- Next Morning -
Groaning, Harry slowly opened his eyes to see Cho and Marietta's naked bodies stretched over him on a single bed. Blearily, he recalled the festivities last night, as well as their own personal after party in the tent.
Carefully extricating himself from the tangled limbs, Harry quietly padded across the tent to the small bathroom to relieve himself.
As he did, the grogginess was starting to fade from his mind as he remembered something. 'Wasn't there supposed to be a Death Eater attack after the game?' Wide eyed, he quickly finished in the bathroom before rushing over to the tent flap and pulled it open enough to stick his head out.
Staring outside, he was astonished to discover that everything seemed to be perfectly fine. There were no destroyed tents or smoke, no Dark Mark in the sky, and people were slowly waking up and exiting their tents to make breakfast.
Hearing a groan from behind him, Marietta's sleepy voice rang out, "Close the flap Harry, it's too bright outside."
Heaving a sigh of relief, he pulled his head back in and closed the flap before turning to watch amusedly as Cho and Marietta struggled to wake up.
Chuckling softly, he said. "How about I make us some breakfast?" Getting mumbled affirmatives, he stepped over to the kitchen to cook some breakfast.
As he scooped some eggs onto plates for a grateful Cho and Marietta, Harry wondered what it meant for the Death Eaters to have not attacked the Cup. Did they attack somewhere else? Was it called off for some reason?
And what did it mean for the Tri-Wizard Tournament?
"Hey Harry?" Cho spoke up from her seat at the table, drawing his attention away from his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Marietta and I were thinking…what if we all took our O.W.L.s before the year starts?" She asked curiously.
That was unexpected. Blinking, Harry asked his own question, "Where did this come from?" This was the first he had ever heard of the girls wanting to take their O.W.L. exams early, and while he could do it easily with all of his studying ahead, it wasn't something he expected them to want to do.
Marietta spoke up, "We've been thinking about graduating early and doing some traveling before we settle down into our careers. After Cho won the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup, the recruiter for the Holyhead Harpies has been asking when she'll graduate so they can sign her to the team."
Nodding, Cho continued, "And with how well we've been doing in classes, we feel like we're prepared to take our O.W.L.s early." Placing her hand over his, she squeezed it gently as Marietta did the same with his other one. "But we don't want to do it if you won't be with us."
Smiling, he interlaced his fingers with theirs as he replied, "I appreciate the offer, but you don't need to do it with me if it's something you both want to do."
Shaking her head emphatically, Marietta refused, "No. We either do this together or not at all." Staring at him lovingly, she said, "We're family, Harry. Even if you end up together with Fleur, we still love you and want you in our lives. And that means doing these things together."
As much as he tried not to, a small tear fell from his eye at the love these girls had for him. They were his best-friends, and loved them both dearly. "Okay," Harry nodded, "I'll take my O.W.L.s with you both."
Cheering they got up from the table to hug him as he wrapped his arms around them. "I love you both."
"We love you too, Harry."
- Hogwarts Express -
The weather outside of the train was gloomy as heavy rain splattered against the cabin's window. The farther north it travelled, the heavier the rain fell.
The sky outside grew dark quickly as the windows turned steamy from the cold outside and the warmth inside the train, causing the lanterns in the train to lite as early as midday.
Harry laid out comfortably with Cho on top of him as Marietta busied herself with reading over the morning's Daily Prophet, bemoaning Bulgaria's loss as the score 170 - 160 danced across the front page.
He had sent a letter to Minerva informing her that they would all be taking their O.W.L exams before the start of the semester. Her response was incredibly happy, saying that she was proud of him and the girls, and that she knows they'll pass the exams.
The O.W.L.s turned out to be a mixed bag of ease and difficulty. The written portions were a simple matter, with a few dozen questions on each subject that asked for rather basic answers that weren't too complex.
The practical portion was a little more challenging, especially in the Potions exam. Snape's method of writing the instructions on the board as his only form of help or teaching left several large holes in their studies that they had to overcome on their own time. His magic still wasn't as grown as the girls, so it took more practice for him to get control of the harder spells.
Cho received an 'O' for Outstanding in five of her exams, the highest possible grade. The other two, Potions and Arithmancy, she received an 'E' or Exceeds Expectations, the second highest score.
Marietta cheered at receiving six 'O's in her exams, the only 'E' coming from her Care of Magical Creatures class, which she admitted to planning on dropping afterwards. Cho was excited for her, pulling Marietta into a congratulatory hug and kiss that left them both breathless.
Harry, shockingly, received 'O's in all seven of his exams. Just barely scoring enough for an 'O' in Potions in the practical portion, something which he was certain he was going to receive an 'E' for.
…..
The three of them were excited to be attending their now Sixth-year; despite Cho and Marietta technically being Fifth-years in age, and Harry being a Fourth-year in age.
When it was time for them to change into their robes, they all stood up together to change, laughing as they poked and caressed each other teasingly.
They had seen each other naked multiple times by now, so there was no need for privacy between them.
Reaching Hogsmeade station, the train doors opened just as a rumble of thunder was heard overhead. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, briefly illuminating the pitch-darkness of the station enough for them to make out where the carriages were.
Racing to the nearest one, rain was coming down so thick and fast, that it was as though buckets of ice-cold water were being emptied repeatedly over their heads. Harry quickly opened the door to the carriage as Marietta and Cho scrambled in.
Slamming it shut so that the Thestrals would start moving, the three bunched up together shivering. Harry wrapped his longer arms around the girls as they tried to warm themselves up.
"Fuck it's cold." Marietta shivered as she rubbed at her arms. Cho nodded as she muttered through chattering teeth, "I'd hate to be a First-year going across the lake right now."
They all gave a collective shudder at the thought, sending off silent prayers to the First-years.
- Welcoming Feast -
The Great Hall was just as splendid this year as any other.
Golden plates and goblets sat on the tables gleaming by the light of thousands of floating candles, and four long House tables packed full with chattering students; at the top of the Hall, the Staff table sat perpendicular to the others on a raised platform.
The Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables were set closest to the walls, with Hufflepuff next to Ravenclaw on the right, and Gryffindor next to Slytherin on the left.
'Whoever's idea it was to put the two feuding Houses next to each other was an idiot.' Harry thought.
The arguments that could always be heard from their tables growing tiresome after several years. House rivalries were taken way to far at Hogwarts, and it was something he wasn't going to miss when he and the girls graduated.
Surprisingly, Harry spotted a new person sitting at the Staff table.
It was a man shrouded in a black traveling cloak, with grizzled, dark gray hair and a heavily scarred face. The man's fake eye glowed a vivid, electric blue as it spun in multiple directions ceaselessly. 'Is that Moody?'
Wasn't Moody supposed to show up later? And from the looks of it, while he certainly seemed paranoid, the man still ate and drank from the plates and goblets without issue.
In fact, the man never once drank from a hipflask the entire time they sat waiting for the new students to arrive. 'That's…odd.'
As the doors of the Great Hall opened, silence finally settled over the students. Minerva led a long line of First-years up to the front as Cho quietly whispered in his ear, "They look like they swam across the lake."
It wasn't an unlikely thought, as their small bodies were shivering with what had to be a combination of cold and nerves; their sodden clothes dripping water onto the floor as their soggy shoes squished with every step.
The Sorting took place is short order, and Ravenclaw received seven new First-years who were eagerly chatting away at the table. Some of them pointed to Harry while whispering excitedly, causing him to groan as he tried to focus on eating.
…..
Eventually, once dinner was over, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.
"Firstly. May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?" Dumbledore said brightly, motioning to the grizzled man whose fake eye spun menacingly. "Professor Moody."
Some of the staff and students clapped, but it was a dim sound compared to the whispering going on with questions about his scarred face and fake eye.
"Also…it is my painful duty to inform you all…that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not be taking place this year." Some of the students gasped and whispered in outrage to each other.
Raising a hand to settle the noise, Dumbledore continued. "This is due to an even that will be starting in October…It will continue throughout the school year, and take up much of the professors' time and energy."
Questions and ideas started being thrown around by those who didn't know, while those that did preferred to keep silent and let the Headmaster reveal the secret for them.
"Hogwarts has the great honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century." Dumbledore smiled, stretching out his hands for the big reveal. "It is my very great pleasure to inform you all, that the Tri-Wizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
The hall broke out into excitement and clapping as everyone celebrated the return of the fabled tournament. From across the hall, one of the Weasley twins could be heard loudly saying, "You're joking!" to the laughter of those around him.
"No, Mr. Weasley, I am not joking." Dumbledore replied. "Though, now that you mention it…I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar…"
Minerva cleared her throat loudly as she stared at the Headmaster, who merely chuckled sheepishly. "Er - maybe this is not the time."
Minerva sighed exasperated as she shook her head.
"The Tri-Wizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of magic: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang." Dumbledore explained, "A champion will be selected to represent each school, and the three champions will compete in three magical tasks to achieve the Tri-Wizard Cup."
"As such, the Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with students from their schools in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place on Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are the most worthy to compete for the Tri-Wizard Cup, and achieve glory for their school…and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."
Not many seemed to care much about glory to the school, but the additional prize money had more than a few eyes light up.
All around the hall, students proclaimed their desire to partake in the tournament. Some wanted it for their own glory, others for the money, but the general idea was that more than half of the students were going to enter themselves.
Marietta leaned over the table to grin at Harry, "I bet you're more excited that Fleur is going to be here than you are about the tournament."
Nodding, Harry smiled, "Yeah. It'll be great to spend more time with her." he said, "Plus, I have no desire to enter myself into the tournament. A thousand Galleons is a lot, but not enough to risk my life over it."
Cho and Marietta nodded at that. They both had no desire to take part in the tournament, not the least of which being the massive death toll that led to the ending of the tournament altogether.
"Eager though I know you all are to bring the Tri-Wizard Cup to Hogwarts," Dumbledore's voice rose over the loud students, bringing silence back to the hall. "The Heads of each school, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose a restriction on contenders this year."
"Only students who have completed their O.W.L.s will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration."
Several people made noises of outrage at that, "This is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will be difficult and dangerous, no matter the precautions taken."
'That is fucking new…' Harry thought, shocked at the change. 'Shit…that means I'm now eligible to have my name entered.'
Groaning, his head slumped. 'And here I thought things might have changed enough with the Quidditch World Cup, that I'd be safe from the tournament.'
Great...Just what he needed, a death tournament with dragons. At least Fleur's presence will bring a much-needed joy to the occasion.
- Timeskip: October -
Classes were fairly uneventful this year, and Harry and the girls found their new schedules to be a wonderful change.
Now that they passed their O.W.L.s, they could drop several classes and focus on the ones they wanted to pursue for future careers.
Cho dropped all but Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, and Arithmancy. The recruiter for the Harpies informed her that she was expected to get at least 3 'O's or 'E's on her N.E.W.T.s before they could accept her onto the team.
Because Marietta wanted to go into the Ministry like her mother, it was required that she take and receive at least five 'O's or 'E's. She chose the same classes as Cho, but had to add Potions onto her list of classes, something she groaned about every time she thought about it.
Harry took a similar number of classes as Cho, dropping all but Transfiguration, Charms, Arithmancy, and Runes. Transfiguration was still his favorite subject, by this point he was Minerva's unofficial apprentice and teaching assistant.
He dropped Defense despite his excellent grades in the class, wanting to be nowhere near Moody if it turned out he was a spy currently polyjuiced.
The classes that he was taking were actually the same classes his mother had taken, and her notes gave him incredible insights into the nuances of each of the classes. Something that he shared with the girls, wanting to help ensure they all did well in their classes.
Minerva had been ecstatic to hear the results of their O.W.L.s, and had proceeded to smother him in a warm hug as she congratulated him on his achievement.
He still smiled whenever he thought about it.
…..
The days passed quickly, and before long October had arrived. There was an excitement in the air about the Tournament starting, and rumors had started to spread all over the castle about ways students were going to try and get their names entered despite not meeting the requirements.
That was something Harry still struggled with understanding.
Everyone in the storybooks hated and badmouthed Harry for supposedly entering his name, calling him a cheater…but nearly everyone who couldn't enter the Tournament had tried to cheat their way into it.
The Weasley twins alone had a very noticeable attempt that everyone seemed to laugh at, but when Harry's name was called, they all acted like he was the only one to try and cheat.
'Hypocrites.'
…..
Waking up early on a Monday morning in October, Harry got out of bed to do his morning workouts at the Room of Requirement.
It was a lot easier for him to sneak out of his room now, there was only one other boy in the Sixth-year dorms, and he seemed to care less about making friends with Harry or worrying about where Harry disappeared to.
Cho and Marietta were once again alone in the Sixth-year dorms, and they had a standing offer for him to sleep in there with them whenever he wanted.
The offer wasn't sexual in nature, but Marietta smirked when she said that she wouldn't mind some more repeats of their night in the tent. Cho playfully slapped her girlfriend's arm, before agreeing all the same.
After his workout and a shower, he met up with the girls before exiting the Ravenclaw Common Room. When they came down to breakfast, they found a large crowd of students congregated next to the doors of the Great Hall. A large sign had been placed near the entrance reading:
"
TRI-WIZARD
TOURNAMENT
The Delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday, the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early.
Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories, and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast.
"
"That's in two weeks." Cho commented as she reread the sign. "I wonder how they're going to arrive?"
Marietta shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe Portkeys? They could use them to get to Hogsmeade and borrow the carriages to travel up to Hogwarts."
Honestly, that made more sense than carriages flown by winged horses, or a ship that traveled underwater. 'But magicals like to show off.' Harry reminded himself, having heard that from Marietta when they were at the Quidditch World Cup.
And it wasn't like Hogwarts didn't have the space for both schools to stay in. There were a ton of sections still empty in the castle that could easily fit the other schools comfortably.
He and Minerva were still traveling to the old Dueling Club's room to practice his Animagus transformation. By now, he was able to do it easily and without even needing his wand.
They had experimented with what had transferred over to him from his Thunderbird form, and it seemed that he got the creature's ability to sense danger. It felt almost like a Spidey-sense from the Marvel storybooks, letting him know when something bad was going to happen right before it did.
Minerva jokingly bemoaned her luck, saying how lucky he is, and how unfortunate it is to have a cat's sense of smell in a school full of teens. Many of the pure-blood boys apparently never learned about deodorant, and the older boys had certain smells of other things that she did her best to ignore and forget about.
- School Arrival -
The castle overwent an extra-thorough cleaning leading up to the arrival of the other schools. Many of the grimy portraits were scrubbed, suits of armor were polished until they gleamed, and the floors were shinier than Harry had ever seen them.
As Harry, Cho, and Marietta walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast, they discovered that it had been decorated quite extravagantly for the occasion.
Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each one representing a Hogwarts House, similar to the banners used for the House Cup winners but larger.
Behind the Staff table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms, containing all of the House mascots united around a large letter 'H'.
Quickly eating their breakfast, the students made their way to classes, though very little actual learning happened. Everyone was more focused on the tournament, guessing who would be chosen and what the other schools were like.
…..
When the bell rang early, everyone deposited their stuff in the dormitories before making their way down to the Entrance Hall. The Heads of Houses quickly began ordering everyone into lines outside, lining them up by years with the Seventh-years in the back and the First-years up front.
The sky was already dark, and the air fairly cold this time of year, causing a few shivers among the students.
An anticipation-filled silence blanketed the grounds, and everyone glanced around with curious eyes, wondering how the schools would arrive.
Eventually, Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other professors. "Aha! Unless I am mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches."
"Where?!" many of the students gasped eagerly, looking around in every direction.
From the Gryffindor section, a Seventh-year pointed over the forest as they yelled, "There!"
Staring at the spot, the Hogwarts students watched as a gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest, hurtling towards them as the lights shining from the castle illuminated the shape.
It was a massive, powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage the size of a house. In front of it, a dozen elephant-sized horses pulled the carriage across the sky, flying with their giant wings.
As the carriage landed with a booming thud, the golden coat of arms decorating the side gleamed in the castle light, revealing two crossed wands emitting three sparks each; the symbol for Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.
The large door of the carriage opened as a boy in pale blue robes jumped out, before reaching down to unfold golden steps, allowing a massive heeled foot to step onto the first step.
The shoe was followed by the appearance of the largest woman the students had ever seen. She was as tall as Hagrid, but the graceful and confident air about her made it seem as if she was even taller than the gamekeeper.
As she stepped forward, Dumbledore started to clap, signaling the students to do the same as applause broke out.
A gracious smile bloomed on the woman's handsome face as she walked towards Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand with many magnificent opals on her fingers.
Dumbledore, who was tall himself, barely needed to bend in order to kiss her hand. "My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."
"Dumbly-dorr" the Headmistress spoke in a deep voice, "I 'ope I find you well?"
Harry noticed that her accent was far thicker than Fleur's, and carried a certain rumble of respect to it as she said the Headmaster's name.
Dumbledore smiled at the question as he replied, "In excellent form, I thank you."
Nodding pleased, she continued "My pupils." Waving one of her enormous hands towards the carriage behind her.
From the carriage stepped out a dozen boys and girls, all in their late teens and dressed in silk robes. None of them wore a cloak, and as a chilly breeze swept across the area, they all shivered collectively.
"'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.
"He should be here any moment," Dumbledore replied. "Would you like to wait here and greet him, or would you prefer to step inside and warm up?"
Her response was immediate, "Warm up, I think." Motioning towards the Beauxbatons students, they began walking past the assembled Hogwarts students as they made their way towards the Entrance Hall.
As they passed, Harry spotted a familiar head of white-gold hair peeking out from underneath a scarf covering a girl's head. Even with her whole head covered, her very presence still attracted more than a few wandering eyes.
Harry almost called out to her, but he didn't want to cause a scene in front of both schools.
He'd see her at the Great Hall anyways.
…..
A loud rumbling could be heard in the distance, drawing Harry's and everyone else's attention towards the Black Lake.
From the smooth black surface of the water, bubbles began forming as a long black pole rose from the water. Slowly, a ship rose out of the lake, its dark frame gleaming in the moonlight.
It had a strange skeletal look, and the dim lights coming from the portholes gave the illusion of ghostly eyes peering through the mist created by the ship's emergence.
Over a dozen people began disembarking from the ship, their massive framed silhouettes outlined by the ship's portholes. As they drew nearer, their bulk was revealed to be thick bloodred cloaks with a shaggy, matted fur collar. There were even a few girls in the group, to the surprise of many.
A man in silver furs led the way, calling out heartily as he reached Dumbledore. "Dumbledore! How are you, my dear fellow?"
"Blooming, thank you, Highmaster Karkaroff." Dumbledore replied.
Karkaroff turned to look up at the castle, smiling his rotten yellow teeth as his eyes stared coldly. "Dear old Hogwarts…how good it is to be back." Even his false cheer couldn't fully hide the touch of disgust at the school.
Turning to the Durmstrang students, he called out. "Viktor, come along now, into the warmth."
Karkaroff motioned to the first boy in the group, who had a prominent broken nose and thick black eyebrows, and walked flat-footed like he was unused to being on the ground. "You don't mind, do you Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold."
"Not at all." Dumbledore replied, waving them all into the Entrance Hall.
- Great Hall -
As the Hogwarts students sat down at their tables, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students stayed standing as they looked between the four tables.
From the Beauxbatons students, the tall girl with the scarf-covered head made a beeline directly towards the Ravenclaw table, her sapphire blue eyes the only thing seen beneath the fabric.
Harry knew those gorgeous sapphire blue eyes anywhere, and stood up from his seat to open out his arms as the figure collided with him in a warm, deep hug. "'Arry!"
Leaning his face into the crook of her neck, Harry breathed in the all-to-familiar cinnamon scent as he squeezed her form against him. "Hello Flower. I've missed you." He whispered softly.
Her frame shuddered, and not from the cold, as she drew back before untying the shawl from her head. As the white-gold locks fell around her, every male student seemed to gasp at her appearance, her passive allure no longer restrained by the fabric.
Smiling beautifully, Fleur ignored the presence of everyone else as she pulled him into a kiss, drawing gasps and whispers from the Hall.
A shorter girl with curly hair and tanned skin stepped up behind them as she spoke up, "Having fun you two?" As she teased the two, the rest of the Beauxbatons students joined them at the Ravenclaw table, while the Durmstrang students moved over to the Slytherin table at the other end of the room.
Grinning into the kiss with Fleur, Harry finally broke it to look over her shoulder as Hermione, "Yes we are." Fleur turned to look over her shoulder at their friend, "Are you wanting one as well?" she teased back.
Hermione's face lit up with a blush, drawing laughs from Harry and Fleur as they finally broke their hug to allow Harry to pull her into a hug. "It's good to see you Hermione."
"It's good to see you too, Harry." Hermione replied, her voice muffled by his chest.
Harry had grown over the last few months, now he was barely an inch shorter than Fleur, and several inches taller than Hermione. Fleur really was a tall girl, easily matching Minerva in height, and he was hopefully going to surpass them both when he finished growing.
As they sat down with Cho and Marietta to converse, the staff finally entered the Hall and began filling the Staff table that was now crowded with new seats.
When Madame Maxime walked into the Hall with Dumbledore and Karkaroff, the Beauxbatons students, including Fleur and Hermione, leapt to their feet.
Some of the Hogwarts students laughed at them, but the Beauxbatons students ignored their jeers as they respectfully waited for their Headmistress to take her seat before sitting back down.
When everyone but Dumbledore was seated, a silence fell over the Great Hall. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and guests." Dumbledore said, meaning around at the foreign students. "I have the great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."
Hermione raised an eyebrow in disbelief before turning to glance at Harry with a knowing look. Being almost crushed by a troll didn't exactly leave a good first impression.
"The Tournament will be officially opened at the end of the Feast." the Headmaster continued, "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"
The golden plates filled with food as he sat down. The variety of dishes was greater than anything the Hogwarts students have seen before.
In front of Harry and the girls, the dishes were filled with foreign foods and the typical salads and healthy grilled chicken that was typical for them.
"Bouillabaisse!" Fleur cheered excitedly at the large dish of shellfish stew in front of Harry.
Smiling, Harry grabbed her plate and began filling it with a healthy portion of the stew before handing it back to her. "Merci, 'Arry." Fleur said, placing a quick kiss on his cheek before happily digging in to the stew.
"I'm surprised to see so many healthy foods," Hermione said, glancing around at the salads and grilled chicken.
Pointing a fork at Harry, Marietta replied, "You can thank Harry for that. He's the only one at Hogwarts who eats healthy, and eventually they stopped putting the heavier foods in front of us after he kept asking for salads."
The Beauxbatons students looked at him appreciatively for that, the heavy British food looked terribly unappealing to them.
…..
Once the golden plates had been cleaned, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall as excitement filled the students.
"The moment has come," Dumbledore said, smiling around at the sea of faces staring at him. "The Tri-Wizard Tournament is about to begin. I would like to say a few words of explanation to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year."
"But first, let me introduce Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation," there was a few claps of polite applause, "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."
A much louder round of applause sounded for Ludo, his fame as a Beater, and his far more friendly appearance drawing a greater response from the students.
"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, Highmaster Karkaroff, and Headmistress Maxime on the panel that will be judging the champions' efforts."
The mentioning of the word 'champion' had many of the students straightening up.
Turning to Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, Dumbledore said, "The Cup, if you please, Mr. Filch."
Filch carried a large object covered in a sheet towards Dumbledore, placing it gently on the Staff table. "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."
At the last word, the Hall was filled with a deadening silence.
"As the three champions compete in the tournament, their performances will be scored, and the champion who wins will receive…the Triwizard Cup." Pointing at the sheet, it lifted into the air to reveal a shining silver and blue cup that drew oooohs and aaaaahs from the students.
As the crowd quieted down, Dumbledore motioned towards a large, roughly hewn wooden cup being placed in the center of the Hall. "The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire!"
A blue flame burst from the top of the cup, illuminating the faces of the students nearest to it.
"Any student wishing to submit themselves as champion, must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment, and drop it into the goblet." Dumbledore said, "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, on Halloween, the goblet will reveal the names of the three champions."
Staring out at the younger students, he added. "To ensure than no one who has not already completed their O.W.L.s enters their name, a ward will be placed around the Goblet of Fire." Disappointed looks were intermingled with shrewd eyes already thinking of ways around the ward.
"Be warned," he cautioned, "Placing your name in the goblet constitutes a binding magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you are selected as champion, you must see the tournament through to the end."
Clapping his hands, Dumbledore's jovial tone returned. "Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all!"