Mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died - Emerson Spartz [33]
Verdict
Both potions are helpful to Harry. The bottle of Felix Felicis gives him a gold standard for success and teaches Harry to trust the voice within. Polyjuice Potion gives Harry and friends the power of disguise, which is the key to many successful missions. Verdict: Harry is lucky even without Felix Felicis, but the Order Members couldn’t have changed their appearances and slip past Death Eaters without Polyjuice Potion, making it the most useful.
Which is the best book?
It’s a tricky subject to choose a best book, since each one is a stepping stone to the next in the series. And every fan has a different opinion, so bear with us—this next section is completely subjective!
Goblet of Fire
There’s a sporty and light-hearted feeling to much of GoF, and one thing that puts this book above the rest is that Harry discovers there is magic all over the world, which broadens his horizons. At the Quidditch World Cup he sees wizards from Africa, Ireland, and the United States. Later in the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts, there are students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, representing the countries of Bulgaria and France. Harry even learns about other creatures not seen in other books, from the Merpeople to the Sphinx in the tournament maze. Also, this book introduces a new human character on almost every page, from the amazing Quidditch hero Viktor Krum to the gruff and suspicious Mad-Eye Moody, to the outrageous news reporter Rita Skeeter and her poisonous green quill. Other favorite characters return, such as Sirius Black, who is hiding out in a cave as the dog Snuffles, and Dobby the house-elf, who is free and working at Hogwarts. Dumbledore is there, of course, as Harry’s wise and kindly mentor, and happily in GoF, their relationship is not as dark and emotionally heated as it becomes in later books.
Harry finds himself in a unique situation in GoF because even though he is the hero of the books, he is not the only champion at Hogwarts, and that’s refreshing. Fame is not what it’s cracked up to be. For once, he realizes how much he still has to learn about magic, which is a better message than many of the books, which assume that Harry was born knowing exactly what to do in every situation. Viktor, Fleur Delacoeur, and Cedric Diggory are older and more sophisticated than Harry is, and Harry is thrown for a loop when he has to compete with them. His challenge is to discover his own strengths and talents with the help of his friends and then rise to the occasion.
Another superior quality of GoF is that Harry and his friends have some very typical teenage scenes that are funny and universal. There’s a dance called the Yule Ball, and Harry works up the courage to invite his crush of the moment, Cho Chang, only to be bitterly disappointed that she is going with his rival Cedric. Ron overlooks inviting Hermione until it’s too late, and then is jealous when he discovers that Viktor is her date and that he’s been following her around the library. When the dance actually begins, Harry and Ron are completely clueless and thoughtless and don’t want to dance with their actual partners, the Patil sisters. In spite of some rocking out by the band The Weird Sisters, the dance is a big letdown for the kids, but that’s what makes it so recognizable and true to life.
But don’t think that GoF is all fun and games—oh no. It’s a mystery beginning with the gloomy and decrepit Riddle house, ancestral home of the Dark Lord. We learn about Tom Riddle’s past and what happened to his doomed Muggle family. We learn lots of new details about Peter Pettigrew and Severus Snape, who are both Death Eaters but perhaps not always on the same side. GoF has one of the best grand finales of the series: a truly scary horror scene with the evil Voldemort in a graveyard making a wicked comeback from a big cauldron. After fighting one of the most exciting duels in the series, Harry barely escapes death