The next day, a mood of debate and division hung in the air at Hogwarts.
Mad-Eye Moody's fierce interrogation in the Great Hall had been like a crowbar, prying apart Hogwarts's tranquil facade to expose two utterly different currents of thought beneath it.
Almost overnight, the students and professors had spontaneously divided into two clearly opposed camps.
The conservatives gathered beneath Professor Moody's banner of safety first. Most came from Ministry of Magic families or were naturally cautious students.
They believed Professor Moody's concerns were entirely reasonable. After the chaos of the second task, stricter oversight of the third task was absolutely necessary.
"My dad says any magical experiment that hasn't been rigorously reviewed is playing with fire."
A Hufflepuff student whispered this to a companion in the corridor.
The reformers firmly supported Professor Douglas Holmes's philosophy of "practical innovation."
Most were Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students, particularly those who had distinguished themselves in the Swiftwind Sword Club and various academic groups.
"The same tired old arguments again,"
a member of the Swiftwind Sword Club said scornfully.
"Real safety means having the ability to deal with danger, not hiding in a greenhouse and pretending danger doesn't exist. Professor Holmes taught us that in our very first lesson!"
Of course, a third voice also drifted through the Castle, belonging to those perennial gossip enthusiasts who had no interest in politics or theory.
They had only one topic: was Krum's beloved really Hermione Granger?
Had Professor Moody's careless remark exposed some truth?
Viktor Krum's response was to retreat into a corner of the Library in even deeper silence. What lay open beside him was no longer a Quidditch tactics diagram, but an abstruse work on the logic of Ancient Runes.
As for Hermione, when Ron cautiously brought up the subject, she merely turned