The arrival of the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons occurred with great fanfare. The entire school was assembled to watch as the Beauxbatons carriage rose over the mountains, careened through the sky above the forbidden forest, and came to a crashing, jolting halt at the front of the school. Harry, who had managed to squeeze to the front of the crowd with Draco, distinctly heard the enormous headmistress from Beauxbatons tell Dumbledore that the horses pulling the carriage drank only single malt scotch.

Dumbledore assured her that Hagrid would take care to provide for the every need of her horses. "My dear Madame Maxime, they could be in no better care."

The Beauxbatons students followed Madame Maxime out of the carriage. They were dressed in blue uniforms, the girls with small capes instead of a cloak. All the students wore small hats that came to a point in the front. Each hat had a white ribbon wrapped around the crown, and a massive blue feather was tucked into the ribbon.

Harry attention was drawn away from the Beauxbatons students by shouts of astonishment. Hogwarts students had turned and were pointing at the lake, which had begun to bubble and froth. A giant beam burst from the middle of the foam, followed by an enormous crossbeam and a sail, and, finally, what appeared to be an enormous pirate ship. The ship sailed slowly to the shore and extended a long ramp. A line of people strode down the ramp, clad in bulky fur coats and hats. At the head of the line was a tall man with a weak chin, which he was clearly trying to disguise with a pointed beard. Dumbledore greeted this man as Igor Karkaroff. Slightly behind Karkaroff was a face that Harry recognized.

"Draco, look. I think that's Viktor Krum!"

Before Draco could get a good look, Professor McGonagall began ushering the students from Hogwarts back into the Great Hall. Draco fought to catch a glimpse of Krum, but the flood of students prevented him from doing so. Once inside the Great Hall, the students were directed to their house tables for dinner.

Draco sat next to Harry. "Do you really think it was Krum?"

"It looked like him," Harry said. "Didn't you say he was very young?"

"A prodigy," Draco said. "But I didn't know he was still in school."

Dumbledore strode through the doors of the Great Hall and raised his hands. The students, for once, fell silent immediately.

"I am pleased to present… the students of Beauxbatons Academy!" Dumbledore moved quickly to the front of the Great Hall, clearing the way for the blue-clad students of Beauxbatons.

The Beauxbatons students moved slowly into the Great Hall, darting among each other in a complicated dance maneuver that appeared to have been originally designed for ice skating. Madame Maxime strolled behind them, affecting an air of being unimpressed, but unable to hide her pride in her students.

The girls of Beauxbatons appeared to be, on the whole, rather more attractive than the girls of Hogwarts. The boys, meanwhile, were thin and wiry, in a way that suggested that they would be easy to defeat in a wrestling match, if you could ever catch them. As they reached the front of the Hall, the formation snapped into order, with one exceptionally pretty girl at its center. She curtseyed to Dumbledore, and a thousand conjured butterflies burst into existence around her.

The students of Hogwarts clapped and whistled, and the boys and girls from Beauxbatons moved off to the side of the Great Hall.

"They don't make them like that at Hogwarts," Draco said, eyes fixed on the girl who had given a curtsey. From Draco's other side, Pansy punched him in the arm.

Dumbledore gestured grandly toward the entrance. "I am also proud to present the students of the Durmstrang Institute!"

There was a shout from the entranceway, and the boys and girls of Durmstrang stormed into the Great Hall. They marched four abreast in a tight phalanx, moving with military precision and in lockstep unison. They chanted in a guttural foreign language, their words keeping in strict rhythm with their steps. Once the phalanx reached the front of the hall, the Durmstrang students smartly snapped to attention and turned on their heels.

Two Durmstrang students appeared at the doors of the Great Hall. They took two running steps, then tumbled forward into a series of backflips that lasted the length of the Great Hall. They finished their flips by rolling forward in a tight somersault, somehow producing their wands from some secret pocket in the midst of their tumble. As they rose to their feet, they brought their wands to their mouths and enormous gouts of fire burst forth.

The nearest students screamed and dove for cover, with the exception of the Gryffindor table, where the Weasley twins were holding their placemats aloft and attempting to light them afire.

Igor Karkaroff strode briskly forward from the doors of the hall. Next to him was…

"Viktor Krum," Draco whispered.

Karkaroff led his students to the front of the Hall, on the side opposite the Beauxbatons students.

"Welcome, everyone!" Dumbledore said. "In light of the occasion, Hogwarts, too, has prepared a performance for our guests. Students, if you will…"

Harry looked at Draco in confusion. What was Dumbledore talking about?

Dumbledore raised his arms. "Please join me in singing the Hogwarts School Song!"

Draco rolled his eyes. The Hogwarts School Song was a ridiculous bit of rubbish with no set rhythm or tune. Everybody sang at their own speed, volume, and pitch. In short, it sounded like hell.

"Hogwarts! Hogwarts! Hoggy Warty Hogwarts!

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald,

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling,

With some interesting stuff

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff.

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot!"

As the song drew to a ragged close, the Weasley twins shouted loudly into the hall. "Second verse, same as the first!" They immediately began to sing again, joined rather quickly and happily by Dumbledore. Confused, the rest of the students of Hogwarts rejoined the song.

As the song finished a second time, the Weasley twins again shouted, "Second verse, same as the first!"

Dumbledore was prepared, however. "Doubletime!" the Headmaster shouted. He raised his wand in the air and began twitching it back and forth, as if he were an orchestra conductor.

Again, the Hogwarts students sang the theme song, but this time twice as quickly, following the rhythm set by Dumbledore's wand. When the song finished again, the rest of Gryffindor had taken up the cry of the Weasley twins: "Second verse, same as the first!"
"TRIPLETIME!"

The Hogwarts students gave tripletime a good go, but the speed was too much. Students began to mishmush their words and drop out of the song, usually accompanied by gales of laughter. Even Draco was smiling as he faltered and failed in the lyrics. In the end, only the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan and Dumbledore himself were able to finish successfully.

"SECOND VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST!" they shouted.

"QUADRUPLETIME!"

The Weasleys and Jordan lost their place almost immediately, leaving Dumbledore to finish the song by himself. Remarkably, the headmaster was able to zip through the lyrics in a clear tenor, finishing with a flourish of his wand on the word "rot." The entire hall burst into applause, and the Weasleys clambered atop the Gryffindor table to give Dumbledore a standing ovation.

"Thank you, thank you," said Dumbledore, bowing slightly. "Now, if we would all be seated, dinner will be served!"

The Weasleys clambered down and took their seats. The students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang filtered in and took their seats among the Hogwarts students. Almost every boy from Hogwarts was trying to make space for the exceptionally attractive witch from Beauxbatons, much to the consternation of the Hogwarts girls. Draco and Harry, meanwhile, were gesturing wildly for the Durmstrang students to sit at their table. They got their wish, but Karkaroff directed Krum to sit at the front, as close to the staff table as possible. Harry and Draco were almost twenty seats away, and they would have to shout if they wanted to speak to Krum.

The staff table had several gaps in the seating for the new arrivals, including a double-wide space which was reserved to accommodate the large wingspan of Madame Maxime. Although she lacked Hagrid's girth, there was the distinct possibility that Madame Maxime was taller than the Hogwarts groundskeeper. Harry would have to see them side-by-side to be sure. The other spaces were filled by Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch, and Crouch's assistant Percy Weasley.

After pudding, Dumbledore announced that the selection process for Tri-Wizard Champions would begin immediately. Dumbledore revealed the independent judge: a large, roughly hewn wooden cup filled with blue-white flames.

"This is the Goblet of Fire," Dumbledore said. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours to submit their names. Consider carefully whether you wish to enter—placing your name within the Goblet is a binding magical contract. The tournament will test your daring, your magical prowess, your powers of deduction… and your ability to cope with imminent danger. The Goblet will be placed in the Great Hall tonight, surrounded by an age line which no one under the age of seventeen will be able to cross. Tomorrow night at seven, the Goblet will select a champion from each school, and the tournament will begin!"

Dumbledore glanced around the Great Hall. Every person was silent, leaning forward with rapt attention.

"Dear me. I hope that was suitably dramatic." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "One last word: students of Hogwarts, please consider lending a warm pair of socks to your new friends from Beauxbatons. Now off to bed with you!"

Dumbledore carried the Goblet to the front and center of the Great Hall. With a wave of his wand he conjured a pedestal, upon which he placed the Goblet. He immediately drew a circle around the Goblet, twenty feet in diameter, with the Goblet perfectly centered.

Harry had long ago decided that he would attempt to enter the tournament, and he was not at all dissuaded by the age line. As soon as the rest of the boys from Slytherin were asleep, Harry would be back with his invisibility cloak. Dumbledore's age line might prevent Harry from crossing, but it wouldn't prevent Harry from making a long distance submission.

Harry grinned as he stood from the Slytherin table. Sometimes, wizards were completely lacking in common sense.

*!*!*

It was just after midnight, and the Great Hall was quiet. Light from the full moon streamed down from the enchanted ceiling, casting a soft glow over the hall. The house banners, normally vibrantly colored, appeared blue-gray in the pale light. At the center of the hall sat the Goblet of Fire, silent and still, waiting for the next would-be champion to submit his or her name.

There was a flicker of motion within the hall. A piece of parchment floated up from the edge of the Slytherin table. It rose high in the air, almost to the ceiling of the Great Hall. The parchment began to wobble downward, falling gently toward the Goblet of Fire. A tongue of flame licked upward from the Goblet, incinerating the parchment before it could fall inside.

Under his invisibility cloak, Harry Potter swore softly.

Harry had been sitting in the Great Hall for over an hour, trying to submit his name for the Tri-Wizard tournament. After the rest of the Slytherin boys were asleep, Harry had crept out of the dungeons, hidden under his invisibility cloak. When he arrived at the Great Hall, he had been surprised to find that Dubmbledore, Karkaroff and Madame Maxime were still present, chatting amicably over desserts and glasses of wine. Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch, and Percy Wealsey were also present, although Crouch and Weasley had foul expressions on their faces and were not joining in the conversation. Harry got the impression that Crouch and Weasley simply wanted everybody to leave, so they could go to bed.

Even though he was hidden under his invisibility cloak, Harry did not enter the Great Hall; Dumbledore had the uncanny ability to detect Harry's presence, even when Harry was under his invisible. Instead, Harry stood patiently by, allowing the older wizards to leave, one by one. Crouch and Percy were the last, and the gave the Goblet of Fire on final inspection before leaving the Great Hall and closing the doors behind them. Once they were out of sight, Harry opened the doors and tiptoed inside.

Harry hadn't tried walking across Dumbledore's age line—he respected the Headmaster's magical competence too much to hope that Dumbledore had made a mistake in its casting. Instead, Harry had been trying various ways to bypass the age line. He had started with a simple hovering charm, muttering wingardium leviosa and sending a piece of parchment with his signature hovering toward the Goblet. But, as the parchment approached, a flame shot out of the Goblet and reduced the parchment to ashes. Harry had tried several more times, from several other angles, but the result was always the same.

Next, Harry had tried a banishing charm, hoping to launch the parchment into the Goblet. The Goblet incinerated those pieces of parchment just as surely. Harry even tried banishing multiple pieces of parchment at the same time, but the Goblet's defenses rose to the occasion, burning each and every piece to cinders before it could enter the Goblet.

Harry then resorted to cruder methods. Remembering the logic puzzle that guarded the Philosopher's Stone in his first year, Harry hoped that Dumbledore might have forgotten about direct application of force. Harry balled up his parchment and threw it at the Goblet.

Once again, the Goblet burned the parchment to a crisp.

Harry tried a paper airplane, next. He hoped that the semi-random flight would evade the flames. The Goblet, however, refused to miss, and the paper airplanes were destroyed just as thoroughly as everything else.

This sent Harry deep into thought. The age line was a perplexing piece of magic; it didn't actually prohibit entry by the younger students, but instead removed them from the vicinity of the Goblet and marked them with large beards. But the age line was only triggered when it was crossed, either by an underage wizard or by an underage wizard's parchment. So, if Harry couldn't go to the Goblet, then Harry clearly needed to bring the Goblet to him.

Harry tried a hovering charm once again, this time on the Goblet itself, but the Goblet might as well have been rooted to its pedestal. He was no more successful with his banishing charm, and banishing the pedestal was similarly futile. The Goblet stubbornly refused to be knocked outside the age line.

Harry had one last thought. If he used a focused incineration curse, he could create a pseudo-blowtorch. With any luck, he could cut a stone or two out of the floor and physically lift the age line out of the floor. He would walk the border inward, until a portion of the Goblet was exposed, and then submit his name.

Harry was on his hands and knees, ready to ignite his wand, when the doors of the Great Hall opened with a bang. Harry jerked around, startled. Clomping up the center aisle of the Great Hall was Mad-Eye Moody.

Harry scuttled backward, away from the Goblet, until he was crouched under the Slytherin table. He was completely covered be his invisibility cloak, and his parchment and quill were under the cloak, as well. The only evidence of his presence was the ash on the floor surrounding the Goblet. Harry was fairly certain that he wouldn't be detected, as long as he stayed still and silent.

Moody walked toward front and center of the Great Hall, directly toward the Goblet. He walked with great purpose, never looking to one side or the other. When he reached the Goblet, he leaned over and stared down into the cup. After several moments, he pulled himself erect.

Moody glanced around the Great Hall, then knelt down to the floor. He touched his fingers to the ashes surrounding the Goblet, the remnants of Harry's attempts to enter his name, and crumbled the ashes between his fingers. Moody brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed, deeply.

Moody grunted, then stood. "Can't get your name in, eh?"

Harry remained silent. Moody was bluffing, trying to get Harry to give himself away.

"Come on, Potter. I know you're there." Moody turned and looked directly at Harry. The grizzled auror raised his hand and tapped his magical eye with his index finger. "Invisibility cloaks are nice, but they aren't infallible."

Harry sighed and stood, removing his cloak as he did so. He was in for detention, for sure.

"Hello, Professor."

"What've you been trying?" Moody asked. He seemed to be more curious than angry.

"Er… I tried a hovering charm and a banishing charm. I tried different heights and angles. I tried wadding up the parchment and throwing it in. I tried folding a paper airplane. I tried banishing multiple parchments at the same time. I tried knocking the Goblet and its pedestal outside the age line." Harry was surprised. Wasn't he going to get into trouble?

"Hrmph. Not bad. What were you going to do if you got your name into the Goblet?"

"I don't know. Brag, probably." Harry shrugged.

"And what if the Goblet chose your name?"

"Brag more, I guess."

"Did you ever stop to think, Potter, that this tournament could get you killed?" Moody scowled.

"I didn't know that you were so concerned about my wellbeing," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Go back to bed," Moody said. "You're wasting your time if you think you're going to get anything past Dumbledore's Age Line."

Harry hopped off the table and began walking out of the Great Hall. If he could just get out of Moody's sight, maybe the professor would forget to punish him.

"Ten points from Slytherin, Potter. Do you know why?"

Harry winced and stopped in his tracks. He turned and looked at Moody. "Breaking curfew?"

"No. Come on, Potter. Constant vigilance. When did your vigilance lapse tonight?"

"When I turned my back on you, you could have attacked me?"

Moody laughed. "If I were going to attack you, Potter, you'd have bigger problems than losing some house points."

Harry frowned. What else could he have been watching for? He was under his invisibility cloak. Moody shouldn't have been able to see him. The only way a normal person would have found Harry would have been by actually bumping into him.

And that was it.

"I wasn't ready to stun you," Harry said. "I should have had my wand ready to put you in a full body bind if you got too close."

Moody nodded. "It wouldn't have worked, of course, but you didn't know that. Five points to Slytherin for catching your own mistake. Now, get out of my sight before I do dock you for breaking curfew."

Harry turned and walked swiftly from the Great Hall. He did not like Mad-Eye Moody. Not at all.

*!*!*

At breakfast, the Great Hall was abuzz with talk of the potential Hogwarts champion. Warrington had gotten up early and submitted his name, and Harry knew that Pucey had turned his name in the night before. Angelina Johnson from Gryffindor was being patted on the back quite a bit; it seemed that she had put her name in, as well.

The Weasley Twins had tried to submit their names after taking an aging potion, but they had been repelled by Dumbledore's age line. The age line was gentler to the Weasleys than it had been to Harry's parchment; the twins grew luxurious beards, rather than being incinerated. They seemed to find the whole event rather amusing, and refused to have the beards removed until Dumbledore insisted that they go to the hospital wing. When they returned, they caused quite a commotion at the Gryffindor table.

Harry noticed something else going on, as well. Fred seemed to be shaking quite a few hands, and whenever he did, George seemed to be writing on a piece of parchment. Harry had to watch a few times to be sure, but after four of five transactions, he was able to see Gryffindor students slipping coins to Fred during the handshake. Mostly it seemed like a few knuts, but Harry saw the occasional sickle change hands. There was even a galleon from Cormac McClaggen, one of the richer Gryffindors.

Harry approached Fred and George after breakfast. Whatever betting was taking place, Harry was interested.

"I heard that I should speak to you gentlemen if I wanted to make a wager," Harry said quietly.

Fred glanced around quickly. "And where might you have heard that, my bespectacled friend?

"Just an idea I had."

"Well, you've come to the right wizards. Keep it quiet, though."

Harry nodded. McGonagall certainly would not approve. "How do I bet?"

George unrolled his parchment. "Here's a list of the seventh years that are over seventeen. Next to their names are the current odds."

"That's a nice bit of spellwork," Harry said. "The parchment updates itself?"

George nodded. "I make a note of who places the bet, and in what amount, and the odds update automatically."

Harry glanced at the sheet. Cedric Diggory was the clear favorite, with Johnson and Pucey slightly farther behind. Harry guessed that the Gryffindors were betting for Johnson; they probably couldn't conceive of anybody except a Gryffindor being chosen as champion. Slytherins were probably doing the same for Pucey, for essentially the same reason. Diggory's dominance was a mystery, however. Hufflepuffs would be loyal to Diggory, but Harry couldn't see any reason that he should have so many more bets than Pucey or Johnson.

Harry glanced farther down the parchment. The highest-ranked Ravenclaw was almost halfway down the list.

"So," Harry said, "Hufflepuffs are betting on Diggory, but so are the Ravenclaws?"

Fred grinned. "The smart money is on Diggory," he said.

"Five galleons on Diggory, then." Harry had always respected Cedric, ever since second year. Diggory was fair, even if he was absurdly wholesome.

George whistled as he scratched Harry's name down on the parchment. "Big spender."

"Who's got the worst odds?" Harry asked.

Fred and George glanced at one another. "You do," they said in unison.

"Me? What are you talking about?"

"The Creevey brothers are big fans of yours," Fred said. Harry remembered that the older Creevey had constantly tried to take Harry's picture during second year. The only thing that stopped Creevey was his petrification. "They wanted to bet on you to be the Hogwarts champion. They wouldn't let it drop, so we gave you one thousand to one odds."

Harry laughed. "There's no way you can cover that if my name comes out. Why don't you put me down for a sickle, as well. Will that lower the odds enough for you?"

George scribbled on his parchment, and watched as the numbers changed. "Yeah, that does it. You're at two hundred to one, now. If your name comes out, we can cover."

Fred suddenly looked alarmed. "Harry. You have to be honest with me. Did you get your name in the Goblet? We'd barely turn a profit if your name comes out."

"Of course I couldn't get my name in," Harry said. "I was just doing that on a whim. Donating a sickle to a good cause."

"Bribing the brothers not to pull a prank on Potter for the foreseeable future?" asked Fred.

"If you want to be vulgar about it, then yes, exactly." Harry paused. "What's the big deal, anyway? What do you need all this money for?"

Fred and George smiled broadly. "That's classified," they said in unison.

Harry shook his head. "I'm going to be late for class. I'll stop by at lunch with my money."