Quidditch calendars

Timelines

Lexicon timeline of Quidditch

Calendar of Quidditch at Hogwarts

The 2007 essay by Philip Legge ” An Almanac of Quidditch at Hogwarts” is a detailed look at the background, schedules and teams during the six years that Harry Potter is at Hogwarts. This calendar derives from his work.

Muggle schools tend to keep to a fixed schedule for sports every year, with some flexibility. The Quidditch matches at Hogwarts also seem to be scheduled during the school year in a pattern and have the same amount of flexibility. However, there are some matches that don’t follow this. For these you could speculate that Jo Rowling either moved dates/matches around to suit the plot (chucking continuity) or else forgot to keep to the pattern for other reasons.

First match of the Quidditch season: Gryffindor vs Slytherin

Timing:
This often takes place the first Saturday in November after Hallowe’en, certainly early in the month

Notes:
PS: Harry’s first match playing Seeker for Gryffindor, where he catches the Snitch in his mouth. Final score: Gryffindor 170 points, Slytherin 60 (PS11).

CS: Harry is chased throughout the match by the Rogue Bludger, but catches the Snitch after it breaks his arm. Gryffindor at least 150 points, Slytherin at least 100 (CS10).

PA: Breaking the usual pattern, Gryffindor play Hufflepuff rather than Slytherin on this date because of their Seeker’s injury (PA9). It was extremely cold “….he could remember being this cold on a broom only once before, during the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff in his third year, which had taken place in a storm” (OP3). The Dementors invaded the pitch during this match and Harry’s Nimbus 2000 broom was destroyed by the Whomping Willow. Hufflepuff won by at least 100 points (PA9).

GF: The school matches this year are cancelled due to the Triwizard Tournament.

OP: The first match of the season is Gryffindor vs Slytherin, around the beginning of November: “October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived” (OP19). Harry, Fred and George are given lifetime bans by Dolores Umbridge as a result of the fight after the match.

HBP: The Gryffindor vs Slytherin match takes place after the first Hogsmeade weekend which falls “halfway through October” (HBP12). Final score: Gryffiindor win by 250-0 (HBP14). Ron is tricked into thinking that he has taken the “Felix Felicis” potion and performs extremely well during the game.

DH: There is no information on any school matches taking place this year as Harry is not at Hogwarts.

Second match of the Quidditch season: Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw

Timing:
The fourth Saturday in November, although possibly early December so that the matches are finished before breaking up for Christmas

Notes:
PS: This match is assumed to have been the one taking place after the Gryffindor vs Slytherin game since: (1) neither team had played yet and (2) if they had a match before Gryffindor vs Slytherin then Harry would have known something about how Quidditch matches are played.

CS: By the pattern, second match of the year.

PA: The second match of the year is referred to: “….the fact that Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match at the end of November” (PA10).

GF: The school matches this year are cancelled due to the Triwizard Tournament.

OP: By the pattern, the second match of the year.

HBP: By the pattern, the second match of the year.

DH: There is no information on any school matches taking place this year as Harry is not at Hogwarts.

Third match of the Quidditch season: Slytherin vs Ravenclaw

Timing:
The second or third Saturday in January towards the beginning of term. This gives the teams time to return to school and get some training sessions in. The weather would likely be bad in January/February whatever the actual date was.

Notes:
PS: By the pattern, the third match of the year.

CS: By the pattern, the third match of the year.

PA: The third Quidditch match is mentioned: “Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slytherin won, though narrowly” (PA12).

GF: The school matches this year are cancelled due to the Triwizard Tournament.

OP: By the pattern, the third match of the year.

HBP: By the pattern, the third match of the year.

DH: There is no information on any school matches taking place this year as Harry is not at Hogwarts.

Fourth match of the Quidditch season: Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff

Timing:
The fourth Saturday in February or in early March

Notes:
PS: Professor Snape referees this match and awards two penalties to Hufflepuff. Harry catches the Snitch in less than five minutes. Final score: Gryffindor at least 150 points, Hufflepuff at least 20 from the two penalties – and probably more as the match continued (PS13).

CS: The match was cancelled before start of play due to Hermione and Penelope Clearwater being petrified (CS14).

PA: In a change to the pattern, the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match was moved up from later in the year (PA13). Final score: Gryffindor at least 230 points, Ravenclaw at least 30 points. The highlight of the match for Harry was the three fake Dementors being punished by Professor McGonagall for “….a low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker….” (PA13).

GF: The school matches this year are cancelled due to the Triwizard Tournament.

OP: The fourth match is Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff, which Hufflepuff won 240-230. In the absence of Harry, who is still banned from playing, Ginny Weasley is their Seeker: “….Gryffindor only lost by ten points: Ginny managed to snatch the Snitch from right under Hufflepuff Seeker Summerby’s nose, so that the final score was two hundred and forty versus two hundred and thirty” (OP26).

HBP: This match takes place after Ron Weasley’s birthday on 1st March, with Ron in hospital unable to play Keeper.  Hufflepuff won – “Final score was three hundred and twenty to sixty” – after Harry is knocked out by a Bludger mis-hit by McLaggen, the relief Gryffindor Keeper (HBP19).

DH: There is no information on any school matches taking place this year as Harry is not at Hogwarts.

Fifth match of the Quidditch season: Hufflepuff vs Slytherin

Timing:
A Saturday in late March or early April – the date played may depend on when Easter falls that year. It could possibly be as late as early May

Notes:
PS: By the pattern, the fifth match the year.

CS: This match was cancelled due to the Chamber of Secrets being open.

PA: This Quidditch match is inferred: As “Slytherin were leading the tournament by exactly two hundred points” (PA15), they must have won this match against Hufflepuff.

GF: The school matches this year are cancelled due to the Triwizard Tournament.

OP: This match is mentioned: “….Slytherin had been narrowly defeated by Hufflepuff in their last match….” (OP30)

HBP: By the pattern, the fifth match the year.

DH: There is no information on any school matches taking place this year as Harry is not at Hogwarts.

Sixth and final match of the Quidditch season: Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw

Timing:
A Saturday in late May or early June, avoiding (either before or after) the end of year exams

Notes:
PS: This match follows closely after Harry’s battle with the Lord Voldemort-possessed Professor Quirrell in the dungeons and within three days before end of term. Gryffindor is “flattened” by Ravenclaw in this Quidditch match since Harry was still unconscious in the hospital wing when it took place (PS17).

CS: This match was cancelled due to the Chamber of Secrets being open.

PA: The Gryffindor vs Slytherin match was rescheduled to this date. It takes place after Buckbeak’s hearing on 20 April. Although “The Gryffindor-Slytherin match would take place on the first Saturday after the Easter holidays” (PA15), although real world Easter was early that year (3 April) so the dates don’t make sense compared to a 1994 calendar. The final score was Gryffindor 230 points, Slytherin 20 and therefore Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup (PA15). June weather and exams follow soon after the match (PA16).

GF: The school matches this year are cancelled due to the Triwizard Tournament.

OP: This match has a date set in the text: “The final match of the Quidditch season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, was to take place on the last weekend of May” (OP30). Gryffindor win and therefore win the Quidditch Cup. This takes place before the end of year exams – and before Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley go to the Department of Mysteries to look for the original prophecy about Harry.

HBP: This match will decide the Quidditch Cup as the standings of the teams at this point are very close: “If Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw by a margin of three hundred points …. then they would win the championship. If they won by less than three hundred points, they would come second to Ravenclaw; if they lost by a hundred points they would be third behind Hufflepuff and if they lost by more than a hundred, they would be in fourth place” (HBP24). It takes place before end of year exams. Harry, however, is unable to play as he is serving a detention with Professor Snape (having used the “Sectumsempra” curse on Draco Malfoy earlier in the week) (HBP24).

DH: There is no information on any school matches taking place this year as Harry is not at Hogwarts until May. The Battle of Hogwarts and defeat of Lord Voldemort takes place on 2 May 1998, possibly before this match was due to be played?