From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 319 Goblet of Fire

Krum's appearance undoubtedly caused quite a stir among the crowd. No one thought that this professional Quidditch player was still a student, and his face certainly didn't show that. Perhaps it was the bitter cold and frost in the high latitudes that made him more mature than his age.

But in a magic school full of youthful vitality, we generally call it premature aging.

Krum and the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team's disastrous defeat in the World Cup undoubtedly added a sense of tragedy to this student who looked very old. This not only did not reduce the attention his fame brought him, but instead won him sympathy.

Hogwarts Quidditch fans gathered together and loudly conspired in the hope of getting Krum's autograph, and some girls even took out their lipstick, probably hoping that Krum would sign his name on their shirts.

Professor McGonagall used a stern look to stop such shameless fantasies, but every student who passed by her with their heads down started talking about Krum again in less than half a minute.

The Beauxbatons students who entered the Great Hall first sat at the Ravenclaw table, while Krum brought the Durmstrang students to the Slytherin table.

The students of Hogwarts gradually took their seats, and only the headmaster Dumbledore was still standing. When everyone was seated, Dumbledore announced loudly: "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and especially - distinguished guests. I am very happy to welcome you to Hogwarts. I hope and believe that you will feel comfortable and happy here."

Ivy noticed that when Furong heard these words, she gave him an ambiguous look.

Dumbledore continued to speak, but his speeches were always brief, and he would probably announce the start of the banquet in less than two sentences.

"The Triwizard Tournament will officially begin after the banquet! Now I invite everyone to eat and drink as much as you want, just like you are at home!"

Sure enough, just as Dumbledore sat down, the long table in the hall was filled with all kinds of food. Different from the fixed dishes with strong Hufflepuff flavor in the past, the dishes this time also had many foreign flavors. Ivy not only saw French foie gras and fish soup on the long table, but also Nordic-style meatballs and cod.

Ivy was very glad that the house-elves in the kitchen didn't bring in food like stinky herring, otherwise the banquet would definitely have turned into a picture of hell.

Thanks to the warm environment in the auditorium, Furong finally took off the scarf wrapped around her head. Her shiny silver hair and bright eyes and white teeth immediately attracted the attention of countless boys.

Ron's reaction was the biggest. When Furong took away a plate of fish soup from their table, Ron's eyes were glued to her for a long time before he could move away.

"She must be a Veela!" Ron's throat became hoarse due to not swallowing for a long time, but he still insisted on sharing his opinion with his good brother.

Harry ignored him because he was staring at Qiu Zhang, who was not far from Fleur. Ever since Harry discovered his ignorant feelings, the more he looked at this girl, the more he felt that he and Snape had some strange commonalities. This made him unconsciously reduce the number of times he went to Mrs. White's office.

Although this lack of protection from his mother made him feel very anxious, when Harry went to Mrs. White's office with a sense of guilt towards his father, he always found that Snape's progress was not as great as he had imagined.

On the one hand, this discovery eased the conflict in his heart, but on the other hand, he felt it was difficult to interfere in the relationship between Cedric and Qiu Zhang, and he could only secretly pray that they would quarrel and break up.

Hermione expressed her disdain for the two of them staring at the girls at the Ravenclaw table: "If you were willing to retract your gaze and observe other places carefully, you would find that there are other people in this hall, such as the Ministry of Magic officials at the faculty table."

When the students just sat down at the long table and waited for Dumbledore to announce the start of dinner, they had already noticed that there were two empty seats at the long faculty table. Now they were finally filled with two directors of the Ministry of Magic, Lucius Malfoy, Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Ludo Bagman, Director of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

"Malfoy's father who's a high-ranking official?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"If you remember, during the summer vacation we were able to depart from London and take the VIP channel to the World Cup stadium, instead of having to cross fields and mountains with a group of people in the early morning and squeeze together to use the portkey. It was all because of Malfoy's father, a high-ranking official. You wouldn't ask such a question." Hermione pointed out bluntly that because there was a plan to launch an equal rights movement for house-elves, Hermione learned about the composition of the Ministry of Magic in advance, and she wrote many letters to consult Percy for this purpose.

"Okay, okay." Harry quickly distracted Hermione and helped his allies share the damage. "We all know that those Slytherins are willing to please Ivy, but what are they doing here?"

"If you're willing to take the time to use your brain, which is focused only on Quidditch and dueling, to remember their positions, you should be able to understand that the Triwizard Tournament is obviously also an international sporting event." Hermione's firepower did not diminish at all, and Ariana, who was sitting opposite them, couldn't help laughing.

"No..." Harry protested weakly, "My mind is still focused on the potion..."

Hermione rolled her eyes and didn't continue discussing the issue of Harry's brain. "Apparently, they want to see the opening ceremony of the Triwizard Tournament in person."

When the dessert plates were removed, Dumbledore stood up again. A feeling of excitement and anticipation swept through the students in the hall, whether they were from Hogwarts or the other two magic schools.

"It's time!" Dumbledore announced, smiling at the expectant faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin, but please allow me to briefly introduce the schedule of this school year's Triwizard Tournament, and two guests from the Ministry of Magic. The first is our Hogwarts Governor and Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mr. Lucius Malfoy."

The loudest applause came from the Slytherin table. Although Harry and Ron didn't like Malfoy very much, they still clapped their hands reluctantly in the face of Hermione's disapproving look. When Lucius finished bowing and sat down again, they immediately put their hands back under the table.

Ivy, who was sitting at the head of the Slytherin table, also clapped softly. This was the first time he had seen Lucius since the plan began. The man looked even more haggard, but it was unclear whether it was due to work pressure or the mental pressure brought to him by betraying Voldemort.

"—and Mr Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

Bagman's popularity is much better than Lucius's, which can be heard from the louder applause in the hall. Perhaps it is due to his identity as a well-known former Quidditch player, or the warm smile on his face. "...the two of them will form the referee panel for the Triwizard Tournament with me, Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff! They will score the efforts and performances of the three warriors."

This was the first time that Dumbledore publicly mentioned anything about the Triwizard Tournament other than the participating schools and the venue, so the entire hall fell silent in an instant.

Dumbledore called over Filch, the castle caretaker who had been waiting there. In his thick, gnarled hands, Filch held a large wooden box decorated with jewels. The box was very old, and some students who knew about the long history of the Triwizard Tournament had guessed that it was an object from the past.

Many students stretched their necks to look at the box in front of Dumbledore, and some impatient ones even stood on the stools.

"As you know, there will be three warriors participating in the competition," Dumbledore held the wooden box in his hand, waved his hand and conjured up a stone base from the ground, and placed the wooden box on it. "They will represent their respective schools, complete the competition items, and receive scores from the judges. The warrior with the highest score after three items will win the title of the Triwizard Tournament and the prize of one thousand gold Galleons. The person responsible for selecting the warriors is an impartial selector, the Goblet of Fire."

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, he pulled out his elder wand and knocked three times on the jeweled wooden box. The wooden box groaned and opened its lid, and Dumbledore reached in and pulled out an unusually large wooden cup. It was in the shape of a goblet, but it was not the size of a normal human palm. Half-giants like Hagrid and Madame Maxime might be more suitable to hold it with one hand.

This seemingly ordinary large wooden cup is also a magical item because everyone can see the blue-white flame it contains.

Dumbledore replaced the cover of the Goblet of Fire box and placed the Goblet of Fire on top of the box so that everyone could see it clearly.

"Everyone who wants to become a champion must write his or her name on parchment and throw it into the Goblet of Fire." Dumbledore explained, "You have 24 hours to consider it carefully. The registration will end on Halloween night. At that time, the Goblet of Fire will select the champion he thinks can best represent the three schools. And tonight, the Goblet of Fire will be placed in the hallway, and all students who are willing to participate in the champion selection will be able to touch it."

Dumbledore glanced at everyone in the hall, making sure they had heard him clearly before continuing, "In order to prevent students with age differences from suffering, after the Goblet of Fire is placed in the entrance hall, I will set up an age line around it. Anyone under the age of seventeen will not be able to cross this magic."

The students in the auditorium became restless, and the most prominent ones were the Weasley twins, who were most envious of the 1,000 Galleon prize.

Dumbledore raised his voice again, and his tone became serious: "I must ask you to pay attention again. The Triwizard Tournament is not a joke. Don't act rashly. Once a champion's name is chosen by the Goblet of Fire, he must participate in the competition. Because he and the Goblet of Fire have reached an inviolable magical contract. This means that everyone who hopes to become a champion must confirm his idea wholeheartedly and ensure that he participates in the Triwizard Tournament out of his own will. So I ask you all to think twice before you act."

"Well!" Dumbledore said finally, "I think it's time for everyone to go to bed. Good night everyone!"

Dumbledore's uncharacteristically long-windedness failed to attract the students' attention, but instead sparked a very extensive discussion.

"Is there anyone from Gryffindor who is ready to put their name into the Goblet of Fire?" Harry heard Seamus ask beside him. The explosive genius obviously noticed the gazes of the Weasley twins. "I mean... volunteers who are seventeen years old or older?"

No one answered Simo's question. In this awkward silence, other houses' discussions about their own warriors continued.

"Cedric can do it!" This is undoubtedly a student of Hufflepuff House.

The student opposite him thought differently: "The opponent is that Doom! You know who I'm talking about!"

"But..." Hufflepuff, who spoke first, answered hesitantly, "He may not necessarily participate... You know, he doesn't seem to be very interested in this kind of limelight. Apart from knowing that he grew up overnight in a magical way, was promoted to the fifth grade, and obtained ten OWLs certificates, have we ever seen him cast spells?"

"Then you must have forgotten the large-scale weightlessness magic he cast in the auditorium two years ago."

"Maybe it's just a levitation spell!" The voice didn't sound so confident anymore, "...it just has a very large range."

As the common room was not located in the same direction, the sound of the Hufflepuffs' discussion became increasingly distant, and Harry and the others could no longer hear it. However, some discussions could be heard from the Ravenclaw students nearby.

At least when they spoke "nonsense" in front of the Fat Lady, they already knew that a Ravenclaw student named Fowle was going to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.

The next day was Halloween, which was also Saturday. Generally speaking, few people would want to get up early on such a holiday. However, more people got up early to watch the Goblet of Fire than expected.

More than twenty people were crowded in the hallway, some holding breakfast in their hands, but they were all staring at the Goblet of Fire in front of them.

It was placed neatly on a stone base, surrounded by a circle of golden lines. It went without saying that this must be the age line that Dumbledore mentioned last night.

From their classmates, Harry and his friends have learned that all the representatives from Durmstrang have cast their names into the Goblet of Fire, while no one from the other two schools has taken any action yet.

"If it were me, I'd rather go out at night," said Harry. "It would be so embarrassing if someone saw the Goblet of Fire spit out your name!"

As soon as Harry finished speaking, there was a commotion coming from the direction of the auditorium. A dozen Slytherin students in green robes with silver edges were walking towards here, crowding around something.

The Hogwarts students in the hall immediately recognized the figure surrounded in the middle - Ivy Doom.

(End of this chapter)