The fourth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is the true turning point in the series. In this book, Voldemort makes his grand return, and the entire tone of the series begins to shift into much darker territory. This book also holds the Triwizard Tournament.
Harry is forced into competing after the Goblet of Fire is hoodwinked and must face off against dragons, merfolk, Death Eaters, magical creatures galore, and eventually the Dark Lord himself. We’re taking a look at ten strange plot holes from the series that were never resolved.
Voice Changing with Polyjuice Potion
If a witch or wizard ingests Polyjuice Potion, does their voice change or not? We’re led to believe that Polyjuice Potion does not affect the character’s voice. In the second movie, Ron and Harry have their regular voices and have to consciously alter their voices to sound like Crabbe and Goyle.
But, in this movie, Barty Crouch Jr. sounds exactly like Moody without having to change his voice at all. We can chalk this up to it being simpler for filming and the audience since the actor playing Moody had a much larger role than Ron or Harry’s transformation in the second book. However, it does lead to inconsistencies involving the potion.
How do the Weird Sisters Perform at Hogwarts?
This is a small but interesting plot hole to consider. During the Yule Ball, we know that the Weird Sisters perform at Hogwarts. There is a direct reference to them playing on electric instruments.
But, in the same book, and prior to that, Hermione reminds us multiple times that no Muggle equipment like electricity would function on Hogwarts grounds due to the various protections put around the castle. So, how did their musical instruments work onstage? Most likely they were a special kind of magical tool, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Why Doesn’t Harry see the Thestrals?
This is a hotly contested plot hole that has been brought up multiple times in the fandom. Harry is unable to see Thestrals until the fifth book. However, he witnessed his parent’s death as a child. Even if you want to claim that the incident doesn’t count because he didn’t understand what he was seeing as an infant, Harry also saw Quirrell die in the first book.
You could argue that he went unconscious before he actually saw it happen, but then you fast-forward to book four, Harry definitely sees Cedric die. Yet, at the end of book four, the carriage is still being drawn by a “horseless” being. Rowling claims it’s because Harry had yet to process the death, but that seems like a weak answer considering how much death has affected Harry’s life.
The Mysterious Case of Hagrid’s Parents
In the fourth book, we learn the truth about Hagrid’s heritage. Harry and Ron accidentally eavesdrop on a conversation between Hagrid and Umbridge where he discloses the truth about his parents.
We’ve always known that Hagrid’s dad was a human wizard. He has talked about him being smaller than him before, but we learn conclusively that his mother was a giantess. If that’s true, then how on earth did they conceive Hagrid?
What Do The Visiting Students Do All Year?
The big plot point of this novel is the Triwizard Tournament. The tournament is so special that students and headmasters from other wizarding schools travel all the way to Hogwarts to stay there for the year and watch their champion compete.
But what do the other students—the ones who aren’t selected to be their school’s respective champions—do all year? Also with Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime present at Hogwarts, how do their respective schools, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, get along without their headmaster? It seems a little over-the-top to stay at another school for an entire year.
How Would the Ministry Have Removed the Dementors?
At the end of Goblet of Fire, Voldemort has returned and Dumbledore makes a point to Cornelius Fudge to remove the Dementors from Azkaban because they will no longer be loyal to the wizarding community for much longer. Dumbledore makes a big deal out of this, and Fudge is adamant about refusing him.
Obviously, we know Fudge is delusional, but he also does have good reason to be irritated by this request. How on earth would they simply remove the Dementors from Azkaban? Everyone would be able to go free. There are no real cells there. We know the prisoners are kept inside only by the Dementors, and it would be a huge logistical nightmare that would certainly take some time to accomplish.
What Does the Audience do During the Triwizard Tournament?
Everyone is invited to watch the Triwizard Tournament. It’s meant to be a spectacle and a massively entertaining experience for those who aren’t competing and simply taking part in the festivities. The problem is that there is literally nothing to watch for a majority of the tournament.
The first task is a great experience since it takes place outdoors and they can watch how the champions fight off the dragons and get the eggs they’re after, but what about during the second and third tasks? The second task takes place entirely underwater. Dumbledore has to talk to the merfolk to find out what happened. The third task is in a giant hedge maze. So the audience just has to sit there and watch water or foliage for hours.
Why was Quidditch Canceled?
Quidditch gets canceled for the entire year in this book for the Triwizard Tournament. It’s understandable why the sport would have to be put on hold for the third task since the maze is constructed on the Quidditch pitch.
But did it really need to be nixed for an entire year because only 1 Hogwarts champion would be taking part in the tournament? It might just be due to Rowling’s distaste for writing about Quidditch matches.
Why did Crouch Teach Harry to fight Against the Imperius Curse?
It’s interesting that Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as Mad-Eye Moody, decided it would be a good idea to teach his students in Defense Against the Dark Arts the truth about the Unforgivable Curses. Even more, he actually decides to teach them how to throw off the Imperius Curse.
But why would he do that? We know that Crouch is actually Voldemort’s Death Eater in disguise, but, by helping Harry overcome Imperio, he’s actually helping Harry to fight against Voldemort. It’s a curious decision made.
When Does Crouch Make the Polyjuice Potion?
From the second book, we know that Polyjuice Potion is not only an immensely complicated potion to make but that it takes a long time to brew due to special circumstances it needs to be made correctly. Crouch obviously needs a lot of potion to maintain his disguise every single day for a year.
How on earth did he have the means to create an entire store of the potion, when does he have time to concoct it, and where does he keep it all? We know he continues brewing all year since he takes things from Snape, but it seems implausible he could have enough made in time to never let his disguise fade.
