Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

DUMBLEDORE
’
S GIANT MISTAKE 
 
Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has 
never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special 
Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor 
“
Mad-Eye
”
 Moody, the notoriously 
jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised 
eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody
’
s well-known habit of attacking anybody who 
makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and 
kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures. 
 
Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the 
position of gamekeeper at the school ever since a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, 
however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post 
of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates. 
 
An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority 
to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns 
a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to 
being 
“
very frightening.
”
 
‘
I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a 

---

bad bite off a flobberworm,
”
 says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. 
“
We all hate Hagrid, but 
we
’
re just too scared to say anything.
”
 
 
Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with 
a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed 
“
Blast-
Ended Skrewts,
”
 highly dangerous crosses between manti-cores and fire-crabs. The creation of 
new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the 
Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers 
himself to be above such petty restrictions. 
 
“
I was just having some fun,
”
 he says, before hastily changing the subject. As if this were not 
enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not - as he has always 
pretended - a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can 
exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently 
unknown. Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by 
warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks 
of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle 
killings of his reign of terror. 
 
While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors 
working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one 
of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of 
Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa
’
s son appears to have inherited 
her brutal nature. 
 
In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who 
brought around You-Know-Who
’
s fall from power - thereby driving Hagrid
’
s own mother, like 
the rest of You-Know-Who
’
s supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of the 
unpleasant truth about his large friend – but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that 
Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with