The one who had been chosen.
Chosen by whom?
Chosen by you, Albus Dumbledore, I bet.
Klein was speechless.
"All right, that's enough for tonight. I'll see you all at the Halloween Banquet tomorrow."
With the Champions chosen, Dumbledore waved his wand, signaling Filch to put away the Goblet of Fire.
But just then, Karkaroff suddenly stood up and snapped, "I object! This is cheating!"
"Hm?"
Klein's thoughts stirred as he looked toward the Durmstrang headmaster, whose goatee was sticking up.
He hadn't expected Karkaroff to be so sharp. He'd actually seen through Dumbledore's little trick.
"Klein Grindelwald isn't even seventeen! This is blatant cheating!"
But things weren't as Klein had imagined.
Karkaroff was concerned about the age limit, not the Goblet of Fire's choice.
Madame Maxime frowned at his words as well.
Although Klein looked tall and slender, nothing like a fourth-year student, his actual age was plain to see. To claim there wasn't something suspicious going on would be pure self-deception.
"About that..."
Dumbledore chuckled.
"The age limit is there to protect the students' safety, but I believe our student is perfectly capable of serving as a Champion. As you know, he excels in every respect.
"Even I couldn't do better.
"What do you think?"
Dumbledore directed his final question at Karkaroff.
"I..."
Karkaroff was at a loss for words.
If he agreed, he would be admitting that the age limit meant nothing to Klein Grindelwald.
If he disagreed, what position would he be in after Klein Grindelwald had beaten him to a pulp twice?
Damn it! The old man really was a snake!
"Of course..."
Seeing that Karkaroff couldn't answer, Dumbledore changed tack.
"If your school has a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old student willing to sign a waiver, I'm not opposed to giving him a chance to prove