Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Chapter Notes

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 

Chapter 10: Mayhem at the Ministry

• Isn’t it strange that there is no wizarding equivalent to telephones? Mrs. Weasley had to wait all morning to find whether her family was alright, because there seemingly was no way to contact her. Like obviously they couldn’t talk to her through Floo powder, and strangely enough it is only in book 7 that we see Patronuses used as messengers. It is 1994, so internet and mobile phones weren’t already a thing (at least we had neither at the time), but Muggles still had television and the radio to get news quickly (Mrs. Weasley learns about what happened at the World Cup from the paper), and you could call your loved ones to tell them you are okay. And we know electricity doesn’t work at Hogwarts, because there is too much magic that would affect it, but what about ordinary wizarding households? Like there is always this complete absence of all things Muggle both at Hogwarts and the Burrow, but I think that at least among half-blood and Muggleborn wizards & witches there would be a more balanced mix. If you grow up with Muggle inventions you don’t give them up the second you get a wand.

• ‘It’s all I’ve been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn’t get enough O.W.Ls? Oh, Fred … George …’ – First of all, that is the reason why I try not to leave in anger and to reconcile before I say goodbye to someone, because I am paranoid and you never know what will happen. Second, Molly just assumes Voldemort is back, like an actual possibility. So is it common belief among wizards that Voldemort is only mostly dead? I think Horcruxes are so rare and so un-heard of that most people wouldn’t know about them or the actual reason why Voldemort couldn’t die that night. I think it is more a sign of how afraid they are still (next to not saying his name) that they believe he is powerful enough to come back at any given moment. He has become a myth, someone so abstract and unhuman and deeply evil, that common sense doesn’t apply to him.

• “But I was dreaming about him … him and Peter – you know, Wormtail.” – Harry initially refers to Peter, before he corrects himself and says Wormtail. It kind of reminds me of comic book heroes and villains, who always have an alter ego, and the difference between the public figure and the person behind it. Both Voldemort and Wormtail have the effect to dehumanize the person behind the names. When Harry refers to Voldemort as Tom he does it to take away some of his power, but when he refers to Wormtail as Peter he does it to make Peter more human. Which in this case make his actions even worse, because isn’t just some villain without any identity, but he was a friend of the Potters, a real person, which makes his betrayal so cruel.

• Ah Hermione. While she does get more sensitive to other people’s needs, I think Ron can give Harry something she can’t. Sometimes people don’t want to talk about their problems, sometimes they need a distraction. And I think especially in this book it becomes evident that Harry needs both of his best friends, that Hermione and Ron balance each other out, but also in what they can give Harry.

• “Mrs Weasley glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. Harry liked this clock. It was completely useless if you wanted to know the time, but otherwise very informative. It had nine golden hands, and each of them was engraved with one of the Weasley family’s names. There were no numerals around the face, but descriptions of where each family member might be. ‘Home’, ‘school’ and ‘work’ were there, but there was also ‘lost’, ‘hospital’, ‘prison’ and, in the position where the number twelve would be on a normal clock, ‘mortal peril’.” – Don’t we all love and want such a clock? I wonder if the clock got updated, once all the children were married and had children of their own, or if (because that would make one very large clock) each Weasley child later had a similar clock at their home? And were all the hands during the war constantly on ’mortal peril’? Did at one point the hands tried to be both at ‘school’ and ‘mortal peril’?

• “‘Why is everything I own rubbish?’ said Ron furiously, striding across the room to unstick Pigwidgeon’s beak.” – Obviously Pigwidgeon isn’t rubbish, but this slowly prepares us of Ron’s mindset starting this year, him being tired of only owning second-hand things or things that are not proper (like Pig compared to Hedwig). It doesn’t matter along his family, because they are all used to have no money, but it matters in Hogwarts, surrounded by children whose families don’t have any financial struggles. Ron compares his own achievements with those of his older brothers, and his material belongings with his classmates, and he always seems to lose. And both Harry and Hermione are wealthier than him, and are in his eyes more talented: Harry is a very talented Quidditch player, Hermione has top marks in everything. And on top of that is Harry’s fame. It is everything Hermione later tries to explain to Harry, trying to make him understand why Ron is so jealous of him.