Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

by

J. K. Rowling

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Chapter Thirty-Seven Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
The next few days are a blur for Harry. The Diggorys refuse Harry's attempt to give them the Triwizard gold and Harry returns to Gryffindor Tower the next evening. Dumbledore spoke to the school and nobody asks Harry what happened. Harry notices, however, that students give him a wide berth and he thinks that they probably believe Rita Skeeter. Harry enjoys his time with Ron and Hermione the most, but he's sad when he learns that Dumbledore insisted that he spend some time with the Dursleys and not go straight to the Weasleys' after school ends.
When Harry suspects that many of his classmates believe what they read from Rita Skeeter, it again shows him how lacking the Wizarding world is in terms of critical thinking skills. The fact that Harry enjoys his time with Ron and Hermione speaks to the fact that, as the trio has come of age over this school year, they're better now at treating each other with kindness and understanding.
Themes
Empathy and Love Theme Icon
Reading, Critical Thinking, and Truth Theme Icon
On Thursday, Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to visit Hagrid. They notice two huge cups and ask if he was having tea with Madame Maxime. He brushes them off and asks Harry if he's okay. Hagrid says that Harry will be okay and says he knew that Voldemort would return. He tells Harry that Dumbledore shared what Harry did and praises Harry for behaving as his father would have. When Harry asks what Dumbledore has asked Hagrid to do, Hagrid says only that he has a summer job and that Maxime might come along.
Hagrid's assessment of what happened and what will happen suggests he believes that history repeats itself, but that good will win out in the end. His praise of Harry means that, because Harry trusts Hagrid, Harry will feel more confident in making choices and continuing on his path to becoming a good person.
Themes
History, Community, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Good, Evil, Power, and Choice Theme Icon
Harry doesn't look forward to the final feast. He notices the black decorations in respect of Cedric and sees the real Moody at the staff table. Madame Maxime sits with Hagrid and Karkaroff is absent. Harry wonders what Snape did for Dumbledore and wonders if Snape is really on his side. Dumbledore interrupts Harry's musings and asks students to toast Cedric's memory. He then tells the students that Voldemort murdered Cedric and says that it's important they hear the truth so they can properly honor Cedric.
By insisting that in order to effectively honor Cedric students must accept how he died, Dumbledore asks his students of all ages to understand how big, complicated, and unfeeling the greater Wizarding world is. If they can accept this, they, like Harry, will be better prepared to move forward knowing the truth.
Themes
History, Community, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Reading, Critical Thinking, and Truth Theme Icon
Quotes
Dumbledore then tells the students that Harry escaped Voldemort and brought Cedric's body back, and he asks them to raise their glasses to Harry. The Slytherins refuse to do so. Then, Dumbledore says that with Voldemort's return, it's even more important than ever that they maintain ties with their foreign friends. He says that everyone is welcome in his school and that the best way to fight Voldemort is to remain friendly and trusting of each other. He asks the students to remember that Cedric only died because he ended up in Voldemort's path.
When Dumbledore positions Hogwarts as a beacon of inclusion and goodwill towards everyone, it reminds the reader why Harry and Cedric won the Tournament in the first place: they, as Hogwarts representatives, triumphed because of their goodness, kindness, and willingness to work together towards a common goal.
Themes
History, Community, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Good, Evil, Power, and Choice Theme Icon
Quotes
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As Harry prepares to take a carriage back to Hogsmeade, he hears Fleur yelling for him. She shakes his hand and says that she's going to get a job in England to practice her English. After she leaves, Ron wonders how the Durmstrang students will get home without Karkaroff. From behind Ron, Krum gruffly says that Karkaroff didn't help anyway; the students steered the ship. He pulls Hermione aside for a word. When they return, Krum tells Harry that he liked Cedric. As Krum walks away, Ron finally asks for his autograph.
Though Harry has paid relatively little attention to Fleur throughout the novel, her goodbye suggests that Dumbledore's stated aims for the Tournament will come to pass--the Tournament has exposed Fleur to England and now, she wants to be a part of its society and if she stays, will presumably help fight Voldemort in the future.
Themes
History, Community, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Activism and Diversity Theme Icon
Harry, Ron, and Hermione spend most of the train ride discussing what Dumbledore is doing to fight Voldemort. After Hermione pulls out a Daily Prophet, she assures him that there's nothing in there. She suspects that Fudge is forcing the paper to keep quiet. Harry comments that Rita Skeeter won't keep quiet, but in an odd voice, Hermione says that Skeeter won't write at all for a while. She says that she discovered how Skeeter was listening and coming onto the grounds: Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus and can turn into a beetle. At this, she pulls a glass jar out of her bag and explains that she caught her in the hospital wing. Harry remembers seeing a beetle at the Yule Ball, and Ron realizes that Malfoy was talking to Skeeter in his hand. Hermione says that she'll let her out in London and will spill her secret if Skeeter writes anything in the next year.
Figuring out who and what Rita Skeeter is represents a major triumph for Hermione, as it suggests that she's learned how to use all the tools available to her to critically evaluate situations and texts and can come to her own conclusions with what she learns. By capturing Skeeter and placing these restrictions on her, Hermione also shows that she's going to channel her activism in a new direction by making sure that Skeeter's voice won't add to the mayhem and lies that are sure to appear in the coming months.
Themes
Reading, Critical Thinking, and Truth Theme Icon
Activism and Diversity Theme Icon
Malfoy slides the compartment open and menacingly compliments Hermione on catching Rita Skeeter. Harry tells Malfoy to leave, but Malfoy says that Harry picked the losing side--his friends will be the first to go with Voldemort back. At this, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hex Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle at the same time--but Fred and George hexed them too. They roll the bullies into the hallway and Fred and George start a game of Exploding Snap.
When Fred and George surprise the trio by hexing Malfoy and his cronies, it again reminds Harry that his community is much larger than he initially thought it was. The twins are allies and will stand up for Harry and his friends, and there are likely other allies out there that Harry hasn't even thought of yet.
Themes
History, Community, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Empathy and Love Theme Icon
A few games in, Harry asks who Fred and George were blackmailing. They darkly say that it was Bagman. Bagman paid them their winnings from their bet at the World Cup in leprechaun gold and then refused to either pay up in real gold or give them their money back. George says they eventually learned that Bagman had a gambling problem and was in trouble betting with goblins. He had a bet with them that Harry would win, but the goblins insisted that Harry tied with Cedric. Bagman ran after the third task.
Because goblins don't have the same rights as humans in the Wizarding world, it's likely that they have even less recourse than Fred and George do to pursue Bagman legally. This offers another area in which Hermione's activism might be useful, as the goblins are just as deserving of fair gambling practices as anyone else.
Themes
Activism and Diversity Theme Icon
Soon, the train reaches King's Cross. Harry stays in the compartment and asks Fred and George to wait. He gives George the money from the Triwizard Tournament and tells them to start their joke shop, saying that they'll need laughs with Voldemort back. They try to refuse, but Harry threatens to hex them if they don't take it. He asks them to buy Ron new dress robes with it and leaves them in the compartment. Out in the station, Harry says goodbye to Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley and follows Uncle Vernon to the car.
By asking Fred and George to buy Ron dress robes, Harry uses his wealth and fame for good by making sure that in the future, Ron will feel comfortable in his clothing. His insistence that they'll all need laughs with Voldemort around also shows that Harry now understands what the future might be like going forward--and that it's going to look much like the recent past.
Themes
History, Community, and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Good, Evil, Power, and Choice Theme Icon