Seeker

> "*This... is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much.*"
> ― A Seeker's job during a Quidditch match[source]
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**Seeker** is a position in the wizarding sport of Quidditch. There is one Seeker per team. The goal of the Seeker is to catch the Golden Snitch. They play a crucial role in Quidditch, as a game does not end until the Seeker catches the Snitch. A team whose Seeker catches the Snitch receives 150 points, which almost always wins the match for that team.

## History

> "*Oh, the thrill of the chase as I soar through the air,With the Snitch up ahead and the wind in my hair,As I draw ever closer, the crowd gives a shout,But then comes a Bludger and I am knocked out.*"
> ― Ingolfr the Iambic[source]
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The position of the Seeker, known as the *Hunter*, was introduced in response to Barberus Bragge's introduction of the Golden Snidget during a match in 1269 making it the newest position in the game.

The 1269 game mentioned above was attended by Barberus Bragge, the Chief of the Wizards' Council. As a nod to the sport of Snidget-hunting, which was also popular at the time, Bragge brought such a bird to the game and released it from its cage. He told the players that one-hundred fifty Galleons — a large sum of money, particularly in those times — would be awarded to the player who caught the bird.

This was easier said than done: the Snidget is very fast, very small, and can make sudden changes of direction at high speeds. The considerable challenge posed by the flight patterns of the bird is what made Snidget-hunting so popular in the first place.

What happened at the Quidditch game in question was rather predictable: the players totally ignored the game, and each and every one simply went off in pursuit of the Snidget, which was kept within the arena by the crowd using Repelling Charms.

A witch named Modesty Rabnott, who was also watching the game, took pity on the Snidget and rescued it with a Summoning Charm before rushing away with it hidden inside her robes. She was caught by a furious Bragge and fined ten Galleons for disrupting the game, but not before she had released the Snidget. This saved the life of this bird, but the connection with Quidditch had been made, and soon a Snidget was being released at every game. Each team had an extra player — originally called the *Hunter*, later the Seeker — whose sole job was to catch and kill the Snidget, for which one-hundred fifty points were awarded in memory of the one-hundred fifty Galleons offered by Bragge in the original game.

The quickly declining number of Snidgets led to a substitute for the bird, hence the Golden Snitch came into play, and the position was given the name Seeker instead of Hunter.

Regulus Black was the Seeker of his Slytherin Quidditch Team, because of his position in the team photograph — middle, front row.

Charlie Weasley was a Gryffindor Seeker. Oliver Wood stated "*he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons*".

Harry Potter was the youngest Seeker in a century, making the Gryffindor Quidditch Team in his first year at Hogwarts.

## Traits

> "*Usually the lightest and fastest fliers, Seekers need both a sharp eye and the ability to fly one- or no-handed.*"
> ― Description of a Seekers' build[source]
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Seekers are generally the smallest and lightest players on a team, and there is a certain glamour attached to playing as a Seeker. Generally, the Seeker is also the most fouled player on the team.

In team portraits, the Seeker sits in the middle of the first row.