Reliving The Magic: The Goblet of Fire

"But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.
'Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl...'"

Ron, Chapter 22, The Unexpected Task

Hello dear reader!

It's that time again. Yes, indeed, I've been doing a big nerd all up in this book and I've powered through
number four of the wondrous Harry Potter series.

Now, I'm going to be honest with you, when I was younger and read this book for the first time round, it took me well over a year to finish it. I think this is due, in part, to the length of the story, as well as the heavy footing in the politics of the wizarding world. At the time I found it more difficult to engage with and trickier to understand. Not to mention the physical problem of holding such a huge book.

However, now that I'm older, wiser and more patient I sat down to enjoy this book full of excitement and ready to give it another go.

Fleur Delcacour, as played by
Clémence Poséy.

Unsurprisingly, my excitement wasn't unwarranted and I absolutely adored this book. It's at once funny and dark and manages to capture that difficult age in a young man's life when he first starts to notice girls. Indeed, Rowling excels at this, giving both Harry and Ron incredibly truthful and believable troubles with the farer sex. From Harry's pining over Cho Chang to Ron's confused feelings for Hermione, Rowling makes tangible the feeling of emotional unrest within these two young men.


On top of all this, she weaves an interesting thread from the very beginning. Indeed, the inclusion of both the Quidditch World Cup and the Tri-Wizard Tournament is a wonderful way to broaden the wizarding world beyond the realms of the school. Of course, the real broadening of this universe comes in the form of the beautiful Beauxbatons students and the fierce forms of the Durmstrang clan.

I find this to be a really exciting move in the series in that, as I've said before, it widens the world in which the Potter saga is set. Never before have we considered, for any great length of time, the idea of there being other wizarding schools throughout the world, but then again, once it's mentioned, it seems like such an inherent part of this world that you almost feel silly for not thinking of it before now!

Robert Pattinson as  Cedric Diggory.

Everything in this book works well and there are some lovely finer details in the book which (unfortunately) couldn't be included in the film. I understand that, of course, what does irk me slightly, is that (to my mind) in the film they've made Cedric far more likeable that he seems to appear in the book. In fact, they do this to the entire Diggory family; in the cinematic itteration of Amos Diggory, we have a loving, doting father whose heart shatters at the end of the first task, giving us some of the finest acting seen within the films franchise, a character with which we can empathise and sympathise.

In the book, however, Amos comes across as an out and out tosser. He's constantly reminding Harry about

The vile Rita Skeeter, played
with relish by Miranda Richardson.

how Hufflepuff had beaten Gryffindor in quidditch, due to Cedric's prowess on a broom and he takes every opportunity to boast of his son's successes. Now, don't get me wrong, a proud parent is fine, but this is absurd.

Then we come to Cedric himself. For the most part I found him smarmy and big-headed (which is ironic due to the fact that everyone believes these to be traits of Harry's, thanks to a run-in with Rita Skeeter). He also lacks any real charm he's supposed to possess. However, I'm sure he only comes across this way because we're viewing him from Harry's point of view. I'm certain if Rowling had given us an unbiased standpoint, Cedric would've seemed to deserve every bit of popularity he'd supposedly garnered.

It's also difficult to separate the image of Cedric Diggory with that of Robert Pattinson. Don't even get me started on that guy!

The soon to be reborn Voldemort,
held aloft by the ever-faithful Wormtail.

Another note I must make when talking of The Goblet of Fire, is how,
for the first time, I felt fear when we encountered Voldemort. The slow and menacing description of the proceedings once Harry and Cedric are transported via Portkey to the graveyard is chilling to read, yet one can't help but take a great deal of glee in the wondrous Machiavellian happenings inflicted upon both Harry and his fellow Tri-Wizard champion.

All in all, this is one of the strongest outings for our Hogwarts-going pals and I feel that I've enjoyed it just about as much as is humanly possible, and that, my friends, is a great deal.

Until next time.

P.S. On a personal note, I'd also like to mention that I recently graduated from university after three long years of study. Given that I had to wear robes on the day, I chose to wear my Gryffindor tie. I attach a photo for your geeky pleasure! Enjoy.

No! It's not Ron, Harry & Ginny, but Lewis Gott, Myself (the author) and
my fiancé, Amber Dewey!
(You can see her blog at: http://thewayamberseesit.blogspot.co.uk/)