Fortunately, the food provided by Durmstrang was all of the relatively mainstream, well-regarded sort. The surströmming and fermented puffin Avada had imagined were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the cod and smoked salmon whetted his appetite nicely, not to mention the wide variety of French dishes at the side—British food and Nordic food combined barely managed to match the amount of French cuisine on offer.
And just like at a Hufflepuff tea party, the process of getting food was also a good opportunity to socialize. While he and Baron were pointing at dishes along the buffet table, quite a few curious Durmstrang students came over on their own initiative to strike up conversations, casually chatting in accented English about stories from Durmstrang or Hogwarts before taking their chosen food and drifting away again. If they hit it off, they would linger and talk a while longer...
Honestly, the experience was rather nice.
One slight pity, though, was that the Beauxbatons tables were a little too far from theirs, so Avada did not get the chance to witness Fleur Delacour's unique half-Veela charm firsthand. Still, sooner or later, there would be opportunities.
...
As time passed, the food on the buffet tables gradually diminished, and the dishes laid out on each round table had already been replaced who knew how many times. At last, once there were almost no students still getting up to move around the hall, and everyone was sitting at their tables rubbing full stomachs, Karkaroff rose again from the staff dais. At some point, the two seats that had previously been empty on either side of him were now occupied by two wizards.
At once, a mood of excitement and tension seemed to spread through the hall. Everyone turned their chairs so they were facing Karkaroff directly. Those sitting farther back either craned their necks or half-stood, staring at him with full attention.
"The exciting moment has finally arrived."
Even Karkaroff's face carried a trace of excitement as he smiled at the upturned faces before him.
"The long-awaited Triwizard Tournament is finally about to begin. But before that, I would like to introduce two gentlemen to you all, and only then bring in the object that carries the greatest symbolic meaning..."
"First, allow me to introduce the final two judges of this year's Triwizard Tournament—Mr. Barty Crouch, Head of the British Ministry of Magic's Department of International Cooperation, and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the British Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Games and Sports!"
With a smile, Karkaroff lifted a hand, signaling for Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman to stand and acknowledge the audience. The cheerful-faced Ludo Bagman waved happily to the students, while Crouch merely inclined his head slightly. He neither smiled nor waved, and the whole man seemed rather stern.
And with Karkaroff's introduction, a wave of whispering immediately spread among the students below. Everyone—including Avada—was wondering the same thing:
Why would a tournament being held at Durmstrang invite two officials from the British Ministry of Magic to serve as judges?
Avada, in particular, found it strange enough to become wary. Since they already knew the Tournament itself was part of a conspiracy, then they could not afford to overlook any abnormal detail.
Yet in his memory, neither Ludo Bagman nor Barty Crouch had belonged to the hardline pure-blood faction. Although old Barty came from the Crouch family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, he himself had indeed been a determined opponent of the Death Eaters. He had even thrown his own son into prison for becoming one—though later he secretly released him again, it had only been under strict control through the Imperius Curse and a house-elf.
But despite the fact that neither of them was a hardline pure-blood partisan, and neither of them was currently under the Imperius Curse, and the person sitting there really was Barty himself...
His presence at Durmstrang was still abnormal in itself.
'Why are they here? Who benefits from them being here?'
'And more importantly, does old Barty know that his son has already escaped? In the original story, he only kept working as though nothing had happened because he was under the Imperius Curse. But right now he's completely normal, and from his spiritual state there's no sign of worry or anger... So what exactly is going on?'
Avada unconsciously furrowed his brows, feeling that this matter might be even trickier than he had first imagined.
"Ordinarily, in the Triwizard Tournaments of the past, the only judges should have been the three headmasters of the participating schools."
Karkaroff seemed to know what the students were puzzled by, and explained immediately.
"However, in order to restore this tournament after more than a century of interruption, the British Ministry of Magic made by far the greatest contribution. After all, the tournament was originally supposed to be hosted at Hogwarts, and was only later changed to Durmstrang..."
"So, in gratitude for the efforts of the British Ministry of Magic, and for their generosity in helping Durmstrang restore its honor by willingly giving up the right to host a tournament themselves, and also in order to make this tournament more public in character, we reached a unanimous agreement to invite Mr. Ludo Bagman and Mr. Barty Crouch to our school as additional judges for the Triwizard Tournament..."
It was a reasonably convincing explanation, and both Dumbledore and Madame Maxime, seated beside Karkaroff, nodded lightly in approval of it. Only then did the students begin applauding, offering their welcome to the two newly added judges.
Avada slightly relaxed his expression and clapped along as though nothing were wrong, but his inner vigilance did not ease in the slightest. The explanation just now sounded fine on the surface, but it still did not account for the issue with old Barty.
"The specific tasks for this year's champions have already been carefully reviewed by us," Karkaroff continued. "They will be safe, while also highly entertaining and highly challenging. As tradition dictates, this Tournament will consist of three tasks, held at different times throughout the school year. They will test the champions in many different ways... testing their magical ability, their intelligence, their courage, and their power to overcome danger."
"And after each task is completed, the judges will award points according to the quality of their performance. At the end of the three tasks, the champion with the highest total score will win the Triwizard Cup. And the one responsible for selecting the champions is an impartial selector, and the most representative object of the entire Triwizard Tournament..."
At this point, Karkaroff paused. Then he pulled a box from his pocket large enough to be half a man's height and set it on the table. In full view of everyone, he opened it with his wand and lifted out a large wooden goblet, roughly carved, with blue-white flames leaping inside it.
"Every student wishing to compete for the title of champion must write their name and school on a slip of parchment and drop it into the Goblet of Fire."
Karkaroff's voice rang especially clearly through the hall, which had now fallen so silent that one could have heard a pin drop.
"Those who aspire to become champions may submit their names within the next twenty-four hours. Tomorrow evening, the Goblet of Fire will select the three students it considers most worthy of representing the three schools. Tonight, it will be placed here, where every student willing to compete may approach it."
(End of Chapter)