Harry Potter and the Flywheel of Time: How the Wizardry Timeline Works

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

While fans have been carefully building the chronology of their favorite universe for years, official sources are breaking it.

For nearly twenty years, potter fans have been studying the history of the wizarding world with the same meticulousness with which scientists research real historical facts. J. K. Rowling has created an eventful universe, but Fantastic Beasts is increasingly undermining her slender system.

The life hacker understands what is wrong with the timeline, why the fans are outraged and whether it is really important to follow the same canon in large cycles and franchises.

How the Harry Potter chronology came about

Fans of any fictional universe love building timelines. Even if the author is stingy with details and is reluctant to share dates, the community of fans will always find the opportunity to compile a detailed chronology. This makes the fictional world tangible and visible. In addition, there is a special detective pleasure in detecting time references and correlating events.

The story of Harry Potter became more detailed gradually. At the beginning of the first book of the series, nothing definite is said about the time of action. However, already in the second part it is mentioned that Nearly Headless Nick, the faculty ghost of Gryffindor, now marks the five hundredth day of death, and his unsuccessful decapitation happened in 1492.

This means that the events of the book take place in 1992-1993, and Harry entered Hogwarts in 1991. Knowing his age, we can conclude that he was born in 1980, like most of his classmates.

Along with the growth of the universe, more and more details and dates were collected, thanks to which the stories of the characters became more voluminous. It also helped that the Harry Potter books are full of calendar clues: each of them holds one school year, and it constantly mentions holidays, such as the Christmas holidays. Bonus books written by Rowling (Quidditch From Antiquity to the Present, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) also supplement the novels.

The stories of famous magical families and magical institutions go back to the distant past, intersecting with the events of the Muggle world. For example, it is known that members of the Ollivander family began making magic wands as early as 382 BC. e., and Hogwarts was founded in the late X - early XI century.

Armed with the data, the Potter fans set to work on calculators, compiling a detailed timeline, which can be found on the Events and Timelines website of the Harry Potter Lexicon fan encyclopedia, where there are separate timelines for events, places and characters.

In 2011, the Pottermore website appeared - a source of canon information, which is personally supervised by J. K. Rowling. The name of the resource very accurately expresses the main fan's desire - to get more "Harry Potter" in order to find out the details and not leave the world of witchcraft and wizardry, even when the books are read to holes. The site has become an additional source of valuable information on dates.

How timeline breaks in books

Despite the fact that a wave of indignation rose after the release of "The Crimes of Grindelwald", some timing problems were in the books. The most meticulous readers have discovered minor errors that appear here and there, introducing confusion into a harmonious, lovingly built system.

Somewhere inconsistencies can be attributed to an "unreliable storyteller" - after all, characters can be wrong. And somewhere it doesn't work out, because the author himself violates the logic. According to Anelli, Melissa and Emerson Spartz. “The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two,” The Leaky Cauldron, 16 July 2005 J. K. Rowling, mathematics is not her strong suit.

For example, in the Harry Potter books, the days of the week of the corresponding year often do not coincide with the actual dates of the calendar. The quiet Muggle life of the Dursleys collapses on a "boring and gray Tuesday," although November 1 was Sunday in 1981. Sunday was also Dudley's birthday on June 23, 1991, but according to the text of the book it is Saturday (on that day Harry spoke to the snake at the zoo).

And on September 1, 1993, there was a full moon, so that evening Professor Lupine could hardly safely ride the train and participate in the welcoming feast. He should have appeared at Hogwarts in advance, pumped himself up to the eyeballs with a potion of aconite and not be seen by people for a while.

A curious case came out with the PlayStation, which Dudley, offended by his parents, threw out the window in 1994, while the console was released in Europe only in September 1995. One theory says that the Dursleys ordered the console for their spoiled son directly from Japan, another that Harry was simply mistaken in telling about it. Although Rowling herself admitted to Harry Potter Wiki: PlayStation, she just doesn't know much about consoles.

All of these date errors can be resolved by a simple assumption - the Harry Potter universe is slightly different from ours. The main thing is that it is consistent. Minor logic violations and typos that do not affect anything were corrected by Differences and Changes in the Text in later editions of the books. However, sometimes in the fictional world there are internal contradictions that complicate the interaction of the elements of the story with each other.

For example, it is known that Hagrid got a job as a Hogwarts forester shortly after he was expelled from there. He was born in the late 1920s and studied at the school of witchcraft and wizardry at the same time as Tom Riddle - it was the future dark magician who accused Hagrid of opening the Chamber of Secrets.

Nevertheless, Molly Weasley, who is younger than both, remembers another forester who held this position during her years at Hogwarts - Ogg. Perhaps Hagrid was just helping him or they worked together, but there is no canon confirmation of this.

Also in Goblet of Fire, it is said that Severus Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange crossed paths at Hogwarts during their studies. However, according to data obtained from books and additional materials, Bella is 9 years older than Snape. So the future ardent follower of the dark lord had to graduate from school before Snape entered. Unless, of course, she was a systematic repeat year.

By the way, there is no chronological basis for fanfiction about Snape and Lucius Malfoy's school friendship either - apparently, they agreed much later. Lucius was at least 6 years older than Snape and the four Gryffindor Marauders, and when they entered Hogwarts, he was already preparing for graduation.

How timeline breaks in movies

The adaptations have confused the chronology. For a while, it seemed that the timing of the films was different from the book. More and more anachronisms appeared on the screen, hinting at the displacement of events forward.

To see this, just look at the style of the characters. Wizards have their own magical fashion Wizard_clothes, but members of the younger generation do not adhere to it and dress in Muggle clothes outside of school. In their images there are no characteristic signs of the style of the 90s - things are more reminiscent of the time when films were made.

For example, Hermione wears a short, fitted denim jacket, and men's silhouettes are not too voluminous, as it should be in the 2000s. At the Three Wizards Tournament, Fleur Delacour appeared in a tracksuit like the ones that pop stars had fashioned back then - except that the color was restrained in Charmbaton, and not bright pink.

In some urban scenes, car models made only after 2000 appear. Also in London you can see buildings and objects that were not yet in the 90s - the London Eye Ferris wheel on the banks of the Thames, the Mary Ax skyscraper, nicknamed the "cucumber", and the Millennium Bridge.

Despite all these references to zero, when in the film Harry Potter visits the graves of his parents in Godric's Hollow, gravestones with dates corresponding to the timing of the books are captured in the frame. According to the latter, Lily and James Potter died in 1981, as the chronology of the world of wizardry suggests.

Thus, the time in the MCU coincides with the book time. For example, the movie "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is set from 1991 to 1992. The events of the film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" take place from 1997 to 1998. So anachronisms in films can only be attributed to artistic convention.

Further more. The Fantastic Beasts franchise has committed several major violations of the timeline, which is considered canon. In the first film, none of the familiar characters appears, so, existing as a separate story, he did not embarrass the minds of potter fans. However, with the second film ("The Crimes of Grindelwald"), everything is more complicated.

Its action takes place in 1927, when a book about magical creatures by Newt Scamander was published (in Russian localization the character is called Salamander, but many consider this translation almost as awkward as Zloteus Zley and Sverkarol Charuald by Maria Spivak).

Nevertheless, Professor McGonagall, who was not yet born in 1927, briefly appeared on the screen. We have already talked in detail about this violation of the canonical biography of the heroine and other mistakes of the film.

Also, Credence is called Dumbledore's brother here, although, given the history of his family, Albus's parents could not have had a child that at the time of the "Crimes of Grindelwald" would have been that age.

Belief in the timeline makes Potter fans believe that Grindelwald is simply lying about Credence's origins, but for the filmmakers, the chronology may not be so fundamental. If he really is Dumbledore's brother, the timeline in the Fantastic Beasts world should be different from the accepted one.

Do I have to be boring

Facing inconsistencies, fans are trying to mend the crumbling canon. For example, assuming that McGonagall, who is featured in the movie, is Minerva's mother. True, this breaks another hole in logic, because she was called Isabelle, and McGonagall from "The Crimes of Grindelwald" appears in the credits as Minerva McGonagall. In addition, Isobel McGonagall was never mentioned about her teaching at Hogwarts.

One of the theories about why Grindelwald calls Credence the brother of Albus, says that the obscura (a clot of dark magical energy) lodged in it previously belonged to Ariana, Dumbledore's sister. Far-fetched? Perhaps, but what can't you do for the sake of logic. However, this does not explain why Grindelwald named Credence precisely Aurelius.

Patching plot holes through explanations within the story itself is psychologically important, because otherwise the world, which takes a large place in the lives of fans, begins to burst at the seams. And the work that professional potter scientists have spent on many years of charting and creating online encyclopedias is depreciated. However, we are often talking about the usual mistakes that are inevitable for a series of books that have been written over many years, and film adaptations created by different directors.

Sometimes chronological plausibility is simply sacrificed for momentary scriptural needs. By the will of Rowling, much in the world of wizardry and magic is rethought in hindsight. For example, in the play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child", which few people liked, it turns out that shortly before Bellatrix's death, Lestrange gave birth to a daughter, Delphi, from Voldemort.

It is unclear when she managed to do this, if the entire last part of the epic was worn in a corset, scattering unforgivable spells. Their relationship, which went beyond vassalage, was not previously mentioned. And the appearance of the dark lord makes him doubt his ability to become a father in the traditional sense. One explanation is dark magic.

However, should you be so jealous of detail? Perhaps the outrage at logical errors is due precisely to the fact that the world of "Harry Potter" until recently remained relatively consistent, and now fans are ready to find fault with any trifle. Although for large projects with a long history, the multiverse is not uncommon. And "Harry Potter" has long been not only a book, but also films, theatrical performance and a series of games.

What the future holds for Harry Potter

Franchises are often restarted, ignoring past events and creating a new universe based on the original story. There are only three Peter Parkers in movies, not to mention cartoons. In comics, relaunches happen regularly.

Sometimes authors just don't know what to do with a character and want to reinvent it in a better version. However, if the comics were not updated at all, stories about the same characters would not have been released for decades.

Perhaps for some it will be stressful, but films about the world of wizardry and magic will not be an exception. Not long ago, Daniel Radcliffe mentioned Daniel Radcliffe Thinks Harry Potter Will Get a TV or Movie Reboot Eventually in an interview, which is unlikely to be the last Harry Potter. According to the actor, a reboot is inevitable - in the form of films or a TV series. And he himself would be interested to look at a different version. Of course, while these are assumptions, but the appearance on the screens of the new "Harry Potter" is really only a matter of time.

Will a single canonical timeline be so important then? Perhaps, in the restart, the action will be transferred to our time to see how magic coexists with digital technology. Or, on the contrary, pushed back as part of the general mass cultural obsession in the 80s and 90s.

Fans zealously observe consistency and honor the primary sources (the very word "canon" refers to the sacred texts). A rare scriptwriter of a commercial project devotes as much time and effort to work as an enthusiastic geek - to the study of his beloved universe.

At the same time, any cultural phenomenon needs freedom for its development. Sometimes timeline changes help move the story forward, update it and add detail. The main thing is that the innovations really open up new opportunities, without remaining non-firing guns and ways to screw in a one-time fan service.