Players batted an inflated pig's bladder back and forth over a hedge using their brooms in the game of Swivenhodge.

Chapter Three - "The Game from Queerditch Marsh" - The beginnings of the game of Quidditch are described, from a few wizards throwing a ball around in Queerditch Marsh to a game played with organized teams and three balls.

Gertie Keddle, a witch living near Queerditch Marsh, describes in her diary a game being played by her neighbors involving broomsticks and a leather ball. In successive entries, the game she decries is clearly evolving with the addition of two heavy rocks, possibly an early form of Bludgers.

Goodwin Kneenwrites a letter to his cousin Olaf in Norway about the game of Kwidditch he and his friends played the previous Saturday, which shows how far the game has progressed since Gertie Keddle's diary a hundred years before.

Chapter Four - "The Arrival of the Golden Snitch" - The tale of the poor endangered Snidget, the boorish Barberus Bragge, the brave Modesty Rabnott, and the clever Bowman Wright, whose actions for better or worse brought the Golden Snitch to the game of Quidditch.

The practice of Snidget hunting, which was popular in the 1100s, is described with reference to a tapestry from that period that shows a group of wizards setting off to hunt the tiny bird.

Barberus Bragge, Chief of the Wizard's Council introduced hunting a Snidget into a game of Quidditch. Modesty Rabnott tried to rescue the poor little bird, but as she relates in a letter, she was unsuccessful. The Snidget hunt became a regular part of the game for the next hundred years.

A hundred years later, Elfrida Clagg was Chief of the Wizard's Council. She banned abuse of the Snidget, including its use in Quidditch, and set up a Snidget reservation in Somerset named after Modesty Rabnott.

Bowman Wright of Godric's Hollow invents a magical device called the Golden Snitch which replaced the endangered Golden Snidget in the game of Quidditch, much to everyone's relief.

Chapter Five - "Anti-Muggle Precautions" - Over the years since Quidditch was invented, various measures have been implemented to prevent Muggles from catching sight of players on flying broomsticks.