Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - plot hole?

[LightGreenDot]

Spoiler alert, just in case anyone needs it.

I'm a bit late to the party but have read the Harry Potter books and now working my way through the films.

In Goblet of Fire, why does Crouch jnr go to the effort of putting Harry through the Tri-wizard tournament and helping him win (which was not even guaranteed to succeed)? He could have made anything into a portkey and got Harry to touch it with so much less effort. Or am I missing something???

Because the name coming out of the cup forms a scared bond or something. There is no choice.

Yes, I've often thought it's the classic villain plan that is needlessly complicated and risky. Just wait until Harry is alone in a corridor in Hogwarts, bonk him on the head and take him to the graveyard in a sack.

@LightGreenDot

I don't think your version of this book would have been a particularly long or interesting read though, would it?

I'm not saying that's what the plot should have been, I was genuinely curious if I'd missed something and am enjoying the discussion.

Maybe it could have been that some consequence of winning gave Harry something he wouldn't otherwise have that made him more useful to Voldemort, or something like that. I'm no writer though.

I did enjoy the books and think they are clever and well-written overall.

Barry Crouch Jnr was a pyschopath. And psychopaths often like theatrics. So did Voldermort.

I think part of Voldermort's greater plan was to use him to infiltrate hogwarts through impersonating Moody which would have taken time.

Surely one of the experienced witches or wizards on the staff would have been capable of designing a portable pop-up maze?

I also think that it’s the first hint to foreshadow Voldemort’s fondness for taking a physical relic with great significance and corrupting it by changing its nature, just as he has done with the Horcruxes. Making the Triwizard Cup, which is such a symbol of heroism and courage, a Portkey to Harry’s intended death would appeal to him, I think.

Because Voldemort, for all his faults, really does care about Harry's magical education. That's why he never makes a serious attempt on his life until the end of the school year. Good old Voldy. 😉

I fail to believe that it would take an entire school year.... It's a magic school!

Magical binding contract...

It would have been a very short book if he'd just gone into Hogwarts, flown Harry out and murdered him. Plus it would have cheated us out of 3 more books!

Maybe Crouch Jr just has a deep desire to go about things in the most dramatic way possible?

Portkeys, apparition etc may all be normally impossible on Hogwarts grounds, but Crouch Jr had been there for 9 months before the final event. If he’d really wanted to, he could have got Harry out of Hogwarts well before then.

He could have turned Harry into a ferret and smuggled him out of the grounds in a coat pocket, for example 🤷‍♀️

And there’s tons of holes in the Harry Potter books if you start looking for them.
Probably best not to think about it too hard.

This question has reminded me of DH’s reaction when I saw Lord of the Rings for the first time and asked why the eagles didn’t just take Sam and Frodo to Mount Doom in the first place, seeing as they were happy enough to pick them up and give them a lift home at the end. He was unimpressed and his answer was verrrry long.

I assumed that Draco was ferret because that's his spirit animal. I reckon Harry would turn into a stag.

Portkeys don't work in the grounds of Hogwarts.

One of the simplest was if the cat, had got the rat

This

Wonderful thread! 💛

I remember being disappointed with the film though

DIDYOUPUTYOURNAMEINTHEGOBLETOFFIRE?!!!

Dumbledore is all wrong in the films. Hagrid is perfect, as are the Weasleys I have seen so far (which doesn't include Bill or Charlie).

I really hate Michael Gambon as Dumbledore.
Bill is a bit of a wet lettuce nothing character in the films even though he's cool and dynamic in the books.
It's really strange Charlie isn't in the films.

But Harry doesn’t put his name in the goblet, so there can’t be a contract between him and the cup.

There's probably a department of magical contracts in the MoM. I think Percy would have fitted in well there.

I think the lake task would have been even more boring than the maze task to watch.

I think the non team Quidditch players probably did flying PE -otherwise they employ Mme Hooch to teach 2 lessons to first years (Slytherin and Gryffindor were paired up, so I'm guessing Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were too) and then umpire at most 12 matches a year. (And she doesn't even umpire them all, Snape does at least 1)
And why have "school brooms" if no one else ever uses them?
Perhaps there are other broom/magic based sports that have equally convoluted rules that Harry just had no interest in.