Under the gazes and applause of their watching relatives, professors, and classmates, the Champions rose one after another and followed Ludo Bagman and Old Barty Crouch out of the Great Hall.
They stopped briefly in the entrance hall. Old Barty Crouch glanced at Ludo Bagman. "Mr. Bagman..."
"Understood!" Ludo Bagman untied the drawstrings of the Velvet bag and took out palm-sized Metal Tags, handing them out to the Champions. "Just put it in your pocket."
Old Barty Crouch said, "This is magical protection provided by Durmstrang, used only to safeguard your lives."
"Following Mr. Lovegood's suggestion, we provided a corresponding list of Dark Magic. I trust you have already received the Ministry of Magic's letters."
Seeing the Champions nod, he went on, "There is one point you must pay special attention to. The magical protection on it will only take effect when you are in mortal danger."
"I hope all Champions will give this their all, display as much of the magic they excel at as possible, and win glory for your schools."
Many of the Champions lowered their heads to glance at the Metal Tags. They understood what Old Barty Crouch meant: he was telling them not to count on getting lucky.
After the Metal Tags had been handed out, the group left Hogwarts Castle and headed toward the Quidditch Pitch at the other end.
As they walked, Old Barty Crouch explained the rules of the Third Task once again.
"Champions, please remember that you may only bring your Wands into the Maze. The Maze contains various traps and Magical creatures."
"Your scores determine the order in which you enter the Maze. The highest-scoring Champion team will enter first, followed by the others in sequence, at five-minute intervals."
"What you will face is a Maze with seven progressively harder