Notes on The Goblet of Fire (book version)

Warning: There be Harry Potter spoilers in this post.

* I love that Moody's "Mad-Eye" can see through things - even Invisibility Cloaks!

* I love how Hermione is NOT crushing on Viktor Krum in this version. (He's definitely not her type - not that Krum's any worse than Ron, though :-\).

* I loved the entire house elf liberation subplot. It was a great allegory for slavery. Even down to the fact that the slaves feared their freedom, and most people justified the convenience of having slaves by believing that the slaves enjoyed their slavery - even perfectly reasonable, caring people believed this. There is no force as strong, or as corrupt, as conservativism.

* I am continually impressed by how much of an inspiration and a role model Dumbledore is. He has such wisdom and integrity. The way he treats people with respect who deserve it - whether human or giant or youth or former Death Eater - is so admirable; yet he is a force to be reckoned with against the agents of evil and hypocrisy and cowardice.

* I like how scathing this book is toward both the media (Rita Skeeter), and politics.

* I immensely enjoyed the confrontation between Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, at the end of the book. It really shows how inadequate politics are, and how fear and laziness can contribute to evil and corruption. And it also sets up the Ministry as an enemy (even independent of Voldemort's influence), and what is to happen to Hogwarts at the hands of Dolores Umbridge in the next book. Like many things, this is explained much more clearly in the books than it was in the movies.

* On that note, I also liked the explanation for what happened between Harry and Voldemort during their duel (Priori Incantatem). It makes a lot more sense than, "oh, guess what, these ghosts are gonna show up, but we're not gonna tell you why".

* The Goblet of Fire is the turning point in the series, and I think that's why it's one of my favorite parts of the story. The tension, and the despair when Voldemort finally returns. It's like the ending of The Empire Strikes Back, when the bad guy wins, and everything looks so grim, and you're dying to find out what the heroes will do to fight back. I'm looking forward to reading on!