Chapter 31 Summary

[Michelle Apostolides]

No: HPFGUIDX 12642

The Third Task

This opens with Harry relating almost everything he learns from the
Pensieve. With the exception of what he knows about Neville. They
discuss the possibility that Rita Skeeter might be a source of bona fide
information about Ludo Bagmann.

At the end of this day, we have a poignant scene where Harry considers
Neville'e position in relation to his own. We see that him begin to
become aware of the sacrifice of his peers during Voldemort's reign of
terror.

The action then moves on to preparing Harry for his third task in the
Triwizard Tournament. We learn that it is very close to Exam time for
most people, but all Harry, Hermione and Ron are concerned about is
making sure that Harry is well prepared to face the task ahead of him.
We see that McGonagall is also supportive, in as much that she is
willing to provide them with a place to practise. We see that he has
mastered lots of curses and spells which may well prove useful to him
away from the competition.

Ron is less involved with Harry's training, but he does see something
very interesting in relation to Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle. Why is Malfoy
to all intents and purposes talking to a tree with Crabbe and Goyle on
lookout ?

Sirius keeps reminding Harry that he must stay safe. In contrast to
Sirius' worry, we see how thus far the year's events have served to give
Harry the confidence to be less worried about the final task he faces.

However, he is bought down to earth with a bang on the morning of the
third task when another Rita Skeeter article appears in the Daily
Prophet. This time it really is personal, because the article implies
that Harry is mentally unstable, as illustrated by the way he reacted to
the pain from his scar during his Divination class. It is also suggested
that Harry's ability to speak Parseltongue is an indication that the
Golden Boy may not be as good as he is said to be.

Ron tries to work out how she would know what happened during Divination
and inadvertently gives Hermione an idea as to how the reports are
getting out.

Harry is then called to the Great Hall where the Champions families are
gathered to spend the day with their children. He thinks this is just a
formality because he can't see the Durselys supporting him. He  is
therefore very surprised, but pleased to see Molly and Bill Weasley have
chosen to come and be his
" family ". We see them reminisce about the people they know and things
that Bill and Molly got up to when they were at Hogwarts.

We then see a side of Amos Diggory that is not particularly pleasant, in
as much as he is not particularly civil to Harry. But then we see yet
another example of how honourable his son is when he tells Harry to
ignore his father. . We see just how protective Molly Weasley can be in
return.

During a tour of the grounds, we get a clue as to the timescale between
Molly and Arthur's time at Hogwarts and that of the Maurauders, Snape
and Lily when we learn that the Whomping Willow didn't get planted until
after Molly had left.  We catch up with news of Percy and learn the the
Minister of Magic himself will be one of the judges of the final task.

The scene moves to an almost OBHWF  during lunch. We see a less
attractive side to Molly Weasley in her cool demeanour towards Hermione
which only warms up once Harry allays her fears about  her not being his
girlfriend.

After a pre-task feast, the action moves to the quidditch pitch where we
see the maze that Harry, Cedric,  Victor and Fleur must tackle for the
first time. After an update of the scores and a reassurance that there
are stewards ( Hagrid among them ) who will rescue anyone in
difficulties, we see a staggered start for the four champions.

Harry gets a head start with Cedric because they share the lead but they
soon separate. It is eerily uneventful inside the maze until he meets
what he thinks is a Dementor. He instinctively conjures his Patronus
until he realises that is nothing more than a simple Boggart. He then
comes up against something that he has no spell to use against and must
just take a chance to get him through.

We see how useful Harry's training with Hermione has been when he uses
an impedimenta spell to disable a blast ended skrewt.

We then see Harry in Heroic mode when we see him willing to sacrifice
winning to help Cedric. We see that Krum is willing to win by fair means
or foul, when he tries to use one of the Unforgivable Curses, the
Crucio. Harry stops this and helps Cedric before moving on.

He then has to face a riddle which leads him nearer to the prize once he
has solved it.

However, when he gets to the prize, he has a dilemma. He sees that
Cedric is likely to beat him until they both run into a giant spider. It
is to their credit that they work together to defeat it. Unfortunately
Harry is injured in the process.

Then a heated debate ensues as to who is the rightful winner of the
Trophy. After much discussion they decide to take the trophy together.
Then begins the journey that changes both their lives indelibly.


Questions for discussion

1 ) Is Molly Weasley just over protective of Harry in her attitude
towards Hermione or is she prejudiced against Hermione because she is
Muggle-born ?

2 ) What do we larn about JKR and fair play in this chapter ?

3 ) Will Krum become a baddie ? ( CF his use of the Crucio Curse )

4 ) Can we take Hermione and Ron's willingness to sacrifice their own
study to help Harry prepare as a good sign for the future ?

5 ) Again looking at Molly Weasley and Amos Diggory, what do you think
their attitudes to harry and Hermione respectively say about their
belief in whatever the Daily Prophet publishes ?