The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter Page 9
Chapter 5
Getting Around: Modes of Transportation
In This Chapter • Getting to Hogwarts and back
• Balancing on a broomstick
• Traveling through fire
• Apparating and Disapparating
• Using a Portkey for special events
• Knowing what to do in an emergency
Traveling through the wizarding world offers no fewer options than traveling in any other world. Wizards can journey by air, by train, by bus, and even by car on occasion. But in the wizarding world, air travel will be aboard a broomstick, train travel is on a secret train that can be accessed only by crashing headlong into a brick wall, bus travel is a hair-raising experience, and car travel is either in deceptively expansive vehicles or in the illegal flying variety. In addition, wizards travel through a network of fireplaces, by learning to appear and disappear at will, and even by touching just one finger to an object of trash before being whisked off to a prearranged destination.
Riding the Hogwarts Express
Train travel is far more common in Great Britain than it is in the United States, so no one there would be surprised to discover that the chief method of traveling to Hogwarts School is by train. What might surprise them is that the Hogwarts Express is an old-fashioned steam train, not the streamlined, modern trains found across Europe, Japan, and the United States today.
As with Muggle trains, passengers board a train on a platform—a waiting area in a train station. What’s unusual about the Hogwarts Express, however, is that the platform is not visible to Muggles—instead, partway between Platforms 9 and 10 (which Muggles can see and use), wizard school children run into the brick wall and emerge—magically!—onto Platform 93?4 on the other side. Only wizards are able to accomplish this feat.
TOURIST TIP
Kings Cross Station— admittedly, a rather dodgy area of London—is easily accessible from all of greater London via the Underground (the name for the subway). If you go there and follow the signs to Platforms 8, 9, and 10, a sign will eventually indicate that Platform 9 (a & b) goes to the right, and Platform 10 (a & b) goes to the left. At that intersection, the place wizards crash headlong into the brick wall—some enterprising person has posted a wooden sign that says "Platform 9¾.”
Traveling by train can be a fantastic experience, especially if you’re staying the night and have your own private sleeping berth. You can buy meals and snacks on the train (or, as with the Hogwarts Express, train personnel come around with a food cart from which you can buy snacks). The food on a train generally isn’t great, the bathrooms and sleeping berths are tiny, and you may experience a lot of rocking, jerking, and whistle-blowing—all of which can keep you awake at night. But you’re also able to take in the scenery without having to concentrate on driving, you have much more room to stretch out and more opportunities to walk around than in a bus or plane, and strangers tend to mingle while in the dining car or even in their seats, which gives you a chance to meet a variety of people. For information on train travel in North America, visit (United States) or (Canada).
KING’S ENGLISH
British trains have their own language: a train car, in England, is called a carriage. A food cart is called a trolley. And if you travel at all by train or subway in England, you’ll hear train personnel reminding you to "mind the gap.” That’s the British equivalent to "watch your step”; the gap being that narrow strip of distance between the edge of the carriage and the platform.
Tried and True: Riding a Broom
Brooms in the wizarding world look much like brooms in the Muggle world—not like today’s modern brooms made of vinyl and other plastics, but like the brooms of old, which were made with a nobby but polished solid-wood handle and a head of straw or similar material. The only difference is that the wizard variety have the key addition of a Flying Charm and, sometimes, a Braking Charm.
The wizard task of riding a broom is very much like riding a bicycle is for Muggles—children love to do it because of the freedom it affords them, and some continue the activity well into adulthood (using it as a means of transportation and/or exercise), while others drop it in favor of less demanding traveling methods. While perhaps not as physically exertive as riding a bike can be, broom riding is definitely a form of exercise, one at which some wizards excel.
Brooms are also a bit like Muggle horses, in that wizards have invented a hugely popular sport to play while on broomstick, much like polo is played on horseback. You’ll learn more about Quidditch and other wizard games in Chapter 6.
Brooms are reliable, safe, fun, and relatively inexpensive, especially if bought used. Wizards arrive at their destinations a bit windblown, but not nearly as dirty as when they travel the Floo Network (described in the following section). Plus, broomstick-riding doesn’t require the great skill that Apparition does, as you’ll see later in this chapter. In fact, many witches and wizards choose to never become proficient at Apparating, and opt instead for traveling by broomstick and the Floo Network.
Models of brooms run the gamut; the most common models include the following, and several slower, less-glamorous brooms are not even worth mentioning. Keep in mind that, as with any technology, better and faster brooms are always being released.• The Firebolt: The pinnacle of broomsticks, both in terms of speed and precision; it’s like riding a “bolt of fire.”
• The Nimbus series: This series of brooms takes its name from the Latin word nimbus, meaning “cloud” or “rain storm.” This is why the dark gray clouds that promise a drenching rain are called “nimbus clouds.” The term may also have links to Dragon Ball, a Japanese cartoon from the mid-1980s, in which the Flying Nimbus is a flying cloud that characters use for transportation. In that series, “Only the pure of heart can fly the Nimbus Cloud.” This is certainly not the case with Nimbus broomsticks, because Draco Malfoy, a student at Hogwarts who is decidedly impure of heart, successfully rides a Nimbus Two-Thousand and One. The latest models include the Nimbus Two-Thousand and the Nimbus Two-Thousand and One.
MAGIC TALE
Detailed information about the history of brooms— especially racing brooms—is available in the minibook Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling (writing as Kennilworthy Whisp).
• The Cleansweep series: As the name implies, these are functional, non-fancy brooms that one might even be persuaded to use for (gasp!) cleaning.
Disadvantages to broom travel are many:• Temperature: Rides can be exceedingly cold, even in summertime, because wizards have to ride high enough in the atmosphere to limit the risk of being seen by Muggles.
• Exhaustion over the long haul: Because it takes a good deal of balance (to stay on) and strength (to hang on), broom travel can be exhausting during long trips. Even on short trips, wizards arrive looking windblown and harried.
• Speed: Because you have to physically travel the distance from place to place, traveling by broom is slower than Apparating, using the Floo Network, or traveling by Portkey (described later in this chapter), but on a Firebolt, at least, broom travel is pretty darned fast.
• Risk of being seen: Wizards must take anti-Muggle precautions when traveling by broom, because they are easily seen. A witch or wizard riding a broom against a full moon is a surefire way to be seen by Muggles.
• Risk of bodily harm: Getting knocked off the broom is always a risk: one simple Hurling Hex, and the poor wizard will be spinning through the air without a broomstick.
Traveling the Floo Network
Using Floo powder to travel from place to place is an inexpensive, fast mode of travel. You must, however, have a fireplace through which to travel. In fact, a flue (for which Floo is named) is a shaft built into a chimney that allows smoke, exhaust, and air to escape. It is also the name of a pipe that moves dangerous exhaust gases from an indoor fireplace or furnace to the outdoors.
Here’s how traveling by the Floo Network happens for wizards:1. You take a tiny bit of Floo powder and throw it
into the fire in the fireplace.
2. The fire turns green and the flames extend quite high.
3. Keeping your elbows tucked in, shutting your eyes, and staying as still as possible, you step into the fire and clearly shout the name of your destination.
4. You’re spun toward your destination amidst a loud roar and a blur of the fireplaces you’re passing.
5. You’re deposited, rather dirty, to the fireplace at your destination.
Every wizard fireplace is on the Floo Network, which is policed by the Floo Regulation Panel, part of the Floo Network Office in the Department of Magical Transportation (see Chapter 14). Muggle fireplaces can also be accessed, but they are not usually connected to the Floo Network. And, these days, wizards have to be especially careful about boarded-up fireplaces, which cause obvious problems akin to what Santa goes through when fireplaces no longer allow for travel.
The major disadvantage of the Floo Network is that travelers are usually covered in soot by the time they reach their destinations. The experience is far from pleasant, because Floo travelers usually swallow some of the ashy powder and feel queasy during the ride. In addition, unless the wizard succinctly and correctly pronounces the name of the place he’s headed, he could wind up in a dark and dangerous place, such as Knockturn Alley, which is not far from Diagon Alley, but is a world apart (see Chapter 7). Wizards also must find a container in which to store their Floo powder, such as a flowerpot.
A distinct disadvantage is also that the network is watched carefully. For a wizard trying to avoid detection, travel by the Floo Network is a dangerous route. As you’re spinning through the fire, anyone can reach into a fireplace and grab you—a decided disadvantage if you’re trying to stay under the radar.
TOURIST TIP
Tudor architecture (1500-1575) ushered in the age of fireplaces in English homes. Although indoor fires had been used before this era, most indoor "fireplaces” were dangerous open fires, with the smoke escaping through a small hole in the roof. Tudor-style homes featured brick or stone fireplaces and chimneys, which dramatically decreased the risk of indoor fires. To see some of the best Tudor architecture in England, including dozens of magnificent fireplaces, visit Hampton Court Palace (outside of London; /HamptonCourtPalace) and Knole House (near Sevenoaks, Kent; /main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-knole).
Mastering the Art of Apparition
Apparition involves both Apparating (appearing out of thin air) and Disapparating (disappearing into thin air). The skill is a difficult one to attain, which is why the Department of Magical Transportation requires practitioners to apply for a license and pass a test. (And even very proficient wizards don’t always pass the test the first time around.) Difficulty in learning to Apparate is also why many witches and wizards choose to travel by other methods, chiefly broom and Floo powder.
In the English language, apparition refers to unexpected or extraordinary appearances or to the act of appearing. Specifically, an apparition refers to the appearance of a strange, ghostly figure. Anyone who watches wizards Apparate and Disapparate would surely think they were seeing ghosts, so the name makes sense!
The primary advantages to Apparition are that it’s free, clean, and instantaneous: wizards arrive at their destinations the second after they Disapparate. They also don’t have to suffer the cold winds of broom travel or the discomfort of traveling the Floo Network. However, those under 17 years old are not allowed to Apparate on their own (similar to obtaining a driver’s license in the United States). However, side-along Apparition is possible—that is, a person unable to Apparate can travel alongside one who can, just like a side-car on a motorcycle—but this is usually used only in emergencies.
Disadvantages to Apparition are threefold:• Avoiding Hogwarts: Wizards cannot Apparate or Disapparate within the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry because of tight security surrounding the school.
• Startling others: Apparition tends to startle others who are nearby as wizards Disapparate and Apparate. One’s appearance (or disappearance) is accompanied by a loud crack, but the crack is just as startling as the wizard’s sudden appearance (or disappearance). Unexpectedly appearing or disappearing next to someone is considered bad form.
• Splinching: Witches and wizards who are not proficient in Apparition may splinch themselves; that is, they leave part of themselves behind. Not only is the wizard unable to move either way (back to where he came or where he was headed), but Muggles usually see any body parts left behind. The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad must usually be called in to rectify the situation; wizards who splinch themselves are heavily fined.
Finding a Portkey
Portkeys (keys to transporting) are objects that, when touched, transport witches and wizards from one predetermined location to another. Portkeys are overlooked objects that appear to be trash: examples include a boot or shoe, a discarded newspaper, empty cans or bottles (although wizards have to be careful about using those in areas that strongly encourage recycling), and an old punctured football (that would be a soccer ball to Americans).
Portkeys are always set up by the Ministry of Magic; unauthorized Portkeys are nearly impossible to arrange, although powerful wizards have certainly been successful at doing so.
The process works like this:1. A group of wizards meets at a predetermined site, at a predetermined time.
2. As the time approaches, all those present lay at least one finger on the Portkey.
3. At the appointed time, the wizards are pulled, along with the Portkey, toward another predetermined site in a twirling, stomach-jerking motion.
4. Used Portkeys are then collected at the destination site.
Experienced wizards can remain standing when they arrive at the destination, but the uninitiated often tumble to the ground. All who travel this way find themselves looking quite windblown.
Traveling via Portkey is a once-in-a-while experience for witches and wizards, because Portkeys are arranged only for significant events, such as the Quidditch World Cup (see Chapter 6), in which massive numbers of wizards, including children who are too young to Apparate, are traveling to a single location.
Summoning the Knight Bus
The Knight Bus is an emergency mode of transportation for a wizard who finds herself stranded and unable to travel in any other way. She simply extends her wand, and the triple-decker purple bus appears in a blinding light and with a loud bang. Triple-decker buses don’t exist in England (although double-decker ones do!), nor do any British buses offer featherbeds to passengers, as the Knight Bus does. The windows are curtained to give privacy, so many passengers wear pajamas and slippers during the ride.
One advantage of the Knight Bus is that it travels quite fast. One disadvantage is that it, well, travels quite fast! Drinks spill, the beds move about, and travelers may find themselves rather carsick. The bus appears to be about to collide with objects (trees, lampposts, other vehicles) at a high rate of speed, but just in the nick of time, the objects move out of the way until the bus passes. At each stop, the driver slams on the brakes.
Aside from the obvious discomfort, another disadvantage is that the Knight Bus cannot be summoned unless someone is absolutely stranded. Like the knights in King Arthur’s time, this bus should be one’s last option, but it is one to be counted on, if needed. After all, given all that questing the knights did, they couldn’t be spending all their time rescuing damsels in distress. But when a damsel has used up all her other options, the knight will certainly take time out of his questing schedule to do a bit of rescuing. In the wizarding world, both males and females can call on the Knight Bus.
Chapter 6
The Sporting Life: Quidditch, Chess, and Other Games
In This Chapter • Discovering the greatest wizard sport
• Playing the game of kings with ornery pieces
• Dueling the new-fashioned way
• Joining a Gobstone club
• Playing Exploding Snap
&
nbsp; • Trading cards, wizard-style
Wizards like a good game as much as anyone, but if you had the ability to fly on a broomstick or get advice from your chess pieces, would you settle for ordinary soccer or regular chess? Balderdash! You’d use your magical powers to devise sports and games that match—and challenge— your abilities. This chapter explores the best wizarding games, including the greatest wizarding sport on earth: Quidditch.
Quidditch
Quidditch has been played in the magical world for over 800 years and is wildly popular, both to play as a pick-up sport in the backyard and to watch. Like the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) that governs British football (soccer), the International Association of Quidditch governs the sport and sponsors a World Cup match roughly every two years.
KING’S ENGLISH
In Great Britain, a pitch is an area of land used as a grassy playing field. In addition, soccer is called football in England. Put it all together, and what Americans would call a soccer field is what Brits would call a football pitch.
According to Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling (writing as Kennilworthy Whisp), the term Quidditch comes from the field in which the first game was played— Queerditch Marsh—in the eleventh century. However, others have postulated that the name comes from a combination of the names of the three balls used in the game: Quaffle, Bludger, and Golden Snitch.