Chapter 7. Impartial judge chooses champions

In the morning, Harry rushed to the owlery, deciding not to delay sending a new letter to Sirius. He was more worried than ever that his godfather would give himself away, and he hurried to prevent any risk for the only person he felt a true bond with.

Dear Sirius,

Don't worry about my scar. It doesn't hurt, I just imagined it. I wrote my last letter half asleep. So calm down and don't come here. I'm perfectly fine, including my head.

Harry

This time, Moody warned them in his lesson - he would use the unforgivable Imperius Curse on each of the students to teach them resistance. It turned out to be Dumbledore's own order. Overcoming Moody's will cost Harry four attempts and sore legs. By casting the curse on Harry, Moody ordered him to jump on the table or perform other actions that later resulted in pain throughout his body. Jeanne completely defeated Moody's will on the second try. On the first try, she seemed to test the patience and attention of the professor, sometimes obeying and sometimes refusing to obey. Looking at her, Harry involuntarily remembered old comedies where one character would start working and perform funny antics behind the boss's back, throwing up their knees or making funny faces. What Jeanne did vividly reminded Harry of such an careless worker. Although she didn't make funny faces or throw her knees up, Harry quickly figured out what she was doing.

Teachers did not spare the students, overwhelming them with an excessive amount of homework. Even Hagrid instructed them to visit the blast-ended skrewts every evening to check on their condition and find out what they eat. Snape went even further and promised to poison someone by Christmas to determine how well the students had learned the antidote course.

After returning from Hagrid's lesson on caring for magical creatures, the students found themselves stuck in a huge crowd. Ron, being the tallest, stood up and loudly read the announcement. It stated that delegations from two magical schools - Durmstrang and Beauxbatons - would be arriving at Hogwarts on the upcoming Friday, October 30th.

On the appointed day, at six o'clock in the evening, the entire school poured out into the courtyard to welcome the long-awaited guests. The Beauxbatons delegation arrived first, flying in on a giant blue carriage. Shortly after, the Durmstrang delegation arrived, emerging from the depths of the Hogwarts lake on a huge ship and surprising everyone, as among the students of this school was the famous...

- It's Krum! - shouted the crowd, welcoming the Bulgarian students.

After the first joint dinner with the guests, Dumbledore took the floor. Addressing the students and guests of Hogwarts, he announced the opening of the Triwizard Tournament and presented the magical Goblet of Fire, which was supposed to select the participants of the Tournament. "Those who wish to compete for the title of champion must clearly write their name and the name of their school on a piece of parchment and drop it in the Goblet," he said. "They have twenty-four hours to decide. The Goblet will be displayed in the hall. And tomorrow evening, it will spit out the names of the champions who will participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Of course, only the most worthy will be chosen. The Goblet will remain in the hall overnight and will be accessible to anyone who wants to participate in the Tournament. Only those who have reached the age of seventeen will be allowed to participate. And in order to prevent those who are underage from succumbing to temptation, I will draw a forbidden line around it. It is forbidden for anyone younger than the specified age to cross this line. And finally, for those who wish to participate in the contest, take note - once chosen as champions, there is no turning back. The champion will be obligated to complete the Tournament. By throwing your name into the Goblet, you enter into a magical contract that cannot be broken. So think carefully about whether you truly want to participate in the Tournament. Well, now it seems like a good time to go to sleep. Good night, everyone."

The next morning and day passed in anticipation. Everyone was eager to find out who would be announced as champions, and some even wanted to bend the rules and participate in the Tournament despite their age. This is how the mischievous Weasley twins got caught. After drinking an aging potion, they hoped to trick the Goblet and publicly threw their names in, but an unknown force threw them beyond the boundary together with their names, and upon falling on the marble floor of the Great Hall, the brothers unexpectedly transformed into old men. Everyone burst out laughing, even Fred and George themselves, witnessing this metamorphosis.

"I'm sure someone threw their name in last night. I would have done the same. It's unpleasant when everyone is looking at you in a moment like that. What if the Goblet immediately spits your name in your face," Harry said during breakfast when discussing with his friends whether any Hogwarts student threw their name into the Goblet.

Dumbledore was set to announce the names of the Tournament champions after Saturday's dinner. And now, when the long-awaited moment arrived, the Goblet spat out the first name.

"The champion from Durmstrang - Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore announced.

The entire hall erupted in applause. Everyone was happy for Krum, a beloved seeker of the Bulgarian national team, and no one doubted that he would become the champion of the Tournament.

"The champion from Beauxbatons - Fleur Delacour!"

Once again, the hall applauded the new participant of the Tournament, the beautiful blond French girl.

"The champion from Hogwarts - Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore declared.

And once again, a wave of applause filled the room. Cedric, a seeker and captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and a prefect at the school, was loved in Hogwarts. But just as Dumbledore was about to make another announcement, the Goblet of Fire ignited, and it spat out the fourth parchment. Catching it in the air, Dumbledore looked down at it and announced:

"Harry Potter and Jeanne d'Arc."