Fourth Year

"Look, it's always you who gets all the attention, you know it is. I know it's not your fault. I know you don't ask for it...but — well — you know, Ron's got all those brothers to compete against at home, and you're his best friend, and you're really famous — he's always shunted to one side whenever people see you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many..."

—Hermione Granger on Ron after Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire

In the summer of 1994, Ron invited Harry and Hermione to accompany his family to the Quidditch World Cup, which was being held in Britain for the first time in decades. While Hermione joined the Weasleys at the Burrow, Harry had to be picked up from the Dursleys. Ron's father arranged to pick up Harry via the Floo Network, not knowing that the Dursleys' fireplace was blocked, so when Ron, his father, and his brothers tried to fetch Harry they ended up stuck in the chimney. Parts of 4 Privet Drive were destroyed before Harry returned to the Burrow. The following day, Harry, Hermione, and all the Weasleys except Molly left for the Quidditch World Cup, where they pitched camp and met many of their friends from school or work. They had prime seats for the match, thanks to Mr. Weasley who had helped the brother of Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, out of a jam. During the match, Ron watched his Quidditch idol,Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker, play an exceptional match, catching the Snitch to end the game.

That evening, while the Irish fans were still up celebrating, trouble began stirring. Those Death Eaters, former followers of Lord Voldemort, who had escaped punishment chose to let off a little steam. Donning their old uniforms, they attacked the camp site where Ron and his friends and family were staying. In the confusion, Mr. Weasley ordered Ron, Harry, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny to run for safety, while he and the older Weasley children set off to help the Ministry. Setting off into the woods, Ron, Hermione, and Harry quickly lost the others, but they did find Draco Malfoy. Malfoy menacingly suggested that Hermione could be a target of the Death Eaters, causing Ron to insist that she and Harry join him in going deeper into the woods. Soon they reached a patch of woods giving off a faint silver glow, where the trio found a few Veela and their admirers. Ron was entranced and claimed he created a broomstick that could fly to Jupiter. However, they would soon come across something more sinister than Veela. Deeper yet, they went, and in a clearing they heard a man conjure the Dark Mark, after which Ron and his friends were questioned by Ministry officials.

On 1 September, Ron and his friends departed for school aboard the Hogwarts Express, where he was taunted and his father and new dress robes were insulted by Draco Malfoy, and that evening at the Welcoming Feast,Dumbledore announced that Hogwarts would host the Triwizard Tournament. Ron quickly found himself caught up in fantasies of being a Triwizard Champion, but he was snapped back to reality by his fourth year lessons. InCare of Magical Creatures, Hagrid had his students raising the terrifying Blast-Ended Skrewts, and in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Ron was impressed by the new professor, "Mad-Eye" Moody, when he taught the class about theUnforgivable Curses. It was announced that the students from the Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic would be arriving at Hogwarts on 30 October. Ron was impressed by the fashions in which the foreign students arrived and was shocked when he saw Viktor Krum among the Durmstrang delegation. Having discussed the possibility of somehow outsmarting the Goblet of Fire and the Age Line that Dumbledore had put around it, Ron was shocked to find that Harry's name had come out of the Goblet. Jealous of Harry's fame and wealth, Ron refused to accept that Harry had not wanted to enter the tournament and accused Harry of as much. After their argument, he and Harry stopped speaking, and Ron began hanging out with his older brothers. Ron and Harry did not reconcile until after the First Task of the tournament. Seeing the danger, Ron came to the conclusion that someone would have to be mad to purposely put their name in the Goblet. After Harry had passed his dragon, Ron joined Hermione in congratulating Harry, and the two became friends once again.

Soon after the completion of the first task, Professor McGonagall told Ron and his friends about the traditional Yule Ball, held during the Triwizard Tournament. While all students above fourth year scampered about trying to find dates, Ron and Harry found it hard to ask girls to the dance. Charmed by the beauty of Fleur Delacour, the Triwizard Champion from Beauxbatons and apart-Veela, Ron clumsily asked her to attend the ball with him, but fled in horrified embarrassment. He also offended Hermione first by not asking her, and then by suggesting that she did not have a date and thus could accompany him. Harry was eventually able to get them both dates with Parvati and Padma Patil. Ron's evening was a fiasco of the first sort. His "traditional" dress robes embarrassed him and his date, Padma Patil, and when Ron saw Hermione with his hero, Viktor Krum, he was overcome with jealousy. This led to a blazing row between them during the end of the Yule Ball; though their friendship did not suffer, it was clear that both held unresolved feelings for the other, though it would be years before it became obvious to Ron. During the ball, Ron had overheard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime that he was a half-giant. This information was also overheard by Rita Skeeter, who wrote an exposé telling the world of Hagrid's lineage. This drove Hagrid into hiding, and he did not return to work until Ron, Harry, and Hermione proved that they still liked him, no matter what. On 24 February, Ron was taken as Harry's hostage for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. When he found out that Harry had remained behind to save Gabrielle Delacour as well, Ron took him to task, but changed his tune when Harry was given extra points for "moral fibre." Fleur, however, was impressed, and she thanked Ron in turn for helping save her sister, kissing him on the cheek. This resulted in Ron having a very obvious crush on Fleur. Early in the spring, Ron joined Harry and Hermione in visiting Sirius Black, who had taken to hiding outside ofHogsmeade Village. There, they discussed the disappearances of Barty Crouch Sr. and Bertha Jorkins. Harry also ran his theories about Professor Snape by Sirius, but they were shot down, to Ron's chagrin. In the weeks leading up to the final task, Ron and Hermione helped Harry prepare by researching and trying out jinxes and other helpful spells. Ron and Hermione watched Harry together from the sidelines. They were shocked when Harry returned withCedric Diggory's body. They rushed to the hospital wing after the chaos, but they did not find Harry there. Ron was relieved to see Harry when he was brought to the infirmary by Dumbledore, eagerly wanted to question Harry, but he was told off by his mother who, along with his brother Bill, had come to watch Harry. Ron was furious with theMinister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, when he refused to believe Harry and Dumbledore, and calmed his mother when she was shocked by Sirius Black's appearance in the room. Ron did not doubt Harry's story when he finally heard it, sticking by his best friend.