"Someone sent Potter a racing broom, Professor," Draco Malfoy interjected hastily, his voice laced with indignation.
"Yes, yes, quite right," Professor Flitwick chirped, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall informed me of the special exception, Mr. Potter. Which model did you acquire?"
"It's a Nimbus 2000, Professor." Ron's face was still flushed from the argument, leading Professor Flitwick to briefly mistake his complexion for that of a Gryffindor who had just botched a complicated Charms spell.
Harry's attention was fixed on his defeated rival. Seeing the look of utter horror on Malfoy's face, Harry deliberately stifled a laugh and added smugly, "I only managed it thanks to Mr. Malfoy's help, actually."
Allen couldn't help but chuckle at that. Malfoy's expression was truly priceless—a mask of pure disbelief and seething outrage.
"Since that's settled, off you go to your next classes." Professor Flitwick, all kindness, turned his bright focus back to his newest genius student. "Allen, meet Roger Davies at the Quidditch training grounds after school this afternoon. He'll be expecting you."
"Yes, Professor." Allen nodded, saying goodbye to his Head of House. Harry and Ron, who had lagged behind, were waiting for him by a nearby pillar, waving enthusiastically.
As Allen caught up, Ron spoke, wearing a look of sheer triumph. "Allen, did you see Malfoy's face just now? He never expected his little trap to backfire this badly! Harry got a Nimbus 2000 and became a full member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team! It's fantastic! Let's see Malfoy try to brag about his flying skills now…"
"That's excellent news! And I've got some good news for you too. Thanks to Harry paving the way, I've been selected for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as well. Maybe we'll face off in a match soon." Allen was genuinely happy. Had the 'Savior' not broken the rules and forced the school's hand, his own entry as a first-year would not have been so smooth.
"It wasn't my doing, honestly. If Malfoy hadn't tossed Neville's Remembrall, I wouldn't be on the team, either," Harry said, laughing, once again seizing the opportunity to poke fun at Malfoy.
"So you think this is your reward for breaking school rules?!" a sharp, angry voice demanded from behind them. Hermione Granger marched down the final steps, glaring disapprovingly at the long package in Harry's hand.
Harry's cheerfulness faded slightly. "I thought you weren't talking to us anymore."
"I wish that were true, and it would be best for all of us if she just stayed silent," Ron muttered dismissively. "It would certainly give the rest of us some peace."
Hermione let out a frustrated snort, offered no further comment, and marched away, her nose held high in the air.
"That's truly baffling. Where does she get that sense of superiority?" Harry scratched his head, bewildered.
"It probably comes from her 'know-it-all' title. Oh, sorry, Allen, I wasn't including you in that," Ron quickly apologized to Allen. "Her grades aren't even as good as yours, but she's far more arrogant."
Throughout the rest of his morning lessons, Allen remained remarkably focused, listening patiently and filling his notebooks. Although he was excited about Quidditch practice that afternoon, he understood the importance of absolute presence in the moment. Time flew quickly and imperceptibly when his attention was fully engaged.
After his final class, Allen quickly packed his bag and, unusually, bypassed the library. He headed straight for the Quidditch training grounds, calculating that at his current pace, he would complete the reading quest in due time regardless.
Roger Davies, the Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, was waiting for Allen on the pitch. His lean, muscular frame and powerful limbs marked him instantly as an athlete. The late afternoon sun filtered through the surrounding trees, casting soft circles of light onto the green turf.
"Hey, Allen Harris, over here!" Roger called out, waving.
Allen quickly sped up. After a brief re-introduction, the Ravenclaw captain crouched down and opened a large, sturdy wooden chest at his feet, which contained various Quidditch equipment.
"Mr. Harris, how much do you actually know about Quidditch?" Roger asked, sounding skeptical. "I mean, more than what a casual fan would know."
"Sure, Davies, I know a fair bit." Seeing Roger's unconvinced expression, Allen elaborated: "The red ball is the Quaffle. Chasers pass the Quaffle, attempting to throw it through the opponent's hoops for ten points each time. The Keeper protects the hoops…"
Allen's claim of knowing "a fair bit" was, as usual, an immense understatement. By the time he acquired his Neptune broom, he had already fully memorized the rules and history of the sport. He began explaining the purpose of each of the four balls and outlining some basic tactics to his new captain, though his knowledge was entirely academic.
"Excellent! No wonder you're our new Ravenclaw Seeker. You sound like not only a fan but a tactical expert as well." With that, Roger tossed Allen a small wooden practice bat and then, in true Ravenclaw fashion, asked a question: "So, do you know the history of Quidditch?"
"Well… I'm not as strong on the history," Allen admitted, catching the bat. He figured the practical portion was about to start. While he found magical history fascinating, he hadn't prioritized it due to his current reading quest. "Quidditch is the first—and so far, only—broomstick sport enjoyed by wizards almost everywhere. It certainly wasn't the first aerial sport; older ones like the German Pole-Vaulting or the Scottish Cauldron-Heads were only locally popular. Quidditch itself has evolved for nearly a thousand years since its inception."
Seeing Allen's limited historical knowledge, Roger excitedly pulled a book from the chest and handed it to him, instructing him to read and learn about the sport itself.
Confused by this very Ravenclaw training method, Allen asked, "Shouldn't we be doing a practical test?"
"No rush. You can wait until you finish reading that."
Seeing Roger pause and stare excitedly at the book in his hand, Allen sighed and continued reading. He now understood, to some extent, why the Ravenclaw Quidditch team rarely won championships at Hogwarts.
(Note: The following sections provide the in-depth Quidditch knowledge Allen is now consuming, which will aid him later.)
The sport of Quidditch takes its name from its birthplace, Queerditch Marsh. Early records come from the diary of Gertie Keddle, an 11th-century witch living near the Marsh.
The Quaffle and Hoops: Keddle noted a group of players throwing a ball into a scoring area marked by trees, the early version of the Quaffle and the goal hoops.
The Bludgers: On the third day of play, players introduced two stones, trying to knock each other off their brooms—the crude beginnings of the Bludgers and the Beaters.
Early Games: Quidditch developed from older, localized broomstick games:
The Pillar Game (Germany): A Keeper protects a distended dragon bladder; opponents try to pierce it with a sharp broom handle.
Long-Handled Fire Barrels (Ireland): Participants pass a dom (ball) through burning barrels suspended on long handles.
Cauldron on the Head (Scotland): An extremely dangerous game where players wearing cauldrons try to catch falling magical stones.
By the 12th century, the sport was known as Kwidditch. Letters from a wizard named Goodwin Kneen revealed key roles: Catchers (Chasers) and Blodgers (Beaters). The goals had evolved from trees to three barrels placed on stilts, marking a significant step toward the modern game.
The final missing element was the Golden Snitch, introduced during a match in Kent in 1269 when the sport was called Cuaditch.
The Golden Snidget: Barberus Bragge, then-Chief of the Wizard's Council, brought a tiny, swift golden bird called a Golden Snidget to the match. He promised 150 Galleons to the player who caught it, a considerable sum at the time.
The Seeker's Role: Players instantly abandoned the Quaffle to chase the Snidget. A witch named Modesty Rabnott saved the bird by hiding it. However, the tradition stuck: a Golden Snidget was released in every game, and a player, initially called the Hunter and later the Seeker, was tasked with catching it.
150 Points: The 150 points awarded for catching the Snitch represented the 150 Galleons promised by Bragge.
Protection and Replacement: The Golden Snidget was declared a protected species in the mid-14th century due to population decline. Bowman Wright, a metalworker from Godric's Hollow, invented a mechanical substitute: the Golden Snitch—a small golden ball with silver wings, identical in size, weight, speed, and agility to the Snidget.
The definitive rules of Quidditch, including the standard field design, were not finalized until 1883.
Teams and Balls: A match involves two teams of seven players:
Three Chasers: Pass the Quaffle (red ball) and score 10 points per goal through the hoops.
Two Beaters: Use bats to hit the Bludgers (two black balls) away from their teammates and toward opponents.
One Keeper: Guards the three goal hoops.
One Seeker: Hunts the Golden Snitch (small, winged golden ball), whose capture ends the game and earns 150 points.
Field: An oval-shaped pitch, typically 150 meters long and 55 meters wide, with three iron-ringed goalposts at varying heights at each end.
Game End: The match ends only when the Golden Snitch is caught or with the consent of both captains. The winner is the team with the most points. (The 150-point award does not guarantee a win, as demonstrated by Ireland defeating Bulgaria 170-160 in the 1994 World Cup, despite the Bulgarian Seeker catching the Snitch.)
The Department of Magical Sports recorded seven hundred Quidditch fouls, though most are no longer possible due to the strict ban on using wands against opponents. Common fouls include:
Blagging: Grabbing an opponent's broom tail to slow them down.
Blatching: Intentionally flying to hit an opponent.
Flacking: A Keeper reaching through the hoop to prevent the Quaffle from entering (must defend from the front).
Snitchnip: Any player other than the Seeker touching or catching the Golden Snitch.
Stooging: More than one Chaser entering the scoring area.
Centuries of play have developed complex moves, including:
Backbeat: A Beater hitting a Bludger with the back of the bat to surprise an opponent.
Double Eight Loop: A Keeper performing rapid figure-eight loops around the hoops to block the Quaffle.
Wronski Feint: The Seeker pretends to spot the Snitch far below and dives toward the ground, prompting the opposing Seeker to mimic him. The first Seeker pulls out of the dive just before impact, while the opponent, caught off guard, often crashes.
After Allen finished reading, the Ravenclaw captain waved him over to mount his broom. Roger then released a shiny black Bludger that had been writhing inside its box. The moment it was free, it shot straight for Allen's face. Allen instinctively swung the practice bat with a powerful, fast arc, hitting the Bludger and sending it rocketing high over the iron rings that towered over the pitch.
"Huh, what did I just see? You used the Bludger to shoot through the goal hoop, so fast and… oh…" Before Roger could finish, the speeding Bludger plummeted back down and crashed right onto him. Roger wrestled the Bludger back into the box, where it thumped against the wood reluctantly.
Allen and Roger then spent time demonstrating difficult moves, such as the Reverse Pass and the Wronski Feint. Allen then performed several flying maneuvers on command, his exceptional reflexes, agility, and keen spatial awareness surprising and thrilling Roger.
"If you're that good at Beating, you're good at everything!" Roger shouted excitedly. "Allen, you're practically an all-rounder! I think Ravenclaw has a very real chance of winning the Quidditch Cup this year!"
Unlike his early, shaky flying lessons, Allen was exhilarated after flying freely. He loved the sensation of control and the rush of wind. "So, what position do you think I should play?"
"I think you should start at Chaser; we desperately need strong players who can contribute to the score. As for Seeker—" Roger hesitated, clearly weighing where Allen's talent would best serve the team.
"We actually got a very talented Seeker this year. She's so… sweet," Roger added, seemingly lost in thought. Allen gathered that the new Seeker must be a very memorable and beautiful girl.
Allen later learned from Roger that the other Seeker was Cho Chang, a second-year Asian girl.
The following days saw Allen become exponentially busier. In addition to his strenuous morning wizarding physical training and his heavy academic load, he now had to dedicate most of his free time to the library reading quest and juggle Quidditch practice three times a week.