Wizard Aging Process

[Zarleycat at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 21389

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Samantha Boylan" <samiamthelast at h...> 
wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> From: Magda Grantwich <mgrantwich at y...>
> Reply-To: HPforGrownups at y...
> To: HPforGrownups at y...
> Subject: [HPforGrownups] Wizard Aging Process
> Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2001 15:36:35 -0700 (PDT)
> 
> Something has been bugging me about the wizard aging process.
> 
> Dumbledore is 150 (or so).  McGonigall is 75ish.
> 
> Now this would make sense if a wizard ages one year for every two
> Muggle years: a man of 75 is old and a woman of 37ish is middle-aged
> (sorry if anyone out there faints over this).  So that's nice and
> logical.
> 
> AND...
> 
> Snape is 35 (or so).  Does he act like a 17 year old?  Yes,
> sometimes.
> 
> BUT...
> 
> THe trio is 11 to 14 in four books and they reflect their ages just
> as they would if they were muggles.
> 
> So my question is: when does a wizard's aging process slow down so
> he/she can reach the 100 plus stage?  When you hit adulthood?  When
> you reach 70 or so?  Is it simply an extended old age?
> 
> 
> >>>>>>>>>
> I've alway seen it as changing after you hit the top of the hill. 
Once you 
> reach about 30(when you begin to deteriorate), you begin to age 
more slowly. 
> Just my theory,
>                        Sam I Am The Last


I see wizards as maturing at the same rate as muggles, but having an 
extended adulthood and an old age that is relatively impervious (from 
a muggle viewpoint) to the physical ravages of aging.  Or, at least, 
they don't show the effects of old age until they are REALLY old.  To 
compare the aging thing in a different direction, my vet has a chart 
on cat ages.  The first year of a cat's life equals 15 of a human's, 
which makes sense since a cat goes from birth to sexual maturity 
within about 6 months.  The second year equals 24 in human terms and 
then you figure 4 years per every human year for the rest of the 
cat's life.  I see a reverse progression for wizards.  Once they 
reach maturity, and I'm assuming not just sexual maturity, but also 
adult-responsibility-type maturity, then the muggle to wizard time 
ratio becomes something like 1 muggle year equals 1/2 wizard year. 

Which then leads to another question.  If you are a wizard married to 
a muggle, and your muggle spouse dies at a normal muggle age, is it 
customary/unheard of/possible to find a new (wizard) partner, remarry 
and start a second family?  To my knowledge, we have no evidence of 
this sort of second-tier family in canon, although the possibilities 
might prove interesting.


Marianne