Exactly How Many Champions?

After all, it was Halloween Eve, and the scent of roasted pumpkin filled the castle.

A new generation of "Fred and Georges" had appeared, leading first-years close to suits of armor. Once the armor suddenly sprang up and startled the newcomers, these "Fred and Georges" would burst into gleeful laughter.

The Great Hall had been decorated again. Bats that perfectly suited the Halloween Eve atmosphere flitted about, while skeletons—naturally indispensable—performed strange dances around the house banners.

Quite a few students had spent the entire day in the Entrance Hall, hoping to see who had signed up and use it as a topic of conversation before the feast began;

Hufflepuff was supposedly the authority on this matter. They had not even left the Entrance Hall since yesterday's welcoming feast ended.

Many students learned from them that the Durmstrang students had completed their registration in the middle of the night;

Those students yawned incessantly, their bleary eyes making it obvious they had not fully woken up;

Karkaroff, standing beside the Goblet of Fire, showed them no consideration. He merely kept barking harsh reprimands and waving his wand, urging them to register faster;

There was only one exception among the Durmstrang students: Victor Krum. He did not enter the castle until morning, when he dropped his parchment into the Goblet of Fire;

According to Hufflepuff's intelligence, this had most likely happened because Victor Krum had caught a cold the previous night and therefore had not registered with the other students;

In fact, Karkaroff had openly favored Victor Krum ever since arriving at Hogwarts. Given that Krum was a Quidditch star, such treatment was perfectly normal.

Ilvermorny had registered early as well, with its students filing into the Entrance Hall at dawn;

Like Karkaroff, Seraphina Picquery had taken her place beside the Goblet