"Oh! So this part of the plot is actually the argument after Harry is chosen by the Goblet of Fire in the book?"
"Yeah! It's the scene where Karkaroff and Madame Maxime cause trouble, but Mad-Eye Moody shuts them down!"
"Oh—I get it now—in the book, after Harry is chosen, there's a scene where he meets the three champions. Fleur and Krum both dislike him, then Dumbledore and the others arrive where the four champions have gathered, and the argument begins. What we're seeing now is the argument, so the scene where Harry meets Fleur and the others must have been cut?"
"That makes sense! I was wondering why I couldn't follow the opening scene! In my memory, Dumbledore never sat down and talked with Karkaroff and the others in Goblet of Fire."
"Exactly! I rewatched Goblet of Fire Part One yesterday. I remember the ending clearly. Dumbledore announces that Harry has become the fourth champion, and everyone around him is shocked. Normally, the next step would be the four champions meeting, but—wow, I'll admit this opening threw me off—"
"But I think this opening works! If it directly showed the four champions meeting, people who haven't read the novel or watched Goblet of Fire Part One would probably be confused. They wouldn't know why Harry is being isolated from the start. But doing it this way—putting Dumbledore and the others front and centre—if I hadn't read the novel, I'd think Goblet of Fire Part Two is a tightly paced movie just from this scene. The suspense appears right away. Harry has been framed, or rather, targeted by someone evil, and the culprit seems to be Karkaroff!"
"Yes! Just watching this plot, you'd think Moody is a genuinely good person, but—he's Barty Crouch Jr.!"
"I also think this adaptation is pretty good. Simple and clear!"
"Yeah—I like this opening."
And they were right.
The final opening of Goblet of Fire Part Two differed somewhat from what everyone had discussed during the scriptwriting stage.
While writing the script, Chris Columbus told Isabella that the opening of Goblet of Fire Part Two would be Harry and Hermione talking by the lake. He wanted to use a "recollection" device to help those who had read the novel and seen Part One review the plot, while giving newcomers a recap. But once filming began in earnest, Chris Columbus felt this approach wasn't quite right.
The reason was simple.
In the original Goblet of Fire, after Harry is chosen as one of the four champions, the debate led by Mad-Eye Moody and Karkaroff is one of the most important pieces of characterization in the entire story.
With only a few lines of dialogue, J.K. Rowling turned Mad-Eye Moody into a beloved teacher in the eyes of countless readers.
When Harry faced disaster—when countless people turned on him—Moody was the third person to speak up in his defence.
The first was Dumbledore, who calmly asked Harry, after the incident, whether he had put his own name into the Goblet of Fire.
The second was Professor McGonagall, who rebuked Madame Maxime on Harry's behalf and unconditionally believed in her students.
Since both Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had known Harry for years, their support was, logically speaking, expected—not to mention their long-standing friendships with James Potter and Lily Evans.
But Mad-Eye Moody had only joined Hogwarts that year—
His defence of Harry required real courage.
And yet—
At that very moment, Mad-Eye Moody was being impersonated by Voldemort's most loyal Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr.!
The very man who had put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire!
So when the villain can commit any number of evils, then stand before a room full of important figures, redirect all suspicion onto the innocent, exonerate himself entirely, and leave every audience member without omniscient knowledge none the wiser—that kind of characterization is simply extraordinary.
It was precisely because this scene was so brilliant that its existence would greatly amplify the impact of the final revelation.
So when production began, Chris Columbus decided to make it the opening of Goblet of Fire Part Two.
Of course, the scene couldn't be used as-is. It had to be adapted to suit the film's tone.
In the source material, this discussion plays out in front of all four champions—Harry, Fleur, and the others. When a story unfolds continuously, that kind of ensemble staging poses no problem. But when the original Goblet of Fire has been split into two films released a year apart, opening with a dense barrage of character work is a different matter entirely.
Casual viewers, film-only fans, and even dedicated book readers who followed the novels as they came out would mostly find themselves lost when faced with such a layered opening.
Only the most committed fans could follow every thread.
So streamlining the scene became necessary. Harry and Fleur, who would have been present in the original, were moved offscreen—their existence acknowledged only in Dumbledore's dialogue. The sprawling council chamber was compressed into a single, intimate meeting room.
By concentrating all the conflict onto the two most crucial characters and making it immediately clear that Harry had been set up, Chris Columbus created an opening that grabbed every viewer from the first frame.
Even as their hearts filled with surprise.
Even as their faces showed astonishment.
Even as their mouths struggled to keep up.
The eyes of the audience never once left the screen.
After giving Mad-Eye Moody—Barty Crouch Jr.—a long, rich close-up that made him feel vivid and three-dimensional, the image flash-cut to the Gryffindor common room at Hogwarts.
Harry pushed the door open and entered. His arrival triggered a wave of cheering. The Gryffindors didn't particularly care whether Harry had cheated; what mattered was that one of their own was competing in the Triwizard Tournament.
That was simply brilliant.
The warmth of his housemates lifted the gloom from Harry's face.
But when everyone pressed him on how he had crossed Dumbledore's age line and entered his name into the Goblet, he—knowing he was trapped in a conspiracy—sank back into despondency.
In that moment, Harry longed to confide in someone who truly understood him.
But reality had other plans.
Back in the dormitory, when Harry tried to unburden himself to Ron, Ron took it as showing off in disguise.
They had both wanted to enter the Tournament.
Harry himself had once suggested that anyone determined enough could sneak into the Great Hall at night and submit their name.
They had all wanted to cross that line. Harry had even thought through how to do it. And then Harry had crossed it—becoming the fourth champion to thunderous applause. Now, after all that, he was refusing to tell his best friend how he'd done it, and instead going on about how he was the victim?
Come on.
Ron's logic wasn't hard to follow.
You, Harry Potter, had taken all the glory for yourself. And now you couldn't even give your best friend the satisfaction of hearing how you'd pulled it off?
You couldn't even let him enjoy a good story?
So, faced with Harry's complaints—
"Harry, do I look like an idiot to you?"
Ron looked at Harry with a wounded expression.
"You're certainly giving me that impression right now."
Harry, unable to articulate his frustration, snapped back.
"Really?"
A smile uglier than a grimace crossed Ron's face. "Okay, then. Good night."
He yanked the curtains shut around his bed, pulled his blanket over himself, and said nothing more.
The sulk was complete and non-negotiable. Harry stood there, helpless.
Looking at his friend's turned back, Harry—small, pitiful, and at a loss—made his decision.
Into bed. Sleep.
But the dark night couldn't wash away the ache.
After one last close-up on Harry's miserable face, the image flash-cut again.
The next day arrived. Harry, now Gryffindor's unofficial hero, was treated like a celebrity by his housemates—ridiculously admired by them, and equally despised by Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw.
Not because Harry had cheated.
Because Harry had cheated successfully.
His success made the disappointed many feel sour, and the isolation began.
It was wearing Harry down. Just as he was looking for somewhere quiet to breathe, the true protagonist of Harry Potter—sharpest mind in the story, most beautiful face in the film series, and something very close to a mother figure to Harry and Ron despite sharing no blood with either—Hermione Granger appeared to rescue her wayward charge.
Well—that description may have been slightly overstated.
In any case, Hermione materialised before Harry at precisely the right moment, handing him breakfast and suggesting a walk by the lake. Along the way, they talked through everything that had happened.
And then Hermione did what Hermione does: she believed him completely, without qualification.
"Of course I know you didn't enter yourself."
"I was right beside you when Dumbledore called your name. That expression—"
"Wow."
"It could go in the dictionary next to surprise."
That simple, total trust nearly made Harry cry.
For the first time, he could actually say what was weighing on him.
Just as he pressed his lips together and started to speak, Hermione cut him off again: "Right now, the most important question isn't who's right and who's wrong. It's who put your name in."
"Harry, you need to understand—students don't have the ability to deceive the Goblet of Fire."
"And Dumbledore is the greatest wizard alive. No student could have gotten past him either. So—"
"Who wants to hurt you?"
The question drew out Harry's memories.
And then what Chris Columbus had been building toward—a summary of Goblet of Fire Part One, crafted to bring new viewers up to speed—appeared on screen.
Because the visual effects were genuinely impressive, it took the form of a narrative montage styled after ink on paper. Each time the two mentioned an event, the screen seemed to transform into parchment, an invisible force dropping a spot of ink onto it. The spreading ink would swallow the frame and give way to one key moment after another.
The summary itself was well constructed. Whether it was the Riddle House from Harry's dream at the start of Part One, or the Dark Mark that appeared over the Quidditch World Cup, every beat resurfaced naturally through their conversation—and still managed to feel engaging rather than perfunctory.
"Wow—Hermione really is something when she's in full problem-solving mode."
"Honestly, I still think Hermione looks best in her school uniform!"
"Exactly! When Hermione wears her school uniform, she has this especially noticeable intellectual air about her. Once she's out of it, that feeling fades quite a bit. Though of course she's very pretty either way."
"Oh, are you afraid of getting beaten up? Is that why you added that last part?"
"Hahahahaha—"
The praise from the audience made Isabella press her lips together, moved.
To be honest, she also felt that the version of herself on screen was almost illegally good-looking. Since Hogwarts was approaching its winter season and the temperature outside had dropped, she was wrapped in her Gryffindor school robe while leaning against a large rock by the lake and talking through the situation with Harry.
But the wrapping-herself-up wasn't a conscious attempt to fight the cold. It was more of a passive, instinctive action. When she was focused, quick-witted, and razor-sharp as she analyzed things with Harry, she absently pulled the robe tighter because she was cold. That absorbed, unself-conscious look made her seem like an angel.
Ah, no—
She was an angel. I'm so damn beautiful.
Isabella smugly flicked her hair. At that moment—
"I really want to pet Chestnut!"
The fact that her furry companion wasn't there made Isabella feel a pang of regret.
As someone once said: petting a pet when you're happy makes a good mood even better.
As the recap ended, the plot of Goblet of Fire Part Two moved forward in earnest. After working through the recent events together, Hermione and Harry found no obvious culprit in their immediate surroundings, so Hermione suggested Harry reach out for help—specifically, to tell Sirius, who would always be in his corner, about the trouble he'd walked into.
Harry did as she said.
Then, while the two waited for Sirius's reply, they were once again provoked by Malfoy.
In the novel, this leads to a duel between Harry and Malfoy. Harry fires Furnunculus; Malfoy fires Densaugeo. The two spells collide and veer off course, and the ones who end up hurt are Malfoy's lackey Gregory Goyle and Hermione Granger herself.
A boil erupts on Goyle's nose.
Hermione's front teeth begin growing wildly longer, making her look more and more like a beaver.
In her previous life, Isabella had heard many people claim this scene was written by J.K. Rowling specifically with Emma Watson in mind—that since Hermione in the novels wasn't particularly beautiful but Emma Watson was, Rowling used the device of making Hermione temporarily ugly and then "fixing" her appearance, via a discreet adjustment at Madam Pomfrey's, to give readers a more immersive experience of her eventual prettiness.
That claim was false.
The reason is simple: when Goblet of Fire was published, Emma Watson hadn't even been cast yet.
Since the scene had nothing to do with any actress's appearance—it was simply Rowling's way of showing that girls can change a great deal as they grow up—and since the HP films had never depicted Hermione as plain to begin with, the duel plays out differently here:
Harry, tangled up in a conspiracy, has no patience for Malfoy.
Hermione, who already despises Malfoy and has never forgotten being called a Mudblood by him, pulls out her wand.
She educates him in the most Hogwarts way imaginable—"Crucio!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
[Ding!]
[Miss Hermione Granger, you have defeated all of Slytherin!]
The strongest Dark Lord in history!
Cough.
Fine. No more nonsense.
There is no Professor Sebastian in official HP canon, so Hermione cannot wipe out all of Slytherin in two seconds.
But that's beside the point—
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
"Boom!"
Two seconds, all the same.
The world went quiet.
When Hermione pulled out her wand, flicked her wrist, cast the Levitation Charm, and sent the road-blocking, sneering Malfoy sailing away like a piece of rubbish, her cool, unhurried figure as she pocketed her wand immediately triggered a wave of exclamations.
"Wowwwwww~~~ Hermione is so cool!"
"My God! That was an instant kill!"
"Ohhhhhh—this has to be Isabella's idea again."
"Hahahahaha—this was definitely a scene she wrote herself! She's always liked playing it cool!"
At this point, Harry Potter fans the world over knew that Isabella was a scene-stealer.
Everyone knew she liked making her own moments especially striking. In Chamber of Secrets, for instance, when Gilderoy Lockhart's prank went sideways, Hermione Granger took down every single Cornish pixie with one sweeping spell.
Another example: when faced with Malfoy's Mudblood accusation, Hermione Granger responded with complete indifference.
Her track record of quietly upgrading her own scenes was long enough to fill a highlight reel—and now another cool Hermione moment had appeared on screen. At a glance, it was obviously her handiwork.
Since Isabella never touched the main plot, most people were happy enough to let her make herself look a little cooler.
And just as the laughter was settling, Margot—who had been watching the film with total seriousness—suddenly raised her hand, poked Isabella, and said, "Isa—I want to be that cool too—"
The wheedling tone made Isabella laugh.
But she shook her head with exaggerated regret. "You can't act in HP."
"You're not British."
"Rowling's casting decisions are beyond my control."
"Oh—but I'm in Transformers."
Margot brightened. "I can be just as cool as you in Transformers! Like, uh—I drive Optimus Prime? Turn into a robot? Fight Megatron?"
"That's Iron Man!" Isabella rolled her eyes. "You want to become Iron Man inside Transformers?"
"Wow, absolutely not."
"Then you'd be even cooler than me."
"Honk honk honk honk—" The flat refusal made Margot laugh like a goose.
To be fair, she'd only been throwing out an example in the moment—going with the mood. She genuinely hadn't expected Isabella to make the Iron Man connection so fast.
After Hermione personally dealt with that particular pest, the film moved through several sections in sequence: the champions' photo call and press interviews, Harry gathering intelligence about the Tournament, and Sirius finally writing back.
None of this diverged from the source material, but with limited runtime, the pacing was brisk.
Sirius and Harry's exchange, for instance, ran to barely twenty lines—yet it covered three essential points:
Karkaroff had once been a Death Eater. Death Eater activity had been escalating lately; even Mad-Eye Moody had been attacked before the school year began. Bertha Jorkins of the Ministry of Magic had gone missing—and she had known about the Triwizard Tournament.
With those three details in place, even viewers who hadn't read the novel could make sense of the film's opening.
Why did Mad-Eye Moody suspect Karkaroff of entering Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire? Because Karkaroff had form. And Moody himself had been attacked by Death Eaters before arriving at Hogwarts.
Of course, this information was also misdirection—deliberately planted by J.K. Rowling to steer readers toward Karkaroff as the villain, away from Mad-Eye Moody himself. Once you knew Karkaroff had been a Death Eater, it simply didn't occur to most readers that Moody had been swapped out entirely after the attack, and that the person wearing his face was Barty Crouch Jr.
Even though—
Ever since the Harry Potter novels began, Rowling had placed every major twist squarely on the shoulders of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Professor Quirrell in the first book. Gilderoy Lockhart in the second. Sirius Black in the third.
Her craft genuinely grew with each instalment.
Once all the essential groundwork had been laid, the setup for Goblet of Fire Part Two was essentially complete. At the 48-minute mark, Chris Columbus followed Hollywood narrative rhythm with precision and brought the plot into the Tournament itself. Following a warning from Mad-Eye Moody, Harry learned that the solution to the first task was to use the Summoning Charm to call his Firebolt and outfly the dragon. The problem: he didn't know the Summoning Charm.
So he turned and shouted toward Hermione:
"Mum!!!"