The Fans v JK Rowling

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 92374


> Neri:
> {BTW: just gleefully adding my part to the confusion around 
> Hermione's age, I'll note that biologically she is actually several 
> months older than she is supposed to be, because of her use of the 
> time-turner to get into all those classes in PoA. The math (oh 
> dear...) goes like this: Hermione goes to the Charms class from 
> 11:00 to 12:00, then she jumps back in time one hour and goes to 
the 
> Ancient Runes class from 11:00 to 12:00. While for the outside 
world 
> only one hour had passed, for Hermione it was two hours. I'm sure 
> JKR was aware of this since she described how hungry was Hermione 
at 
> lunch. For her mealtime is long past due. So by how much was 
> Hermione aged during that year? If we assume that for about 9 
> months, she was repeating a third of each 24 hrs day (normal 
> teaching hours), then she added a third of those 9 months, or 
> additional 3 months. This means that at her 15th birthday (whenever 
> it was!) she was biologically 15 years and 3 months old...}
> 
> Bill:
> 
> I really doubt that she was repeating 8 hours a day, seven days a 
> week.  She was taking 3 extra subjects for half a year, then 2 
extra 
> subjects after she quit Divination.  We know that she can handle 
one 
> extra subject without using the time-turner, since she keeps it 
> after her third year.  She is evidently using the time-turner ONLY 
> for repeating the classroom time, since she is increasingly tired 
> and irritable through the year, from lack of sleep.  The 'optional' 
> classes seem to be one lesson per week.  I don't know how long they 
> are, but assume two hours each, at most.
> 
> That's 4 hours per week for half of the school year, and 2 hours 
per 
> week for the other half of the school year, for a total of 120 
kours 
> = 5 days.  Not much at all!  Even if there are two two-hour lessons 
> per week per subject (which I doubt), it is still only 10 days.
> 
> 
> 
> On the other hand, she was petrified for a much longer period in 
her 
> second year.  Taking that into account, she is actually 
biologically 
> YOUNGER than her chronological age.



Neri again:
Thanks for the correction. I really forgot about the time she spent 
petrified. 

Regarding how much she aged because of the time-traveling, your math 
seems correct, but here is a bit of canon:

PoA, Ch. 6 "Talons and tea leaves"

"Hermione was examining her new schedule.
"Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today," she said happily.
"Hermione," said Ron, frowning as he looked over her 
shoulder, "they've messed up your timetable. Look — they've got you 
down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time."
"I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."
"But look," said Ron, laughing, "see this morning? Nine o'clock, 
Divination. And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. And —" Ron 
leaned closer to the timetable, disbelieving, "look — underneath 
that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, 
but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at 
once?"

So she was actually doing some *triple* time, not just double time, 
and what Ron mentions already amounts to at least 2 additional hrs 
(assuming these lessons are only 1 hr each), and there must have been 
much more ("about ten subjects a day"). A chapter later we learn that 
she also goes to another class during the Potions class. So how do 
reconcile this with your math? Most probably we don't. Just add it to 
the growing list of JKR's mathematical Flints.

Neri