The tournament was held in Hogwarts and consisted of three tasks taking place during the school year at intervals of several months. Each participating school would enter one contestant - called a champion - into the tournament. Entry was open to all students of at least 17 years of age and therefore legally considered adults in the wizarding world. Shortly after the other schools' representatives arrived in October, a powerful magical artefact known as the Goblet of Fire selected the champions, who were:
The first task was to retrieve a golden egg from a nest guarded by a dragon, to test the champions' ability to function under pressure. The participants were not informed of their task beforehand, or that was the idea, and they were graded on a scale of one to ten by a panel of five judges.
The breed of dragon varied from champion to champion. To determine the breed they would face, the champions drew lots. Cedric got the Swedish Short-Snout, Fleur got the Common Welsh Green, Viktor got the Chinese Fireball, and Harry got the Hungarian Horntail, the most dangerous of the four.
All four completed the task. Fleur used a sleeping charm, Krum knew the weakness of the beasts and incapacitated his dragon, Cedric utilised his talents in transfiguration to create a distraction, and Harry summoned his top-of-the-line flying Firebolt broomstick and used it to good effect to outmanuever his.
It should be noted that, contrary to the official rules, each of the four champions had, in fact, been informed about what the first task was going to be. Hagrid had received a hint from Moody to show Harry the dragons. Hagrid did indeed do this and brought Madame Maxime with him, who informed her champion, Fleur Delacour. Karkaroff had also seen the dragons, which is proved when Harry runs into him on his way back to the castle after seeing the dragons (Harry wore his invisibility cloak, thus preventing Karkaroff from recognising Harry). Harry later told Cedric Diggory about the dragons, seeing it as only fair since the other champions knew about the dragons as well.
The Yule Ball
The Yule Ball is held during Christmas, open to fourth years and older, though a younger student may be invited by an older student. (For instance, Neville invites Ginny, a third year.) Traditionally, the champions and their dance partners open the dance. Harry Potter's partner was Parvati Patil, Cedric Diggory's Cho Chang, Fleur Delacour's Roger Davies and Viktor Krum's Hermione Granger. In the film version, the Ball was presented as sort of a "wizard prom", with the dress robes of men resembling tuxedos.
The Yule Ball is best known among fans for the violent row that breaks out between Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, showcasing Ron's new found jealousy towards Krum, thus indicating for the first time his burgeoning attraction to Hermione.
The Second Task
The egg from the dragon had to be opened underwater for the next task to be revealed to them. The task was to retrieve something "valuable", which turned out to be a friend or relative, from the bottom of the Hogwarts lake. Harry's hostage was Ron Weasley, Cedric's was Cho Chang, Viktor's was Hermione Granger, and Fleur's was her little sister, Gabrielle Delacour.
All four contestants found a way of breathing underwater (Harry via magical herbs called Gillyweed, Cedric and Fleur by creating air bubbles around their heads, Krum underwent a rather distressing partial self-transfiguration into a half-shark). Potter reached his objective first, but stayed behind as Diggory and Krum rescued their hostages to ensure that all four got to safety. Fleur failed in her task, so Harry eventually returned with both his hostage (Ron) and Fleur's sister. Concerned about his brother's safety, Percy Weasley (who was acting as a substitute judge) wades into the lake himself just to make certain Ron is okay.
Grading was done in the same fashion as in the first task. Though Potter was technically a weak third, his actions were perceived as showing moral fiber instead of/in addition to being foolish, increasing his score. Harry and Cedric were tied after the task.
The Third Task
The third task was to traverse a maze which had been created on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch and populated with a variety of obstacles and creatures. The contestants were informed of this and given ample time to prepare. Instead of a scoring system, the champion who retrieved the Triwizard Cup from the centre would win. Champions were released into the labyrinth at intervals, depending on their scores so far.
The task was heavily manipulated; Fleur and Krum were eliminated because Krum was placed under the Imperius Curse and Stunned Fleur. Krum, still under the curse, tortured Cedric with the Cruciatus Curse and attempted to eliminate him also, but fortunately, Harry arrived and Stunned Krum. Cedric and Harry worked together to tie finish.
Where things went wrong
Despite the good intentions of the organisers, the Tournament was not exactly the honourable and friendly event it was envisioned to be. Firstly, it was wrought with corruption. Several of the judges were biased in favour of a candidate and all four contestants were informed of the first task beforehand.
Unfortunately, the corruption pales in comparison to the fact that Lord Voldemort had a plan at Hogwarts. Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as Professor Alastor Moody, was charged with orchestrating Harry's victory. It was he who tricked the Goblet into forgetting that only three schools could compete, and entered Harry under a separate school. He aided Harry in acquiring what he needed for the first two tasks, and did his best to clear Harry's path of obstacles (and other competitors).
Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory arrived to the centre together, having pooled their resources to get past the final obstacles. Unfortunately for both, "Moody" had turned the cup into a portkey who transported both champions to Voldemort. Peter Pettigrew unceremoniously murdered the unneeded Cedric, and some of Harry's blood was used in a ritual that brought Lord Voldemort back to full power, eventually leading to the outbreak of the second wizarding war. Contrary to plan, Harry managed to escape and alerted Dumbledore of this.
An online Triwizard Tournament
An online version of a Triwizard Tournament was developed by the Harry Potter Dissendium web site, in association with Warner Bros, who provided promotion and prizes for what it claimed to be the "largest online Tournament of its kind to ever take place". Dissendium kicked off its online version of the Triwizard Tournament on September 1st 2005, attracting thousands of players. The event is scheduled to complete on July 31st 2006. The winners get the glory of knowing they have won the first ever tornament like it. Dissendium is also giving prizes to the most dedicated players.