Who can make a portkey that goes into Hogwarts?

Question

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the Triwizard Cup was used as the portkey to send Harry and Cedric to the graveyard to face Voldemort. In this question it was discussed why the Triwizard Cup was used to get Harry to the graveyard. I am interested in how it was used to get Harry back.

It is fairly well known that one can not apparate into or out of Hogwarts. However, this can be temporarily changed by Dumbledore (as seen when Harry and the gang are doing their apparation lessons). However, if a portkey can be made by anybody with the ability to create a portkey to go to Hogwarts this negates some of that protection.

My question is who has the ability to create a portkey that transports a person to some location inside of Hogwarts. We know that Dumbledore has the ability to create a portkey that transports somebody to a location within Hogwarts (we see this at the end of Order of the Phoenix). Can anybody that can make a portkey do this? Was it Dumbledore that turned the Triwizard Cup into a portkey that brought Harry to the beginning of the maze or was it somebody else?

Answer 1

I don't believe that there is a canon answer (short of something from a JKR interview that I have not seen).

Keeping in mind that for pretty much the entire book, the person everyone thought was Mad-Eye Moody was, in fact, Barty Crouch, JR. There was no indication, before his unmasking at the end of the book, that anyone - even Dumbledore - suspected anything wrong.

As a former auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix, Mad-Eye Moody would be highly trusted by Dumbledore and would likely have received higher than usual access to the Hogwart's security arrangements. Dumbledore might have put him in charge of security but at the very least, he would avail himself of Moody's auror training in security by consulting with him and getting his help. This level of access would allow Barty Crouch, JR, masquerading as Moody, to create a full-up portkey.

Answer 2

I have spent some time pondering portkeys in the last day or two and discovered there is no canon rule specifically about Hogwarts and portkeys, but that portkeys must be authorized by the ministry in general. The first quote I found specifically indicating any actual rule against portkeys was this:

"Now see here Dumbledore!" said Fudge, as Dumbledore walked over and picked up the golden head "you haven't got authorization for that portkey! You can't do things like that in front of the Minister of Magic!"

Order of the Phoenix Chapter 36 (pg. 818 in the Scholastic edition from 2003)

It certainly showed some restrictions but I still believed those restrictions only to apply to Hogwarts until I also discovered the following quote:

"How're we getting - wherever we're going?" Harry asked. "Brooms," said Lupin. "Only way. You're too young to Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network, and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorized Portkey."

Order of the Phoenix, The Advance Guard, Pate 52 (Scholastic:2003)

In the example above, there were a number of highly capable wizards present, Lupin, Moody, Shacklebolt, . . .

Additionally, even the portkey into Hogwart's Dd makes at the end of OoP, is against the rules because the Minister protests against it. It would seem that even though Dumbledore has the ability, he does not have the authorization to do so and even he isn't supposed to.

So, it would seem that this applies to your question in that, Dumbledore still can obviously, easily break the Ministry's rule, but in terms of legalities, no one can make a portkey into Hogwarts without prior authorization.

There are probably additional protections at Hogwarts (no canon, just assumption based on the protections against other transport to and from the castle without anyone knowing about it) over and above general ministry protections so I'd be willing to guess only those that have received authorization from the ministry is the answer to your question.

I am guessing that authorization of such a portkey onto the grounds would generally mean the ministry alerts whoever is headmaster of hogwarts at the time the portkey is authorized.

As to who created the Portkey aspect of the Tri-wizard cup? (which I'm guessing is the true root of you question), we don't really know for sure. Since, it seems, Making a portkey does not prove particularly difficult (at least for Dumbledore), I'd imagine he did it. Then, trusting "Moody" who was really Crouch, he let Moody/Crouch bother with the placing it in the maze.

The book specifies that Moody volunteers to place it in the maze (I'll find the quote, as soon as I have my book) - I think if he had also created it, the book would say that instead. Additionally, the portkey has the portus to the grandstands - something it doesn't seem to me Crouch would have bothered adding if he had been the one to create the Portkey from scratch - no reason for it (And no, I don't think Lord V wanted to return to Hogwart's with Harry's Deadbody to reveal himself - he still had to get his closest, most trusted followers out of Azkaban and rebuild his army before he would have wanted to directly confront Dumbledore).

Answer 3

Taking the initial reaction from everyone present upon reapparition I've always interpreted the Triwizard cup had always been intended to be a portkey and thus had all the blessings from the Ministry and the headmaster to behave as such.

None of the people present seem surprised with Harry apparating, only when they realize Cedric the commotion begins. That means, from my point of view, the portkey had been authorised and was expected, the change Moody performed was to change it to go to the graveyard instead, when it returned to Howard's it was only performing what it had been originally charmed to do.