Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Chapter 4 Summary

Chapter Four

Back to the Burrow

 

The next day, Harry packs his Hogwarts school trunk and waits for the arrival of the Weasleys. Just the thought of the Weasleys arrival make the Dursleys nervous and grumpy.  To try to look intimidating, Uncle Vernon put on his best suit, but Dudley looked diminished because of fright (Hagrid once gave Dudley a pig's tail through magic). After Uncle Vernon asks, Harry realizes that he has no idea how the Weasleys would be traveling. The arrival time of five o’clock comes and goes. The Weaselys are late in picking Harry up; therefore, Uncle Vernon gets irate as he thinks they would insist on staying for dinner. Suddenly, Dudley runs into the room frightened to the core. There are strange clanking sounds coming from the Dursley’s old, boarded-up fireplace. Suddenly Harry hears the Weasleys clamoring for more room behind the boards and calling Harry’s name to help them out. Harry tries to explain that the Weasleys were traveling by Floo Powder (a method of transportation that allows wizards to travel through fire). Suddenly, the Weasleys burst out of the fireplace, much to the chagrin of Uncle Vernon. The Weasleys help Harry collect his trunk and his other school things before collecting back into the fireplace in order to return to “the Burrow,” which is the name of the Weaselys’ eclectic household. After Mr. Weasley forces Uncle Vernon to say goodbye to Harry, everyone is startled to see Dudley coughing up a “foot-long, purple, slimy thing” that turns out to be his tongue.  It seems that Fred and George Weasley (the most mischievous of the Weasely children) had dropped a toffee inflicted with an “Engorgement Charm.”  As Mr. Weasley tries to convince the Dursleys that he can help Dudley with magic, Harry uses Floo powder to transport to the Burrow.