From Quidditch Zero to Quidditch Hero
In J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, it is safe assume that Harry is never given the chance to grasp the concept of teamwork. Orphaned as an infant and sent to live with his aunt and uncle, he is given a spider infested closet as a bedroom and never has the opportunity to participate in team sports. He has never even heard of Quidditch, the wizard sport similar to soccer, until he finds out that he was a wizard. By accident, and much to his surprise, Harry learns that he can expertly fly a broomstick. This is noticed by Professor McGonagall, who swiftly takes him to meet the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood, and Harry becomes the new seeker for the team. Practice begins for Harry with Wood mentoring and teaching him the rules and players involved in the game. Harry starts to understand how the team works together and how important practice is for maintaining teamwork. The day of the first official match arrives and, despite attempts by others to remove him from his broomstick, Harry is victorious in the first game, catching the snitch and winning points for Gryffindor. He does not use his popularity to gain fame at Hogwarts. Instead, when chosen for the Quidditch team, he practices even harder to prove that he could be a vital part of the team. Harry humbly learns the concept of teamwork and that, no matter how good one person is, they can only be victorious when they work together to achieve their goal.
While living with his aunt and uncle, they do everything they can to keep Harry from discovering his wizarding background. His only source of privacy is found in the cupboard under the stairs which is also his spider infested bedroom. He is made to help with much of the cooking and cleaning and is never allowed to participate in sporting activities. His family usually makes him spend time with a neighbor, Mrs. Fig, when they plan their outings, rather than including him as a part of the family. After receiving hundreds of letters from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry his uncle still does everything in his power to prevent the truth from being revealed. Hagrid, the eternal child figure, finds Harry and hand delivers the letter since his uncle will not allow him to see it. With this event, Harry’s world starts to change.
When Harry enters Hogwarts he feels inferior to the rest of the students, despite his widespread popularity. On the train, he meets Ron Weasley and they quickly become best friends. When they are both placed in Gryffindor house the first day at Hogwarts, Ron and Harry become nearly inseparable. On the day of their first flying lesson they are both a little nervous. Harry has never been on a broomstick and fears he will look foolish. During this lesson, while the teacher is absent, Harry discovered that flying comes very natural for him. Harry becomes angry because his arch enemy, Draco Malfoy, took a possession from another friend. This is when he discovers his flying ability. Harry, the narrator states, “mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared . . . he realized he’d found something he could do without being taught – this was easy, this was wonderful” (p. 148). He is able to retrieve the item from Malfoy, but not before he is caught flying without a teacher present.
Professor McGonagall sounds angry as she reprimands Harry for flying unsupervised. In a state of amazement, she professes, “Never – in all my time at Hogwarts – how dare you – you might have broken your neck” (p. 149). Professor McGonagall, a somewhat stern motherly figure, marches Harry through the school and his fears are that he might be expelled. When the professor stops, it is not to punish Harry, as he had assumed, but to introduce him to another student. In a fit of excitement, Professor McGonagall states, “Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood – I’ve found you a Seeker” (p. 151). The professor explains
