Seventh month Dudley

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 89687

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "KathyK" <zanelupin at y...> wrote:

Steve Vander Ark: 
> >>What is actually says is "his month-old cine-camera," which tells 
> us that Dudley's birthday is about a month before Harry's. If we 
> accept that Harry was born in 1980, Dudley's birthday would be June 
> 22. It is certainly right around that date.<<
> 
Geoff: 
> >Sorry to disagree but my copy says "had already broken his /new/ 
> cine-camera" (my emphasis).
>  
> (PS "The Letters from No One" p.28 UK edition)<
> 
KathyK:
> My copy says the same thing (well, actually mine says video camera 
> as it's the US edition).  But not much further into the chapter, 
> when Harry moves into Dudley's second bedroom there is this:
> 
> "The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working 
> tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neightbor's dog"
> 
> (SS, US edition p. 37)

Geoff:
Now I've found the bit you mean. (PS "The Letters from No One" p.32 
UK edition). I thought that Steve Vander Ark had actually found a 
discrepancy between editions because I assumed he was quoting from 
the same section of canon as I was. It would have helped if he had 
given chapter and verse which I always try to do.

I ran through the sequence of events and found, in addition to the 
confirmation that Dudley canot be born in July, what I think is a 
minor error:

23rd July. Dudley gets his Smeltings uniform.
24th July. Harry's first letter. He is moved to the bedroom.
25th July. Second letter - addressed to "The Smallest Bedroom".
26th July. Harry finds Dudley on the doormat. Letter box nailed up.
Friday 27th. 12 letters arrived by various means. (First reference to 
the day of the week in canon).
Saturday 28th. 24 letters arrive, some rolled up in eggs.
Sunday 29th. No post. 30-40 letters via fireplace. Vernon takes the 
family away to Cokeworth.
Monday 30th. 100+ letters at Railview Hotel. Vernon takes the family 
to "Hut-on-the-Rock".
Tuesday 31st. Harry's birthday. Hagrid arrives at midnight.

If Dudley's cine camera was in the bedroom on 24th July and was "a 
month old" this could mean anything from say three and a half weeks 
to just over the month - (I don't expect Harry would say "Aha! That 
camera is exactly a month old - Cowabunga!!") - then Dudley's 
birthday is certainly in the latter part of June.

The curiosity is that 31st July 1991 - Harry's eleventh birthday - 
was a Wednesday. Possibly a slip of the pen?