Professor
Dumbledore had no end of difficulty in persuading the Hogwarts librarian,
Madam Pince, to part with her copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, by Kenilworthy
Whisp. He explained that sales of the book would aid the Comic Relief charity,
which raises millions of pounds annually to help some of the poorest and
most vulnerable people in the world.
Anyhow, she did let him take it away, even though it is in rather a tatty
condition on account of being referred to daily by students at the school.
That's why the copy you buy will look a little used, although it's new.
Quidditch can be dated back to the eleventh century, although the game went
through many changes before it arrived at the form in which it is played
today. You will read about the evolution of racing brooms, and learn some
of the moves and manoeuvres that make up a game. (You will also find about
some of the thousands of fouls that can be committed, but we won't dwell
on that.)
Imagine a tiny round golden bird, the size of a walnut. It's a golden snidget,
and was originally the golden snitch until the species became endangered
on account of quidditch. Rumour has it that a golden snitch evaded capture
in a game in 1994 and is still at large in Cornwall, in the south of England,
but there has never been a confirmed sighting.
If you are a Muggle, you can expect that the game will not be played within
a hundred miles of your town, because you are not supposed to know of the
existence of it. But the game has worldwide popularity amongst magical folk,
and we Muggles can always pretend it's real.
copyright
c)2001 Susan Levy
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