Triwizard Tournament

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The Triwizard Tournament is a fictional tournament featured in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This tournament was established in the late thirteenth to early fourteenth century as a friendly competetion between the three most prestigious magical schools in Europe, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardery in Scotland, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France, and Durmstrang Institute in Scandinavia. However, after the death toll mounted, the tournament ended.

In 1994, the Department of International Cooperation and the Deparment of Magical Games and Sports, resetablished the tournament. Though this time, special precautions were taken. For example, no student under the age of 17 could enter themselves. The judge who would choose which champions were to represent each school, the Goblet of Fire, had an age line around it made by Professor Dumbledore, to prevent anyone who was underage putting their name in. However, Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as Professor Moody, entered Harry Potter in the tournament, though he was underage, and tricked the Goblet into forgetting that only three schools could compete, and entered Harry under a separate school. Therefore, the champions were, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts and Harry Potter also of Hogwarts.

Course of 1994 Tournament

The first task

The first task was to retrieve a Golden Egg from a nest guarded by a Dragon.

This was to test the candidates' ability to function under pressure.

The Yule Ball

The Yule Ball is a ball that occurs during Christmas, open to fourth years and older, though a younger student may be invited by an older student. Traditionally, the champions and their dance partners open the dance. Harry Potter's partner was Parvati Patil, Cedric Diggory's Cho Chang, Fleur Delacour's Roger Davies and Viktor Krum's Hermione Granger.

The second task

Instructions for the second task were contained within the Golden Egg. The task was to retrieve something "valuable", which turned out to be a friend or relative, from the bottom of the Hogwarts lake.

The third task

This was to traverse a maze which had been created on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch and retrive the Triwizard Cup from the centre.

Voldemort's plan

Crouch's task was to make sure Harry won the tournament and grasped the Triwizard Cup. This would transport him to Lord Voldemort. The plan partly succeeded in that Lord Voldemort was brought back to full power and Cedric was murdered by Peter Pettigrew on Voldemort's orders. Harry, however, escaped and alerted Dumbledore to Voldemort's return.

Inspiration

It seems the Triwizard Tournament was inspired by the Olympic games, especially the way in which representatives from other countries compete in he name of international cooperation. Like the Olympics, the Triwizard Tournament was discountued and started again in modern times. Also like the Olympics, the Triwizard Tournament is wrought with coruption.

One notable difference is that in the ancient Olympics only men competed and still in the modern Olympics, there are separate events for men and women. However, in the 1994 Triwizard Tournment (and presumably in the original Tournament as well) male and female students compete together. Another notable difference is that there are, as the name suggests, only three champions.