumped into each other at the door, so we stopped and let them go first. Karkaroff initially seemed unconcerned, but when he looked at Harry, he turned pale, and the Durmstrang students began to murmur in Harry's direction until the fake Moody arrived.
When Karkaroff looked at Moody, he seemed somewhere between angry and scared. They exchanged a few words until Karkaroff left, while Moody watched him go, his eyes fixed on his back with a clear expression of displeasure.
The next day was Saturday, and I don't know who came up with the idea, but for some unholy reason, Hermione dragged me out of the sweet, warm embrace of my bed. They'd better have a good reason for waking me up early on a Saturday, or heads will start rolling. Once I was presentable, Hermione dragged my body, which was begging to be back in bed, to the Gryffindor common room where Harry and Neville were waiting. For some reason I couldn't fathom, they seemed excited.
When the boys saw Hermione practically dragging me down the stairs, they couldn't help but chuckle a little, and Harry asked Hermione,
"What's wrong with her?
" "She slept in late last night... she'll be fine after eating something sweet."
Hearing the answer, Harry looked at me and asked,
"Didn't you use them last night?"
I knew she meant the clone that recharges my mana, so I answered him.
"No... it wasn't in my plans for the soul of an early-rising ghost to possess Hermione and attack me as soon as the sun came up... were you victims too?... does anyone know an exorcist?"
The boys burst into laughter as Hermione dragged me past the portrait of the Fat Lady out of the common room. Hermione snorted, amused, and said,
"If you prefer, I can have Harry carry you to the Great Hall."
Harry had a fit of coughing in the middle of his laughter when he heard what Hermione said, and I blushed as I told him it wasn't necessary. Hermione laughed at us as we walked to the Great Hall.
When we arrived, I realized that several students who don't usually get up early on weekends unless necessary were already having breakfast. I wanted to get some toast with jam, but for some reason, they took me to the hall where there were about 20 students looking at the Goblet of Fire, and some of them had toast with jam in their hands. I couldn't help but look at Hermione while she pouted because she wouldn't let me have my promised portion of sweets.
While I was contemplating destroying half the wizarding world if I didn't get something sweet soon, I overheard someone ask if anyone had put their name in the Goblet of Fire yet. The answer was that everyone from Durmstrang had, but no one from Hogwarts. Harry remarked,
"They probably did it yesterday after the rest of us went to bed... I would have done the same if I were going to introduce myself... I'd rather no one saw me... what if the Goblet tells you to get lost?"
I heard laughter behind us, and when I turned around, I saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan running down the stairs. They seemed a bit nervous. As they passed us, Fred said triumphantly,
"There, we just finished it."
Neville asked them what they'd taken, and the twins said that all three of them had taken an aging potion while rubbing their hands together and explaining something about how they only needed to be a few months older. Lee Jordan said that if any of them won, they'd split the prize three ways.
At that moment, my brain seemed to wake up a little, and I remembered what was about to happen, so I whispered to Blinky to give me my bread and jam while I looked for the best spot to watch the twins' show. When she felt me move, Hermione turned to look at me and asked, pointing at my bread,
"Where did you get that?"
"Blinky... come here, it's better from here."
Hermione followed me and we settled in just in time to see the twins jump into the circle that traced the age line one after the other and approach the chalice to leave the piece of parchment with their names on it only to be expelled a second later, they flew through the air before landing three meters away with a heavy impact that surely hurt them and when they were both on the ground a small "plin" was heard as they both began to grow a long white beard.
Seeing the twins like that, everyone there started laughing, including them when they saw their beards. While we were all laughing, we suddenly heard a deep voice with a clear tone of amusement saying that they had been warned. When we turned around, it was Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He checked the twins and then sent them to the infirmary, where Madam Pomfrey was already treating two other students who had done the same thing. Lee accompanied the twins, laughing at them. The four of us also went into the Great Hall, still laughing at the twins, and were ready for breakfast. Once in the Great Hall, we sat near Dean and Seamus, who were talking about the 17-year-old Hogwarts students who might be eligible to participate.