Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Chapter Twenty:
The First Task

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

U.S. hardcover edition: pages 337 - 362
U.K. hardcover edition: pages 295 - 316
U.K. paperback edition: pages 370 - 397
Timeframe: Sunday 22 November - Tuesday 24 November, 1994 [Y14]

In which Harry and Hermione unsuccessfully try to find a spell to use against dragons. Harry warns Diggory about the dragons, the fake Moody gives Harry a hint, and Hermione helps Harry learn to cast a Summoning Charm. The first task is to get past a dragon and collect a golden egg; each champion succeeds in turn, Harry being the quickest. Ron and Harry finally make up, and Bagman tells the champions that the clue to the next task is in each golden egg.

Interesting facts and notes about the text of this chapter:

Note that references to the Triwizard tasks are not capitalized in the U.K. editions, although they are capitalized in the U.S. editions. Except where we refer to the chapter titles themselves, we are following the U.K. convention of not capitalizing "first task", "second task", and "third task".

This chapter sets up a pattern that is also followed by "The Second Task", in that it begins with Harry's final preparation for the task, shows the task itself, then ends in a congratulatory haze of relief after the scoring. This chapter is also reminiscent of the extended library searches and study sessions of Harry's first year, right down to the pile of library books about dragons.

Harry pulled down every book he could find on dragons...

"Talon-clipping by charms...treating scale rot... This is no good, this is for nutters like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy..."

"Dragons are extremely difficult to slay, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate...but Sirius said a simple one would do it."

...Hermione whispering non-stop at his elbow.

"...the trouble is, like that book said, not much is going to get through a dragon's hide...I'd say Transfigure it, but with something that big, you really haven't got a hope..."

He stared hopelessly down at the index of Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed... instant scalping... but dragons had no hair... pepper breath... that would probably increase a dragon's firepower... horn tongue... just what he needed, to give it an extra weapon....

Cedric was at the top. He was with a load of sixth-year friends.

He wanted to skip Divination to keep practicing, but Hermione refused point-blank to skive off Arithmancy...

Secrecy Sensor. Vibrates when it detects concealment and lies...

No use here, of course, too much interference

That's when I open my trunk.

Characters introduced in this chapter:

• none

Characters returning in this chapter:

• Bagman, Ludo

• Crouch, Bartemius (junior) (as Moody, Alastor "Mad-Eye")

• Crouch, Bartemius (senior)

• Delacour, Fleur

• Diggory, Cedric

• Dumbledore, Albus

• Filch, Argus

• Granger, Hermione

• Hagrid, Rubeus

• Karkaroff, Igor

• Krum, Viktor

• Maxime, Olympe

• McGonagall, Minerva

• Pomfrey, Poppy

• Potter, Harry

• Skeeter, Rita

• Sprout, Professor

• Trevor

• Weasley, Charlie

• Weasley, Ginny

• Weasley, Ron

• the unnamed young witches of Viktor Krum's unofficial Hogwarts fan club

Characters mentioned in this chapter:

• Black, Sirius

• Dursley, Dudley

• Flitwick, Filius

• Lockhart, Gilderoy

• Lupin, Remus

• Malfoy, Draco

• Potter, James

• Potter, Lily

• Snape, Severus

• Trelawney, Professor

• Weasley, Molly

Settings and locations introduced or returning in this chapter:

• Charms Corridor, the

• Great Hall, the

• greenhouses

• grounds - first task enclosure

• library

Settings and locations mentioned in this chapter:

• Forbidden Forest, the

• Privet Drive

Exceptional character moments:

• Harry, who would rather face a dragon than leave the only place where he's ever been happy.

• Harry's panic becomes manageable once he finally has something concrete to do to prepare for the first task, and is submerged completely once he has actually begun acting against the dragon.

Spells:

• Accio (Summoning Charm)

• Bubble-Head Charm

• Conjunctivitis Curse

• Diffindo

• horn tongue hex

• instant scalping hex

• pepper breath hex

• sleep, bewitched (Fleur's charm)

• Switching Spells

• Transfiguration of an inanimate object into an animal - a rock into a Labrador retriever

• unnamed, advanced spells to give oneself extra powers

Links and Resources:

• ancient magic

• Arithmancy

• Bestiary, the

  • dragons

    • Chinese Fireball (Viktor Krum, #3)

    • Welsh Green (Fleur Delacour, #2)

    • Swedish Short-Snout (Cedric Diggory, #1)

    • Hungarian Horntail (Harry Potter, #4)

  • Dementors

• items and devices, magical

  • action figure

  • books

    • Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed

    • A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration

    • Men Who Love Dragons Too Much

  • brooms

  • Dark Detectors

  • egg, golden

  • Gobstones

  • pictures with moving subjects

  • Quick-Quotes Quill

  • souvenirs from the Quidditch World Cup

• Flutterby Bush

• Herbology

• History of Magic

• medical / healing magic:

  • burn-healing paste

  • wound-cleaning potion

• O.W.L.s

• Parseltongue

• Transfiguration

• Triwizard Tournament - the First Task

Memorable lines:

• Harry got up on Sunday morning and dressed so inattentively that it was a while before he realized he was trying to pull his hat onto his foot instead of his sock.

Strictly British:

• dead sure

• nutter

• porridge

• skive

Timelines/Calendar:

The action of the chapter takes place from the morning of 22 November through the afternoon of the 24th. The dates of the week given in the chapter are consistent with Hallowe'en having been a Saturday.