Timeline question

[Joanne0012 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 30142

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., GerRoJen at a... wrote:
> Joshua says:
> 
> ***However, if you use the Flamel timeline: i.e.; that Nicholas Flamel 
> was 658 years old, we come across an earlier date.  Since Flamel's 
> live is (fairly) well documented and his birthdate is easily 
> obtainable as 1330, that would make the first school year most likely 
> be 1987/1988!***

First, Rowling's Flamel not necessarily the original, real one, though I li=
ke to 
think he is.

Second, Hermione read his age from a book, and as we don't know when the 
book was published, Flamel's age in the Potterverse can only be given as "a=
t 
least" 665 when Hermione read the book.  

Why would a book give an individual's age rather than his birth year?  It w=
ould 
have been plenty impressive to hear Hermione say he was born in 1330 (or 
whenever), even if we couldn't do instant math in our head to compute his 
current age.