Question: Why didn't Harry simply refuse to take part in the Tri-Wizard tournament? Even though his name came out of the goblet, he could have said no.
raywest
16th Mar 2021
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
19th Mar 2021
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Question: Given the Tasks are the main point of the Triwizard Tournament, they're pretty poor spectator sports - one is an hour underwater and another is in a dark maze. So all the overseas students spend most of a year at Hogwarts to watch three short rounds of a competition, two of which happen out of sight?
Answer: This is better understood in the book. The students were not invited there solely to watch the Triwizard Tournament. It was also a year-long educational and cultural experience. Dumbledore revived the tournament in its original form for a specific purpose - his secret goal was to build an international wizarding community to help fight Voldemort, who he was certain would return and spread his evil beyond the U.K. Bringing the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton students to Hogwarts for the school year was intended to build lasting friendships and alliances and for them to work cooperatively. Also, the original competition was never designed to entertain a crowd. It was a dangerous, life-threatening event that tested competitors' courage and abilities under extreme conditions, That is hardly boring and would likely keep spectators engaged long enough to see if the champions survived, even if some events weren't entirely visible.
Not sure where that is in the books, other than it being a genuinely good strategy, but the original question does seem to have a point - if you're going to collate three communities to watch a very spread-out version of the Olympic Games, why select two games where the action is entirely invisible to the audience other than who eventually emerges from the lake/maze first? It's like staging the Indy 500 when the crowd can only see the podium and not the track.
It is part of the book's overall plot, and, in the movie, Hermione mentions its purpose is about "magical cooperation." I don't recall that Dumbledore personally selected the events. He revived the original TriWizard Tournament, albeit with safety modifications. The real answer, however, is that this is a book/movie. J.K. Rowling crafted the plot to make it exciting and suspenseful and to allow for Voldemort's ultimate plan at the story's end to unfold, hidden from Dumbledore, the Hogwarts staff, and Ministry officials, who, naturally, would intervene. Otherwise, how could Harry be captured, Cedric killed, Harry be part of Voldemort's resurrection, and the climatic duel with the Dark Lord in the graveyard take place? Sometimes facts/reality/logic, etc. are suspended for the sake of the story.
17th Jul 2020
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
10th Mar 2019
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Question: Why was Hermione being chased by Ginny in the tent? Hermione isn't the kind of person who'd do a harmless thing and make someone chase them for a joke.
Answer: Hermione is a 14 year old girl, having fun with a close friend. Of course they will horse around and tease and play. Hermione might be serious as a student and quite mature for her age, but she also knows how to have fun.
She is almost a year older than Harry, so that explains the maturity.
Answer: If you're referring to the tent scene at the Quidditch World Cup, I don't remember Ginny chasing Hermione, but the twins, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry are in high spirits after their favored team has won. All are jumping around, laughing and singing in celebration. If that's not the scene you're referring to, can you be more specific?
Ginny was chasing Hermione when Fred and George said "feet off the table"
I watched the clip on YouTube. Ginny and Hermione are excited after the group arrive inside their rented tent. The girls rush into where they will be sharing a room and drop off their gear. They then rush over to the other side of the tent, probably to where the kitchen is. Hermione is just running ahead of Ginny and is not being chased.
Answer: No, he had to participate because the goblet of fire forced him into a "magical contract." The goblet itself is probably partially sentient and would punish anyone who didn't participate after being selected by the goblet. How this works exactly is never explained, but the tournament judges were pretty clear that he had no choice but to participate.
lionhead
What would have happened to Harry if he broke the contract?
Broken magical contracts usually resulted in death; a good deterrent for not breaking them. Keep in mind, however, Harry (in the book at least), like many students, very much wanted to compete in the tournament despite the danger, but initially couldn't because he was underage. He still wanted to compete, despite knowing the selection process was rigged.
raywest ★
It's never explained.
lartaker1975