Chapter 500: Ageing Potion
When the three of them returned to the Great Hall, Fred and George were notably more cautious. Having realized Fleur was of Veela descent, the intense, inexplicable attraction they had initially felt seemed to diminish slightly, though not entirely.
Still, they were careful not to linger near Fleur for too long. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they quickly found an excuse to leave and joined Lee Jordan, who was standing by the Goblet of Fire.
"Has anyone put their name in yet?" Fred asked.
"Not yet... wait, Krum's here," Lee said, suddenly pointing toward the door.
The Durmstrang students had just arrived, crossing the field and entering the Great Hall. Their imposing headmaster led the way, and beside him strode Viktor Krum.
The Hogwarts students surrounding the Goblet of Fire instinctively moved back, clearing a path and watching in anticipation as the Durmstrang students approached.
A dozen Durmstrang students lined up and, one by one, stepped across the Age Line. Each threw their parchment into the Goblet of Fire, and each time the parchment entered, the blue-and-white flames inside flared red for a brief moment, accompanied by a faint sputtering noise.
"You know..." George leaned closer to Kyle and whispered, "What do you think would happen if the Goblet of Fire thought someone was, like, really unworthy and just spat their name out? Maybe crumple it up and toss it right back at their face?"
The mental image made Kyle chuckle. "If that happened, the whole school would laugh about it for the rest of the year."
Both of them instinctively glanced at the Goblet of Fire.
But nothing like that happened. Each Durmstrang student's parchment was accepted without incident.