"Well… you can stay here and look around. We'll go out and fly around for a while longer." Fred glanced at the flying broom Albert had placed beside him, then turned and left the locker room with the others.
Albert picked up his book and flying broomstick and went to the audience seats. He found a seat and began to read "Quidditch Origins" carefully.
Quidditch takes its name from its birthplace, Quidditch Marsh.
Albert's understanding of Quidditch was limited to the most basic common sense; as for the origin of the name, it seemed both unexpected and yet perfectly logical.
In the 11th century, the witch Gertie Kiddell, who lived near Quidditch Marsh, made a relevant description in her diary:
One day, a group of people were playing ball in the air above Quidditch Marsh on flying broomsticks when the ball fell into the vegetable garden of the witch Gertie and was confiscated by her.
The next day, the ball players did not give up. They made a new ball and started throwing it into the woods at one end of the swamp to score points.
On the third day, the ball players brought two stones and flew them around in the air, trying to knock them off their brooms.
This is the original ghost ball, scoring circle, and wandering ball.
Albert reached out and gently turned to another page:
In 1269, during a Quidditch match, the Speaker of the Wizarding Council, Babble Breg, came to watch. He told the players on the field that whoever could catch the Golden Flying Man during the match would receive 150 Galleons.
At that time, hunting Golden Flyers was very popular, and any wizard who captured a Golden Flyer could become famous.
From then on, the Golden Flying Man and Quidditch were connected.
Later, Quidditch had hunters specifically tasked with capturing the Golden Flying Man.
If any hunter manages to catch and kill the Golden Flying Man, his team will win 150 points, symbolizing the 150 Galleons promised by Breno.
"150 Galleons in 1269? This Wizard Council Speaker is really damn rich," Albert muttered under his breath. "No wonder he got 150 points for catching the Golden Thief later."
However, Albert could easily guess Golden Flying Man's fate.
Sure enough, by the mid-14th century, the number of Golden Flying Daggers had plummeted due to Quidditch matches, and they were considered a protected species by the Wizarding Council led by Alida Cragg.
Later, Bowman Wright, a metalworker from Godric's Hollow, invented the Golden Snitch. Ultimately, the Golden Snitch became a replacement for the Golden Flying Man, allowing Quidditch to continue.
Albert had seen the Golden Snitch before, and it was hard to imagine that a wizard at the end of the fifteenth century could create such an exquisite Golden Snitch.
Of course, since the Shock Absorber Charm wasn't invented until the 19th century, Albert couldn't help but maliciously speculate how Quidditch players before that managed to overcome the Eggsy's sadness and play on flying broomsticks.
In the latter half of Quidditch Origins, there is an introduction to the rules of Quidditch, and what Albert is most interested in is the rules regarding the Golden Snitch.
Aside from the Seeker, any player touching or catching the Golden Snitch is committing a foul. In other words, there's no such thing as a player catching the Golden Snitch and handing it to their own Seeker.
The competition will only end when the Golden Thief is caught.
Of course, there is another situation where the game can also end with the consent of both team captains.
It can be simply understood as one side conceding defeat.
In any competition, admitting defeat is always allowed.
Albert continued flipping through the pages and discovered several more interesting rules.
In Quidditch, if a team suffers an injury, no other player may be substituted, but medical treatment is permitted for the injured player. If a player leaves the field, the team will continue playing after the injured player leaves.
Yes, that means there are no substitutes.
Albert discovered another problem: when no substitutes were available, Charlie would ask them to be his backups.
"I see, the real candidate?" Albert couldn't help but smile wryly.
It's probably because several players on the team will be graduating next year, so Charlie is busy looking for players who can replace them!
After all, selecting players next year is not as fast as cultivating excellent players this year. At that time, we can just go through the motions and not worry about what others will say.
Later in Quidditch Origins, Albert actually discovered that players could indeed be substituted during a Quidditch match. That is, after several days of play, teams were allowed to bring in substitutes to replace the players and allow them to rest.
This is the only situation where a substitute player is allowed.
Then again, the audience isn't crazy; how could they possibly stay up all night watching the games for several days straight?
In fact, Albert felt that once a Quidditch match exceeded one day, it lost its meaning to continue.
He continued scrolling down, and in the later part of the rules, there were some fouls:
For example, setting the opponent's broom tail on fire.
Using a broom to strike the opponent. (Albert is sure Eileen and Mark have both done this.)
In addition, there's the practice of intentionally bumping into opponents while flying or using one's elbow to strike them. (Basically, every Quidditch player except the goalkeeper has done this.)
Grab the opponent's broom handle to slow them down or hinder their progress. (Malfoy used this tactic against Potter.)
...
Of course, violating the above rules will usually only result in a penalty kick, but in serious cases, it may lead to a suspension.
In fact, Mark is the best example; he has done a lot of things like deliberately bumping into his opponents.
If he were to use his elbow to take the opponent's seeker off the field, Albert felt he would do the same, which, in a way, would give him a huge advantage.
Albert thought maliciously: Could that three-month-long competition have come about in this way?
Both sides managed to get the other's Seeker out of the game, neither side caught the Golden Snitch, and neither side was willing to concede, so the game naturally had to continue.
Noticing someone had landed beside him, Albert turned around and saw that Charlie and his group had finished their training.
Charlie asked, "Why didn't you go practice flying?"
"There seems to be something wrong with the broom; it's shaking badly."
"I guess they're too old. The school's brooms have been used for a long time, and they all have some problems." Charlie sighed and called to the few people still flying in the sky, "George, Fred, and you guys, come down and listen to the tactical analysis."
"Is training over?" Fred and the others landed and came to Charlie's side to ask.
"Not yet. I'll explain Quidditch tactics to you later, and you can come and listen too."
"But we've already heard it."
"I listened to you talk all summer."
The twins looked at each other and each said a sentence.
"Shut up."
Angelina was quite pleased that Charlie was able to explain tactics to them, showing that he didn't treat them like outsiders.
After putting the Ghostball and the Blink into the box, Charlie led the group into the locker room. He stood in front of the blackboard and began explaining the Quidditch tactics he had devised during the summer.