Chapter 381: The Goblet of Fire
Chapter 381: The Goblet of Fire
The next day, Felix woke up in bed, yawning widely.
The air outside the window was damp, mixed with the scent of earth. After completing his morning routine, he estimated the time and prepared to head to the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Valen, let's go, it's time to eat." He called out.
The crib bed rustled with the movement of a fluffy velvet blanket, then fell silent.
"Valen?"
A small hand emerged from under the blanket, waved at him twice, and quickly retreated.
"Chirp!" It had been tired from watching movies last night and had no intention of getting up.
"…Alright, remember there are cookies and cake in the office."
Felix left the room and made his way to the Great Hall. Surprisingly, he noticed an additional school emblem in the Great Hall. He scanned the room and saw the Hogwarts shield, the Ilvermorny flower emblem, the crossed wand emblem of Beauxbatons, the double-headed eagle and stag emblem of Durmstrang, and the last one—
A conical peak shrouded in mist, with a grand building standing halfway up the mountain.
Moon Mountain, Wajjdu.
"Has Wajjdu arrived? Was it last night or early this morning?" Felix scanned the Great Hall again, not spotting any new faces, but he did see Durmstrang's star student, Krum.
He had only learned the day before that the genius Seeker who had twice outmaneuvered the Irish National Team's Seeker and ultimately caught the Golden Snitch to end the Quidditch World Cup final was still a student at Durmstrang.
Was Quidditch training too grueling, with all the wind and rain?
At the Slytherin long table, Krum was not with his teammates but eating alone. Dozens of admiring eyes watched him, but he seemed used to it and quietly ate his breakfast.
After finishing, he got up and left. Unlike his confident demeanor on a broomstick, he was now taciturn, his eyebrows habitually furrowed as if lost in thought.
During dinner, Felix finally saw the students from Wajjdu.
They all had dark skin, but the specific shades varied. One student's skin was as black as a pot bottom, appearing almost like a moving block of pure black. If not for the brown animal skin clothing, it would be hard to distinguish the different parts of his body. The other Wajjdu students were more normal—though still dark-skinned, their features were distinguishable.
As he passed the Ravenclaw table, he heard a little girl mutter, "Caramel, brown, dark brown, chocolate, pitch black…"
He smiled and sat down next to Madame Maxime, with the Ilvermorny Headmaster resting on the other side, eyes closed in repose.
After a few words, Felix noticed a wistful gaze. Turning back, he saw Hagrid in the corner. He was startled; Hagrid's appearance was very different from usual. He had found a handmade suit somewhere, and his beard and hair were meticulously groomed. This was the first time Felix could clearly see the difference between the two.
At that moment, Hagrid was staring at him, or rather, at Madame Maxime next to him.
"Is that the professor of Care of Magical Creatures that Dumbledore mentioned?" Madame Maxime asked softly.
"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Forbidden Forest, Key Keeper, and professor of Care of Magical Creatures, born in 1928. He is passionate about raising and taming various magical creatures and was once expelled from Hogwarts, but it was later proven to be a malicious slander. He cleared his name last year. He is the first to successfully tame a Thestral and has close relationships with most of the magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest. He is warm, sincere, and straightforward…"
Madame Maxime rolled her eyes and gave Felix a light tap with her large hand. Felix quickly cast a human-form armor charm on himself, "Bang!" His body jolted.
Hagrid, who was several seats away, stared wide-eyed.
The Great Hall was particularly crowded today, possibly due to the students from the four visiting schools mingling among the Hogwarts students.
For more formal occasions, Hogwarts students were required to wear their uniform robes.
Thus, among the black wizard robes, there were the blue and cranberry colors of Ilvermorny, the light blue of Beauxbatons, the scarlet of Durmstrang, and the brown of Wajjdu.
On either side of Dumbledore sat the four Headmasters. Felix's gaze lingered on the small witch for a moment, and she immediately turned to look at him. Felix smiled lightly, and the witch examined him closely before turning to speak to Dumbledore.
She spoke in a strange language, rapid and urgent, of which Felix could only catch a few sounds. However, Dumbledore listened attentively and responded in the same language.
Karkaroff, sitting next to the witch, looked unhappy and kept fiddling with a golden goblet, making loud noises on purpose.
The professor's table was almost full, with only two seats remaining. After about seven or eight minutes, a short, plump, red-faced wizard appeared at the Great Hall's main door, his face beaming with enthusiasm.
“Dumbledore, I'm late. Barty had some last-minute business, so I'm here alone,” Bagman said quickly, glancing around. “Ah, you're all here. That's great. I was worried the Wagadu team might be late.”
The small witch spoke in a raspy voice, “Mr. Bagman, we do not delay on important matters.”
“Ah, of course…” Bagman wiped his sweat, glanced at the two remaining empty seats, and finally sat down next to Professor Mcgonagall.
Dumbledore stood up, and the Great Hall gradually fell silent as everyone turned their attention to him.
“Welcome! Students from the five magical schools have gathered together, an event unseen for a thousand years,” he said cheerfully. “At this solemn moment, I would like to thank the House-elves in the kitchen. They have put great effort into catering to different tastes…”
“So, enjoy the feast. It is the most important thing tonight.”
He sat down, and their empty plates suddenly filled with various dishes. In addition to the French cuisine from the previous night, there were now some peculiar and diverse dishes laid out before them.
At the Gryffindor table, Ron’s gaze swept over the French fish stew, yellow cheese, and white milk pudding, and he noticed a blob of gooey substance. He reached for it with his fork—
“Don’t!” Hermione called out.
“What’s wrong?”
“You won’t like it,” Hermione said, holding her breath and looking unusually pale. “I didn’t expect them to add this dish to the menu.”
“What is it?” Harry asked, not detecting any strange smell.
“Camel fat,” Hermione said, gagging and turning her head away. “Trust me, you won’t like it.”
Ron pushed the plate away with his fork, and Seamus scooped up a piece. “Is this some kind of jam?” He stuffed it into his mouth, and Harry and the others watched him intently.
“Uh, why are you all looking at me…” Seamus’s face visibly turned liver-colored as he swallowed it down and grabbed Dean’s Pumpkin Juice, drinking it in one gulp.
His eyes turned green, and he looked around frantically. Neville shakily handed over his Pumpkin Juice.
“What the hell is this?” Seamus said, fuming after finishing Neville’s Pumpkin Juice. “It’s worse than Niffler slime.”
Ron gratefully picked up a greasy sausage and savored it.
As the golden plates were cleaned with a scouring charm, Dumbledore stood up again. A mix of excitement and tension filled the air in the Great Hall.
“This moment has finally arrived,” Dumbledore said. “The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin. Mr. Filch, please bring in the box. In the meantime, I would like to make a few announcements—”
“First, I would like to introduce our distinguished guests, the Headmasters of the five schools.”
“Madame Olympe Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons;”
“Professor Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster of Durmstrang;”
“Professor Agilbert Fontaine, Headmaster of Ilvermorny;”
“Madame Haryia Miniot Nagy, Headmistress of Wagadu;”
Dumbledore paused, blinked, and smiled. “Of course, there’s also myself, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.”
Everyone, including the students from the other four schools, stared at him blankly.
“Didn’t anyone notice? It’s actually a clever joke,” Dumbledore said regretfully. “I arranged the names by length…”
Professor Mcgonagall cleared her throat loudly.
“Well, besides the five Headmasters, there are two others who deserve mention: Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch. In the past few months, the two gentlemen have worked tirelessly. Unfortunately, Mr. Crouch is not here today, but we can look forward to seeing him on Halloween—thank you, Mr. Filch, just put it there.”
Dumbledore smiled at Filch, who placed a large wooden box on the table in front of him. He tapped the lid three times with his wand, and it slowly creaked open.
Dumbledore reached inside and pulled out a large, crudely carved wooden chalice. The cup itself was unremarkable, but it was filled with flickering blue and white fire.
Everyone was entranced by the Goblet of Fire.
“You should know that within the next twenty-four hours, until the end of the Halloween feast, the Goblet of Fire will select the names of three students from each school who it deems the most worthy representatives.
Tonight, the Goblet of Fire will be placed in the entrance hall, and all students who wish to participate can submit their names.”
He waited quietly for a moment until everyone had heard him, then continued, “There are two things to note. First, for Hogwarts students, I will set an age line—”
Murmurs of discussion buzzed around the hall, and he had to raise his voice.
“Second, this is a sincere warning,” Dumbledore’s expression became particularly serious. “I must remind everyone present that the Triwizard Tournament is not a game. It is a powerful and binding magical contract. Once a champion is chosen by the Goblet of Fire, they must complete the tournament. Therefore, please think very carefully before entering.”
“Good night to all.”
As he sat down, the Great Hall erupted into a buzz of conversation.
(End of Chapter)
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