The ring had a smooth surface, without any runes or decoration. It looked like an ordinary little prop used for tossing games in the Muggle world.
He casually tossed the ring into the air.
The motion was as offhand as throwing away a scrap of paper.
The ring traced a silver arc through the air.
Just as it was about to reach its highest point, something suddenly changed.
The little metal ring seemed to be seized at both ends by an invisible hand and pulled sharply outward.
Its circumference expanded wildly in defiance of the laws of physics.
One meter, two meters.
It stretched in midair into a perfect silver circle two meters in diameter, gleaming coldly.
Then, silently, it dropped straight down.
"Clink."
A faint sound, crisper than a wind chime.
The enormous ring landed precisely on the floor around the Goblet of Fire, with the goblet at its center, exactly one meter from its base.
A faint gleam, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, flashed along the ring's edge and vanished.
At that moment, the worlds inside and outside the circle were completely severed.
The Goblet of Fire's blue-white flames still danced.
But their dance had lost a little of its liveliness and become somewhat mechanical, as though wrapped in an invisible layer of jelly.
Outside the circle, the candle flames swayed gently in the draft.
Inside, the air was deathly still. Even the tiniest specks of dust hung frozen in midair.
"This is the first layer of protection."
Douglas began to explain.
"A miniature anti-magic field."
"Its function is simple: to prevent any form of magic from acting directly on the Goblet of Fire itself."
"Whether a spell or a wizard enters this area, they're no different from a Muggle."
Barty Crouch's brow relaxed slightly.
His tired