Age of Majority

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 155345

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "bridge13219" 
<bridge13219 at ...> wrote:
>
> Geoff:
> > > If I might be infuriatingly, nastily and pedantically pedantic,
> > > the cut-off date for admission to a specific school year in the
> > > UK is 31st August, so he isn't a single age throughout each
> > > school year, so there. :-)
> 
> Kemper now:
> > Geoff, you weren't nasty or pedantic, but you were infuriatingly
> > unclear.
> >
> > Are you saying that Harry wasn't the same whole-number age from 
the
> > ever-Monday September 1 to June 30 of each year he's attended
> > Hogwarts?
> >
> > I don't get it.  American it down for me.  Please.
> > :-D
> >
> > Kemper, agreeing with Carol that Harry is 11 throughout the 
SCHOOL
> > year of PS and that he'll be 17 throughout the SCHOOL year in the
> > upcoming book whether he's actually in school or not.
> 
> 
> Bridge13219:
> I blame it on lack of coffee, but I was unclear as well.  About the
> UK school-year thing.  Besides, in PS/SS didn't it say Harry had to
> respond by 31st July?  And that's why Dumbledore sent Hagrid?
> 
> bridge13219, trying not to look as dim as I feel.

Geoff:
Whose coffee? Give me a decent hot chocolate 
any day....

Having managed to get my hands on a friend's 
computer in Cardiff before I do disappear into 
the limbo of the Isles of Scilly until the 22nd, 
I can reply. Mark you, I'm fighting a PC; give 
me back my 3-month old Mac mini - I'm suffering 
withdrawal symptoms.

By good fortune, I've got the first two books 
with me as light reading - "This is light reading?"

'Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by 
no later then 31 July.'
(PS "The Keeper of the Keys" p.43 UK edition)

I don't think that has anything to do with HP's 
birthday. I think it would be a standard procedure 
to set a deadline for replying so that lists, 
registers, dormitories etc. could be organised.