If Harry Potter could collect birthday cards from fans, on July 31 he’d be flooded with mail at the Dursley House once again. That day marks his birthday, which many readers of the Harry Potter series will celebrate at homes and bookstores in Harry’s native Great Britain and abroad.

How Old Is Harry Anyway?

J. K. Rowling has told us that Harry’s birthday is July 31, which happens to be her birthday, too. But what year was Harry born?

Near the beginning of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone it says that “tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry’s eleventh birthday.” July 31 doesn’t fall on a Tuesday very often. Most readers of that first book assumed that, because it was published in 1997, Harry attended Hogwarts during the 1990s. In 1990, July 31 fell on a Tuesday. This would mean that Harry was born in 1979 and would turn 23 in 2002.

But wait—this theory is contradicted by evidence in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, in which Harry helped celebrate Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday anniversary on October 31, 1992. Harry was 12 at that time. So this would mean that Harry was born in 1980, and that he would turn 22 in 2002.

Anyway, does it matter exactly when the books take place? They are, after all, fantasy. Maybe there are contradictory dates because time doesn’t pass exactly the same way in the books’ world as it does in ours. Or maybe calendars in the land of fantasy don’t have to follow our rules! HAHAHHAAA!!

… by Holly Hartman

Owhh.. sambil² tu aku melayan kebosanan di hari minggu yang damai ini dengan meluangkan masaku bersamamu ohhhh kuiz harry potter… khas ni sempena besday harry… hehehe~ agak mudah pilihan jawapan yang ade… Nahhh selesaii… Personaliti aku dikaitkan ngan watak kat bawah ni kat dalam harry potter… MOLLY WEASLEY… besh ke eh die ni? kat sini ade sket info pasal Molly Weasley… Papepun…. aku lagi besh kot?? hahahhaa!

Pirate Monkey's Harry Potter Personality Quiz
Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.