"It's Krum! Can you believe it?" Draco went on excitedly, throwing an arm over Blaise's shoulder and yanking him close.
"Don't be a crazy fan, Draco." Jade teased him as the Hogwarts students followed their guests inside the castle and quickly took their seats in the Great Hall. The Beauxbaton students paused for a moment, they looked around the room uneasily but then slowly migrated over to the Ravenclaw table. So far, the Beauxbatons hadn't made a good impression on Jade, they always had this look on their face as if Hogwarts was beneath their standards and they were unsatisfied with the efforts Dumbledore and his students had gone to to try and impress them. The Durmstrang were refreshingly different, they looked excited as they made their way over to the Slytherin table. Draco, Blaise, and Theo watched with wide eyes as Viktor Krum sat down in the empty seat next to Blaise and directly across from Draco. Krum looked down at the golden plate and goblet in front of him and then lifted one in each hand, testing the weight of each, and then putting them back down with an appreciative nod. Jade elbowed Draco slightly in his side and Draco blinked and extended his hand.
"Draco Malfoy." He smiled charmingly. "Pleasure to meet you." Krum looked up from the plate and observed Draco for a moment before shaking Draco's hand.
"Viktor Krum." He said simply. The Hogwarts students were either looking over at the Beauxbatons or the Durmstrangs, they weren't being discreet about it either. She noticed a certain face staring at her from the Gryffindor, it was the first time in days Ron had looked in her direction. Jade knew he was looking at Krum, he was a huge fan of his. Maybe if she got his autograph for Ron he would talk to her again, maybe she could do one better and introduce Krum to Ron, give him a chance to talk to him himself.
"Jade Maddex." Jade smiled prettily at him and extended her hand. He went to shake her hand and then looked up at her, his eyes swept over her face and he grinned, turning her hand and kissing the back of it. Jade politely pulled her hand away from his and rubbed it against her knee casually under the table to get the feeling of his lips off her skin. "How do you like Hogwarts so far?" She asked and he looked around the room.
"It's… nice." He noted, turning back to them.
"Sorry, we haven't introduced you to our other friends." Jade smiled. "That's Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, and this is Pansy Parkinson." Pansy extended her hand across the table, expecting a kiss on the hand but Krum only shook it and grinned. Pansy didn't say anything but she was irked at the motion.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and, most particularly, guests," Dumbledore smiled out at the sea of students and the Great Hall quickly quieted down. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable." Krum smiled again at Jade and she returned the smile but once Krum turned back to Dumbledore she exchanged a look with Pansy. She had a feeling Viktor Krum had more of a liking towards her than any of her other friends, she knew most of the school would be happy to catch his eye but Jade was uninterested, she only was focused on talking to him because she wanted to ask him for a favor later. She wouldn't do it now, there was the chance he would get annoyed and avoid her in the future, he probably had people asking for autographs and fawning over him everywhere he went. "The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" He sat down, and Karkaroff leaned forward at once and engaged him in conversation. Jade noticed there were two empty chairs at the staff table, one next to Karkaroff and one next to Madame Maxine but it didn't hold her attention for long because the plates in front of them filled with food as usual but Jade noticed new dishes she'd never seen before. Krum looked up and down the table and reached for something that looked like a flat burnt lasagna.
"What's that?" Jade asked.
"Moussaka." He told her as he cut himself a large piece and put it on his plate. "You try?"
"No, I've never heard of it."
"Try." Krum handed her the dish and she looked down at it before agreeing to take a small section of it before passing it to Draco, who looked uninterested.
"Try, Draco." Jade smiled sweetly. If Krum weren't sitting right next to them Jade was sure Draco would've said his piece on how unappetizing it looked. Draco glared at her before snatching the dish away from her and taking a bit of it before setting it down further away from them, glad when another Durmstrang student a few seats down picked it up. Krum put a forkful in his mouth and then watched them, waiting for their reactions. Jade picked at the dry flaky top and then took some from the soggy meaty middle and refused to grimace as she put it in her mouth. She was pleasantly surprised. She nodded towards Krum and he smiled before looking at Draco who rolled his eyes and shoved his fork in his mouth.
"Oh," Draco said thoughtfully and Krum nodded.
"Good, yes?"
"Yeah, it's not bad."
"I wanna try it," Pansy said, trying to find the dish as it made itself down the table. Jade offered her plate and Pansy happily took some. They filled their plates with familiar foods and had friendly conversation through dinner. Soon the main dishes cleared themselves off the table and were replaced with different desserts. Jade was full but couldn't help herself to a small bowl of vanilla pudding. Through the dessert course, the mystery of the two absent chairs was solved. Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch had arrived at the staff table.
"I wonder what they're doing here," Theo muttered.
"They organized the Triwizard Tournament." Draco drawled. "Of course they'd be here to see how it goes." Dumbledore stood up again and the tables wiped clean once more. Students happily quieted down, a pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall.
"The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year." Dumbledore explained.
"Casket?" Pansy gasped. "Like a… body casket?" She whispered.
"But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports." There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, Bagman waved out at the crowd but Mr. Crouch just watched the students, he looked bored, like he didn't want to be there. "Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts. The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch." Filch slowly approached Dumbledore, carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked ancient.
"See no body casket," Theo whispered to Pansy with a large smile and she rolled her eyes.
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," Dumbledore said as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him. "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways, their magical prowess, their daring, their powers of deduction… and, of course, their ability to cope with danger." The students listened eagerly in silence, "As you know, three champions compete in the tournament, one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector... the Goblet of Fire." Dumbledore then took out his wand and tapped three times on the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly shaped wooden cup.
"Told you." Draco leaned over and whispered in her ear. The goblet didn't look like anything special except for the fact that it was full of blue-white flames. Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it was visible to everyone in the Hall.
"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete." An eager wave of whispers filled the Great Hall. "To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the Entrance Hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line. Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all." They stood up from the table and Karkaroff walked over to them,
"Back to the ship, then. Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?" Krum shook his head as Karkaroff put a hand on his shoulder and veered him towards the door, the rest of the Durmstrang students gathered together to follow behind their Headmaster. Jade and her friends followed behind them silently.
"Professor, I vood like some vine," One of the other Durmstrang boys said hopefully.
"I wasn't offering it to you, Poliakoff." Karkaroff snapped, his warm demeanor vanishing in an instant. "I notice you have dribbled food all down the front of your robes again, disgusting boy." Draco smiled as the boy turned red in the face. As they reached the doors, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stopped to let him walk through first. "Thank you," Karkaroff said quickly, glancing at Harry momentarily but then he stopped and looked back at him. Karkaroff stared at Harry's scar that was partially hidden by his hair. The Durmstrang students examined Harry, to understand why he had caught their Headmaster's attention. The boy with food all down his front nudged the girl next to him and pointed openly at Harry's forehead.
"Yeah, that's Harry Potter." A voice growled behind them. Professor Karkaroff spun around. Professor Moody was standing there, leaning heavily on his staff, glaring at Karkaroff. The color drained from Karkaroff's face and an angry expression contorted his face.
"You!" He said, more shocked than angry, staring at Moody as though unsure he was really seeing him.
"Me. And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway." Jade noticed a crowd was forming behind them, all looking at the two adults and trying to find out why they weren't moving. Karkaroff swept his students away with him without another word.