Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

On the first day of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Moody introduces the fourth-year students to the “Unforgivable Curses,” which are highly illegal and dangerous spells that evil wizards have been known to perform on others. Moody demonstrates each of the three curses on spiders: the Imperius Curse, which controls people; the Cruciatus Curse, which tortures its victims; and Avada Kedavra, the killing curse that cannot be blocked or stopped. Harry realizes that Avada Kedavra was the curse used to kill his parents 13 years ago, and he wonders if they “[saw] the flash of green light and heard the rush of speeding death” (87) as the curse extinguished their lives.

Moody explains that there is no use in hiding these things from the students, and if they want to be prepared, they must see what they are up against. However, after the lesson, Professor Moody wants to have tea with Neville, who is clearly very upset about the Cruciatus Curse. That night, Hermione announces the formation of a group called “S.P.E.W.,” or the “Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare,” and she wants Harry and Ron to join in her fight for the rights of house-elves. Hedwig finally returns with a letter from Sirius, who tells Harry he is returning to be closer to Harry. Sirius explains that Harry’s scar hurting is “the latest in a series of strange rumors” and that Dumbledore is “reading the signs, even if no one else is” (91). Harry is furious with himself because he doesn’t want Sirius to come back and risk being captured on Harry’s account.

Harry writes to Sirius and tries to convince him to stay safely hidden and not return to Britain. Sirius refuses and instructs Harry to keep writing to him but to keep changing out owls to avoid attracting attention. Weeks pass, and Harry worries about Sirius’s safety. One day, Moody announces that he will be performing the Imperius Curse on each of the students “to demonstrate its power and to see whether they [can] resist its effects” (92). Out of the entire class, Harry is the only one that can resist the curse’s influence, and Moody keeps using it until Harry can fight off the curse completely. One day, the announcement is made that the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving soon to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Excitement sweeps through the school, and Hogwarts begins to prepare for its foreign guests. The night before Halloween, the Hogwarts students gather to greet the delegations from the other schools. The Beauxbatons group arrives in a huge flying carriage, and their headmistress—Madame Maxime—is “the largest woman [Harry] ha[s] ever seen in his life” (98). The Durmstrang students and their headmaster, Professor Karkaroff, arrive in a huge ship that bursts out of Hogwarts Lake. Much to the amazement of the Hogwarts students, Karkaroff presents his prize student, the Bulgarian Quidditch player Viktor Krum.

As the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students make their way into Hogwarts, Ron is starstruck by the presence of Viktor Krum. The Beauxbatons students sit at the Ravenclaw table and appear to be very unhappy to be at Hogwarts. The Durmstrang students, however, sit with the Slytherins and seem impressed with Hogwarts. During the welcome feast, a beautiful girl from Beauxbatons catches Ron’s attention, and he insists that she is a veela. Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman attend for the unveiling of the impartial judge, and Dumbledore introduces the Goblet of Fire: a cup full of magical fire that will choose “the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools” (103). Students over 17 have 24 hours to submit their names, but Dumbledore warns that a student must compete and cannot back out if chosen. To prevent underage students from entering, Dumbledore draws an Age Line around the goblet. As the students are dismissed for the night, Harry notices that Professor Karkaroff becomes agitated at the sight of Mad-Eye Moody. The next morning, Fred and George try to enter their names into the Goblet of Fire, but the Age Line stops them because they are a few months shy of 17. Harry, Ron, and Hermione visit Hagrid, who has changed his hair and clothes to impress Madame Maxime. On Halloween night, the champions are revealed, and the tension and excitement are high. From Durmstrang, the goblet selects Viktor Krum. From Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour is chosen: the girl that Ron thinks is a veela. From Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory is selected. However, much to the shock of everyone in the Great Hall, the goblet produces a fourth champion: “Harry Potter.”

Harry is shocked. No one in the Great Hall applauds, and there is a general sense of tense confusion. Harry senses anger from the Hufflepuff students, and as he makes his way to the private room where the champions are instructed to go, he feels “hundreds of eyes upon him, as though each were a searchlight” (110). The other champions are angry and confused, and Madame Maxime and Karkaroff are furious at the thought of Hogwarts having two champions, especially an underage one. The Hogwarts staff members and Barty Crouch question Harry, who insists that he didn’t put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Mad-Eye Moody suggests that someone might have done this to get Harry killed because the Triwizard Tournament is highly dangerous.

Mad-Eye says that it had to have been an adult witch or wizard who put Harry’s name in the goblet because “they hoodwinked a very powerful magical object” and most likely “submitted [Harry’s] name under a fourth school” (112). Dumbledore realizes they can’t get Harry out of the tournament and must accept him as a fourth champion. Mr. Crouch tells the champions that the first task is in just a few weeks, and the challenge itself is a secret. He stresses that the champions may not accept help from teachers, and Dumbledore dismisses them. On the way back to their common rooms, Cedric asks Harry how he got his name in the goblet, and Harry once again insists that he didn’t do it. Harry wonders if Mad-Eye is correct and if someone wants him dead. Back in Gryffindor Tower, the students are celebrating, but Ron is moody and accuses Harry of submitting his name without telling him.