Birthdays and calendars

[Hillman, Lee]

No: HPFGUIDX 23531

I had a theory about this issue, but before I even got it mostly formed,
Angelina Johnson and the twins drove a truck through it.

But here it is, just for amusement: My theory has nothing to do with a
different calendar (Julian/Gregorian, lunar, Chinese, or other), but is that
the Hogwarts system is not based on the School Year, but the Regular
Calendar.

Take Harry's birth year: 1980. All children BORN in 1980 get a letter in the
summer of 1991. They all start school on September 1, 1991, regardless of
when they turn 11 in the calendar year. So Ron turned 11 in March of 1991,
but had to wait until September to go to school.

The problem is the twins and Angelina. Angelina is in the same school year
as they are, but she turns 17 in October of 1994. But the twins don't turn
17 until the following April, which would be 1995. So there goes that
theory.

I can't help feeling it's neither as fixed as we've made it seem here nor as
arbitrary as "well, I just need it that way." Then again, Halloween is on a
Saturday every year, and the full moons are whenever Jo needs them. So maybe
it is arbitrary.

My only other thought is that the system accounts somehow for skipping
grades or being held back in elementary school, but as Hogwarts doesn't seem
to care about elementary school, maybe it's moot.

Perhaps it has a wider range of age? I know, we've documented that Jo says
they get letters in the year when they turn 11, but Harry's letter actually
came before his birthday. It was Vernon who prevented him from answering
until Hagrid showed up on his birthday. If it's the summer of the academic
year before they're going to turn 11.... Oh, forget it. I'm just going round
in circles on this.

I say, it's whatever's most convenient. When the kid's ready to go, he gets
a letter.


Gwendolyn Grace