the Weasley Ages and more on the "Missing 24-hours" thread

Mon Aug 12 12:57:01 UTC 2002

No: HPFGUIDX 42507

Hi all --

I said:

>>I also think Ginny's statement makes no sense.  She's 11 when she makes that statement.  At that point, Bill had been gone *at least* 3 years (and that's only if you assume Charlie graduated the year before Harry arrived, which I also think is faulty on a number of levels).  So, if true, then Bill had first come to Hogwarts 10 years before -- i.e., when Ginny was one year old.  She has no memory then.<<

Hana replied: <<<<<<<Sometimes people "remember" things from when they were really young because people have told them about them.  I know that I fell off a couch when I was 16 months old and broke my arm.  I don't actually ~remember~ the incident, but it was told to me so many times that I tell it like it was a memory.  If year old Ginny made a fuss and wanted to go with Bill to school, and she was reminded of this often enough she would be able to say she wanted to go since Bill did because she knows she did even if she doesn't really remember it.  Does that make sense?>>>>>>>>>>

Yes, it does.  However, I think my example shows that Ginny was, *at most,* only one-year old when Bill left for Hogwarts.  I actually believe that he is older (26/27 at the time of GoF), which means Ginny wasn't even born when Bill left for Hogwarts.  I do think it's possible that she remembers him leaving for Hogwarts at some later year in his time there & her statement is just strangely-worded (it implies that she remembers him *first* going off to Hogwarts, which couldn't possibly be right under almost any scenario, given even the most compressed view of their age difference).  But, I don't think she could remember him first leaving for Hogwarts at all, since I don't think she was even born yet.

Hana again: <<<<<<<<As for when Charlie and Bill attended Hogwarts, if we assume that the Lexicon is right and Charlie was born in 1967, he started school in 1978 he would have left in 1985 when Ginny was 4.  If Bill is a year older than Charlie (though he could be more than that) then he attended from 1977 - 1984 at which point Ginny would have been 3 and definitely old enough to remember things, even if she didn't remember very much.  

That would put Bill leaving 7 years before Harry starts, and Charlie leaving 6 years before Harry.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

While I do agree mostly with the Lexicon timeline for the Weasley ages, I did want to point out something that I"m sure Steve would agree with (but he's on vacation).  The Lexicon is not infallible -- I've seen some people citing it as though it's some JKR-approved source.  Steve is working with the same canon assumptions & the same canon holes as the rest of us -- but he includes essays that make what he believes are the strongest arguments on various topics.  

In any case, under the above example, it's clear that Ginny probably only had a memory of Bill's last year (or one of his last years) at Hogwarts.  

Switching to Debbie's analysis of the Missing 24-hours:

<<<<<<I don't think Dumbledore could have been at Godric's Hollow, because I can't imagine that he would have left Harry in the ruins for a moment. 

However, he must have become aware instantly of what had happened there because he was able to dispatch Hagrid to Godric's Hollow with very specific instructions, and Hagrid removed Harry safely before the Muggles arrived.  Unless the house exploded silently, the Muggles would have been aware that something had happened and arrived relatively quickly.  While Dumbledore may have had a magical detection device that would have told him the Fidelius Charm had been broken, it would not have told him (or anyone else) that Voldemort had turned into a noxious vapor and disappeared. And I don't think Dumbledore knows what happened telepathically, or he would not have needed to debrief Harry about the graveyard in GoF.  Therefore, because --according to the rumors -- everyone seems to know what happened to Voldemort, someone must've seen and reported it.>>>>>>>>>>

What about Fawkes?  Is it possible that Fawkes has a means of communicating with his owner?   He can't seem to communicate with Harry other than with body language (trying to make it clear to Harry that they should all link together & grab his tail feathers).  But might there not be some bond between Fawkes & Dumbledore which allows for some greater communication?  

<<<<<<(Incidentally, I think the voice Harry hears really is James, and Lupin is not "surprised" but is struggling with his own memories of James and the demise of the Marauders and his fear of revealing too much to Harry.  Snape was there, but wasn't talking; I'm not even convinced he went inside the house.)>>>>>>

I agree that the voice Harry hears is really James.  I think Lupin's reaction is definitely that of someone who is trying to conceal his emotions at remembering one of his best friends & the night of his death.

<<<<<<<I do think, however, that there were places to hide in Godric's Hollow, which I imagine to be a wizarding village west of Bristol in South Wales (see Catlady's #40558 on Godric Gryffindor being Welsh).  Where would Hagrid go when he has a break in carrying out a sad and stressful duty?  I'd look for him at the nearest wizards' pub, the Godric's Hollow equivalent of the Leaky Cauldron or the Three Broomsticks (thanks to Chelsea for putting the pub idea in my head!).  Assuming Godric's Hollow is somewhere in South Wales, and assuming that the motorcycle can fly at about the same rate as the Flying Ford Anglia, I estimate that it would take about 3 or so hours to fly to Surrey. The pub also provides a convenient answer to my third question:

3.    How did all the rumors spread?

The rumors begin flying quickly and by dawn much of the WW already knows that Voldemort is "gone" and some version of the events at Godric's Hollow, since Vernon Dursley sees them on his way to work, whispering excitedly.  
McGonagall must have passed them, in cat form, after her arrival in Little Whinging, because she keeps vigil at 4 Privet Drive from 8:30 a.m. to midnight, yet she knows all the rumors.  The rumors could have spread through contacts at the MOM, where I believe Dumbledore may have gone to confer with Ministry officials, or they might have started through Hagrid, now ensconced in the pub in Godric's Hollow, showing off Harry's scar to the few late-night customers while downing his first tankard.  That sounds *just* like Hagrid.

In fact, he's enjoying himself so much in the pub's backroom that he doesn't set off for Privet Drive when he's supposed to; thus, Dumbledore remarks that Hagrid is late.>>>>>>>>>>

I definitely like this theory, and it also means that there would have been others there, besides Hagrid, to be sure that Hagrid gave Harry something appropriate to eat, changed his diaper, etc.  I don't necessarily think though that Hagrid was incapable of handling this duty on his own.  I don't like the Harry went to Molly Weasley theory, because it just doesn't make much sense why Hagrid would backtrack up to Bristol -- to get from Devon to Surrey would be a straight shot due east.  Yes, I like this pub theory very much.  

Penny

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Hana 
  To: HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Sunday, August 11, 2002 11:38 PM
  Subject: Re: [HPforGrownups] Re: the Weasleys

  For a completely different Weasley related topic: Does anyone think that Percy is so stuck up for rules and being responsible because he probably had to do a lot of babysitting at a young age?  

  He's 2 years older than the twins, 4 years older than Ron and 5 years older than Ginny.  By the time Ron and Ginny were 5 and 4 respectively he would have been 9 and probably told to mind his brother and sister while Molly tried to deal with the twins (who are hard enough to handle as teens let alone as children ;))  Bill and Charlie would only have been helpful during holidays when they weren't at school, and then they would have their own jobs and would not have been around.  Arthur seems to spend a lot of time at work, so Molly would be stuck at home with 5 children under the age of 10!

  Opinions?

  ---
  --Hana

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