Foreword:
Updates are now on Fridays.
I decided to try something a little more academic for this week's chapter. It's an excerpt from a periodical dedicated to documenting both magical and nonmagical sports from various universes. Part of my inspiration was the way certain British public schools have their own unique variants of football.
Annals of the Interuniversal Ludographic Society, Vol. MDXXI, p 31-32
many "university games" of this type have evolved under similar circumstances. Of particular note is the Hogwarts Ball Game of universe bundle Beth-Prime-Null-Chi-24856.
The origins of the Hogwarts Ball Game are shrouded in mystery. As it is based on Quidditch, it cannot be older than 1250 CE (allowing for the two centuries between the invention of Quidditch and its adoption at Hogwarts). However, it is linked to a folktale involving the Hogwarts Founders battling a dark sorceress of some repute (often said to be one of Morgaine's coven, although the time frame makes this unlikely at best). According to legend, the sorceress placed a curse on the founder's bloodlines as a final act of retribution. Heirs to the founders would be pursued by an unspeakable horror and die in various gruesome ways. The folktale goes on to state that during an internecine conflict, heirs would often use this curse to cause collateral damage to rival families, which is a possible origin for the method of point scoring used in the Hogwarts Ball Game. Many of the timeline's historians dispute this, arguing that the hunting-related position names show that the Hogwarts Ball Game was based on frequent poaching between rival family estates. They posit that the folktale was created after the fact to link the game to Hogwarts itself.
The setup is fairly simple: Four teams of thirteen each, with a single, heavily modified bludger as the only ball. Teams are normally house-based, and the playing field encompasses all of the Hogwarts grounds with the exception of the Forbidden Forest proper. Each team's goal is located near or on their house dormitory, with the Slytherin and Hufflepuff goals mounted in the Black Lake and on the roof of the Great Hall respectively. The bludger is greatly enlarged, and covered in heavy cushioning charms until it resembles an oversized beach ball rather than an iron cannonball. It will only chase one member of each team, the "Hare" (sometimes spelled "Heir", although this is likely a misnomer). The other players, "Crups", are allowed to stun the bludger. When the bludger is stunned, it will attune itself to the nearest Hare, allowing for interceptions and goal defense.
When in pursuit of a team's Hare, the bludger will change its color to match that of the team. The Hare attempts to evade the bludger, forcing it to collide with members of opposing teams. The bludger accumulates one point for each opposing Crup it collides with, and five points for each opposing Hare. However, all points are lost if the bludger collides with the Hare it is currently pursuing. Collisions with Crups on the same team do not award points. When the bludger is intercepted, it retains its accumulated points.
If a team's Hare maneuvers the bludger into scoring in another team's goal hoop, they are awarded all of the accumulated points and the bludger's score is reset to zero. An "own goal" will also reset the bludger, but no points are awarded. The game ends after one team is ahead by one hundred points, or after three hours if no team is far ahead.
Each team is only allowed one Hare, but any team may call a timeout and change their designated Hare at any time.
Fouls include Blatching (intentionally ramming another player), Scrimming (stunning an opposing Hare), and Beefing, when a Hare sabotages the bludger. Crups are not permitted to use any magic other than stunners, and Hares are not permitted to use any magic at all. Furthermore, the use of muggle weapons has been forbidden since 1848 CE, with the possible exception of enchanted trench maces due to an ambiguity in the rules. (see pages 35-48 for the entire ruleset)
Examples of play:
1) The bludger is attuned to the Slytherin Hare, and has accumulated twenty-three points through collisions with Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff Crups. The Slytherin Hare leads the bludger towards the Hufflepuff goal, potentially winning the game. The defending Hare makes a rush for the goal with two or three Crups, who stun the bludger right before it passes through the goal. As the bludger is now attuned to Hufflepuff due to their Hare's proximity, this is an own goal and the bludger loses all of its points. This prevents Slytherin from scoring and allows Hufflepuff to regain their footing.
2) The bludger is attuned to the Gryffindor Hare. There is a temporary alliance with Ravenclaw, in order to prevent Hufflepuff from winning by the one-hundred-point mercy rule. The Ravenclaw Crups intentionally make themselves easy targets for the Gryffindor Hare, in order to rapidly accumulate points. Gryffindor scores, and the teams switch off, with Ravenclaw in possession and Gryffindor serving as targets (cont. page 33)