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We know that Harry, who was an incredible Quidditch Seeker and naturally talented, inherited his skills from his father, who was also a fantastic Quidditch player.

We also know that most of the Weasley children were great at Quidditch as well

  • Charlie (I think) was a Seeker on the Gryffindor house team, which we find out in the first book when Harry is chosen to be Seeker
  • Fred and George were Beaters for most of their years at Hogwarts
  • Ron was Gryffindor Keeper for his last few years at Hogwarts
  • Ginny was a Chaser for the Gryffindor team (and Seeker for a bit while Harry couldn't play) and played professional Quidditch as an adult

Five out of seven children being exceptional at Quidditch is too unlikely to happen by chance. As we saw with the Potters, some Quidditch/broom-flying talent can be passed down in the genes. This leads me to my question:

Did Molly or Arthur Weasley ever play Quidditch?

Or, if they didn't, did anyone else in the family play Quidditch that would point to there being stock in the Quidditch genes in the Weasley family line?

I know the Weasley children played Quidditch a lot together in their free time, but the amount of talent they have makes it seem like there must be some genetics involved.

I'm looking for canon-based answers, anything in the books or on Pottermore or from JK Rowling herself.

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  • 6
    Molly didn't accompany the rest of the family to the Quidditch World Cup. Doesn't necessarily mean she never played herself, but it does suggest less interest in the sport than most of the family.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Nov 14, 2016 at 23:50
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    The premise that Harry inherited his skills or that these skills are genetic is pretty sketchy - you can argue things like hand-eye coordination, but that's inconclusive. When someone is good at something their parent is/was, people will naturally use it as a way to compliment them, even when there's no causal link. It's more a morale booster to remind Harry that his dad was also good than accurate that talent was actually "in your blood" (Hermione), especially as an orphan who didn't grow up in the magical world and didn't know his father. Similar to placebo effect of Felix Felicis on Ron.
    – DariM
    Nov 15, 2016 at 0:33
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    @DariM that's a good point that we see a lot in the Harry Potter series how some people believe talent being "in your blood" (like people assuming purebloods are more talented) is actually false. But at the same time, Harry literally caught Neville's Remebrall after a fifty-foot dive one foot before hitting the ground, with this being his first time on a broomstick. That means he had to be a natural, and since his father was an excellent Quidditch player, it seems there has to be some relation. Besides, riding on a broomstick is less magic than it is physical ability, which is more genetic.
    – Dumbledorality
    Nov 15, 2016 at 3:43
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    @Dumbledorality Well, there's a lot of assumptions in reading that much into the Remembrall incident. One is discounting luck, two is that a specific skill was involved in making that happen (which exactly?), three is that it's something he didn't pick up in normal life (e.g. practice juggling oranges in the kitchen or whatever), four is that it was something he inherited (when his father might have had different skills), five is that he got something from James Potter and not Lily Evans (who was also talented), six is that it wasn't a quality related to Voldemort's fragment, etc.....
    – DariM
    Nov 15, 2016 at 3:57
  • @DariM Well despite all the assumptions of inheriting certain skills, my question is still just asking if one of the Weasley parents played Quidditch. Even if it really doesn't mean anything genetic-wise, I still would like to know! :)
    – Dumbledorality
    Nov 15, 2016 at 13:56

1 Answer 1

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Unknown (thus far)

There are no mentions of Arthur or Molly playing Quidditch in any of the eight Harry Potter books, Cursed Child play, additional materials books, Pottermore articles, Pottermore e-books, nor in any tweets or interviews given by JKR up to November 2016.

That's not to say that they didn't play it (either when they were at Hogwarts or with their children in the garden) just that we aren't told either way.

Circumstantial evidence

  • Arthur appears to have an excellent grasp of the rules of Quidditch as well as a strong interest in the game. In addition to procuring tickets for the Quidditch World Cup (something he describes as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity), he also engages in a heated argument with his son over the finer points of cobbing.

  • Although Molly skips the Quidditch World cup, we learn in PoA that she does owns a broom although it may be a purely mundane item since the only use she puts it to is hitting her children with it.

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  • Note that you can have an interest in a sport and know the rules without ever having exercised it yourself. As an example, I do know the rules of snooker to some detail, but have never played it (and only very rarely other varieties of billiard). So I would not count Arthur being a fan as, even circumstantial, evidence that he has ever played Quidditch.
    – chirlu
    Nov 18, 2016 at 1:35
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    @Chirlu - ah, but if he displayed a lack of understanding of the rules, we'd call that proof positive.
    – Valorum
    Nov 18, 2016 at 7:57

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