Receiving Maurise's confirmation, Krum offered a somewhat stiff smile.
"I have used... your broomstick," he said sincerely. "It is very brilliant."
"You bought one?" Maurise asked.
Krum nodded, trying to organize his English words. "The Phantom... my coach brought it to me. Later, I learned the designer is attending Hogwarts... as a student."
Hearing this, Maurise pondered for a few seconds. Perhaps his reputation in the wider wizarding world was even greater than he had imagined?
He cut straight to the point. "So, what did you want to see me about? A collaboration?"
"Yes." Krum didn't beat around the bush either; his expression was entirely serious. "The Phantom is incredible, but it is not... perfectly suited to me. I want to ask you to custom-build a broomstick... just for me."
'Oh?' Maurise was definitely interested now.
Krum's tone was incredibly firm. This was absolutely not a fleeting whim, but a decision made after careful deliberation. To a professional Quidditch player, a broomstick was arguably even more important than a wand.
"My fees are not cheap," Maurise said casually.
Krum paused, clearly not expecting this to be Maurise's first reaction. However, he quickly recovered and furrowed his brow. "Money is not a problem."
The moment the words left his mouth, a rather oily voice cut in from the side.
"Viktor, what are you doing here?"
Maurise turned to see Karkaroff walking briskly toward them. The man had previously been intently observing the Goblet of Fire.
Krum turned to face his Headmaster. His tone was respectful, yet maintained a clear distance. "I was just chatting with Mr. Black."
"Ah, Mr. Black," Karkaroff said, as if suddenly remembering something. His tone was artificially pitched high. "I have heard of you. The famous flying broomstick designer, yes?"
Maurise gave a curt nod. The man's tone of voice made him feel slightly uncomfortable, though he didn't let it show.
Karkaroff had already turned his attention back to Krum, his expression softening considerably. "Viktor, why didn't you tell me you had made a friend?"
Krum's expression remained largely unchanged. "We only just met."
Karkaroff offered a somewhat forced smile and patted Krum on the shoulder. "It is good to socialize, Viktor. But we must be going now. We have a meeting to attend."
Krum turned back to Maurise, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "My apologies. We will talk later."
"Not a problem," Maurise said.
Led by Karkaroff, the Durmstrang students then filed out of the entrance hall.
---
Ten minutes later, Maurise finished his breakfast and returned to the entrance hall. He was fully prepared to submit his name.
In his hand was a slip of parchment with his name and school written on it. He honestly had no idea how the Goblet of Fire would judge a person's qualifications to compete in the Triwizard Tournament based on such a tiny piece of paper. Could the Goblet see deeper into a person through it? Magic? Potential? Or was it some other criteria he couldn't even fathom?
But since those were the rules, he simply had to follow them.
The entrance hall was much more crowded than before.
"Go on, Fred! George!"
The moment Maurise walked in, he heard someone cheering loudly. A group of Gryffindor students was clustered together, eagerly encouraging two boys standing right in front of the Age Line.
It was the Weasley twins. They both clutched a piece of parchment, their faces flushed with excitement.
Fred was the first to pull a small vial from his pocket. He tipped his head back and took a small sip before passing it to George, who did the same.
Maurise raised an eyebrow and walked over. "Aging Potion?"
"Exactly right!" Fred said with immense pride. "We found the recipe and successfully brewed it ourselves. It went perfectly. Do you want a drop?"
Maurise shook his head. "No, thank you. Best of luck to you both."
He seriously doubted that glowing line would be so easily fooled.
Fred waved to George. "Let's go. We're up."
With his chest puffed out confidently, he stepped across the Age Line. George immediately followed suit.
In that instant, every single student in the hall focused their gaze entirely on the twins. If they succeeded, it meant anyone could use the same method to bypass the restriction.
Then, everyone witnessed the result.
The moment the two boys stepped inside, the Age Line flared with a blinding golden light, violently repelling them. The Weasley twins were thrown high into the air before crashing heavily onto the stone floor.
Maurise hauled George, who had landed right in front of him, back to his feet. "How do you feel?"
A flowing, snow-white beard had sprouted from George's chin. He spoke weakly, "How do you think I feel?"
He had a strong suspicion Maurise was mocking him.
The surrounding students roared with laughter.
Fred scrambled up from the floor. The beard on his chin was even longer than George's, a perfect replica of Dumbledore's.
"Think of something, Maurise!" Fred said urgently as he rushed over. "You are definitely planning to enter, aren't you?"
Before Maurise could answer, the other side of the entrance hall suddenly fell silent, and the crowd automatically parted to make way.
"Excuse me, please."
Madame Maxime's voice echoed as she led the Beauxbatons students into the hall. She was simply too massive; even in the spacious Hogwarts entrance hall, she looked entirely out of proportion.
Madame Maxime stopped just short of the Age Line, turned around, and spoke gently to her students. "Perfect, the way is clear. Go ahead, Fleur, you first."
Fleur Delacour stepped out from the group. Fred stared at her completely unblinkingly, until George gave his new beard a sharp yank.
"Ouch!" Fred's yelp of pain rang out abruptly in the hall. He glared furiously at George. "What did you do that for?!"
Simultaneously, Madame Maxime shot a highly displeased glare in their direction.
"Keep it down," George said, suppressing a snicker. Being mischievous always brought him joy.
Fleur stepped over the Age Line and dropped her parchment into the Goblet of Fire. The blue-white flames gave a gentle leap and consumed the paper. As she walked back to her group, her gaze swept casually over the crowd, lingering on Maurise for half a second.
Madame Maxime nodded in satisfaction and told the other students, "One at a time."
The remaining Beauxbatons students took turns dropping their names into the Goblet.
Once the final student had finished, Fred gave Maurise's shoulder a light shove. "You're up, Maurise. Please, show us how you plan to get past that bloody line."
Maurise gave a small nod and stepped forward.
At Hogwarts, he was undeniably one of the most closely watched individuals. The students' attention was naturally drawn to him.
"You can do it, Maurise!" someone shouted.
Maurise glanced in the direction of the voice. It was a Ravenclaw boy. Noticing Maurise's gaze, the boy's face instantly flushed bright red.
'...Wait, why are you blushing?'
Maurise's mouth twitched, and he silently averted his eyes. He walked up to the edge of the Age Line and slowly drew his wand.