Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Ch 6-10

Episode Summary

Jon and Lizzy talk about the Quidditch World Cup and if this book is any good or not.

Episode Notes

Chapter 6 - The Portkey

INTRO - Character impressions in your mind.

• Harry felt as though he had barely lain down to sleep in Ron’s room when he was being shaken awake by Mrs Weasley.

Q1 - Is this the worst feeling ever? Non-snow days? What is the worst feeling as a kid?

Q2 - You need a license to Apparate? Do you think anything else should require a license in the magical world?

Q3 - What’s the earliest you’ve ever woken up?

• [Portkeys are] objects that are used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a prearranged time.

Q4 - Would you rather travel by broom, apparition, or portkey?

Q5 - Amos Diggory works for the department of the regulation and control of magical creatures…did he vote yes to killing buckbeak?

• “I’m sure Harry’d say the same, wouldn’t you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don’t need to be a genius to tell which one’s the better flier.”

Q6 - How do you like Amos and Cedric?

Q7 - Thoughts on the wizarding world spreading trash around the planet in the form of portkeys?

Chapter 7 - Bagman and Crouch

Q1 - If you had to hide a quidditch world cup game, how would you do it?

• “Been having a lot of trouble with him. Needs a Memory Charm ten times a day to keep him happy. And Ludo Bagman’s not helping. Trotting around talking about Bludgers and Quaffles at the top of his voice, not a worry about anti-Muggle security.”

Q2 - How should they deal with Mr Roberts…should some Muggles just be able to know about Wizards?

• “Always the same.” said Mr Weasley, smiling, “we can’t resist showing off when we get together.”

Q3 - How do you like the magic of expanding something like the tent into being massive inside?

• It was only just dawning on Harry how many witches and wizards there must be in the world; he had never really thought much about those in other countries.

Q4 - How large do you figure the wizarding world is? 

Q5 - There’s a description of all sorts of other witches and wizards here, if you could travel to see magic from any other country in the world, where would you go visit?

• “I’m not putting them on [referring to the trousers],” said Old Archie in indignation. “I like a healthy breeze around my privates, thanks.”
• Harry laughed but didn’t voice the amazement he felt at hearing about other Wizarding schools. He supposed, now that he saw representatives of so many nationalities in the campsite, that he had been stupid never to realize that Hogwarts couldn’t be the only one.
• “That’s Bode and Croaker…they’re unspeakables.” “They’re what?” “From the department of mysteries, top secret, no idea what they get up to.”

Q6 - What do you think they do in the Department of Mysteries?

Q7 - How do you like Bagman and Crouch? Which do you like more?

• “Ali Bashir’s on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets.” Mr Weasley heaved a deep sigh. “I sent him an owl about that just last week. If I’ve told him once I’ve told him a hundred times: carpets are defined as a Muggle Artifact by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?”

Q8 - Broom or Carpet?

• A sense of excitement rose like a palpable cloud over the campsite as the afternoon wore on. By dusk, the still summer air itself seemed to be quivering with anticipation, and as darkness spread like a curtain over the thousands of waiting wizards, the last vestiges of pretense disappeared: the Ministry seemed to have bowed to the inevitable and stopped fighting the signs of blatant magic now breaking out everywhere.

Q9 - Harry gets Ron omnioculars…is he cheap for saying he won’t get anything for him for Christmas?

• And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and, at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the pitch.

Chapter 8 - The Quidditch World Cup

• “Ah, sir,” said Winky, shaking her head, “ah, sir, meaning no disrespect, sir, but I is not sure you did Dobby a favor, sir, when you is setting him free.”

Q1 - What do you think of House Elves? Should they be set free?

Q2 - Do you think it’s cruel to have a house elf sit at the booth who is afraid of heights just to save a seat?

• She would have been nice looking if she hadn’t been wearing a look that suggested there was a nasty smell under her nose.

Q3 - What are your thoughts on the Veela and the Leprechauns? 

Q4 - What would the American mascot be?

Q5 - What do you think of Victor Krum?

Q6 - Would you want to go to this game?

Q7 - Was Krum an idiot for ending the game when they were down too much?

Chapter 9 - The Dark Mark

• “Get up! Ron — Harry — come on now, get up, this is urgent!” Harry sat up quickly and the top of his head hit canvas. “S’matter?” he said. Dimly. He could tell that something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed. The singing had stopped. He could hear screams, and the sound of people running.

Q1 - Have you ever been in a riot or a situation this scary?

Q2 - What do you think of these masked people’s actions?

• The colored lanterns that had lit the path to the stadium had been extinguished. Dark figures were blundering through the trees; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices were reverberating around them in the cold night air. Harry felt himself being pushed hither and thither by people whose faces he could not see. Then he heard Ron yell with pain.

Q3 - Do you think Lucious might be out there among the masked people?

Q4 - How many magical schools do you think there are?

• A rustling noise nearby made all three of them jump. Winky the house-elf was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes nearby. She was moving in a most peculiar fashion, apparently with great difficulty; it was as though someone invisible were trying to hold her back.

Q5 - Do you think Harry is right, that Winky is just disobeying, or do you think she was cursed?

Q6 - Do you think Stan Shunpike would ever become minister of magic? And would he do better than Fudge?

Q7 - What do you think Bagman was doing deep in the woods? Do you trust him?

• For a split second, Harry thought it was another leprechaun formation. Then he realized that it was a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As they watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation. Suddenly, the wood all around them erupted with screams. Harry didn't understand why, but the only possible cause was the sudden appearance of the skull, which had now risen high enough to illuminate the entire wood like some grisly neon sign. He scanned the darkness for the person who had conjured the skull, but he couldn't see anyone.

Q8 - What do you think of the Dark Mark?

Q9 - Do you think Crouch is good at his job or is he mad?

• "Here, look. " Mr. Diggory held up a wand and showed it to Mr. Weasley. "Had it in her hand. So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand."

Q10 - Are wizards right to restrict wand usage to just humans?

Q11 - What are your thoughts on Amos Diggory’s interrogation style?

Q12 - What do you think of the Prior Incantato spell?

Q13 - What do you think of Mr Crouch and Winky’s relationship?

• "Of course it's not Him," said Mr. Weasley impatiently. "We don't know who it was; it looks like they Disapparated. Now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed.”
• "I don't get it," said Ron, frowning. "I mean. . . it's still only a shape in the sky. . . " "Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed," said Mr. Weasley. "The terror it inspired. . . you have no idea, you're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside. . . . " Mr. Weasley winced. "Everyone's worst fear. . . the very worst. . . " There was silence for a moment. Then Bill, removing the sheet from his arm to check on his cut, said, "Well, it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it. It scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it. They all Disapparated before we'd got near enough to unmask any of them. We caught the Robertses before they hit the ground, though. They're having their memories modified right now. " "Death Eaters?" said Harry. "What are Death Eaters?" "It's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves," said Bill. "I think we saw what's left of them tonight - the ones who managed to keep themselves out of Azkaban, anyway. "

Q14 - Who do you think actually conjured the Dark Mark?

Q15 - What do you think of the Death Eaters?