Editing Quidditch (section)

==Development==
Rowling came up with the sport in a Manchester hotel room after an argument with her then-boyfriend. She explained: "I had been pondering the things that hold a society together, cause it to congregate and signify its particular character and knew I needed a sport."<ref name="telegraph">{{cite web|last1=Furness|first1=Hannah|title=JK Rowling invented Quidditch after a row with her boyfriend|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10065868/JK-Rowling-invented-Quidditch-after-a-row-with-her-boyfriend.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10065868/JK-Rowling-invented-Quidditch-after-a-row-with-her-boyfriend.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=The Telegraph|date=18 May 2013 |access-date=7 May 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Rowling claims that the word "Quidditch" is not derived from any particular etymological root, but was the result of filling five pages of a notebook with different words beginning with "Q".<ref>{{cite web|title=J.K. Rowling on The Diane Rehm Show|url=http://wamu.org/story/16/12/29/j-k-rowling-rebroadcast/|website=WAMU|access-date=29 May 2017}}</ref>

Despite the sport's popularity with fans, Rowling grew to dislike describing the matches. She commented in an interview:

{{blockquote|To be honest with you, Quidditch matches have been the bane of my life in the ''Harry Potter'' books. They are necessary in that people expect Harry to play Quidditch, but there is a limit to how many ways you can have them play Quidditch together and for something new to happen.<ref name="leaky">{{cite web|title=The Leaky Cauldron and MN Interview J.K. Rowling|url=http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/09/10/jkr2/|website=The Leaky Cauldron|access-date=29 May 2017|date=16 July 2005}}</ref>}}

The final Quidditch scene in the books appears in ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]''. Rowling experienced "fiendish glee" writing this scene, which features memorable commentary by [[Luna Lovegood]].<ref name="leaky"/>

Quidditch is introduced in ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'', and is a regularly recurring feature throughout the first six books. It is depicted as being played by both professionals (as in tournaments like the Quidditch World Cup) and amateurs. A major motif of five of the ''Harry Potter'' books is the competition among the four [[Hogwarts houses]] for the Quidditch Cup each school year; in particular, the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

In 2014, Rowling started publishing a series of match reports from the Quidditch World Cup on [[Pottermore]], culminating in a short story about the final featuring the return of Harry, [[Ron Weasley|Ron]], [[Hermione Granger|Hermione]] and their friends as adults. This generated interest from several media outlets, as it was the first new writing about the ''Harry Potter'' characters since the end of the series in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Tobar|first1=Hector|title=J.K. Rowling covers the '2014 Quidditch World Cup'|url=http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-jk-rowling-covers-the-quidditch-world-cup-20140417-story.html|newspaper=LA Times|date=17 April 2014|access-date=7 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Flood|first1=Alison|title=Harry Potter makes first appearance for seven years as he turns 34|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/08/harry-potter-gossip-column-34-jk-rowling-pottermore|website=The Guardian|date=8 July 2014|access-date=7 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Gibson|first1=Megan|title=J.K. Rowling Just Published a New Harry Potter Story|url=https://time.com/2965574/j-k-rowling-new-harry-potter-story/|magazine=Time|access-date=7 May 2017}}</ref>

Rowling published ''[[Quidditch Through the Ages]]'' in 2001 to benefit [[Comic Relief]]; ''Quidditch Through The Ages Illustrated Edition'' was published in 2020, with banners being presented to 11 towns in the UK and Ireland that in the books have Quidditch teams, including the Ballycastle Bats, Falmouth Falcons, Holyhead Harpies, Montrose Magpies, Pride of Portree and Wigtown Wanderers; two teams based in fictional places, the Chudley Cannons and Puddlemere United, were also celebrated.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wionews.com/world/harry-potter-fans-can-now-visit-quidditch-towns-across-these-locations-332800 |title=Harry Potter fans can now visit 'Quidditch towns' across these locations |publisher=WION |date=6 October 2020 |access-date=3 July 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Jane |last=Cassidy |url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/18772214.three-scottish-locations-list-quidditch-towns-given-special-status/ |title=Three Scottish locations in list of 'Quidditch towns' given special status |newspaper=The National |date=5 October 2020 |access-date=3 July 2021 }}</ref>

===Game progression===
[[File:The Making of Harry Potter 29-05-2012 (Golden Snitch).jpg|thumb|right|250px|''The Golden Snitch'']]
* Quidditch matches are played over an oval-shaped pitch, with a scoring area at each end consisting of three hooped goal posts, each at a different height. Each team is made up of seven players, consisting of three '''Chasers''', two '''Beaters''', one '''Keeper''' and one '''Seeker'''. 
* The job of the Chasers is to keep possession of the scarlet '''Quaffle''', a leather ball passed between fellow chasers. They must attempt to score goals (worth 10 points) by throwing it through one of the opponents' three hoops. These hoops are defended by the opposing team's Keeper, who ideally tries to block their goals and throw the  "Quaffle" to fellow chasers. 
* Meanwhile, players of both teams are attacked indiscriminately by the two '''Bludgers'''. These are round, jet-black balls made of iron that fly around violently trying to knock players off their brooms. It is the Beaters' job to defend their teammates from the Bludgers; they carry short wooden clubs, which they use to knock the Bludgers away from their teammates and/or toward the opposing team. 
* Finally, the role of the Seeker is to catch the '''Golden Snitch'''. This is a small golden ball the approximate size of a walnut. The winged Snitch is enchanted to hover, dart, and fly around the pitch rapidly and indiscriminately, avoiding capture while remaining within the boundaries of the playing area. A Seeker catching the Snitch ends the game and scores the successful Seeker's team an additional 150 points (15 goals). As the team with the most points wins, this often guarantees victory for the successful Seeker's team. A notable exception is when Bulgaria Seeker [[Viktor Krum]] catches the Snitch for Bulgaria during the World Cup Final in ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire|Goblet of Fire]]'', while his team are still 160 points behind Ireland (their opponents), thus making his own team lose by only 10 points.

===Broomsticks===
[[File:The Making of Harry Potter 29-05-2012 (Broomsticks).jpg|thumb]]
[[Magical Objects in Harry Potter#Broomsticks|Broomsticks]] are one of the forms of transportation for wizards and witches, as well as being used for playing Quidditch. The three most prominent broomsticks in the books are the Nimbus 2000, Nimbus 2001, and the '''Firebolt''', all three of which have been produced as merchandise by [[Warner Bros.]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=MacDonald|first1=Brady|title=Let's go on a virtual shopping spree at Universal's new Wizarding World|url=http://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-wizarding-world-shops-universal-studios-hollywood-20160324-story.html|newspaper=LA Times|access-date=29 May 2017|date=24 March 2016}}</ref>

The Nimbus is introduced as one of the best broomsticks in the wizarding world. Harry receives a Nimbus 2000 in ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone|Philosopher's Stone]]'' so that he can play for Gryffindor house. In ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets|Chamber of Secrets]]'', [[Lucius Malfoy]] buys a full set of the more advanced Nimbus 2001s for the [[Slytherin]] team as a bribe, so they would choose his son [[Draco Malfoy|Draco]] as Seeker that year.

The Firebolt later supersedes the Nimbus as the fastest and one of the most expensive racing brooms in existence. Harry receives a Firebolt model from his godfather, [[Sirius Black]], after his Nimbus 2000 is destroyed during a Quidditch match in ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban|Prisoner of Azkaban]]''. In ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire|Goblet of Fire]]'', Harry uses his Firebolt to escape the [[Hungarian Horntail]] during the Triwizard Tournament.

===Films and video games===
Quidditch appears in five of the eight ''Harry Potter'' films. Some Quidditch subplots, such as Ron's Keeper storyline in ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix|Order of the Phoenix]]'', were cut to save time in the films.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vineyard|first1=Jennifer|title=Harry Potter's First Date Flops, Quidditch Ditched: What 'Phoenix' Flick Leaves Out|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1564401/harry-potters-first-date-flops-quidditch-ditched-what-phoenix-flick-leaves-out/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013030700/http://www.mtv.com/news/1564401/harry-potters-first-date-flops-quidditch-ditched-what-phoenix-flick-leaves-out/|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 October 2014|website=MTV|access-date=29 May 2017|date=10 July 2007}}</ref> Video games that feature Quidditch include:
* Main series' video game adaptions:
** ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (PlayStation video game)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]''
** ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]''
** ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]''
* ''Harry Potter: Quidditch'' series
** ''[[Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup]]''
** ''[[Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions]]''
* ''[[Lego]] Harry Potter'' series
** ''[[Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4]]''
** ''[[Lego Harry Potter: Years 5–7]]''

In the [[Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey]] attraction in the [[The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Islands of Adventure)|Wizarding World of Harry Potter]] at the [[Islands of Adventure]] theme park, Quidditch is featured near the end where riders are flown through the Quidditch pitch. A storefront near Ollivanders Wand Shop is themed as a Quidditch supply with a Golden Snitch on the sign and a case containing animated Quaffle and Bludgers surrounded by Beaters' bats.<ref>{{cite news|title=Harry Potter's magic conjures success for theme park|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/06/wizarding.harry.potter.orlando/?hpt=C2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024065108/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/06/wizarding.harry.potter.orlando/?hpt=C2|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 October 2012|newspaper=CNN International | date=6 April 2011}}</ref>