"No, I won't accept this!" Karkaroff banged on the table, making it clear that he absolutely refused to accept Hogwarts having an extra Champion.
"Either we choose again and make sure all three schools have two Champions, or I withdraw!"
"So you won't accept it? Then take your students and leave, if you've got the guts. You want to withdraw? Go ahead! Who's stopping you? Take them and leave right now!" Sirius rolled his eyes and snapped back without a shred of politeness.
"If you leave, we'll have exactly three Champions left."
Tris had no idea when Sirius had come in, or how.
In any case, shortly after he and Harry had been chosen as Champions one after the other and entered the small room, Dumbledore had brought in more than a dozen people, including the other two headmasters. Sirius had been among them.
Like almost every former Death Eater, Karkaroff visibly lost his nerve when faced with Sirius. His eyes darted away, and he did not dare meet Sirius's gaze.
Yet he was clearly still dissatisfied. "We held so many meetings and did so much preparation. How could this still happen?"
"None of us could have foreseen something like this, could we?" Bagman was drenched in sweat.
A fierce argument had just erupted in the room.
Crouch had argued with Karkaroff, Crouch had argued with Madame Maxime, and Sirius had argued with Karkaroff, turning the room into a chaotic mess. Only Dumbledore stood to one side without saying a word.
"Dumbledore." Karkaroff seemed to have finally remembered that there was someone of particularly high standing present. He turned his gaze toward him. "You were once the honorary president of the International Confederation of Wizards. You're now the most highly respected wizard in all of Britain, as well as the