Broomsticks in Harry Potter
In the fictional universe of the Harry
Potter series, created by author J. K.
Rowling, magical flying broomsticks are one of the most popular forms of
transportation for wizards and witches, as well as used for magical
games like Quidditch. A complete culture exists for them, as
does for cars in the real world. First year students at Hogwarts are
not supposed to be allowed to have a broom with them at school,
though the rule is bent for Harry
Potter so he can play for his house Quidditch
team.
ending details follow.
Nimbus
The Nimbus broomsticks are known to be one of the best
broomsticks in the book. They are produced by the Nimbus Racing
Broom Company, which was founded in 1967.
Nimbus 1000
Information on the Nimbus 1000 comes from Quidditch Through the Ages. The
Nimbus series was a big step up from anything seen before,
the 1000 reaching speeds of a hundred miles an hour, capable of turning 360
degrees on a point, and extremely reliable. Following models (the
1001, 1500, and 1700) were similar in
abilities and success, until a large step forward was taken in the
2000 model.
Nimbus 2000
The Nimbus 2000s are described as sleek and shiny. They
have a mahogany handle and a long tail of neat, straight
twigs. Nimbus 2000 is written in gold near the top of the
handle.
Harry Potter acquires his
Nimbus 2000 broomstick after Professor McGonagall witnesses him fly
during his first flying lesson at Hogwarts in
his first year. Gryffindor team captain, Oliver Wood,
suggests that Harry requires a better broomstick than the school
provides. However, it is unclear who provided the cash for this
first broom, although the film version implies that Professor
McGonagall got the broom for Harry.
Harry flew his Nimbus 2000 for another two years until in his
third year it flew into the Whomping Willow and was smashed to bits. It
is unknown as to whether or not Harry still has the pieces of the
broom as a keepsake since it was his first broom, or if they were
discarded.
It should be noted that when the broom first appeared in the
book it was touted as 'the fastest model yet'. However, this might
be interpreted to mean that it was the fastest Nimbus model
of broom. The Firebolt, said to be the fastest racing broom ever
designed at the present time of the book, did not appear until
Prisoner of Azkaban, but it may already have existed prior, but
simply wasn't seen.
Nimbus 2001
The Nimbus 2001 is an upgrade to the Nimbus 2000. The
broom was superseded by the Firebolt in Harry Potter and
the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Due to its impressive flying abilities, the Nimbus 2001 is very
expensive and only Quidditch teams with wealthy backers can afford
it.
Draco Malfoy became the Slytherin Quidditch
Seeker
after his father gave Nimbus 2001 brooms to all seven
members of the Slytherin Quiddich team in Harry Potter and
the Chamber of Secrets. The purchase of the Nimbus 2001's
for the Slytherin team led to considerable discontentment among the
other house teams due to the broom's undeniable advantage in terms
of speed and agility. The Nimbus 2001 in the film adaptation of
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is indeed treated as
the faster of the two brooms, but it appears that Draco either
hadn't mastered the broom as well as he might have liked, or else
lacked the experience of riding a broom with such a speed. His
performance during the initial quidditch bout where the brooms were
used against Gryffindor and Harry himself, ended with Harry
emerging victorious despite a rogue Bludger attacking Harry
exclusively. Draco not only kept pace with Harry, he did in fact
manage to overtake him more than once in their race for the Snitch,
but was taken out of the match when, dodging the rogue alongside
Harry, he was unable to demonstrate the same amount of control over
his broomstick that Harry was in the underbelly of the quidditch
stadium and slammed into one of the wooden beams of the frame
supporting the structure.
Firebolt
A Firebolt is an advanced professional-level flying broomstick.
According to Quality Quidditch Supplies, the
broom is made of ash wood with a tail of birch twigs, is
capable of reaching 150 miles per hour in 10 seconds (which is
remarkably high for broomsticks), and also apparently incorporates
an unbreakable braking charm. It has been boasted to be the fastest
and most advanced broomstick available, and so far appears to live
up to the claim. Because of all of this, the broomstick is priced
at hundreds of Galleons.
Harry Potter was given a Firebolt by his godfather
Sirius Black for Christmas
after his old broomstick, a Nimbus 2000, was destroyed by the
Whomping Willow.
It was used by the Irish team during the Quidditch World Cup.
Comet
Comets are cheaper than the Nimbus and are more common in
amateur Quidditch games. These were created by the Comet Trading
Company as a competitor with the Cleansweeps. Different Comet
models include Comet One-Forty, Comet One-Eighty, Comet Two-Sixty
and Comet Two-Ninety. The Comet Trading Company was founded by
Randolph Keitch and Basil Horton in 1929. Its first broom
was the Comet 140. Competition between the Comet and Cleansweep
broommakers continued into the late 1930s, when secondary
models came onto the market (such as the Tinderblast and Silver
Arrow).
Cleansweep
Cleansweeps are about the same as Comets. Different
models for Cleansweeps include Cleansweep One, Cleansweep Two and
all the way to Cleansweep Seven. Most of the Weasley Family seem to ride Cleansweeps. As a
present for being prefect, Ron
received a brand new Cleansweep Eleven, which is known to have a
Spanish oak handle, anti-jinx varnish and vibration control
features. The Cleansweep Broom Company, which produced the brooms,
was founded in 1926 by Bob, Bill, and Barnaby Ollerton. The Cleansweep
One gained fame as the first broom ever built purely for sporting
use.
Broomsticks from Quidditch Through the Ages
Information on these broomsticks comes from Quidditch Through the Ages.
Oakshaft 79
The Oakshaft was crafted by Elias Grimstone of Portsmouth
in 1879 (hence
the 79). It was designed for endurance and to stand up to heavy
winds, though it was too slow and cumbersome for any serious sports
usage. The Oakshaft was also used in the first Atlantic
broom crossing, by Jocunda Sykes in 1935.
Moontrimmer
The Moontrimmer was designed by Gladys Boothby in 1901. It was highly
successful as a sporting broom, with a slimmer handle and the
ability to reach higher heights. Gladys was not able to keep
production in line with demand, so was outstripped by the Silver
Arrow.
Silver Arrow
The Silver Arrow was another step forward for sporting
brooms, able to reach seventy miles an hour with a tailwind. Like
the Moontrimmer, however, it was crafted by one wizard,
Leonard Jewkes, so when
demand got too great he couldn't keep up (and was eventually
replaced by the Cleansweep series.)
Madam Hooch mentions that the
Firebolt resembles the Silver Arrow she had back in
her day.
Tinderblast and Swiftstick
The Tinderblast was released in 1940 by the Black
Forest company Ellerby and Spudmore. The Tinderblast was
highly resilient, but not as fast as the Comets or Cleansweeps.
The Swiftstick was the second broom by Ellerby and
Spudmore, faster than the Tinderblast, though it tended to
lose power as it ascended, so again never gained much
popularity.
Shooting Star
The Shooting Star was released by Universal Brooms Ltd.
in 1955 as a
cheap racing broom (the cheapest to date). After a time, however,
the Shooting Star was found to lose speed and height with
age, killing sales and Universal Brooms went out of business in
1978. Ron's
broom was a Shooting Star for a time, until it was replaced
by a Cleansweep Eleven.
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