Dumbledore The Senior Citizen?

[Amanda]

No: HPFGUIDX 69472

D.G. said

> My question:  Dumbledore is about 160, right?  We know that other 
> Wizards have lived to be 600 and older.  We can assume, then, that 
a 
> Wizard of 160 is barely even middle-aged, by Wizard standards.  So 
> why, then, is Dumbledore portrayed as looking (and, increasingly, 
> acting) like an old man?

He *is* an old man. Nicholas Flamel and his wife lived over 600 years 
because Nicholas had achieved the philosopher's stone, allowing him 
to make the elixir of life.

> Is there a Wizard life-expectancy?  Is it the same for all?  Do all 
> Wizards age (physically, emotionally, mentally) at something 
> approximating the same rate?  After all, Harry and his fellow 
> students [as well as slightly older Wizards, like the older Weasley 
> boys] all seem to be about as old/mature in Wizard years as they 
> would be in Muggle years.

JKR has mentioned wizarding life-expectancy, or at least the fact 
that they live longer, somewhere in an interview. I suggest you go 
prowl through Quick Quotes and see if you can find it, because I 
think she gave a range or comparison to Muggle years. Here's the URL:

http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/

~Amanda