"We thought she’d turned herself invisible .... We knew it was against the rules, so we got a little bit annoyed."
-- Matilda Dukelow, interviewed by the Daily Prophet (DP4)
Matilda Dukelow was a fan of the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team in the 1990s (DP4).
Matilda saw Puddlemere United (and former Harpies) Chaser, Wilda Griffiths, disappear during a match against the Holyhead Harpies and had assumed the Chaser had turned herself invisible – which is against the rules. As reported in the Daily Prophet, it took a while for Matilda to realise that Wilda had been kidnapped (DP4).
Commentary
Etymology
Matilda is a popular girls name from the Gothic/High German mahta ("might, strength") and hildr ("battle"). The heroine of one of Roald Dahl's books is a "Matilda" and it was also the first name of Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I of England, mother of King Henry II and unsuccessful claimant to the English throne in her own right (Wikipedia).
Dukelow is a surname of French origin which came over into England after the Norman Conquest in 1066. It's meaning is thought to derive from the combination of du ("of the") and clos ("vineyard") (Internet Surname Database).
Notes
Although the date printed on the fourth Daily Prophet Newsletter (DP4) is 1 October 1999, the timeframe for this event is 1992-1993.
From the Web
Writing by J K Rowling on Pottermore: The Daily Prophet
Pottermore features:
- The British and Irish Quidditch League
- British and Irish Quidditch teams to support
- Quidditch collection
Harry Potter Wiki: Matilda Dukelow
Pensieve (Comments)
Tags: chaos disappear fans invisible kidnap match mystery riot vanish/vanishing violence violent Quidditch fans violent Quidditch match