When Maka came out of the Forbidden Forest, he found that he was indeed late.
Perhaps because there were many guests at Hogwarts this year, or because the candidates for the Triwizard Tournament would be announced soon, this Halloween dinner seemed longer than in previous years.
In order to make this Halloween party more atmospheric, Dumbledore even invited the Phantom Opera, a famous ghost dance troupe in the wizarding world, to entertain everyone.
When Maka came quietly and walked into the side hall of the side door, a mess of complaints immediately hit him. He had to comfort the guys he had personally invited before he could explain.
He explained in detail what he had told him in advance, agreed on a secret code, and then walked around the corridor and returned to the main entrance of the auditorium.
It is worth mentioning that before he went in, he put on a handsome and coquettish blue tuxedo, took out a small bottle and sprinkled something on himself...
At this moment, the students in the auditorium were a little distracted.
They didn't seem to like the elaborately prepared sumptuous dishes as much as usual. Everyone kept looking up, with anxious expressions on every face.
Almost everyone was restless, standing up from time to time to see if Dumbledore had finished eating.
The performance of the ghost dance troupe was very exciting. Those ghosts were all excellent dancers when they were alive; and the wizard who played the piano dressed as a skeleton was a very popular wizard pianist in ordinary times.
However, none of this attracted the little wizards at all. They were all looking forward to the end of the banquet.
At this moment, the door was pushed open, and a handsome boy in a tuxedo walked in from the door. He walked like the wind, passing between the two long tables in the middle with a faint smile.
Wherever he passed, a blue flame that was as blue as his dress scattered everywhere. Those flames were like will-o'-the-wisps, and soon filled the sky above the auditorium, turning the entire space into an evil and cold tone.
Amidst the exclamations of students from the three magic schools, he took out his wand and waved it, and suddenly a large amount of blue flames flashed across his body, carrying him into the air, flying silently among the graceful dancing ghosts, and landing accurately. Next to the piano in the center of the stage.
"That's...McLean?"
After the initial surprise, the students in the audience quickly recognized Maka, and some students even clapped happily.
"Excuse me, can I also play a song?"
The pianist was also surprised by the way he came on the stage, but then he nodded and gave the piano to Maka.
Maka turned around, gave everyone an elegant salute, and then said: "I know that everyone is constantly looking forward to the candidates for the Triwizard Tournament who will be announced soon. To be honest, I am also looking forward to it... But I Guess that shouldn’t be a reason for us to miss this year’s Halloween party.”
"I have prepared a program for everyone. I hope everyone can enjoy this very special Halloween eve where the elites from the three schools gather together!"
"I dare say that most of us may not be able to encounter such a special Halloween night again!"
After that, he sat down in front of the piano, tapped the tip of his wand on the bench to adjust the height, and tapped the piano again. Then he put down the wand and lowered his hands towards the keys of the piano.
When Maka's right hand slid from the alto range to the treble range, and her left hand followed the bass chords, a clear and clear melody immediately swirled in the auditorium.
It seems that because of some magic, every note of the piano seems to contain some kind of hazy emotion, and people can't help but be attracted.
The piano continues, and the jumping sound of the piano is accompanied by magic, creating a deep and eerie agility. The melody fluctuates with the will-o'-the-wisps in the auditorium, fully revealing the Halloween atmosphere.
Just when the weird melody made everyone feel inexplicably uneasy, an unexpected strong chord sound fell heavily. Maka picked up the wand with her right hand and waved it quickly. He seemed to spontaneously ignite, and blue flames were on his tuxedo. Rise up.
At the same time, a group of ghosts riding horses suddenly entered through the wall in the side hall. They held their heads in their hands and galloped freely in the auditorium with their horse hooves dancing.
That's a member of the Headless Hunters!
In the center of the stage, Maka followed the steps of those headless ghosts, her fingers beating frequently on the keys, and a dance music with a mysterious melody was played.
As the melody became more and more jumpy, Maka's movements became larger and larger, and the blue flames on his body continued to flutter. When everyone was intoxicated in the collision of music and magic, the last note of the dance music came to an abrupt end.
Maka stood up and waved the wand again. All the blue flames in the auditorium, including him, suddenly exploded and turned into scattered sparks and were extinguished.
The light in the auditorium returned to its original warm tone, and the students who came to their senses stood up with excitement. Even the teachers couldn't help but applaud this wonderful performance.
"Happy Halloween to everyone!" Maka said loudly, "Whether I am a student at Hogwarts or a student at Durmstrang, it doesn't matter! I just want to say one thing: people who were my friends , we will always be friends!”
The students all cheered, many of them responded to Maka's words, and the atmosphere reached its peak for a while.
Maka returned to the Ravenclaw table amidst everyone's applause and sat calmly next to Luna.
"A great performance." Luna nodded towards him, but her eyes fell on his tuxedo, "This dress is very interesting..."
Maka shrugged and said, "You asked Ms. Gray to invite the Headless Hunters. You also deserve credit."
At this moment, Maka twitched the corners of her mouth and scratched her head vigorously. Because he found that the golden plates on the long table returned to a spotless state - the banquet was over.
"The most important thing is missed..." He sighed, "It seems that I have to go to the kitchen to find something to eat at night."
While he was muttering under his breath, Dumbledore stood up, and the auditorium suddenly became silent again.
Professor Orson and Madame Maxime on both sides of Dumbledore looked as nervous and expectant as everyone else. Ludo Bagman was smiling and winking at the students from various schools, while Mr. Crouch looked uninterested and could almost be said to be a little bored.
"Well, it's time for the Goblet to be decided," said Dumbledore. "I reckon it will take another three minutes. Listen, once the names of the champions have been announced, I want them to walk to the top of the Great Hall and along the staff Desks go over and go into that room next door—" He pointed to the door behind the faculty desk, "where they'll get their initial instruction."
"Of course, before that, the referee team has one more thing to announce." Dumbledore looked around, and the members of the referee team sitting on both sides nodded to him. Then he raised his head and said, "About the Mr. Macca McLean, whose strength has passed the age limit, the judging panel decided after discussion that we will recognize his registration process and wait for the selection of the goblet together with other registered students."
The referee's decision surprised everyone, but everyone's reaction was not as intense as expected. Whether they were supporters or opponents, they were just discussing with each other - everyone still remembers Maka's wonderful performance just now. It can be said that he has won the favor of many people just now.
After finishing speaking, Dumbledore took out his wand and waved it widely.
Suddenly, all the candles except those in the jack-o-lantern were extinguished, and the auditorium suddenly fell into a state of semi-darkness.
The Goblet of Fire was now emitting a dazzling light, brighter than anything in the entire auditorium, and the blue-white flames bursting with sparks were simply dazzling.
Everyone was watching and waiting... A few people kept raising their wrists and looking at their watches...
"It's almost here." A student said softly.
Not long after, the flame in the goblet suddenly turned red, and crackling sparks burst out. Then, a tongue of fire jumped into the air, and a piece of parchment with burnt edges flew out from it - everyone in the auditorium held their breath.
Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it far away so that he could read the words on it by the light of the flames. At this time, the flame returned to blue-white.
"The Champion of Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "Fleur Delacour!"
"It's her, Ron!" Harry shouted, and saw the beautiful half-Veela girl standing up gracefully, shaking her silver hair, and moving lightly from Ravenclaw and Hufflepah. He walked between the odd tables.
"Oh, look, they're all disappointed," Hermione said over the din, nodding to the other Beauxbatons representatives.
Harry thought that the word "disappointment" was too light a word. The two girls who were not selected burst into tears, buried their heads in their arms, and cried so sadly.
Fleur Delacour turned to the right, walked along the staff table, and entered the next room through the door.
The applause and chatter died down. Everyone's attention was now focused on the goblet again, and after a few seconds the flames turned red again. The second piece of parchment jumped out of the cup, propelled by the flames.
"The Champion of Durmstrang," Dumbledore seemed to hesitate for a moment, he raised his head and looked around, and then said, "It's Maka McClane."
To be honest, no one was surprised by this answer—even Krum just sighed slightly and easily accepted the result.
He knew very well that there was no way he could compare with such a monster.
Maka stood up calmly, nodded to everyone, and walked into the next room.
Immediately, the auditorium became quiet again. This time, in the silence, there was a faint excitement that could almost be tasted.
Next, it’s the turn of the Hogwarts warriors…