HALLOWEEN
“Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper
guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their
team,” Harry reeled off.
“Very good,” said Wood.
“Er — have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?” Harry asked, hop-
ing he sounded offhand.
“Never at Hogwarts. We’ve had a couple of broken jaws but
nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the
Seeker. That’s you. And you don’t have to worry about the Quaffle
or the Bludgers —”
“— unless they crack my head open.”
“Don’t worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the
Bludgers — I mean, they’re like a pair of human Bludgers them-
selves.”
Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last
ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny,
about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little
fluttering silver wings.
“This,” said Wood, “is the Golden Snitch, and it’s the most im-
portant ball of the lot. It’s very hard to catch because it’s so fast and
difficult to see. It’s the Seeker’s job to catch it. You’ve got to weave
in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it
before the other team’s Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches
the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they
nearly always win. That’s why Seekers get fouled so much. A game
of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on
for ages — I think the record is three months, they had to keep
bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.
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