Silence fell over the little room again. After a long while, the flames in the fireplace apparently burned through a larger log, producing a rather loud, sharp crack.
"One school having two Champions is extremely unfair to us," Karkaroff suddenly said, his expression rather ugly.
"I insist that my students be allowed to enter again. Bring out the Goblet of Fire and keep adding names until every school has two Champions. Only then will it be fair, Dumbledore."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Ludo Bagman wiped his round, plump face with a handkerchief. There were too many people in the little room, and the roaring fire and lack of ventilation had raised the temperature considerably.
"The Goblet of Fire has just gone out. I'm afraid we'll have to wait until the next Triwizard Tournament for it to burn again."
"Durmstrang will certainly not be taking part in the next Triwizard Tournament!" Thoroughly dissatisfied with this answer, Karkaroff seized the opportunity to fly into a rage. Su Er distinctly saw his eyes relax slightly.
"An empty threat, Karkaroff!" Moody's voice rang out by the door. Everyone turned toward it to find his blue magical eye fixed on Karkaroff.
Moody-no, Professor Crouch-perfectly acted out how Moody ought to behave. He limped toward the fire, his right foot striking the floor loudly with every step-thump! Thump!
"You know perfectly well that anyone whose name comes out of the Goblet of Fire has already entered into a magical contract with it. It's an irreversible process!"
"Under the terms of that contract, you can't leave your Champion behind. He must compete. They must compete! That works in your favor."
"In my favor?" Karkaroff was visibly taken aback, but quickly slipped into character and sneered. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Moody. Hogwarts has two