The Madness of Mr. Crouch
chapter twenty-eight of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Hermione has a rough day as she insults the house-elves in the kitchen, receives hate mail, and then misses Hagrid’s class on nifflers. Later, though, Harry learns the third task will be a maze, and after finding a deranged Mr. Crouch, grabs Dumbledore as Crouch disappears.
Harry leaned on the windowsill, looking out at the grounds, at the dark, rustling treetops of the Forbidden Forest….
(by prettyannamoon)
[Hermione] had opened the last envelope, and yellowish-green liquid smelling strongly of petrol gushed over her hands, which began to erupt in large yellow boils.
(by Drew Graham)
[Harry] found himself looking at a number of fluffy black creatures with long snouts. Their front paws were curiously flat, like spades, and they were blinking up at the class, looking politely puzzled at all the attention.
(by NicoPony)
Suddenly a man staggered out from behind a tall oak. For a moment, Harry didn’t recognize him… then he realized it was Mr. Crouch.
(by glockgal)
“I’ve done… stupid… thing…” Mr. Crouch breathed….. “Must… tell… Dumbledore….”
(by Laura Freeman)
about the chapter
Something You May Not Have Noticed
It’s always seemed funny to me that Ludo Bagman introduces the champions to the maze – while standing in the middle of the growing maze. There’s plenty of time until the third task and the hedges are still low enough to step over; how hard would it be for one of them to come out, late at night, and map the thing out before the hedges grow too high? After all, these are people who weren’t above sneaking out in the middle of the night to find the dragons back before the first task. Perhaps the maze is designed in such a way that it wouldn’t be obvious where the beginning or end is, thus negating the help somewhat? It still seems like a bright seventh-year could easily create a Marauder’s Map of sorts and either sneak it in or Summon it….
The Boy Who Lived
One thing that’s interesting about all of Hermione’s hate mail is that it’s really less about her than it is about Harry – people defending Harry Potter’s honor. To be sure, this is probably partly because of the “tragic hero” angle that Rita Skeeter has taken thus far in portraying him. But Harry doesn’t really seem to notice how much all these folks are on his side. Or, perhaps he notices, but takes it for granted – which would be a mistake, because this won’t always be the case.
Something to Remember
Even though Harry can’t figure out what’s up with Mr. Crouch in the moment, he has the tools already to recognize what’s going on with him – and, when you put it together with the things he says about Bertha Jorkins and the other things we know about him, it’s a major clue regarding what’s going on in the wizarding world right now.
The Final Words
(Discussing Hermione’s encouraging the house-elves to demand wages)
“She thinks it’s so easy. It’s part of… the growing process, of realizing you don’t have quite as much power as you think you might have and having to accept that. Then you learn that it’s hard work to change things and that it doesn’t happen overnight. Hermione thinks she’s going to lead them to glorious rebellion in one afternoon and then finds out the reality is very different.”–J.K. Rowling, July 2000
(Question: “Why did you make the Leprechaun gold disappear in “Goblet of Fire” and Harry not notice?”)
I smiled rather ruefully to myself when I did this. Harry doesn’t worry about money, because he’s got enough of it. Ron, on the other hand, is poor, and he cannot imagine how it must be not to notice a pocketful of gold disappearing. I think I was just remembering how it felt to be like Ron; certainly, for that moment, I felt more sympathy for Ron than Harry – my past self more than my present, if you like…. I wanted to show, through Ron, how hard it is sometimes not to have any money when other people do.”–J.K. Rowling, jkrowling.com
I bet the maze changes as it grows.
Hayley said this on September 14, 2009 at 9:53 pm
I wanted to write the same comment as Hayley. Besides, isn’t Harry’s biggest problem in the maze the creatures and spells that he encounters?
I love this chapter… it has so much humor and side-plots, as well as very importat clues… though I remember that when I read it for the first time, I was very confused and absolutely didn’t understand anything about the plot…
x-kim
kim said this on September 15, 2009 at 3:52 am
If Crouch Junior was masterminding that maze, then it was very likely to be sentient within narrow limits. Harry had to win; so the maze could be trusted to ensure that the other contestants lost. But it reckoned without Harry’s unselfish loyalty and friendliness, no doubt because Crouch wouldn’t have factored in qualities he conspicuously lacked himself. So there are two winners; and one permanent loser. And Harry from being the Boy Who Lived becomes the Boy Who Killed.This is a matter for a later chapter of course, but it does perhaps indicate why forensic botany by an ambitious would-be champion would be guaranteed useless! Another sad illustration of how the dark side seem to be better at magic than the light … not in the long run of course, but they do cause a lot of casualties before the end comes.
Deborah Hubbard said this on September 15, 2009 at 5:40 am
the triwizard torniment mus have been realy boring to watch.the only task that the other students could see is the 1st.
emily said this on September 28, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I think this is the first time we see how the members of the Order of the Phoenix communicate with one another via Patronus.
Kim said this on October 27, 2009 at 6:15 am
I always figured protective spells were placed around the Quidditch pitch until the third task to keep anyone from going in.
Roonil Wazlib said this on November 18, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Something I wondered when re-reading this a couple days ago: Did Crouch have an assistant called Weatherby a dozen years ago? After all, when he’s more subjected to the Imperius Curse and thinking he’s back in the past with his wife and Crouch Jr., talking about O.W.L. scores and such, why would his mind meld that with something 12 years later? Maybe that’s the reason he had such a hard time remembering Percy’s name. :)
Natalia said this on January 24, 2010 at 11:10 pm
Typo under NicoPony’s picture with the nifflers. Says “off,” but should say “of.”
Ragmar Dorkins said this on August 12, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Thanks, Ragmar Dorkins – fixed now :)
John Kearns said this on August 24, 2010 at 3:58 pm
I always imagined the nifflers to be smaller than in NicoPony’s picture. Small enough to sit in the palm of your hand, and round and fuzzy.
elizabethauthor said this on October 24, 2010 at 9:02 am
I love the pictures with the Nifflers. In the books,Harry never seems to find anything “cute”. I mean, he’s a boy and that’s copletely understandable. But I loved how he was cuddling the Niffler and smiling. That was adorable.
Wevi said this on November 27, 2010 at 8:54 am
Didn’t the maze even change while the challengers were in it? I assume it is a dynamic thing much like the staircases in the castle.
Jena said this on April 21, 2011 at 8:28 am
I have always wondered why, in Book 7, why knew that Dumbledore’s Patronus is a pheonix, he finds out in this chapter. It’s also the first appearance of the talking Patronus.
Jeremy said this on June 9, 2011 at 8:28 am
How did Crouch come from the forest? Wouldn’t he have come from the village? Speaking of, what’s beyond the forest? Plains?
Natalia, Ive always wondered that too! Also, what does he mean when he says, “you’re not…his?”. It doesn’t really make sense, unless I’m just missing something.
Ari said this on June 16, 2011 at 11:35 pm
Ari, I think he means “you’re not with Durmstrang?” because then he asks, “Dumbledore’s?” he’s trying to make certain the person he’s talking to is on the “good side,” at least in his eyes, since Karkaroff was a Death Eater.
I also always pictured the nifflers as being able to fit in the palm of the hand. I picture them much like the little soot creatures in Spirited Away, if anyone has seen that film.
It took me a couple read-throughs of this book to understand the meaning of this chapter. I guess when I was young, finer plot points went right over my head. I was always so confused over this chapter!
Casey said this on June 19, 2011 at 7:15 am
When Crouch says “you’re not…his?” I always assumed Crouch said “his,” meaning “Voldemort’s.” SPOILER: At this point, Crouch knows his son and/or Moody are Voldemort’s, so he’s trying to figure out if he’s talking to one of Voldemort’s men or Dumbledore’s men. And of course, as Harry himself will say later, he is very much Dumbledore’s man.
Ragmar Dorkins said this on June 19, 2011 at 5:38 pm
I’d like to point out that, aside from Harry, neither Hermione nor Ron himself noticed the gold disappeared.
Lesharo said this on June 24, 2011 at 7:37 pm
I never figured out the central mystery in this book, but I kick myself because I also didn’t figure out a much less tangled mystery: what Fred and George were up to and who they were blackmailing. With this chapter, the reader now has all the clues needed to figure out that particular subplot . . .
Billie said this on July 12, 2011 at 10:08 pm
@Lesharo – I assumed that Ron only gave all the gold he grabbed to Harry to pay him back for the omnioculars, and Hermione never grabbed any. So they wouldn’t have any to notice it was missing… But I’m pretty sure the book never explicitly says this.
toshella said this on July 14, 2011 at 3:13 pm
Something else for the “Something to remember” section: the eagle owl Harry notices while looking out of the Owlery which soars to the castle, around the Owlery (!) and out of sight. Later in the book we learn exactly for which purpose this owl was used at this particular flight.
Sophia said this on August 20, 2011 at 5:16 pm
What was with Snape’s actions when he encountered Harry outside of Dumbldore’s office?
Jeremy said this on December 14, 2011 at 10:33 am