Quidditch- A reflection.

Chapter Eleven is action packed! We are finally introduced to the exciting world of Quidditch. Though Ron Weasley is not a part of the Quidditch team for Gryffindor he is nonetheless a true fan of the sport. And just as a true Gryffindor he is loyal to his team and is out there in the field to support his friend Harry. Here again we see his magnanimity, instead of being jelous of Harry for being the only seeker from the First years he is in awe of Harry and his abilities.
Quidditch, in my opinion, is also used as a symbol or metaphor for teamwork that we see in Ron, Harry and Hermione. From the very beginning of the books we get a feeling that the Wizarding world is highly individualistic - we see that wizards are celebrated for their personal achievements. For example, just like baseball cards they have their own wizarding cards that celebrate famous wizrds. However, unlike the baseball players they are not part of any team. It servers as a reminder to us that while you can achive greatness alone, to bring about great change you need teamwork.
Also, Quidditch serves to a degree the battle between good and evil. This is done with subtelty in the book. We learn that the Slythernis have been unbeatable for the last seven years which coincide nicely with the slow rise of Voldemort from his apparent death by baby Potter. But as soon as Harry Potter joins the Gryffindor team things change, the good guys start beating the bad guys yet again!
And yet again we see the growing mistrust of Severus Snape by Ron, Harry and Hermione. I think this really shows how naive our three investigators are still about the world. They belive the world to be still black and white. Just because they dislike Snape and thinks that he hates them then he must be up to no good! Nevermind that Dumbledore, on of the most intelligent wizards of all times, has faith in Snape enough to let him teach at Hogwarts.