Wronski Defensive Feint

The Wronski Defensive Feint is a dangerous Quidditch move where one Seeker dives toward the ground as if he sees the Snitch, drawing the opposing Seeker into a similar dive and driving him into the ground (QA10).

History

This manoeuvre was invented by famous and extremely talented Polish Seeker Josef Wronski who played for the Grodzisk Goblins (QA8).

It is a move requiring pinpoint accuracy and extraordinary flying skills and has been used by Seekers to stall for more time to look for the Snitch (QA10).

It was employed to great effect by Viktor Krum in the Ireland v Bulgaria match during the Quidditch World Cup final in 1994 (GF8).

However it was also used with injurious consequences during the knockout stages of the Quidditch World Cup in 2014 in the Wales v Germany match. German Seeker Thorsten Pfeffer was unable to pull out of his dive before hitting the ground (Pm).

Other appearances

While he was captain of the Gryffindor team, Oliver Wood had tried to explain the move to Harry Potter using written squiggles and representations but had failed to convey what the Wronski Feint was meant to achieve (GF9).

Referring to his appearance at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup match, Hermione Granger called Viktor Krum‘s move the “Wonky-Faint”, irritating
Harry (and making him miss having Ron Weasley to around talk to all the more) (GF19).

The diving move that Harry uses to capture the dragon’s egg during the TriWizard Tournament at Hogwarts is based on the Wronski Feint (GF28).