All things are three at Hogwarts

"Someone brought a broomstick to Potter, Professor," Draco Malfoy said hurriedly.

"Yes, yes, that's the case." Professor Flitwick said, smiling broadly at Harry, "Professor McGonagall told me all the peculiarities of the situation, Mr. Potter, what model did you get?" of?"

"It's Nimbus 2000, Professor." Ron's face was still rosy from the quarrel, which made Professor Flitwick think for a moment that his skin color looked a bit like that one who would explode whenever he learned any spell. Another Gryffindor.

Harry's attention was still on his nemesis at this time. Seeing the horrified expression on Malfoy's face, he tried his best not to laugh. He deliberately added: "I can get it thanks to this Malfoy." Where is Mr. Fu?"

Allen couldn't help laughing. Malfoy's expression at this moment was really wonderful, with a look of disbelief.

"Since you have no problem, just go about your business." Professor Flitwick was very kind. He smiled and turned to look at the new talented students in his college: "Alan, come to the Quidditch training ground after school this afternoon, Ron. Jay Davis will be there for you."

"Okay, Professor." Allen said goodbye to his dean. Harry and Ron, who had just left, had not gone far. They were waving to him from behind the pillar in front.

Allen quickly caught up, and Ron said with a look of schadenfreude: "Alan, did you notice Malfoy's expression just now? He never expected that we were a blessing in disguise! Harry got a Nimbus 2000! And! He also became an official member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, which is so cool! Now I see how that boy Malfoy has the nerve to brag about his flying talent..."

"Awesome, I also have good news to tell you. Thanks to Harry, I have also become a member of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Maybe we will have a chance to play against each other in the future." Allen was also very happy , if the savior had not taken the lead to break the rules and give the school the green light, it would not have been as easy for him to participate in the competition in the first grade.

"It's not because of me. If Malfoy hadn't thrown away Neville's memory ball, I wouldn't have made the team." Harry laughed. Harry laughed, and he took the opportunity to taunt again.

"So you think this is a reward for breaking school rules?!" An angry voice came from behind them. Hermione on the stairs finished the last few steps and looked at the package in Harry's hand with dissatisfaction.

Harry's tone became a little weaker: "I thought you wouldn't talk to us."

"I hope so. It's best not to say it now," said Ron. "It makes us feel comfortable."

Hermione snorted and said nothing more. She strode away with her nose raised in the air.

"It's really baffling. Where does she get her sense of superiority?" Harry scratched his head in confusion.

"Probably because of the title of know-it-all. Oh, sorry, Ellen, I didn't mean you." Ron looked at Ellen apologetically, "Her grades are not as good as yours, but she is much more arrogant than you."

……

In the following classes, Allen remained very calm, listening patiently and taking notes. Although he was also looking forward to Quidditch practice after school, he knew the importance of seizing the moment - when he was focused, time would slip away quickly and unknowingly.

After class, Allen quickly packed his schoolbag and uncharacteristically did not go to the library. Instead, he went straight to the Quidditch training ground. Anyway, with the current progress, it was only a matter of time before he completed the task.

Roger Davis, the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, was already waiting for Alan on the pitch. His slender torso and strong limbs all showed that he was an athlete. The soft sunlight filtered through the trees. The green branches and leaves are mottled, drawing large or small gentle haloes on the ground.

"Hey, Mr. Alan Harris, here!" Roger waved to Alan in the sunshine.

Allen took two steps in three steps and quickened his pace. After he came closer and briefly introduced each other, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain bent down and opened a large wooden box at his feet. Inside was the Quidditch captain. Various equipment required for Diqi games.

"Mr. Harris, do you know anything about Quidditch?" Roger asked, "I mean not to the level of a fan."

"Of course, Davis, I have some understanding." Looking at Roger's distrustful eyes, Allen paused, "The red ball is the Quaffle. The chasers pass the Quaffle to each other and try to pass it through. Each time you pass the opponent's ring, you will get 10 points, and the goalkeeper is responsible for guarding your team's ring..."

Allen's claim to know a lot is too modest. As early as when he got Neptune, he already had a thorough understanding of the rules of Quidditch. He also understood the uses of each equipment and some basic tactics he knew. He introduced his new captain once - although his influence on them still remained in words.

"That's great. You are worthy of being the point controller of Ravenclaw. It seems that you are not only a fan, but also have a certain knowledge of tactics." After saying that, Roger threw a small wooden stick to Allen, and then Adding a more Ravenclaw-esque question, "Do you know the history of the development of Quidditch?"

"Uh... I don't know much about this." Allen was a little speechless. After taking the batter's bat, he thought that the next step would be practical operations. Although he thought the history of magic was interesting, he had a mission. He didn’t have time to read such a leisurely book. “Quidditch is the first and so far the only broom sport that is loved by wizards almost all over the world. Of course, it is not the first broom sport. All other ancient broom sports, such as the German bollard game, the Irish fire barrel on stilts or the Scottish overhead cauldron, were only popular in local areas and did not have as much appeal as Quidditch today. From the Quidditch game Movement emerged and it has continued to develop for nearly a thousand years.”

Seeing that Allen didn't know much about it, Roger happily took out a book from the box and gave it to Allen to read first and learn about the sport itself.

Allen, who was a little confused by the Ravenclaw training method: "Aren't we going to conduct a test?..."

"Oh, there's no rush about that. It's okay to wait until you finish reading."

Seeing Roger stop and look at the book in his hand expectantly, Allen sighed and read it cooperatively. He understood to some extent why the Ravenclaw Quidditch team rarely won the championship at Hogwarts. . (Author's note: Anyway, this is a free chapter. I'll take the opportunity to give you some Quidditch knowledge at the end of this article. There are allusions to why the Golden Snitch is worth 150 points, and I think it's quite interesting.)

When Allen finished reading this book, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain asked Allen to ride on his broom. Immediately afterwards, Roger released a shiny black bird that struggled desperately in the box. ball. As soon as the Bludger got free, it quickly hit Allen's face. Allen swung his backhand and the Bludger was hit high and far, passing through the iron ring standing high above the training ground.

"Oh, what did I see? You used the Bludger to pass through the hoop. It was so fast and...oh..." Before Roger could finish speaking, the swift Bludger fell from the sky towards Roger. Roger hugged the Bludger desperately and put it back into the box. The Bludger twisted reluctantly in the box.

Then Allen tried to cooperate with Roger to perform some very difficult game skills. Such as reverse passes and Wronsky's defensive feints, and then he tried to ask Allen to do some flying skills. Allen was able to successfully perform each of them, with his excellent reflexes, agility, and keenness. Roger was amazed and excited by his observation skills.

"If you are so good at goalkeeping, you are suitable for all positions!" Roger shouted excitedly, "Alan, you are simply all-around. I think our Ravenclaws have a very good chance of winning the Quidditch Cup this year! "

Unlike the timid flying lessons, Allen was also very excited after letting go for a while. He enjoyed the feeling of controlling the whole field and flying into the wind. “So what role could I have?”

"I think you can serve as the chaser first. We really need the support of a strong general in terms of scoring. As for the seeker-" It can be seen that Roger is hesitant, and he is weighing where to put Allen. have more advantages.

"We also recruited a very talented Seeker this year. She is very - uh - cute. We might as well let her give it a try first." Roger looked in a daze, and Alan felt that the newly recruited Seeker She must be a very beautiful and impressive girl.

Allen then learned from Roger who the seeker was. It was Qiu Zhang, an Asian girl in the second grade.

In the days that followed, Allen became even busier. In addition to doing wizard training every morning and completing increasingly heavy schoolwork, he still had to spend long periods of time in the library during his remaining spare time, and he also had to deal with three exams a week. Quidditch training.

[The following is related information about Quidditch. Those who don't like it can skip it directly without affecting the content of the next chapter. I feel that Quidditch is disliked and misunderstood by many people, so I will post relatively complete information here to give everyone an idea.

ancient broom game

Bollard: This game originated in Germany. A wizard serves as a guard or gatekeeper, trying to protect an inflated dragon's bladder. The remaining athletes would take turns flying toward the bladder, trying to pierce it with the sharpened broom handle. The first person to puncture their bladder is the winner.

Fire Barrels on Stilts: This Irish game requires contestants to carry doms, or balls, one by one, through a series of fire barrels suspended high in the air on stilts. The player who manages to get Dom through all the barrels the fastest, without catching fire along the way, is the winner.

Overhead Crucible: This is an extremely violent and extremely dangerous game originating from Scotland. Each player wears a cauldron tied to his head by a leather strap. At the sound of a trumpet or a drum, as many as a hundred enchanted stones, large and small, which had been suspended a hundred feet above the ground, began to fall to the ground. The contestants rose and fell in all directions, catching the falling stones with the cauldron above their heads. The person who catches the most stones is the winner.

Mid-air collision: is a very simple form of broomstick jousting, the purpose of which is to knock other people off their broomsticks. The last person left on the broom wins.

Reverse broom riding: A broom sport that originated in Herefordshire, England. Athletes ride their brooms upside down between a circle of hedges and hit pig bladders back and forth with the spiked end of the broom. The person who hits the bladder scores a point, and the first person to reach fifty points wins.

The development of Quidditch

The sport of Quidditch takes its name from its birthplace, Quidditch Moor. A witch named Gertie Kidder who lived near the swamp in the eleventh century recorded in her diary what she saw and heard in her daily life. She wrote in her diary for several days describing the development of Quidditch in its early days, noting how various elements were introduced into the game.

Gertie initially complained of her troubles when a group of men riding broomsticks played a ball over the swamp and the ball fell into her vegetable patch. She confiscated the ball and cast a poisonous spell on whoever came to her for it. On the second day, the ball players did not give up, they made a new ball. They also started throwing the ball into the woods at one end of the swamp to score. This is the earliest prototype of the Quaffle and the Scoring Circle.

On the third day, the golfers got two rocks flying in the sky and tried to knock them off their brooms. This is the predecessor of the Bludger. She also mentions the presence of a "large Scottish wizard" who may have been a player in the older broomstick game of the Crucible, which also suggests a connection between the two broomstick games.

Records of Quidditch from this period are rather limited. There was little mention of the sport for the next century—until the twelfth century, when a wizard named Goodwin Nion revived it in a letter to his Norwegian cousin Olaf. sports.

By this time, the sport was already known as Kwidditch, with specialized teams, player positions and different balls also having their own names. It can be found from Goodwin's letter that Chasers were called "Catchers" at the time, and Bludgers were called "Blooders".

Nien's letter also revealed a new twist on the game: three wooden barrels on stilts were used as goals, replacing the original trees. As a modern sport, this is undoubtedly a huge improvement. It can be seen that the "Quidditch" played by Nien at that time is very similar to today's Quidditch.

golden snitch

At this point, the only element that is still lacking in Quidditch is the Golden Snitch. The history of the appearance of the Golden Snitch may be the most interesting of all Quidditch balls! Its introduction is directly related to a game played in Kent in 1269 - at that time, the name of Quidditch became Cuaditch. A century after Goodwin Nean wrote his letter to his cousin, the movement seems to be gaining more popularity and more people are getting involved. However, the movement changed very little during this period.

During the game mentioned above, Barberu Bragg, then Speaker of the Wizarding Council, came to watch the game. Since hunting Snidgets was so popular at the time, Bragg brought a little bird called a Snidget to the game. He told the players on the field that whoever catches the Golden Snidget during the game will receive one hundred and fifty Galleons - this amount of money may not seem like much now, but it was a significant sum at the time.

This is easier said than done: Golden Snidget is small, very fast, and can change its flight direction instantly. This challenge allows the wizard who captures Snidget to gain fame.

What happened next on the Quidditch pitch was predictable: the players completely forgot about the game, and everyone was trying to capture the Snidget, while the spectators used repelling spells to force the escaped Snidget back onto the pitch.

The witch Modesty Rabnot, who also came to watch the game, felt pity for the snitch. She used a summoning spell to save the bird and hid it in her robe. The angry Bragg fined her ten galleons for disrupting the game, but she had already let Snidget go.

Mrs. Rabnor's actions saved the Snidget's life, but the Snidget and Quidditch have been linked ever since. In each game, a Snidget is released, and each team has a player - initially called a Hunter and later a Seeker - whose job it is to catch it. If any hunter can catch and kill Gold Snidget, his team will win 150 points to symbolize the 150 Galleons promised by Breno.

However, the popularity of Quidditch caused the number of Snidgets to decline sharply. By the mid-14th century, the Snidgets were finally declared a protected species by the Wizards' Council led by Alida Cragg. This means that the Gold Snidget can no longer be used in Quidditch matches. In addition, Somerset County has also established the Modesty Labno Snidget Sanctuary to ensure the future survival of the Gold Snidget.

But there had to be a Gold Snidget replacement in Quidditch, and while most people were looking for another bird to replace Gold Snitch, a metalsmith from Godric's Hollow named Bowman Wright had one came up with a different idea - he invented a fake Snitch, which he called the Snitch. His invention is very similar to the Snitch seen on the Quidditch field today: it is a golden ball with silver wings. Its size and weight are the same as the real Snitch, and it can fly as fast as the Snitch. ,agile. In addition, the ball will not travel outside the court, so spectators no longer need to use repelling spells.

Quidditch continued after the Snitch was approved as Snitch's replacement. By this point, all the balls used in modern Quidditch had appeared, and the composition of the teams had been completed. However, although the game of Quidditch at that time was very similar to today's Quidditch game, its specific rules and the style of the court were still slightly different from today's Quidditch. It was not until 1883 that the style of the Quidditch game was finally decided.

Committee

The International Confederation of Wizards and Quidditch Committee (ICWQC) is the international body responsible for overseeing the Quidditch competition and organizes the Quidditch World Cup every four years. In addition, the international organizations related to Quidditch include the International Quidditch Federation. In the United Kingdom, Quidditch affairs are administered by the Department of Magical Games and Sports, where the headquarters of the British and Irish Quidditch League is also located.

Player

Each side of the Quidditch game has seven players, including three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper and a Seeker. Four balls are also used in the game: a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and a Golden Snitch.

The goalkeeper is responsible for guarding his team's goal posts and preventing the opponent's players from scoring goals; the three chasers are responsible for throwing the Quaffle into one of the other team's three goal posts to win points for their team; the two hitters are responsible for The ball player protects his teammates from being hit by the Bludger and hits the Bludger to the opposing player; the Seeker is responsible for finding the Golden Snitch on the field, catching it and ending the game. The team that catches the Golden Snitch can win an additional 150 points, but this does not mean that this team will definitely win, because the point difference between the two teams may be greater than 150 points.

quidditch pitch

A Quidditch pitch is usually an oval pitch five hundred feet long and one hundred and eighty feet wide, with a small circle about two feet in diameter in the center from which all the balls are released at the start of the game. In the scoring areas at both ends of the court, there are three goalposts of different heights. Since Quidditch is a sport played in the air, the stands on the Quidditch pitch are located at higher locations.

The current doorpost with its iron ring was a wooden barrel at the time of Goodwin Nean's life. By the time the Snitch was introduced, they had been replaced with baskets on stilts. While baskets are useful, they come with another problem: there is no limit to the size of the baskets, so they vary from course to course.

In 1620, scoring areas were added at both ends of the court. In addition, the baskets at the top of the goalposts have become smaller, but differences in basket size between stadiums still exist. In 1883, rules regarding standard doorposts were finally introduced, and standard-sized hoops replaced the original baskets. At this point, the modern Quidditch pitch took shape. The year after hoops were used instead of baskets, a new rule was introduced in Quidditch stating that only Chasers holding the Quaffle could enter the scoring area. Therefore, "pinch" fouls are prohibited. Both changes caused considerable controversy, including riots and threats against the Minister of Magic.

The Quidditch pitch was built in a location that would not attract Muggle attention. This started in 1398. The wizard at the time, Zachary Mampus, once emphasized the need for Muggle-proof safety measures during the competition: "Choose a deserted wilderness far away from Muggle settlements to ensure that when you fly on your broom, you will not be hit by Muggles. They saw it. If you are building a long-term stadium, the Muggle Expelling Charm is a useful spell. It is also wise to hold games at night." But before that in 1362, the Wizarding Council had banned sports at known distances. Quidditch is played within fifty miles of a Muggle town. This rule was revised in 1368, stipulating that Quidditch matches were also prohibited within one hundred miles of Muggle towns. This may indicate that the sport of Quidditch is rapidly growing in popularity. Finally, the Wizards' Council issued a satisfyingly worded edict: no games should be played "wherever Muggles have even the slightest chance of seeing them." Otherwise, "we will see you chained to the dungeon wall." Play ball.”

The International Statute of Secrecy of the International Confederation of Wizards in 1692 made all ministries of magic directly responsible for the consequences of magical sports within their own jurisdictions. So in Britain, the Department of Magical Games and Sports came into being. Quidditch teams that did not abide by the Ministry of Magic's policies were forcibly disbanded, and the Bancori Bangers were one example.

Game progress

At the start of the game, the Quidditch referee will release four balls for the game in the center circle of the pitch. The enchanted Quaffle and Golden Snitch will fly directly into the sky, while the Quaffle needs to be thrown into the air by the referee to mark the start of the game (this is similar to the way basketball and Gaelic football in Muggle sports start) Similarly, the referee throws the ball into the air).

Because the length of time a Quidditch match is played is uncertain (some games can last several days if the snitch is not caught), the game is not divided into quarters, but the captain can call for a timeout. Teams will use the same set of goalposts throughout the game.

The Chaser can earn ten points for his team by throwing the Quaffle into the hoop of any of the opponent's goalposts. After a goal is scored, the opposing goalkeeper throws the Quaffle and the game continues.

A game will only end if the Snitch is captured, or with the consent of the captains of both teams. If the Seeker catches the Snitch, his team will gain an additional 150 points. The Snitch has a physical memory and can recognize the first person to touch it with their hands, in case of disputes over catching the ball. The winner of a game is the team with the most points at the end of the game, not the team that catches the Snitch. Therefore, if a team is ahead by more than 150 points when the other team's Seeker catches the Snitch, they can still win. One of the more famous examples occurred at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup final. At that time, despite Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum catching the Golden Snitch, the Irish team still won the game 170 to 160. However, if the game is a draw, the method of determining the winner is still unknown.

rule

The popularity and competition of Quidditch around the world is closely monitored and analyzed by the International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee.

In 1750, the Department of Magical Games and Sports established the official rules for Quidditch.

Although there is no limit to the height at which players can fly during competition, players are not allowed to exceed the boundaries of the court. If a player flies outside the boundaries of the court, his or her team must surrender the Quaffle to the opposing team (but if the defender leaves the court, the penalty is unknown).

The team captain can signal a "timeout" to the referee. This is the only time during the game that athletes are allowed to touch the ground. If a match has lasted more than twelve hours, the timeout may be extended to two hours. If a team fails to return to the court after two hours, that team will be disqualified.

The referee can award a team a free throw. The Chaser taking the penalty kick will fly from the center circle to the scoring area. With the exception of the opposing goalkeeper, who can prevent the Chaser from scoring a goal, all players must stay behind while the Chaser takes the penalty kick (it is unknown whether the Seeker can still catch the Snitch during the penalty kick).

The Quaffle may be taken from another player, but under no circumstances may a player hold onto any part of another player's body.

In the event of disability, no other athlete may take the field as a substitute. The team will continue to play after the injured player comes off the field (but according to "Philosopher's Stone", during the Quidditch game, if the game lasts for several days, the team will send substitute players on to replace the players to sleep. sleep for a while).

A player may bring a wand onto the pitch, but under no circumstances may it be used against an opposing player, an opposing player's broom, the referee, the ball, or any spectator present.

A Quidditch match can only end if the Snitch is caught, or with the consent of the captains of both teams.

Only the goalkeeper can stop the opposing team's Quaffle throw.

An 1849 amendment to the Quidditch Rules stated that if anyone in the crowd used any jinx or charm on a player, their team would automatically be disqualified from the game, regardless of whether the team ordered or supported the use of such magic.

foul

Records from the Department of Magical Games and Sports list a total of 90 Quidditch fouls. However, the details of these foul tactics have never been made public to the wizarding world (in the opinion of the Department of Physical Education, wizards who read the list "might be inspired"). As long as the ban on using wands against opposing teams is upheld, % of the listed foul tactics are unlikely to occur under any circumstances. Of the remaining percent, most of them don't happen, even to the most despicable of athletes. However, there are ten common fouls (applicable in brackets):

Pull: Grabbing the opponent's broom handle to slow down the opponent or impede his progress. (all players)

Collision: Deliberately hitting an opponent while flying. (all players)

Emergency brake broom: Emergency stop the broom flying, hoping to make the opponent deviate from the flight direction. (all players)

Hit the ball: Hit the Bludger toward the spectators. (for batsmen only)

Elbow strike: Abusing the elbow to hit the opponent. (all players)

Behind the Ring: Hitting the Quaffle by passing any part of the body through the hoop - the goalie should seal the hoop in front of the hoop rather than behind it. (for goalkeepers only)

Holding the ball into the ring: The Quaffle is still held in the hand as it passes through the hoop - the Quaffle must be thrown. (Chaser only)

Destroy the Quaffle: Do something to the Quaffle - such as puncturing it to make it fall faster or move in a zigzag path. (Chaser only)

Touch the Snitch: Any player other than the Seeker touches or catches the Snitch. (All players except Seeker)

Pinch: More than one Chaser enters the scoring area. (Chaser only)

At the 1473 Quidditch World Cup final, all fouls were committed. In addition to the above ten foul methods, there are also:

Transform Chaser into a skunk;

Tried to decapitate the goalkeeper with a machete;

Released a hundred vampire bats from under the robes of the Transylvanian captain during the match;

Burn the opponent's broom tail;

clubbing an opponent's broom;

Attack the opponent with an ax.

Quidditch tricks

Over the centuries, Quidditch players have invented many difficult and interesting tricks to improve their skills and the excitement of their game. These tricks include:

Counter Bludger - The batter swings the stick backhand to hit the Bludger to confuse the opponent.

Double Attack - Two batters hit a Bludger at the same time, making the Bludger's attack more lethal.

Double 8-shaped hoop fly - the goalie quickly spins around the three goal hoops in order to fend off the Quaffle.

Eagle Head Attack Formation - Three chasers form an arrow-shaped formation and fly towards the goal post, forcing the opponent's chasers to step aside.

Parkin's Clamp - Two Chasers approach one of the opponent's Chasers from the wings while the other Chaser flies head-on towards him or her.

Prenton Retrieval - Hide the snitch in the seeker's sleeve to confuse the opponent.

Bokov's Lure - A Chaser flies above and throws the Quaffle directly at another Chaser directly below.

Backhand pass - A Chaser throws the Quaffle over his shoulder toward a teammate behind him.

Sloth Roll - The player hangs from a broomstick and dodges the Bludgers by hugging the broomstick with both hands and feet.

Starfish Hang - The goalkeeper grabs a broomstick with one hand, hooks one foot on it, and stretches his limbs to ensure that the Quaffle is blocked as much as possible (it is most vulnerable to Bludgers).

Transylvania Feint - Pretend to hit the opponent on the nose to confuse the opponent (this move is legal as long as you don't actually hit the opponent's nose).

Wollongong's Zigzag Flying Technique - The chaser moves forward at high speed in a zigzag pattern to confuse the opponent's chaser.

Wronski Feint - The Seeker pretends to see the Snitch far below and dashes toward the ground, allowing the other Seeker to imitate him. But the former stopped diving when it was about to hit the ground, leaving the opponent with no time to react and hit the ground. 】