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In this question (Why was the Goblet of Fire portkey two-way?), it was said that the port key in GoF was probably layered and that the earlier bestowed spell was the one being activated later.

But how did Harry know that there was a second charm on the port key to bring him back?

Harry's experience with port keys was very limited at that moment, it was only the two port keys to and from the world cup (a shoe and a newspaper). So he didn't know that a port key could hold two destinations at the same time.

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    Oddly, the answer to your question is in the text of the question that you linked: "the spirits who emerged from Voldemort's wand tell Harry to go grab the Goblet (which, of course, was a portkey that took Harry and Cedric from the maze to the cemetery), and that the Goblet portkey would take Harry back to Hogwarts."
    – Paul L
    May 26, 2016 at 12:54
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    So if upon arrival, Harry had fumbled the Goblet and touched it a second time, all of this could have been avoided?
    – David K
    May 26, 2016 at 18:34
  • @DavidK this should be rather a comment to the answer, shouldn't it?
    – Armin
    May 26, 2016 at 21:59

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His parents' echoes told him

When Voldemort's and Harry's wands connected, they experienced Priori Incantatem, causing Voldemort's wand to regurgitate the spells it had performed, in reverse order. Since it had killed Harry's parents, it released echoes of them that shared some of their knowledge (including, presumably, greater knowledge of Portkeys than Harry possessed).

When the connection is broken, we will linger for only moments . . . but we will give you time . . . you must get to the Portkey, it will return you to Hogwarts . . . do you understand, Harry?”

—Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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  • But how did they know that this particular portkey was bidirectional?
    – Alex
    Nov 29, 2019 at 4:01

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