Flying notes

Arresto Momentum

A spell that slows down a moving object or person.

• Most useful for slowing a fall.
• In a duel it slows an opponent for a moment.
• It slows things. It does not stop them dead.

Teaching tip: Use it in a flying or falling scene. The caster decides how much they slow the fall, and the faller describes the landing.

Also on: Spells, Dueling

Turning and steering

You steer a broom by leaning and by turning the handle gently where you want to go.

• Look where you want to go. The broom follows your eyes.
• Lean into a turn, as you would on a bicycle.
• Sharp pulls on the handle make the broom buck.

Teaching tip: Set a simple course around three markers. Students narrate each turn, and you call out anyone who jerks the handle.

Speed and stopping

Lean forward to go faster and ease back to slow down.

• Slow down well before you need to stop.
• Pulling up hard at speed can throw you off.
• Never fly faster than you can stop.

“Never fly faster than you can stop.”

Teaching tip: Run a stopping drill: fly to a line and halt on it. Reward the neatest stop, not the fastest flight.

Flying with others

When several people are in the air, keep your distance and make your moves clear.

• Keep at least a broom's length between riders.
• Pass on the same side every time, and call out as you do.
• The rider below cannot see you, so it is your job to keep clear.

Teaching tip: Fly the class in pairs, then in a line. Students call out their moves before making them, as a team would.

Falling off

Everyone falls off sooner or later. Staying low while you learn makes it a bruise instead of a broken bone.

• Beginners practise a few feet above the grass.
• If you start to slip, grip with your knees and lower the broom.
• Any fall is reported, and injuries go to the hospital wing.

Teaching tip: Play a fall as a short scene: the wobble, the drop, the landing, the walk to the hospital wing. Let the student choose how badly it goes.

Nervous flyers

Plenty of students are afraid of heights or have never been on a broom. That is normal, and good to roleplay.

• Brooms seem to sense fear and can become harder to handle.
• Small steps help: hover first, then a slow straight line.
• Students from non-magical families often start with no experience at all.

Teaching tip: Pair a nervous flyer with a patient one. Give points for encouragement, not for height.

Flying at night

Flying in the dark is harder and is normally forbidden to students.

• You cannot judge distance or see the ground well.
• A lit wand helps you see, but it leaves you with one hand on the broom.
• Cold air at height numbs your fingers quickly.

Teaching tip: A night flight should need permission. Use it as a rare treat or as a tense rule-breaking scene.

Broom races

A broom race is flown against the clock or against other riders, around a set course of markers.

• Riders are judged on time and on passing every marker.
• Missing a marker adds a penalty.
• Races are held in daylight and good weather, with a teacher watching.

Teaching tip: Hold a time trial where each student describes one risky choice. Decide together whether it pays off.

A short history of the broom

Wizards have flown on brooms for about a thousand years, partly because a broom draws no attention in a Muggle house.

• Early brooms were rough, slow and painful to sit on.
• The Cushioning Charm made long flights comfortable.
• Broom-making grew into a skilled trade, with makers competing on speed and handling.

Teaching tip: Ask why wizards chose something as ordinary as a broom. The answer is that it is easy to hide from Muggles.

The four Quidditch balls

Quidditch is played with four balls of three kinds.

• The Quaffle is red, about the size of a football, and is used for scoring.
• The two Bludgers are heavy black balls that fly about trying to knock players off.
• The Golden Snitch is tiny, gold and winged, and very hard to see.

Teaching tip: Hold up one imaginary ball at a time and ask who chases it, who hits it and who avoids it.

Chasers

Three Chasers on each team pass the Quaffle and try to throw it through one of the other side's hoops.

• Each goal is worth ten points.
• Good Chasers pass quickly and fly in formation.
• Only one Chaser may be in the scoring area at a time.

Teaching tip: Run a passing drill in posts: each Chaser must pass before they shoot. It teaches students to share the scene.

Keeper

The Keeper guards the three goal hoops and tries to stop the Quaffle going through.

• The Keeper stays near the hoops for most of the game.
• Watching the Chaser's eyes is the best clue to where they will shoot.
• A good Keeper keeps all three hoops in view at once.

Teaching tip: Give your Keeper a save to describe in detail. It is a quiet position that deserves a moment.

Beaters

Two Beaters on each team carry short bats and knock the Bludgers away from their own side and towards the other.

• It is the most physical position and needs strength and balance.
• Beaters often work as a pair.
• Hitting a Bludger at the crowd is a foul.

Teaching tip: Remind Beaters that they aim at where a player will be. They write the attempt, and the target writes the result.

Seeker

The Seeker's only job is to find and catch the Golden Snitch.

• Catching it earns 150 points and ends the match.
• Seekers are usually the lightest, fastest fliers.
• Only the Seeker may touch the Snitch.

Teaching tip: Give the Seeker a glimpse of the Snitch partway through the match and let them choose whether to dive.

Scoring and winning

A match ends only when the Snitch is caught. The team with more points at that moment wins.

• A goal is 10 points and the Snitch is 150.
• A team can catch the Snitch and still lose, if it was more than 150 points behind.
• Matches have no time limit, and some have lasted for days.

Teaching tip: Keep a simple tally on the board. Ask the class whether a team that is far behind should still chase the Snitch.

Fouls

Quidditch has hundreds of fouls. The referee awards a penalty shot to the other team.

• Grabbing another player's broom is a foul.
• So is flying at someone on purpose to collide with them.
• So is using your elbows, or a wand, on another player.

Teaching tip: Appoint a student referee for a practice match. They call fouls and award the penalty, and you back their decisions.

House teams and the Quidditch Cup

Each house has a team of seven, led by a captain, and the four houses play each other for the Quidditch Cup.

• Matches are spread across the school year.
• Points scored in every match count towards the Cup.
• The Cup goes to the house with the best record at the end of the year.

Teaching tip: Announce the season's fixtures at the start of term. Students can then play the build-up as well as the match.

Also on: Houses

Team tryouts

Captains hold tryouts early in the year to fill empty places on the house team.

• You try out for one position.
• Captains look for teamwork as well as skill.
• First-years rarely make the team.

Teaching tip: Run tryouts as a class. Each student picks a position and describes one thing they do well and one mistake.

Match-day moves

Teams practise set moves with names of their own.

• Sloth Grip Roll: hanging upside down from the broom to dodge a Bludger.
• Hawkshead Attacking Formation: three Chasers flying in an arrowhead.
• Starfish and Stick: the Keeper holds on with one hand and one foot to cover more of the hoops.

Teaching tip: Let each player name one move they want to try. They write the attempt, and you narrate whether it works.

Where Quidditch came from

The game grew from broom games played on a marsh many centuries ago, and changed slowly into the sport played today.

• The earliest matches had only a leather ball and a few players.
• The Snitch replaced a small golden bird that used to be chased, after the bird became rare and was protected.
• The goals were once baskets on poles.

Teaching tip: Ask why a living bird was replaced by a metal ball. It is a good moment to talk about treating creatures kindly.

Playing a match in roleplay

A roleplay match works best in short rounds: each player writes one attempt, and the referee says what happens.

• Write attempts, not results: 'dives for the Snitch', not 'catches the Snitch'.
• Give every position a turn each round.
• Agree beforehand how the winner is decided, by dice, by a vote, or by the referee.

Teaching tip: Agree the turn order and who decides results before the first whistle. Then keep each round short.

Also on: RP Tips

Supporting your house

Most of the school watches every match, and the stands are part of the fun.

• Supporters wear house colours and bring banners.
• A student usually gives a running commentary, with a teacher close by.
• Cheer your own side. Jeering at the other earns a telling-off.

Teaching tip: Give spectators a job: a chant, a banner or commentary. A match needs a crowd as much as players.

The Quidditch pitch

A large oval field in the grounds, with three tall goal hoops at each end and raised stands all round.

• The hoops stand about fifty feet high.
• The stands are raised so the crowd can see play in the air.
• Flying lessons and house team practices are held here too.

Teaching tip: Use the stands for a scene even when nobody is flying. Supporters, banners and nerves make good roleplay.

Also on: Places

First flying lesson

First years learn on school brooms on the grounds, with an instructor watching closely.

• Stand beside your broom with your hand over it and say 'Up!' firmly and clearly.
• The broom jumps into your hand when it trusts you. A nervous voice makes it ignore you.
• Grip it, kick off gently, hover, then lean forward to move and back to slow.

“Hand out, firm voice, and don't let it see you're scared.”

Teaching tip: Run it as an outdoor scene. Students line up beside their brooms and take turns narrating each step of the lesson, ending with a safe landing.

Calling your broom

The command is 'Up!', and the broom responds to confidence.

• It can take a few tries. Do not give up.
• A calm, clear voice works better than shouting.

Teaching tip: Ask students to practice the command in three different tones: nervous, bossy, calm. Which one works best?

Gripping and balancing

Hold the handle with both hands, keep your knees snug against the shaft, and keep your weight steady.

• Do not lean too far in any direction.
• If it wobbles, grip tightly and keep your eyes forward.

Teaching tip: Describe a wobbly start from a character's point of view. Students say what they do to recover: relax, tighten grip, lower the nose.

Lift, hover and land

Take off with a firm kick, rise slowly, hold still in the air, then lean forward to return gently.

• Hovering is harder than going fast.
• A good landing is when both feet touch down together and the broom does not bounce.

Teaching tip: Time a class challenge: lift one foot off the ground, hover for five slow breaths, then land. Slow and controlled beats showy.

Broom safety rules

Do not fly without permission, stay inside the marked area, and never race when the weather is bad.

• Check the broom for loose twigs before every flight.
• Report any accident immediately.
• No flying near the Forbidden Forest or the lake.

Teaching tip: Make a class rule list together. Students vote on the three most important and explain what could go wrong without them.

Broom care

Brooms need basic care, like trimming stray twigs, polishing the handle and storing them somewhere dry.

• A well-kept broom flies straighter and feels safer to ride.
• Treat shared school brooms gently. They are old and a bit temperamental.

Teaching tip: Have students describe a small maintenance routine for their character's broom, such as trimming twigs or polishing the handle.

Brooms, speed and handling

Different brooms are built for different jobs: some are fast, some are steady, some turn sharply.

• Racing brooms are quick but need skill.
• School brooms are slower, safer and often a bit worn out.
• The best choice depends on the rider's experience and the flight.

Teaching tip: Ask students to pick a broom for a specific job: a long race, tight turns, or a steady ride. What do they choose and why?

Flying weather

Wind, rain, fog and thunderstorms can make flying dangerous.

• Lightning is a hard no.
• Strong winds make steering difficult.
• Fog is dangerous because you cannot see the ground or other riders.

Teaching tip: Give the class a weather forecast and let them decide whether to fly. Students must justify the decision.

Quidditch

The wizarding sport, played on broomsticks with seven players a side.

• 3 Chasers score with the Quaffle (10 points a goal). 1 Keeper guards the hoops.
• 2 Beaters knock the Bludgers away.
• 1 Seeker catches the Golden Snitch: 150 points and the game ends.

Teaching tip: Teach positions with a quick quiz: call a play, and students shout the role and the points. Keep scoring to a simple tally.

Also on: School Life