Ten years ago today, on November 18, 2005, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” officially released in theaters across the U.S., and there was much rejoicing.

But within two hours, a great cry had erupted from the Potter-loving masses. A cry of horror. A cry of outrage. A cry that would echo on the internet forever, because we still can’t believe that happened.

And by “that,” obviously, we mean the part immediately after Harry Potter’s name emerges on the binding list of Tri-Wizard Tournament competitors, when Albus Dumbledore comes raging down the stairs, grabs Harry by the collar, and bellows, “HARRY! DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE?!!”

harry-potter-dumbledore

Warner Bros. Pictures

Of all the things that got lost in translation when “Harry Potter” made the move from page to screen, this is the one screw-up that fans are still talking about. It’s the gaffe that must not be named; the Voldemort of mistakes.

And today, in honor of the movie’s tenth anniversary, we’re taking a closer look at it.

  • That’s definitely not how it went down in the books.

    book

 

  • Needless to say, this scene played out pretty differently in J.K. Rowling’s novel, where Dumbledore was described as asking the question calmly — and where he definitely didn’t pull that crazy shoulder-grabbing move, which probably terrified Harry and gave him a near-fatal case of shaken-wizard syndrome.

  • But then, Movie Dumbledore was a lot more aggressive than Book Dumbledore, in general.

    dumbledore

    Warner Bros

    Truth: The GOBLEDDA FIYAH moment was just the most egregious example of the wise old wizard being portrayed in a way that was wildly out of character. J.K. Rowling’s Dumbledore was ancient, wise, and always in quiet control (albeit infuriatingly vague at times.) Gambon’s Dumbledore? Much more shouty. Like, at least 5000% more shouty.

  • How could this happen?!

    richard-harris-dumbledore

  • Warner Bros.

    The best-case scenario? Ignorance. Unlike Richard Harris (who played Dumbledore in the first two “Harry Potter” films before his death in 2002), Gambon has a personal policy against reading the books that he’s starring in adaptations of — which means he had no idea, going in, that Book Dumbledore was such a soft-spoken guy.

  • But also, Gambon just didn’t really… um, care.

    Dumbledore dance gif

  • Warner Bros.

    When asked about acting in the “Harry Potter” series, he famously replied, “I don’t have to play anyone really. I just stick on a beard and play me, so it’s no great feat.” (So basically, that’s not even Dumbledore we were watching. It’s just Michael Gambon in a prosthetic beard.)

  • Potterheads do, though. They care. A LOT.

    Hundreds of tweets, thousands of reblogs, and at least one “DID YA PUT YA NAME IN DA GOBLEDDAH FIYAH” Facebook group later, Michael Gambon had better hope he never ends up stuck in an elevator with one of the millions of fans who will hold a grudge about this for the rest of their lives.

 

A Brief History Of The Worst ‘Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire’ Mistake Ever