Seven Things That Don’t Make Sense in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
Have you ever caught yourself judging all the irrational and unrealistic plot twists instead of enjoying the story? We bet we’ve all been there. Even the fantasy universes that are full of magic, wizards, and dragons should have a valid logic, shouldn’t they? Sadly, sometimes these stories show us things that don’t make sense.
The Harry Potter series is no exception, hence why we decided to go through each part and find all the pointless things that we wish had a better explanation. Now it’s time to analyze “Goblet of Fire.” Without further ado, let’s get into it.
1. Portkeys
At first, it appears that Portkeys are the most effective and convenient form of magical transportation. They work fast, they’re easy to hide from muggles, you don’t get all ashy because of using the fireplace, underage wizards can use it, and, most importantly, it can teleport a big group of people all at once. However, upon closer inspection, it does have some significant flaws. It doesn’t let you land safely on the ground, so people, especially those who use it for the first time, can easily fall off and get an injury. And they feel dizzy and nauseous while traveling. Couldn’t the Ministry of Magic make safer transportation?
Harry and his friends used a portkey to arrive at the Quidditch World Cup campsite.
2. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students at Hogwarts
Many Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students came to Hogwarts not only to participate in the Triwizard Tournament but also to watch the tasks and cheer for their classmates. But didn’t these students have classes to attend? Because they were all about to pass the most important exams and graduate, how could they miss a whole year so easily? It’d make sense if these students participated in classes at Hogwarts, which they didn’t.
Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students gathered in the Great Hall at the end of term.
3. Harry’s participation in the Triwizard Tournament
This is one of the biggest plot holes in the entire series. Why did the teachers allow Harry to take part in the games? Especially since they know his big “love” of getting into trouble. Couldn’t Harry have just refused to participate and given up? Ultimately, it was just a fun, entertaining tournament, not a blood pact or an Unbreakable Vow; each champion should have had the right to quit whenever they wanted.
Harry is trying to avoid the Hungarian Horntail during his first task.
4. The tasks in the Triwizard Tournament
Let’s be fair: the point of this whole tournament was to create a grand spectacle, right? Just like the Quidditch games. Now imagine getting super excited to watch the tasks only to see how the participants dive into the water and swim out of it almost an hour later. What was fun about that? Same with the third task. The audience saw how the participants entered the maze, and that’s it. Feels like the biggest scam ever. At least the first task with the dragons was cool.
Viewers look on as the second task is underway in the Triwizard Tournament.
5. Fireplaces
In the fourth book, we learn that fireplaces can serve not only as a means of transportation, but also as a magical form of communication, similar to FaceTime. Okay, we take it. But in this case, why weren’t all the other students using it? Wouldn’t their parents, grandparents, or other relatives want to see their children from time to time? How come only Sirius thought of checking up on Harry? There should have been a huge queue in the common rooms for the fireplace.
Harry and Sirius are talking via the fireplace.
6. The Portkey to Voldemort
That’s a question most fans constantly ask themselves: why did Barty Crouch Junior wait for a whole year to take Harry to Voldemort? Okay, let’s say that Voldemort needed the time for the ritual to be able to be reborn again. But why go through all that trouble with making Harry participate in the tournament and win the games? Crouch could have just made a Portkey from any random object and given it to Harry, either in Hogwarts or Hogsmeade. And since Harry trusted the fake Moody, he wouldn’t have become suspicious at all.
The Triwizard Cup is in the maze during the third task in the Triwizard Tournament.
7. Veritaserum
And the award for another illogical artifact goes to Veritaserum. If wizards had a truth potion, why didn’t they use it all the time to know who the traitors and the good guys were? Why didn’t they use it on Sirius to find out that he was innocent? We believe that many problems would be automatically solved if they used this useful potion.
Snape is threatening Harry with Veritaserum.
Which plot hole from the Goblet of Fire irritates you the most?
