What Year Is Harry Potter Set In

When Did The Harry Potter Books Take Place

I always wondered when the setting of the books was supposed to be. Is it set in the past? Present? Future?

I remember seeing somewhere that there was actual years/dates associated with events in the book.

Is there a visual timeline of all the Harry Potter events somewhere with years/months/days mentioned?

• Are General reference questions on-topic?Nov 25 11 at 21:45
• 1@DVK We generally consider general reference to mean that you can find the answer easily on Wikipedia or some other obvious reference. Here Each book chronicles one year in Harrys life with the main narrative being set in the years 199198. But that doesnt cover the events from the backstory. Some random Internet link such as Xantecs link to Wikibooks isnt a general reference. user56

All dates in the HP world trace back to the Death Day party of Nearly Headless Nick in The Chamber of Secrets. It was stated that his it was his 500th Death Day. The cake reads:

Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpingtondied 31st October, 1492

So, it stands to reason that during the second year, Harry Potter was 12, and that it was the year 1992. All dates can be calculated from that moment in time.

It should also be noted that this isnt strictly adhered to, specifically, Dudley has Playstation before they came out, among other things.

Harry Potter Movies In Chronological Order Of Events

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Set in 1926, roughly seven decades prior to Harry Potter beginning his education at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the first Fantastic Beasts movie focuses on the New York adventures of Newt Scamander , a British wizard and Ministry of Magic employee who finds himself embroiled in an insidious scheme involving the Magical Congress of the United States and a powerful wizard named Gellert Grindelwald , who believes wizards should reign over non-magical humans.

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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

A few months after the events of the first Fantastic Beasts, Newt is back in England, but hes soon tasked by the by Albus Dumbledore , who will one day look over Harry as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, to track down Credence Barebone , a troubled young wizard who is also being sought out by a recently escaped Grindelwald. In addition to Dumbledore, The Crimes of Grindelwald introduces other characters who will later play a significant role in the Harry Potter films, including a young Minerva McGonagall and Nagini, a circus performer whose blood curse will permanently transform her into a giant snake.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

How The Timeline Differs Between The Harry Potter Books And Movies

The Wizarding World that author J. K. Rowling created for the Harry Potter series is ever-expanding. Subsequent works to the original series like the Fantastic Beasts franchise and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child fill out the world, exploring different time periods and locations where different generations of wizards existed.

But some newcomers to Harry Potter might wonder why the original Harry Potter books are set in one decade and the film franchise is set in another.

According to her website, Rowling came up with the idea for the book series in 1990 while sitting on a delayed train. She set the date for the books to match up with when she began writing them, which wound up being the same year as when the book series began, 1991. It wasn’t clear at the time if or when the book would actually be published so she used her present time period.

If you’ve read the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, you’ll notice it takes place in 1991. Harry was born in 1980, making him 11 when he starts his first year at Hogwarts. But that book was released in June 1997 and its United States version, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was released in 1998. Confused yet? Well, Rowling herself confirmed in a tweet that 2017 was the year Harry and Ginny’s son, Albus Severus, was about to start his first trip to Hogwarts 19 years after Harry left, making 1998 his seventh and final year.

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The Harry Potter Films Take Place In The 2000’s

The films, on the other hand, do not take place in the 1990s. While it is not specified in the dialogue of the first film, it can be inferred from the modern haircuts, technology, and a primary school certificate for Dudley Dursley that it takes place in the year 2001.

The books and films take place from 1991-1998 and between 2001-2008, respectively, though it’s easy to get confused, considering the final book was released in 2007 and the final film in 2011.

But there are plenty of debates online between fans who consider the films to have taken place in the same timeline as the books. One reddit user points out that in the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 graveyard scene, “Harry’s parents’ headstone still says they died in 1981” and another said that the movies also take place in ’90s, but it was “laziness” on the part of the filmmakers to include aspects of modern day.

It would likely be easier for everyone if we had access to a time-turner.

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

During Harry’s fourth year, Hogwarts plays host to a legendary event: the Triwizard Tournament. Three European schools participate in the tournament, with three ‘champions’ representing each school in the deadly tasks. The Goblet of Fire chooses Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, and Cedric Diggory to compete against each other. However, curiously, Harry’s name is also produced from the Goblet thus making him a fourth champion, which results in a terrifying encounter with a reborn Lord Voldemort.

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Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

After destroying one Horcrux and discovering the significance of the three Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron and Hermione continue to seek the other Horcruxes in an attempt to destroy Voldemort, who has now obtained the powerful Elder Wand. The Dark Lord discovers Harry’s hunt for Horcruxes and launches an attack on Hogwarts School, where the trio return for one last stand against the dark forces that threaten both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds.

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban Set In 1993/94

The Prisoner Of Azkaban is not one of those lesser Harry Potter films, though, and again, follows the same school year to school year structure as the previous two films while also taking the entire series in a new direction.

With Alfonso Cuarón at the helm, this movie has a darker tone and begins a trend of Potter films becoming more mature and more assured in their craft. Save for that bizarre final shot, the movie is gorgeous, well-acted, and many will argue the very best of the movie series.

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Harry Potter Age In Each Movie

Before going onto the age of the wizarding genius for each movie, well go over a summary of each one so you have enough context to process the information.

You may even reflect on your own time during school, especially if you remember when the original fictional movie series or even book series was released.

Read further below if youre curious about this subject.

Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone Ages

Once Warner Bros confirmed that they got the rights to film Harry Potter, production for the first movie happened between September 2000 and July 2001, led by Chris Columbus.

In the Philosophers Stone, all students who start their first year at Hogwarts are between 11 and 12 years old, which is set in 1991.

With this in mind, we can see the following age breakdown and differences for each release.

Daniel Radcliffes birthday is on July 23, 1989, making him 11/12 years old when they cast him as Harry Potter in the Philosophers Stone. We meet Harry Potter when he is 10 years old and are with him on his 11th birthday when he discovers that he is a wizard.

Rupert Grint, who was born on August 24, 1988, was 12/13 years old by the time he portrayed Ron Weasley for the first time. Ron was 11/12-years-old.

Since her birthday was on April 15, 1990, Emma Watson is the youngest of the Golden Trio at 10/11 years old during the Philophers Stone. Hermione was 12/13-years-old, ironically making her the oldest of the three.

Bonnie Wright made her first appearance in a single scene alongside Rons family when she was only 9/10. Ginny would have been 10/11-years-old at that time, hence why she didnt have a more prominent role in the movie.

Matthew Lewis was born on June 27, 1989, so he was 11/12-years-old when acting as Neville Longbottom for the first time. Neville was also 11/12-years-old.

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Why Harry Potter Is Set In The 1990s

Why were the Harry Potter movies set in the 1990s? We explain the reasoning based on J.K. Rowling’s book series in which the movies are based.

Why are the Harry Potter movies set in the 1990s? The film franchise consisted of eight films and ran from 2001 until 2011. The films were based on J.K. Rowling’s insanely popular book series of the same name.

Rowling got the idea for the epic tale centering on a boy wizard in the early ’90s. The first installment of the series, which also served as Rowling’s debut novel, was titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone but it was released a year later in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The book later reached the top of the best-sellers list and stayed on there for years. Rowling expanded the series by writing six more sequels and a number of standalone books.

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The novels focused on Harry Potter and his schoolmates at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as certain events eventually led to the Second Wizarding World against Lord Voldemort. Harry received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts on his eleventh birthday which would have been in 1991. The young wizard immediately started school that same year. Each book took place during a separate year during Harry’ schooling at Hogwarts meaning the entire series took place through the decade of the ’90s.

• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Release date: Apr 15, 2022

How To Watch The Harry Potter Movies In Chronological Order

Want to know how to watch the Harry Potter movies in chronological order, as well as the Fantastic Beasts prequel series? Allow us to steer you in the right direction.

There are eight Harry Potter films, and two instalments in the Fantastic Beasts to date the third instalment of that series, called The Secrets of Dumbledore, will be released in April 2022, and is set some time between 1927 and 1945.

Warner Bros. is planning to release five Fantastic Beasts saga movies. So, assuming The Secrets of Dumbledore performs well at the box office, therell be another two instalments after that. We know that the series will end with a duel between Albus Dumbledore and former BFF-turned-nemesis Gellert Grindelwald in 1945, but everything in between is currently a mystery.

To keep things simple in the list below, then, we decided to just include everything Harry Potter-related that it’s possible to watch right now including the popular stage play, The Cursed Child.

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

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Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is named after a Hogwarts textbook of the same title, authored by Newt Scamander, who is the protagonist of the Fantastic Beasts films. The films are a prequel to the Harry Potter series, in that they carry many of the Wizarding World themes but in a different story arc. In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Newt Scamander arrives in New York in 1926 on magizoologist business but is drawn into a magical plot.

Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter is an orphaned boy brought up by his unkind Muggle aunt and uncle. At the age of eleven, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid informs him that he is actually a wizard and that his parents were murdered by an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort. Voldemort also attempted to kill one-year-old Harry on the same night, but his killing curse mysteriously rebounded and reduced him to a weak and helpless form. Harry became extremely famous in the Wizarding World as a result. Harry begins his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and learns about magic. During the year, Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger become entangled in the mystery of the Philosopher’s Stone which is being kept within the school.

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Harry Potter And The Cursed Child

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2017 Albus and Scorpius are sorted into Slytherin whilst Rose, as expected, finds herself in Gryffindor. Harry is now the Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, Hermione is Minister for Magic, and Ron manages Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley.

Albus forms an unexpected friendship with Scorpius, while his relationship with his father Harry takes a turn for the worse.

Albus and Scorpius steal a Time Turner with Delphi Diggory to save Cedric Diggory after he won the Triwizard Tournament an event that takes place in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

2020: Albus and Scorpius use a time turner to travel back to 1994 and prevent Cedric Diggory from completing the first round of the Triwizard Tournament. When they return, they realise they’ve created an alternate timeline in which Ron and Hermione never married and thus Rose doesn’t exist. Albus has been sorted in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin.

Albus and Scorpius return to the past again to stop Cedric completing the second task, and return to find Scorpius is now alone because in their alternate timeline, Voldemort killed Harry and won the Battle of Hogwarts .

In this alternate timeline, Cedric became a Death Eater who eventually killed Neville Longbottom, therefore Neville never killed Nagini, Voldemorts final Horcrux. Dolores Umbridge is headmistress, and Snape is still alive.

They return to 2020, as it was at the beginning of The Cursed Child.

Harry & Ron Pass The Wrong Tower

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry & Ron are prevented from entering Platform 9 3/4 by Dobby, so they decide to use the magic Ford Anglia to fly to Hogwarts. The invisibility spell that protects the Ford Anglia is faulty, which means that several Muggles spot the car as they fly past. When the boys arrive at Hogwarts, they are told that they were seen flying past the Post Office Tower.

The problem with this line is that the Post Office Tower had its name changed to the BT Tower in 1984. The BT Tower is also south of Kings Cross station, which means that Harry and Ron would have been flying in the opposite direction.

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Magical Abilities And Skills

Harry’s corporeal stag Patronus

“Harry…. is becoming exceptionally good at Defence Against the Dark Arts. So that’s the one area in which, almost instinctively, he is particularly talented. Apart from Quidditch.”

J. K. Rowling regarding Harry’s magical talents

Harry was seen and had proven himself to be an extremely powerful and talented wizard. His power was evident from the start: he demonstrated immediate command of a broomstick, was able to conjure a corporeal Patronus at an exceptionally young age , and even survived numerous encounters with Lord Voldemort. He mastered a wand made of hawthorn, which one should only ever consider placing in the hands of a witch or wizard of proven talent. Harry was also a very gifted flyer and Quidditch player, the youngest Seeker in a century.

“Harry, you’re the best in the year at Defence Against the Dark Arts.”

J. K. Rowling regarding Harry’s time as an Auror

Credence Barebone Is Born

Credence was likely born in 1901, since he looked similar enough to Corvus Jr. for neither Irma nor his aunt to notice they had a different baby than the one they got on the ship with.

The ship lurches again. IRMA snatches BABY CREDENCE, not noticing the switch amid the confusion.– Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

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