"Go on, Hagrid!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione urged him, but he just shook his
head, grinning.
"I don' want ter spoil it fer yeh," said Hagrid. "But it's gonna be spectacular, I'll tell
yeh that. Them champions're going ter have their work cut out. Never thought I'd
live ter see the Triwizard Tournament played again!"
They ended up having lunch with Hagrid, though they didn't eat much - Hagrid
had made what he said was a beef casserole, but after Hermione unearthed a large
talon in hers, she, Harry, and Ron rather lost their appetites. However, they
enjoyed themselves trying to make Hagrid tell them what the tasks in the
tournament were going to be, speculating which of the entrants were likely to be
selected as champions, and wondering whether Fred and George were beardless
yet.
A light rain had started to fall by midafternoon; it was very cozy sitting by the fire,
listening to the gentle patter of the drops on the window, watching Hagrid darning
his socks and arguing with Hermione about house-elves - for he flatly refused to
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join S.P.E.W. when she showed him her badges.
"It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione," he said gravely, threading a massive
bone needle with thick yellow yarn. "It's in their nature ter look after humans,
that's what they like, see? Yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work,
an' insutin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em."
"But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it!" said Hermione.
"And we heard he's asking for wages now!"
"Yeah, well, yeh get weirdos in every breed. I'm not sayin' there isn't the odd elf
who'd take freedom, but yeh'll never persuade most of 'em ter do it - no, nothin'
doin', Hermione."
Hermione looked very cross indeed and stuffed her box of badges back into her
cloak pocket.
By half past five it was growing dark, and Ron, Harry, and Hermione decided it
was time to get back up to the castle for the Halloween feast - and, more
important, the announcement of the school champions.
"I'll come with yeh," said Hagrid, putting away his darning. "Jus' give us a sec."
Hagrid got up, went across to the chest of drawers beside his bed, and began
searching for something inside it. They didn't pay too much attention until a truly
horrible smell reached their nostrils. Coughing, Ron said, "Hagrid, what's that?"
"Eh?" said Hagrid, turning around with a large bottle in his hand. "Don' yeh like
it?"
"Is that aftershave?" said Hermione in a slightly choked voice.
"Er - eau de cologne," Hagrid muttered. He was blushing.
"Maybe it's a bit much," he said gruffly. "I'll go take it off, hang on..."
He stumped out of the cabin, and they saw him washing himself vigorously in the
water barrel outside the window.
"Eau de cologne?" said Hermione in amazement. "Hagrid?"
"And what's with the hair and the suit?" said Harry in an undertone.
"Look!" said Ron suddenly, pointing out of the window. Hagrid had just
straightened up and turned 'round. If he had been blushing before, it was nothing
to what he was doing now. Getting to their feet very cautiously, so that Hagrid
wouldn't spot them, Harry, Ron, and Hermione peered through the window and
saw that Madame Maxime and the Beauxbatons students had just emerged from
their carriage, clearly about to set off for the feast too. They couldn't hear what
Hagrid was saying, but he was talking to Madame Maxime with a rapt, misty-eyed
expression Harry had only ever seen him wear once before - when he had been
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looking at the baby dragon, Norbert.
"He's going up to the castle with her!" said Hermione indignantly. "I thought he
was waiting for us!"
Without so much as a backward glance at his cabin, Hagrid was trudging off up
the grounds with Madame Maxime, the Beaux-batons students following in their
wake, jogging to keep up with their enormous strides.
"He fancies her!" said Ron incredulously. "Well, if they end up having children,
they'll be setting a world record - bet any baby of theirs would weigh about a ton."
They let themselves out of the cabin and shut the door behind them. It was
surprisingly dark outside. Drawing their cloaks more closely around themselves,
they set off up the sloping lawns.
"Ooh it's them, look!" Hermione whispered.
The Durmstrang party was walking up toward the castle from the lake. Viktor
Krum was walking side by side with Karkaroff, and the other Durmstrang students
were straggling along behind them. Ron watched Krum excitedly, but Krum did
not look around as he reached the front doors a little ahead of Hermione, Ron, and
Harry and proceeded through them.
When they entered the candlelit Great Hall it was almost full. The Goblet of Fire
had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the
teachers' table. Fred and George - clean-shaven again - seemed to have taken their
disappointment fairly well.
"Hope it's Angelina," said Fred as Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down.
"So do I!" said Hermione breathlessly. "Well, we'll soon know!"
The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps because it
was their second feast in two days, Harry didn't seem to fancy the extravagantly
prepared food as much as he would have normally. Like everyone else in the Hall,
judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on every face,
the fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating
yet, Harry simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as
champions.
At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a
sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost
instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff
and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was
beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite
uninterested, almost bored.
"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I
estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are
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called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the
staff table, and go through into the next chamber" - he indicated the door behind
the staff table - "where they will be receiving their first instructions."
He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the
candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging
them into a state of semidarkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly
than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the
flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting. . . . A few people
kept checking their watches. . .
"Any second," Lee Jordan whispered, two seats away from Harry.
The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from
it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment
fluttered out of it - the whole room gasped.
Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he
could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.
"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor
Krum."
"No surprises there!" yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the
Hall. Harry saw Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table and slouch up toward
Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared
through the door into the next chamber.
"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even
over all the applause. "Knew you had it in you!"
The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again
on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of
parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.
"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"
"It's her, Ron!" Harry shouted as the girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully
to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair, and swept up between the
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.
"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Hermione said over the noise, nodding toward
the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. "Disappointed" was a bit of an
understatement, Harry thought. Two of the girls who had not been selected had
dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms.
When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again,
but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The
Hogwarts champion next...
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And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue
of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece
of parchment.
"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"
"No! " said Ron loudly, but nobody heard him except Harry; the uproar from the
next table was too great. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet,
screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and
headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for
Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make
himself heard again.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we
now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including
the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your
champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion
on, you will contribute in a very real --"
But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody
what had distracted him.
The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A
long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another