Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going to be
discussing the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter, and the Triwizard tournament. More specifically,
we’re going to be discussing something that I’m sure has crossed the minds of Harry Potter fans at
one point or another - WHAT HAPPENS if you REFUSE to participate in the fabled Triwizard tournament?
The triwizard tournament is a contest like no other-
an event dating back more than 700 years that tests the intelligence, courage, and strength
of those participating. Since its inception, the contest has gone forward every 5 years- with a
BRIEF 200 year pause due to all three champions being injured in 1792. Per Pottermore:
“The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago
as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry:
Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school,
and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the
tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way
of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities — until,
that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."
3 schools, 3 champions and 3 challenges are the rationale for the tournament’s name-
with ‘tri’ referencing ‘three’. And for years, the tournament stayed true to this figure of
‘3’. However, in Harry’s year, in typical Harry fashion, he (unintentionally) broke this mould
and made it more of a ‘quad-wizard tournament’. In the Goblet of Fire, 4 wizards were competing for
eternal glory, 1000 galleons, and of course the famed and revered ‘triwizard cup’.
Breaking hundreds of years of tradition, Harry inadvertently became an extra participant, being
thrown in to the mix with Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory, and Fleur Delacour. But my question is-
what sort of ramifications did this carry? The whole tournament was created by powerful wizards
and witches of times past- so, I can’t help but wonder what kind of powerful magic was in place
to ensure that the tournament remained on course- staying true to its original nature.
Given that each school was only allowed one champion, and that MANY students wanted the honour
of participating in the tournament, it only makes sense that the fabled ‘Goblet of Fire’ would make
the final decision for who would represent their school. Dumbledore explains the process here:
"The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire. Anybody wishing
to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment
and drop it into the goblet, aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their
names forward. Tomorrow night, Hallowe'en, the goblet will return the names of the three
it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the
entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete."
One more thing worth mentioning is that NO STUDENT under 17 could compete,
and anyone under that age was quite literally UNABLE to enter the draw. Until Harry that is…
Just as shocked as everyone else at the news- Harry being chosen as a ‘second’ champion
sparked a lot of outrage, as many believed he had unfairly circumvented the rules of the Goblet
in order to enter. After being selected he’s summoned to a room to join the other champions,
and it’s here that chaos breaks out. School heads are a mix of confused and furious,
and Dumbledore himself delivers the particularly ICONIC line:
“HARRY, DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN TO THE GOBLET OF FIRE?”
Of course, Harry was innocent, but it was too late. We later find out that Harry’s entry was
falsified by none other than Barty Crouch Jr, who tricked the Goblet in to believing that four
schools were competing instead of three. The worst part of it all? Harry would HAVE to participate,
because you see, each selected champion was bound by a magical contract to see the Tournament
through to the end. This is reinforced time and time again. First by Dumbledore:
“Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see
the Tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the Goblet constitutes a binding,
magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become champion.”
And next by ‘Moody’ aka Barty Crouch Jr:
“He’s got to compete. They’ve all got to compete. Binding magical contract,
like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?”
My question now is- what if Harry refused? What would have happened to him?
What does this ‘contract’ entail?
If we look at Harry Potter canon, there are a few other instances of ‘magical contracts’
or at least, lasting magical enchantments. The most notable example that I can think of
is the ‘Unbreakable Vow’. The unbreakable vow is a binding magical contract that connects
two parties. The purpose is simple, it is to bind a fellow witch or wizard to a promise.
After stating each condition of the vow, the participant who is to uphold said responsibilities
must agree to them one by one. The Unbreakable Vow is a big deal,
and- what’s the consequence of breaking that ‘contract’? Why, death of course.
There are usually consequences for breach of a contract,
and I can’t think of why people would be continually reminding Harry of his
NECESSITY to participate if there weren’t any parameters put in place that, in a way,
forced him to. This leads me to believe that there are two possible systems in place here:
Compulsion- which would cause the party to WANT to comply with the contract,
in a way FORCING them to endure whatever it is that they’ve agreed to.
Or
Enforcement/Punishment- which would effectively result in something negative
happening to those who refused to comply with the terms of said contract
However, it doesn’t appear that ‘compulsion’ is the system at play here, as Harry appears
to be very unwilling and reluctant to take part- only participating due to the instruction of the
tournament’s organizers. What this tells me is that ‘enforcement’ is likely the system at play,
which would suggest that, if Harry were to refuse - something very bad could happen to him.
This would also explain why everyone encouraged him to participate,
regardless of their feelings pertaining to his entry.
If you break an Unbreakable Vow, you die, so I think that it’s a reasonable ASSUMPTION
to deduce that you also die if you refuse to participate in the triwizard tournament.
Furthermore, from character dialogue I think
we can reasonably reinforce that this is in fact the case:
"Don't you?" said Moody quietly. "It's very simple, Karkaroff.
Someone put Potter's name in that goblet knowing he'd have to compete if it came out."
"Maybe someone's hoping Potter is going to die for it," said Moody, with the merest trace of a growl.
The tournament itself is exceedingly dangerous, and this is also reinforced through the text,
so I’d imagine that it’d take some serious enforcement to make it worth risking
potential death. There must be some lasting consequence- whether mental or physical- at play.
Provided that there are 3 challenges in the tournament, I’m of the impression
that the ‘punishment’ or ‘consequence’ may become incrementally more dire as the tournament goes on.
Effectively, what this would mean is that for each challenge a participant refused to participate in,
something bad would happen to them.
For example:
Refusing to participate in the first challenge- all of your hair falls out
Refusing to participate in the second challenge- your legs stop working
Refusing to participate in the third challenge….death.
It also makes sense that no one would inform Harry of the specifics of these consequences,
including his professors, as the subject is quite morbid and Harry was just a young boy.
What do you guys think? Would refusing to participate result
in death? Or something else altogether? Comment down below
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Until next time
HARRY, DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN TO THE GOBLET OF FIRE (Dumbledore asked calmly)