CHAPTER TEN
“Never mind,” said Harry quickly.
“Now, there’s another player on each side who’s called the
Keeper — I’m Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our
hoops and stop the other team from scoring.”
“Three Chasers, one Keeper,” said Harry, who was determined
to remember it all. “And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that.
So what are they for?” He pointed at the three balls left inside the
box.
“I’ll show you now,” said Wood. “Take this.”
He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat.
“I’m going to show you what the Bludgers do,” Wood said.
“These two are the Bludgers.”
He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly
smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be
straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.
“Stand back,” Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed
one of the Bludgers.
At once, the black ba ll rose high in the air and then pelted
straight at Harry’s face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it
from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air —
it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived
on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.
“See?” Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into
the crate and strapping it down safely. “The Bludgers rocket around,
trying to knock players off their brooms. That’s why you have two
Beaters on each team — the Weasley twins are ours — it’s their job
to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them
toward the other team. So — think you’ve got all that?”
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