The crowd's buzzing instantly rose into a boiling sea of noise.
Excited screams and chatter merged into a wave of sound that battered the Entrance Hall's stone vault.
"I really want to see what their champions look like..."
Beside the Hufflepuff table, Cedric Diggory stood surrounded by his classmates.
He had become his House's sole focus, wearing a modest smile that could not quite conceal his pride.
Meanwhile, in a corner of Gryffindor, Fred and George exchanged a glance, their lips curling into identical smiles.
In their eyes, flames called ambition crackled.
At the same time, a sweeping cleanup of the Castle began on an unprecedented scale.
The tension of preparing to welcome honored guests seeped swiftly into every classroom, like spilled mercury finding every crack.
The professors' demands consequently became exacting to the point of obsession.
In Professor Flitwick's Charms Class, the air was taut enough to pluck a note from.
"Mr. Longbottom!"
His shrill voice made the wand in Neville's hand tremble.
The Switching Spell he was practicing went completely out of control, and his own ears visibly unfurled and transformed into two furry cactus pads.
"I sincerely hope that when the Durmstrang students arrive, your ears will still be growing on your head, rather than being a potted plant that needs watering!"
Professor Flitwick was practically jumping up and down as he roared.
Neville's face turned a deep purplish red.
The Castle itself was also undergoing a thorough cleansing.
Several portraits that had complained for centuries about their filthy frames were scrubbed until they looked brand-new.
The people in the paintings even tugged shyly at their collars, embarrassed by their overly pristine appearance.
The suits of armor in the corridors were polished until they reflected clear images of people.
They puffed out their chests, their joints making