Foreshadowing Books Four to Seven in the Triwizard Tournament

[allegro]

Hi! I wrote something what was meant to be an editorial, but I couldn't wait and put it here. It is about the interpretation of the Triwizard Tournament. There are events which foreshadow the events in the HP books (4 to 7th book).
The essay is long, but I think it really may interest you. I hope you put your comments and further suggestions so we both could interprete the possible future events.

FORESHADOWINGS OF BOOKS 4 TO 7 IN THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT.
It’s a known theory that events during the “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” book foreshadow events which would happen in the books starting from the ending of the book four to the end of the book seven. How can I say that? Because we have six books by now and it’s clearly visible that the three tasks which Harry had to complete have their place – looking at their symbolism and alegories- in books four to six, since the rebirth of Lord Voldemort till his possible downfall.

The first task: Harry has to fight the Hungarian Horntail.

The description of the dragon is as follows:
(...) And a giantic black one, more lizard-like than the others (...) Mesmerized, Harry looked up, high above him, and saw the eyes of the black dragon, with vertical pupils like a cat’s (...) – page 326, American hardcover

And there was the Horntail, (...) yellow eyes upon him, a monstrous, scary, black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail, leaving yard-longe marks in the hard ground. (page 355, American hardcover”.

When you read these descriptions, and especially the quotes from page 326, what hits your eyes immediately, is: vertical pupils like a cat’s. I’m sure you know a creature who has similar pupils... When you read the book to the end, you can find a description of reborn Voldemort:

His hands were like large, pale spiders; (...) the red eyes, whose pupils were slits, like a cat’s, gleamed still more brightly through the darkness.

The similarity of how the dragon looked like and the look of a reborn Voldemort is very big. The dragon was a black one, so is voldemort if you consider he is excellent in the Dark Magic; Voldemort can be more lizard-like than the others, because he was reborn with many snake-like features. Voldemort, by using his wand caused many murders and disaster.

We can assume that the first task in the Tournament can be compared to the first difficult task which Harry had to take: to win Lord Voldemort in his first personal duel with him being fully reborn. How did Harry manage to fight the dragon? He used his broomstick, he did something what he could do well- he flew. How did Harry manage to fight Voldemort in the cemetery? He was in the air again, with Voldemort as his foe, they were fighting using their wands- accesorries they both knew well; Harry escaped by flying again- he used the Portkey. The Death Eaters during the fight were shouting (page 663), and so was the crowd watching Harry’s fight with the dragon: He became properly aware of the noise of the crowd, which was screaming (...) page 356. Do you agree that it was the foreshadowing of Voldemort’s rebirth? Me- yes.

The second task: Harry has to save somebody who he cares.

The second task, which has something to do with the dragon (because the prompt is hidden in his golden egg) is hard to guess for Harry for a long time. When he opens the egg in not proper conditions, it wails and Harry can guess nothing. When he finally manages to open it underwater, the egg sings:
Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you’re searching, ponder this:
We’ve taken what you’ll surely miss,
An hour long you’ll have to look,
And to recover what we took, But past an hour-the prospect’s black,
Too late, it’s gone, it won’t come back. (page 463).

What is striking in this quote, lays in word black. We know that the person who Harry loved the most at that time was Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather, whom Harry met not that long ago and felt sympathy for him immediately. After reading of “Harry Potter and The Order of Phoenix” we know that Voldemort played with Harry’s mind and Harry couldn’t understand what was going on with him for a long time. When he finally found this, it appeared that he was fooled by Voldemort, who used his knowledge that Harry’s feature is ability to save people he loves:

Hermione says: Don’t you think you’ve got a bit of a- a- saving-people- thing?” (page 733, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, American light cover.

Voldemort succeeded in making Harry believe that he has to seek Sirius Black underground- it means the Department of Mysteries and that he has Sirius with him. Only quick action could save Black: and Harry believed this. We all know what happened afterwards...

During the Triwizard Tournament Harry saved people who didn’t have to be saved because he believed that they would be dead too easily. The same happened with Harry’s fake vision caused by Voldemort. Harry lost precious points in the Tournament for that. He lost his godfather in the Order of the Phoenix book.

The third task.

Before I start talking about this task, I have to say that I will be writing about the Half-Blood Prince book now. It will be harder than it was before, because everybody who read this book knows that it left many questions unanswered. First of all, the book caused confusion, there are lots of theories about why Severus Snape killed Albus Dumbledore.

The third task consists of smaller tasks which Harry has to overcome to win the game. Harry and other participants are in the maze. Who will be quicker, he will win.

First obstacle is the fake Dementor which can be fought by Harry quite easily. What can it be in the book six? In my opinion this Dementor is a symbol of Harry’s biggest fears and depression. Harry has just unintentionally caused his godfather’s death by allowing himself to believe that his visions are true. He finally overcomes his depression in The Half-Blood Prince book saying:

But while I was at the Dursleys’ I realized I can’t shut myself away or- or crack up.( page 77, British hardcover)

The next obstacle is the strange mist which causes that Harry’s world is upside down. When he overcame it and put his feet on the ground, he fought it. What can it be? We have descriptions of mist throughout the beginning of the Half-Blood Prince book, and we can connect it with Dementors, but I think it can be connected with Harry’s world upside down when he learns more about Tom Riddle, he suspects Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape and is surpriosed that nobody believes him. It definitely can make his world be upside-down. Then Harry is in love with Ginny, what causes the big change and having his head in the clouds.

When Harry overcomes the mist, he has to deal with the blast-ended skrewt, which was enormous, (...) it looked more than a giant scorpion than anything (page 625, American hardcove rof the GoF book). What did he do? He tried to stupefy it, but he didn’t manage. If you want to know my opinion, I think that Horace Slughorn can be that skrewt. The description of him being an enormously fat, bald old man who was massaging his lower belly (page 65, HBP British hardcover) somehow suits to the description of the skrewt... And Harry indeed tried to “stupefy” Slughorn trying to force him to tell the truth about what had happened between him and the young Tom Riddle. Finally, Harry froze the skrewt but the Impediment Curse was not permanent; the skrewt would be regaining the use of its legs at any moment (page 626, GoF). Doesn’t it remind you about Harry and the Slughorn’s visit at Hagrid’s where Horace was drunk and certainly his legs didn’t work properly? And to add, the skrewts were brought up by Hagrid, what gives us even more connection to the situation after Aragog’s burial. Of course Harry knew that the charm (both Felix Felicis influence and the Horace being drunk would finally wear off). So Harry managed- he got Slughorn’s crucial memory!

The fourth obstacle in the Triwizard Tournament was Viktor Krum, who had been imperiused. I know that most of Harry Potter series fans can tell: “I know! It’s Madame Rosmerta! She was imperiused!” but I can say I’d rather see Severus Snape here.
First of all, Rosmerta isn’t that important to the plot because what she did was less relevant compared to what Snape did. Look at the description in GoF:

“What are you doing?” (...)
And then Harry heard Krum’s voice:
“Crucio!” (...)
Harry pulled himself up and pointed his wand at Krum (...) Krum turned and began to run.
“Stupefy!” Harry yelled.
(...) “I don’t believe it” panted Cedric.
“I can’t believe this... I thought he was all right”, Harry said, looking at Krum.

Almost everybody, instead of Harry, believed that Snape isn’t a Death Eater and works for the Order. My opinion is- and you may disagree of course- that as long as Dumbledore trusted Severus, Harry couldn’t do anything but agree with Dumbledore, with many difficulties, though. Harry promised Dumbledore that he would bring Snape with him, when Dumbledore weakened himself by drinking the potion. Harry chased Snape after he said his: “Avada Kedavra” aimed at Dumbledore- as Harry did in the Tournament, chasing Severus. The only thing that Rowling has changed is the curse that Snape used ... but it’s still the Unforgivable Curse!

Krum was acting under the Imperius curse. If we assume that Snape did what he did because he was under the influence of the Unbreakable Vow made to Narcissa and Bellatrix and – maybe because somebody else- either Dumbledore himself or Voldemort- told him to kill the Headmaster, we may conclude that it is Snape who we are talking about. It was he who acted in this way that people were shocked!

Harry also thinks: he could hardly believe what he’d just seen Krum do. The use of an Unforgivable curse on a fellow human being meant a life term in Azkaban (...) Krum surely couldn’t have wanted the Triwizard Cup that badly...(page 628)

Isn’t it strange that Snape risked so much by killing Dumbledore? The rest of his life will be spent in hiding, unless Rowling made fools of us and will allow Severus to redeem himself for the Ministry.

After Harry saw what Krum did, he hit more dead ends (page 628) and finally saw a sphinx who said: “Answer on your first guess- I let you pass. Answer wrongly- I attack. Remain silent- I will let you walk away from me unscathed (page 629). My opinion is that the riddle that Harry has to answer (made by Tom Riddle) is about the Horcruxes because if Harry does something wrong while finding the Horcruxes, he can be attacked (as he was, by the Inferi in the cave), if Harry is right- he’ll survive and if he decides not to do anything- he’ll be living (but for how long?).

It looks as if Tom Riddle made a riddle (a wonderful word game, isn’t it?), which is as follows:

First think of the person who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what’s always the last thing to mend,
The middle of middle and end of an end?
And finally give me the sound often heard
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?( page 629)

...And the answer for this is a spider. Of course, when we think about the person who lives in disguise, the answer is easy- a spy! Harry guesses it quickly-as quickly as always Snape comes into his head. Harry was suspecting Severus to tell lies to Dumbledore.

Then the boy should think about the last thing to mend. My opinion is that Voldemort is this “thing” which Harry has to “mend”, what means “kill”; in other words, Harry has to mend what Voldemort destroyed. It may be also the Horcruxes, as Dumbledore said: “ I think the Horcrux is in the middle (page 525, HBP, British hardcover). Destroying the Horcruxes is the way to “mend” the world and this would be really “an end of an end”.
The fourth line of the riddle can be also understood as a letter “D” which is the letter that Dumbledore’s surname starts with. Maybe Harry should think what lied in Dumbledore’s death caused by Snape? Maybe there was more than he saw and concluded?
Besides, we can also think about the role played by the Vanishing Cabinet which was mended by Draco Malfoy. When you went inside the cabinet, you were in the middle of the way between Hogwarts and the Borgin and Burkes shop. Should Harry think more about the cabinet and his former Potions master? Should he conclude something?
Finally, Harry has to think about who he wouldn’t like to kiss. He thinks bout the Blast-ended skrewt at first, which is a bit strange, as we know that Harry wouldn’t like to get a kiss from a Dementor at first. I pointed out that in my interpretation the skrewt is Horace Slughorn. Maybe he will be a kind of trouble-maker in the book number seven?

Anyway: the spider is the answer. It is often seen that Snape is described as a spider. What’s interesting, an adult Snape is described as a bat, but young Snape was described as a spider:

Round-shouldered yet angular, he walked in a twitchy manner that recalled a spider(...) OotP, page 643, American version, soft cover
A greasy-haired teenager sat alone in the dark bedroom, pointing his wand at the ceiling, shooting down flies...(page 591-592, OotP)

The spider in the Goblet of fire is described like this:

The spider was so large, or so magical, that the spells were doing no more than aggravating it. Harry had one horrifying glimpse of eight shining black eyes and razor-sharp pincers before it was upon him.(page 631).

An interesting description... Snape is very magical indeed. We saw it in the HBP book. He gets very furious when Harry wants to fight him-we saw the similar scene when Severus Snape was fleeing after killing Dumbledore. What more, in the scene where Harry saw his worst memory, Snape is described as follows:

A hand that had closed right over his upper arm, closed with a pincerlike grip. (...) Wincing, Harry looked around (...) and saw, with a thrill of horror, a fully grown, adult-sized Snape standing right beside him, white with rage. (page 648, OotP).

I can only suppose that Snape’s age will matter in the last Harry Potter book. In the scene on page 648 you can easily see that past and reality were connected, and I had tried proving that I think that Krum was Snape (Krum is similar to Snape even in looks and behaviour!). Now we have another Snape, but in a different look, the look of the spider. I suspect that Snape’s past and reality will play a big part in the last book.

The Triwizard-Tournament Harry fought the spider by shouting “Expelliarmus!” (page 632).
He aimed high at the spider’s underbelly, as he had done with the skrewt.

It means that Harry will hit the most fragile place of the spider. Do you know what it means? Harry did the same with the skrewt- Horace Slughorn. Slughorn’s soft spot was Lily Evans! I guess that Severus has the same soft spot as Horace...Harry will get what he wanted. There is only one problem: the Triwizard Cup was fake. The question is: was Snape trying to stop Harry from getting the false prize, or maybe it doesn’t matter in this interpretation.

How do you like it? There are many other questions to ask, for example if we have to count Fleur and Cedric into that interpretation as Hermione and Ron, for example, but it’s a theme for another editorial.

[marine2323]

Very interesting analysis. The first and second task comparisons to the fourth and fifth book make a lot of sense. However, in connecting parts of the third task to part of the sixth book, a lot of things seemed to be stretched just a little too much...The blast-ended screwt as Slughorn? The mist as his relationship with Ginny? I don't know...

I think the most interesting thing is how this can give us possible information on book 7. You bring up a couple things at the end, but I'm still not really clear what part you consider the 7th book, since there are only 3 tasks for 4 books. Actually touching the cup? Or the part after the task with LV that the first task apparently forshadows? The difference is very important in predicting future books if you consider it to be forshadowing. I would thing it would be the bit after, since in that LV and Harry are dueling, yet you say it is touching the cup, saying that Snape may block him from it.

Nice work

[xertnevnI]

Actually, the people who needs redeeming themselves will be Percy and Snape. Harry will touch the [insert object here] and falls into trouble.

Then someone will kill a person standing beside Harry. Who? Normally a person standing beside you will be your friend or relative. As we know the Weasleys are the closest to Harry, so one of them will go.

Harry will then be tied up by somebody. This can mean that he will be immobilized by a Death Eater, maybe Malfoy (again, as of Book 6 while in the Hogwarts Express?)

Harry gets into a fight with Voldemort and wins.

However after winning, the Death Eaters are rioting in anger and shock. Harry escapes. Then Pettigrew will help him (instead of the shadows resulted from Priori Incantatem), probably save Harry's life or something.

After that, nearing the end of the escape, Harry have to take the body of Diggory, but it lagged him down. Now, what possibly can lag him down? Emotional breakdown or a disaster?



Feel free to contradict me, as Ron rightly says: this is a free country
And a very nice analysis too...

[redfiveRoe]

Wow, congratulaltions. I'm impressed with the work you put into to this research. Everytime I reread the books, I think about taking notes as I read to keep track of things mentioned that may forshadow upcoming events but not ever I picked up on all of these. Although the mention of the spy in the sphinxes riddle automatically made me think of Snape.

[allegro]

Originally Posted by marine2323

Very interesting analysis. The first and second task comparisons to the fourth and fifth book make a lot of sense. However, in connecting parts of the third task to part of the sixth book, a lot of things seemed to be stretched just a little too much...The blast-ended screwt as Slughorn? The mist as his relationship with Ginny? I don't know...

When I talk to people about it, many of the compares him being fat to the skrewt and it suits them. I guess it's sometimes a matter of seventh sense- it suits me, somebody will say it won't suit him/her, somebody is inbetween. Mist was the hardest part to interprete for me. I'm for Harry who doesn't know what's going on (what Draco and Snape intend to do) the most.

Originally Posted by marine2323

I think the most interesting thing is how this can give us possible information on book 7. You bring up a couple things at the end, but I'm still not really clear what part you consider the 7th book, since there are only 3 tasks for 4 books

All the events that happened after Krum's attack. It's something "liquid", the passage between the end of the Tournament and the foreshadowings. I consider that what happened after travelling by Portkey is foreshadowed in the first task.

[bluebelle]

Certainly interesting. I particularly like the parallels to the fifth book ...
If there is a pattern, then I reckon the 7th book is foreshadowed by the graveyard scene - because it was like a fourth test, definitely separate to the 3rd test of the maze.

I'm sure the direct comparison is that there will be a duel between Harry and Voldemort. Death is going to be a central theme in book 7, and the graveyard scene is all about death and life (Cedric's murder, Voldemort's rebirth, the shadows of the dead, the phoenix which completely symbolises life and death).

[allegro]

And I believe that Harry will be close to death and he will be fighting for his life... maybe he even will survive a kind of "clinical death' where he will see dead people and then he'll come back.

[ravclawprefec]

I actually really like this theory. Like someone else said, some of the comparisons between book 6 and the third task may be a bit off, but overall, this is a great catch. I had an idea of my own while reading this. Maybe the mist is representative of the penseive (since the memories are always described as white and swirling). I like the idea of Krum being like Snape, with both of them doing something shocking. I think this has interesting implications for the seventh book.

[Miss_Gaunt]

I like this theory too. There's a lot of connections made that I would never of thought of. Very interesting. I'm not sure about the Slughorn-Skrewt connection but overall very well thought out.

[allegro]

Originally Posted by ravclawprefec

I actually really like this theory. Like someone else said, some of the comparisons between book 6 and the third task may be a bit off, but overall, this is a great catch. I had an idea of my own while reading this. Maybe the mist is representative of the penseive (since the memories are always described as white and swirling). I like the idea of Krum being like Snape, with both of them doing something shocking. I think this has interesting implications for the seventh book.

I'm glad you like the theory I have an another possibility based on your post: could it be that the mist is something what Harry saw in the Pensieve and what turned his world upside down? I'd say it may be memories about Riddle... The mist looked innocent, you were tempted, but when you stepped into it, your world was upside down... LV is a bit like that: he tempts the Death Eaters and if you join them, nothing is what it seems. This mist is veeeeeeeery mysterious indeed.

[aggiefan1206]

Very Interesting you make some excellent parrallels. Some Im a little of unsure of and others are very possible.

[Fawkesfan1]

Bravo, those were some very nice points that you made Keep up the good work.

[AlasEarWax]

That was very interesting. I like the part about the sphinx and the merpeople riddle. There probably are clues hidden in those verses. It seems very JKR to do that.

[ravclawprefec]

Originally Posted by allegro

I'm glad you like the theory I have an another possibility based on your post: could it be that the mist is something what Harry saw in the Pensieve and what turned his world upside down? I'd say it may be memories about Riddle... The mist looked innocent, you were tempted, but when you stepped into it, your world was upside down... LV is a bit like that: he tempts the Death Eaters and if you join them, nothing is what it seems. This mist is veeeeeeeery mysterious indeed.

Hmm...maybe Harry saw something really important in the penseive and he (and we) didn't realize that it was important. When we find out, it's going to turn our world upside down

[allegro]

Originally Posted by ravclawprefec

Hmm...maybe Harry saw something really important in the penseive and he (and we) didn't realize that it was important. When we find out, it's going to turn our world upside down

Maybe... but I'd rather connect Harry to Harry's feelings, not ours. The mist was hard to interprete because it can be many things, and maybe it relates to many things... this mist reminds me of confusion, being lost and attempts to stop this situation.

[MoonCrystal]

Nice work, very good points you made there.

[merlin455]

That was interesting !
One thing strikes me at the end of the third task : when they reach the supreme goal, the Triwizard Cup, Harry doesn't reach it alone. He and Cedric touch the Cup at exactly the same time.

Does it mean that in the end, it will take two people to do what has to be done ?

[allegro]

Some people say that Cedric=Dumbledore. As I believe he's dead, it's hard to say if it could be DD. When you look at who's Harry's young rival in a real life, I'd think about Draco for example. I'm wondering if Harry who stopped being Cedric's rival for a moment (after they both saw that Krum used an Imperius curse=Snape used AK curse) can be in fact Harry who saw more human part of Draco whose hand was shaking- and he couldn't kill DD. What do you think?

Harry and Cedric said "Goodbye" to them for a while what can be understood as Draco who apparated with Snape and went where he went and Harry continued searching for the cup in the maze (the war continues). Then they find themselves if I remember it right in the situation where you can also see Snape so it suits me somehow that Cedric=Draco. Does that mean that Draco will die, I wonder.

[NoNEWTS]

Task one: get the egg from the dragon
Task two: figure out the egg's clue which is to rescue a friend
Task three: get through the maze to the cup

You say these are clues to the plots of books 5-7.
Ok, rescue a friend might mean Sirius in book 5 in the department of mysteries.
Get through the maze might refer to his meandering path to the horcruxes and Voldemort in book 7.
But I don't see how getting the egg from the dragon is like the plot in book 6. Besides these are out of order.

The Dragon would have to be avoiding Umbridge and/or keeping the prophecy from Voldemort in book 5.
Understanding the egg's clue could be understanding Voldemort's past in book 6.
The maze would be the paths and dead ends they follow for the horcruxes and showdown with Voldemort. Since Harry teamed-up with Cedric, a rival, he may have to team up with Snape and/or Draco in the final.

Perhaps it will be a kind of Return of the Jedi thing where Harry and his friends destroy the Horcruxes as their last act, then Voldemort puts the hurt on Harry and co., then Snape steps in to perform the killing curse, sacrificing himself, while Harry's lying on the ground in pain?

[allegro]

Originally Posted by NoNEWTS

Task one: get the egg from the dragon
Task two: figure out the egg's clue which is to rescue a friend
Task three: get through the maze to the cup

You say these are clues to the plots of books 5-7.
Ok, rescue a friend might mean Sirius in book 5 in the department of mysteries.
Get through the maze might refer to his meandering path to the horcruxes and Voldemort in book 7.
But I don't see how getting the egg from the dragon is like the plot in book 6. Besides these are out of order.

In my opinion it's not the egg what counts the most in this task, but that Harry had to fight the dragon. And in the graveyard scene in GoF Harry fought LV in the air, the same as he was fighting the dragon in the air. I'd say that the egg is more LV's brain which allows him to penetrate Harry's mind. Harry should have guessed what were the true LV's reasons, why he had these visions... LV's soul is something extremely precious...

Originally Posted by NoNEWTS

The maze would be the paths and dead ends they follow for the horcruxes and showdown with Voldemort. Since Harry teamed-up with Cedric, a rival, he may have to team up with Snape and/or Draco in the final.

I agree.