Harry Potter Read-Along/Discussion [16]

RECAP - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Chapters 29-37
Harry soon finds out that Barty Crouch had many secrets, including that he had sent his own son to Azkaban when he was discovered to be a Death Eater. Even still, Mr. Crouch was no where to be found and Harry's third and final task was soon approaching. Inside the maze that is the final task, Harry meets several creatures he'd faced before - skrewts, a boggart, giant spiders. What Harry does not expect is to find out that Viktor Krum was using the Cruciatus Curse on Cedric Diggory - and he'd thought Krum wasn't half bad.

After Harry helps Cedric, the boys are both at the Triwizard cup and neither one wants to take it because the other "deserved" it. They agreed to take it together, a tie, then something strange happens - the boys are transported by Portkey and find themselves in a graveyard, very far from Hogwarts. Someone is approaching and as Harry's scar begins to burn, that someone, Wormtail, kills Cedric and ties Harry up. Harry then realizes the graveyard he is at holds Voldemort's father, Tom Riddle. Wormtail dumps a useless Voldemort into a cauldron, and uses Riddle's bones, Harry's blood and his Wormtail's own chopped off hand to bring back the Dark Lord.

Voldemort is back in all his glory. He summons his death eaters and Harry hears many familiar names - Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy. Voldemort releases Harry's binds and gives him a chance to defend himself, and when Harry has no other spell to use but "Expelliarmus," Voldemort tries to kill him and their wands do something very strange - they connect. Ghosts of the last people Voldemort murdered begin to spill out of the connection, Harry's parents among them, and they help him get Cedric's body and return to the Portkey. Harry escapes and when panic begins to set in on the part of the crowd and all of the officials when they realizes Harry is draped over a dead Cedric, Professor Moody whisks a sobbing Harry away from the chaos.

As Moody begins to question Harry, it becomes clear that something is very wrong. Moody reveals that he is the traitor, the one who put Harry's name in the Goblet, turned the Cup into a Portkey, the one who helped ensure that Harry would be the one to win. And just when Moody is about to kill Harry, Dumbledore bursts in and knocks Moody out. They use Veritaserum on Professor Moody who is slowly beginning to change into a man Harry doesn't know but has surely seen before - Barty Crouch, Jr. Crouch had been taking Polyjuice Potion and keeping the real Moody locked in a trunk since the beginning of the term.

Barty spills the entire story of how he escaped Azkaban with his parents' help and began to control his father with the Imperius curse, then later helped the Dark Lord capture Harry and return to full power. Harry is taken away to the hospital wing where he later finds out that Fudge does not believe that Voldemort has returned, refuses to believe anything Harry or Dumbledore say, and has let the Dementors perform the Kiss on Barty Crouch without properly interrogating him on the whereabouts of Voldemort.

Harry returns to school for the remaining few days before the year ends and he is quiet and reserved, especially since Dumbledore told the entire student body to leave him be. At the end of year feast, Dumbledore toasts to Cedric and Harry, then he tells the students that although the Ministry does not believe it nor do they want him to tell them, Voldemort is back and he is the one who killed Cedric. At least now they know and can be prepared.

Harry gave Fred and George his winnings on the condition that he not tell Mrs. Weasley and that they buy Ron a new set of dress robes. He is then sent back to his aunt and uncle's house - for the time being, so they say. Its going to be another long, horrible summer...

DISCUSSION

Well.... what can you even say after that? I still cry when Cedric dies every time. Even more so when Harry brings his body back, and he's all cryin' and stuff. Oh, I'm such a sucker. Anyways, I found the whole Crouch, Jr. situation so creative. I think this is the best mystery Rowling has created yet. In the first two books in this series, you could almost guess who the culprit was, how it was happening. She'd dropped enough clues that it wasnt completely far-fetched. Book three - I mean who really expected Sirius Black to be the good guy in it all, but still - we knew Peter Pettigrew was lurking around somewhere and something was seriously wrong. Book 4, there's no way you could've guessed how this all really happened. No one would guess Moody wasn't Moody or that Crouch, Sr. had done something unforgivable.

I tend to wonder sometimes, Barty Crouch was an awfully good Mad-Eye, don't you think? He was nice. I suppose he had to try to be exactly like Mad-Eye so as not to get caught by someone who knew him well like Dumbledore. I find it amusing that the real Mad-Eye seems to be even more paranoid in the next book, if that's possible.

I love that Harry gives his winnings away - its a wonderful thing but... I just wish he'd given it to Mrs. Weasley. Do the twins need it? Not really... And I know, I know, the joke shop would never come about if Harry hadn't done it but somehow I feel like the comfortable living situation that the Weasley's could've had overall was much more important. I dont know, maybe I'm just a big ol' softie. Still nice of him to not keep it though. It shows his maturity even will the hell he's been through.

And Rita Skeeter! I couldn't believe Hermione. Not only is she now blackmailing Skeeter at the end of the book - she's also kidnapped her, basically, and has her trapped in a jar as the creepy little beetle she is. Retribution at its finest! Hermione is becoming more and more of a rebel as the books continue, but maybe a little harsh, Herm? Kidnapping? I mean that is also a crime even if she is an unregistered animagus.

This book was so much fun to read and I can't wait to start discussing the next one which I've already started reading last week. Look for a traditional review of book 4 early next week and discussions of book 5 shortly after. Thanks for stopping by!!

A.