Quidditch through the Ages

‘A Warning: If you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface, disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop or in any other manner damage, mistreat or show lack of respect towards this book, the consequences will be as awful as it is within my power to make them.’ Irma Pince, Hogwarts Librarian

Do you know your Quaffle-pocking from your Haver-sacking?

The noble sport of Quidditch, as any self-respecting witch or wizard knows, has a long, distinguished (and not infrequently painful) history. It is an unfortunate truth that no spell exists to allow even the most advanced spell-casters to fly without the aid of magical devices. There is of course, always the transfiguration option and by all means give that a try if the mood takes you although why anybody would want the brain of a pigeon just to be able to fly like one is beyond me.

By far and away the most exciting way to fly is by broomstick and from the earliest days of their development there have been games from the simple Swedish broom race (simple if you don’t count the dragon reservation the course passes through) to the Irish Aingingein where competitors battled to score goals whilst racing through burning barrels. The only real game, of course, is Quidditch.

Learn about your favourite teams, investigate how the sport grew from a violent pastime to an international sensation and learn the curious mystery behind the introduction of the crucial fourth ball, the golden snitch.

Now legendary Quidditch expert Kennilworthy Whisp has taken time out from retirement backgammon-playing to put pen to paper and record everything about this noble sport. Astonish your friends with your astounding facts, brush-up on your technique and choose your favourite players.

Oh and don’t forget to hide it from the Muggles.