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Chapter Eighteen
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
History, Community, and Coming of Age
Empathy and Love
Reading, Critical Thinking, and Truth
Activism and Diversity
Good, Evil, Power, and Choice
Summary
Analysis
Harry looks forward to seeing Sirius, especially given how horrible life is once Rita Skeeter's article runs. It's entirely about Harry and quotes him as saying things he never said. Though Skeeter mentions Krum and Fleur, she misspells their names and doesn't mention Cedric. She also "reveals" that Hermione is Harry's girlfriend. The Slytherins tease Harry mercilessly while Ron persists in his silence. Though Harry won't admit it, he misses Ron a lot, as being best friends with Hermione means spending most of his time in the library. Krum spends a lot of time in the library too, which annoys Hermione to no end because he’s often surrounded by noisy, giggling girls.
The contents of Rita Skeeter's article shows how easy it is for her to twist the facts and play up one aspect of the Tournament, rather than give a balanced account of what's going on. By demonstrating how easy it is to do this and, specifically, the kind of teasing that Harry experiences because of this, the novel makes it very clear that even though Skeeter's article is untrue, it should still be taken seriously as it has real power to dictate thought.
Themes
Time seems to start going faster as the first task approaches. On Saturday, Hermione convinces Harry to accompany her to Hogsmeade, though he insists on wearing his Invisibility Cloak. They see Rita Skeeter coming out of the Three Broomsticks and Harry feels a wave of panic when he realizes she's probably covering the first task. Hermione leads Harry into the pub, slips him a butterbeer under his cloak, and then pulls out her S.P.E.W. things. Looking around, Harry thinks that this would be a fantastic weekend if only he weren't a champion.
When Harry is afraid of seeing Rita Skeeter specifically, it shows that it's dawning on him that no matter what he does, he can't win when it comes to the press: even if he performs spectacularly, Skeeter will still warp the truth to accomplish her own agenda. This will be a very important thing for Harry to keep in mind going forward.
Themes
Hermione points out Hagrid, who's leaning over and talking to Moody. As the two get up to leave, they make their way to Harry and Hermione's table and Moody mutters that he can see through Invisibility Cloaks with his magical eye. Hagrid, meanwhile, quietly asks Harry to meet him at midnight and wear the Cloak. With this, the adults leave the pub. Harry and Hermione discuss whether this will make Harry late for Sirius, but Harry assumes this is urgent.
Because Harry trusts Hagrid, he knows that Hagrid wouldn't ask him to run around out of bounds and past curfew for no reason--in other words, he understands that this particular authority figure has Harry's best interests at heart and therefore, his requests should be taken seriously.
Themes
Harry sneaks out of the common room under his Invisibility Cloak at 11:30. Hagrid seems excited as he greets Harry and leads him to the Beauxbatons carriage. Madame Maxime steps out, takes Hagrid's arm, and speaks as though this is a surprise for her too. Harry follows Hagrid and Maxime until they reach a clearing filled with four massive and angry dragons. 30 wizards, including Charlie, try to control the creatures and finally, they Stun them. Charlie greets Hagrid, names off the different dragon breeds, and says the dragons are nesting mothers. He asks about Harry and says that Mrs. Weasley is worried sick. At this, Harry heads back to the castle.
The fact that both Hagrid feels compelled to show both Harry and Maxime, knowing that Maxime is sure to tell Fleur about the dragons, suggests that Hagrid feels it's his duty to make sure that the champions and the people he cares about are prepared for this task. Though this is technically cheating, this suggests that it's possible to still be a good and caring person and break rules, thereby setting Hagrid apart from people like Percy and Mr. Crouch.
Themes
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Harry hits something and falls. He realizes he ran into Karkaroff, who appears to be sneaking out to see the dragons. Harry races through the castle and arrives in Gryffindor Tower five minutes before one. When he looks at the fire, he sees Sirius's face in it. While Sirius is interested in the dragons, he's more interested in warning Harry about Karkaroff, who was a Death Eater and went to Azkaban around the same time that Sirius did. He made a deal with the Ministry and now teaches the Dark Arts to his students. Sirius says that, by reading between the lines of Rita Skeeter's articles, he suspects that Karkaroff might have tried to keep Moody from getting to Hogwarts.
The fact that Sirius makes it clear that he doesn't take Rita Skeeter's articles entirely seriously but does know that there's likely some truth to what she writes suggests that he understands how to use all media available to him to come to conclusions about what's going on in the world. His suspicions of Karkaroff suggest he believes that Death Eaters can never reform, which suggests that he sees evil as a set state from which a person can't recover.
Themes
Harry asks why Karkaroff would want to kill him. Sirius mentions all the recent Death Eater activity and Bertha Jorkins, who disappeared near where Voldemort was rumored to be. Sirius says that he knew Bertha and she'd be easy to lure into a trap. He suggests that whoever put Harry's name in the goblet likely wants to attack Harry and make it look like an accident. He begins to tell Harry a spell to use on the dragon, but Harry hears footsteps. Sirius disappears moments before Ron comes down the staircase. The two argue and Harry throws a badge at Ron’s head.
When Harry snaps and throws the badge at Ron, it reminds the reader that though Harry is privileged in terms of wealth and fame, he's deserving of empathy too and still struggles with the pressure of this Tournament like everyone else. Being able to speak with Sirius allows Harry to feel cared for, which makes Ron's intrusion even more frustrating.
Themes
