bioinnovel Chapter 285 The Goblet of Fire
Chapter 285 The Goblet of Fire
Chapter 285 The Goblet of Fire
Dinner was plentiful, and the house-elves showed off their skills.
In addition to traditional British dishes, they also specially prepared French cuisine.
But the mages in Beauxbatons weren't buying it, and all of them looked sullen.
They didn't even glance at the English dishes on the table, only showing interest in the French food, and occasionally making sarcastic remarks.
One of the girls, who always covered her head with a coin liner, stood out in particular; she even managed a cold laugh when Dumbledore gave his welcoming address.
The picky and dissatisfied attitude of the wizards in Beauxbatons immediately angered many Hogwarts students, who glared at them angrily.
But when the girl wearing the bib took it off, the angry boys all calmed down, one or two of them blushing and exclaiming in their hearts: "Mom, I'm in love!"
Not only did the boys perform poorly, but even some of the girls were amazed by this Beauxbatons girl.
Especially when the girl walked through the aisle of the auditorium, many people turned to look at her, and some of them seemed to have dementia and could not speak.
Belvina, sitting in the faculty seat, saw everything. It was hard for a stunningly beautiful Beauxbatons girl not to attract attention.
"That girl is so beautiful!" Bassheda exclaimed. "She's somewhat like—"
"Veera," Belvina said. "I suspect that girl has Veera blood; her allure is too strong."
That Beauxbatons girl was beautiful, and also very alluring.
Her long, cascading silver hair reached her waist, and her large, bright blue eyes were full of emotion.
"I also think she might have Veela blood," Bassheda said. "Even if someone is very beautiful, there's a limit; it's impossible for so many people to be infatuated with her."
"If she has Veela blood, will she act like a Veela when she's angry?" Paul Bernard interjected.
"I don't know, why don't you go down and ask her yourself?" Belvina said. "To be honest, I'm quite curious about that too."
"Then forget it. It's better to ask Mrs. Maxim than her. At least she seems more approachable," Bernard said, backing down abruptly.
What if a single sentence angers the girl, and she transforms into a terrifying, bird-like creature? What if she throws a magical fireball?
Paul Bernard doesn't want to become an Irish leprechaun on the World Cup stage, and he doesn't want to mess with Veela.
"What's wrong, Mrs. Maxim?" Hagrid's large, hairy head popped closer. "I just heard you mention Orim."
What's wrong with her?
Belvina, Basilda, and Paul Bernard all turned around and looked at Hagrid in disbelief.
Hagrid, who was like an old tree that never bloomed, suddenly blossomed overnight, but what no one expected was that he was also a love-struck fool.
"Tell me! What's wrong with her?" Hagrid urged. "Does she dislike the food at Hogwarts? Should I learn some French cuisine?"
"Need not!"
"Don't ever do that!"
Basilda and Paul Bernard quickly intervened, saying that with Hagrid's terrible cooking skills, learning French cuisine wouldn't help.
"Mrs. Maxim is fine, she's doing well," Belvina said helplessly. "But how's Shenfuma? Can you handle him?"
"Those magical horses are being taken exceptionally well; Orim is such a kind person!" Hagrid exclaimed, beaming. "I'm sure we'll have a lot in common when it comes to magical creatures!"
blah blah—....blah blah—.·
Hagrid then went on to say a lot more about Mrs. Maxime, all of which were Hagrid’s conjectures without any real evidence.
Belvina, Basilda, and Bernard were utterly speechless at Hagrid's love-struck mind. They could only hope he wouldn't suffer heartbreak and secretly cry alone in the cabin.
When the last dessert was devoured, Dumbledore stood up once more, a mixture of excitement and nervousness instantly spreading throughout the Great Hall.
"Before I go over the program for this school year, please allow me to introduce Mr. Barty Crouch," said Dumbledore. "Some of you may not know him yet. Mr. Crouch is the Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic."
Barty Crouch stood up, neither smiling nor waving, but simply shaking his head.
Sparse applause filled the auditorium. Barty Crouch's most immediate impression was that he was difficult to get along with, so the students naturally didn't give him a warm welcome.
"And there's Belvina Black. I know you're already quite familiar with her, but I'll introduce her again," Dumbledore continued. "Belvina Black, Deputy Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic."
Belvina also stood up, smiling and waving in one smooth motion, as if she were attending a ceremony.
Thunderous applause erupted in the hall, and even Slytherin students pretended to clap along.
Compared to the meticulous and difficult-to-get-along-with Barty Crouch, Professor Black, an old acquaintance, seemed much more approachable and, most importantly, easy to get along with.
"Thank you to the two directors for their hard work in making the Triwizard Tournament a success. They have worked tirelessly for the past few months to ensure its smooth running," Dumbledore continued.
After a brief introduction of the guests and the judging panel, Dumbledore finally began to explain the selection process for the champions, and the students in the Great Hall immediately became focused.
Under the watchful eyes of the entire student body, the administrator, Filch, carried a large wooden box inlaid with jewels to the faculty seating area and placed it in front of Dumbledore.
Dumbledore stopped keeping everyone in suspense and began to explain the Triwizard Tournament in detail.
Each of the three magic schools selected one warrior to participate in the competition, which consisted of three events that tested the warriors' comprehensive abilities from different perspectives.
The judging panel will consist of three principals and two directors—at this point, the Beauxbatons students once again showed their dissatisfaction.
A panel of judges will score the Warriors' performance.
After all three competition events are completed, the warrior with the highest score will win the Triple Cup, become the champion, and win a prize of one thousand Galleons.
After introducing the Triwizard Tournament, Dumbledore drew his wand and tapped the lid of the large wooden box three times.
The wooden box lid creaked and groaned as Dumbledore reached into it and took out a rough wooden goblet—the Goblet of Fire.
The Goblet of Fire itself is unremarkable, looking like an unfinished, half-finished product with very rough craftsmanship.
However, the Goblet of Fire was filled with leaping blue-white flames, which reflected half of Dumbledore's face in a blue-white light.
Only then did the students finally understand how the warriors were selected.
It turned out that all they had to do was drop the parchment with the names written on it into the burning goblet of fire.
Next, all you have to do is wait patiently until this time tomorrow night, when the Goblet of Fire will spew out slips of paper with the warriors' names on them.
Since the method for selecting warriors sounded too simple, and the students in the auditorium remembered the damned age limit, many of them were even more eager to participate.
Fred and George, for example, had their four eyes gleaming. In their view, the Goblet of Fire, an inanimate object, was certainly easier to deceive than the judges.
Many others shared the same idea as the Weasley twins; they were all pondering how to deceive Dumbledore's age chart.
How to successfully register for the Goblet of Fire without being caught?
"Finally, I must reiterate my point and remind every student who is going to participate in the selection," Dumbledore said. "The Triwizard Tournament is no joke. Once you are chosen as a hero by the Goblet of Fire, you must persevere to the end. Therefore, please think carefully about your mind and make sure you can stick to it before casting your name into the Goblet of Fire."
Despite Dumbledore's repeated emphasis that the competition was dangerous and that everyone should think twice before participating, the students ignored him.
Just imagine the glorious moment of lifting the Triwizard Trophy, and then imagine the gleaming thousand Galleons. If life has no adventure, what fun is there to speak of?
After the banquet, the students surged toward the main entrance of the auditorium like a tide, discussing registration matters and the content of the three competition events as they walked.
Beauxbatons and Durmstrang's students mingled in the crowd and walked together toward the auditorium.
Durmstrang's classmates were going back to their big ship that was moored on the shore, while Beauxbatons' classmates were living in a powder blue carriage.
"I wish I were seventeen, so I could sign up for the competition," Ron complained. "I really want to be a champion at Hogwarts."
"Ron, the age limit is for our own good," Hermione said. "We don't have enough magic to compete in the Triwizard Tournament."
As she spoke, Hermione looked at Harry beside her, hoping that Harry could help persuade Ron to stop having such unrealistic dreams.
However, seeing Harry's dreamy expression, Hermione knew that he was also fantasizing about signing up for the competition.
"Can't you two wake up?!" Hermione said helplessly. "Dumbledore has made it very clear: a warrior needs the ability to overcome danger! Danger! Don't you two understand?!"
However, Harry and Ron seemed deaf, completely ignoring Hermione's advice and focusing solely on winning the Triwizard Tournament.
Just then, Belvina caught up from behind and stopped Harry and Ron, who were lost in thought, as well as Hermione, who was staring blankly at the sky.
Belvina led the trio out of the auditorium and stopped in an empty classroom on the first floor of the castle.
The classroom, vacant for many years, was empty and dimly lit; one could only barely see their feet by the moonlight streaming through the window.
Belvina, the last to enter the classroom, closed the door, took out her wand, tapped the spherical doorknob, and then turned around.
Belvina first glanced at Hermione, then at Ron, who was lost in thought, and finally at Harry.
She went straight to the point: "Harry, do you want to participate in the Triwizard Tournament?"
Without hiding anything from Hermione and Ron, and without beating around the bush, Belvina stated her purpose directly.