Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire-J.K.Rowling

How I found this book: This was actually the first Harry Potter book I had ever heard of. It came out the summer before the first movie, and that was when Potter-mania had first hit American shores, (around 2000). I didn’t get it then, especially when I heard it was a kid’s book. Man, I didn’t know what I was in for.

Setting: The ’94-’95 school year, (ahh, the year I graduated high school), mostly at Hogwarts School, though the opening takes place at the Quidditch World Cup.

Main Characters:

Harry Potter: Our hero is now fourteen, and is preparing to go to see the Quidditch World Cup final. When things don’t go as expected, though, Harry begins seeing that there is an undercurrent of something going on, though he isn’t sure what that something is, though he worries that it might be connected to the strange pain he is feeling in his scar. His feelings of worry aren’t helped any when he starts back to school and finds that his name has been entered, without his knowledge, into the Tri-Wizard Tournament, an inter-school event Hogwarts is hosting this year. Now, Harry must fight his way through challenges that are designed for someone much older and more skilled than himself, and hope that he gets through it all alive. If he’s lucky, he might actually win the Tri-Wizard cup and all its glory for himself.

Ron Weasley: One of Harry’s best friends, Ron is having a rough go of it this year. Worried about finances, with growing pressure to outshine his older siblings, having his already famous best friend now get into the Tri-Wizard’s tournament is too much for Ron, and he lashes out at Harry. It’s only when he sees the true danger his friend is in that he realizes not only that someone is seriously out to kill Harry, but just how important his friend is in his life. Hermione as well manages to predictably irritate Ron again, this time it’s because Hermione has notices a certain handsome, young Quidditch player and fellow champion from Bulgaria. Though he hasn’t quite figured out why it is that this bothers him, he certainly does make life difficult for his friends.

Hermione Granger: The other of Harry’s best friends, the boys in her life do not make things easy for her. Harry being shanghaied into the Tri-Wizard Tournament is one thing, but when the two have their first real fight and don’t speak to each other for weeks, Hermione is forced to play go between for her two closest friends, something she rather hates doing. And then there is the Bulgarian champion, a young boy named Viktor Krum, who seems to be paying attention to her in ways neither Harry nor Ron ever would. Hermione is growing up, perhaps faster than her two male friends, but in true Hermione fashion she would never leave them behind.

Cho Chang: The Ravenclaw Seeker, and a smart, pretty girl, Harry has a secret crush on her, and would like nothing better to impress her enough to make her want to go out with him.

Cedric Diggory: One of the Tri-Wizards champions, a popular and handsome seventh year Hufflepuff, Cedric is the favorite for many at Hogwarts, especially since several people think Harry stole Cedric’s thunder by sneaking into the tournament.

Fleur Delacour: A beautiful girl from Beauxbaton Academy and of the same age as Cedric Diggory, Fleur is her schools champion. She appears to be pretty and frail, and a cold person who hates everything about England, except for flirting with the boys. But she is stronger than she lets on, and does have a good heart, especially in regards to her sister, and has more than a passing interest in Ron’s oldest brother, Bill.

Viktor Krum: The champion from Durmstrang School, Viktor is already a celebrity as he was the celebrated Bulgarian Seeker from the Quidditch World Cup. Harry finds him all right, though Ron, who at first idolized him, now hates him as Viktor has shown a lot of attention towards Hermione. And Ron, for one, doesn’t really like that too much.

Professor Dumbledore: The Hogwarts Headmaster, he is concerned about the Tournament, especially Harry being in it, and he’s beginning to notice some troubling signs occurring in the world beyond Hogwarts, ones that don’t bode well.

Igor Karkaroff: The head of Durmstrang School, and a former Deatheater who served under Lord Voldemort.

Madam Maxime: The head of Beauxbaton, and the love interest of Hagrid. It is revealed in their relationship that both of them are descendants from giants.

Rita Skeeter: A reporter for the Daily Prophet, Rita is as nosey as she is scandalous, and writes all sorts of gossip, twisting stories around to get the most sensational scoop. Harry has no use for her, and Hermione makes it her mission to get revenge on Rita after a particularly nasty story came out regarding her.

Sirius Black: Harry’s godfather, and an escaped criminal on the run, Sirius returns to England both to keep an eye on his godson, but because of the disturbing things he too has begun to notice going on.

Barty Crouch: The Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, he is a distant, precise little man, a stickler for rules, who at one time was considered a favorite to be the Minister of Magic. This changed when his son, Barty Jr., was discovered to be a Deatheater. He now is in charge of helping to run the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and is one of the judges.

Ludo Bagman: A former famous Quidditch player, and Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He is a compulsive gambler, making a bet with the Weasley twins on the World Cup match, and is one of the judges of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He was at one time suspected of being a Deatheater, but was cleared on those charges as it was clear he thought he was assisting a friend of his father’s.

Alaistor “Mad Eye” Moody: A former Auror during the first war against Voldemort, he is asked to teach at Hogwarts as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He is a tough, grizzled, slightly frightening character, with a magical eye that can see through many objects, replacing an eye he had lost fighting Death Eaters. He is cantankerous and paranoid, but impresses the students with his real world experiences fighting all manner of Dark Arts.

Peter Pettigrew: Once one of James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin’s dearest friends, he betrayed them all when he joined forces with Lord Voldemort and became a spy. Now he has returned to the Dark Lord, though he is weak, in an effort to help restore him to power.

Lord Voldemort: Week after fourteen years outside of his body, Voldemort is attempting to return to the land of the living. But only one thing can make his transformation complete, and that is the capture and slaying of Harry Potter.

Plot: Harry Potter gets a special treat the summer he turns fourteen, the chance to go to the finals of the Quidditch World Cup. The celebration is marred by the appearance of a group of hooded and cloaked figures, called Death Eaters, who seem to be the remnants of supporters for Voldemort back in the day, scaring the populace. This is only the first in a whole series of strange happenings that occur as Harry starts his fourth year at Hogwarts. However, Harry will get little time to focus on these events, as for the first time in centuries, the Tri-Wizards tournament is being held between Europe’s top magical schools, and it is being hosted at Hogwarts. Harry believes that he, like his friends, will get to sit comfortably and watch the events as everyone younger than seventeen is barred from the event. But when his name gets pulled out of the magical Goblet of Fire, Harry is forced to compete in the most dangerous situations he’s ever had to face, without the experience and knowledge the other competitors have. What’s more, his best friend, Ron, won’t speak to him, his beloved godfather, Sirius, has returned from his safe exile to keep an eye on him, and Harry is fairly certain that his name was put in the Goblet so that he could be killed. At this point, all he wants to do is to get through the Tournament in one piece. But with the pretty Cho Chang there to impress, Harry perhaps wouldn’t mind winning the Tournament, if possible, and perhaps winning the girl in the end as well. When things go horribly wrong though in the last challenge, Harry is faced with the greatest challenge of his life…how do survive the return of his arch-nemesis.

Themes:

Harry having to grow up early: Harry has already had to face things that other magical children his age would never have to live with. Now he’s being asked to do it again by going through the Tri-Wizard Tournament. While he despairs at it, and quite possibly without the extra help from his friends he wouldn’t have made it, Harry’s heart and tenacity get him through. But even in the face of the ultimate adversity, surviving Voldemort, Harry stands his ground, as best he can, showing a bravery that goes well beyond his fourteen years.

The return of Lord Voldemort: We all knew that Voldemort wasn’t dead, we just didn’t know how he’d get back to having a real body. While the scene itself is rather gruesome, the fact remains that the big baddie has returned, and he’s out for Harry. Now a new war is on, and the wizarding world will have to scramble to prevent the rise of the Dark Lord again. Not everyone is on board, especially not the status quo government, who would rather hide their heads in the sand, (typical.) This is the turning point of the series; this is the fulcrum which turns it from a whimsical tale about a boy wizard to a story about going to a magic school to a fight between good and evil.

Facing death for the first time: Nothing can properly prepare you for that first ‘real’ death you experience in your life. Sometimes it’s a family member, such as a grandparent, sometimes it’s a friend. For me it was a classmate who was killed in a drunk driving accident, (one who I wasn’t particular friends with, but whose death still shook me at 15.) I think it’s even worse when it’s a contemporary to your age, because with an older person, often there’s an element of acceptance. When it is the tragic death of someone so close to your own age in unexpected circumstances, it is something that lives with you. It’s at that point that many young people realize that they are not supernatural, that they aren’t immortal, and that they too can die. I think Jo Rowling handled it as matter-of-factly as possible, without bending to the idea that you can’t discuss death in a children’s book, (I think this series stopped being a children’s book right here.)

Nothing will ever be the same: There are defining moments in history, and in everyone’s lives, and those moments mean that everything we though was comfortable is gone now. Often times that situation is war, but it could be a disaster, or even a sudden shattering of ones family. It’s sad that in real life we face this as well, but I think Jo Rowling, in her use of it in her fantasy world, has helped her readers understand how those tough times come, and giving them a character to relate to in terms of getting through those tough times. I know even I, a grown adult, would murmur to myself I needed to be a “brave Gryffindor” when life was getting to one of those breaking points.

Every book sucks somewhere: I can pick one, massively sucky part…Lord Voldemort returned. I know, I know, we have been expecting it, but…oh God, that sucked.

What did I like: Everything. This is my favorite book in the entire series, the one book where everything changed, (though book seven runs a close, close second). I though that the tension was great, the sense of foreboding really set you up for the ending, and the finish really puts you at that cross-roads concerning, “now, where do we go.” It’s a roller-coaster ride to the final three books, and I think it’s at this book, Book Four, that I really, truly fell in love with the Harry Potter series.

How would I rate this wormy book: MONSTER! Go, buy it, read it, try not to cry at the end. I didn’t manage it…there is an embarrassing story involving me getting drunk at a party right after this book and crying in someone’s bathtub over the end. Regardless, it’s a great book, and if you were only ‘meh’ about the HP series up to this point, read it. It really does bring a whole new dimension to the series after this.