Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire premiered nearly 20 years ago to the delight of fans everywhere. The fourth installment in the saga of the “Boy Who Lived” marks a huge turning point in the series, as it ends with Lord Voldemort’s rebirth from his rudimentary body to the fully-fledged dark wizard of legend. After this, everything in the wizarding world is focused on preparing for the inevitable war to follow.
In Harry’s fourth year, Hogwarts is hosting a revamped version of the Triwizard Tournament, a deadly competition between three of Europe’s prestigious magic schools: Hogwarts, the Beauxbatons Academy, and the Durmstrang Institute. Joining the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire cast this time around are competitors Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, and Viktor Krum. Through mysterious circumstances, Harry is forced to compete alongside three other contestants in magical challenges that will test their daring, wit, and magical ability.
Who Put Harry’s Name in the Goblet of Fire?
It’s quite the scandal when Harry’s name shoots forth from the Goblet’s fiery maw — just look at how “calmly” Dumbledore reacts. This should’ve been impossible. To protect the younger and more reckless Hogwarts students from entering their names in the running, Dumbledore places a charm around the Goblet that rebukes any underaged people from trying. Several students, including Ron’s mischievous brothers Fred and George Weasley, try to age themselves up, but they are all rejected.
So how did Harry’s name get in the Goblet when he was three years underage? Someone had to put it in there for him, and it’s revealed later that someone is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody. Or not actually Moody at all, but rather the Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. disguised with a Polyjuice Potion to look like the professor.
Who Is Barty Crouch Jr.?
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Barty Crouch Jr. is the son of a powerful wizard and Ministry of Magic official Barty Crouch Sr. Perhaps due to his father’s focus on his career over his family, Crouch Jr. chose to join Voldemort’s ranks as a Death Eater when he was still a teenager. During this time, he participated in the brutal torture of Alice and Frank Longbottom alongside Bellatrix Lestrange, a crime that would land him in court opposite his father, the then-head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. To save face, Crouch Sr. condemned his son to Azkaban. Several years later, Crouch Sr. and his wife helped their son to become the first successful escapee from the wizard prison.
Barty Crouch Jr. was transferred from one prison to another: while he’d escaped the cursed Dementors, he now was bound to behave thanks to the Imperius Curse placed upon him by his father. This Death Eater, though, was far too useful for Voldemort to leave behind. Instead, the Dark Lord enlisted Peter Pettigrew to rescue Crouch Jr. so that he could use him as the first step in his ultimate plan.
Why Did Barty Crouch Jr. Put Harry’s Name In?
Disguised as “Mad-Eye” Moody, Barty’s job at Hogwarts was to get Harry to Voldemort without anyone knowing. The key to the plan? Entering Harry in the first place. Using a powerful Confundus Charm on the Goblet, Crouch Jr. enters Harry’s name under a fourth, unspecified school. Because this fourth school only had one entrant, the Goblet had no choice but to choose Harry. Now in a magically binding contract, Harry is forced to compete despite his age.
With Voldemort’s plan in effect, Crouch Jr. as Moody helps Harry along the way so that he will make it to the final task. First, the champions must retrieve a golden egg guarded by a dragon. Thanks to Moody’s plotting, Harry knows about the dragons in advance and has the idea to use his greatest strength, broom riding, to his advantage. In the second task, one person important to each contestant is kidnapped and held at the bottom of the lake. To rescue them, each student uses a different magical means of breathing and traversing underwater; Harry’s solution of Gillyweed comes from Neville, who was given it by none other than Professor Moody.
The final task is the maze with the Triwizard Cup at its center, placed there by Moody, during which time he turned the Cup into a Portkey. When the contestants go through the maze, Moody — who can see through the maze walls with his magical eye — controls the happenings inside to ensure Harry’s victory.
It’s only because Harry and Cedric are good sports that they chose to grab the Cup together, bringing them both to the graveyard where everything would change. Cedric is killed immediately, and Harry’s blood is used in the ritual to restore Voldemort to his fully powered corporeal form. In true villain fashion, Voldemort challenges Harry to a duel; the echoes of the dead killed by Voldemort’s wand — notably Harry’s parents and Cedric — encourage Harry and provide him enough cover to get out and back to Hogwarts. Though he’s initially met with fanfare, the celebration quickly turns into a nightmare as Cedric’s father and others see Harry holding Cedric’s corpse.
Moody swiftly removes Harry from the situation and begins questioning him about what happened; Harry finally catches on that something is wrong when the professor brings up the graveyard, a detail Harry had yet to share. Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall arrive just in time to dispatch the disguised wizard and reveal him as Barty Crouch, Jr. Dumbledore suggests he will be sent back to Azkaban, but fans of the books will know his fate was far worse—soon after, Crouch Jr. is left a soul-less husk thanks to the Dementor’s Kiss. While he wouldn’t be able to participate in the upcoming wizarding war, Crouch Jr.’s manipulations were integral in bringing back Voldemort for the series’ ultimate battle.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
