20 Idiotic Decisions Made By Characters In The Harry Potter Films
12. Creating A Binding Magical Contract That Allowed For No Disqualifications
If your name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, you are magically bound to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. No exceptions. Barty Crouch informs the Hogwarts students that, due to the extreme risks involved in competing in the tournament, no one under age 17 (legal age in the wizarding world) will be allowed to enter in the tournament. Dumbledore draws an Age Line around the Goblet that keeps out younger students, as the Weasley twins learn to their discomfort. Yet Harrys name comes out of the Goblet after the three champions have already been chosen. Did someone forget to inform the Goblet that underage students werent allowed in? Or that Tri is a prefix that means three, not four? Dumbledores question, Did you get an older student to put your name in for you? indicates that he was at least smart enough to admit that his Age Line had failed in its task. But at this point, Dumbledore should have insisted that Harry be disqualified, and Crouch should have agreed. But that binding contract was written without anticipating that someone might not follow their restrictions. One could assume that there was no free will clause inserted, as Harry was definitely not interested in entering the contest.
