Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Chapter 10 Summary.
Mayhem at the Ministry
Chapter 10 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, titled “Mayhem at the Ministry” deals with the aftermath of the Death Eater attack at the World Cup.
Back to the Burrow
Harry and the others wake up early the next day. They use magic to pack up their tents, and quickly leave the campsite. On the way, they run into Mr Roberts, who has a dazed look about him. Arthur explains this is a result of a memory charm and nothing else.
The group takes a Portkey back to Stoatshead Hill. Soon, they reach the Burrow, where they are greeted by Molly. She has been waiting for them in the front yard and runs to hug Arthur. Next, to everyone’s surprise, she hugs the twins and apologizes for shouting at them before they left.
Arthur grabs the Daily Prophet to see their report of last night’s events. The article covering the World Cup, Written by Rita Skeeter heavily criticizes the Ministry of Magic for letting the terror attack happen. His statement that nobody was hurt during the attack has been quoted, but he hasn’t been named.
Even though he is on holiday, Arthur feels like he needs to visit the office. Mrs Weasley disapproves, but Arthur and Percy head out anyway.
Telling Ron and Hermione
Harry asks Mrs Weasley if Hedwig returned with a letter for him. She says no, but it catches Ron and Hermione’s attention. The trio excuses themselves from the group, and head over to Ron’s room.
Harry tells Hermione and Ron about his scar, and their reactions are just as he had expected. Hermione suggested writing to Dumbledore or Madam Pomfrey and referenced a few books, and Ron simply looked dumbstruck.
Harry also announces the dream he saw about Wormtail and Voldemort. It surely cannot be a coincidence that the Death Eaters made an appearance just 3 days later.
Moreover, it all lined up with Trelawney’s prediction, who said that the Dark Lord would rise again because of a returning servant.
Ron suggests they play a game of Quidditch to ease his mind, and Harry takes him up on the offer.
Chaos at the Office
In the following week, Arthur and Percy can barely come back home. They leave for the office before the rest of the family gets up, and return well after dinner.
Percy explains that he has been putting out fires all week. People keep sending Howlers to complain about security at the World Cup, and demand compensation for lost property. He calls his father ‘unwise’ for making a comment about the situation before clearing it with the higher-ups.
Mrs. Weasley flares up at this, and Bill supports her. He talks about how Rita Skeeter would have found a way to make the Ministry look bad anyway.
Mr Weasley returns a while later, and talks about how Rita has been digging around for more Ministry mess-ups all week. She found out about the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins, which would probably be a headline on the next day’s Prophet.
He also express his irritation at Crouch, and calls him lucky since Reeta hasn’t found out about Winky. This raises a small argument between him and Percy, who defends Crouch. Hermione chimes in, expressing her disdain over Crouch’s treatment of Winky, but Mrs Weasley breaks the argument off.
Packing for School
Harry heads upstairs with Ron, and packs his broom servicing kit. He wonders why Sirius hasn’t replied to his owl yet, and fears he might have been arrested. Ron eases his concern, reasoning that had he been caught, it would be all over the newspapers.
He hands Harry the things Mrs Weasley bought for him from Diagon Alley as well as the gold she withdrew from his vault. Harry is looking through his books when he hears a loud noise of disgust from behind.
Ron is holding up a long velvet dress with a moldy lace frill and matching lace cuffs. He seems to think he has been given Ginny’s new dress by mistake, but Mrs Weasley walks into the room at that moment and clarifies that they’re actually dress robes for him. According to the school shopping list, students were required to purchase a set for formal occasions.
Ron is horrified at the thought of being forced to wear something like that. Harry looks at his own robes, but they are not as bad as Ron’s. Ron questions why Harry gets a better deal, and Mrs Weasley replies that Ron’s pair was a secondhand and she did not have much choice.
The chapter ends as Ron resents his family’s financial condition, cursing the fact that everything he owns is rubbish. This makes Harry sad, for he would gladly split his entire vault with the Weasleys, but he knows they would never accept it.
