Triwizard Tournament

"Eternal glory! That's what awaits the student who wins The Triwizard Tournament, but to do this, that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks."

- Albus Dumbledore

The Triwizard Tournament is a magical contest held between the wizarding schools of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Durmstrang Institute, and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. The first Tournament was held in approximately 1294, with each of the three schools being represented by one Champion apiece. Selected Champions compete in three tasks designed to test magical ability, intelligence and courage, traditionally judged by the Headmasters or Headmistresses of the competing schools. Champions compete for the honour and glory of winning the Tournament, and the prize for the victor is the Triwizard Cup. However, the Tournament is extremely dangerous, and Champions have died while competing. Sometime after the 1792 Triwizard Tournament, it was discontinued when the death toll became too high. In 1994, the Tournament was revived with restrictions in place in an attempt to stop any potential deaths. The 1994 Triwizard Tournament is famous for the fact that it had four competing Champions, and the Tournament ended in tragedy with the death of Cedric Diggory, and the rebirth of Lord Voldemort.

History of the Tournament
The Triwizard Tournament was established roughly seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the wizarding schools of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and the Durmstrang Institute. Held every five years, the competition would be hosted by each school in turn, and the judges for the Tournament included the Headmasters or Headmistresses of the schools.

Rules and customs
Each competing school is allowed one Champion to represent them during the Tournament. Students wishing to participate write their names and the school they attend on a piece of parchment, and enter it into the Goblet of Fire. The Goblet is an impartial judge, and selects what it considers to be the best student from each school. At the appointed time, the Goblet ejects the names, making each selected student the official Champion for their school. Each selected Champion is then bound by a magical contract to see the Tournament through to the end.

Each Tournament consists of three tasks designed to test the Champion's courage, intelligence, resourcefulness, and magical ability. These tasks are exceedingly dangerous and differ from year to year.

Champions receive marks in each of the tasks from a panel of judges, usually made up of the headmasters or headmistresses of the competing schools.

Each Champion is supposed to stand alone during the Tournament, receiving no outside help from anyone, including friends and teachers. Cheating is frowned upon, though it has been known to take place several times during the history of the Tournament, and some people believe it to be a traditional part of the event.

The Yule Ball, held on Christmas Day night, is a traditional part of the Tournament. The Ball usually includes a feast, and a formal dance where the Champions and their partners lead the host school in dancing.

1792 Triwizard Tournament
The Triwizard Tournament was held in 1792, and one of the tasks involved catching a cockatrice. However, the beast went on a rampage and injured three of the judges, the Headmasters of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The event was recorded in the book Hogwarts, A History, indicating that the 1792 Tournament was possibly held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Preparations
"Oh, details! They've signed, haven't they? They've agreed haven't they?  I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway.  I mean it's happening at Hogwarts -"

- Ludo Bagman

A revival of the Tournament occurred in 1994. Bartemius Crouch Sr, Head of the Ministry of Magic's Department of International Magical Cooperation, in conjunction with Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, worked with their opposite numbers in other countries to revive the Tournament. However, due to the dangerous nature of the Tournament, it was decided that some changes were to be made to the rules, with the main one being that no student under the age of seventeen was allowed to enter or compete.

The Tournament preparations were shrouded in secrecy, although Cornelius Fudge was obliged to inform the Muggle Prime Minister that the Ministry would be importing several dragons from Romania, as well as a Sphinx from Egypt, for use in the competition.

The schemes of Lord Voldemort
"One more curse ... my faithful servant at Hogwarts ... Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument."

- Lord Voldemort

Despite the secrecy surrounding the Tournament, Lord Voldemort found out about it from Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry employee who worked in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. She had been holidaying in Albania, and ran into Peter Pettigrew in an inn, and Pettigrew had brought her before the Dark Lord. Using Dark Magic, Voldemort extracted from her mind the information concerning the Triwizard Tournament. He also learned that one of his faithful servants, Barty Crouch Jr, was still alive and under the Imperius Curse at his father's home.

Armed with this information, Voldemort set a plan into motion. He freed Crouch Jr from the Imperius Curse, and ordered him to disguise himself as Alastor Moody, Hogwarts new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. There, he would manipulate the Tournament as his Master commanded to achieve the Dark Lord's goal - the destruction of Harry Potter.

The Goblet of Fire
"The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector ... the Goblet of Fire."

- Albus Dumbledore

On the 1st of September, 1994, Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore announced to the school that they would be playing host to the Triwizard Tournament. Preparations were made for the arrival of the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, including an extra thorough cleaning of the castle.

On the 30th of October, the delegation from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic arrived in a large carriage pulled by Abraxan horses. The delegation of Beauxbatons pupils were led by their Headmistress, Madam Olympe Maxime. Shortly after their arrival, the delegation from the Durmstrang Institute, under the watchful eye of their Headmaster Professor Igor Karkaroff, arrived in a magical ship that could travel underwater.

A feast to welcome the new arrivals was held in the Great Hall, and Professor Dumbledore officially introduced the other Tournament judges - Bartemius Crouch Sr and Ludo Bagman - to the assembled students. After explaining the rules of the Tournament, Dumbledore unveiled both the Goblet of Fire, and the Triwizard Cup. Students would have until the start of the Halloween Feast the following day to enter their names. In agreement with the new rules regarding underage students entering the Tournament, Dumbledore drew an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire.

The following day, the 31st of October, the school was abuzz with rumours and speculation over who was to enter the Tournament. All of the Durmstrang delegation entered, and presumably so did the Beauxbatons students. Among the entrants for Hogwarts were Angelina Johnson from Gryffindor, Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff, and Warrington from Slytherin. Fred and George Weasley attempted to bypass the Age Line by using an Aging Potion, but were repulsed by the Age Line, and grew long white beards. Fawcett of Ravenclaw and Summers of Hufflepuff suffered the same misfortune.

At some point, most likely during the night, Barty Crouch Jr, who was using Polyjuice Potion to pose as Professor Moody, bewitched the Goblet with a powerful Confundus Charm. He made the Goblet believe that there would be four schools entering the competition, then entered Harry Potter's name on a scrap of parchment under a false school. Since no other entrant would be associated with the school, Harry's name was the only one that the Goblet could select.

The selection of the Champions
"Now let me be clear. If chosen, you stand alone."

- Albus Dumbledore

During the Halloween Feast, Dumbledore presided over the selection of the Champions. Viktor Krum, from Durmstrang, was selected first, followed by Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons. The Goblet selected Cedric Diggory as the Hogwarts Champion. All three Champions left the Great Hall to receive further instructions.

To the surprise of everybody, the Goblet spat out a fourth name, as Barty Crouch Jr had intended. Harry Potter, like the rest of the school, was shocked to hear his name called, and went to join the other Champions. After a heated debate, during which Karkaroff and Maxime questioned the motives of Dumbledore and the Ministry since Hogwarts now had two Champions, it became clear that Harry had to participate. Despite not entering his name in the Goblet, the fact that his name had been entered and selected by the Goblet constituted a magical contract that bound him to compete. Even his age was not a real issue; the Age Line was only an effort to stop unprepared students entering and being killed. Traditionally, students as young as Harry had been allowed to compete in the Tournament.

The Daily Prophet and the Weighing of the Wands
The revival of the Tournament was big news in itself, and with the revelation that Harry was competing, the Daily Prophet assigned Rita Skeeter to cover the competition, along with her photographer, Bozo. Publicity for the Tournament was of paramount importance to the Ministry, since a successful competition would bring much prestige and respect. The Champions were required to pose for photographs, and give interviews.

However, Rita was more interested in stories surrounding Harry rather than the Tournament or the other Champions. Her first article centered heavily on Harry and his life story at the expense of the other Champions, especially Cedric who wasn't even mentioned. She believed that stories about the Boy Who Lived would be of more interest to the public, and, by extension, enhance her own reputation. Her following articles were similarly themed, focusing less on the Tournament, and more on Harry and his personal life.

Before the Tournament could commence, each Champion's wand had to be tested to ensure it was in full working order, and would be able to be used effectively by the Champion during the tasks.

Mr. Ollivander, of Ollivander's Wand Shop, presided over a short ceremony where he tested each wand in turn, examining it for defects and breakages, then performing a simple magic spell to see how it responded. Satisfied that all the wands were in excellent condition, he pronounced that they were fit for the Tournament.

The First Task
"The first task is designed to test your daring, so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard ... very important ..."

- Bartemius Crouch Sr

The First Task of the Triwizard Tournament took place on the 24th of November, and the objective was to retrieve a Golden egg that was being guarded by a dragon - the egg would be located within a clutch of real dragon eggs. Using Sleeping Draughts, a team of wizards, including Charlie Weasley, transported nesting mothers of different breeds to Great Britain from a dragon sanctuary in Romania. The dragons were hidden in the Forbidden Forest to stop students from discovering them. However, despite the secrecy, the Champions became aware of the task that faced them. Rubeus Hagrid, a great lover of dragons, innocently invited Olympe Maxime to watch the dragons with him, unaware that she would tell her Champion, Fleur Delacour, about them. Harry Potter was also present, again at Hagrid's request, to see what was in store for him, hidden under his Invisibility Cloak. Igor Karkaroff sneaked into the Forest to discover what was being hidden, and told his Champion, Viktor Krum. Even though Cedric Diggory was not present, he was told about the dragons from Harry, who considered it unfair that Cedric should be the only one of the Champions who had no clue what the First Task was.

On the morning of the First Task, the Champions assembled in a tent near the arena that had been built specifically for the Task. In the tent, they were informed of the task ahead by Bartemius Crouch Sr and Ludo Bagman, who would also be acting as judges alongside Professor Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, and Professor Karkaroff. Each Champion was required to dip their hand into a bag that contained miniature replicas of the various dragons they would face, and pull one out. They would then face the real version in the arena. In addition, each miniature dragon had a small number hung around its neck, indicating which order they would face in.

Cedric Diggory tackled the task first, against a Swedish Short-Snout. He used a Transfiguration spell to change a rock into a dog to distract the dragon. He was partially successful; the dragon took the bait, and Cedric went for the Golden egg. Halfway through, the dragon turned its attention back to Cedric, and burned his face. Cedric retrieved the egg, however, and passed the task.

Second was Fleur Delacour, who faced a Common Welsh Green. She enchanted the dragon to sleep, but while retrieving the Golden egg, the dragon snored and let out a jet of flame that set her skirt alight. She extinguished the flames, and retrieved her egg. Viktor Krum was third, facing a Chinese Fireball. He used the Conjunctivitis Curse to blind the dragon and retrieve his egg. However, he was docked points when the dragon stumbled around and smashed half of the real eggs. Harry Potter drew the fiercest of them all, the Hungarian Horntail. On the advice of Crouch Jr (disguised as Professor Moody), he used a Summoning Charm to bring his Firebolt Broomstick to him, and maneuvered past the dragon to retrieve his egg.

After the First Task, Harry and Viktor were tied for first place, with Cedric in second, and Fleur in third. More importantly, the Golden egg they retrieved contained a clue on how to pass the Second Task. Without it, they had little chance of succeeding.

The Golden Egg
"Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching, ponder this; We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And recover what we took, But past an hour - the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

- The Golden egg

The Golden egg, obtained by the Champions by successfully defeating their dragon in the First Task, contained a vital clue on how to approach and pass the Second Task. However, when opened, the egg shrieked and wailed in a loud, high-pitched whine that assaulted the hearing of anyone within range. To obtain the information contained within the egg, the Champions first had to decipher how to access it.

How Fleur and Viktor worked out the clue is unknown, but Cedric had help from Barty Crouch Jr (in the guise of Professor Moody), who told him to open the egg underwater and listen to it. He did this in the Prefect's bathroom, and, instead of the wailing and screeching, heard a voice singing. It took him a while to figure out that the verse referred to the Lake and the Merpeople living in it. Crouch knew that Cedric - being a fair competitor - would pass on the knowledge to Harry. This allowed Crouch Jr to keep manipulating Harry's involvement in the Tournament without Harry suspecting that it was anything other than a teacher looking out for him.

The Yule Ball
On Christmas Day night, the Yule Ball was held. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang joined their Hogwarts hosts in a feast, followed by a formal dance. The Ball was also attended by several Ministry officials, including Ludo Bagman and Percy Weasley, who was deputising for the poorly Mr Crouch. In addition to the dance, The Weird Sisters performed a number of their songs.

During the Ball, Igor Karkaroff confronted Severus Snape over the fact that their Dark Marks had started to become bolder, although neither knew the reason behind it. In addition, Rita Skeeter, in her Animagus form as a beetle, attended the Ball and eavesdropped on a conversation between Hagrid and Madame Maxime regarding Hagrid's giant mother.

Towards the end of the Ball, Cedric approached Harry and told him to take the Golden egg into the bath, even giving him access to the Prefect's bathroom, in return for Harry's warnings about the dragons.

The machinations of Crouch Jr
"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him."

- Barty Crouch Jr

Harry took Cedric's advice about the egg, and, with a little help from Moaning Myrtle, worked out the clue. Only one last thing remained - figuring out how to breathe underwater for an hour.

Crouch Jr, who knew what each of the Tasks were beforehand, had arranged for the answer to be in Harry's reach. At the start of the school year, while teaching a Defence Against the Dark Arts class about Unforgivable Curses, he had upset Neville Longbottom by demonstrating the Cruciatus Curse. Under the guise of comforting him, he gave Neville a book entitled Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean which contained the answer to Harry's dilemma - Gillyweed.

However, Crouch Jr failed to realise that Harry would not turn to Neville for help in the run-up to the Second Task. Knowing that he had to somehow get Gillyweed into Harry's possession, he summoned the House-elf Dobby - who he knew to be a friend of Harry's - to the Staffroom to collect his cloak for cleaning. While there, he staged a conversation with Professor McGonagall where he mentioned Gillyweed in relation to the Second Task. Dobby, overhearing the conversation as Crouch Jr had intended, then stole Gillyweed from the private Potions store of Professor Snape.

The Second Task
"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them."

- Albus Dumbledore

Taking place on the 24th February, 1995, the Second Task would involve the Champions swimming into the Hogwarts lake to retrieve something that had been stolen from each of them. On the morning of the Task, Dobby woke Harry up, and gave him the Gillyweed to use.

All four Champions assembled on the shore of the lake, and were told that they had one hour to retrieve that which had been stolen from them from the Merpeople's village, and return. The Champions entered the water; Harry had to eat the Gillyweed, which gave him gills to breathe underwater, and webbed hands and feet to allow him to swim faster. Both Fleur and Cedric utilised the Bubble-Head Charm, while Viktor partially Transfigured himself into a shark.

The four Champions headed through the lake to the village; although Fleur was forced to retire when she was attacked by Grindylows. Harry reached the village first to find that the "item" that had been stolen from each Champion were people close to them. Placed in an enchanted sleep, then tied to the tail of a stone Merperson, were Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger who had been Viktor's date to the Yule Ball, Cedric's girlfriend Cho Chang, and Fleur's younger sister, Gabrielle.

Concerned for the safety of all the "hostages", Harry refused to just take Ron and go. Cedric arrived shortly after and rescued Cho, followed by Viktor. Viktor's partial Transfiguration had left him with the head of a shark, and he found it difficult to free Hermione. Harry passed him a sharp rock to cut her bonds with, then Viktor left carrying Hermione and headed for the surface. With no sign of Fleur, Harry took the decision to rescue both the remaining hostages himself. Although the Merpeople objected and tried to stop him, Harry managed to free himself, and dragged Ron and Gabrielle to the surface.

Back on shore, Harry learned from Ron that none of them had ever been in real danger, and that he should have just rescued him and got back as quickly as possible. Cedric, the first Champion back, had arrived one minute outside of the one hour time limit, followed by Viktor in second place. Harry was third, and, because she did not finish, Fleur was in last place.

Despite finishing last, Merchieftainess Murcus informed Dumbledore that Harry arrived at the hostages first, and only his desire to see them all safe had stopped him from finishing first. After a conversation with his fellow judges, which included Percy Weasley deputising for the ill Mr. Crouch, it was decided that Harry, for showing moral fibre, would be awarded second place.

Cedric scored forty-seven points, Harry scored forty-five points, Viktor earned forty points, and Fleur came last with twenty-five points. After the first two tasks, Harry and Cedric were tied for first place, with Viktor second, and Fleur third.

The Third Task
"Oh, find the cup, if you can, but be careful. You might just lose yourself in the process."

- Albus Dumbledore

On the 24th of June, the Third Task was to navigate a maze grown on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. The maze was populated by various obstacles and dangers that each Champion had to overcome. Crouch Jr, as Professor Moody, was entrusted with placing the Triwizard Cup at the center of the maze. While doing this, he enchanted the Cup to be a Portkey that would be activated by touch.

Cedric and Harry, tying for first place after two tasks, were to enter the maze first, followed by Viktor, and then Fleur. The first Champion to successfully navigate the maze and reach the Cup would be declared the winner.

During the task, Cedric encountered a Blast-Ended Skrewt, which he barely escaped from. Harry had to deal with a Boggart in the form of a Dementor, and overcame an odd golden mist which turned things upside-down. Crouch Jr, however, was leaving nothing to chance. Using Moody's magical eye, he watched events unfold in the maze, keeping the more dangerous obstacles out of Harry's path. He also Stunned Fleur, and placed the Imperius Curse on Viktor. He used Viktor to attack Cedric with the Cruciatus Curse in order to clear Harry's path to the Cup.

Harry encountered the Blast-Ended Skrewt that had attacked Cedric, then heard Cedric being tortured, and rescued him by Stunning Viktor. Cedric and Harry parted company, and Harry had to answer a riddle from a Sphinx to continue on into the maze.

Cedric and Harry joined forces to defeat an Acromantula, before they both arrived at the Cup together. After an argument over who deserved to win more, they decided to take the Cup together, since it would still be a Hogwarts victory. Touching the Cup at the same moment, they activated it as a Portkey, and were transported out of the maze.

Tragedy in Little Hangleton
"Kill the spare."

- Lord Voldemort

Harry and Cedric were instantly transported to the graveyard in Little Hangleton. After a moment's confusion, Harry recognised the graveyard from dreams he had been having, and warned Cedric that they needed to get back to the Cup. Before they could, Peter Pettigrew emerged from the darkness, carrying the weakened form of Lord Voldemort. On Voldemort's orders, Pettigrew murdered Cedric using the Killing Curse.

Pettigrew captured Harry, binding him to the grave of Voldemort's father, and performed an ancient magical ritual. Using the bones of the father, the flesh of the servant, and the blood of an enemy, Pettigrew restored Voldemort to full vitality. Lord Voldemort called his Death Eaters to him, and planned to murder Harry.

Harry and Voldemort engaged in a brief duel, but their wand cores connected and created the effect known as Priori Incantatem, and the "echoes" of Voldemort's past victims, including Cedric Diggory, Frank Bryce, Bertha Jorkins, and Lily and James Potter, emerged from Voldemort's wand. They helped Harry to escape from Voldemort by distracting the Dark Lord, giving him enough time to reach Cedric's body, then Summon the Portkey to him and return them both to Hogwarts.

Aftermath
"Voldemort has returned. If you accept that fact straight away, Fudge, and take the necessary measures, we may still be able to save the situation."

- Albus Dumbledore

Returning to Hogwarts with Cedric's body, Harry was promptly whisked away from the crowds by Crouch Jr, still in the guise of Professor Moody. While the assembled crowd learned that Cedric had been killed, Dumbledore realised that something was amiss with Moody, since he believed that Moody would never have taken Harry away from the tragic scene.

In his office, Crouch Jr started to question Harry on what had happened, and how it felt to stand in the Dark Lord's presence. Unnerved by Moody's seeming adoration of Voldemort - something that went against everything he knew about Moody - Harry was rescued by Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape. The effects of Crouch Jr's Polyjuice Potion wore off, since, in the excitement, he had neglected to take it at the proper time to maintain his cover. Crouch Jr was questioned under the effects of Veritaserum, and he revealed Lord Voldemort's plan to resurrect himself, and Crouch Jr's involvement in getting Harry to the graveyard.

Dumbledore passed the information of Lord Voldemort's return to Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, who had been acting as a judge for the Third Task. Fudge insisted that he could not be back. He also had a Dementor Kiss Crouch Jr, effectively eliminating any evidence of the Dark Lord's return. In the face of the Ministry's denials to accept the truth, Dumbledore reconstituted the Order of the Phoenix to stand against Voldemort.

Despite Cedric's death, Harry was recorded as the official winner of the Tournament, and given the thousand galleons prize money. He attempted to give it to Cedric's parents, but they refused. In the end, he gave the money to Fred and George Weasley, who used it to establish Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Due to the Ministry's denials that Lord Voldemort had returned, Cedric's death was labelled as a tragic accident. When Fudge was presented with incontrovertible evidence a year later of the Dark Lord's return, the true cause of Cedric's death was accepted.

Behind the scenes

 * In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, several changes are made to the Tasks of the Triwizard Tournament, although the basic events and structure are retained.
 * During the First Task, the Hungarian Horntail breaks free of its chains and chases Harry Potter around Hogwarts castle before Harry retrieves the Golden egg.
 * Due to Dobby being cut from the film, he does not steal the Gillyweed for Harry. Neville Longbottom gives Harry the idea to use Gillyweed and obtains it for him.  In addition, the book Crouch Jr/Moody gives him is called Magical Water Plants of the Highland Lochs.
 * During the Third Task, there are no encounters with a Blast-Ended Skrewt, Boggart, Sphinx, or Acromantula. Instead, the maze itself comes to life and attacks the Champions.  Also, Krum attacks Fleur rather than Crouch Jr/Moody.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows