Book #138: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

J.K. Rowling

 Released: July 8th, 2000

My 3rd book for 2026 was J.K. Rowling’s "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".  

[Blogger's Notes: I'm going to do this series a little bit different than I normally do.  My sister, Megan Perry, is a diehard Harry Potter fan.  Since she also does some blogging, I figured I would incorporate her thoughts on this one as well.  You can check her blog "Between The Pages" at Megan Perry Writes.

Yes, there are ***SPOILERS*** -- You have been warned.

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Bryan Shades: This one is an interesting one.  I never particularly cared for Goblet of Fire in the past.  It is also the only Harry Potter film I never saw in theaters during its original theatrical run.  After rereading it, I have a much better opinion of it.

This was the first truly thick Harry Potter book, clicking in at 734 pages in the original hardcover.  It is masterfully woven together, and combines a lot of characters, elements, and things that have been foreshadowed.  It begins laying the foundation for the next few books.

Long summary here.  The story starts off with Voldemort and Worktail somewhere in the Albanian forest.  After killing a muggle, we are taken to Privat Drive, where Harry awakens to his scar burning.  Harry is picked up by the Weasleys and taken to The Burrow in order to attend the Quidditch World Cup between Ireland and Bulgaria.  Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum leads the team to finding the Snitch, but Ireland secures the victory.  Fred and George place a bet on Ireland and win, with plans to use the winnings to start their own wizarding joke shop.  Upon returning to Hogwarts, the students learn that the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup have been cancelled this year due to their school playing host to the Triwizard Tournament.  The students of Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang join the Hogwarts students in October for the remainder of the school year.  A special new rule for the tournament is that all participants must be 17.  As Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, and Cedric Diggory are chosen to represent their respective schools as champion, the Goblet emits a 4th champion: Harry Potter.  As school and Ministry of Magic officials work to uncover how Harry entered his name, he must begin preparation for the first task.  Harry sends owls back and forth to Sirius and works with professors and his friends to prepare for the tasks.  A vicious reporter named Rita Skeeter finds ways to obtain secret information to publish in her column built up with excessive lies and deception to contend with the wizards. Former Auror, "Mad-Eye" Moody is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.   Several people from within the Ministry start to go missing.  As the year goes on, Harry performs quite well at the tournament challenges and finds himself tied with Hufflepuff's Cedric Diggory.  During the final challenge, Harry and Cedric decide to grab the cup at the same time and become co-champions for Hogwarts.  The cup is secretly charmed as a Portkey, and pulls Harry and Cedric to Voldemort's location.  Cedric is immediately killed by Worktail with the Avada Kedavra killing curse.  Harry watches as Voldemort is restored to full power, and the Death Eaters are summoned to rejoin him.  As they arrive, Voldemort challenges Harry to a duel to finish him off once and for all.  The move backfires, cauing his wand to regurgitate the last several actions.  The ghosts of Cedric, Lily, and James talk to Harry and help him to escape.  Cedric's ghost asks Harry to take his body back to his parents.  Harry escapes by summoning the Triwizard Cup, reopening the Portkey, and pulling him and Cedric's corpse back through.  Once back at Hogwarts, more is revealed about how Voldemort returned to power, and some Ministry heads are involved.  As the ploy untangles, we learn just how dangerous this past year truly was, and how dark and daunting the future looks.  After mourning Cedric the final feast, the students bid farewell to their guests and each other, and head home for the summer.

So much to unpack here.  Let's start with Voldemort.  After escaping his capture in Prisoner of Azkaban, Wormtail has traveled to Albania and found the "shadow" that is the barely-alive essence of the Dark Lord.  Wormtail serves as his enforcer and keeps Voldemort alive until he is able to revive him to full strength properly.  He goes on a murderous rampage, killing two Ministry officials, a Muggle gardener, and Cedric Diggory.

The Triwizard Tournament is the central theme here.  The legendary competition displays the magical skills of the students within the various schools.  Durmstrang features an all-male school of Viking-style culture.  Beauxbatons is an all-female witch school.  Viktor Krum plays a large part in this as he first serves as team captain and Seeker of Bulgria, and then leads his school into Hogwarts for the tournament.  Harry's selection as a Triwizard champion allows him to go head-to-head with a full-on celebrity of the wizarding world.

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody is the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher.  He is a former Auror for the Ministry of Magic who is responsible for putting many Death Eaters away in Azkaban.  

Rita Skeeter is the latest trouble to arrive on site at Hogwarts.  Looking to cover the tournament, she conducts interviews with people for whom she can spin worlds, and write columns filled with lies and deceit.  Not to be too controversial, but she operates very much like the modern day mass media.  She takes the pieces that she knows will create the most controversy, and manipulates it for entertainment as opposed to factual storytelling.

The Ministry of Magic has a lot of involvement in this one.  Minister Fudge struggles to fight against the fact that Voldemort has returned, as he attempts to place blame on Dumbledore for spreading rumors of the dark lord's return.  The disappearance of Bertha Perkins is a heavy mystery woven into the story.  The revealing of what happened to her is central to not only how Voldemort returned to power, but how he was able to trap Harry and kill Cedric as well.

Fred and George have entered an enterprenurial stage.  They have felt the strain of being impoverished for so long, and have no desire to take a serious job working for the Ministry of Magic.  They begin producing their own products and selling them to other students on the train and in the school.

Percy Weasley is deeply involved with his work at the Ministry.  Similar to how he was as a prefect, Percy treats his work with utmost importance and drive to accomplish what his boss requires from him.  This leads into some trouble as Mr. Crouch was the one who was influenced by the Dark Arts.  When he goes missing, he corresponds with Percy via owl without the Ministry knowing of it.  This is an example of Percy's loyalty going a bit too far.

Cedric Diggory is a tragic tale here.  We remember him as the competitive Seeker from Hufflepuff in Prisoner of Azkaban.  Here, he is a bit more refined.  He still has a lot of pride and confidence, but his flaws come out a bit more as he and Harry work together to complete the tasks.  Harry gives him information about the dragons, while Cedric returns the favor with the dragon's egg.  He and Harry show a great deal of humbleness at the end, when they opt to become co-champions.  This ultimately costs him his life when he and Harry enter the Portkey together.  It's difficult for me to picture him as an independent character, as I have Robert Pattison in my mind when I think of him.  

In many ways, one could argue that Goblet of Fire is the greatest of all the Harry Potter books.  It is the last of the younger years, and the beginning of the more adult-themed Harry Potter novels.  It does stand alone as not featuring a traditional Quidditch tournament as we are instead treated to the Quidditch World Cup, and the events that transpire at this particular edition.  These events cause unrest in the wizarding world.  We see Voldemort return to full strength, something always talked about but never seen until now.  The death of Cedric shows just how dangerous and frightening the wrath of Voldemort truly is.  With so much going on, it's easy to see how fans ate this novel up after the first 3 delivered strong results as well.  I feel like this was the last truly great Harry Potter novel, as the later ones tackle much more adult themes, and darker material.

Megan Perry:

Here is what I learned.

—————

• To Peter Rowling.  

• In Memory of Mr. Ridley and to Susan Sladden, who helped Harry out of his cupboard.

• Tom Riddle and his family lived in Little Hangleton.

• Mr. And Mrs. Riddle were murdered.

• They were known to be rich, snobby, and rude.

• The Hanged Man is the village pub of Little Hangleton.

• Frank Bryce was the Riddle’s Gardener.

• He was arrested in connection with their murders.

• Frank was a war vet.

• There is a spare key in the gardener’s cottage.

• Frank was taken to the station in Great Hangleton.

• Wormtail brought Bertha Perkins to Voldemort before she was murdered.

• Nagini is Voldemort’s pet Basilisk.

• Voldemort kills Frank.

• Dudley cheats on his diet with doughnuts.

• When the Dursleys threaten to cut down his pocket money, Dudley throws his PlayStation out the window.

• Dudley is placed on a diet recommended by the Smeltings school nurse.

• The entire Dursley family joins the diet.

• Harry receives food from Hermione, Hagrid, and Mrs. Weasley.

• For his birthday, Harry receives a different cake from Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, and Sirius.

• Mrs. Weasley’s first name is Molly.

• She sends the Dursleys a letter offering to take Harry for the summer after the Quidditch World Cup.

• The Irish and Bulgarian Quidditch teams will face off Monday night.

• Ron’s new owl is a tiny bird named Pig.

• Percy now works for the Department of International Magic Cooperation.

• The Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia is still driving wild in the Forbidden Forest.

• The Dursley’s fireplace is blocked up because it’s an electric fireplace.

• Mr Weasley temporarily connected their fireplace to the Floo Network.

• Muggle fireplaces are not supposed to be connected to the Floo Network.

• Dudley eats a Ton-Tongue Toffee with an Engorgement Charm.

• Charlie and Bill have come home to The Burrow for the Quidditch World Cup.

• Fred and George have decided to go into business, calling their venture Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes.

• Percy is working on a report for the International Magical Cooperation to standardize cauldron thickness.

• Ron’s owl’s full name is Pigwidgeon.

• Ginny named the owl.

• Crookshanks chases gnomes.

• Mr. Crouch is Percy’s boss.

• Ludo Bagman works in the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

• Ludo got the Weasley’s the tickets.

• Mr. Weasley helped his brother out with a lawnmower was unnatural powers.

• Bertha Jorkins went on holiday to Albania and never came back.

• Ireland flattened Peru in the Quidditch World Cup semifinals.

• Victor Kim plays for Bulgaria.

• England lost to Transylvania 390-10.

• Wales lost to Uganda.

• Scotland was slaughtered by Luxembourg.

• The last Quidditch World Cup match went on for 5 days.

• A Wizard must pass a test in order to apparate.

• It took Fred and George 6 months to develop their joke toffee.

• A portkey is used to transports wizards from one spot to another at a prearranged time.

• The nearest portkey to The Burrow is the one at the top of Stoatshead Hill.

• Amos Diggory works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

• His son is Cedric Diggory.

• Mr. Roberts manages the campsite reserved for Mr. Weasley.

• Mr. Payne manages the one for the Diggorys.

• Mr. Bagman once played Quidditch for England.

• He was the best Beater the Wimbourne Wasps ever had.

• Fred and George bet their life savings on Ireland.

• Mr. Weasley borrowed the tent from Perkins at the office.

• Oliver Wood has just signed to the Puddlemere United reserve team.

• Friends seen at the Quidditch World Cup include Cedric Diggory, Seamus Finnigan, Oliver Wood, Ernie Macmillan, and Cho Chang.

• Bill once had a penfriend from a wizarding school in Brazil who sent him a cursed hat when he didn’t come visit.

• Cuthbert Mockridge is the Head of the Goblin Liaison Office.

• Gilbert Wimple is with the Committee on Experimental Charms.

• Arnold Peasegood is an Obliviator on the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad.

• Bode and Croaker are Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries.

• Barty Crouch is Percy’s boss full name and he speaks over 200 languages. 

• Carpets are defined as a Muggle Artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects.

• Mr. Crouch’s grandfather once had an Axminster rug than seated 12 before carpets were banned for travel.

• Mr. Crouch calls Percy, “Weatherby”.

• The Quidditch stadium seats 100,000 people.

• When Muggles approach, they suddenly remember urgent appointments.

• There are advertisements at the stadium for The Bluebottle broom, Mrs. Skower’s All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover, Gladrags Wizardwear and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.

• Harry meets Dobby’s friend Winky the houseelf.

• The Malfoys, Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco sit behind Harry and the Weasley’s.

• Mr. Oblansk is the Bulgarian Minister of Magic.

• Lucius received Top Box tickets by making a generous donation to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

• This year’s Quidditch World Cup is the 422nd edition.

• Veela are beautiful female dancers who entrance onlookers.

• The Bulgarian team is composed of Dimitrov, Ivanova, Zograf, Levski, Vulchanov, Volkov, and Krum.

• The Irish team is comprised of Connolly, Ryan, Troy, Mullet, Moran, Quigley, and Aidan Lynch.

• The referree is Hassan Mostafa, an Egyptian who is Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch.

• A Wronki Feint is where a Seeker pretends to see the Snitch, and does a deeper nosedive and pulls out last second.

• Krum got the snitch, but Ireland won 170-160.

• Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is a wiring school in Europe.

• Clause 3 of the Code of Wand Uses states that no non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand.

• The Dark Mark has not been seen for 13 years.

• Death Eaters are Voldemort’s supporters.

• Mr. Weasley enjoys Ogden’s Old Firewhiskey.

• If Fred and George had perished, Mrs. Weasley’s finals words to them would have been “You didn’t get enough O.W.L.’s.”

• Rita Skeeter is a reporter for the Daily Prophet who has it out for the Ministry of Magic.

• If you don’t open a howler straight away, it explodes.

• New Books for Year 4

• The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 by Miranda Goshawk.

• The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.

• Unfogging the Future.

• Mad-Eye Moody is a retired Auror, which is a Dark Wizard catcher.  He was one of the best.

• Malfoy nearly attended Durmstrang.

• Durmstrang doesn’t admit Mudbloods.

• Durmstrang is a wizarding school that pits more emphasis on the Dark Arts.

• There has traditionally been a lot of rivalry between wizarding schools.

• Durmstrang and Beauxbatons like to conceal their location so nobody can steal their secrets.

• Hogwarts is bewitched to be hidden from muggle view.

• Durmstrang is rumored to be in the far north.

• Parvati Patil’s twin was sorted into Ravenclaw.

• Professor Sinistra is head of the Astronomy Department.

• The sorting hat sings a different song every year.

• Stewart Ackerley goes to Ravenclaw.

• Malcolm Baddock goes to Slytherin.

• Eleanor Branstone goes to Hufflepuff.

• Owen Caldwell goes to Hufflepuff.

• Dennis Creevey goes to Gryffindor.

• Dennis fell into the lake.

• Laura Madley goes to Hufflepuff.

• Natalie McDonald goes to Gryffindor.

• Graham Pritchard goes to Slytherin.

• Orla Quirke goes to Ravenclaw

• Kevin Whitby goes to Hufflepuff.

• Hogwarts has over 100 house-elves.

• Forbidden objects this year include: screaming yo-yo’s, fanged frisbees, ever-bashing boomerangs.

• The full list comprises 437 items.

• The Inter-House Quidditch Cup is cancelled this year.

• Alastor“Mad-Eye” Moody is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

• Moody carries a hip flask.

• Moody has a wooden leg.

• Hogwarts plays host to the Triwizard Tournament.

• The Triwizard Tournament was first established over 700 years ago as a friendly competition between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang.

• Each school selects a champion to face off in 3 different tasks.

• Each school takes turns hosting the event every 5 years.

• The tournament was discontinued when the death toll was deemed too high.

• The Triwizard champion received 1,000 Galleons.

• Balderdash is the new Gryffindor password.

• Eloise Midgen tried to curse her pimples off.

• Blast-Ended Skrewts look like shell-less lobsters.

• Moody is teaching one year as a special favor to Dumbledore.

• The Imperius Curse gives a wizard total control over its victim.

• The Cruciatus Curse cause pain.

• Avada Kedavra is the Killing Curse.

• Harry Potter is the only wizars to ever survive the Killing Curse.

• Avada Kedavra, Cruciatus, and Imperius are known as the Unforgivable Curses.

• The use of them against a fellow human earns a life sentence in Azkaban.

• Moody gives Neville the book “Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean”.

• Hermione believes strongly in Elf Rights.

• She is a member of S.P.E.W. - the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.

• She makes Ron the treasurer and Harry the secretary.

• The Owlery is situated at the top of the West Tower.

• The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive at 6pm on Friday, October 30th.

• The heads of the participating schools are on the judging panels of the Triwizard Tournament.

• All three were injured in 1792 when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on a rampage.

• Madame Maxime is the head of Beauxbatons.

• Maxine calls Dumbledore “Dumbly-Dorr”.

• The Beauxbatons horses only drink single malt whiskey.

• Professor Karkaroff is head of Durmstrang.

• Viktor Krum attends Durmstrang.

• Beauxbatons students sit at the Ravenclaw table.

• Durmstrang students sit at the Slytherin table.

• Hermione enjoys the French dish Bouillabaisse.

• The Triwixard champions are chosen by the Goblet of Fire.

• Fred and George grow white beards as they attempted to enter the Triwizard Tournament.

• Hagrid refuses to join S.P.E.W.

• The champion for Durmstrang is Viktor Krum.

• The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour.

• The champion for Hogwarts is Cedric Diggory.

• In an unprecedented moment, a second champion for Hogwarts is chosen in Harry Potter.

• The flame of the Goblet of Fire burns out between tournaments.

• Moody believes someone gave the Goblet a Confundus Charm to convince it more than 3 schools were involved.

• Moody once smashed a carriage clock birthday presented after suspecting it was a cunningly disguised basilisk egg.

• The first task will take place on November 24th.

• Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, champions are exempt from end-of-year tests.

• Violet, the wizened witch hangs out with the Fat Lady.

• Ron is jealous of the attention Harry gets.

• The Hufflepuff House rarely gets any glory.

• Cedric Diggory is one of the few who has given them any.

• Harry and Ron have a falling out.

• Malfoy wears a “Potter Stinks” badge.

• Rita Skeeter wears jeweled spectacles.

• Skeeter has an enchanted quill that writes with exaggeration.

• Dumbledore is not fond of Skeeter’s work.

• Skeeter finds Dumbledore to be “old fashioned”.

• One of the first Triwizard Tournament ceremonies is the “Weighing of the Wands”.

• Mr. Ollivander performs the Weighing of the Wands event.

• Fleur Delacour’s wand is 9.5 inches, inflexible, rosewood, and contains Veela hair.

• Veela hair causes rather temperamental wands.

• Cedric Diggory’s wand contains hair of a fine male unicorn, 12.25 inches, ash, pleasantly springy.

• Viktor Krum’s wand is a Gregorovitch creation with hornbeam and dragon heartstring, thicker and 10.25 inches.

• Gregorovitch is a fine wand-maker.

• Harry Potter’s wand is made of holly, 11 inches, contained a single phoenix tail feather.

• Sirius arranges a meeting with Harry at 1:00am on November 22nd in the Gryffindor Tower fire.

• Skeeter implies Harry is seeing Hermione.

• Moody prefers to prepare his own food and drinks to avoid being poisoned.

• Charlie Weasley has brought 4 dragons to Hogwarts.

• They types of dragons include a Hungarian Horntail, a Common Welsh Green, a Swedish Short-Snout, and a Chinese Fireball.

• Sirius has shorter hair and is more cleaned up.

• Karkaroff was a Death Eater.

• Moody was the best Auror the Ministry ever had.

• Bertha Jorkins was not very intelligent.

• She attended Hogwarts the same time as Sirius and Harry’s parents.

• She is a few years older than Sirius.

• Out of fairness, Harry informs Cedric of the dragons.

• Moody has Dark Detectors in his office that vibrate when they detect concealment or lies.

• He also has Foe-Glass that gives white eyes to enemies.

• “Accio” is the Summoning Charm.

• Retrieving a golden egg from a Dragon is the first Tournament Challenge.

• Harry is the fastest to retrieve the egg.

• The challenges are scored out of 10.

• Cedric transfigured a rock into a dog to distract the dragon.

• Fleur attempted to use a charm to out the dragon to sleep.

• Krum blinded his dragon.

• Harry’s scores on the first challenge are 8,9,9,10, 4.

• Harry and Krum are tied for lead after the first challenge.

• The second challenge takes place on February 24th at half past 9.

• Fred sells Custard Creams for 7 sickles which turns Neville into a Canary.

• Dumbledore has banned Skeeter from Hogwarts.

• Dumbledore hired Dobby and Winky to work in the kitchen at Hogwarts.

• Dobby earns a Galleon a week and one day off per month

• Dobby had to talk Dumbledore down from 10 Galleons a week and weekends off.

• Winky works unpaid.

• Why is ashamed of being free.

• Rob offers Dobby has Christmas sweater

• The Yule Ball is a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament.

• The ball is only open to 4th years and above.

• Younger students can attend if invited to go with an older student.

• The Yule Ball is from 8pm - Midnight on Christmas Day in the Great Hall.

• Harry is asked to the ball by a 3rd year curly haired Hufflepuff that he had never met before.

• He was always asked by a 2nd year.

• Harry was asked by a 5th year who looked like she could beat him up if he said no.

• Dumbledore bought 800 barrels of mulled mead from Madam Rosmerta for the Yule Ball.

• The Weird Sisters have been booked for the ball.

• Wizards listen to the Wizarding Wireless Network or WWN.

• Fred is taking Angelina to the Yule Ball.

• Eloise Midgen has bad acne and is considered unattactive.

• Cho is going to the ball with Cedric Diggory.

• The new Gryffindor Tower password is Fairy Lights.

• Ron asked Fleur to the ball and was ignored.

• Neville asked Hermione to the ball and was turned down.

• Ginny is going with Neville to the ball.

• Harry asked Parvati to the ball and she accepts.

• Lavender is going to the ball with Seamus.

• Ron goes to the ball with Parvati’s twin Padma in Ravenclaw.

• “Harry made a mental note never to accept so much as a crisp from Fred and George in the future.”

• Harry gives Dobby yellow socks for Christmas.

• Harry gets Ron a Chudley Cannon hat.

• Dobby gives Harry socks for Christmas.

• The Dursley’s sent Harry a tissue for Christmas.

• Hermione gave Harry a book called “Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland”.

• Ron gives Harry a bulging bag of Dungbombs.

• Sirius gave Harry a penknife that can undo locks and knots.

• Hagrid gave Harry a vast box of his favorite sweets.

• Mrs. Weasley sent Harry a green sweater and mince pies.

• Fleur attends with Ravenclaw Wuidditch Captain Roger Davies.

• Malfoy attends with Pansy Parkinson.

• Crabbe and Goyle did not find dance partners.

• Hermione attends the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum.

• Rob is jealous of Krum.

• Percy has been promoted to Mr. Crouch’s personal assistant.

• The Durmstrang castle is smaller and less comfortable than Hogwarts.  It is 4 floors and fires are only lit for magical purposes.  The grounds are larger.

• The Palace of Beauxbatons has ice sculptures all around the chamber at Christmas.  The food is better, and chilies of wood nymphs sing. They do not have armored hallways nor poltergeists.

• Viktor pronounces Hermione [Hermy-own].

• Hermione’s name is pronounced [Her-My-Oh- Nee].

• Dumbledore dances with Madam Maxime.

• Moody dances with Professor Sinistra.

• Parvati dances with a boy from Beauxbatons.

• Viktor and Hermione met and got to know each other in the library.

• Hermione views the Triwizard Tournament as a networking event where Ron sees it as a competition.

• Dumbledore next dances with Professor Sorout.

• Ludo Bagman dances with Professor McGonagall.

• Madame Maxime dances with Hagrid.

• Bagman networks with Fred and George, offering to connect them with Zonko’s Joke Shop.

• Ali Bashir was caught smuggling a consignment of flying carpets into the country.

• The Ministry to trying to have the Transylvanian sign the International Ban on Dueling agreement.

• Hagrid’s mother was one of the last Giants in Britain.

• She left when Hagrid was 3.

• Hagrid’s father raised him and died shortly after he began school.

• Hagrid mistakes the big-boned Maxime for being a half-Giant like himself.

• Hagrid is a half-Giant.

• The prefects bathroom is the fourth door to the left of the Statue of Boris the Bewildered on the 5th floor.  The password is “pine fresh”.

• The day after Christmas is Boxing Day.

• Hermione used liberal amounts of Sleekeazy’s Hair potion for the ball.

• Pure giants are over 20 feet tall.

• Professor Grubbly-Plank is the temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher.

• Unicorns prefer a woman’s touch.

• Hagrid’s mother’s name is Fridwulfa.

• Parvati prefers the Grubbly-Plank as a teacher vs Hagrid.

• Krum dives into the frozen lake for a swim in the middle of a cold winter day in January 

• “It’s a lot colder where he comes from.  I suppose it feels quite warm to him.” 

• Krum prefers Hogwarts to Durmstrang.

• Gobbledegook is a Goblin language.

• “Baldvak” means pickax.

• Barty Crouch has gone missing.

• Batman offers to help Harry with the egg puzzle.

• Goblins usually work for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

• Albus’ brother Aberforth Dumbledore was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat.

• Dumbledore refuses to accept Hagrid’s resignation.

• Hagrid’s father died when he was in his second year.

• The new Gryffindor Tower password is “banana fritters”.

• The prefect baths dispense pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs.

• Moaning Myrtle sometimes watches the prefects bathe.

• "Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour — the prospect's black, Too late, it’s gone, it won't come back."

• Myrtle has ended up in the lake before when someone unexpectedly flushes her toilet.

• A giant squid lives in the Hogwarts lake.

• Merpeople live in the lake.

• Harry never learned to swim.

• Dudley has swimming lessons in his youth.

• Myrtle hasn’t breathed for ages.

• Olive Hornby was the one who found Myrtle’s body after she died.

• Myrtle haunted Hornby until she died.

• The Ministry of Magic had intervened to get Myrtle to stop stalking people.

• Crouch was more obsessed with catching Dark Wizards than Moody.

• Moody believes Harry would make a strong Auror.

• Madam Pince is the school librarian.

• Unicorn foals turn silver when they turn 2 years old.

• Gillyweed helps someone breathe underwater.

• The second challenge is to recover wha the merpeople have stolen from the champions within one hour.

• Dumbledore speaks Mermish.

• The judges decided to change the second challenge to be out of 50 points instead of 10.

• After the second challenge, Harry is awarded 45 points, and tied for first place with Cedric.

• The Third and final fast is in June 24th.

• Harry contemplates taking up drink from a flask while dealing with Snape.

• Crouch gave the order for Sirius to be sent to Azkaban without a trial.

• Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

• Crouch’s son died in Azkaban.

• The son is buried outside the fortress.

• Crouch never claimed the body.

• His wife died shortly after.

• Snape once hung out with a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters.

• They include Rosier, Wilkes, The Lestranges, and Avery.

• Sirius’ alias is Snuffles.

• Butterbeer gets house-elves intoxicated.

• Hermione has taken out a subscription to the Daily Prophet.

• She is receiving hate mail after her Rita Skeeter article.

• Hermione is sent undiluted bubotuber pus which burns sores on to her hands.

• The next creatures Hagrid introduces are nifflers.

• Goyle tries to steal the nuffler’s gold.

• Leprechaun gold disappears after a few hours.

• Hagrid also receives hate mail after hi Rita Skeeter article.

• Ron hates being poor.

• Ron doesn’t know hat it means for someone to be “bugged” (recording devices).

• The Quidditch field has been replaced with hedges.

• George foreshadows Ron becoming a prefect.

• Fred and George have become obsessed with making money.

• Voldemort killed Mr. Crouch.

• Voldemort punishes Wormtail.

• The password to Dumbledore’s office is Cockroach Cluster.

• Harry observes Karkaroff’s trial.

• Karkaroff turns in the names of Antonin Dolohov, Evan Rosier, the Travers, Augustus Rookwood, and Severus Snape.

• Dumbledore clears Snape’s name.

• The Travers helped murder the McKinnons.

• Mulciber Travers specialized in the Imperius Curse.

• Rookwood worked for the Department of Mysteries.

• Ludo Bagman was once charged with being a Death Eater.

• Auror Frank Longbottom and his wife were hit with the Cruciatus Curse.

• Dumbledore has a Pensieve.

• A pensieve allows one to siphon excess thoughts from their mind and pour it into the basin.

• “Curiosity is not a sin, but we should exercise caution with our curiosity.”

• A muggle named Frank Bryce has gone missing.  He lived in the area where Voldemort’s father grew up.

• Neville’s parents are permanently insane and are kept at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

• The Longbottoms were very popular.

• Harry masters the Impediment Curse, the Reductor Curse, and the Four-Point Spell.

• Mrs. Weasley and Bill serve as Harry’s family in the meet and greet before the third task.

• Mrs. Weasley was once told off by the Fat Lady for returning at 4am.

• Apollyon Pringle was the Hogwarts caretaker in Mr. and Mrs. Weasley’s school days.

• The gamekeeper before Hagrid was a man called Ogg.

• Cornelius Fudge replaces Mr. Crouch as a tournament judge.

Point Totals prior to the 3rd task:

Harry: 85

Cedric: 85

Krum: 80

Fleur: No total given but estimated at 60-64.  (We know she has at least 25 pts from the second task.  The highest possible score she could have is 64, and so her first task is estimated at 35-39 points.)

• The third challenge is to navigate a hedge maze, defeat all enemies inside, and obtain the Triwizard Cup.

• If a champion gets into trouble and wishes to be rescued, they are to send red sparks into the air.

• Krum attacks Cedric.

• Cedric ends Krum’s run by sending up red sparks.

• Cedric and Harry offer each other the chance to win before deciding to grab the cup together.

• The Cup is a Portkey.

• “Kill the spare.”

• Wormtail murders Cedric Diggory.

• Harry sees the frail body of Voldemort for the first time.

• Wormtail cuts the tip of another finger off to revive Voldemort.

• “Lord Voldemort has risen again.”

• All the Death Eaters have a red tattoo on their arm that Voldemort can communicate and control them with.

• Voldemort’s father left the family before he was born due to his mother being a witch.

• Voldemort’s mother died giving birth to him.

• The Death Eaters meet for the first time in 13 years.

• Voldemort performs the Cruciatus Curse on Avery for disobedience.

• Wormtail returned to Voldemort, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of his old friends.

• Voldemort heals Wormtail’s hand with a silver one.

• Crabbe and Goyle’s fathers are Death Eaters.

• There are 6 missing Death Eaters.

• While powerless, Voldemort survived as a dark shadow who would inhabit animals bodies to survive.

• He existed as a sort of cloud in the forests of Albania.

• Professor Quirrell stumbled upon Voldemort’s forest and had his body inhabited

• Quirrell died when Voldemort left his body.

• Bertha Jorkins was the one who revealed that Triwizard Tournament was coming to Hogwarts.

• Voldemort challenges Harry to a wizarding duel.

• Wizards bow before dueling.

• The ghost of James Potter tells Harry how to escape.

• Cedric’s ghost asks Harry to return his body to his parents.

• Barty Crouch, using poly juice potion hourly to appear as Mad-Eye Moody, put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire.

• Crouch’s mother died in Azkaban disguised as him to give the impression he was dead.

• Crouch’s father put too strong a memory charm on Bertha Jorkins causing permanent memory damage.

• Crouch’s father put stole Harry’s wand.

• When two of the same wand battle, they reverse curse themselves.

• Priori Incantatem is the Reverse Spell effect.

• When the wands battle, one of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed in reverse.

• This is why Harry saw Cedric, Lily, and James.

• Fudge brought a dementor into the hospital wing where it performed the Death Kiss on Barty Crouch.

• Dumbledore makes a toast to Cedric Diggory.

• Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus who can turned into a beetle.

• Hermione captures her in a jar and puts an unbreakable charm on the jar.

• Bagman paid Fred and George in Leprechaun gold.

• Bagman is in trouble with the goblins for borrowing gold and failing to repay.

• Harry invests 1,000 Galleons into Fred and George’s joke shop.

• Hermione kisses Harry on the cheek for the first time, before them head home for the summer.

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Overall, excellent book.  You may become overwhelmed with detail, but this is the book where Harry Potter transitions from young child to growing wizard.  This set the stage for the final 3 novels.

Highest Recommendation.

On to Book #139: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.

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Need to catch up?  See previous blog post: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.