This Moment In The Harry Potter Books Was Way More Important Than I Ever Realized

A specific moment in the Harry Potter books always struck me as odd, but I only recently realized how important it was. While Voldemort’s resurrection in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was clearly pivotal to the overall series, I see now that it was the moments that really got interesting. Author J.K. Rowling used the duel between Harry and Voldemort to reinforce the structure of Harry’s story, initiating a significant shift that served as a catalyst for everything that came after. To see what I mean, it’s essential to understand the chiastic structure of the Harry Potter books.

Chiasmus is a literary device in which words or concepts are repeated in reverse order. In the case of the Harry Potter series, the first three books are reflected back by the last three books, with Goblet of Fire serving as a pivot or axis point. After the fourth Harry Potter book, the story of the fifth parallels the third, the sixth reflects the second, while the seventh brings back concepts and themes from the first. This means that, after Goblet of Fire, Harry’s story started repeating itself in reverse order, and the starting point of chiasmus was one highly clever event.

“Priori Incantatem” Is Deeply Important To The Structure Of The Harry Potter Books

This Harry Potter Moment Begins The Series’ Chiastic Structure

Once I realized that J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series used chiasmus, I became obsessed with understanding how Goblet of Fire fit. Sure, it was the middle point in which the series folded over on itself, but there had to be more to it than that. I found my answer in Goblet of Fire chapter 34, “Priori Incantatem.” This is the chapter in which Harry and Voldemort face off for their duel. Their wands connected, and a bead of light slid down the beam until it joined with the Dark Lord’s wand, and the weapon began to regurgitate all the magic Voldemort had recently performed. Later, Dumbledore called this phenomenon Priori Incantatem:

“Priori Incantatem,” he muttered.

His eyes gazed into Harry’s and it was almost as though an invisible beam of understanding shot between them.

“The Reverse Spell effect?” said Sirius sharply.

“Exactly,” said Dumbledore. “Harry’s wand and Voldemort’s wand share cores. Each of them contaions a feather from the tail of the same phoenix. This phoenix, in fact,” he added, and he pointed at the scarlet-and-gold bird, perching peacefully on Harry’s knee.

“My wand’s feather came from Fawkes?” Harry said, amazed.

“Yes,” said Dumbledore. “Mr. Ollivander wrote to tell me you had bought the second wand, the moment you left his shop four years ago.”

“So what happens when a wand meets its brother?” said Sirius

“They will not work properly against each other,” said Dumbledore. “If, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle . . . a very rare effect will take place.
One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed—in reverse
. The most recent first . . . and then those which preceded it. . . .”

I can’t help but feel a thrill when reading Dumbledore’s final lines here. What the headmaster is describing while explaining Priori Incantatem is chiasmus, and in the world of literature, this can be no coincidence. When Harry and Voldemort’s wands connected, shadows of the last handful of spells the Dark Lord had cast were forced from his wand in reverse order. However, this wasn’t all. It’s as if the magical effect of Priori Incantatem seeped out of Harry Potter and into the real world, causing the story itself to begin to repeat in reverse order as well.

Why The Chiastic Structure Of Harry Potter Is So Genius

This Literary Device Enhances The Magic Of Harry Potter

Harry Potter has become such a massive franchise that it’s easy to forget that the books carry literary significance. Harry’s adventure is more than just a fun story. There is a great deal within these pages that could be analyzed for generations to come. Rowling’s use of chiasmus is a prime example. By doubling back on itself and repeating the concepts of the first three books in reverse order, the Harry Potter book series featured a superb rise and fall. There’s an intriguing familiarity in the second half of Harry’s story, but the reverse action meant that expectations were used against the reader.

The second half of the Harry Potter series revisited moments, characters, and features that readers had already moved on from. Things like Harry’s first Golden Snitch, the Deluminator, Tom Riddle’s diary, and the Vanishing Cabinet became important again. Characters like Snape, Draco, and Sirius, whose morality had already been established in the first three books, were explored again under a far stronger microscope, revealing more complexity. All of this served the greater theme of Harry Potter—that nothing is as black and white as good and evil. Everything is worth a second look, and it all starts with this Goblet of Fire moment.

Other Ways That Goblet Of Fire Was The Most Important Book Of The Series

Goblet Of Fire Set The Stage For Harry’s Ending

I first read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire over 20 years ago, and while it was exciting, I now know that there was so much that my younger self missed. Upon reflection, I feel that this was one of the most pivotal books of the series. Not only is this the book in which magic seeped from the story into the real world, initiating the chiastic structure that makes the flow of Harry Potter so impactful, but this is also when the truth about Harry and Voldemort is brought to the surface.

Harry was only the Chosen One because of Voldemort’s own actions, and the events of Goblet of Fire revealed how the Dark Lord simply couldn’t learn his lesson. Voldemort marked Harry as his equal by attempting to kill him as a baby, and he repeated this mistake by using the boy’s blood to resurrect a body when any of his enemies would have worked. In doing so, he takes Lily Potter’s protection into his own body, ensuring that he can never kill Harry.

In Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore has a brief look of “triumph” on his face when Harry tells him what Voldemort has done. Of course, I didn’t know what this meant, nor did I even remember that it had happened, until I reread the fourth book after reading Deathly Hallows. It was one of those fun, subtle secrets that proved that the story of Harry Potter was laid out from the very beginning. The events of Goblet of Fire sealed Harry and Voldemort’s destiny. All Dumbledore and readers had to do from Priori Incantatem onward was sit back and enjoy the rest of the story—in reverse order, of course.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a multimedia franchise about an orphaned boy who enrolls at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world. Adapted from the novels, Harry Potter is an eight-episode film saga that follows the journey of Harry Potter and his friends, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley, as they navigate the tricky world of growing up, school life, and magic. Starting from year one and moving to their seventh year, the films chronicle the students’ time at Hogwarts while unfurling a sinister plot that centers around the unsuspecting Harry. With the return of the dark wizard, Voldemort, the students and professors at Hogwarts will fight to carry on as the world around them may change forever. Harry Potter has expanded beyond the world of its films and novels with several video games, a spin-off film series titled Fantastic Beasts, and even attractions at Universal Studios.

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson , Rupert Grint , Tom Felton , Alan Rickman , Matthew Lewis , Bonnie Wright , Evanna Lynch , Maggie Smith , Michael Gambon , Richard Harris , Ralph Fiennes , Helena Bonham Carter , Alfred Enoch , Harry Melling , Gary Oldman , Robert Pattinson , Warwick Davis , Oliver Phelps , James Phelps , David Bradley , David Thewlis , Katie Leung , Jason Isaacs , Imelda Staunton , David Tennant , Jamie Campbell Bower , Timothy Spall , Robbie Coltrane , Eddie Redmayne , Jude Law , Katherine Waterston , Ezra Miller , Dan Fogler , Alison Sudol , Johnny Depp , Mads Mikkelsen

Character(s)

Harry Potter , Hermione Granger , Ron Weasley , Dumbledore , Minerva McGonagall , Rubeus Hagrid , Dobby the House Elf , Draco Malfoy , Sirius Black , Ginny Weasley , Voldemort

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