Delurking & Wizard Aging

[Malabud]

No: HPFGUIDX 3889

Greetings and Salutations!

I've been lurking on this list for several weeks now. I wanted to wait a
while before jumping into any discussions. There is no faster way to annoy
list veterans, no matter the list, then to ask inane questions that have
already been answered and discussed numerous times in the previous thousand
messages! It is great how various subjects come into being and then progress
into list-wide discussions that last for days. Other lists have large
memberships as well but are not nearly as active because they don't
purposely introduce topics periodically like the chapter & character
discussions and Peg’s seven vices/virtues essays. 

I have enjoyed reading the many, many messages from this list. I have found
that if someone says something I wish to comment on, I just have to wait a
short while and someone else will invariably say what I was thinking even
better than I could. This is certainly a diverse group and I am fascinated
by everyone’s depth of thinking when it comes to the Harry Potter books. Who
knew there was so much to discuss?

So, now that I am delurking for a moment, I figured I’d throw out a question
and see if anyone has an answer.

We learned a great deal from the Scholastic chat, despite the lameness of
some of the questions. Dumbledore's age especially intrigued me. In CoS,
supposedly the 1992-1993 school year, Harry sees a fifty-year younger
Dumbledore through Riddle’s journal. The Dumbledore of that time looked much
younger and had auburn hair. If he is 150 years old at the end of book four,
that would make him almost 100 in 1942/1943. Just how do wizards age then,
if Dumbledore looks "young" and still has his original hair color at 100,
but looks fairly old at 150? 

I remember that Lupin does have graying hair, but I don't believe for a
moment that he is anywhere near the century mark. Of course, the premature
gray hair may be a side effect of his wolfishness. (I wonder if his hair
turns all white, will his werewolf be all white too?)

Someone else mentioned that we need to reevaluate our notions of how old
various characters are because of Rowling’s answer about ages in the
Scholastic chat. I don’t necessarily think that is so for everyone. I don’t
recall the precise descriptions of Molly and Arthur Weasley (except that
they both have red hair), but they can't be too old because they still have
children in school. My parents, like the Weasleys, have seven
children--three with red hair, in fact. My siblings and I are currently
between the ages of 28 and 15, and my parents are in their mid-fifties.

It is obvious the Weasleys did not space their kids in any consistent way.
At the end of Harry's fourth year, Ginny is 13/14, Ron is 14/15, Fred &
George are 17 (their birthday is in April), Percy is 18/19, and Charlie has
to be at least 21, maybe 22. I got the impression Charlie had just graduated
the year before Harry started at Hogwarts. That's why Gryffindor was missing
a seeker that year. Bill can't be *too* much older than Charlie. (The two
oldest in my family are only 15 months apart. My parents soon learned to
space their kids a little more so they could survive raising us.) He could
be anywhere from 23 to 26, I would guess. 

Any other thoughts about Dumbledore’s appearance versus his age?

Jeanine AKA Malabud





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