"Well… you can read here. We're going out to fly for a bit longer." Fred glanced at Albert's broom next to him, then turned and left the changing room with the others.
Albert took his book and broom to the stands, found a seat, and opened Quidditch Through the Ages to read carefully:
The name Quidditch comes from its place of origin, Queerditch Marsh.
Albert's understanding of Quidditch was limited to the simplest common knowledge; the origin of its name seemed unexpected yet reasonable.
In the 11th century, there was a description in the diary of a witch named Gertie Keddle, who lived near Queerditch Marsh:
One day, a group of people were playing a game on their flying brooms above the marsh. The ball fell into Gertie's vegetable patch and was confiscated by her.
The next day, the players didn't give up. They made a new ball and started throwing it into the woods at one end of the marsh to score.
On the third day, the players brought two stones that flew around in the sky, trying to knock them off their brooms.
These were the earliest quaffle, scoring hoops, and bludger.
Albert gently turned to another page:
During a Quidditch match in 1269, Barberus Bragge, Chief of the Wizards' Council, came to watch. He told the players that whoever caught the Golden Snidget during the match would receive 150 Galleons.
At that time, hunting Golden Snidgets was popular, and any wizard who caught one could become famous. From then on, the Golden Snidget and Quidditch became linked.
Later, Quidditch had a specialized Seeker responsible for catching the Golden Snidget. If a Seeker could catch and kill one, his team would win 150 points, symbolizing the 150 Galleons Bragge had promised.
"150 Galleons in 1269? This Chief of the Wizards' Council was really rich, wasn't he?" Albert muttered softly. "No wonder catching the golden snitch was later worth 150 points."
However, Albert could easily guess the fate of the Golden Snidget.
Indeed, by the mid-14th century, the Golden Snidget's population drastically declined due to Quidditch matches and was designated a protected species by the Wizards' Council, led by Elfrida Clagg.
Later, a metalworker named Bowman Wright from Godric's Hollow invented the golden snitch. Ultimately, the snitch became a substitute for the Golden Snidget, and the sport of Quidditch was able to continue.
Albert had seen a golden snitch, and it was hard to imagine that wizards in the late fifteenth century could create such an exquisite object.
Of course, since the Cushioning Charm wasn't invented until the nineteenth century, Albert couldn't help but speculate how Quidditch players before then endured the crashes and played matches on flying brooms.
In the latter half of Quidditch Through the Ages, there were also introductions to Quidditch rules, and what interested Albert most were the rules regarding the golden snitch.
Except for the Seeker, any player touching or catching the snitch is committing a foul. This means there's no such play as a teammate catching the snitch and handing it to their Seeker.
The game only ends when the snitch is caught.
Of course, there's another situation: the game can also end with the agreement of both team captains. This can be simply understood as one side conceding.
Albert continued to flip through and discovered several other interesting rules.
In a Quidditch match, if a team has injured players, no other players may substitute, though injured players are allowed treatment. If a player leaves the field, the team continues the match after the injured player exits.
Hmm, so no substitutes.
Albert then realized a problem: if players couldn't be substituted, why was Charlie looking for reserves?
"So that's it—true reserves?" Albert couldn't help but smile wryly.
Perhaps several players on the team were graduating next year, which is why Charlie was busy finding replacements.
After all, selecting next year wouldn't be as quick as starting to train excellent players this year. Then, they would just need to go through the motions and wouldn't worry about gossip.
In the later part of Quidditch Through the Ages, Albert discovered that players could be substituted during matches lasting several days. Teams were allowed to bring in substitutes to let the Chasers sleep.
This was the only situation where substitutes were permitted.
But then again, the audience isn't crazy; how could they watch a match for several days without sleep?
In fact, Albert felt that once a match exceeded one day, it had already lost its meaning to continue.
He continued to flip through, and in the later part of the rules, there were some foul plays:
For example, setting fire to an opponent's broom tail.
Hitting an opponent's broom with a bat. (Albert was sure Irene and Mark had both done this.)
Intentionally colliding with an opponent while flying or using an elbow to shove them. (Basically, all Quidditch players except the Keeper had done this.)
Grabbing an opponent's broom tail to slow them down or obstruct their progress. (Malfoy had used this move on Potter.)
…Of course, violating the above rules usually only resulted in a penalty shot, and severe cases led to suspension.
In fact, Mark was the best example; he frequently intentionally collided with opponents.
If he could use his elbow to knock the opposing Seeker out of the game, Albert felt he would do the same. To some extent, it would already give him a huge advantage.
Albert thought maliciously: that three-month-long match—could it have happened like this? Both sides knocked out the other's Seeker, no one caught the snitch, and neither side was willing to concede, so the match naturally had to continue.
Noticing someone land beside him, Albert turned his head and saw Charlie and his group had finished training.
Charlie asked, "Why didn't you go practice flying?"
"My broom seems to have a problem; it's shaking terribly."
"It's probably just old. The school's brooms have been used for a long time, and more or less all have some issues." Charlie sighed lightly and called out to the few still flying in the sky, "George, Fred, and the rest of you, come down for a tactical analysis."
"Is training over?" Fred and the others also landed and came to Charlie's side, asking.
"Not yet. I'll explain Quidditch tactics to you later, and you'll all listen too."
"But we've already heard it."
"You talked about it all summer."
The twins looked at each other, speaking one sentence at a time.
"Shut up."
Angelina, however, was very happy that Charlie would explain tactics to them, meaning he didn't treat them as outsiders.
After putting the quaffle and bludgers into the box, Charlie led them into the changing room. He stood in front of the blackboard and began to explain the Quidditch tactics he had devised during the summer.