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 introduces the tournament

The Triwizard Tournament was a magical contest held between the three largest wizarding schools of Europe: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Durmstrang Institute, and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, each school being represented by one Champion. Selected Champions compete in three tasks — traditionally judged by the Headmasters or Headmistresses of the competing schools — designed to test magical ability, intelligence and courage. Champions competed for the honour and glory of winning the Tournament, for the Triwizard Cup, and a monetary prize. The first Tournament was held sometime around the late 13th century.

The Tournament was renowned for being extremely dangerous: champions have died while competing, and was discontinued at some point in or after 1792, due to the high death toll.

In 1994, the Tournament was revived with restrictions in place in an attempt to stop potential deaths. One of these restrictions was that all applicants had to be over the wizarding age of majority (which is 17), or else they would not be allowed to apply to be Champion. The 1994 Triwizard Tournament is famous for having had four competing Champions, and for also having ended in tragedy with the death of Cedric Diggory and for the Rebirth of Lord Voldemort. No subsequent tournaments occurred due to the death of Cedric.

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

There have been at least 125 editions of the Tournament: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has 63 wins, and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic has 62.

Due to the risks involved in overcoming the extremely dangerous tasks, and an increasing number of deaths, the Tournament was eventually discontinued at some point in or after the 1790s. Multiple attempts have been made to revive the Tournament, but none succeeded until the 1994-1995 school year, when it was held at Hogwarts Castle. Despite a new set of rules imposed to prevent any more deaths, a champion nevertheless died at the end. Due to this, the tournament has been permanently discontinued.

1792 Triwizard Tournament
"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel, because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage. It's all in Hogwarts: A History."

- A description of the 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 Heads 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. The Tournament was cancelled after this incident, but several unsuccessful attempts were made to resurrect it.

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 regarding the tournament



A revival of the Tournament occurred in 1994. Barty Crouch Snr, 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 (some students did try to).

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.

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's scheme

Despite the secrecy surrounding the Triwizard Tournament, Lord Voldemort found out about it from Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry employee in the Department of Magical Games and Sports who had been holidaying in Albania and had run into Peter Pettigrew at an inn. Pettigrew brought her before Voldemort, who, using Dark Magic, extracted from her mind information concerning the 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.

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

- Introduction of the tournament selector

On 1 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 the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute, including an extra-thorough cleaning of the castle.



On 30 October, the delegation from Beauxbatons arrived in a large carriage pulled by Abraxan horses. The delegation of Beauxbatons pupils was led by their Headmistress, Madam Olympe Maxime. Shortly after their arrival, the delegation from Durmstrang, under the watchful eye of their High master 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, where Professor Dumbledore introduced the other Tournament judges — Bartemius Crouch Snr 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 Hallowe'en 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, 31 October, the school was abuzz with rumours and speculation over who would enter the Tournament. All of the Durmstrang delegation entered, and so, presumably, did all the Beauxbatons students. Among the entrants for Hogwarts were Angelina Johnson from Gryffindor, Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff and Cassius Warrington from Slytherin. Fred and George Weasley attempted to bypass the Age Line by using an Ageing Potion but were repulsed by the Age Line and grew long white beards. S. 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 name. Since no other entrant would be associated with the school, Harry's name was the only one that the Goblet could select.

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

- What it means to be one of the selected



During the Hallowe'en 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 in the chamber containing the champions, during which Karkaroff and Maxime questioned the motives of Dumbledore and the Ministry, since Hogwarts now had two Champions, it became clear that Harry must participate. Despite his not having entered his own 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.

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 to give interviews.



However, Skeeter was more interested in Harry than in the Tournament or the other Champions; her first article centred heavily on Harry and her version of his life story, at the expense of the other Champions; Cedric, for example, wasn't even mentioned. She believed that stories about the "Boy Who Lived" would be of more interest to the public, and, by extension, would 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 that it was in full working order and would be able to be used effectively by the Champion during the tasks.

Garrick Ollivander, of Ollivanders Wand Shop, presided over a short ceremony in which 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.

First Task
"The first task is designed to test your daring; Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard."

- Description of the first task



The First Task of the Triwizard Tournament took place on 24 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.



After lunch on the day 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 Barty Crouch Snr 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 to him, and manoeuvred past the dragon to retrieve his egg. Though slashed on the shoulder, which took off points, he was successful.

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

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 song heard when the Golden egg is open under the water



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 Jr knew that Cedric — being a fair competitor and in Harry's debt after the First Task — would pass on the knowledge to Harry. This allowed Crouch Jr to keep manipulating Harry's involvement in the Tournament without making it obvious to Harry what was happening.

Yule Ball


On Christmas 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 prefects' bathroom, in return for Harry's warnings about the dragons.

Machinations of Barty Crouch Junior
"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's unwavering loyalty to Lord Voldemort



Harry took Cedric's advice about the egg, and, with a little help from Myrtle Warren, 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 — whom 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.

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."

- Introduction of the second task



Taking place on 24 February, 1995, the Second Task would involve the Champions swimming into the Black 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. Spectators had no knowledge of what was happening during the task until at least one champion returned, but were able to monitor time remaining by observing a provided clock.

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 and Hermione Granger, who had been Viktor's date to the Yule Ball. Cedric's girlfriend Cho Chang and Fleur's younger sister Gabrielle were the other 'hostages' present.



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 made 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 third, 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.

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

- The danger of the third and final task



On 24 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 centre 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 orders Wormtail to murder Cedric

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, meaning himself, 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 James and Lily 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
"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort... The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this... It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

- Dumbledore speaking to all of the students



Returning to Hogwarts with Cedric's body, Harry was promptly whisked away from the crowds by Crouch Jr, still in the disguise of Professor Moody. As the assembled crowd learned that Cedric was dead, Dumbledore realised that something was amiss with Moody, since the real Moody would never have taken Harry away from the tragic scene.

In Moody's office, Crouch Jr started to question Harry about what had happened, and how it felt to stand in the Dark Lord's presence. Harry, unnerved by Moody's seeming adoration of Voldemort — something that went against everything he knew about Moody — was shortly rescued by Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape. Soon 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, and his duplicity was revealed. Under the effects of Veritaserum provided by Professor Snape, Crouch described Lord Voldemort's plan to resurrect himself and Crouch Jr's own 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. Meanwhile, Fudge had a Dementor Kiss Crouch Jr, effectively eliminating any corroborating testimony of the Dark Lord's return. In the face of the Ministry's refusal 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; there was originally supposed to be an award ceremony, which was cancelled due to the circumstances. He attempted to give it to Cedric's parents, but they refused it. In the end, he gave the money to Fred and George Weasley, who used it to establish Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Right after Harry's victory, two judges of the Tournament fled faraway immediately. Karkaroff felt Voldemort's return and summoning all Death Eaters, and being one who sold out many of his comrades, he abandoned the tournament's results for the sake of his life. Bagman made a bet against his goblin creditors that Harry would win the tournament, but they accounted that Harry and Cedric won together. Therefore not what Bagman wagered on, Ludo fled to avoid paying a highly increased debt that he could not afford to.

Because of the Ministry's denials that Lord Voldemort had returned, Cedric's death was labelled a tragic accident, and it was not until a year later, when Fudge saw with his own eyes that the Dark Lord had returned, that the true cause of Cedric's death was made public.

As a result of a champion's death despite the new safety regulations imposed, the Triwizard Tournament has been discontinued permanently, and no further plans were made to reinstate it.

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 Champions' 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, consisting 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 includes a feast, and a formal dance where the Champions and their partners lead the host school in dancing. Students old enough to attend are allowed to bring a friend. Students that are too young to attend may attend if invited by a student old enough to attend the ball.

Behind the scenes



 * It is likely that the Triwzard Tournament could be viewed as the Wizarding equivalent to the Olympic Games. Champions, all representing their respective schools/nations, compete for honour and glory in games designed to test their abilities, with each Champion's respective school supporting that champion even if they do not like the individual student (shades of the fans of the Olympics supporting their home countries athletes, with no regard for personal favour of any one athlete). Even the judges of the Triwizard Tournament sit in booths and hover their scores over their heads like Olympic judges.
 * The likely date for the first Triwizard Tournament differs depending on the source. From "The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago ..." 1994 - 700 = 1294 (or so). However, Pottermore notes that Hogwarts has 63 wins, Beauxbaton has 62, so a minimum of 125 tournaments have been held (if Durmstrang has no wins). 125 tournaments * 5 years = 625 years. Taking the last traditional Triwizard Tournament in 1794 - 625 = 1169. Even if some of the wins accounted for on Pottermore are from modern-day tournaments (1994 and after) the latest date possible for the first tournament is around 1194.
 * During the 1994-1995 tournament, the prize was 1000 Galleons. It is not stated if the prize value has been consistent throughout the tournament's history. According to, 1000 Galleons in the 13th century would have amounted to several millions in modern currency.
 * It is interesting to note that each Champion has a different wand core: Harry's is phoenix feather, Cedric's is unicorn hair, Fleur's is Veela hair, and Viktor's is dragon heartstring.
 * The book gives the arrival of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons teams as Friday, 30 October. 30th October, 1994 was a Sunday.
 * In an interview, J.K. Rowling revealed that the Triwizard Tournament was originally intended to have four tasks, each representing the classical four elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, but conceiving a task for all four proved too difficult and Air and Fire were finally combined in the form of the dragons, with the lake representing Water and the maze representing Earth.
 * J.K. Rowling also revealed that, at some point during the writing of, the Triwizard Tournament went by the name of "Doomspell Tournament".
 * In, 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 around Hogwarts Castle before Harry retrieves the Golden egg. However, in the books the dragon is not chained down anyway. Also, in the books Harry retrieves the golden egg by skilful flying derived from his Quidditch skills rather than just by inducing the dragon to run into an obstacle, which he does in the movie.
 * 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 Moody (Crouch Jr.) gives him is called Magical Water Plants of the Highland Lochs, whereas in the books it is called Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean.
 * During the Third Task in the movie, there are no encounters with a Blast-Ended Skrewt, a Boggart, a Sphinx, or an Acromantula. Instead, the maze itself comes to life and attacks the Champions. Also, in the movie, Krum, under the effects of Crouch Jr's Imperius Curse, attacks Fleur, as well as Cedric.
 * The maze is in the movie much larger than the one in the book, which was held entirely in the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.
 * In the movie, there is no mention of Ludo Bagman.
 * In the movie, there was no mention of 1000 Galleons as a prize or Harry giving it to Fred and George Weasley.
 * In, part of the dragon chase takes place in Hogwarts castle, with Hermione helping Harry to defeat the dragon.
 * Out of the four champions of the 1994 Triwizard Tournament, three were Quidditch players and they were all three Seekers. Although it has never been mentioned if Fleur Delacour plays Quidditch for any teams, it is very unlikely, because in, Bill Weasley mentioned that Fleur was not fond of brooms.
 * After filming the second task, Daniel Radcliffe revealed that he spent a total of forty-one hours and thirty-eight minutes underwater to film the scenes.
 * Hagrid says in the book that he never thought he'd live to see the Triwizard Tournament played again. However, the Tournament was supposed to be cancelled in 1792. This can be assumed to be another unsuccessful attempt to resurrect it.
 * Note that all the Triwizard Champions of the 1994 school year were the same genders as their corresponding headmaster/mistress.
 * With the Durmstrang students sitting next to Slytherin and Beauxbatons students next to Ravenclaw, a champion was selected from each of the four tables of the Great Hall.
 * The Dutch translation of Harry Potter and the goblet of Fire erroneously states that the incident at the 1792 tournament was caused by a basilisk, rather than a cockatrice. This is an error, as the breeding of basilisks was banned since medieval times, and using one in the Triwizard Tournament would be far too dangerous, since its gaze alone could kill the entire audience. This error is probably caused by the fact that the mythology behind cockatrices and basilisks is so similar that many people use their names interchangeably.

Notes and references
Torneo de los Tres Magos Tournoi des Trois Sorciers Première tâche Deuxième tâche Troisième tâche Турнир Трёх Волшебников Kolmivelhoturnajaiset Toverschool Toernooi Turniej Trójmagiczny Тричаклунський турнір pt-br:Torneio Tribruxo 三大魔法学校対抗試合