The dates aren't matching! [Black Family]

[A.H.]

So I've been making notes and trees for myself for the Black family. I've been mapping out the relations of everyone and yadda yadda so I don't make a canon slip-up in a fic. Just as I'm patting myself on the back for actually doing a bit of homework (I'm a lazy FF writer xP) I realize that two sources ARE NOT MATCHING and they're from the same site! (The HP Wiki)

So Link Removed tree says that Lucretia Black (Orion's sister) was born in 1915 and died in 1982. BUT the article, with a picture from the movie's tree beside it with corresponding dates, says that Lucretia was born in 1925 and died in 1992, a ten-year difference.

I've (grudgingly >.<) re-checked all of the dates (and I've gone all the way back to Phineas, which was about fifteen people's b-days and d-days to double-check >.> >.< <.<) and there are no other dates that aren't corresponding. Does anyone know where the above-linked family tree came from? Is it actually Jo's, or was it fan-made? Does it really matter if I make Lucretia ten years older or ten years younger?

Terri edit: Please do not post links to outside pages on the forums. They are against the posting rules. Thank you

[OliveOil_Med]

It has long been a well-known fact that the way J.K. designed the Black Family Tree. According to it, Belltrix's father was only fifteen when she was born.

My advice would be to just work with the errors as best you can. The Blacks are often the only place where non-canon information is considered okay.

[Inverarity]

Obviously, wizards fail at geneology.

Although it's not impossible for a fifteen-year-old to be a father. It would explain a lot about how that family came to be so messed up.

[Tim the Enchanter]

Personally, I say just go with whatever you think sounds best. Fanfic writers have been writing around Rowling's mathematical errors for some time.

Tim the Enchanter

[mudbloodproud]

On Lexicon, there is a family tree that comes from JK. Now, it lists her DOB as 1925.

On a side note, she lists Cygnus as 1929 and Bella as 1951. So he was 22 when she was born, not 15.

Also, on the tree you provided, there are a few other errors. Sirius was born in either late 1959 or early 1960 which is based off James birthday. Regulus was a year younger, so he was born in late 1960 or early 1961. If you consider Sirius started Hogwarts in 1971 and Regulus in 1972, then you can see the dates clearer.

Also, on the tree you provided, there have marked the possibility of Charlus Potter being James Potter's father. From what JK herself has said, this isn't possible as James parents were "elderly" even by wizarding standards when they had him. Dorea Potter died at age 57. This wouldn't be considered elderly.

My advice would be to use the tree on Lexicon. If you click on the page for wizards, there is a link directly to the tree.

Hope this helps and I admire the time and effort you are putting into your story to keep it correct with canon.

[A.H.]

Holy cow, Terri! I've been going by various sources for a while now and I've been under the uninformed impression that Regulus was FOUR years younger than Sirius! HOW in the world have I not run across the Lexicon's tree! How! And how can so many sources be so completely, utterly, and horribly wrong!

-flail-

Wow. Well, I guess I really shouldn't trust a source that is editable by different users with varying degrees of canon-knowledge. Stupid people . . . >.>

Anyhow, thank ya'll. I suppose that considering the myriad of errors that have been pointed out, no one would begrudge the story if someone was older/younger than they should have been. (Really, I didn't know that this family was on the list of things-Jo-messed-up.)

[mudbloodproud]

Yes, Sirius and Regulus are only a year apart. Though there are things on Lexicon that are off, this is the tree that JK wrote. So, for the most part, it should be seen as correct.

We all know she has made errors in her calculations and even changed some things along the line... coughDumbledore'sagecough... but, this tree seems to be the most correct with what we know from the books.

I would go with the dates listed on the tree on Lexicon.

hmmm, I think my canon correctness, just can't let the other tree go the way it is. I think perhaps, I should be one of those who go in and edit it. hehehehe

[luinrina]

Another mathematical error is with Sirius' grandfather and his mother. According to the tree on the lexicon, Pollux was only 13 when he had Walburga.

[Raffles]

I'm not sure if I can post this here (*hopes she can*) but I have a similar problem. Well, I am planning on writing a fiction on the lives of the Weird Sisters but as I was doing my research and creating my timeline for their lives, I realized that the youngest of them (Merton Graves) is actually one year younger than Hermione Granger. Also the oldest (Wyron Wagtail) is Bill Weasley's age. I'm not quite sure what to do with this, as it's quite impossible for them to have visited Hogwarts at those times.

~Raffles

[Inverarity]

I'm not sure if I can post this here (*hopes she can*) but I have a similar problem. Well, I am planning on writing a fiction on the lives of the Weird Sisters but as I was doing my research and creating my timeline for their lives, I realized that the youngest of them (Merton Graves) is actually one year younger than Hermione Granger. Also the oldest (Wyron Wagtail) is Bill Weasley's age. I'm not quite sure what to do with this, as it's quite impossible for them to have visited Hogwarts at those times.

Why? There are lots of entertainer families with children who are quite a few years apart. As for Merton being younger than Hermione -- remember that not all wizarding children go to Hogwarts. Maybe she's privately tutored, as many child stars are.

[Karaley Dargen]

Why? There are lots of entertainer families with children who are quite a few years apart. As for Merton being younger than Hermione -- remember that not all wizarding children go to Hogwarts. Maybe she's privately tutored, as many child stars are.

The problem I see with that is that they are supposed to be some super cool rock band (I always imagined them to look like wizarding Kiss) and that they (if I'm not mistaken) played at the Yule Ball – so one of them would have been 13 or 14 then. Yeah I bet all the 17 year old girls were lying at his feet!

But apart from that it's a good explanation. Sort of Jackson- or Kelly-family-like. Maybe even a casted band... Look at all the teen pop stars nowadays. But still, they aren't a rock band that everyone in the (wizarding) world listens to!