Oliver Wood²

Yule Ball was a formal Christmas celebration held on 25 December for students of wizarding schools who participated in the Triwizard Tournament.[1][2] 1994 was the first time in centuries that the Triwizard Tournament, and thus the Yule Ball, was held. The ball was open to students in the fourth year and above, meaning Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger were able to attend. Younger students were also allowed to attend provided they were invited by an older student. Ginny Weasley was able to attend, as she was invited by a fourth year student, Neville Longbottom. All tournament champions were required to attend, and they must have a dance partner, as tradition required them to open the dance.[1]

"Quidditch, the most popular sport in the magical world – highly dangerous, very exciting and played on broomsticks." — Description[src] Quidditch (formerly known as Kwidditch and Cuaditch) was a wizarding sport played on flying broomsticks.[1] It was the most popular and well-known game among wizards and witches, and, according to Rubeus Hagrid, the wizard equivalent to Muggles' passion for football.

The game was played by two teams with seven members each. The object of the game was to score more points than the opposing team. There were seven players on a Quidditch team: three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker. The game was played with four balls: a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and a Golden Snitch. The game started with the referee releasing all four balls from the central circle on the field. The Bludgers and Snitch were bewitched to fly off of their own accord, but the Quaffle was thrown into the air by the referee to signal the start of play (This is similar to how the games of basketball and Gaelic football, popular Muggle sports, begin by the referee throwing the ball in the air).[2]

After a goal was scored, the opposing team's Keeper would throw the Quaffle back into play.[2] Teams continued using the same goalposts to score throughout the game. The game only ended when the Golden Snitch was caught, or if the Captains of both teams managed to reach an agreement. Some games could go on for many days if the Snitch was not caught (the record for the longest game, according to Quidditch Through the Ages, was six months, although no one caught the Snitch). Since the lengths of Quidditch games were variable (some games could go on for days if the Golden Snitch was not caught) the game was not played in periods, although captains could call for a time out.[1]

The winner of the game was the team with the most points, regardless of who caught the Golden Snitch.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was divided into four Houses: Gryffindor, founded by Godric Gryffindor; Hufflepuff, founded by Helga Hufflepuff; Ravenclaw, founded by Rowena Ravenclaw; and Slytherin, founded by Salazar Slytherin.[1]

House systems Houses at Hogwarts were both the living and learning communities for its students. Each year's group of students in the same House shared the same dormitory and many classes. The houses competed throughout the school year, by earning and losing points for behaviour. The House with the most points won the House Cup. Each House also had its own Quidditch that competed for the Inter-House Quidditch Cup. These two competitions bred rivalries between the Houses, the greatest of which was that between Gryffindor and Slytherin.[4] Sorting In the early days of Hogwarts, the four founders handpicked students for their Houses. When the founders worried how students would be selected after their deaths, Godric Gryffindor took his hat off and each "put some brains" into it, thereby creating the Sorting Hat to choose future students for each House.[12] At the beginning of each school year, the magical Sorting Hat was placed on each new student's head during the Sorting Ceremony.[4]

B1C7M2 Sorting Ceremony The Sorting Ceremony The Sorting Hat announced the House that the student was to join. Before beginning the Sorting Ceremony, it sang a short song about the founding of the school and the four Houses; the Sorting Hat's songs were different every year, and the Hat was said to take all year to compose the next one (according to Ronald Weasley).[4] Every so often it would sing of mortal peril at the school.[13] The students said that it picked up tips from Dumbledore's office.[11] It is unclear if the Sorting Hat tended to place students based on qualities they valued or rather qualities they exhibited.

Hogwarts School, located somewhere in the Highlands of Scotland, consisted of the large Hogwarts Castle and extensive school grounds surrounding it, which included sloping lawns, flowerbeds, vegetable patches, as well as a loch (called the Black Lake), a large dense forest (called the Forbidden Forest), several greenhouses and other outbuildings, and a full-size Quidditch Pitch. One of the castle's towers held an owlery, which housed all the owls owned by the school and by students. The castle was set upon huge rocks above the Black Lake. Its three highest towers were the Astronomy, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor Towers. The castle's 142 staircases were known to change position. The castle was known for its many updates and changes in layout throughout the years. It should be noted that some rooms in the school tended to "move around", as did the steps on the Grand Staircase. Albus Dumbledore once noted that even he did not know all of Hogwarts' secrets. The castle had been around for centuries, and consequently had a long history of ancient magic. The school had numerous ancient charms and spells on and around it to safeguard it from danger. In addition to the fact that there were enchantments that prevented people from entering by stealth, it was also impossible for a Muggle to see it, as the school was bewitched so that when they looked at it, all they saw were some old ruins and several warnings of danger. Witches and wizards could not Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts grounds, except for when the Headmaster lifted the enchantment, whether only in certain areas or for the entire campus, so as to make the school less vulnerable when it served the headmaster to allow Apparition. Electricity and electronic devices were not found at Hogwarts. Due to the high levels of magic, Muggle substitutes for magic, such as computers, radar and electricity, "went haywire" around Hogwarts. Radios, however, were an exception as they were not powered by electricity, but by magic.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, often shortened to Hogwarts, was the British wizarding school located in the Scottish Highlands.[6][7] Founded in the 10th century, Hogwarts was regarded as one of the finest institutions of magic in the wizarding world, alongside other notable schools including Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, the Durmstrang Institute and Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, among others collectively forming the eleven long-established and prestigious wizarding schools worldwide.[4]

Any magical children residing in Great Britain or Ireland who had reached the age of eleven by the start of the incoming term were accepted as students.[8][9] They were registered by the Quill of Acceptance and Book of Admittance when they first displayed magical ability,[10] and their acceptance was confirmed by owl post at age eleven. However, if the child in question was Muggle-born or raised by Muggles, like Harry Potter, with no knowledge of the wizarding world, a special messenger from the school visited the child and his or her family to inform them of their magical heritage and the existence of the wizarding world.[11] It was also possible for students to transfer to the school.

The precise location of the school could never be uncovered because it was rendered Unplottable. To Muggles, the school appeared to be an old, abandoned castle. Similarly, most wizarding schools' locations were protected in order to protect the students and schools themselves from any harm.[4] It was a state-owned school, funded by the British Ministry of Magic.[12]

The school's motto was Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus (Draco Dormiens Nvnqvam Titillandvs), which, translated from Latin, means "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".

Oliver became Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team in either 1990, his fourth year[9] or 1991, his fifth year.[10]

In the 1991–1992 school year, despite assembling a good team, he was unable to find anyone skilled enough to play as Seeker for the team after the departure of Charles Weasley in the previous year. However, his search was ended when his Head of House, Professor McGonagall, observed Harry Potter catch Neville Longbottom Remembrall on a broomstick from a fifty foot dive. McGonagall claimed that it was a move that even Charlie Weasley couldn't have pulled off, convincing Oliver that Harry was indeed something special. He immediately saw that Harry's build was perfect for a Seeker, and impressed upon McGonagall the need for Harry to have a decent broom to fly.

Oliver Wood (born c. 1975 or 1976) was a wizard who was the Keeper and CaptainGryffindor Quidditch team during his time as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which he attended from 1987 to 1994.

Oliver was known for his determination and skill on the playing field, and his long lectures before practices. He led the Gryffindor team to victory in the Quidditch Cup in his seventh year.

After leaving school, Oliver joined Puddlemere United as a reserve player (presumably as Keeper). In 1998, Oliver returned to Hogwarts to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, alongside his former school friends and teammates.

Biography Early life Oliver was born in Great Britain or Ireland in 1975 or 1976, likely into a wizarding family.[2] Oliver Wood attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1987 to 1994. He was Sorted into Gryffindor and presumably shared a dormitory with Percy Weasley.

He joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Keeper.[5] During his first game he took a Bludger to the head two minutes in, and woke up a week later in the Hospital Wing. He mentioned this to Harry Potter when Oliver was in his fifth year, as Harry was nervous for his first Quidditch match. Oliver also mentioned that he didn't really remember his first match because of this.[6]

He also attended Hogwarts with Charlie Weasley (Gryffindor) and Nymphadora Tonks (Hufflepuff) for four years before they graduated. Oliver would frequently talk about Charlie's superb Quidditch skills and showed appreciation for them, as he was a huge Quidditch fan himself.[5]

Sometime before 1991, Oliver was given an "award for effort".[7] Oliver once borrowed Quidditch Through the Ages from the Hogwarts Library and was due to return the book on 9 April in an unknown year.[8]