Chapter 474: The Calcium Folk

When that black, massive creature swooped past the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and was illuminated by the castle window lights, they saw a huge powder‑blue carriage flying toward them. It was as big as a house, pulled through the air by twelve winged horses, all silver‑mane steeds, each as large as an elephant.

The carriage swooped lower, descending at breakneck speed; the students in the front three rows scrambled backward—then a earth‑shaking roar made Neville Longbottom jump back, stepping on a fifth‑year Slytherin's foot—while the hooves pounded the ground, each as big as a serving platter. In the blink of an eye the carriage touched down, trembling on its massive wheels, and the golden horses shook their huge heads, their fiery red eyes rolling.

Bai Lang watched the scene, his mind drifting to the movie version—his memory of Beauxbatons was vague, but he recalled groups of beautiful women in hunting‑style robes moving in perfect unison, doing some sort of gesture; however, without doubt, the image that stuck with him most was Durmstrang's gay poster…

A boy in a light‑blue robe leapt down from the massive carriage on the ground, bent over and rummaged on the carriage floor, then opened a golden spiral staircase. He bowed respectfully and jumped back, and a woman followed, huge in stature but certainly not the odd, mushroom‑headed woman Bai Lang had seen in the film.

He strained to recall where he had seen that woman; it seemed to be the British series "Downton Abbey," Bai Lang muttered, noting that actress Maria Doyle Kennedy looks like that—this giantess had a perfectly proportioned build, not a deformed monster.

Her face relaxed into an elegant smile, and she extended a glittering hand toward Albus Dumbledore. Though Dumbledore was also tall, he barely bent when he kissed the hand. "Dear Madam Maxime," he said, "welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbledore," Madam Maxime said in a low voice, "I hope you are well."

"Very well, thank you," Dumbledore replied. Then the Beauxbatons students arrived, a dozen or so, all about eighteen or nineteen and trembling slightly. It was no surprise, as their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none wore cloaks. A few students wrapped scarves or head‑wraps around their heads.

There was no cinematic procession of a scout‑like Lala Team marching in perfect unison; Bai Lang chuckled inwardly, "That's normal—that's just the movie."

The Beauxbatons folk followed Madam Maxime into the hall to warm up, leaving only the unlucky Hogwarts students outside, stamping their feet while waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. They stood there, already shivering from the cold, most of them craning their necks toward the sky. For a moment the area was silent except for the sound of Madam Maxime's massive horse snorting and stamping its hooves.

A strange sound arose, as if someone had pulled the plug of a bathtub. "In the lake!" Lee Jordan shouted, pointing at the surface, "Look at the lake!" From the slope of the lawn overlooking the arena they could see the calm, dark water—until it suddenly churned. In the center, the water below stirred, huge splashes erupted, waves battered the wet shore—and then, right in the middle of the lake, a massive vortex formed, as if a gigantic plug had been yanked from the bottom.

Gradually, with impressive grandeur, the great ship rose from the water, glittering in the moonlight. Its shape was odd, like a skeleton, as if it were the wreckage of a newly salvaged sunken vessel; the portholes flickered with dim, misty light, resembling ghostly eyes. Finally, with a splash‑filled clatter, the ship broke the surface, bobbing on the rolling waves and steering toward the shore. Moments later they heard a thud as an iron anchor was dropped into shallow water, then a crack as a plank was laid against the bank. A black, rod‑like object slowly rose from the vortex's center…

A horde of broad‑shouldered men in fur cloaks stepped off the ship, and Bai Lang exclaimed, "Wow, a whole crowd of calcium folk!" "I never expected this school to be a changing‑room school, swapping everything. Even the women are full of calcium power!"

The leader of the calcium folk, Professor Karkaroff, took the initiative to greet Professor Dumbledore, and then Bai Lang finally managed to return to the warm hall—among the calcium crowd, a fellow apparently named Victor Krum drew the attention of all the Hogwarts students. Many rushed over to ask for a name draw.

"What does this guy do? The world's strongest calcium folk?" Bai Lang prodded Neville Longbottom, and of course got an answer, "You mean he's a Bulgarian national Quidditch player?" Bai Lang admitted he had truly forgotten the fellow was a player, and after that answer he quickly lost interest in the calcium folk.

At that moment a deep‑seated prejudice against Durmstrang students took shape, and from then on, for Bai Lang, Durmstrang became the place that produced calcium folk. Upon entering the hall, the Beauxbatons students had already taken seats at the Gryffindor long table, while Ron Weasley tried to have Hermione give up her seat to lure Durmstrang's Krum to sit, to no avail; they ended up at the Slytherin side—all pure‑blood factions.

"Ron Weasley, do you really like that bunch of calcium folk?" Bai Lang's words suddenly became crystal clear and loud, even though he spoke softly—perhaps because the room was otherwise quiet. Suddenly many eyes turned to Bai Lang, who was unfazed, "Yeah, exactly the Durmstrang calcium folk."

"Mr. Ron Weasley! Such, such unfriendly remarks! Gryffindor loses twenty points!" The angry one was Professor McGonagall…

Bai Lang shrugged, "Sorry, Professor, I misspoke and let my thoughts slip out. Sorry, Durmstrang brats."

"Another twenty points!" Professor Snape said…

In the blink of an eye, Gryffindor's house points dropped significantly; everyone glared, though some secretly gave a thumbs‑up, thinking Bai Lang's provocation was admirable. The Durmstrang students hadn't figured out what was happening, perhaps Hogwarts students simply found them disagreeable and began to taunt them?

Not everyone understood English; they whispered among themselves, and finally could only stare at Bai Lang—apparently Karkaroff's grip on the school was strong, as no one dared to challenge Bai Lang one‑on‑one.

"Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, ghosts, and—especially—honored guests," Dumbledore said, smiling at the foreign students, "It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Hogwarts. I hope and believe you will find yourselves comfortable and happy here." At that point Dumbledore gave Bai Lang a squint, "Be a bit friendlier, Mr. Bai Lang."

A Beauxbatons girl still had her scarf tightly wrapped around her head and let out a clearly mocking sneer. "Bitch, what are you laughing at?" Bai Lang turned to her, "Why not just say what you dislike about our headmaster? Or are you impatient to be stripped and tossed outside to catch a breeze?"

"Ron Weasley! Twenty points!" Professor McGonagall was on the verge of a frenzy, wondering what was up with Bai Lang today. Neville Longbottom slipped a hand onto Bai Lang, "What's wrong with you today?" Bai Lang flashed a toothy grin, "Sorry, Professor, I'm just a bit… eager for the thrill of battle. Sorry."

He gave a snarling smile, licking his lips like a man‑eating tiger. Dumbledore tapped the cup with a spoon, "It's fine, Mr. Ron Weasley, come to my office later. The Triwizard Tournament will officially begin after the banquet." Dumbledore added, "I now invite everyone to eat and drink to their heart's content, as if at home!"

The Beauxbatons girl stared fiercely at Bai Lang, and Bai Lang raised a steak in salute, biting off half of it in one bite. Shortly after, the girl came over to the trio opposite Bai Lang—Ron Weasley's group—and finally removed her scarf. A long, waterfall‑like cascade of silver‑bright hair fell to her waist. She had large, deep‑blue eyes and a row of perfectly white, neat teeth.

"Yo, still a French beauty," Bai Lang whistled flippantly, continuing to gnaw his massive steak, while Ron Weasley's face turned bright red, speechless. Almost every Hogwarts boy was sneaking glances at the Beauxbatons girl; only after Bai Lang finished did he focus entirely on the steak and pork chop—within that short span he had devoured more meat than most people could manage.

"The moment has finally arrived," Dumbledore said, smiling at the upturned faces, "the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin. I'd like to explain a few things before bringing in the box—" murmurs rose from below.

"—I will outline this school year's program of events. First, allow me to introduce two guests, as some may not know them. This is Mr. Bart Crouch, Head of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic,"—sparse applause echoed in the hall—"and this is Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Sports and Physical Education at the Ministry of Magic." The applause was far louder than before.

"In the past few months, Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly to arrange the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "they will join me, Professor Karkaroff, and Madam Maxime as the judging panel, evaluating the champions' efforts."

"The specific tasks for this year's champions have already been carefully reviewed by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," Dumbledore said—as Felic cautiously placed the box on the table before him—"they have also made many necessary arrangements for each task. There are three tasks in total, held at different times throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many ways… testing their magical abilities—their courage and reasoning skills—of course, also their capacity to overcome danger."

Then Dumbledore pulled a large wooden goblet from the box, announcing that the three champions would be selected by this Goblet of Fire. Blue‑white flames burned within the cup. "Any student wishing to enter the competition must write his or her name and school on a parchment and toss it into this goblet," Dumbledore said, "Applicants have twenty‑four hours to register. Tomorrow night, on Halloween, the goblet will choose the names of the three students it deems most representative of the three schools. Tonight the goblet is placed in the entrance hall, where any willing student can reach it."

"To prevent under‑age students from being tempted," Dumbledore said, "once the goblet is in the entrance hall I will draw an age line around it. Anyone under seventeen will be unable to cross that line." The headmaster then uttered a string of deadly words.

"Will you enter?" Neville Longbottom asked, and everyone else looked at Bai Lang. Bai Lang curled his lip, "I'm not even seventeen, and I'm not that interested—I'm not short of money." He snapped his fingers, "So I won't register, and I don't think any of the under‑age students here could break the headmaster's magic."

Bai Lang wasn't in a hurry to leave, "I'll sit for a while to digest; you all go ahead."

The next day was Saturday; normally students ate breakfast quite late. However, today more than just Bai Lang and Neville Longbottom, who was training with him, got up early, and the trio was present. They saw over twenty people gathered there, a few still eating bread, all scrutinizing the Goblet of Fire. The cup sat in the center of the entrance hall, on the stool that usually holds the Sorting Hat. A thin golden circle, ten feet in radius, was drawn on the floor, encircling the cup.

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan hurried down the stairs, all looking extremely excited. The three idiots, having taken the age‑accelerating potion, boasted confidently that they could definitely succeed, and even struck a deal to split the prize money—then Fred and George, who entered first, were blasted out, sprouting white beards.

"I warned you," a deep, amused voice said, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore emerging from the hall. He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes sparkling: "I suggest you both pay a visit to Madame Proulx. She is already tending to Miss Foxworth of Gryffindor and Mr. Samuels of Hufflepuff; they too are determined to increase their ages a bit. However, I must say, their beards are nowhere near as handsome as yours."

Bai Lang also burst into laughter, then watched Madam Maxime line up the Beauxbatons students, each stepping over the golden line to drop their names into the cup. "Sure enough it's a magical goblet; otherwise a cup that size would have been full already," Bai Lang remarked, though Harry and Ron Weasley were both captivated by the Beauxbatons girl's looks.

That day, people kept crossing the golden line to toss their names into the Goblet of Fire, while Bai Lang lost interest early and vanished into the Forbidden Forest.