The Triwizard Tournament was a huge part of Harry Potter’s school experience - for the magic of the competition itself, but also because it was at the end of this event that Voldemort truly returned. For one entire school year, Hogwarts was taken over by the event and the champions, and everyone waited to see who would win the first tournament in so long…
In the end, of course, it would have been Harry, but that doesn’t matter, because the entire cup was overshadowed by the death of Cedric - marking a turning point in the series, as the big bad went from background threat to front and center. But we’ve still got a few questions about this whole contest… because it doesn’t quite make sense!
Why Wasn’t Ilvermorny Part Of It?
The Triwizard Tournament was started by the three wizarding schools that showed up: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. However, why was it still limited to these three establishments so many years later? For an event this huge, surely some of the other major magical schools would eventually want to take part. Seeing as Rowling created the American school of Ilvermorny for the Fantastic Beasts franchise, where were they during the event?
Do The Schools Change Each Year?
Speaking of Ilvermorny, now that the cup and the wizarding world has expanded, do the schools change? Maybe the cup that Harry was part of went back to the original three competing schools for the sake of tradition (and because it had been so long since the last one), but what about other contests?
Or do other wizrding schools have a similar content for their own groups? Given the huge importance of the event and the major media coverage, we can assume there aren’t multiple Triwizard Cups going on throughout the year, and that other schools would want in.
Where Was The Foreign Press Coverage?
There was a huge amount of press coverage for the British wizarding paper The Daily Prophet, but where was the coverage for the countries where the other schools are based? With constant interviews and profiles for the champions in the Prophet, surely at least one reporter from the other countries would have stopped by to do a little coverage of such a momentous occasion?
Couldn’t Harry Have Simply Refused?
Every fan knows that Harry didn’t put his name in the Goblet of Fire, and that he didn’t actually want to be part of the tournament… but really, what would have happened if he had flat-out refused? There’s a big stink made about the fact that the Goblet of Fire is a ‘binding contract’, but what exactly is the fine print on that one? Couldn’t Harry have just… gone and stood in the arena, not even attempting to steal the dragon egg, until the clock ran out? Refused to jump in the lake? Refused to go into the maze? Really, what would have happened?
Are Visiting Students Exempt From Exams?
The champions are exempt from exams (for some reason - given that the challenges take up a whole three days in the entire school year, that seems excessive, but that’s beside the point!)… but what about the other visiting students? Anyone who has moved schools knows how hard it is to catch up with the new curriculum, so what happened to the other visiting students - did they also get exemptions, or did they just have to take the risk?
Is There Any Way Homeschooled Wizards Could Take Part?
Homeschooling is an acceptable way for young witches and wizards to learn magic, according to J K Rowling, but would they be cut out of the Tournament? We can assume so, but what about spectating for events? If reporters are allowed to attend, could homeschooled wizards join in too?
Given that the tournament is designed to build bridges between young wizards, it would actually make sense to allow others to participate - or at least come along for the big events.
Why Every Five Years?
According to Harry Potter lore, the Triwizard Tournament used to happen every five years, before there was a stop put to it… but why five? Perhaps this is because of the cost and complication involved in something so huge, but in a world where everything seems to have layers of meaning, what is Rowling’s logic behind this one? It’s especially interesting because of the age restrictions - in order to allow all students to have a chance at taking part at least once in their life, five years would seem like too big a gap between competitions…
Why Couldn’t Quidditch Happen At The Same Time?
This is definitely a question that many readers had, especially those who are big fans of the wizarding game. As we’ve already mentioned, while the cup was a huge deal, it didn’t actually take that much time out of the school year. Each of the tasks only took a day, and while the Quidditch pitch was taken over with the hedge maze, surely on the vast, sprawling ground of Hogwarts, they could have found somewhere else to put it?? This is something that is pretty much guaranteed to be left out for the sake of the book length, not for actual plot reasons.
Why Didn’t Students Stay In The Castle?
When the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students arrived, they both stayed in their modes of transportation - the giant carriage and the ship. But given that the whole idea was to try and foster communication and friendship between the schools, why didn’t Hogwarts have them stay in the castle with the other students? In many ways, it seems that the Triwizard Tournament actually fostered greater competition, thanks to the way it worked, rather than true friendship.
Did It Continue After Cedric’s Death?
Finally, we’ve got the biggest question of all - after what happened with Cedric, was the Cup ever revived again? Obviously, in the time that Voldemort was taking over, it wasn’t exactly appropriate (and it wouldn’t have fit the ’every five years’ rule, either), but after that, did it make a return? After all, had Voldemort not been involved, the students would have been fine, and it would have been a great event! And evil overlords are hardly the fault of the cup, or something that would happen again and again… so could Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s kids compete themselves one day, or was the tournament ended for good out of respect for Cedric?
