Chapter 11:
Goodness Gracious, Great Goblets of Fire!
As everyone waited in the Entrance Hall for the newcomers to file into the Great Hall, Rachel cleared her throat. "Er…Seamus?" she said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Could I talk to you for a moment? In private?"
"Um…sure."
So they slipped out of the queue and went to stand a little ways away, where they began conversing in low voices.
"I do hope they resolve their differences," Hannah said. "I was getting tired of their fighting."
Everyone remembered the talking-to Hannah had given them in September and nodded.
"So…what did you think of Beauxbatons?" Tanya asked everyone in general.
"Pretty cool," Katelyn said. "And I saw Kim!"
"You did?"
"Yup. She's going to sit with her classmates, though," Katelyn growled. "The Ravenclaws."
"Oh," Hannah said. "…Why them?"
"That's what I wanted to know," Katelyn answered.
"Oh! Lookie, lookie!" Tanya squealed.
Everyone turned to look where she was pointing. Over in the corner, they saw Rachel and Seamus reach out—and shake hands. And then, Rachel held out her arms and the two embraced. "Yay!" Tanya said happily. "They're friends again."
"And just in time, too," Dean pointed out. "It's our turn to go into the Great Hall."
Seamus and Rachel joined them at the doors to the Great Hall, both looking happier than anyone had seen them in months. The tension that had been between them like a taut rope had vanished.
"Feeling better?" Katelyn asked.
Rachel grinned, which took Katelyn by surprise. "Yep."
"Good. I don't think I could stand another meal with all the eggshells on the floor "
Katelyn's play on words was almost entirely lost on the other five, and she rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Come on, let's sit."
So they did. Preferring not to look at the rather beautiful Beauxbatons boys and girls at the Ravenclaw table, they faced the Slytherins, and therefore the Durmstrangs, instead. None of them were at all surprised to see Malfoy immediately begin to talk to the tall, surly-looking Viktor Krum. And it was downright normal when Shelby began making eyes at Nickolay.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and—most particularly—guests," Dumbledore said. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable.
"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."
The tables filled with all sorts of food—some normal and others downright weird. Most of the Funny Farm steered clear of these.
"So," Katelyn said to Rachel in a low voice. "What brought about yours and Seamus' recent reformations?"
Rachel looked blankly at her.
Katelyn sighed. "Why'd you apologize?"
"Oh! Well, I missed being his friend, and—believe it or not—I don't enjoy fighting with him. Oh, don't look at me like that—I'm serious!"
"It doesn't have anything to do with what he said yesterday about thinking about kissing you for the past year and a half, does it?"
Rachel stared at her in disbelief, then gave a sudden, delighted laugh. "Of course not, Katelyn! Couldn't you see he was joking?"
Dumbledore stood up again at this time. "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—"
"Casket?" Hannah whispered.
"—just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do no 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.
"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 Madam Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts.
"The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."
The caretaker, all gussied up in a moth-bitten tailcoat, came forward with an antiquated wooden box. He set it on a little table and walked away.
"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined my Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," Dumbledore continued, "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.
"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on, "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 tapped the casket three time with his wand and pulled out a large wooden cup that danced with blue flame. "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.
"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," Dumbledore went on, "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 the line.
"Finally, I wish to impress on 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."
"Long-winded, yet abrupt," Hannah mused as they filed out. "So like Dumbledore."