The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter (19 page)

•
The Firebolt:
The pinnacle of broomsticks, both in terms of speed and precision; it’s like riding a “bolt of fire.”

•
The Nimbus series:
This series of brooms takes its name from the Latin word
nimbus,
meaning “cloud” or “rain storm.” This is why the dark gray clouds that promise a drenching rain are called “nimbus clouds.” The term may also have links to
Dragon Ball,
a Japanese cartoon from the mid-1980s, in which the Flying Nimbus is a flying cloud that characters use for transportation. In that series, “Only the pure of heart can fly the Nimbus Cloud.” This is certainly not the case with Nimbus broomsticks, because Draco Malfoy, a student at Hogwarts who is decidedly impure of heart, successfully rides a Nimbus Two-Thousand and One. The latest models include the Nimbus Two-Thousand and the Nimbus Two-Thousand and One.

•
The Cleansweep series:
As the name implies, these are functional, non-fancy brooms that one might even be persuaded to use for (gasp!) cleaning.

•
Temperature:
Rides can be exceedingly cold, even in summertime, because wizards have to ride high enough in the atmosphere to limit the risk of being seen by Muggles.

•
Exhaustion over the long haul:
Because it takes a good deal of balance (to stay on) and strength (to hang on), broom travel can be exhausting during long trips. Even on short trips, wizards arrive looking windblown and harried.

•
Speed:
Because you have to physically travel the distance from place to place, traveling by broom is slower than Apparating, using the Floo Network, or traveling by Portkey (described later in this chapter), but on a Firebolt, at least, broom travel is pretty darned fast.

•
Risk of being seen:
Wizards must take anti-Muggle precautions when traveling by broom, because they are easily seen. A witch or wizard riding a broom against a full moon is a surefire way to be seen by Muggles.

•
Risk of bodily harm:
Getting knocked off the broom is always a risk: one simple Hurling Hex, and the poor wizard will be spinning through the air without a broomstick.

1. You take a tiny bit of Floo powder and throw it into the fire in the fireplace.

2. The fire turns green and the flames extend quite high.

3. Keeping your elbows tucked in, shutting your eyes, and staying as still as possible, you step into the fire and clearly shout the name of your destination.

4. You’re spun toward your destination amidst a loud roar and a blur of the fireplaces you’re passing.

5. You’re deposited, rather dirty, to the fireplace at your destination.

Tudor architecture (1500-1575) ushered in the age of fireplaces in English homes. Although indoor fires had been used before this era, most indoor "fireplaces” were dangerous open fires, with the smoke escaping through a small hole in the roof. Tudor-style homes featured brick or stone fireplaces and chimneys, which dramatically decreased the risk of indoor fires. To see some of the best Tudor architecture in England, including dozens of magnificent fireplaces, visit Hampton Court Palace (outside of London; /HamptonCourtPalace) and Knole House (near Sevenoaks, Kent; /main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-knole).