How Is It Actually "19 Years Later"? Here's Your Official 'Harry Potter' Timeline
Maybe you've heard by now that September 1, 2017, is a fairly important date in the Harry Potter fandom. Why? Because that day (AKA today) is the day a 37-year-old Harry Potter brought his 11-year-old son to King's Cross Station to board the Hogwarts Express. In other words, today is the day that the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows epilogue takes place, "19 years later." But hold on — didn't Deathly Hallows come out in 2007? When all the events take place, again? It can get a little confusing, so for your convenience, here's a timeline of 'Harry Potter' events based on important dates in the 'Potter' universe.
(Note: I only included events that have an exact date. There are many important years in here that I skipped, because we don't have a specific day for the event.)
June 13, 1943 — Tom Riddle frames Hagrid for unleashing Basilisk on Hogwarts.
We know this date thanks to the diary/Horcrux Harry reads in Chamber of Secrets.
July 31, 1980 — Harry Potter is born.
Nearly 40 years after Hagrid was expelled, Harry was born on July 31, 1980. That means the Boy Who Lived turned 37 years old in 2017. They grow up so fast!
October 31, 1981 — Voldemort kills Harry's parents.
When Harry was just 1 year old, Voldemort showed up at the Potter's door on the night of Halloween in Godric's Hollow. Lily Potter died saving her son, ending the First Wizarding War and intertwining Voldemort and Harry's fates forever. This date was confirmed by the date Harry sees on his parents' gravestones in Deathly Hallows.
July 31, 1991 — Harry learns he's a wizard, Harry.
On his 11th birthday, Harry gets a visit from the half-giant Hagrid, who tells him all about magic, Hogwarts, and how his parents really died.
September 1, 1991 — Harry boards the Hogwarts Express for the first time.
You know this date already — the train leaves from Platform 9 and 3/4 at 11 a.m. sharp on September 1!
May 2, 1998 — The Battle of Hogwarts takes place.
I'll fast-forward seven years to the next important date for our timeline, since I assume you can place the rest based on Harry's Year at Hogwarts. But the 7th book dates are tricky, since the trio isn't at school. So you should know that the Battle of Hogwarts (and the deaths of Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Lavender Brown, Colin Creevey, Severus Snape, and many more, RIP) took place on May 2, 1998. Because it is this date from which we get the next important date, "19 years later..."
September 1, 2017 — Harry and Ginny drop off their children at King's Cross Station.
Here we are, today, on the date that the Deathly Hallow epilogue takes place. (This is also the date of the opening scene in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but we shan't speak of that.)
Hundreds of fans flocked to the real-life King's Cross Station in London today, counting down the seconds to the departure of the Hogwarts Express, on which sat 11-year-old Albus Severus Potter.
So now you know how today fits into the grand scheme of Harry Potter's life. Even if you missed the Hogwarts Express today, you can take comfort knowing out there in the Wizarding World, little Albus Severus Potter is getting ready to royally screw things up with a Time-Turner. And so the magic lives on.
