Golden Snitch

The Golden Snitch is the smallest of the three balls used in Quidditch, the wizarding sport laid out in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It is a walnut sized gold sphere with silver wings that races about the pitch and now and then pauses to hover in place. Catching it is the Seeker's job and worth one hundred and fifty points, and no one but the two Seekers may touch it; any other player who does commits a foul called a Snitchnip. A match cannot end until the Snitch is caught, or by agreement of both captains, which almost never happens. Every Snitch holds a flesh memory of the first person to handle it, so gloves are worn until it is released and a fresh one is used for each game.