This 'Harry Potter' Theory About The Portkey In 'Goblet of Fire' Could've Changed Everything

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child comes to New York City next year, bringing the conclusion of The Boy Who Lived saga to America. But while we wait, it seems like more Harry Potter theories are springing up like wildfire, with fans catching new "what if" moments every day. The latest in a long string could have changed everything, as it occurs at that fateful moment when Voldemort returned. Let's dive in and consider the Harry Potter Portkey theory.

Let's review what happened on the fateful night of June 24, 1995. It was the final test of the Triwizard Tournament, with the Triwizard Cup placed in the center of the maze. Both Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory, the two champions from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, wound up working together to solve the maze. Cedric would have allowed Harry to take the prize for saving his life, but instead Harry decided they should claim it together in the name of Hogwarts.

We all know what happened next. The Cup has been turned into a portkey by Barty Crouch Jr., and both were whisked away to the graveyard in Little Hangleton, where Cedric was killed immediately, and Harry watched in horror as Voldemort was resurrected.

But here's where the theory starts. As we know from Pottermore writings, portkeys aren't usually a two-way street. They can be programmed for round trips if needed, but it takes extra doing. Most folks just program their portkeys to go where they need to one way (and large events will program them for staggered arrivals).

But the Triwizard Cup was programmed to be a two-way device. Crouch didn't just program it to bring Harry to the graveyard, but he also programmed it to be used for a return trip. He wouldn't take the time to do that unless there was a plan for someone to come back.

Now, the best laid plans of wizards and men often go awry. In this case, Harry and Cedric coming to the graveyard together was the first issue. Then there was Harry fighting back in the duel with Voldemort, and the accidental wand core connection that Voldemort hadn't known would happen. It caused Priori Incantatem, a revealing of Voldemort's prior spells, aka the ghosts of his last few victims, all of whom -- naturally -- sided with Harry.

But let us consider if Voldemort's ego had not been so big that he agreed to Harry's duel. Let us consider a world where Harry, arriving there without Cedric, is far more injured and cowed by Voldemort and his minions, so he can't fight back. Let us consider that Voldemort either kidnaps The Boy Who Lived, or kills him.

Who goes back by the portkey? And why? The theory is, Voldemort would send back one of his Death Eaters with a dose of polyjuice to turn him into Harry Potter (and a ton of Harry's hair to make more). Someone who had been in Gryffindor, like Peter Pettigrew.

Remember when Harry returned to Hogwarts? How Crouch, as Mad-Eye spirited him away so quickly? Was Crouch expecting Pettigrew under that guise, and to have a second double agent now at the school?

Another theory is that Voldemort would simply have turned himself into Harry -- he would only have to hold it long enough to get near enough to kill Dumbledore and get the Elder Wand.

Both theories have utterly terrible implications, one with a faux Harry bringing down Hogwarts from the inside, the other an assassination right under the nose of Cornelius Fudge. We should all be a little more thankful for Cedric's sacrifice that night. His presence and his death helped change the course of history.