The bridge between the light and the dark. The first really large book in the series. The one where everything starts happening and it's a game of cat and mouse from here on out. I'm going to make this as short as possible because too much goes on.
The Weasley's come to fetch Harry from the Dursleys and talk him to the Quidditch World Cup. After the match has finished, the Death Eaters make their presence known, the Dark Mark is cast by Harry's wand and Barty Crouch's house elf is seen as the culprit. Unease as spread and at the start of term feast, they learn that the Triwizard Tournament has been reinstated and will be held at Hogwarts. The sky goes apeshit, some creepy man with a steel leg and bizarre eye waltzes in and fixes it. They learn within the week that Professor Alastor Moody is not someone you want to be messing with. I mean, come on. The guy performs the Unforgivable Curses in front of the entire classroom! What is that?
Anyway, a month goes by and the school is soon infiltrated by the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. They learn of the rules of the Triwizard Tournament, the dangers that it entails, the courage needed and the fact that you must be seventeen to enter. On Halloween, the champions (Cedric, Fleur and Krum) are announced, but the clapping soon dies down as Harry's name explodes from the goblet. Of course he's meant to compete because it's a binding magical contract. Rita Skeeter jumps on this information and begins writing article after article on him. This also causes serious tension between Harry and Ron which leaves Hermoine stuck as a not so successful peacemaker.
Harry learns that the first task is dragons from Hagrid. Moody then helps Harry to see that he needs to play to his strengths. Luckily, they are learning Summoning Charms and Hermoine helps him perfect it in order to summon his broom to him in the dragon pit. Since he doesn't have it easy, Harry gets the angriest dragon, the Hungarian Horntail, to try and get the egg from. He summons his broom, gets a few injuries, collects the egg and gets the highest score of the event. This causes Ron to realize what an idiot he's been, they make up and it's all good. They learn of the Yule Ball, how they have to finally talk to girls that aren't Hermoine and that Harry must open the dance as one of the champions. Harry asks Cho, but obviously too late because she's already going with Cedric. Tough luck. At the last minute, Harry asks Parvarti if her and her sister would like to go with him and Ron so they don't have to go alone. They overhear an upsetting chat between Hagrid and Madame Maxime that oddly winds up in the Prophet and Ron upsets Hermoine. Again.
Cedric wishes to repay Harry for the information about the dragons, tells him to open the egg in the bath and to use the prefects bathroom. Myrtle tells him he should open it underwater. He hears the song of the merpeople, searches every book possible, loses the help of Ron and Hermoine the night before and almost sleeps beyond the starting point of the second task if it weren't for Dobby spotting him in the library. Still unsure of what to do, Dobby tells him to use Gillyweed. With only an hour under the black lake, he searches for the merpeople and what they have taken from him. He sees Ron, Hermoine, Cho and Fleur's sister tethered to rocks and attempts to free them all. He's only allowed one, frees Ron, takes the song too damn literally and after saving Fleur's sister as well, reaches the top of the lake a little outside the hour. He is awarded second place for moral fiber.
Harry finds Barty Crouch stumbling and muttering in the woods, he pleads for Dumbledore and Harry leaves him with Krum. When he returns, Krum is stunned and Barty is gone. After some commotion, he finds himself in the pensieve looking upon a few trials held in the Department of Mysteries, including the arrest of Barty Crouch Jr. and Bellatrix Lestrange. He then tells Dumbledore about the dreams he has been having and how Voldemort is in search of Harry once more. Moody starts to seem really fishy, but hardly someone to focus on with the third task edging close. They learn the last task is to be a maze full of creatures and road blocks that will want to prevent them from the cup placed in the middle. Harry and Cedric reach the cup together, take hold of it and are transported to the graveyard of Voldy's dad. Here is where Voldy kills Cedric (later turned vampire and relocated to America), uses a spell involving Harry's blood and regenerates. A duel between Harry and Voldy breaks out, but due to their sister cores, they can scarcely do any harm. Ghostly apparitions appear and help protect Harry so he can return to the cup and spread the news the Voldy has come back. Once back, they learn of Moody really being Barty Crouch Jr., the story of how he got out of Azkaban and how the Dark Lord has returned. Everyone goes home wondering whether Dumbledore and Harry are telling the truth.
And so the darkness begins...
No comments:
Post a Comment