Chapter 143: Performance and Goblet of Fire

What followed after was similar to the movie version; Beauxbatons delegation put on a magical performance. The only difference was that Beauxbatons was co-ed instead of an all-girls school.

"Durmstrang delegation, please be ready. The Beauxbatons delegation is almost over," notified Quinn to the gruff-looking boys and girls of Durmstrang and their posh-looking headmaster.

Karkaroff raised his hand, and immediately the Durmstrang students got into two lines, both lines a mix of boys and girls (each of them separated by the other gender).

'I wonder if this is how all of Durmstrang students act,' thought Quinn. He wondered whether Karkaroff could control a school whose students were only from pureblood families, and where pureblood dogma was a substantial part of their culture.

Quinn's eyes, then, found a well-built late-teen who was leading the left row. Viktor Krum was thin, had dark hair, and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He looked like an overgrown bird of prey. It was hard to believe he was only eighteen.

The future champion looked surly, moody, and a bit grumpy. Krum didn't look very enthusiastic about the show of magic that was about to happen. It made Quinn think about Krum's personality from the original works: reserved and not fond of the attention he garnered due to his celebrity status.

If Quinn was honest, he was quite interested in the Durmstrang students. Out of the three schools, Durmstrang students were the ones who shared closer affinity with him. They practiced the Dark Arts just like him and the school didn't exclude those magics from their studies. To Quinn, in some way, Durmstrang was a more complete school of magic than either Hogwarts or Beauxbatons.

His thoughts wandered to the most well-known fact about the school. 'Durmstrang... the school where Gellert Grindlewald studied, huh.'

"Beauxbatons' performance is over," notified Quinn. He placed his hand on the door while listening through his earbud. Dumbledore was praising Beauxbatons' performance. He then moved onto the introduction of Durmstrang. Quinn once again started the countdown. At one, he pushed the door. Durmstrang's delegation entered the Great Hall, and immediately started the performance with a show of fire.

He stood in front of the Great hall door, and a peculiar thought about this entire ceremony entered his mind. "Three schools, three heads, technically three champions, three representatives... so 'three' should continue, shouldn't it?"

A scenario morphed into his mind as he continued to hear the faint ooh-aahs from the Hogwarts students through his earbud. When Durmstrang's performance ended and Dumbledore took the podium again, Quinn finished his plan and took his fake wand into his hand.

- (Scene Break) -

Inside the Great Hall, Dumbledore watched the students of two schools sitting together with his own students, and it brought a smile to his face thinking about the new experience they would have.

"I would like to thank Beauxbatons and Durmstrang for those exhilarating performances. They have been an absolute delight to experience. With great pleasure we welcome you 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. Now, I'd like to invite you to -"

Dumbledore was about to open the feast, but his words stopped when he himself and everybody in the Great Hall saw silk banners hanging from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: a gold lion, a bronze eagle, a black badger, and a silver serpent, shiver and shake. The animals started to shimmer with dazzling lights. The banners started to sway as if they were moved by a light wind.

The sudden change in the banners caused everyone to quiet down. Just before the hustle-bustle returned in the form of whispers and talks, the green banner with the silver serpent glowed brighter before a shimmering green serpent silhouette burst out from the banner. The serpent silhouette didn't have any defined features and was wholly made from solid shades of green. It slithered around in the air above everyone's heads. After circling the hall, the serpentine form emitted a deep hiss and the silhouette moved over the Slytherin table, its lower body curling with its head standing tall. The Slytherin students exclaimed and cheered when the serpent that stood above them majestically.

But their cheers subsided when the red banner with the gold lion similarly shimmered with a red lion silhouette walked out with its four legs stepping on air. The featureless lion face made up from solid reddish hues seemed to alert the green serpent. With its tail swinging gently, the lion stood above the Gryffindor table. Then the lion figure seemed to tense its body as a fierce roar shook the hall. The Gryffindor table exploded in cheers as their house animal roared against the green serpent. After the roar subsided, the lion stood tall with its head raised in pride.

Just when it looked like the lion and serpent were going to fight, the yellow banner of the black Hufflepuff badger on the banners glowed harshly and a yellow badger form stepped out with clawed paws and a short tail behind its back. The low pitch growl from the badger stopped the lion and serpent from jumping at each other. The Hufflepuff students, like the other two tables, also cheered for their mascot animal. The badger silhouette seemed to be pleased that the threat he posed had stopped the two other figures. The three figures now looked at each other in warning, and with slight movements, they stood equidistant to each other.

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By now, everyone knew what would happen, and they eyed the Ravenclaw banner. The Ravenclaw students were looking at their flag in heightened excitement. Even the three animal forms had their eyes on the blue banner.

As everyone expected, the banner shimmered, and a blue eagle flew out of the bronze. Unlike the other three animals, the eagle was fast and, unlike them, small. The eagle flew high, above the charmed hovering candles of the Great Hall. As everyone watched, a shrill shriek pierced everyone to their core, and they noticed the eagle growing larger till it was the same size as the other three. What had started as a normal-sized eagle was now a majestic creature of prey. It flapped its wings and glided above the Ravenclaw table. It then shrieked for the Ravenclaw table to be backed by loud cheers from the students of the wittiest house.

The four creatures stood above their tables in a square formation, and just when everyone thought they were going to fight, the four animal figures started to shine brightly in green, red, yellow, and blue.

Their forms started to change.

The green serpent turned into a bald man in a long robe holding a long staff. The man was standing straight, and even though it had no features, he struck a cunning figure. The red lion with a short roar morphed into a man with a bear-belly and, as the human became complete, it took out a great sword, and with two hands on the hilt, the sword tip was slammed down to the "ground" with a loud ting. The badger stood up on its two hind feet and began the transformation into a figure of a homely woman with a round and plump figure dressed in a dress. She crossed her arms, and in one of her hands was a darker yellow outline of a wand. Then, with a fierce flap of its wings, the blue eagle turned into a tall woman dressed in flowing robes with wide sleeves. She had a book in her right hand; in the other, she twirled a dark blue wand.

Whereas the students and teachers alike had been dazed by what was happening, the four house ghosts, including the Bloody Baron, had all come to the Great Hall for this event. Of the four house ghosts, except the Gryffindor ghost, Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, three had had strong connections to the figures.

Friar, the Hufflepuff ghost, looked at the yellow figure. His eyes started tearing up with the memories he suddenly remembered of his childhood. A throaty whisper escaped him: "Oh, Helga..." He looked at the matronly lady, which couldn't be anyone other than his own teacher and mentor, Helga Hufflepuff.

Helena Ravenclaw, the Ravenclaw ghost, stilled as she stared at the blue outline. Emotions from her mortal life flooded her ghostly mind. The feelings she had become numbed to came back in full force, and the regret of not meeting her mother at her deathbed brought tears to her ghostly eyes. She wanted to go away, but her ethereal body didn't move. She could only continue to stare at the blue silhouette of Rowena Ravenclaw.

The Bloody Baron, the recluse Slytherin ghost, stared at the familiar figure of the man who had taught him the magical arts. The man who had tried to teach him the importance of restraint and not to let his violent, uncontrolled anger take the best of him. Nevertheless, he had ignored the man's teachings. If he had just listened to his mentor, the Baron wouldn't have become Bloody. The noble Baron, after a millennium, bowed to the figure of his mentor, Salazar Slytherin.

The final red figure, the fourth founder, Godric Gryffindor, raised his wand to the sky while tapping his sword down. In his life, he had had a versatile mindset as he chose to wield a sword as well as a wand, making him a rather dynamic man who deferred the dueling style to his opponent, were they magicals or non-magicals.

Following his lead, the other three founders raised their staff-slash-wands. Four beams of lights, green, red, yellow, and blue, zapped out into the center of the Great Hall. Then, everyone began to see a structure start to build itself, and before they knew it, a scaled-down Hogwarts castle was standing in the sky. The four figures turned into orbs of shining light and flew towards the castle for it to glow in a bright flash, almost blinding everyone, causing many to shield their eyes.

When it subsided, they saw a burning coat of arms with the Gryffindor lion, the Slytherin serpent, the Ravenclaw eagle, and the Hufflepuff badger, all circling the letter H. And below the coat arms, it could be seen the motto, "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus," in an escroll beneath the shield.

"... Welcome To Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." A voice reached everyone in the hall, and with it, the entire student body of Hogwarts got up from their seats with loud cheers, claps filled with the hall, and fists were pumped up. The applause was so loud that one would have heard it from outside. The applause startled various creatures, such as owls, roosters and pigs, among other animals that lived in Hogwarts grounds.

Among all the commotion and cheering, the Professors seated on the Head table tried to find the one who had cast the magic, while the few who weren't trying to calm the students down had their eyes attracted towards the hall entrance. There they saw a familiar figure decked in Hogwarts robes with blue trims, pocketing a wand into his clothes.

He seemed to notice their gaze as he looked up at them with his stone-gray eyes. A smile bloomed on his face as he bowed to them and, as if it was a performance ending, the burning coat of arms in the air above blew up with a sound and turned into golden glitter dust, raining down on everybody, but disappeared before anyone could touch them.

Hogwarts had been appropriately represented. And it had been represented with style.

- (Scene Break) -

"I'm back," said Quinn. He sat down on the seat saved for him by his friends.

"You're too late! Merlin's ball-" started Eddie but was cut-off when Marcus gave him a tight kick to the shin with a glare. Eddie secretly glanced at Luna and changed his words, "Merlin's beard! That was bloody marvelous!"

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"I saw some of it, and you're right... that was sublime," chuckled Quinn. He didn't want to reveal the fact that it had been him behind the demonstration.

"The golden dust was pretty. I think it was pixie dust!" said Luna, her eyes shining in curiosity and excitement.

Quinn smiled and looked around. He heard the praises from his demonstration and felt the excitement in the air. The talk about the Triwizard had been left out; the entire hall was filled with gossip about his work. He looked at the Slytherin table and the Durmstrang students, who were excitedly looking at each other, a stark contrast from their previous looks. Quinn leaned back to take a glance ahead at the Ravenclaw table. He saw Beauxbatons students excitedly talking with each other. Some of them were even interacting with other Ravenclaw students.

"All right, international relations are secured," muttered Quinn before the feast started and with plates in front of them filled with food. The house-elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than Quinn had ever seen at Hogwarts, including several that were foreign.

The Great Hall seemed somehow much more crowded than usual, even though there were barely thirty additional students there; perhaps it had been because their differently colored uniforms stood out so clearly against the black of the Hogwarts robes. Now that they had removed their furs, the Durmstrang students were revealed to be wearing deep blood red robes while Beauxbatons sported their blue robes.

Hagrid sidled into the hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the feast. His hands were covered with bandages.

'The horses must have been vicious,' thought Quinn as Hagrid passed by.

Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the hall now. Everyone felt a slight thrill of excitement, wondering what was coming.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words before we bring in the casket —"

"The what?" Eddie muttered.

Marcus shrugged.

"— just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. First, though, let me introduce, for those who do not know him, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation" —there was a smattering of polite applause— "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch.

Perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likable. He acknowledged it with a cheery wave of his hand.

Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced.

Quinn, on the other hand, clapped more actively for Bartemius Crouch Senior. The man was a wartime leader who had legalised, for aurors, the use of unforgivable curses against the Death Eaters. Sure, he had helped his son escape Azkaban, but Quinn knew that positive things shouldn't be ignored in the face of the negative and vice-versa.

'Speaking of the son, what's Junior doing?' thought Quinn. He looked at the polyjuiced Barty Crouch Junior to see that Alastor Moody was looking at Dumbledore with his normal eye. His magical eye, though, was definitely locked on to his father.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months to arrange the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "they will be joining Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime and myself on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

At the mention of the word "champions," the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the hall, now approached Dumbledore while carrying a massive wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked ancient. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students.

The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore. Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year. Each task 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."

Quinn shook his head sideways. To the current him, the tasks didn't seem so... dangerous.

The hall was filled with absolute silence. Nobody seemed to be breathing.

"As you know, only three champions will compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be assessed on how well they perform each of the tournament tasks. The champion with the highest total after the third task will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector. The Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped it three times on the top of the casket. The lid creaked and it slowly opened. 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.

Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the Goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the hall.

"Those who wish to submit themselves as champions must write their name and school clearly in a slip of parchment and drop it into the Goblet," said Dumbledore. "All aspiring champions will have twenty-four hours to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Hallowe'en, the Goblet shall select 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 who wish 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."

Quinn barely... barely! held back a scoff (and laughter) at the mention of the Age Line. The Age Line hadn't prevented anything in the original book.

'If it was me, I would've kept the Goblet hidden and asked the headmasters to choose the candidates before taking the slips from them to put the names myself,' thought Quinn.

Of course, that was in hindsight. Quinn wasn't sure what he would've done if he hadn't been aware of the plan brewing up in the background.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon whomever wants to compete that this tournament is not to be treaded lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, they are obliged to end the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the Goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. You won't be able to withdraw once you have become a champion. Therefore, I implore you that you wholeheartedly prepare yourselves to the idea of competing before dropping your name into the Goblet. In any case, I think it is time for bed. Good night and happy dreams."

Quinn watched the wooden cup.

'I need to make some preparations,' thought Quinn. He looked at the Goblet once again with plans forming in his mind.

Quinn West - MC - I am the greatest showman!

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