1 September 2017 is the day the action of the Harry Potter saga officially comes to an end. Yes, officially, for today is the exact date when Albus Severus Potter, Harry and Ginny’s middle child, boards the Hogwarts Platform for the first time, feeling every bit as nervous as his father had been 26 years ago.
#BackToHogwarts
While Potterheads celebrate 1 September each year as #BackToHogwarts Day – the first of September is the day the summer holidays end for Hogwarts students – the year 2017 hold special significance. “19 years later,” the prologue to the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, happens 19 years after Harry defeats Voldemort in one of the greatest battles ever fought in the wizarding world. The battle ends on 2 May 1998 with Voldemort’s death, which would make the final day of both the book and movie universes as – yes, that’s right – 1 September 2017.
Here’s a list of important dates to help clear your confusion.
31 July 1980 - Harry Potter is born to Lily and James Potter.
31 October 1981 - Voldemort murders Harry’s parents at their home in Godric’s Hollow
31 July 1991 - Harry turns eleven, the age at which witches and wizards are expected to enter Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts gamekeeper, informs him about the same.
1 September 1991 - Harry boards the Hogwarts Express for the first time
24 June 1995 - Voldemort is resurrected on the day of the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament by Peter Pettigrew, or Wormtail
18 June 1996 - Sirius Black killed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts
30 June 1997 - Dumbledore killed by Snape; the Hogwarts Headmaster had slowly been revealing to Harry methods of defeating Voldemort
2 May 1998 - The day Voldemort was vanquished and the Battle of Hogwarts came to an end
1 September 2017 - The series does a time-skip after Voldemort’s death and brings the reader to the present day, which is, today, quite literally the present day.
What did you do this September the First? Let us know in the comments!
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