User:VJ Emsi/Harry Potter Timeline
Fans have created a timeline of the Harry Potter series from one shred of information in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. At Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party in that book, his death is stated on his cake to have been on October 31, 1492 (though in chapter 7 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Nearly Headless Nick states that he has been dead for Nearly 400 years, it is assumed that this is an error on the part of the author). Since the celebration was commemorating the five-hundredth anniversary of Nick's death, this seems to suggest that the scene takes place on October 31, 1992. The timeline was confirmed when in February 2006 J. K. Rowling donated a hand-drawn copy of the Black family tree to a charity auction for Book Aid. This included the birth year of Draco Malfoy as 1980.
The family tree was similar to the one described in Order of the Phoenix, with a number of characters burned off so that their details were obscured. Thus there was no confirmation of the birth year of Sirius Black, which would also have dated all those who were at school with him. However, his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange was shown as born in 1951, and it is reported by Sirius that at some point he and Bellatrix were both at school at the same time. This equates to a final school year for Bellatrix of 1969-1970, with Sirius and his classmates starting school at least by this date.
There are three other references commonly used to date the Hogwarts class which included Sirius, James and Lily Potter, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Dating is complicated by the fact that for each school year, the actual birthday may fall in one of two years, depending on the precise day and month; specifics of day and month are not known for many of the characters.
- J. K. Rowling stated in an interview after the publication of Goblet of Fire that Snape was 35 or 36 [1]. Depending on how this is interpreted, this gives a possible birth year of 1958-1960. (His day of birth 9th January was posted on Rowling's official website on his actual birthday.)
- J. K. Rowling has posted some biographical information about Sirius Black on her website in which she states he was 'around 22' when imprisoned in Azkaban, following the deaths of a number of Muggles on 1 November 1981. [2]. With 1 year leeway either way for 'around', this gives a birth year from 1958-1960.
- Harry saw a scene in Dumbledore's Pensieve, related in Order of the Phoenix where his father and Snape were sitting their O.W.L. exams. The scene was described as occurring 'more than 20 years ago'. This meant the exams took place in the school year 1974-1975 or earlier, giving a birth year for Snape of 1959 or earlier.
Contradictions[edit]
There are numerous contradictions in the timeline, Rowling herself has admitted having difficulty with managing mathematics in the FAQ section of her website, so perhaps perfect internal consistency is not to be expected.
Despite its problems, this timeline is extensively used by fans and Warner Bros.'s timeline of the series (featured on the DVDs for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) contains dates that were interpolated from this dating system (such as Harry's birthday being on July 31 1980 and his first defeat of Lord Voldemort being on October 31 1981.)
Days of the week[edit]
Often when dates are given, they are given with a day of the week that does not match with the date as it is in actual history. Just one such example occurs in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when Sybill Trelawney refers to October 16 as Friday, despite October 16, 1993 being a Saturday. This is usually explained on the grounds of it being simply poetic licence on the author's part.
There are also contradictions within the books themselves in this area. For example, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, both 1 September and 2 September are given as Mondays, and in all the books, school begins on 1 September without taking into account the change of the day. However it could be possible that students are expected to be back at the school on September the 1st and then start school the next week day. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Buckbeak's trial is set on 20 April, but careful parsing of the text reveals that it could have happened no later than February. Also, since Hagrid was supposedly made gamekeeper after he was expelled 50 years ago from the time of Chamber of Secrets, that would make Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley more than 50 years old (probably around 65 years old, adding in their ages before that), because Mrs. Weasley mentioned Ogg, the gamekeeper before Hagrid (though it is not specifically stated that Hagrid became gamekeeper immediately upon his expulsion (at age 13), and he would have required training before taking the job).
Historical problems[edit]
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Cornelius Fudge uses a male pronoun to refer to the "predecessor" of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. According to the above timeline, this should occur in the summer of 1996, when the Prime Minister was John Major, whose immediate predecessor was a female - Margaret Thatcher. (See the List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom for details).
It is possible that Fudge could be referring to a more distant predecessor, but it's unlikely as Thatcher took office before Fudge supposedly became Minister of Magic. (Although one could imagine a scenario in which Fudge, while in an inferior office, was delegated by the Minister of Magic to meet with the Prime Minister). Additionally, the personality and history of the Prime Minister portrayed appears to more closely match that of Tony Blair than of John Major. An article in the Daily Mail notes that Rowling is close to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown (often viewed as a rival to Blair's leadership of the Labour Party), and that she might have been attempting to show Blair's worst side. The rebuttal for this is that the books are fictional and the Prime Ministers themselves are fictional characters, and are not to be interpreted as the actual Prime ministers. Another related problem is that Major is described as having been elected, although technically he could be said to have been elected Conservative Party leader on November 27, 1990. Rowling has stated on her website that she considered using a similar scene to this in three of her previous books, including as possible introduction to Philosopher's Stone [3].
A similar problem involves Nicolas Flamel. Flamel was mentioned as being 665 at the time of the first book, but Nicolas Flamel was a real historical figure and wouldn't have reached that age until 1996. The rebuttal for this is that the date the "real" Nicolas Flamel was born does not correspond with the Nicolas Flamel of Harry Potter. Also, it may simply mark a shift in Rowling's chronology; 1996 was the year in which Rowling was drafting the first book, and it may be that she initially intended the stories to take place in the present time. More problematic is the fact that Flamel's age is read by Hermione in a 'very old book', which means that unless magical books update such figures, it is years out of date, with Flamel's age likewise affected (i.e. if he was 665 when a 'very old book' was published, he could, by 1992, have been years older).
There is at least one slight anachronism in the books. This occurs in a letter Harry writes in book 4, containing a reference to Dudley Dursley owning a PlayStation. According to the timeline, this would be in the summer of 1994, but the PlayStation was not released until December 1994 in Japan, September 1995 in Europe. The book was published in 2000, so this would likely be due to author error. (However, some persistent fans have suggested that Dudley begged for the PlayStation before its release, and that his parents had connections which allowed them to give him this present early.)
Timeline of the Harry Potter series[edit]
{{spoiler}}
Events[edit]
- 382 BC
- Ollivander's goes into business making magic wands.
- c. 962 AD
- Primitive broomsticks are first used for transport.
- c. 1000
- Hogwarts is founded by Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Slytherin petitions to only enroll pure-bloods and, in disgust, leaves the school, but not before building the Chamber of Secrets.
- c. 1294
- The Triwizard Tournament is established. It will later be discontinued (date unknown) when the death toll mounts too high.
- 1473
- Quidditch World Cup is played, during which all 700 Quidditch fouls are committed.
- c. 1845
- Albus Dumbledore is born.
- c. 1891
- Albus Dumbledore begins his first year of teaching at Hogwarts.
- 1918
- Newt Scamander is asked to write a compendium of magical beasts by Obscurus Books.
{{spoiler}}
- c. Late August/Early September 1925
- Morfin Gaunt attacks Tom Riddle Sr.. Bob Ogden, the head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department, travels to the Gaunt cottage to summon Morfin to a hearing. Morfin's father, Marvolo, attacks his daughter Merope for being attracted to Riddle. Ogden summons reinforcements and arrests Morfin and Marvolo.
- c. 1926
- Shortly before his birth, Tom Riddle's Muggle father (Tom Riddle Sr.) leaves his wife, Merope Gaunt, and she dies an hour after giving birth to her son. Riddle is raised in an orphanage.
- 1927
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is published in its first edition.
- c. 1938
- Tom Riddle starts at Hogwarts.
- c. 1940
- Rubeus Hagrid starts at Hogwarts.
- 1942
- Riddle opens the Chamber of Secrets, killing a girl who will later become Moaning Myrtle, and frames Rubeus Hagrid and his Acromantula for the attacks.
- 1943
- Riddle murders his father and paternal grandparents and frames his uncle Morfin Gaunt for the murders.
- 1945
- Dumbledore defeats the dark wizard Grindelwald who is imprisoned in Nurmengard after this battle.
- Riddle graduates from Hogwarts. He subsequently asks Armando Dippet to hire him as a teacher and is refused. Riddle is instead employed by Borgin and Burkes.
- 1946
- Riddle steals an artifact of the Hogwarts founder Salazar Slytherin and possibly an artifact of the Hogwarts founder Helga Hufflepuff and disappears.
- 1954
- Lucius Malfoy is born.
- c. 1956
- In December Minerva McGonagall begins at Hogwarts.
- Riddle asks Dumbledore, now headmaster, for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position.
- Riddle is already calling himself Lord Voldemort. Death Eaters already recruited include Rosier, Nott, Mulciber, and Dolohov.
- c. 1969
- Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett elope and marry.
- Autumn: James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and Severus Snape begin attending Hogwarts.
- c. 1970
- Lord Voldemort is becoming more powerful and begins his quest for power and immortality.
- c. 1979
- Sybill Trelawney predicts Voldemort's downfall and is hired as the Divination teacher at Hogwarts.
- 1979
- Hermione Granger is born on September 19.
- Regulus Black is killed.
- 1980
- Ron Weasley is born on March 1.
- Draco Malfoy is born on June 5.
- Neville Longbottom is born on July 30.
- Harry Potter is born on July 31.
- 1981
- Ginny Weasley is born on 11 August.
- Severus Snape is hired as Potions teacher at Hogwarts.
- Voldemort kills James and Lily Potter on October 31 but is defeated by Harry. Harry is left with a lightning-shaped scar and is sent to live with the Dursleys.
- On November 1, Sirius Black is arrested for the murder of Peter Pettigrew, who then goes into hiding.
- 1991
- Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger start at Hogwarts on September 1.
- 1992
- Harry foils Voldemort's plans to steal the Philosopher's Stone. Ginny Weasley opens the Chamber of Secrets under the influence of Tom Riddle's diary.
- 1993
- Harry saves Ginny and defeats the memory of Tom Riddle, unwittingly destroying Voldemort's first Horcrux in the process.
- Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban.
- 1994
- Professor Trelawney makes her second prediction.
- On June 6 Harry learns of Sirius' true colours. Peter Pettigrew, guilt now established, flees and escapes capture.
- Voldemort murders Frank Bryce.
- Ireland wins the 422nd Quidditch World Cup.
- The Triwizard Tournament is held at Hogwarts for the first time in over a century.
- 1995
- With the aid of Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort is restored to full power. Pettigrew murders Cedric Diggory on June 24 with Voldemort's wand, and on his orders.
- The Order of the Phoenix is re-established by Albus Dumbledore.
- 1996
- Voldemort fails to recover the Prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, due to the efforts of Harry and company. Harry learns of Professor Trelawney's first prediction and the wizarding world is finally alerted to Voldemort's return. Sirius Black is killed in The Death Chamber of the Department of Mysteries.
- Harry, Ron, and Hermione start their sixth year at Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy sneaks off to Knockturn Alley to go to Borgin and Burkes to reserve a vanishing cabinet to get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts.
- Albus Dumbledore destroys another of Voldemort's Horcruxes, formerly encased in Marvolo Gaunt's ring.
- 1997
- Albus Dumbledore is killed by Severus Snape. Harry Potter decides upon his quest to destroy the remaining four Horcruxes in which Lord Voldemort has sealed fragments of his soul.
{{endspoiler}}
Births[edit]
- 1325
- c. 1845
- 1847
- c. 1908
- Merope Gaunt to Marvolo Gaunt and an unknown witch.
- 1925
- Lucretia Black to Arcturus Black and Melania Macmillan
- Walburga Black to Pollux Black and Irma Crabbe
- c. October 4 - Minerva McGonagall
- 1926
- December 31 - Tom Marvolo Riddle (Lord Voldemort) to Muggle Tom Riddle, Sr. and witch Merope Gaunt
- c. 1928
- December 6 - Rubeus Hagrid to the giantess Fridwulfa and an unknown Wizard
- 1929
- Orion Black to Arcturus Black and Melania Macmillan
- 1938
- Cygnus Black to Pollux Black and Irma Crabbe
- 1951
- Bellatrix Black to Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier
- Rita Skeeter
- c. 1953
- Andromeda Black to Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier
- c. 1954
- Lucius Malfoy to Abraxas Malfoy and an unknown witch
- 1955
- Narcissa Black to Cygnus Black and Druella Rosier
- c.1955-59
- c. 1958
- January 9 - Severus Snape to Tobias Snape and Eileen Prince
- March 10 - Remus Lupin
- Lily Evans
- Sirius Black to second cousins Orion Black and Walburga Black
- Peter Pettigrew
- James Potter
- 1961
- Regulus Black to second cousins Orion Black and Walburga Black
- 1962
- Bartemius Crouch Jr. to Bartemius Crouch Sr. and his wife
- 1970
- 1972
- c. 1973
- c. 1975
- 1976
- 1977
- Cedric Diggory to Amos Diggory and his wife
- c. - Viktor Krum
- c. - Fleur Delacour to an unknown wizard and a half-Veela
- 1978
- 1979
- September 19 - Hermione Jane Granger to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Muggle dentists
- c. - Cho Chang
- 1980
- March 1 - Ronald Bilius Weasley to Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett
- June 5 - Draco Malfoy to Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black
- June 22 - Dudley Dursley to Vernon Dursley and Petunia Evans
- July 30 - Neville Longbottom to Frank and Alice Longbottom
- July 31 - Harry James Potter to James Potter and Lily Evans
- 1981
- August 11 - Ginevra Molly Weasley to Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett
- c. - Colin Creevey
- c. - Luna Lovegood to the editor of The Quibbler and his wife
- c. 1982
- c. 1983
- c. 1986
- Gabrielle Delacour to an unknown wizard and a half-Veela
Deaths[edit]
- 1492
- October 31 - Nearly Headless Nick, by being partially beheaded
- 1926
- December 31 - Merope Gaunt
- Phineas Nigellus Black
{{spoiler}}
- 1943
- June 13 - Myrtle (surname unknown), a female Hogwarts student, who will become known as Moaning Myrtle, by the basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets under the influence of Tom Riddle
{{endspoiler}}
- 1979
- Regulus Black, according to his brother Sirius he was murdered by Death Eaters because he wanted to leave them. (Never confirmed, so this is, at present, pure speculation on the part of Sirius.)
- Orion Black
- 1981
- October 31 - James and Lily Potter, from an attack by Lord Voldemort
- 1985
- c. 1990
- Luna Lovegood's mother, in an accident
{{spoiler}}
- 1992
- June - Professor Quirrell, died (as a result of Lord Voldemort abandoning him).
- Nicolas Flamel and wife Perenelle die afer the Philosopher's Stone is destroyed.
- Lucretia Black
- Cygnus Black
- 1994
- Summer - Bertha Jorkins, murdered by Voldemort after he extracted information on the approaching Triwizard Tournament from her.
- August - Frank Bryce, murdered by Voldemort for overhearing Voldemort and Pettigrew's plot to kill Harry Potter.
- 1995
- May - Barty Crouch, by his son posing as Mad-Eye Moody after his attempt to inform Dumbledore of his son's escape.
- June 24 - Cedric Diggory, murdered by Peter Pettigrew on Voldemort's orders
- 1996
- June - Sirius Black, from falling through the veil in the Death Chamber in the Department of Mysteries.
- Summer - Amelia Bones, murdered in the first days of the Second War, probably by Lord Voldemort himself.
- Summer - Emmeline Vance, murdered by Death Eaters in the first days of the war, on information from Snape, in the vicinity of 10 Downing Street.
- Summer - Igor Karkaroff murdered by Death Eaters because he betrayed them
- Hannah Abbott's mother
- 1997
- Spring - Aragog, passes on due to old age after Hagrid makes a valiant attempt to preserve his life.
- June - Gibbon, a Death Eater, hit accidentally with an Avada Kedavra curse by one of his own allies, in the corridor leading up to the astronomy tower.
- June - Dumbledore, killed by Snape's Avada Kedavra curse on top of the astronomy tower after being previously weakened.
{{endspoiler}}
