Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Chapter Ten:
Mayhem at the Ministry

Synopsis by William Silvester
Notes and links by Michele L. Worley

U.S. hardcover edition: pages 145-157
U.K. hardcover edition: pages aaa - bbb
U.K. paperback edition: pages 162 - 175
Timeframe: Tuesday xx August - 31 August, 1994 [Y14]

In which they travel via Portkey back to the Burrow, Harry tells Ron and Hermione about his dream, Mr. Weasley returns home to report problems with Rita Skeeter's articles in The Daily Prophet, and HRH prepare to return to Hogwarts.

Interesting facts and notes about the text of this chapter:

The chaos at the Ministry resulting from the Quidditch World Cup riot takes place off-stage, mostly; we see only the ripple effect on life at the Burrow, as Mr. Weasley and Percy have disrupted work schedules, and talk a little about what's going on at work.

"Sometimes, when a person's memory's modified, it makes them a bit disorientated for awhile...and that was a big thing they had to make him forget."

"Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it weren't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans -"

Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumours that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later, remains to be seen.

"They want compensation for their ruined property. Mundungus Fletcher's put in a claim for a twelve-bedroomed tent with en-suite jacuzzi, but I've got his number. I know for a fact he was sleeping under a cloak propped on sticks."

Consider how convenient the Quidditch World Cup campgrounds would be as a cover for illegal activity. Any witch or wizard could meet quite openly with any other witch or wizard and it could be passed off as an innocent, accidental encounter rather than a prearranged rendezvous.

...the grandfather clock in the corner...It was completely useless if you wanted to know the time, but otherwise very informative. It had nine golden hands, and each of them was engraved with one of the Weasley family's names. There were no numerals around the face, but descriptions of where each family member might be. 'Home,' 'school,' and 'work' were there, but there was also 'lost', 'hospital', 'prison', and, in the position where the number twelve would be on a normal clock, 'mortal peril'.

Apart from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 by Miranda Goshawk...

...he had a handful of new quills, a dozen rolls of parchment...

...and refills for his potion-making kit - he had been running low on spine of lionfish and essence of belladonna.

dress robes

Characters introduced in this chapter:

• none

Characters returning in this chapter:

• Granger, Hermione

• Pigwidgeon

• Potter, Harry

• Roberts, Mr.

• Skeeter, Rita

• Weasley, Arthur

• Weasley, Bill

• Weasley, Charlie

• Weasley, Fred

• Weasley, George

• Weasley, Ginny

• Weasley, Molly

• Weasley, Percy (as Perce)

• Weasley, Ron

• (surname unknown) Basil

Characters mentioned in this chapter:

• Bagman, Ludo

• Black, Sirius

• Bones, Amelia (as Arthur's Head of Department)

• Crouch, Bartemius (senior)

• Dumbledore, Albus

• Fletcher, Mundungus

• Goshawk, Miranda

• Hedwig

• Jorkins, Bertha

• Pomfrey, Madam

• Trelawney, Professor

• Wormtail

• Voldemort (as You-Know-Who, the Dark Lord)

• Winky

Settings and locations introduced or returning in this chapter:

• Burrow, the

• Ottery St. Catchpole

• Atlas: World Cup

• Stoatshead Hill

Settings and locations mentioned in this chapter:

• Diagon Alley

• Gringotts

• Ministry of Magic, London

• Privet Drive

Exceptional character moments:

• Bill, who plays chess.

• Mrs. Weasley, who has been worried sick ever since seeing the morning paper.

Spells:

• Memory Charm

• Mors Mordre (the Dark Mark)

• Severing Charm (hair-cutting, mentioned)

Links and Resources:

• Chudley Cannons

• dress robes

• essays

  • N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s

  • The Number Twelve

  • Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Socks

• items and devices, magical

  • books

    • One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

    • Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, The

  • brooms (Firebolt)

  • cauldrons

  • chess, wizard

  • clock, Weasley family

  • Howler

  • Owl Treats

  • pictures with moving subjects

  • Portkey

  • Spellotape

  • Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

• Daily Prophet, the

• Rules and Regulations

• Ogdens Old Firewhisky

• potion ingredients

  • belladonna

  • lionfish, spine of

• Quidditch World Cup

• vampires

• Wronski Feint

Memorable lines:

• "What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough O.W.L.s? Oh, Fred...George..."

• "Now, Mum," said Fred, looking up at her, a pained look on his face. "If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow and George and I died, how would you feel knowing that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation?"

Strictly British:

• balaclava

• camp-bed

• holiday

• matron (U.K. edition only)

• pillock

• post

• starkers

• wheeze

• wizard

Timelines/Calendar:

The action of this chapter begins on the morning after the Quidditch World Cup, and ends the evening before the kids catch the Hogwarts Express. Since the Quidditch World Cup was held on a Monday, the morning after was a Tuesday. Since the Hogwarts Express was caught on 1 September, the chapter ends on 31 August.