Harry Potter 04 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

slight thrill of excitement, wondering what was coming. Several seats along from them, Fred and George were leaning forwards, staring at Dumbledore with great concentration.
    ‘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 of explanation before we bring in the casket –’
    ‘The what?’ Harry muttered.
    Ron shrugged.
    ‘– just to clarify the procedure which we will be following this year. But firstly, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation’ – 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 likeable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced. Remembering him in his neat suit at the Quidditch World Cup, Harry thought he looked strange in wizard’s robes. His toothbrush moustache and severe parting looked very odd next to Dumbledore’s long white hair and beard.
    ‘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, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel which 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, carrying a great wooden chest, encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students; Dennis Creevey actually stood on his chair to see it properly, but, being so tiny, his head hardly rose above anyone else’s.
    ‘The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr Crouch and Mr Bagman,’ said Dumbledore, as 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, 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 this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing.
    ‘As you know, three champions 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.’
    Dumbledore now took out his wand, and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. 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.
    Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the Goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.
    ‘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, Hallowe’en, 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