Coming of age in the WW

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 86910

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, GulPlum <hp at p...> wrote:
> At 21:37 10/12/03 , justcarol67 wrote:
> 
> >Anyone have any clear idea of what coming of age in the WW actually
> >means and whether some privileges may still be withheld? (I'm not
> >talking about sex here, since that topic is unlikely to surface in 
th
> >HP books.) Are the twins full-fledged adults in OoP? Can they 
marry?
> >Can they vote, assuming that the WW has some sort of elected
> >government? Can they legally drink anything stronger than 
butterbeer?
> >(Is there really such a thing as butterbeer?)
> 
> Last answer first: no.
> 
> It's impossible to be certain what "coming of age" means in the 
> Potterverse,  partially because under (real) British law, the term 
simply 
 > doesn't exist.
> 

Geoff:
No, but in general terms, 18 is accepted as when folk come of age; it 
was dropped from 21 some years ago.

The Labour government put out feelers only within the last week about 
the possiblity of dropping the voting age to 16 to try to counter 
political apathy among young people.

Returning to Gred and Forge. They are two years ahead of Harry and 
Ron in Hogwarts, so they are in the Upper Sixth in OOTP - they 
already had their OWL results at the beginning of GOF.

At the end of the book, we are in the summer of 1996; Harry is fast 
approaching his 16th birthday. the twins must therefore be 
approaching - or past - their 18th birthday. Somebody remarked 
earlier in this thread that their birthday is in April, so when did 
they actually leave Hogwarts? - certainly into the summer term 
because the careers interviews were under way so they must already be 
18.

Geoff