The quidditch brooms at Emerson College barely had time to collect dust.

The school’s quidditch club — which plays a version of the sport popularized by the Harry Potter novels — has received permission from the city to return to the Boston Common for four dates this fall, with more times expected.

The city recently had barred the club and its 200-plus players from continuing to play on the public space until students obtained a permit.

Bridget Hess-Mahan, 20, commissioner of the Emerson club, credited the city with working with the students.

“I knew we had to jump through a couple of hoops,” said Hess-Mahan, acknowledging the size of the sports program. “I’m really glad the parks department was willing to compromise with us.”

‘I knew we had to jump through a couple of hoops. I’m really glad the parks department was willing to compromise with us.’

Without a place to play so far this semester, the club had postponed its annual showcase event, in which freshmen and other students interested in joining are invited to watch teams compete.

The showcase is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday at the Common, according to the club’s Facebook page.

“We have no dates from the team yet for their October and November days,” parks spokeswoman Jacquelyn Goddard said in an e-mail. “When we receive their requests for those two months we will see if the space is vacant. If so, they may have the space.”

The turf dispute speaks to the growing popularity of the sport among local college students, many of whom came of age reading about the exploits of the fictional boy wizard.

Quidditch is played at more than 300 universities and high schools across the nation and in a dozen other countries, according to the International Quidditch Association.