Harry Potter and the Hidden Treasure (Volume 3)

Chapter 555 Champion

"What do you mean we'll find out?!"

"Look out the window," Harry suddenly said.

They quickly turned their heads. Outside the cabin, Hagrid had just straightened up and turned around. If he was blushing before, it was nothing compared to what he was doing now.

Standing up very cautiously, so that Hagrid wouldn't see them, they looked out the window and saw that Madame Maxime and the Beauxbatons students had just got out of the carriage, clearly about to head towards the feast.

They couldn't hear what Hagrid was saying, but he was talking to Madame Maxime with a rapt and nostalgic expression.

"He's going up to the castle with her!" Hermione said indignantly. "I thought he was waiting for us!"

Hagrid didn't even look back at his cabin. He was walking heavily across the grounds with Madame Maxime, the Beauxbatons students following them, running to keep up with his enormous strides.

"He fancies her!" Ron said incredulously. "Well, if they end up having children, they'll set a world record. I bet any of their babies would weigh around a ton."

A few minutes later, they left the cabin and closed the door behind them.

It was surprisingly dark outside. Adjusting their cloaks more tightly around them, they made their way up the sloping meadows.

The topic was still Hagrid, and nobody could believe it.

"I have to admit those French girls are stunning, and it's no wonder Hagrid is fascinated."

"Yes, especially the two Veela heritage sisters, Fleur and Gabrielle, right?"

"Hmm, is that what you guys think?" Hermione said disdainfully, but her eyes were fixed on Evan, who remained silent.

Evan shook his head subconsciously. He realized Hermione was unusually touchy since the previous night.

Did he discover something?! Or what was the misunderstanding?!

This was really quite bad; those girls are truly a headache!

When they reached the lake, the Durmstrang party had just disembarked from the boat.

Viktor Krum walked alongside Karkaroff, with the rest of the Durmstrang students trailing behind.

Ron watched Krum excitedly, but Krum did not look around and did not see them.

As they entered the brightly lit Great Hall, it was almost filled with people.

The Goblet of Fire had been moved. It now stood in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teachers' table.

Fred and George, once again clean-shaven, seemed to have accepted their disappointment quite well.

"I really hope it's Angelina," Fred said as Evan, Harry, Ron, Colin, and Hermione sat down.

"Me too!" Hermione said breathlessly. "Well, we'll know soon!"

The Halloween feast seemed to last much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was their second feast in two days, they did not seem to enjoy the extravagantly prepared food as much as they normally would.

People in the Great Hall craned their necks, with eager expressions on every face.

They were restless and would occasionally rise to see if Dumbledore had finished eating. They simply wanted the plates to be cleared and to hear who had been selected as champions.

Finally, the golden plates returned to their pristine state, and there was a sharp rise in noise level within the Hall, which almost immediately quieted down as Dumbledore stood up.

On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone.

Ludo Bagman was smiling and winking at several students. Mr. Crouch, however, appeared rather disinterested, almost bored.

Evan saw his eyes linger on Moody for a moment, then on Snape, then on Karkaroff and Dumbledore, with an undisguised look of hatred.

After confirming through the Marauder's Map, Crouch was currently the most likely to be an imposter; his disguised son.

Of course, he could also be disguised as someone else, which was hard to verify.

It was impossible for Evan to look at the Marauder's Map all the time, which was not omnipotent.

With an enchanted name like Caresius, or magical protection like the large Durmstrang ship, the Marauder's Map would work, but the name would not be marked.

Indeed, no matter whom Barty Crouch Jr. was pretending to be, Evan was prepared. He had already discussed it with Caresius and confirmed he would get the necessary help.

If the other party continued to follow the original plan, then he would sneak into the maze at the last moment. In case of changes, he would also know how to adapt to the circumstances at that time.

When necessary, Dumbledore would undoubtedly take action and not allow things to deviate too far.

"Atencin, por favor. El Cliz de Fuego est casi listo para tomar su decisin!" said Dumbledore, gesturing. "Estimo que le falta un minuto ms. Cuando se mencionen los nombres de los campeones, les pedir que por favor suban hasta la parte superior del Saln, caminen a lo largo de la mesa del profesorado y pasen a la siguiente cmara, donde recibirn sus primeras instrucciones!" He indicated the door behind the teacher's table, and everyone looked there.

Dumbledore drew his wand and made a sweeping gesture with it.

Instantly, all the candles, except those within the carved pumpkins, went out.

The Great Hall suddenly plunged into a half-darkness, and the Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything else in the entire Hall, its sparkling brilliance, white-blue flames almost painful to the eyes.

Everyone watched, waiting; some people continued to check their watches...

Without warning, the flames in the goblet suddenly turned red again. Sparks began to fly from it. In the next moment, a tongue of fire shot into the air, and a singed piece of parchment slipped out of it.

The people in the Great Hall held their breath and looked at the note.

Dumbledore took the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length so he could read it in the light of the flames, which had turned blue-white again.

"The champion from Durmstrang," he read aloud, "will be Viktor Krum."

In an instant, a storm of applause and cheers swept through the Hall.

"No surprises there!" Ron shouted.

Viktor Krum rose from the Slytherin table and made his way purposefully towards Dumbledore. He turned right, walked along the teacher's table, and disappeared through the door to the next chamber.

"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even above all the applause.