Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 348
Around 5:30 in the evening, as darkness fell, the anticipation inside the castle reached its peak.

Siren and the others left the common room and headed to the auditorium to prepare for the Halloween Eve feast, and more importantly, to attend the announcement ceremony of the school's warriors.

"Hagrid is going to the castle with that woman. I thought he was waiting for us!"

As soon as he arrived in the foyer, Siron saw Harry and the other two walk in from outside, with Ron muttering something under his breath.

"What are you talking about? Who is Hagrid waiting for?" Siren walked over and asked.

“Who else could it be but the headmistress of Beauxbatons, that giantess named Maxim,” Ron said. “I dare say Hagrid must be in love with her.”

“That’s normal,” Harry said. “After all, this is the first time Hagrid has met someone like him.”

“I’m worried that Hagrid will leak the information about the Triwizard Tournament to her.” Ron glanced back.

Outside, Beauxbatons' students were walking toward the castle. Hagrid and Madam Maxim were at the front, and he looked rather strange, his expression dreamy and his eyes misty.

I remember when Hagrid hatched a Norwegian Spinosaurus in first grade, his expression was pretty much like this.

“We all know Hagrid’s mouth isn’t very tight, is it?” Ron said with a worried look.

“It’s alright,” Siren said. “If Hagerken tells Ms. Maxim, he certainly won’t hide it from us.”

"I hope so."

……

As if by prior arrangement, Durmstrang and his entourage also disembarked from the large ship behind Beauxbatons' students and walked from the lakeside toward the castle.

Ron's attention immediately fell on the person walking at the front.

“Look, it’s Krum! I bet he’s Durmstrang’s warrior,” he said excitedly, no longer worried that Hagrid might reveal information about the project.

“That Headmaster Karkaroff seems to think so too,” Harry said.

He noticed that Karkaroff was talking to Krum the whole time, completely oblivious to whether the students behind him were catching up.

“If that’s the case, why didn’t he just bring Krum alone?” Hermione asked, frowning.

"Perhaps two people can't sail that big ship," Siren said with a shrug, half-jokingly.

Harry glanced instinctively at the ship in the Black Lake in the distance and suddenly realized that Siron's words made a lot of sense.

Even with magic, it would be difficult for two people to sail such a large ship away.

"Oh, the banquet is about to start, we'd better go in first."

Hermione reminded them, and the group then looked away.

When they hurried into the newly decorated hall with candlelight and pumpkins, it was almost full.

Meanwhile, Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch were holding the Goblet of Fire on either side and placing it directly in front of the teachers' table.

Fred and George returned as well, and whether intentionally or not, their beards had just fallen off their chins ten minutes earlier.

By the time they returned from the school hospital, the Goblet of Fire had already been moved by the referees.

However, judging from their expressions, they seemed to have accepted defeat.

"It's up to you now, Celen." Fred walked over and sat down.

George walked to the other side, "If you really did something."

“Actually, Angelina could do it too,” Fred said.

Xilun glanced sideways at the 'traitor' beside him.

"I thought you would stand firmly by my side."

“That’s theoretically correct,” Fred said. “But we heard from Lee Jordan that you spent the whole day in the common room.” “And you left shortly after lunch.”

"He didn't even go to vote."

“Is it possible that I’ve already voted?” Siren said.

"You shot?" Fred and George turned at the same time to look at their other friend, Lee Jordan, who was sitting not far away.

“I swear, I really didn’t see Xilen leave the common room…” He looked at Xilen again, “When did you put your name in? Why don’t you have a beard?”

“To be honest, I don’t know either,” Xiren said.

"what?"

Now, the others were even more confused, subconsciously taking Xilun's words as a joke... Who wouldn't know when they voted?
Soon, after all the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang entered, the Halloween Eve party officially began.

However, since there were banquets for two consecutive days, everyone was no longer so interested in the elaborate dishes on the golden plates, and instead felt that the banquet was going on for an unusually long time.

Everyone was restless, their minds preoccupied with the Goblet of Fire, and they couldn't wait to finish the food on their plates. Fred and George even stood up for the third time to check if Dumbledore had finished eating.

Finally, when the last pumpkin pudding disappeared and the golden plate was once again spotless, the voices in the Great Hall suddenly rose considerably. But when Dumbledore stood up, all was silent again.

“Alright, the Goblet of Fire is about to make its decision,” Dumbledore said. “I estimate there’s about a minute left. After the champions’ names are announced, I want them to walk to the front of the Great Hall and then to the small room behind the side door…”

He announced some precautions, but few people paid attention. Most people kept their eyes on the Goblet of Fire, waiting and glancing at the time every now and then.

Xilun was also a little nervous.

He looked towards the teachers' bench, in the direction of the judges...

“Look, even Ludo Bagman is getting nervous,” Ron whispered from the side. “He’s acting like this, it’s really rare to see him like this, he’s just like Mr. Crouch.”

In the judging panel, Ludo Bagman stood there expressionless, his facial muscles taut, and his lips slightly pale from straining.

Harry blinked in surprise.

Ron was right; this was indeed a rare sight for Ludo Bagman. Based on his impression at the Quidditch World Cup, he had expected the man to be quite excited.

Suddenly, the flame in the goblet turned from blue-white to red, sparks crackled and popped out, and the red flames tossed a charred piece of parchment into the air.

Dumbledore immediately reached out and caught it, saying in a clear and forceful tone, "The champion of Durmstrang... Viktor Krum!"

As soon as he finished speaking, cheers and applause swept through the entire auditorium.

A few seconds later, the second parchment was thrown out.

"Fleur Delacour, the warrior of Beauxbatons!"

Another round of applause and discussion ensued.

Xiren suddenly tensed up and couldn't help but lean forward to look in the direction of the Goblet of Fire.

Ludo Bagman was equally nervous. If someone had observed him closely, they would have noticed that his face had become even paler, his facial muscles were twitching involuntarily, and his hands were clenched into fists, trembling slightly from the force.

However, everyone's attention was focused on the Goblet of Fire and the two newly chosen warriors, and no one noticed his change.

This interval seemed exceptionally long, and finally, amidst everyone's anticipation, the third flame appeared.

Dumbledore caught the parchment, but this time he didn't immediately read the name on it. Instead, he stared at the parchment for a long time before clearing his throat and loudly reading...

"Ciaron Ollivander!"

……

(End of this chapter)