#360 - Chapter 360 Goblet of Fire

As Dumbledore announced the start of the feast, the long tables of the four houses were instantly filled with a dazzling array of delicacies.

To welcome the wizards from various countries, the Hogwarts house-elves had spared no effort, preparing a variety of international cuisines.

French onion soup and bouillabaisse brought smiles to the faces of the Beauxbatons students.

Pickled herring, Finnish meatballs, and creamed potatoes from Northern Europe brought familiar tastes of home to the Durmstrang students.

American-style barbecue filled the air with smoky aromas, accompanied by thick-cut steaks and cornbread, leaving the Ilvermorny students smacking their lips.

And the wizards of Uagadou enjoyed traditional African cuisine, the rich aroma of roast lamb wafting from afar.

Of course, the students from each country were also happy to sample the delicacies of other nations, with American barbecue being the most popular, and pickled herring the least tried.

The warm atmosphere and sumptuous food gradually eased the tension and wariness of the newly arrived international students, allowing them to fully enjoy the wonderful feast.

The Durmstrang students also took off their fur cloaks, revealing blood-red school robes.

Some of the Beauxbatons girls also loosened their hoods and scarves, revealing their beautiful faces.

Instantly, a small commotion broke out at the Ravenclaw table, as the Ravenclaw students were stunned when one girl removed her scarf.

The cause of the commotion was none other than the Veela beauty, Fleur Delacour; apart from a few like Harry, most students were seeing Fleur's breathtaking beauty for the first time.

Many boys stared at her in fascination, and several students, lost in their admiration, accidentally knocked over goblets on the table, spilling drinks on their classmates.

"Miss Delacour's charm is as astounding as ever," Ron said, reluctantly averting his gaze.

"Don't just stare at the pretty girl," Hermione said, taking a sip of her juice, "Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman just arrived."

"What are they doing here?" Harry cast a curious glance towards the staff table.

"It must be related to the Triwizard Tournament," Hermione said, "After all, the Ministry of Magic has put a lot of effort into it."

Harry nodded, agreeing with this explanation, and soon his attention was drawn to Lee Jordan beside him.

Since the Uagadou students had arrived at the Gryffindor table, Lee Jordan had volunteered to be a diplomatic ambassador.

"Brother, I'm coffee-colored, you're dark brown, he's bright black, but we were all family hundreds of years ago."

"Your entrance today was really awesome, can you tell me how you got here? I didn't see any planes in the sky."

As soon as he said this, the Gryffindor students became interested and perked up their ears.

After hearing that they had arrived in an invisible plane, Ron nudged Harry's arm and whispered, "Sounds similar to our family's car, it can fly and it can turn invisible."

"A bit like it," Harry said, swallowing the food in his mouth, "But they're really rich, you know that planes are much more expensive than cars in the Muggle world."

Some of the Uagadou students heard Harry's words and smiled as they explained the reason.

It turned out that, due to the influence of traditional culture, African wizards did not enforce the Statute of Secrecy very strictly.

The Muggles there believed in the existence of wizards and were deeply convinced of magic and witchcraft.

Those wizards were also happy to live with Muggles.

Many Uagadou students would put on traditional clothes, paint heavy makeup, and work as fortune tellers in the Muggle world when they were short of money.

Therefore, divination was extremely popular in Uagadou, after all, learning it would guarantee a lifetime of food and drink.

As for the plane, it was given to their headmaster by the head of a country.

As the conversation progressed, the Hogwarts students gradually became acquainted with the guests, chatting and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere.

Sebastian sat at the staff table, eating a chop while focusing his energy on observing all the guests.

Now that Hogwarts' defenses were practically non-existent, he had to rely on traditional observation methods to examine every detail in the crowd.

He did have a few suspicious candidates in mind, the first of whom was Ludo Bagman.

This guy had opened betting during the Quidditch World Cup, and had been hiding ever since after racking up a mountain of debt.

But at the beginning of this month, someone suddenly helped him settle the bill.

In addition to Bagman, Barty Crouch was also highly suspicious, after all, he was controlled by the Imperius Curse in the original story.

Both of these people were acting normally and did not show any strange behavior.

As for the students, Sebastian couldn't tell, after all, he didn't know them and didn't know what they were like before.

It doesn't matter, there's plenty of time, let's play this detective game slowly.

When the young wizards had eaten their fill, Dumbledore stood up and came to the front of the staff table again.

He waved his wand, restoring the messy long tables to their original neat state.

The young wizards became excited, a feeling of excitement and tension began to fill the hall, they sat up straight, staring intently at Dumbledore.

"Before introducing the procedures of the Triwizard Tournament, please allow me to introduce two guests, Mr. Barty Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

"They will form a judging panel with me and the headmasters to score the champions' performances."

Dumbledore led the students in applause, and after the students quieted down, he asked Filch to bring up a box.

For this important occasion, the caretaker, who was usually disheveled and unkempt, had specially put on a clean new robe.

He walked up solemnly, holding an old box inlaid with many gems in both hands, as if holding a sacred object.

The young wizards' curiosity was instantly piqued by this scene, and they stretched their necks, their eyes fixed on the wooden box in Filch's hands.

Some even tiptoed and moved forward a few steps, trying to see what mysterious object was inside the box.

"The Triwizard Tournament will be divided into three different tasks, taking place at different times throughout the school year."

Dumbledore's voice rang out again: "These tasks will test the champions' overall strength from different angles."

"Each school will select three champions to participate in the competition as a team, and after the first two tasks, the judges will give corresponding scores based on the team's performance."

"The scores of the first two tasks will be added together, and the one with the higher score will receive a small privilege in the third task."

"As for the selection of champions..."

Dumbledore stretched out his wand and tapped the box that Filch had brought up three times.

The box slowly opened, revealing a slightly rough wooden goblet, and magically, blue-white flames were constantly surging from the mouth of the cup.

"The selection of champions will be conducted by the fairest selector, and that is the Goblet of Fire."