Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Chapter 27 to Chapter 30)
STATS
Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Series: Harry Potter (Book 4)
Author(s): JK Rowling
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy (Urban)
First Printing: 2000
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
SPOILER WARNING
Heavy spoilers will be provided for the entire Harry Potter franchise. Heavy spoilers will also be provided for the entirety of both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame (but not Onyx Storm, which was released on January 21st). I will be confining the Fourth Wing and Iron Flame spoilers to the sections where I analyze the plot of Fourth Wing and compare it to Goblet of Fire. All spoilers shall otherwise be unmarked and can pop up at any time.
STORY
Skeeter’s story to smear Hermione is published. After Snape catches Harry and his friends discussing it during Potions, he separates them, using the opportunity to quietly threaten Harry with Veritaserum (and inadvertently giving Harry a chance to overhear Karkaroff’s latest attempt to talk to Snape about the Dark Mark). When the next Hogsmeade week arrives, Harry and his friends meet with Sirius in the mountainside cave, where they discuss Mr. Crouch’s mysterious behavior and professional history.
Harry and his friends visit Dobby to thank Dobby for his help with the Second Task. During this visit, Harry provokes a drunken outburst from Winky about keeping Mr. Crouch’s secrets. A few days later, Hermione starts getting hate mail as a result of Skeeter’s article, spurring her to investigate the mystery of how Skeeter is getting information as a means to get payback.
Months later, Harry and the other champions learn of the nature of the Third Task. After, Krum tries to talk to Harry about Hermione. They are interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Crouch, who is incoherently raving about Voldemort.getting stronger. Harry runs to get Dumbledore, but by the time they return, they find Krum has been stunned and Mr. Crouch has vanished.
During a Divinition class, Harry falls asleep and dreams of Voldemort torturing Wormtail for letting an unnamed person escape. This leads him to rush out of class and go to consult Dumbledore. Since Dumbledore has business with Cornelius Fudge first, he leaves Harry alone in his office. This leads to Harry discovering the Pensieve and viewing Dumbledore’s memories of Death Eater trials for Karkaroff, Bagman, and Barty Crouch, Jr. After, he and Dumbledore discuss the dream and potential connections to Mr. Crouch and other events Dumbledore is aware of.
ANALYSIS
Establishment
The introduction of Veritarserum will play into the plot later, when Snape uses it on Mad-Eye. This is one of Rowling’s weaker bits of both lore and setup. The existence of a perfect Truth Potion creates ripple effects that are almost as devasting to the worldbuilding as the Time-Turner from Prisoner of Azkaban, and until with the Time-Turner, Rowling never gets around to addressing this problem. More importantly to the plot, this is lore that has no impact on the narrative outside of telling us that it will be relevant later. It may be part of a larger discussion of Snape accusing Harry of stealing potion ingredients, but that conversation would go the sake regardless of whether there was a Truth Potion of Snape to threaten Harry with. (I realize that this setup may seem superficially similar to the Dark Detectors. Since both play onto the Mad-Eye reveal, I will explain the different when we get to that point.)
The two discussions of Barty Crouch, Jr. are a very different matter. These aren’t just setup for the reveal of Mad-Eye’s true identity. Learning about Barty Crouch, Jr. provides critical understanding of his father’s character as well as helping to convey the lingering trauma of Voldemort’s past reign of terror.
These chapters are also where the disappearing properties of leprechaun gold are established. This is a small detail that will pay off when the mysteries around Fred & George and Bagman are explained.
Payoff
The reveal that Bagman was once tried as a Death Eater pays off Skeeter’s ominous remarks about his past from Chapter 24.
Mysteries
Voldemort’s Plans
Much like the dream that was used as a framing device for Chapter 1, Harry’s dream during the Divintion class is an effective solution to bypass the issue of his limited POV. It also provides this mystery was a sense of immediacy. For most of this book, Voldemort’s actions have been shrouded in mystery, discussed but never seen, merely reminding Harry (and the audience) that danger is looming. This dream makes the danger feel far closer, ramping things up for the climax.
Bertha Jorkins gets brought up multiple times in this chapter. While Sirius and Dumbledore’s respective accounts of her don’t tell the audience anything they didn't already know, they do remind us of Voldemort by association. More importantly, Mr. Crouch brings up Bertha during his madden ranting, while also claiming her death is his fault. Rowling is repeatedly hitting the Bertha button to bring Voldemort back into focus, and the number of times she hits that button ramps up the sense of immenient danger.
Barty Crouch, Sr.
Despite the massive amount of focus put on Mr. Crouch, I feel like the only element that actually advances his mystery is Winky babbling about keeping his secrets. We certainly learn more about his character and his son, but I'd argue that this is information that the audience can’t really use to figure out the answer. Even when he mentions his son in his ravings, it’s framed in a manner that makes it sound like he’s showing remorse for his son’s death. It’s a mislead that makes sense on a reread but doesn’t really invite further questions. His appearance at Hogwarts also doesn’t pay off the mystery of his absense from the Ministry and the Triward events, as his appearance is so random that one can’t make sense of it in the moment.
(Obviously, this information will pay off once Mad-Eye’s identity is revealed. I just don’t think the audience can do much with it on a first read.)
I think that the sub-mystery of Mr. Crouch's disappearance from the Hogwarts grounds encapsulates his handling in these chapters. Yes, it raises questions, but it doesn’t go anywhere. Harry and his friends merely bang their heads against the problem (unknowingly misled by Mad-Eye) before deciding they don’t have enough information to solve the mystery. The question is just left dangling until the solution gets explained to us further down the line.
Snape / Karkaroff / Mad-Eye
The scene with Karkaroff and Snape doesn't reveal any new information by itself. Still the repeated detail of something being on their forearms provides emphasis, reinforcing the importance of said detail.
The reveal via the Pensieve that both men were once Death Eaters provides a resolution to parts of this mystery. We now understand how Snape and Karkaroff know each other and why they are intimidated by Moody (as well as being misled as to why Mad-Eye hates them). What this does not explain is the matter of what’s on their forearms and why Karkaroff is worried about it. That is left hanging, though contextually, there is enough here to guess that it may have something to do with Voldemort.
As with the mysteries around Mr. Crouch, the information about Barty Crouch, Jr. is not enough on its own to figure out the Mad-Eye twist. However, also like those mysteries, this isn't an issue by itself. The information will get used later when the twist plays out.
Rita Skeeter
Skeeter’s smear piece on Hermione sours Hermione to directly engage with the mystery of how Skeeter gets her information, quickly raising and eliminating the following two options:
Skeeter can’t be using an Invisibility Cloak. If she was, Mad-Eye would have spotted her at the Second Task when she eavesdropped on Hermione and Krum.
Skeeter can't be using any form of electronic recording equipment, as the ambient magic at Hogwarts would disrupt those devices.
I find it interesting to note how Harry phrasing the possibility of the electronic recording equipment.
“Maybe she had you bugged,” said Harry.
“Bugged?” said Ron blankly. “What . . . put fleas on her or something?”
At this point, an observant reader could very easily figure out on their own that Skeeter is an Animagus, since that was established as an element of the world in the previous book. Hermione, however, does not yet make the connection. This makes sense. Animaguses are rare, and Skeeter’s name would not have been on the Animagus register (which Hermione would have read). Even considering the fact that Hermione should be aware of the possiblity of a registered Animagus at this point, she doesn’t yet have enough information to jump to that conclusion.
Also, as further reward for the sharp-eyed reader, Skeeter is present in beetle form when Harry has his dream of Voldemort.
The heavily perfumed fumes washed over him, and the breeze from the window played across his face. He could hear an insect humming gently somewhere behind the curtain.
Bagman / Fred & George
We learn during the Pensieve scene that Bagman was previously suspected of being a Death Eater. This is followed by Dumbledore insisting that Bagman was not accused of Death Eater activity since that time. Given Dumbledore’s knowledge and experience, this authoritatively shuts down the possiblity of Bagman being linked to Voldemort, yet it leaves the door open for him to be up to something else sinister. There is still a lot of suspicious behavior from him that demands explanation.
The morning after Crouch’s disappearance, Harry and his friends encounter Fred and George at the Owlery, where they overhear this conversation.
Somebody was climbing the steps up to the Owlery. Harry could hear two voices arguing, coming closer and closer.
“— that’s blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that —”
“— we’ve tried being polite; it’s time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn’t like the.Ministry of Magic knowing what he did —”
“I’m telling you, if you put that in writing, it’s blackmail!”
“Yeah, and you won’t be complaining if we get a nice fat payoff, will you?”
At this point, there is again enough information for observant members of the audience to figure out the mystery. We can recall that Fred and George gambled with Bagman and make the connection to leprechaun gold, though Harry and his friends won’t learn the full story until after the climax.
COMPARISON TO FOURTH WING (Chapters 26 & 27)
Character Development (?)
While Rowling uses the gap between two plot milestones to flesh out mysteries and ramp up to the climax, Yarros uses the same gap for interpersonal drama. Not to drive the romance subplot or any other character subplot - she just dithers over narratively irrelevant bits of side action involving Rhiannon’s baby niece, Xaden antagonizing at Dain, and Violet reuniting with Mira. Whereas Rowling uses the quiet to drive the plot forward, Yarros spins the plot's wheels over content that could be cut without consequence.
To be clear, taking two chapters to build interpersonal drama is not a bad thing. If the relationship between Rhiannon and Violet had consistent of more than Rhiannon being the validating Best Friend archetype, and going to visit her niece was the payoff to some development of Violet’s, that would have been great. If the reunion with Mira was something the story had been ramping up to, that would also have been great. If these chapters explored anything about Violet and Xaden’s dynamic other than the mates bond of their dragons, their sexual tension, and their malicious behavior towards Dain, that would have been stupendous.
As it is, these are two chapters where nothing meaningful happens. Even the battle at the end and the kiss that Xaden and Violet share feel tacked-on and pointless. The battle has no consequences, making it feels like a jolt Yarros through in to try to wake the audience up, while the kiss is the romance once again being driven by the plot rather than driving the plot.
Failed Setups
What Yarros should have used these chapters for was to set up War Games and the venin twist. She knew she needed to do this. She did the bare minimum to fulfill those goals. In doing so, she once against failed in spectacular fashion.
War Games
War Games take place in Chapter 28.
The first time they are ever mentioned is Chapter 27.
“You had your first taste of strategy during the Squad Battle, and it’s almost May, which means final War Games should be beginning, right?”
“Two weeks,” Dain answers.
“Good timing, then. Not all of you will survive the games if you’re not prepared.” [Mira] holds my gaze for a beat. “This kind of thinking will give your squad—your entire wing—an advantage, since I guarantee your wingleader is already assessing every rider for their own abilities.”
Followed on the next page by this.
“I’m not even supposed to be here.” Xaden shrugs. “But if it makes you feel better, for the purpose of War Games, you’d be getting your orders from your section leader, Garrick Tavis, which he’d get from me. You’ll be carrying out your maneuvers as a squad for the good of the wing.”
Not only is this coming out of nowhere at the 11th hour, but we are given even less to understand War Games than we were given for the Squad Battle. At least we knew there were challenges and a prize last time. All we have here are vague implications that tactics are important and that the teams encompass entire wings rather than just squads.
Venin Twist - Violet's Book of Lore
As part of their reunion, Mira provides Violet with the lorr book of lore that Violet left behind in Chapter 1. This leads them referencing the lore about venin and wyverns in a manner that feels forced.
This is too little, too late.
Yarros wrote in an the opportunity for Mira to provide Violet with this book all the way back in Chapter 6. She chose to inside have Mira slip Violet the journal that Brennan had previously passed to Mira. This journal has had minimal impact on the plot - the only thing it’s done is tell Violet how to get information on her sparring test opponents. That could easily have been jotted onto a note and then slipped into this lore book. As we have previously covered, Yarros could have then used this to fold the lore into Violet’s characterization.
I appreciate that Yarros at least tried to tie the lore dump about venin to the dynamic between Violet and Mira. However, this dynamic has not been relevant to the story. It's actually been outright forgotten for most of the book. When Rowling dumps information on Hagrid’s parents or hints that Fred and George are acting suspiciously, these things matter because dynamics have been built between them and Harry. Said dynamics may not drive the plot, but the audience isn’t allowed to just forget they exist. So when information is revealed to the audience through these characters, the association of the information to a character and relationship we care about makes the information feel more important and memorable. By contrast, the relationship between Violet and Mira has been so neglected that it almost feels like Yarros wouldn’t have bothered putting in the effort here unless she needed to use it for an exposition dump.
Venin Twist - Secrets
In the previous two parts, I pointed out how Yarros was attempting to clunkily foreshadow that the rider leadership is up to something nefarious by implying that completely reasonable things were suspicious. On January 10th, we also specifically covered how Violet reaching a conclusion that a mystery is not mysterious invalidates the mystery due to her status as a Mary Sue.
In Chapter 26, Yarros manages to undo all of her previous efforts to imply something nefarious by acknowledging and then have Violet accept the more rational explanation.
“Cranston?” I think back over the Battle Briefs. “We never learned about that one. I…” Common sense tells me to shut my mouth.
“You what?” She takes another drink.
“I think there’s way more going on along the borders than what we’re told,” I admit.quietly.
Mira lifts her brows. “Well, of course there is. You don’t expect Battle Brief to relay classified information, do you? You know better than that. And honestly, at the rate our borders are being attacked, they’d have to devote all day to Battle Brief in order to dissect each assault.”
“That makes sense. Do you guys get all the information?”
“Only what we need. Like, I could have sworn I saw a riot of dragons across the border during this attack.” She shrugs. “But questions about secret operations are above my pay grade. Think of it this way—if you were a healer, would you need to know the details about everyone else’s patients?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Exactly.”
Yarros’s efforts to undermine any buildup or mystery that could aid to her twists are almost as a dedicated as her efforts to expose her own plot holes. This sort of thing might work if she allowed Violet to be wrong, just as Harry and his friends are wrong. Even Grand Admiral Thrawn got to be wrong about things. However, she can't allow Violet to be wrong. As a result, when the truth comes out down the line, it’s not a payoff. It reads like a massive retcon.
THE FINAL TASK(S)
On February 21st, we’ll dive into Chapter 31 of Goblet of Fire. The time has come for the Third Task, with all the drama and danger that comes with it.
For Fourth Wing … we have a bit of a problem.
The narrative structures of these two books is, for the most part, aligned closely enough that direct comparisons can be made. However, Fourth Wing has a section that Goblet of Fire does not. Goblet of Fire takes us directly from the Third Task in Chapter 31 to the graveyard in Chapter 32. Fourth Wing has the War Games in Chapter 28 … and reveals the rebel smuggling operation and the venin twist in Chapter 35. The closest analog to Harry and Cedric touching the Portkey, that being the arrival of the gryphon fliers, is at the end of Chapter 34. Yarros uses the six chapters in between the War Games and the reveal to tie up the romance subplot and to ram in some last-minute setup for her big twists.
After some thought, I feel that it’s best to analyze Chapters 28 through 34 of Fourth Wing all in one go. Obviously, there’s no mapping stalking and pornography onto Goblet of Fire, but I feel like I’ve said enough about those things in the Fourth Wing and Iron Flame reviews. Rather, the analysis of this part of Fourth Wing will focus exclusively on the setup of the twists as well as the execution of the plot milestone that is the War Games (both the section in Chapter 28 and the alleged War Games scenario in Chapters 33 and 34). That way, we’ll arrive at the big reveals of both books at the same time and be able to process that information accordingly.
Thank you for bearing with me. I hope to see you all then. Have a good week, everyone.