The next day was Saturday, and even the least perceptive young witches and wizards could sense the excitement surging through Hogwarts Castle.
The strongest from nine schools, an unprecedented live broadcast to the entire Wizarding World, and a prize of ten thousand Galleons.
Fame, honour, prestige... everything you could want.
Every one of those selling points stirred the students' emotions. Teenagers longed to stand out, to be recognised.
And the Super Goblet of Fire was the perfect stage!
"They've gone mad. They've all gone mad..."
Malfoy set down his satchel, panting, and picked up a glass of water. Casting his aristocratic manners aside, he gulped it down.
"What happened, Draco?"
Zhang Xiao put down the book in his hands. It contained some instructions his dad had sent him on using flying swords.
The Daoist Order had left without lingering, but Zhang Xiao was already satisfied. At such a tense moment, finding time to come and back him up had been no easy feat.
Malfoy wiped his mouth, leaned closer, and spoke quietly, still shaken.
"The whole school's gone mad. Some people argued over the teammates they wanted, others went straight to fighting, and some even promised to date people if they joined their teams.
"Then there were people who actually kidnapped someone and forced him to sign his name. The craziest one wanted to practise the Imperius Curse-"
The Imperius Curse? Had they gone mad?
Zhang Xiao found it hard to believe, too. The Goblet of Fire was a huge draw, but surely not to that extent?
"That idiot went straight to Professor Moody and asked, 'Professor, I'd like to learn the Imperius Curse. Could you teach me?'"
Drawing on his excellent acting skills, Malfoy vividly recreated the scene.
According to him, even the worldly Professor Moody had been stunned.