Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

On the afternoon of October 30, Professor McGonagall ended their maddening Transfiguration lesson early, and everyone raced downstairs to assemble in the Entrance Hall.

The students from each house formed a long line.

Apart from requiring the little first-years to stand at the front, Professor Sprout had no particular formation in mind for the older students. Her only requirement was that they not crowd together.

Clara's impression of this part was hazy. In her dream, it had all been a series of fleeting images, so she and Rowle were standing on the outermost covered walkway, peering outside.

Cedric and Ernie stood beside them. Ernie was clearly delighted, bouncing up and down as he tried to get a better look.

Clara thought that, if he could, he would even have liked to ride on Cedric's shoulders, where he would have an unobstructed view.

Cedric, on the other hand, seemed rather indifferent. Probably because he remembered it clearly, he had no desire to jostle for a place at the front with their curious little group.

"Merlin! Is that flying thing the Beauxbatons delegation?" Rowle exclaimed, pointing at something rapidly approaching above the Forbidden Forest.

The two of them stared at it for a long time without making out what it was. Only when it flew over the castle did Clara see that it was a powder-blue carriage, as big as a house.

Everything about the Beauxbatons carriage seemed to be plus-sized, so by the time Madame Maxime stepped out, Clara was no longer all that shocked.

It seemed only right that a carriage so large should hold a person just as large.

There were twelve or thirteen Beauxbatons students. Their exquisite uniforms were made of pale blue silk that glimmered faintly in the setting sun.

But elegance clearly had its drawbacks-Clara thought they must be freezing to death.

"The girl at the front is Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons Champion." Cedric had come up beside her at some point and spoke quietly to her.

Clara turned to look and quickly spotted the girl. It wasn't entirely because she still remembered her a little; Delacour was simply so beautiful that she was hard to miss.

The ground beneath Clara's feet suddenly began to tremble, and she seemed to feel something about to emerge from the Black Lake.

"In the lake! Look at the lake!" someone shouted. Huge waves surged up in the middle of the Black Lake, and slowly, a great ship rose out of the water.

The ship was still some distance away, but Clara could just make out that they were all big and bulky. Only when they came closer did she realize it was their thick fur cloaks.

"Viktor Krum," Clara said to Cedric behind her. "If I remember correctly, he's the Durmstrang Champion."

"Yes." Cedric nodded, and Clara nudged him, motioning for him to take a couple of steps back.

Cedric was puzzled and was just about to ask why when he heard Rowle's deafening voice-

"Krum!!! It's Krum!!! Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

He understood why Clara had told him to move back.

A great commotion broke out in the crowd. Apparently everyone was trying to get Krum's autograph. Clara, of course, had no interest; after all, the Ireland Team had won her more than ten Galleons, and she had quietly begun supporting Ireland.

The Durmstrang professor, whose name was probably Karkaroff, stood beside Krum with a stern face and cleared a path through the excited Hogwarts students.

Once all the guests had entered the Great Hall, Dumbledore gave the word, and the Hogwarts students swarmed into the castle as well. By then, their formation had fallen completely apart, and many Quidditch fans sprinted all the way, hoping that reaching the hall earlier would give them a chance to meet Krum.

Rowle, however, didn't join the scramble, which surprised Clara a little.

"They're going to be here for a whole term. There'll be a chance sooner or later." She shrugged. "Besides, they definitely won't sit with Hufflepuff, so why fight through the crowd?"

Clara agreed with that.

When she had spoken with Cedric earlier, he had told her that Durmstrang was close to Slytherin, while Beauxbatons preferred Ravenclaw.

The hall had clearly been specially decorated for the feast. Floating golden candles and brand-new banners showed everywhere how much importance the school placed on the Triwizard Tournament.

At the thought, Clara sighed. Cedric looked at her, a question in his eyes.

"I really hate You-Know-Who. Look what he did to such a wonderful tournament," Clara muttered. "I can't imagine how angry Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch would be if they knew the purpose of holding this tournament. Especially Mr. Crouch."

That day in the office, Cedric had mentioned Fake Moody, and Clara had quickly remembered that Fake Moody was Barty Crouch Jr.

Yes, the fellow sitting at the staff table right now, who had cast the Imperius Curse on them in class and landed her in the hospital for an entire day.

But they couldn't touch him yet, or Voldemort would certainly notice.

Dumbledore clapped his hands at the head table, and with a whoosh, a pile of food appeared on the long tables, much of it things Clara had never seen before.

Clearly, these were specialties from the two visiting schools' countries, prepared especially to welcome their guests.

French fish soup and chicken Kyiv, along with all sorts of desserts.

She had to admit, the Hogwarts House-elves were exceptionally good cooks. Clara couldn't resist eating a few extra pieces of bread and pie.

When everyone had finally eaten their fill and the golden plates had been cleaned with Scourgify, Professor Dumbledore stood up, and an air of excitement and tension spread through the Great Hall.

He began by introducing Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman, then explained the judges of the Triwizard Tournament, how the Goblet of Fire selected people, and the Age Line.

Clara saw the Weasley Twins' eyes shining at the Gryffindor table opposite and suddenly seemed to see them drinking Ageing Potion, being thrown outside the Age Line, and turning into white-haired old men.

Well, they had probably done it last time. It suited their personalities.

"Hey, Cedric," Clara said, suddenly thinking of something. She poked the boy sitting beside her, who was watching Dumbledore. "You're still going to enter, right?"

In fact, there was a simpler solution to all of this: Cedric could simply not enter.

But clearly that was impossible. Leaving aside the fact that he couldn't let Harry face the danger alone when he knew about it, the Goblet of Fire would have to select another Hogwarts Champion before it was hoodwinked into selecting Harry. Anyone who didn't know what was happening would be at risk of death.

Clearly, Cedric wouldn't let that happen.

He nodded and smiled at her, then pointed to Dumbledore, who was still speaking. Clara knew he was reassuring her that it would be all right and that they still had Professor Dumbledore.

The next day was Saturday. There were no lessons, and normally everyone would have slept in, but the Entrance Hall was unusually lively that day.

Rowle had dragged Clara out of bed early that morning, saying she wanted to see who was hoping to become Champion.

"I heard quite a few people from Durmstrang put their names in last night, but I haven't heard of anyone from Hogwarts doing it yet."

"There will be soon." Clara lifted her chin toward the Weasley Twins, who were walking in with excited looks on their faces.

"Those two? But they're not old enough."

"If they followed the rules, they wouldn't be Fred and George."

"What a clever little head you have~"

George had apparently heard her and had already pulled Fred over.

They looked at Clara from either side, identical mischievous grins on their identical faces. They were clearly brimming with confidence about what they were about to do.

"Perhaps you'd like to try too?"

"Homemade Weasley Ageing Potion-one drop each-"

"Sure. You two try it first, and if it works, I'll buy some from you." Clara sat on the steps with her arms folded, smiling down at them.

Fred was trembling all over with excitement by then, and he pulled some parchment from his pocket. The two of them took deep breaths and stepped over the Age Line amid the cheers.

"Did they...succeed?" Rowle was astonished. She couldn't believe Dumbledore's spell could be fooled so easily.

Then, the very next second, the twins went flying out of the golden circle. With a loud crack, they landed flat on their backs, identical long white beards growing from their chins and hanging down to their chests.

Deafening laughter erupted around them-even the big Durmstrang students were laughing, and the corner of Krum's mouth twitched as he stood in the corner. He had put his name into the Goblet of Fire that morning.

Clara couldn't help herself either. She doubled over laughing, tears nearly coming to her eyes. Sitting on the floor, the twins pointed at each other's beards and laughed louder than anyone, as though this was the result they had wanted all along.

Amid the cheering crowd, they even shouted to Clara, asking whether she still wanted the Ageing Potion.

Dumbledore appeared in the doorway and looked at the twins on the floor, who resembled a pair of white-bearded old men. A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes; he was clearly very pleased with his Age Line.

The Hogwarts students began putting their names in one after another. Every time someone walked up to the Goblet of Fire, a burst of cheers and whistles rose from the crowd.

As far as all the students were concerned, putting one's name into the Goblet of Fire was an honor in itself. And if someone were chosen as a Champion in the Triwizard Tournament, their house would certainly have bragging rights for a year.

Cedric came in from outside the Entrance Hall, joking around with a group of Hufflepuff boys. He walked in the middle, his school robes draped casually over his shoulders and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked as though Ernie had dragged him over straight out of bed.

Ernie Macmillan chattered away beside him. Cedric wore a smile and occasionally said a few words in reply.

He spotted Clara as soon as he came in. She was sitting with Rowle on the steps to the side, idly leafing through a book.

He greeted her, and she gave him a gesture of encouragement in return.

Then he turned and walked toward the Goblet of Fire. Every Hufflepuff in the Entrance Hall was cheering, Ernie's voice particularly shrill.

He pulled a folded piece of parchment from his pocket and tossed it neatly into the blue flames. The flames leaped suddenly higher, as though responding to him.

Clara watched him turn away from the Goblet of Fire and high-five Ernie and the others as they rushed up to him.

Every Hufflepuff in the Entrance Hall began cheering and applauding, and Clara gave a few token claps as well.

"Aren't you nervous and excited at all?" Rowle leaned over to ask her.

Clara looked away from the Goblet of Fire and opened the textbook on her lap, pretending to read the next page.

"Nervous about what?"

"Cedric putting his name in the Goblet of Fire. Didn't you see how nervous all the Hufflepuffs were just now?"

"He's old enough, so of course he could put it in." Clara closed the book and propped her chin on one hand. Cedric had just turned to look in their direction, and she smiled at him.

"And he'll definitely be chosen as the Hogwarts Champion. I'll bet three Galleons on it."