"Victor!" Franz Schmidt and Maria Wilman reacted strongly, shouting at Victor Krum, "What are you talking about?!"
Draco furrowed his brow slightly as he looked Victor Krum over. "What is he planning?"
"I don't know either..." Cedric looked rather surprised. "This is way too sudden!"
"Maybe he just doesn't want any regrets?" Harry guessed. "Like during that final?"
It was not only Draco, Cedric, and Harry who were discussing it. The Champions from the other schools were talking as well, and even the spectators outside the maze were buzzing with speculation. The Quidditch Pitch grew noisy once more.
"Krum has made an incredible decision!" Ludo Bagman shouted. "He's actually challenged Wizet to a duel!"
"Could it be..." A possibility occurred to him. "Because of the previous Quidditch World Cup final? Does he want to have a true contest with Wizet?"
What Ludo Bagman had said was indeed one of Victor Krum's reasons for proposing a duel—or rather, a catalyst.
Before Durmstrang's term had begun, Victor Krum had often heard his teammates mention the final during team training, talking about Wizet's terrifying performance on the pitch.
From then on, an idea had taken root in Victor Krum's heart: he wanted to face Wizet head-on.
Without question, the Five-Wizard Tournament had provided him with that opportunity.
Not only had he watched Wizet calmly deal with the fire dragon and heard rumors of Wizet splitting the Black Lake in two, he had also felt the depth of Wizet's magical knowledge while taking part in the exchange meetings.
After experiencing all that, Victor Krum knew perfectly well that defeating Wizet was almost impossible.
As a Quidditch Seeker, Victor Krum knew exactly how to deal with people and things that seemed "invincible."
He had to cast aside his worries and fear, then face them