How It All Goes Down
The Weighing of the Wands
- Hermione meets Harry the next morning and confirms that she believes him.
- But Hermione also states the obvious: "[Ron's] jealous!" (18.13).
- Harry can't believe it, and refuses to try and make amends with Ron.
- Hermione tells Harry he has to write to Sirius to explain what's going on with the Triwizard Tournament.
- Harry writes to his godfather: "I don't know if you've heard, but the Triwizard Tournament's happening this year and on Saturday night I got picked as a fourth champion" (18.31).
- Harry can't explain why he's feeling so anxious, so he just closes the letter and sends it off to Sirius.
- Harry's life in Hogwarts gets miserable: the Hufflepuffs give him the cold shoulder because they think he's stealing the spotlight from their boy Cedric.
- Hagrid believes Harry, but he's still making him help with the skrewts: "No longer shell-less and colorless, they had developed a kind of thick, grayish, shiny army. They looked like a cross between giant scorpions and elongated crabs – but still without recognizable heads or eyes" (18.52).
- Even the Ravenclaws think that Harry "had been desperate to earn himself a bit more fame by tricking the goblet into accepting his name" (18.57).
- The Slytherins make a bunch of badges: "Support CEDRIC DIGGORY – The REAL Hogwarts Champion!" They also flash: "POTTER STINKS!" (18.64-5).
- Harry gets into a fight with Malfoy (of course).
- They both hit each other with a spell at the same time, so the spells ricochet instead.
- Harry's Furnunculus curse makes Malfoy's friend Goyle sprout green boils.
- And Malfoy's Densaugeo curse makes Hermione's front teeth grow and grow.
- Professor Snape comes along and sends Goyle to the hospital wing.
- But he also claims not to see any difference in Hermione's teeth.
- And he takes fifty points from Gryffindor for Harry and Ron's protests.
- Harry and Ron get detention together, to boot.
- Harry starts fantasizing about cursing Snape with the Cruciatus Curse.
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- Colin Creevey (a younger Gryffindor) comes into Harry's Potions class to bring Harry up to Ludo Bagman.
- Apparently, the Daily Prophet is doing a story on the four Triwizard champions.
- Ludo Bagman is sitting next to a witch in magenta robes.
- Turns out, this is Rita Skeeter, the (rather terrible) reporter.
- She wants to do a private interview with Harry "to add a bit of color" (18.122) to the article.
- Rita Skeeter starts asking Harry some personal questions about how he entered the tournament and, of course, his past traumas.
- As Harry tries to answer, Rita's quill keeps writing independently.
- And it writes things that are absolutely not true: it reports that, "Tears fill those startlingly green eyes as our conversation turns to the parents he can barely remember" (18.154).
- Harry protests: "I have NOT got tears in my eyes!" (18.155).
- But Rita ignores him.
- Professor Dumbledore interrupts their interview to announce that the Weighing of the Wands is about to begin.
- Mr. Ollivander, the London wand maker, is waiting. He's going to confirm that all of the champions' wands are in good condition.
- And indeed they are.
- Then, the four champions pose for photographs.
- Rita Skeeter seems to be particularly keen on putting Harry front and center in the photos.
- When Harry gets back up to the dorm, Ron tells him he's had an owl.
- Otherwise, Ron won't speak to him.
- The owl has a letter from Sirius: Sirius wants to arrange a chat for the night of November 22nd.
- He plans to come see Harry through the fire in the Gryffindor common room.
- Sirius is anxious about Harry's safety.