Delurking & Wizard Aging

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 3915

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, Malabud <Malabud at e...> wrote:
> Greetings and Salutations!
>..... 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."

Malabud, jump right in. Don't go around thinking somebody else will 
make their point "better than you could". They aren't you.

Look back at Dumbledore.  He isn't described as "young", exactly. 
All 
JKR says is that he has flowing auburn hair. He's 100 at the time. 
At 
the age of 150, half again as old, his hair is all white. I'm 51.
when 
I'm half again as old (75, if I make it that far) my hair will be all 
white also. So Dumbledore's hair color between 100 and 150 isn't 
inconsistent.