Golden Snitch

Golden Snitch
Inventor	Bowman Wright
Book information
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Last appearance	Quidditch Through the Ages

The Golden Snitch is a very important ball in the wizarding sport of Quidditch. It appears throughout the Harry Potter book series.

About

The Golden Snitch is a bright gold, walnut-sized ball with fluttering wings, which hovers and flies around the field at a high speed. The ball is betwitched to evade capture for however long is possible. It is the smallest ball used in Quidditch. The Seeker has to catch the Snitch before the other team's Seeker, which is worth one-hundred and fifty points. Until it is caught, the game will not end unless the Captains' agree to stop playing. The Seeker who catches the Golden Snitch usually does so when it will guarantee victory for their team.

Golden Snitches have a flesh memory and will only open for the first ever person that caught it. The makers of Golden Snitches wear gloves and only Seekers are allowed to ever touch a Golden Snitch. Snitchnip is a foul which is carried out when a player other than the two Seekers touch and catch the Snitch.

History

The Snidget

The Golden Snidget

In the twelfth century, the concept of a player catching something in Quidditch was introduced by Barberus Bragge during a time when Snidget-hunting was popular. Bragge offered a prize fund of one-hundred and fifty Galleons to the person who caught the bird. Although the bird was rescued by Modesty Rabnott who was watching the Quidditch game, Snidgets were released into every subsequent game and a new position called the "Hunter" was introduced to the sport. This player had to catch and kill the Snidget to end the game and be rewarded with one-hundred and fifty points.

Invention of the Golden Snitch

Notes during the development of the Snitch

The bird was already struggling to survive Snidget-hunting and Quidditch nearly drove it to extinction because they are fragile and crushed to death easily. Eventually, the Golden Snidget was put under protection to save it. The sport had to find a substitute. Quidditch teams across the country tried to find a resolution, but it was Bowman Wright who created the answer. Bowman invented the Golden Snitch, a walnut-sized gold ball designed to mimick the behaviour, flight patterns and other attributes of the Snidget. Bowman received many orders for the ball throughout his life. The invention of the Golden Snitch is considered to have completed the sport of Quidditch.

Later history

In 1884, a Golden Snitch evaded capture for six months during a Quidditch game in Bodmin Moor. The game carried on while the Seekers tried to find the ball until both teams decided to give up in disgust with their Seekers poor performances. It is thought that this Golden Snitch continues to roam in Bodmin over one-hundred years later.

In 1921, Roderick Plumpton caught the Golden Snitch in a British record of three and a half seconds during the Tutshill Tornados game against the Caerphilly Catapults.

In 1953, Glynnis Griffiths caught the Golden Snitch in spectacular fashion for the Holyhead Harpies after a seven-day game against the Heidelberg Harriers.

In 1976, James Potter, who was a Chaser, stole a Golden Snitch to impress Lily Evans. In 1991, Oliver Wood introduced his new seeker, Harry Potter to the Golden Snitch. He practiced for catching the ball by catching golf balls. He caught the Golden Snitch in the very first game he ever played being the youngest Seeker in half a century. In 1997, he had a seventeeth birthday cake in the form of the ball.

Albus Dumbledore kept the first Golden Snitch that Harry Potter ever caught. He gave the ball to Harry in his will, putting the Resurrection Stone inside the Golden Snitch. Rufus Scrimgeour gave it to Harry when Dumbledore was killed. Engraved on it were the words "I open at the close." Harry tried and failed to open it for nearly a year. However, when he knew he had to let Voldemort kill him in order to save everyone he loved, he whispered "I am going to die". Dumbledore had enchanted it to open when Harry accepted he had to die and so it finally did open to give him the Ressurrection Stone.