Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Goblet of Fire/Chapter 19
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Chapter 19 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The Hungarian Horntail
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
When the shock of being a Champion wears off, Harry starts worrying about the first task. It is comforting that he will soon talk with Sirius, and he and Hermione figure out ways to clear the common room before 1:00 a.m. But things become more difficult for him after Rita Skeeter's story about the Tournament is published. Unfortunately, it mostly contains embarrassing and false information about Harry, including that he and Hermione are in love. Harry hopes he and Ron will reconcile during detention with Professor Snape, but it is the same day that the article comes out, fueling Ron's belief that Harry only seeks more publicity. About the only high point is when Cho Chang stops by to wish him luck. But even then, he gets off on the wrong foot, snapping at her because he mistakenly thinks she is also poking fun at him.
Harry is still having difficulty mastering the Summoning charm, and he practices it with Hermione in the library. Curiously, and to Hermione's annoyance, Victor Krum seems to frequently be in there, along with a clutch of girls following him about, hoping to get his autograph.
The Saturday before the first task is a Hogsmeade weekend. Hermione suggests they go, and, when pressed, admits she is hoping to meet up with Ron in the Three Broomsticks. Harry vetoes that part of the idea, and says he will go but only under his Invisibility Cloak. Hermione protests but agrees, and once he is in Hogsmeade, Harry is delighted he can travel without people hurling snide remarks at him. Hermione says he should remove the cloak because there is nobody there who will bother him, but Harry points out that Rita Skeeter and her photographer just left the Three Broomsticks. It appears she is staying in the village. Harry suggests she is there to watch the First Task.
Hermione steers them into The Three Broomsticks, telling Harry he does not have to talk to Ron, who is sitting with Fred, George and Lee Jordan. Hermione brings Harry a Butterbeer, then spreads out her notes about S.P.E.W. to avoid looking silly sitting by herself. They suddenly notice Hagrid. As big as he is, they had overlooked him earlier because he was crouched, talking to Professor Moody. He stands, preparing to leave. Harry waves, then realizes that Hagrid cannot see him, but Moody pokes Hagrid in the back, and they both come over and say hello to Hermione. In an undertone, Moody says "Nice cloak, Potter." Harry realizes that Moody's magical eye can penetrate Invisibility Cloaks. Before leaving, Hagrid asks Harry to be at his hut at midnight with his cloak.
Harry is meeting Sirius by the Gryffindor fireplace that night but decides he can quickly visit Hagrid and be back by 1:00 a.m. At midnight, he slips down to Hagrid's, who takes the cloaked Harry to the Beauxbatons carriage. There he meets Madame Maxime. Harry, very confused, trails behind Hagrid and Madame Maxime around the Forbidden Forest's edge, finally coming to a large corral containing four full-grown dragons. Wizards have to Stun the dragons to calm them. Charlie Weasley, Ron's older brother, comes over to talk to Hagrid. He is concerned about allowing Madame Maxime to see the dragons, but Hagrid says he just thought she would be interested. Harry heads back to the castle, bumping into Professor Karkaroff, who is checking out the tumult. Evidently, assuming Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff will talk to their respective Champions, Cedric is the only Champion unaware of the dragons.
Returning to an empty common room, Harry finds Sirius' head floating in the fireplace flames. Harry relates everything that has happened, but Sirius says there are other concerns. Karkaroff, for one, was a Death Eater, but was released from Azkaban, possibly because he provided names to the Ministry. He suggests that could be why Moody is at Hogwarts; it was Moody who arrested Karkaroff. While Skeeter's story implied the attack on Moody the night before he left for Hogwarts was a false alarm, Sirius thinks it was meant to scare Moody from taking the job. And Bertha Jorkins, the Ministry official who vanished in Albania, which is also where Voldemort was last believed to be, would have known about the Tournament and could have somehow tipped off Voldemort. Sirius also says that Stunning spells are ineffective against dragons, but before he can say what would work, Harry hears someone coming down the stairs and warns Sirius to vanish. Ron appears, and he and Harry quarrel, causing Harry to storm off to bed.
[edit] Analysis
In his conversation with Sirius, Harry learns that Karkaroff was a Death Eater; he revealed other Death Eaters' names to avoid Azkaban. Moody believes he never really recanted and abandoned Dark magic only because he feared severe punishment. He suspects Karkaroff secretly remains devoted to the Dark Lord and would willingly rejoin Voldemort given the opportunity. When Moody first suggested that someone may have entered Harry into the Tournament in order to kill him, the ensuing silence is possibly because there is an unspoken accusation against Karkaroff. However, Karkaroff had seemed genuinely surprised that Harry was even a student at Hogwarts, indicating he is unlikely involved in a pre-planned plot.
Cedric Diggory being the only Champion who is unaware that the first task involves dragons not only reveals much about his character, but also Hufflepuff House. This House, while seldom receiving much glory or producing many notable students, is known for valuing hard work, honesty, and fairness. It appears, however, that these virtues have put Diggory at a disadvantage here, as the other Champions, including Harry, have uncovered valuable information that make them more competitive. Although the Champions are supposed to perform the tasks without any outside assistance and cheating is strictly prohibited, there seems to be an unspoken tradition and expectation that some underhandedness occurs. Harry, despite being a talented wizard, knows he needs help and freely uses what Hagrid shows him, listens to the (interrupted) advice from Sirius, will take a "hint" from Moody, and is coached by Hermione, all to help him develop a strategy, although it could be argued that this is not technically cheating. Cedric, meanwhile, apparently does little or nothing as he patiently awaits the first event, completely clueless regarding what it entails. Even though Hufflepuff's traits are admirable, their integrity can also breed complacency and naivete, as well as shows a certain lack of ingenuity and initiative, thus allowing their more resourceful (and somewhat devious) opponents to seize the advantage. This may be why Cedric, despite having many outstanding abilities, was sorted into this House.
As Sirius mentions, the supposed attack on Moody at his home, which the Ministry wrote off as a false alarm, actually did occur the night before his departure for Hogwarts and, knowing his paranoid nature, was probably meant to scare him away from there. There is now evidence that Bertha Jorkin's disappearance could be tied to Voldemort, and that he could have somehow extracted information from her (either willingly or unwillingly on her part) about the Triwizard Tournament being held at Hogwarts. Ministry officials, meanwhile, have still not taken any action regarding poor Bertha's whereabouts, continuing to pass it off to her simply "forgetting" to return from her holiday.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why is Cedric Diggory the only Champion who is unaware that the first event involves dragons? What does this say about his character and also about Hufflepuff House in general?
- Why did Harry think Cho Chang was teasing him? Was she?
- Why does the Ministry believe that the attack at Moody's home was only a "false alarm," while Sirius thinks it was not?
- Could there be a link between Bertha Jorkins' disappearance and Voldemort's last known whereabouts? Explain.
- Why does Sirius think Moody was hired as the Defensive Arts teacher?
[edit] Further Study
- Why does Viktor Krum spend so much time at the library? Who does it annoy and why?
- Why is Harry having so much troubling learning a simple spell like the Summoning charm?
- Why, after such a long absence, does the Ministry continue to believe that Bertha Jorkins simply "forgot" to come back to work?
- Could Bertha Jorkins' disappearance be tied to Harry and the Triwizard Tournament, or is the author purposely misleading the reader with false clues? Explain.
[edit] Greater Picture
Although Sirius correctly speculates that the incident at Moody's house is somehow tied to Voldemort, he failed to realize that rather than it being an attempt to scare Moody away from Hogwarts, it was actually a kidnapping plot to replace the real Moody with the impostor, Barty Crouch, Jr. If Barty (as Moody) is correct that Karkaroff is still a Death Eater and loyal to Voldemort, he may see him as a potential ally at Hogwarts. However, Voldemort rarely, if ever, forgives those who have betrayed him or his followers, and Barty may well be targeting Karkaroff to avenge his fellow Death Eaters. Curiously, Barty never shares his opinion about Snape.
Early on, Cedric Diggory, a decent and honest young wizard, seems to lack initiative and inventiveness, although this changes as he competes in the Triwizard Tournament. Harry tips off Cedric about the dragons for this first Task, but their situations are reversed in the second challenge when Harry needs another helpful push. A magical Egg, captured by each Champion during the first event, holds a vital clue to completing the next task. However, Harry, who often procrastinates until he is prodded, does little to decipher its hidden meaning while Cedric quickly solves the riddle. In gratitude for Harry's previous help, Cedric gives him a valuable hint. In this case, Cedric's honesty and fairness are not a disadvantage and shows that Hufflepuff's attributes can be used effectively. It is likely that, given time, Cedric's talents would have far exceeded Hufflepuff's usual standards. Unfortunately, this opportunity will tragically be cut short.
