Emma Watson was 14 years old when she played the role of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, four films into the Harry Potter franchises. The actress began to feel pressure in her role as Hermione Granger. In the film, Harry and Ron never thought to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball. Emma Watson said in the recent Harry Potter reunion special, according to Slash Film, “I think for the first time, Harry and Ron, particularly Ron, see Hermione as a young woman, not just this kind of sidekick that they each have. I knew it was a big deal, and I was miserable… I just knew it was the duckling becomes a swan moment, I mean there was just all of this pressure suddenly.”

The Yule Ball scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire foreshadows Ron and Hermione’s romance. Where Hermione first walks down the stairs, Ron begins to see that she is not the same girl he met on the train, Ron starts to see that Hermione is becoming a woman. Director Mike Newell coached Watson in that scene where she is supposed to make Ron jealous. Watson also said, “Mike Newell coached me to walk down the stairs in the dress. ‘Your arms are swinging too much, you’re walking too quickly, you need to walk slower.’ He’s giving me a million different directions about how to walk down the stairs, and of course, I fell down the stairs.”

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire become a coming-of-the-age story for the characters. Hermione and Ron are both discovering that they developing inner feelings for each other. Ron’s character sees Hermione as a friend who becomes jealous of whoever she is with. Hermione needs to feel the pressure in that scene where she is walking down the stairs with someone who is not Ron. Her character is going through the motions that she is no longer that innocent little girl who first arrived at Hogwarts. She’s no longer that naive 12 year old, and the same can be said for Ron.

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire was released on November 18, 2005. The film grossed 896.7 million at the box office. Harry Potter 2oth Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is currently available to stream on both HBO Max and Peacock.