A Dangerous Tournament

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Year Four – J.K. Rowling

Fantasy, witches, wizards, schools, England.

Rating 12/10

Harry Potter is invited to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys as well as stay there for the rest of the summer and go to school from there. After attending the event, trouble comes Harry’s way, death eaters come to terrorize and left them all traumatized slightly. Time to return to Hogwarts for Year Four and this year is different than the last. It is the Triwizard Tournament. Three schools: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, three students: One from each school, three tasks, one victor.  However, the Triwizard Cup chose two champions from Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter. Now Harry Potter will have to try to survive each task, but the question remains. Who put his name into the Triwizard cup? Who ever had done it wanted Harry dead? In the first task, its against a dragon and the goal is to retrieve the golden egg that contains a hint as to what the next task is. An unexpected task happens, and it is the Yule Ball. It ends in heart break and friends not speaking with each other. In the second task, the victors must retrieve what or whom was taken from. Harry nearly survives the murderous mermaids and other water creatures. It’s the third task now that involves a maze. A very dangerous maze. After Harry and Cedric grab the cup, they are transported to a graveyard. Cedric is killed and Harry comes face to face with a resurrected Lord Voldemort. He also nearly escapes from him and wins the Triwizard Tournament. No one believes him that Lord Voldemort is back.

I really love this novel a lot because it has so much excitement. There are dragons and mermaids and mazes plus some other events like a Yule Ball that made me feel so bad for Hermione. She secretly hoped that Ron had asked her, and he didn’t at all. I had always thought that Ron and Hermione had a crush on each other from day one. There are other plot twists that weren’t expected as well as some comedic scenes by the Weasley twins. I highly recommend giving this book a read for sure because its detailed and fun to read.

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Aunts Blown Up, Death of a Creature, and A Man Wrongfully Committed.. What a MESS!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Year Three – J.K. Rowling

Fantasy, witches, wizards, schools, England.

Rating 8/10

After surviving his second year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter dreaded summers now. Only because he can’t work on his magic and studies due to his muggle family, the Dursleys. It wasn’t as dreadful as last summer though because he was able to get letters from his friends as well as manage to sneak doing magic and studies. His uncle, Vernon, shares news of his sister, Marge, is coming to visit and Harry is not happy about it. When Marge shows up, she talks trash talk about Harry’s parents and Harry blew her up, into a balloon! Harry packs his stuff right away and takes the Knight Bus away. He stays at a hotel where he is greeted by the Weasleys and Hermione. He learns of a wizard named Sirius Black is on the loose and hears that Black is his god parent as well as possibly Black being responsible for betraying his parents. Tables had turned and it was the new professor, Lupin, to tell Harry the truth of who betrayed his parents. It was Peter Pettigrew who betrayed Lily and James Potter as well as work for Lord Voldemort. Peter manages to escape as a rat and Black is meant to be taken back to Hogwarts. Harry learns that Lupin is a werewolf and had barely escaped him. However, using Hermione’s time turner, they save Black and the hippogriff Buckbeak. 

This book wasn’t exactly my favorite in the series, but I did enjoy this novel, nonetheless. I have to say that there were some good qualities of this book and I prefer the movie, just this once. It was a nice change not having to hear about Lord Voldemort. My new favorite characters had to be Sirius and Lupin. Both misunderstood in their own ways. Lupin being a werewolf and Sirius being framed for a crime he did not commit at all.

The Boy Who Lived

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Year One– J.K. Rowling

Fantasy, witches, wizards, schools, England.

Rating 9/10

Harry Potter, who survived a killing curse that was performed by Lord Voldemort, was orphaned and given to his neglectful magic hating family, the Dursleys. One day Harry receives a letter from Hogwarts and meets Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts. Harry befriends Ron and slowly Hermione as well. Harry became the Gryffindor’s Seeker due to an unexpected incident that proved his greatness on the broom as well as catching a ball while on the broom. Together, on Halloween, defeat a Troll that was loose in the dungeons. Someone took control of Harry’s broomstick nearly accosting him his life. Later the trio hears that there is a giant dog hiding something, so they go investigate it. Some research later about Nicholas Flamel, they realize what it is that the school is protecting. The trio got caught sneaking after dark and had to serve detention. Wanting to see what the three headed dog was hiding the trio go. After some trials, Harry meets Professor Quirrell at the end of the maze that was set up to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone. Except it isn’t just Quirrell, Lord Voldemort is a nasty leech off the bald head of the professor. They duel and Voldemort loses. At the end, when the school year is all done and over with, Harry had gained new friends and a drive to go back to Hogwarts to be away from the terrible Dursleys.

I had recently found the entire hard copy set of all the Harry Potter books that were in excellent condition. I wanted to relive the whole journey as well as go down memory lane by rereading from Year One to Year Seven. This was the book series that got me started to wanting to read in the first place. The wonderful adventure of the trio first forming in this book does hint that in the rest of the books that they would be best friends until the end. That is ultimate friendship goals! As an adult reflecting about twelve years since I have read the entire series, I found myself finding little lines and such that I hadn’t noticed before. I relived that spark of passion to read and I was so emotional when I finished the first time, I read this book and wanted to read the rest. I highly recommend to read all the Harry Potter books because the movies don’t do the books justice. This book is for all ages.