The broomstick was ideal - it was portable, cheap, and required no explanation. Therefore, if they were to keep a method of flight in their homes, it would have to be unobtrusive and easy to hide. Long before the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy came into force, wizards were savvy enough to realise that Muggle neighbours would seek to exploit their abilities. Animagi who transformed into winged creatures enjoyed the sensation, but they were rare. Since no spell was devised by wizards to enable them to fly (with the exception of Lord Voldemort in 1997, and Severus Snape a year later) they had to come up with another way to do so. Broomsticks appeared to have a bit of a personality of their own, as they were able to respond to the simplest of commands, such as "Up!". Only wizards and witches appeared to use broomsticks in the wizarding world. The earliest recorded use of the broomstick was in 962 in a German illustrated manuscript. Their use in Great Britain and Ireland was regulated by the Ministry of Magic's Broom Regulatory Control. Wizarding broomsticks, unlike non-magical brooms, were enchanted to fly, allowing for a witch or wizard to travel to their destination through the air, as well as for playing broom games such as Quidditch. No Muggle illustration of a witch is complete without a broom and however ludicrous these drawings are (for none of the broomsticks depicted by Muggles would stay up in the air for a moment), they remind us that we were careless for far too many centuries to be surprised that broomsticks and magic are inextricably linked in the Muggle mind." - Kennilworthy Whisp, Quidditch Through the Ages īroomsticks, also known as brooms, were one of the means employed by wizards and witches to transport themselves between locations. As a result, only the brooms with a significant presence in the Harry Potter movies, or ones that have been mentioned specifically as associated with different characters have been ranked." As every school-age wizard knows, the fact that we fly on broomsticks is probably our worst-kept secret.
Updated by Amanda Bruce on August 29, 2021: Though there are more than 10 brooms that exist across all of the Harry Potter related media, many of them exist as illustrations only in volumes like Quidditch Through The Ages, and their performance hasn't been seen on screen. If fans wonder which ones are the best of the best, the main broomsticks in Harry Potter have been ranked by speed. Like most things coveted, the broomsticks in the Wizarding World are continuously upgraded, meaning there is an assembly of different types of broomsticks, each with its own set of features. Sirius then gives him an upgraded broomstick-the esteemed Firebolt. Namely, the Nimbus 2000, which is Harry’s cardinal broomstick when he joins the Gryffindor Quidditch team. RELATED: 15 Times Harry Potter Characters Showed Their Secondary House CharacteristicsĪ number of other broomsticks are introduced throughout the saga of the wizarding world. In a letter thanking Sirius, Lily tells him that James says that Harry is a natural broom rider and that he will be the next great Quidditch player. Harry Potter actually received his first toy broomstick (that still flies) on his first birthday as a gift from his godfather. A witch or wizard getting their very first broomstick is on par with a young Muggle child getting their first bicycle. Broomsticks are introduced to wizards at a very young age.