How old is Voldemort?--Two different ages given!

[Steve <bboy_mn@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49290

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "noir_l <noir_l at y...>"
<noir_l at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Barb <psychic_serpent at y...> 
> wrote:
> 
> > How do you figure that?  If you start at Hogwarts when you're 
> eleven and add five years, that would make sixteen.  
> 
> 
> I was counting beginning in year one. So sometime during year one Tom 
> discovered who he was and began looking for the chamber. He would be 
> 11 (1st year), 12 (2nd year),....up to 15 (5th year--therefore 
> searching for 5 years). But as I mentioned in another post we don't 
> know when Tom was born so he could have been 16 like you mention. 
> Thanks for your reply!
> 
> -Lindsay :)

bboy_mn:

Well, this whole age thing is kind of a minor point. Apparently,
Riddle was in his fifth year when he 'figured out' the Chamber of
Sercrets. So was that at the beginning of the year or the end of the
fifth year?

Harry's birthday is in July, so Harry was 11 when he started his first
year and 11 when he ended his first year. Ron on the other hand, has
his birthday in March (I think), so he was 11 at the beginning of the
year and 12 at the end of his first year. We know at the beginning of
Goblet of Fire that some students are 17. They have to be 17 in order
to compete in the Tri-Wizards Tournement. So this is at the beginning
of the year so, presumably, they will be 18 (or very very close to it)
at the end of that year. I was also under the impression that some of
these 17 year olds were 6th year students (then again, maybe not).

At any rate we know Riddle was FIFTH YEAR plus 50 years; that would
make him either 15 or 16 depending on when during that year you
decided to measure his age; so his current age, in the story, would be
65/66. 

Relative to the original post 1 year one way or the other isn't that
important when you are trying to determine whether someone is 65/66 or
whether they are +100 years old.

Without knowing Riddles birthday and possibley birth year, we can't
say positively how old he was at any give time during that 5th year at
Hogwarts.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn