This week, TAKE NOTE! No, we mean it, TAKE NOTES! Because everything you need to know about the plot of Goblet of Fire is revealed as Padfoot Returns!

• Eric has an announcement to kick off this Pride Month!
• Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Goblet of Fire, Chapter 27: Padfoot Returns
• 7-Word Summary: Crouch is not innocent of any crimes
• Main Discussion #1: Second Task Hangover
• Does Snape behave any differently from a teacher catching students talking or passing a note in class?
• Snape calls Harry a “nasty little boy”… do we think he’s projecting here?
• Boomslang Skin & Gillyweed: Snape’s stores have been broken into, but what evidence does Snape have that it was Harry?
• Did Harry effectively use Occlumency without even realizing it?
• Should Harry have challenged Snape to give him Veritaserum?
• What’s up with Karkaroff’s arm?
• Main Discussion #2: Cave Crouching
• Why is Sirius the only real parental figure that shows up for Harry?
• Oh, Peter! Sirius is eating rats? Do we think that’s a coincidence?
• Sirius paints a harrowing picture of the First War and Azkaban Prison
• Good People & Death Eaters: After Sirius reveals the true Barty Crouch Sr., we analyze Harry’s inclination to label him a Death Eater
• If Barty had spent some more time with his son, what would have happened?
• How is it possible during his time in Azkaban, Sirius never got confirmation Barty Crouch Jr. was a Death Eater, learned Snape was a Death Eater, heard of the Dark Mark tattoo?
• Ron jokingly solves everything at the end of the chapter!
• Odds & Ends cover Ludo Bagman, Bertha Jorkins and Second Task safety protocols!
• Quizzitch: What food does Harry send to Sirius in his cave, that Pigwidgeon isn’t suitable for?
• Visit MuggleCast.com for episode transcripts, social media links, our full episode archive, our favorite episodes, and to contact us!
• For twice-monthly Bonus MuggleCast, as well as other great benefits, including the chance to co-host the show, a new physical gift every year, and a video message from one of the four of us visit Patreon.com/MuggleCast!
• Reminder: Micah and Eric will be at LeakyCon! Visit LeakyCon.com to check out the latest guests, the full con schedule and use code ‘MUGGLE’ while registering for a discount!

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Grab your House-themed pennants and something to do for an hour, because today we’re heading down to the Black Lake and celebrating a Triwizard Task that nobody above ground can see or appreciate! Join Eric, Laura, Micah and special guest Chloé as they discuss Chapter 26 of Goblet of Fire, “The Second Task.”

• Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Goblet of Fire, Chapter 26: The Second Task
• 7-Word Summary: The merpeople mock Harry incessantly under water
• Main Discussion #1: Leading up to the task
• Hagrid’s back teaching. Do we miss Professor Grubbly-Plank?
• Could Harry be reaching out to Lupin or other folks for help?
• Have we ever overslept on the day of an exam and had to wing it?
• Main Discussion #2: The Task and Immediate Aftermath
• Why are the other headmasters so visibly annoyed at Harry? Could they tone it down a bit?
• What does the Second Task look like, for the audience and spectators? Even Dumbledore has to ask the merpeople what happened at the end of it.
• Micah’s Hot Take: Hermione is not meaningful enough to Krum for her to be his hostage.
• The hosts debate: were the ‘hostages’ ever really in danger? We also polled our Patrons… twice.
• Are we disappointed by the writing’s handling of Fleur’s performance?
• Do we agree with the final results of the Second Task?
• Odds and Ends touches on a Skeeter sighting, and another mention of their school hats!
• Quizzitch: Who authorized Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses during the first Wizarding war?
• Visit MuggleCast.com for episode transcripts, social media links, our full episode archive, our favorite episodes, and to contact us!
• For twice-monthly Bonus MuggleCast, as well as other great benefits, including the chance to co-host the show, a new physical gift every year, and a video message from one of the four of us visit Patreon.com/MuggleCast!
• Reminder: Micah and Eric and Chloé will be at LeakyCon! Visit LeakyCon.com to check out the latest guests, and use code ‘MUGGLE’ while registering for a discount!

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Crank up the hot water and pour the bubbles, because this week we’re soaking in the Prefects bathroom with, eh, Moaning Myrtle! Then grab your Invisibility Cloak and head downstairs because Moody and Snape are must-see TV! 

• Welcome Slug Club member, Geoff!
• Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Goblet of Fire, Chapter 25: The Egg & The Eye
• 7-Word Summary: Mermaids sing to a bathroom of children
• Main Discussion #1: Harry’s First Bath in 14 Years
• Is the Prefects Bathroom everything we’ve ever wanted?
• Moaning Myrtle is back!
• Why is Myrtle confined to the Hogwarts plumbing? Who is monitoring her?
• How do feel about Myrtle’s bathroom behavior?
• Soooo… Hogwarts is dumping all of its waste into the Black Lake?
• Geoff gives us a beautiful rendition of The Second Task Clue
• Main Discussion #2: Curiosity Killed the Cat
• Could the Horcrux be behind Harry’s pursuit of Barty Crouch Jr.?
• Security Nightmare: Why has Hogwarts not fixed that trick step?
• We dare you to name another wizard who could tell Snape to go to bed (and live)!
• Should Moody’s eye be able to see through a Deathly Hallow?
• What if… Harry’s foot didn’t get trapped?
• Do we think Moody’s recommendation that Harry become an Auror is sincere?
• Quizzitch: According to Hagrid, at what age do unicorns become pure white?
• Visit MuggleCast.com for episode transcripts, social media links, our full episode archive, our favorite episodes, and to contact us!
• For twice-monthly Bonus MuggleCast, as well as other great benefits, including the chance to co-host the show, a new physical gift every year, and a video message from one of the four of us visit Patreon.com/MuggleCast!
• Reminder: Micah and Eric will be at LeakyCon! Visit LeakyCon.com to check out the latest guests, and use code ‘MUGGLE’ while registering for a discount!

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This week, we revisit the ever-exciting MuggleMail bag and listen to your voicemails on all things Goblet of Fire. The debate about Cedric’s clue to Harry rages on, and listeners have opinions on everything from House-Elf rights to defending Ron Weasley’s youth.

• Voicemails cover House-Elf evolution, Cedric’s clue, judges at professional sporting events, and Barty Crouch, Sr.
• The Hungarian Horntail may NOT have been the last addition to the First Task, multiple listeners posit.
• Quidditch could easily have fit in between the 3 year-long tasks, couldn’t it?
• One listener defends Ron Weasley’s recent actions on the basis of his youth. Do we let him off the hook?
• Do Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students have classes with Hogwarts professors?
• Working backwards from the Portkey, does the plot of Book 4 even work?
• Do Aurors have the same damage to their souls as Death Eaters if they both kill to survive?
• Feminism in Harry Potter has some pitfalls from the onset, one listener opines.
• What did Sirius Black’s family members think upon receiving word of his incarceration?
• The hosts take turns choosing one wizarding profession that they would have in the Wizarding world.
• Quizzitch: Where specifically does Moaning Myrtle mention haunting Olive Hornby?
• This week’s episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/mugglecast
• Visit MuggleCast.com for episode transcripts, social media links, our full episode archive, our favorite episodes, and to contact us!
• Reminder: Micah and Eric will be at LeakyCon! Visit LeakyCon.com to check out the latest guests, and use code ‘MUGGLE’ while registering for a discount!!

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This week, open up your copy of The Daily Prophet and settle in for some hot goss as the hosts break down Rita Skeeter’s Scoop on Rebeus Hagrid and his qualifications as a Hogwarts professor! Plus, between Ludo and some goblins and Rita and Hermione, were we moments away from a good ole fashioned pub brawl at The Three Broomsticks? Join us and find out!

• Welcome Patreon member, Liza! Check out her book club by following her on Twitter and Instagram
• We discuss the recent news that all seven Harry Potter audiobooks will be transformed into new full-cast ensemble productions!
• Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Goblet of Fire, Chapter 24: Rita Skeeter’s Scoop
• 7-Word Summary: Rita ignites rumors in The Three Broomsticks
• Do we think Cedric gave Harry a good clue about the egg?
• Main Discussion #1: Dumbledore’s Giant Mistake
• Draco Malfoy… the 1950’s cartoon villain?!
• Why does Hermione fail to grasp certain larger wizarding world dynamics?
• Micah’s Hot Take: While definitely scathing, Rita’s article about Hagrid is… TRUE!
• Should Dumbledore sack Hagrid as Care of Magical Creatures professor?
• Why didn’t Hagrid start as an assistant and receive proper training?
• How do we feel about the students getting a proper Care of Magical Creatures lesson? 
• Lupin and Hagrid have drastically different reactions to being outed! Why did Dumbledore accept Lupin’s resignation but not Hagrid’s?
• Main Discussion #2: A Bagman In The Pub. Why is Ludo really meeting with the goblins? Is he trying to plant a story about his boss with Rita? How concerned should we be about Barty Crouch Sr.’s absence?
• Should Hermione have been more careful calling out Rita in a crowded pub?
• Main Discussion #3: Justice for Hagrid. Dumbledore shows up for Hagrid on a whole new level!
• Do the letters of support Hagrid receives actually support his role as professor?
• Does Dumbledore’s trust in people and belief in second chances stem from his own family situation and relationship with Grindelwald?
• Odds and Ends cover Krum practicing for The Second Task, Sleakeazy’s Hair Potion, goblin rebellions and Aberforth’s lust for goats!
• Next week: We’re busting open the Muggle Mail bag, so send us your feedback!
• Quizzitch question: The tub in the Prefects’ Bathroom features roughly how many golden taps? Submit your answer at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch!
• Visit MuggleCast.com for episode transcripts, social media links, our full episode archive, our favorite episodes, and to contact us!
• Check out the MuggleCast Overstock Store to grab MuggleCast t-shirts, signed album art, and so much more! Supplies are limited, so act fast and help us support the show!
• For twice-monthly Bonus MuggleCast, as well as other great benefits, including the chance to co-host the show, a new physical gift every year, and a video message from one of the four of us visit Patreon.com/MuggleCast!

Download now OR, now read the Episode 656 Transcript!

Can YOU dance like a Hippogriff? Nananananananana! It’s Yule Ball season and this week, we’re fraternizing with the enemy, proving our emotional span is greater than a teaspoon and dodging Moody’s creepy eye, all while trying our best to keep our dates happy and turn it up on the dance floor!

• Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Goblet of Fire, Chapter 23: The Yule Ball
• 7-Word Summary: Hormones fly amok at Hogwarts’ Big Holiday
• Main Discussion #1: Hermione’s Chapter
• Would anyone that Hermione took to the ball have been free of Ron’s criticism?
• The Courting of Hermione Granger
• What do we think of Viktor Krum’s approach… and sheer vulnerability?
• We react to Hermione’s decision to have Madam Pomfrey shrink her teeth
• Main Discussion #2: Hurricane Ron
• Animal Magnetism, baby! What makes Ron suddenly so full of himself?
• Sour face, sour mood: Ron casts a massive black cloud over the entire Yule Ball
• Could Ron be jealous his two besties are a part of the Elite Champions date club?
• Low Blow, Ron! Does Hermione truly not have Harry’s best interests at heart?
• We debate if Harry did enough to defuse the tension between Ron and Hermione
• Odds and Ends cover Sirius’ knife, Dobby’s Christmas gift, Barty Crouch Jr.’s mysterious absence, Snape and Karkaroff’s odd relationship, Beetle Rita and more!
• Next week: Goblet of Fire, Chapter 24: Rita Skeeter’s Scoop
• Quizzitch question: According to Rita Skeeter, what department at the Ministry would be particularly interested in Hagrid’s Blast-Ended Skrewts?
• Visit MuggleCast.com for episode transcripts, social media links, our full episode archive, our favorite episodes, and to contact us!
• Check out the MuggleCast Overstock Store to grab MuggleCast t-shirts, signed album art, and so much more! Supplies are limited, so act fast and help us support the show!
• For twice-monthly Bonus MuggleCast, as well as other great benefits, including the chance to co-host the show, a new physical gift every year, and a video message from one of the four of us visit Patreon.com/MuggleCast!

Download now OR, now read the Episode 655 Transcript!

On this week’s episode, we interrupt your regularly scheduled schoolwork to announce (quite last minute) that there will be a Yule Ball this year! Grab your dress robes and find a dance partner before all the “good ones” are taken!

• This week’s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/mugglecast!
• Check out the MuggleCast Overstock Store to grab MuggleCast t-shirts, signed album art, and so much more! Supplies are limited, so act fast and help us support the show!
• Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Goblet of Fire, Chapter 22: The Unexpected Task
• 7-Word Summary: Cho regrets not saying ‘yes’ to Greatness
• Main Discussion #1: McGonagall’s announcement
• Is Professor McGonagall not being sensitive to Harry’s youth?
• How long have the teachers known about the Yule Ball this year, and why would they announce it a week before Christmas?
• Laura asks what our high school dances were like and the hosts try to remember.
• Fred Weasley has the Cha(rizz)ma to win The Unexpected Task of Asking Girls Out
• Would it be so wrong if Harry, a champion, went stag to the ball?
• Harry turns on Cedric Diggory after learning he’s Cho’s date
• Cho lets Harry down easy, and we compare her character here vs Book 5
• Ginny wins at playing the long game; Ron and Harry both mess up at romance
• This chapter represents the last time Harry will forget about bezoars
• Next week: Goblet of Fire, Chapter 23: The Yule Ball
• Quizzitch question: What gift does Harry get Ron for Christmas in 1994?
• Visit MuggleCast.com for episode transcripts, social media links, our full episode archive, our favorite episodes, and to contact us!
• For twice-monthly Bonus MuggleCast, as well as other great benefits, including the chance to co-host the show, a new physical gift every year, and a video message from one of the four of us visit Patreon.com/MuggleCast!

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On this week’s episode, the band is back together! So grab your golden eggs and bring ‘em to the Gryffindor Common Room, because it’s a PAR-TAY and even the House-Elves are invited!

• Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Goblet of Fire, Chapter 21: The House-Elf Liberation Front
• 7-Word Summary: Shrieks and panic erupt from Gryffindor base
• Main Discussion #1: Blast-Ended Rita
• Ron or Hermione? Who has the better perspective after The First Task?
• Anxiety or Relief? How do feel about the The Second Task being three months away?
• We analyze the different student reactions to Harry opening his egg
• Sneaky Skeeter: Why is Rita so interested in speaking with Hagrid? What do we make of her tactics?
• Main Discussion #2: Tea Time With Dobby
• Who wore it better? Dobby or Mr. Weasley?
• What is it in Dobby’s character that makes him enjoy being free?
• What do we make of Winky’s current situation? Her perception of Dobby?
• Why did it take Dobby two years to come back to Hogwarts?
• Dobby is gettin’ paid and time off! Does this offer stand for all House-Elves working at Hogwarts?
• Keep The Secrets: Are we to believe Dobby is doing additional work for Dumbledore that makes him “in the know”?
• We deep dive into the conditioning of House-Elves, their generational trauma, physical treatment and more
• Next week: Goblet of Fire, Chapter 22: The Unexpected Task
• Quizzitch question: How many girls ask Harry Potter to the Yule Ball?
• Visit MuggleCast.com for episode transcripts, social media links, our full episode archive, our favorite episodes, and to contact us!
• For twice-monthly Bonus MuggleCast, as well as other great benefits, including the chance to co-host the show, a new physical gift every year, and a video message from one of the four of us visit Patreon.com/MuggleCast!

Download now OR, now read the Episode 653 Transcript!

This week Chapter by Chapter returns as Harry faces off against the CLEARLY most-dangerous dragon. Join Andrew, Eric, Laura and Micah and special Slug Club guest Catherine as they tackle Chapter 20 of Goblet of Fire, “The First Task.”

• Welcome to the show, Slug Club guest Catherine, who is a college professor of psychology!
• In the news: Helena Bonham Carter was asked about Miriam Margolyes’ recent, controversial remarks about adult Harry Potter fans! We discuss Helena’s response.
• Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Goblet of Fire, Chapter 20: The First Task
• 7-Word Summary: Dragons are afoot inside Hogwarts’ grounds AHHHHHHH
• Harry “does the right thing” with Cedric. What does this tell us about his character?
• Mad-Eye Fakey’s dark detectors are going off, but not for the reason he says!
• Professor McGonagall is a mother figure to Harry, and we get an inkling of it in this chapter.
• Should the Triwizard Tournament feature four of the same dragon?
• Why does Ludo Bagman keep asking Harry to cheat?
• Harry and Ron are friends again, and we discuss what was missing in Harry’s life while he was gone.
• Who do we think had the best solution for the First Task?
• Karkaroff gives Harry a FOUR. Isn’t there a rubric or a better way to prevent against this absurd favoritism?!
• Odds and Ends touch on Poor Poppy Pomfrey, pointed caps, Trelawney nonsense, and a cool connection between books 1, 4 and 7.
• Quizzitch question: What is the pattern of Dobby’s tie when Harry first encounters him in the Hogwarts kitchens?
• Visit MuggleCast.com for episode transcripts, social media links, our full episode archive, our favorite episodes, and to contact us!
• Coming up in Bonus MuggleCast, we play a quiz where we try to name all the Harry Potter characters mentioned more times than Seamus Finnigan. For twice-monthly Bonus MuggleCast, as well as other great benefits, visit Patreon.com/MuggleCast!

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The ladies of MuggleCast are back for Part 2 of our Girls Takeover Series! This week we’re diving deeper into the roles of women as mothers, teachers, care givers, and warriors. We’re joined by our social media manager Chloé, transcriber manager Meg, and sister-podcast host Pam. 

• This week, we dive deeper into the roles of women as mothers we didn’t get to dig as deep into on our last installment. 
• We spend time ruminating on the show’s current position in Goblet of Fire, and give Hermione props for being the friend Harry needs, even if it’s not necessarily what Harry wants. 
• Did Merope Gaunt make the ultimate sacrifice out of love for her son? 
• Is Narcissa a good mother? We examine how being a good mother and being a good person are not mutually exclusive. 
• No matter the role examined, we continue to find that for the women in Harry Potter, motherhood is a core theme. Even women who don’t have children, they still serve mother-like roles in some capacity. 
• That’s right, even Umbridge represents a particular flavor of motherhood (ugh). 
• We also examine the roles of women and fandom, and reflect on our tenure as Potterheads, and what our fandom engagement looks like outside of the podcast these days. 
• Demographics for leaders in the Harry Potter fandom has evolved in the last 20 years: a fandom where many of the site runners, content creators, and podcasters were men has seen a dramatic shift towards more women and non-binary people leading in the fandom space. 
• We look to organizations like Fandom Forward, MuggleNet, and LeakyCon as organizations that are heavily woman-led making efforts to create better inclusivity and representation in the wizarding world fan space. 
• Did you enjoy this installment of Girls Takeover? Keep an eye out for our next installment, where we’ll be taking on an installment of Chapter by Chapter! 
• This week’s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/mugglecast

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