Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth book in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Published in 2000, the release of this book was surrounded by more hype than any other children's book in recent times - outdone only by its successors, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. At 636 pages (hardback British edition) it was fairly large for a children's book. The book attracted a lot of attention owing to a pre-publication warning from J. K. Rowling that one of the characters would be murdered in the book. This started a stream of rumour and speculation as to who the murdered character would be. The publishing of Goblet of Fire caused unprecendented heights of Pottermania to be reached internationally.

This novel won a Hugo Award in 2001.

The Quidditch World Cup

In this book, Harry Potter spends the end of his summer with the Weasleys in anticipation of the Quidditch World Cup. During the World Cup, a group of Death Eaters attack a number of Muggle bystanders, but flee when the Dark Mark - Voldemort's sign - mysteriously appears above them. The sign is found to have been made by a wand found with Winky, the House-Elf of Barty Crouch, a respected official at the Ministry of Magic. Winky is fired by her master at once. Crouch's treatment of Winky prompts Hermione to start campaigning for elves' rights.

The Tri-Wizard Tournament

When Harry arrives at Hogwarts, he finds that the Triwizard Tournament - which had been banned since many participants died during it - was to be restarted, and to be held at Hogwarts. The names of all intending participants would be put into a goblet - known as the Goblet of Fire - which would shoot out one name from each of the three competing wizarding schools (Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang). After choosing Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, and Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts, the Goblet spits out Harry's name - although he was too young to have added his name to the Goblet. Harry is forced to participate, to the outrage of many.

For the first task the champions have to face a unknown challenge, but Hagrid reveals it to Harry as well as to Madame Maxime, the Head of Beauxbatons, to be dragons. Igor Karkaroff, Head of the Durmstrang institute sees the dragons as well leaving Cedric Diggory, the only champion, not knowing what awaits him. But Harry, not wanting to put Cedric in danger, informs him of the dragons, much to Cedric's astonishment. After that, the new Defence against the Dark Arts Teacher, ex-Auror Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, gives Harry some free advice for his battle against the dragon.

At the first task, it is explained that the champions have to steal a golden egg from the dragon. Harry has to face a Horntail, which is considered the most dangerous of the four dragons. Harry, using the "Accio" charm learned from Hermione, summons his Firebolt and lures the dragon into the air, where he quickly outmanoevres it, and steals the egg in the shortest time. As a partial result of his success against the odds, his relationship with his best friend, Ron Weasley, is temporarily strained by Harry's sudden explosion of fame. Harry's friendship with Ron is saved once Ron realises just how perilous the Tournament will be for Harry.

In the last part of the Tournament - in which the four competitors have to run through a maze populated by many dangerous creatures - Harry and Cedric arrive at the trophy (placed in the centre of the maze) first and decide, because of the help they provided to each other, to grab the trophy at the same time, since it will be a Hogwarts victory anyway.

Confrontation in the Graveyard

The trophy turns out to be a Portkey, a magical object which transports them to a graveyard - where they find Peter Pettigrew (also known as Wormtail) and Lord Voldemort. Peter kills Cedric using the unstoppable Avada Kedavra curse, then uses Harry's blood as part of a macabre ritual which results in Voldemort being reborn, more powerful than before, and immune to the charm which had prevented him from harming Harry twice before. Voldemort then summons the Death Eaters and attempts to kill Harry, to prove that "the boy who lived" will not be his undoing again. However, because Harry's and Voldemort's wands are formed from the same core - a feather from Dumbledore's pet phoenix Fawkes - a freak phenomenon known as Priori Incantatem occurs, in which Voldemort's wand begins to produce ghostly echoes of its past victims - including Harry's parents. The echoes hold off Voldemort while Harry manages to escape to the trophy which transports him and Cedric's body back to Hogwarts.

Barty Crouch, Jr. Revealed

On reaching Hogwarts again, Harry lands in the centre of the confusion caused by his disappearance. He is led up to the castle by his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and Auror (Dark-wizard-catcher), Professor Moody. Moody reveals himself as a Death Eater, saying that it was he who put Harry's name into the Goblet, and who ensured that Harry made it through the three rounds of the tournament so that he would be delivered to Voldemort. As Moody is about to attack Harry, Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall barge into the room, and stop Moody. After Dumbledore's interrogation of "Prof. Moody", it is revealed that "Moody" was Barty Crouch's son in disguise. The real Professor Moody had been kept imprisoned in a magical trunk for the entire year.

Having learned that Voldemort had risen again, Dumbledore began proceedings to restart the Order of the Phoenix. Snape and the Durmstrang Headmaster are revealed as ex-Death Eaters. Barty Crouch Jr. has his soul sucked out by a Dementor before he can repeat his story to The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. The Minister refuses to believe that Voldemort has risen again on the word of Dumbledore and Harry, which results in Dumbledore being removed from several important posts within the wizard community, and the reputation of Harry Potter (and Dumbledore) being trampled judiciously in the next book.

Points of Interest

This book contains only the second instance of narrative not delivered through Harry's point of view - the first chapter, in which the murder of Frank Bryce by Voldemort is described. However, Harry is in fact aware of the events in the chapter to some degree, as they appear to him in a dream. (The sixth book in the series, published in 2005, contained the next instance of narrative outside Harry's point of view).

In this book, Harry's world expands both physically and figuratively. He goes to places he has never been before (the moor where the World Cup is held, the graveyard), and meets a vast number of people of various nationalities and all types. He learns some profound lessons about good and evil, and the difficulty in distinguishing between the two. This is particularly exemplified in the fake Moody, but other characters like Bagman, Crouch and Karkaroff are all examples of various degrees of evil, or evil and good mixed in strange and unpredictable ways.

In many ways, this book can be seen as the turning point of Harry's transition into adulthood (which is in fact the topic of this whole series). Harry has certainly left childhood behind – for example, he "discovers" girls in this book. But he also encounters far more unpleasant aspects of adulthood, from unwanted and malicious publicity to the death of a classmate (Cedric Diggory).

The magical world takes on an international aspect in this book, with the introduction of the World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament, including the European schools of Magic, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The crisis caused by Voldemort's return in the end also, in a way, helps to bring the world together.