QUIDDITCH THROUGH THE AGES is one of the most popular titles in the
Hogwarts school library. Madam Pince, our librarian, tells me that it
is 'pawed about, dribbled on and generally maltreated' nearly every day
— a high compliment for any book. Anyone who plays or watches Quidditch
regularly will relish Mr Whisp's book, as do those of us interested in
wider wizarding history. As we have developed the game of Quidditch, so
it has developed us; Quidditch unites witches and wizards from all
walks of life, bringing us together to share moments of exhilaration,
triumph and (for those who support the Chudley Cannons) despair.
It was with some difficulty, I must own, that I persuaded Madam
Pince to part with one of her books so that it might be copied for
wider consumption. Indeed, when I told her it was to be made available
to Muggles, she .was rendered temporarily speechless and neither moved
nor blinked for several minutes. When she came to herself she was
thoughtful enough to ask whether I had taken leave of my senses. I was
pleased to reassure her on that point and went on to explain why I had
taken this unprecedented decision.
Muggle readers will need no introduction to the work of Comic
Relief, so I now repeat my explanation to Madam Pince for the benefit
of witches and wizards who have purchased this book. Comic Relief uses
laughter to fight poverty, injustice and disaster. Widespread amusement
is converted into large quantities of money (174 million pounds since
they started in 1985 — over thirty?four million Galleons). By buying
this book — and I would advise you to buy it, because if you read it
too long without handing over money you will find yourself the object
of a Thief's Curse — you too will be contributing to this magical
mission.
I would be deceiving my readers it I said that this explanation
made Madam Pince happy about handing over a library book to Muggles.
She suggested several alternatives, such as telling the people from
Comic Relief that the library had burned down, or simply pretending
that I had dropped dead without leaving instructions. When I told her
that on the whole I preferred my original plan, she reluctantly agreed
to hand over the book, though at the point when it came to let go of
it, her nerve tailed her and I was forced to prise her fingers
individually from the spine.
Although I have removed the usual library?book spells from this
volume, I cannot promise that every trace has gone. Madam Pince has
been known to add unusual jinxes to the books in her care. I myself
doodled absent?mindedly on a copy of
Theories of Transubstantial Transfiguration
last year and next moment found the book beating me fiercely
around the head. Please be careful how you treat this book. Do not rip
out the pages. Do not drop it in the bath. I cannot promise that Madam
Pince will not swoop down on you, wherever you are, and demand a heavy
fine.
All that remains is for me to thank you for supporting Comic Relief
and to beg Muggles not to try Quidditch at home; it is, of course, an
entirely fictional sport and nobody really plays it. May I also take
this opportunity to wish Puddlemere United the best of luck next
season.
Albus Dumbledore
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