"The casket, then, if you please, Mr Filch." Dumbledore uttered. Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore, carrying a great wooden chest, encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students. "The instructions for the tasks the Champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr Crouch and Mr Bagman." Dumbledore said, as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him. "They have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be Three Tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the Champions in many different ways... their magical prowess- their daring- their powers of deduction- and, of course, their ability to cope with danger." At this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing.