Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Chapter Fifteen Summary & Analysis

The next morning, Harry writes a short letter to Sirius insisting that it's unnecessary for him to return. He takes it to Hedwig in the Owlery and sends her off, and tells Hermione and Ron about what he did at breakfast. Harry tries not to worry over the next few weeks, though this is made easier by how hard he has to work at his lessons. One day, Moody announces that he's going to put the Imperius Curse on everyone in turn so they can practice resisting. Hermione tries to insist that it's not legal, but she backs down. When it's Harry's turn, Moody tells him to jump on a desk. Harry successfully resists the curse after a few tries.

McGonagall explains to the students that they're approaching the time when they'll take their Ordinary Wizarding Levels and need to be prepared. Most of the class is aghast, as they don't take their O.W.L.s until the end of their fifth year. Snape assigns work on antidotes and hints that he's going to poison a student soon to test them, while Professor Flitwick assigns extra reading on Summoning Charms. Hagrid asks students to come down in the evenings to observe the skrewts, which are growing despite not eating anything, and he reminds Malfoy that he makes a great ferret when Malfoy tries to refuse.

In the entrance hall one night, Ron reads an announcement about the Triwizard Tournament over the heads of other students crowded around. It says that on October 30, lessons will end early so that students can greet the guests from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Harry is thrilled, as this means that Snape won't be able to poison them. They hear a Hufflepuff student running off to tell Cedric and Ron expresses derision that Cedric is going to try to become the Hogwarts champion. Over the next week, rumors abound and the castle undergoes a thorough cleaning.

At breakfast on the morning of the 30th, Harry, Ron, and Hermione notice Fred and George sitting away from everyone else. The trio hears George saying that if "he" won't talk to them, they'll have to send a letter. Fred and George refuse to share who and what they're talking about, so Harry changes the subject to ask if the twins have thought more about how to enter. They haven't, but the boys all discuss the tasks and the judging. Hermione interjects that three of the judges will be school headmasters, according to Hogwarts: A History. She suggests that the book should actually be called A Revised History of Hogwarts and hisses that it makes no mention of house-elves.

Harry shakes his head and returns to his breakfast. Both he and Ron joined S.P.E.W. to appease Hermione but have remained unenthusiastic about the cause. Few others have joined. George asks Hermione if she's ever been to the kitchens and says that the elves there are happy. Hermione insists that the elves are brainwashed, but the argument dissolves when the post owls arrive. Hedwig brings Harry a letter from Sirius that says he's still coming back.

When lessons end in the afternoon, the Heads of Houses organize the students into lines. McGonagall leads the Gryffindors outside to wait with the rest of the school. After a few minutes, Dumbledore calls that Beauxbatons is coming. Students point to the sky as a massive horse-drawn carriage soars toward them. The horses are as big as elephants. After the carriage lands, a boy unfurls stairs and an elegant woman as large as Hagrid steps out. Dumbledore leads the Hogwarts students in applause and greets the woman, whom he calls Madame Maxime. She leads her shivering students inside.

A few minutes later, Lee Jordan points to the lake. A huge ship rises up from the depths. All the Durmstrang students seem bulky, but Harry realizes that this is because they're wearing fur cloaks. The headmaster, Karkaroff, greets Dumbledore and leads his student Viktor inside first, as he has a cold. Ron hisses that "Viktor" is Viktor Krum.