The Dragon Enclosure was an area on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest where the dragons for the 1994 Triwizard Tournament were held and later battled by the four champions. It was located far enough away from Hogwarts Castle that neither the castle nor Black Lake were visible from it.
History
Prior to the First Task
The enclosure prior to the First Task.
Cooperating with the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, the British Ministry of Magic arranged for four dragons to be transported from the sanctuary to Hogwarts to be used in the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament. The dragons were incapacitated with a Sleeping Draught and transported, with this enclosure then being set up, both to safely hold them and to provide amble room for the champions to later combat them.
On the Saturday before the task, Rubeus Hagrid invited Olympe Maxime out for a date, taking her to this enclosure. Presumably wanting to give him a slight advantage, he also invited Harry Potter, advising him to come disguised under his invisibility cloak. Charlie scolded Hagrid for bringing Madame Maxime to the enclosure, correctly assuming that she would tell her own champion about the task. This same night, Igor Karkaroff followed Hagrid and Maxime to the enclosure, therefore also seeing the dragons beforehand.
The First Task
Sometime after this event, but prior to the task itself, a large tent was erected just before the enclosure, with the intention of blocking the dragons from view until the nature of the task was revealed to the champions. After informing the champions of the task and picking their dragons, the four champions in turn entered the enclosure and battled their dragon, all four successfully gaining their golden egg.
After the task was over, the four dragons were presumably returned to their sanctuary and the enclosure was presumably dismantled.
Behind the scenes
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the places the dragons are held before the task and the place they are fought during the task itself appear to be different, with the latter being in a more mountainous area. The book, however, makes it clear they are the same location.
- In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, much more of the sanctuary prior to the first task is shown than in the film adaption of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. There are three main sections:
- The first area is the main dragon holding area. There are cages for the Chinese Fireball, which breathes fire through the bars, and can be defeated if you hatch its egg in the cage. There is also a cage for the Swedish Short-Snout which is defeated by breathing fire on its own chains. Finally, there is one for the Common Welsh Green, which is defeated by playing the right tune.
- The second area is very small and is simply beat. All one must do is get two characters to simutaneously pull the chains. The dragon keeper will do the rest.
- The third area is the largest of them all, and is basically just a storage area. However, there is also the cage for the Hungarian Horntail here.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (First identified as Dragon Enclosure)