Timeline of Ages (long)

[Rita Winston]

No: HPFGUIDX 4518

Maybe I shouldn't confess what I do when I'm supposed to be 
working.... but I drew up a chart to try to figure out everyone's 
ages based on imformation that has been discussed on this list, such 
as James must have been out of Hogwarts by the time Bill started or 
else Bill would have said something about him. I may have committed 
errors, please let me know. Scroll way, way down to see what 
conclusions I have drawn from this.

1994-5 (this is by years that begin roughly July 1) GoF takes place
1993-4  Percy's senior year at Hogwarts
1992-3  Ginny's first year at Hogwarts
1991-2  Harry and Ron's first year, Gryffindor wins House Cup
1990-1  Slytherin wins House Cup for 6th consecutive year
1989-90 S. wins H.C. for 5th c.y.; Fred and George's first year
1988-9  S. wins H.C. for 4th c.y.
1987-8  S. wins H.C. for 3rd c.y.; Percy's first year
1986-7  S. wins H.C. for 2nd c.y. 
1985-6  S. wins H.C. for 1st c.y.
1984-5  Charlie's senior year; Gryffindor wins House Cup
1983-4
1982-3  Bill's senior year
1981-2  Ginny is born; Voldemort's reign of terror ends 
1980-1  Harry is born; Ron is born
1979-80 
1978-9  Fred and George are born; Charlie's first year
1977-8
1976-7  Percy is born; Bill's first year
1975-6  MWPP+L+S's senior year 
1974-5
1973-4  Catlady's senior year (not at Hogwarts) 
1972-3
1971-2  V's reign of terror begins; Catlady starts high school (10th
        grade) 
1970-1
1969-70 MWPP+L+S's first year 
1968-9
1967-8  Charlie is born; Catlady starts middle school (6th grade);
        RFK assassination  
1966-7  
1965-6  Bill is born
1964-5
1963-4  JFK assassination
1962-3  Catlady starts kindergarten (the years won't add up: I
        skipped)
1961-2
1960-1
1959-60
1958-9
1957-8  MWPP+L+S are born. Catlady is born (in November and in our 
        school district then that was before the cut-off for entering 
        students) 


Conclusions: this is a lot to speculate about. One thing, for MWPP to 
have been out of school by the time Bill came in, the latest they 
could finish is class of '76. Class of '77 if Bill is only one year 
before Charlie. Sorry, Neil. 

The timeline shows that Bill and Charlie were born well before the 
Vold years, while the others were born during those bad times. Thus 
giving me to speculate that Molly and Arthur had the normal two 
children like everybody else, but then V arose and they fought him, 
and many wizards and witches were killed, and Molly and Arthur 
decided to do their bit to preserve wizarding genes. And Ginny was 
born around the time that V was defeated, so instead of my previous 
theory that Arthur and Molly kept trying until they got a girl, my 
new theory is that, with V defeated, they figured they'd done enough.

Also, as Ginny is born during Bill's sixth year, the statement that 
Ginny has wanted to go to Hogwarts ever since Bill first went is even 
more messed up than we had previously thought -- Bill would be OUT of 
Hogwarts by the time that she wanted to go there. PERHAPS we should 
attribute this to a printer's error and say, it was really supposed 
to say that Ginny has wanted to go to Hogwarts ever since PERCY first 
went.

Also, by this timeline, Bill would be 29 and Charlie 27 during GoF. 
I don't think they seemed quite that old. Perhaps the people who 
were speculating that wizarding folk's longer life expectancy means 
they age more slowly all along were kind of right. I think the 
wizarding folk age at the same rate as Muggles until age 21, and, at 
some age such as 65, they just stop aging. 

BUT perhaps they age like Muggles to age 21 and then age more slowly. 
How does that affect magic-Muggle mixed marriages? Does the Muggle 
spouse get to drink anti-aging potion as long as the marriage lasts, 
and thus live as long as wizarding folk? Or is the slow aging 
genetically inborn rather than a spell, and thus the Muggle spouse 
would get old and decrepit while the wizarding spouse is still 
young and strong....