The laughter atop the Astronomy Tower gradually died away.
But the absurdity still hung in the air, making it a little hard to breathe.
On the magical screen, the comical dance between the Giant Squid and the bubble champions continued looping silently, but no one was laughing anymore.
Igor Karkaroff's face had turned a deep, purplish red.
He stared fixedly at the screen, watching the illusion of Viktor Krum being gently toyed with by the Giant Squid's tentacles.
That was not merely his student; that was Durmstrang's pride, the face of the northern wizarding world.
Now that face was being treated by a squid as a fragrant, rainbow-coloured Bouncing Ball, pushed back and forth through the water.
"Enough!"
A furious roar rang out.
Karkaroff slammed his hand on the table and sprang to his feet.
His bloodshot eyes looked ready to spit fire as he glared at Douglas Holmes.
"Holmes! This is a fraud! You're humiliating Durmstrang and Beauxbatons!"
Douglas was not angry in the slightest.
He calmly regarded his nearly crazed colleague, his tone gentle but cutting straight to the point.
"Headmaster Karkaroff, if you consider demonstrating students' ability to adapt under genuine pressure a humiliation, then I can only regret Durmstrang's educational philosophy."
"You!"
Karkaroff was left utterly speechless by those words.
He panted heavily, pointing at the screen with a trembling finger, yet could not get a single curse out.
Furious and unwilling to accept it, he could finally do nothing but force a threat through gritted teeth.
"You'll regret this, Holmes! Just you wait!"
With that, he swept his heavy fur robes aside and left without looking back.
He was so angry that his footing was a little unsteady even on the stairs; viewed from the Astronomy Tower, his retreating figure looked both lonely and bedraggled.