Beauxbatons and Durmstrang
Disclaimer: Kitty is my creation, all else is Rowling's.
The next day, there was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
At precisely 6 o'clock, all Kitty, Dennis, Luna and Vandyll, along with the rest of the school, made their way outside and lined up in front of the castle. Dennis was positively shivering with anticipation.
While everyone was discussing how they were going to arrive, Kitty saw a blue speck in the sky, appearing larger and larger as it neared the castle. Squinting her eyes, Kitty saw that it was a gigantic, powderblue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring towards them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.
A large woman, almost as tall as Hagrid, stepped out of the carriage, as the students began to applause. Dumbledore kissed her hand, as a dozen boys and girls, shivering in the cold, followed her, casting disdainful looks towards the castle.
Almost as soon, as Madame Maxime(as the big woman was called), had departed into the castle with the Beauxbatons students, Kitty saw a large whirlpool forming in the centre of the lake. Slowly and magnificently, a ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes.
A tall, thin man with a goatee disembarked from the ship and swaggered towards Dumbledore, who greeted him as Professor Karkaroff. A dozen students, dressed in shaggy, fur cloaks followed him, one of which, Kitty noticed, was being beckoned forward by Karkaroff. "Blimey," said Dennis, "that's Viktor Krum!"
"Who?" Kitty asked. "Viktor Krum, the famous Bulgarian Quidditch prodigy. I had no idea he was still at school!" said Vandyll in wonder.
Once they were all seated in the Great Hall, Kitty saw Ron trying to crane his neck to get a better look at Krum. Up at the staff table, Filch, the caretaker, was adding chairs. He was wearing his moldy old tailcoat in honor of the occasion. Kitty was surprised to see that he added four chairs, two on either side of Dumbledore's.
After, Dumbledore had welcomed the guests, and the two extra seats had been filled by two gentlemen called Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch, the plates in front of them filled with food. This time there was a greater variety of dishes before them. "Pass ze cassoulet," said a Beauxbatons girl, pointing to a duck served with different sausages and white beans. Kitty handed it to the little 8 year old, who had held her hand out for it. Seated next to her, was a beautiful, girl, with silvery-blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Kitty noticed that many boys all across the hall were ogling at her. Ron couldn't take his eyes off her.
After dessert, Dumbledore stood up and announced, "Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Mr. Bagman, Mr. Crouch and I shall be on the panel of judges. 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. Three champions will compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly, "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."
At this, Dumbledore tapped the top of a wooden casket that Filch had brought. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.
"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," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, at 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," said Dumbledore, "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."
The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students made their way back to their ship and carriage, while the Hogwarts students started going back to their dormitories. Kitty saw a half-witted Durmstrang boy with food all down his front, nudge the girl next to him and point openly at Harry's scar. Kitty frowned and took care to stamp hard on his toes as she and Luna walked past him to the Ravenclaw dormitory.