Despite the enormous workload that was forced on the fourth years, there was also the occasional reason for excitement. When they arrived in the Entrance Hall on their way to dinner one evening, they found it was completely blocked owing to the large crowd of students congregated there. They were all standing around a large sign which had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase. When various students moved away, Maya and her friends could have a look at the text too. It said that the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be arriving at six o'clock on Friday 30th of October, and that the Hogwarts students were supposed to assemble in front of the castle to greet their foreign guests. The sign definitely had a big effect on the inhabitants of the castle. For the rest of October, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation. People were discussing what the champions would have to do, how the foreign students would differ from themselves and, most importantly, who was going to try for Hogwarts champion. Maya desperately wanted it to be a Slytherin champion to bring her house some much desired glory, but since she knew none of the Slytherin seventh or sixth years by name she could only hope they were up to scratch. The castle itself was undergoing a very thorough cleaning. Portraits were scrubbed, the suits of armour were gleaming and no longer squeaking when they moved and ripped tapestries all around the castle were fixed.
Finally October 30 rolled around and there was a definite feeling of anticipation in the air. Most students had trouble concentrating in class, but not Maya; she was above such simple distractions as the arrival of some foreign students. When the bell rang that afternoon, everyone went back to their common room to deposit their bags and books, pulled on their cloaks and returned to the Entrance Hall. There they were all ordered into lines, which Maya found rather unnessecary. She rolled her eyes when Professor Snape put all the fourth year Slytherins between a bunch of third and fifth years. This system hardly made sense to her; a few of the third year boys in front of her were taller than she was. For some reason the heads of houses seemed a bit nervous when they ordered their students down the front steps and in front of the castle. Maya figured they were very anxious to make a good first impression on their foreign guests. It was a cold, clear evening and the moon was shining feebly over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest. Maya noticed that most students were very excited, but she did not really understand what the fuzz was about. It was not like they would be watching some kind of spectacular show, it was literally just the arrival of a bunch of people.
'Nearly six' Maya said, checking her watch. She wished they would hurry up; even with her cloak she found it rather cold outside. However, she saw nothing extraordinary when she scanned the darkening grounds.
'Aha! The delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!' Professor Dumbledore suddenly called out from the back row, where he stood with the other teachers.
'Where?' many students asked eagerly, but Maya had spotted it. A gigantic, blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house was soaring towards them over the lake, becoming bigger and bigger as it drew nearer. The front three rows of students inadvertently drew backwards when the carriage landed on the lawn before them with an almighty thud that frightened some of the first years. Then the largest woman Maya had ever seen emerged from the inside of the carriage, which also explained why it was so big. Multiple people, Maya included, were gaping at what was best described as a female Hagrid. When the woman stepped into the light flooding from the Entrance Hall, they could see her black eyes, beaky nose and the black satin she was dressed in. Dumbledore started to clap and the students followed his lead. The woman smiled and walked forwards towards Dumbledore, extending a hand.
'Madame Maxime, welcome to Hogwarts' Dumbledore said courteously, shaking her hand.
'Thank you, Dumbly-dorr,' Madame Maxime said in a deep voice, 'may I present you my pupils?' She waved one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her so that the students in the back row had to duck for cover. Maya looked back at the carriage to see around a dozen boys and girls all in their late teens had stepped out onto the grounds. They were shivering in the cold in their fine silk robes. None of them seemed particularly happy when they looked up at Hogwarts and Maya wondered whether they were nervous about the whole thing. She would probably be if she would arrive at a foreign school with all of its students lined up in front of it. It was more intimidating than welcoming in her eyes. Madame Maxime then beckoned her students to follow her inside the warmth of the castle, which must have been a relief to them. With the Beauxbatons students now out of sight, the crowd turned its attention back to the grounds in a hopeful effort to spot their next guests.
'The lake! Look at the lake!' yelled Lee Jordan, whom Maya recognised as Fred and George's friend. Heads turned towards where he was pointing and they noticed that the smooth black surface of the lake was not smooth anymore. Bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were washing over the muddy banks and then a gigantic whirlpool appeared. Slowly a magnificent ship rose out of the water, its mast gleaming in the moonlight. It looked like a ghost ship to Maya with its dim, misty lights and rather skeletal look. Then came the splash of an anchor and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank. People were disembarking and following a tall, thin man dressed in a cloak of fur. He had sleek and silver hair and seemed rather happy when he walked up the slope with his students.
'Wow, they came in a huge flying carriage pulled by winged horses and a ship that can sail underwater' Vincent said awestruck.
'Big deal, I came in a flying car once' Maya said brusquely, but then the voice of the Durmstrang Headmaster distracted them.
'Dumbledore!' he called heartily when he came to a halt before the Hogwarts Headmaster. They shook hands. 'Viktor, come along, into the warmth' he then said to one of his students, beckoning him forwards. There were gasps from the crowd, even though Maya did not understand why. The mystery was solved immediately though, when excited muttering filled the air.
'It's Krum! Viktor Krum, one of the best Seekers in the world! He's still at school?!'
The Hogwarts students followed the Durmstrang students into the Entrance Hall and then into the Great Hall. Maya was one of the very few students who was not excited about Krum's arrival, which had definitely caused a stir. Until a few seconds ago she did not even know who he was, and now she did she hardly cared. It was just a Quidditch player and Quidditch was a stupid game. She found it more interesting to see that Beauxbatons was almost comically posh and that Durmstrang was like a military school, and she was very surprised to find that Hogwarts in her eyes actually classified as the 'normal' school in this strange mix. When Maya and her friends sat down at the Slytherin table, Draco talking excitedly about Krum, she noticed that the foreign students were unsure where to sit. The Beauxbatons students chose seats at the Ravenclaw table, which actually made sense to Maya. They seemed rather snobbish and it was no surprise they aligned themselves with the intellectual and more cultured Ravenclaws. On the flip side of the coin, the Durmstrang students settled themselves at the Slytherin table. They had a shared affinity for the Dark Arts after all and Maya inadvertently felt that Dumbledore's intent of fostering lasting friendships and alliances was not going as planned with these divisions already being formed. More important to her, though, was the fact that Krum ended up sitting right next to her, making almost every girl in the Great Hall shoot her an envious look. Draco immediately bent forwards over her to speak to Krum. Around them, the Durmstrang students seemed rather impressed with the golden plates and goblets. The Great Hall fell silent when Dumbledore stood in front of them at the staff table, the two other Headmasters sitting on either side of him.
'Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and most particularly our guests. Welcome to Hogwarts! I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable' he said, beaming at them all. One of the Beauxbatons girls gave what was unmistakeably a derisive laugh, but Dumbledore did not seem to mind. 'The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. Eat, drink and make yourselves at home!' He sat down and the dishes in front of them filled with food as usual. Maya noticed that several dishes were definitely foreign. Draco and Krum engaged in conversation, while Maya hardly paid any attention to the famous Seeker. Krum seemed to like this indifference attitude, maybe it was a welcome change from what he always had to endure, and after he had merely politely nodded when Draco told him about his own Quidditch skills he turned his attention to Maya.
'I like this castle. Ve hove a castle too, but it's vell hidden so nobody can steal our secrets' Krum said. Maya looked up at him. She suddenly realised that the other schools were at an advantage. While their schools remained unseen, which allowed them to showcase only their brightest and most accomplished students, Hogwarts and all its staff and students were on full display. This meant that even less adapt students could be seen, and Maya inadvertently looked at Neville Longbottom, sitting at the Gryffindor table and still utterly incapable of performing a Switching Spell in Transfiguration.
'Yup, castles are cool' Maya said casually. She was not great at making conversation, but then decided that this time it was worth the effort since Krum was so famous and undoubtedly wealthy. 'Have you always been good at flying?' she asked to keep the conversation going. Krum started telling her all about how his father taught him to fly when he was a mere six-year-old and how eventually he got drafted while he played Quidditch at Durmstrang. Much to Maya's pleasure she noticed how quite a number of girls still looked enviously at them, and Pansy Parkinson was literally glaring at her. When the topic of flying and Quidditch had been exhausted, Maya and Krum started talking about the curriculums of their respective schools. 'Is it true that Durmstrang students actually learn the Dark Arts? I'm quite proficient when it comes to duelling, you know' she asked him eagerly. To her surprise, his attitude suddenly hardened a bit.
'I'm not allowed to say' he said curtly.
'Oh, okay' Maya said, actually feeling a bit uncomfortable and awkward. Krum had not at all been impressed when she had brought up the Dark Arts. After that apparent faux pas, Krum preferred to speak to his fellow Durmstrang students and rather ignored Maya and Draco, despite the latter's attempts at further conversation. Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. There was definitely a pleasant sort of tension filling the Hall now and most students were staring at Dumbledore with great concentration.
'The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to commence! But first, please allow me to introduce Mr Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation and Mr Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.' There was a smattering of polite applause for Crouch and a much louder round for Bagman. 'These two gentlemen have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Tournament and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel which will judge the champions' efforts. Now, the casket please, Mr Filch.' Caretaker Argus Filch slowly approached Dumbledore, carrying a great wooden chest, encrusted with jewels. 'As you know by now, there will be three tasks that will test the three champions in many different ways. Their magical prowess, their daring and of course their ability to cope with danger. The champions will be marked on how well they perform each of the tasks and will be chosen by an impartial selector… the Goblet of Fire.' Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. It creaked slowly open and Dumbledore carefully pulled out a large, wooden cup with dancing, blue-white flames in it. 'Anybody wishing to become a champion for their school must write their name and school upon a piece of parchment and drop it into the Goblet. You have twenty-four hours to do so, because tomorrow night, Halloween, the Goblet will present the three names it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight and I will be drawing an Age Line around it, just to make sure that nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to submit their name. Lastly, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this Tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a potential champion drops their name in the Goblet, it constitutes a binding, magical contract and if chosen, the champion must see the Tournament through to the end. Please only submit your name if you are whole-heartedly prepared to face these unique yet dangerous challenges. Now it is time for bed. Goodnight to you all.' The Great Hall emptied, and Maya noticed the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students heading back to their ship and carriage, solving the mystery of where they would be sleeping.
Next morning Maya woke up early. She impulsively decided to check out the Goblet of Fire and see who would be entering their name. Sure enough, there was a thin golden line forming a perfect circle around it. Maya was the first person there and as she nibbled on a piece of toast, the front door of the castle burst open and the entire Durmstrang delegation came marching in, with Karkaroff in the lead. He hardly glanced at her when he strode past as if she was unworthy of his attention, but Krum gave her a polite nod. Maya returned the favour, and saw how each and every one of the Durmstrang students put their name in. They then wasted no time returning to the ship, undoubtedly preparing for the Tournament in their own way, but Krum waved at Maya as he left. It made her feel pretty good, and she hoped she would get more chances to talk to him. As Maya stood there waiting, more and more students arrived, including Harry, Ron and Hermione. 'Anyone put their name in yet?' Ron asked her eagerly.
'All the Durmstrang lot, but I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet. I imagine some people put in their name last night' Maya replied earnestly, but then excited laughter behind them made them all turn around. Hurrying down the staircase came Fred, George and Lee Jordan.
'Done it, taken it just now. The Ageing Potion!' Fred said excitedly.
'Yeah, and we're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins this thing' George said, grinning broadly. Maya just rolled her eyes, as she always did when people were being stupid.
'Hate to be that person, but it's not going to work' Maya said mockingly, unable to restrain herself.
Suddenly Fred, standing behind her, placed his arms around her neck to jokingly strangle her. 'Oh really? And why's that, Dursley, my favourite, little snake?' he asked pleasantly. Maya gasped in shock and while she fumbled for her wand, she tried to stomp on Fred's foot. Before she managed to do either of those things, however, Fred let go of her. She turned around so abruptly to face her 'attacker' that her almost knee length hair promptly whipped a first year Hufflepuff boy across the face.
'Because that Age Line is drawn by Dumbledore himself, duh! Nothing as basic as an Ageing Potion is going to get around that, especially one that's been concocted by two rejected circus clowns like yourselves!' Maya spat at Fred, running her hands through her hair to make sure everything still looked okay.
'Hear what she called us?' Fred said to George in mock shock, pretending to be deeply offended.
'She's right, though' Hermione piped up. The twins looked at her in surprise. 'About the Age Line I mean' Hermione added quickly.
'We'll just see about that, won't we?' Fred said briskly, before turning to his twin brother. 'Ready?' George nodded and before Maya knew it, both of them stepped over the line. The crowd watched in anticipation and for a split second they thought it had worked, since nothing happened at first, but then there was a loud sizzling sound and both twins were forcefully thrown out of the golden circle. They landed about ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and if that was not bad enough, there was a loud popping noise and both of them sprouted identical, long white beards. The Entrance Hall rang with laughter, with Maya laughing hardest of them all. She was positively howling and Fred and George were forced to set off for the Hospital Wing. This was definitely one of Maya's better mornings, even though she normally slept in on the weekends. After breakfast, she saw how the entire Beauxbatons delegation also submitted their names, and she inadvertently wondered what the students who would not be chosen would do all year.
For the rest of that Saturday, Maya heard excited chattering wherever she went. The Hufflepuffs were constantly talking about Cedric Diggory, whom they would love to see selected as Hogwarts champion. When Maya and her friends entered the Great Hall that evening they found the Goblet of Fire had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's chair at the teachers' table. The Halloween feast was great as always, but most students including Maya kept glancing at Dumbledore and the Goblet. Everyone was extremely excited to hear who had been selected as champions, and at last Dumbledore got to his feet. The Hall fell silent at once and while Ludo Bagman was beaming, Mr Crouch looked almost bored, but Maya figured that was probably to look professional. Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as expectant as anyone, and Maya thought she understood why. They had undoubtedly trained their students very well, but in a few minutes it would all come down to that one champion and it was quite plausible that that would be someone different than they would have liked or had anticipated, which could dramatically alter their game plan. 'Well, the Goblet is just about ready to make its decisions, maybe one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would like them to go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions' Dumbledore said, indicating the door behind the staff table that Maya had never really noticed before. He then used his wand to extinguish the candles, plunging them all in a state of semi-darkness. The Goblet of Fire shone brightly and then its blue flames suddenly turned red. The Great Hall collectively held its breath, but gasped when a piece of parchment came fluttering out of the Goblet amidst several golden sparks. Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment almost casually, held it at arm's length and read in a clear, strong voice: 'The Durmstrang champion will be… Viktor Krum!'
A storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Draco made to clap Krum on the back as he walked past them, but thought better of it. 'No surprises there' he said instead, in a would-be neutral voice. Over at the staff table Karkaroff was beaming and Maya realised he got the champion he wanted.
After the clapping and cheering died down everyone focused on the Goblet again, which turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames. 'The Beauxbatons champion is… Fleur Delacour!' Maya saw it was the girl who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech, the night before. The girl had long, silvery hair and got gracefully to her feet. She almost seemed to glide between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables as she made her way towards the staff table. Maya saw that most boys were gaping at her and some of them seemed to have become temporarily speechless. She literally had to snap her fingers in front of Vincent and Gregory's faces to get them to focus again.
'She's a Veela' Gregory muttered awestruck.
'Don't be stupid, those aren't human!' Draco snapped at him.
'Oh, yeah…'
The Goblet turned red for the third time and the entire Hall waited with bated breath. The Hogwarts champion was next… Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and read: 'The Hogwarts champion is… Cedric Diggory!'
The uproar from the Hufflepuff table was huge. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to their feet, screaming and cheering as Cedric made his way past them with a broad grin on his face. Maya felt disappointed that it was not a Slytherin but if she was honest with herself, Cedric was probably their best chance to bring glory to Hogwarts as a whole at least. While Cedric entered the chamber, like Krum and Fleur had done before him, Dumbledore beamed at them all. 'Excellent! Well, we now have our three champions and…' He suddenly stopped speaking and everyone could tell why. The Goblet turned red for the fourth time and just like the previous three times a piece of parchment shot out of it. Dumbledore slowly caught it, but it took him a few moments to process what it said. He then cleared his throat, looked at them all and said: 'Harry Potter.'