I have read Goblet of Fire so many times that the cover is struggling to remain attatched to the binding and the pages don’t smell like pages anymore. I love reading this book. I loved reading this book. I have an inkling that I will always want to read this book.
Goblet of Fire was once the book for which I was ‘waiting’. I read the Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban box set and had to wait absolute ages for the sequel. Ages. I mean, it took months and months. Then finally one evening, on a not particularly remarkable or otherwise significant day (other than the fact that it was snowing – always a good omen *no thanks to Sybil who said it’d be a miserable day*) I walked into a shop (I had Prisoner of Azkaban in hand) and there was a mound – a very large, tall mound – of brilliant red and blue books that screamed ‘HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE’. I happened to have exactly $20 on this otherwise unremarkable day so I bought myself the Goblet of Fire and read it over and over and over until Order of the Pheonix was released.
I am not exaggerating for dramatic effect.
I sincerely loved Goblet of Fire because of the shiny newness (which eventually became a rather matte shabbiness) and the fact that Harry was forced to grow up. (Isn’t it always the case that you only really truly care because it somehow relates to what you are going through?) I’ve always been around the age of Harry, Ron and Hermione. I was just 13 when I read Goblet. I was just finishing elementary school. I was just starting high school. It was a weird time – yet somehow having this book and reading it over and over made everything seems so much better than it was. That’s a sort of magic isn’t it?
My mom always tells me to ‘live in real life’ very critically and a little (read: really rather) derisively but where is the fun in ignoring the things that make me happy? I happen to rather like that my real life includes quite a significant amount of Harry Potter related influences and Goblet of Fire still blows my mind. Epically.
