Beater's bat

The Beater's bat is a piece of equipment used by Beaters, in the game of Quidditch, to hit Bludgers keeping them away from their own team members and hitting them at the players on the other team. The bats were magically reinforced to give them greater strength. In the early days of the game, when Bludgers were made of rock, the bats would often shatter the rock, resulting in flying gravel. After that they used lead Bludgers, but the bats proved to be too strong for them also, denting them when they were struck. The Bludgers made of iron were strong enough to not break when hit by the bats.

Uses

 * In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Cormac McLaggen wrestles Jimmy Peakes' Beater's Bat out of his hands during the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff to show him how to hit a Bludger. In doing so, Cormac mis-hit the bludger straight for Harry's head knocking him unconscious and cracking his skull.


 * In the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Oliver Wood gave Harry a Beater's Bat to protect himself against the Bludgers as he was demonstrating the Bludgers' functions and abilities. Harry ends up hitting the bludger on his first try, causing Wood to comment that Harry would also make a decent beater.


 * In the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Marcus Flint grabbed a beater's bat from a Slytherin beater to hit Oliver Wood with a bludger after the latter continuously blocked goal attempts made by the Slytherin Quidditch team.