As fans travel back to a time before the central movies take place in Hogwarts Legacy, unfortunately having to wait until 2023 to do so. Still, fans will be hoping to do a lot in the game, not least of all, meet a host of fascinating characters. Players may even get to encounter some of the oldest known characters in Harry Potter lore, with some of the oldest alive at the time.
There are a great many being in the Harry Potter lore who live to great ages but even ignoring creatures like the Basilisk and Fawkes, there are plain old magical humans who live to be centuries old.
Stoddard Withers: 126–127 Years Old
Many of the Wizarding World’s oldest Witches and Wizards are people who will not be known to solely movie watchers or even book readers, being obscure characters from the lore, such as Lord Stoddard Withers.
Born in 1642 before dying sometime in 1769, Withers was a Magizoologist who can be found on a famous wizard card in both the video games of The Philosopher’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets. Little is known about Withers, but he did create a sport combining Quidditch and polo, played on winged Horses, but it ironically never took off.
Minerva McGonagall: 127+ Years Old
For all the jokes and comments surrounding the age of Albus Dumbledore, once thought to be 150 years old, he was actually surpassed in age by Professor McGongall, who lived at least twelve years longer than the arguably villainous Headmaster.
Since she was born no later than 1893 and is alive at the time of The Cursed Child, so current day, fans know that McGonagall is at least 127 years old, likely living to be much older. Fans will love knowing this as imagining a Wizarding World without the famous Hogwarts Headmistress just does not seem right and would be a heartbreaking reality to face.
Griselda Marchbanks: 132+ Years Old
With there being such little information out there about Griselda Marchbanks, all that can be deduced about her age is the fact that she was born at some point in the 1870s and was still alive in 2012, making her at least 132 years old.
Marchbanks was one of the many smaller book characters not in the movies, although she is name-dropped in the Daily Prophet in The Order Of The Phoenix. Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority and a Wizengamot elder, Marchbanks took her role seriously and had the honor of personally examining not just Harry Potter and his friends but Albus Dumbledore as a student too.
Musidora Barkwith: 145–146 Years Old
Known only for her appearances on famous Wizard cards in the video game counterparts of the first two Harry Potter entries, Musidora Barkwith is a deep cut for even the most hardcore Potterheads.
Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about the composer outside of her age is the fact that her work, the Wizarding Suite, featured an exploding Tuba that blew the roof of the Town Hall of Ackerley and the work was subsequently banned in 1902.
Faris Spavin: 147+ Years Old
The position of Minister for Magic seems like a taxing role that would take time off any Witch or Wizard’s life. That did not happen with Faris Spavin, who was elected at 109 years old and served six terms up to 1903.
It is actually unknown when Spavin died, just that he was born in either 1755 or 1756 and that he left the position of Minister for Magic in 1903, making him at least 147 years old but likely older. Known as Sprout-Hole, Spavin’s reign as Minister for Magic was actually hugely important, as he introduced the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery by which underage Witches and Wizards could not use magic outside of school. He is also the longest-serving Minister to date at thirty-eight years.
The Trolley Witch: 190+ Years Old
The Trolley Witch who offers food and Honeydukes goodies to the passengers of the Hogwarts express may not have a known name, but she is known to be at the very least 190 years old, being born before 1830 and living through to 2020.
It was in 1830 that she was hired to join the small team aboard the Hogwarts Express, meaning she likely has surpassed two centuries in lifespan, being another character present in The Cursed Child. Since they are different actors, it is possible that the two Trolley Witches seen in the Potter movies are different people, but the story seems to be that of one single magical person.
Armando Dippet: 355 Years Old
Even if fans are not familiar with the name Armando Dippet, they are likely familiar with his likeness, residing in a painting on the Hogwarts walls as well as in a flashback during The Chamber of Secrets. He is in most movies and mentioned in the books also, being a former Hogwarts Headmaster.
Being born in October 1637 and living until between September and December 1992, Dippet definitively lived until the ripe age of 355. During his tenure, Dippet was one of many manipulated by Tom Riddle but was ironically distrusting of most of his employees, with one exception being the Transfiguration Professor, Albus Dumbledore, who succeeded him as Hogwarts Headmaster.
Perenelle Flamel: 658+ Years Old
The Flamel name is one well known to Potterheads, but more so for Nicolas rather than Perenelle, the third-oldest known non-creature character in Harry Potter and wife of the aforementioned Nicolas.
A French Witch who attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Perenelle was a Philosopher and Alchemist who used the Elixir of Life to live to be at least 658 years old. Perenelle’s birthday sits at some point pre-1334, while her death is placed between 1992 and 1996, meaning that she could be pushing to the 670s.
Nicolas Flamel: 665–696 Years Old
It is easy to assume that, given his importance in the first entry to the Potter franchise – which still holds up twenty years on – Nicolas Flamel is the oldest Harry Potter character. While he only holds the silver medal in that regard, he still reaches an impressive age.
Flamel is best known as the creator of the Philosopher’s Stone, which helped produce the Elixir of Life, which prolonged his and his wife’s age to beyond six centuries, something that throws up some interesting moral and philosophical discourse. A legendary Alchemist, a friend of Albus Dumbledore, and someone crucial to the history of the Wizarding World. Still, despite his interference, he is only the second-oldest magical human in Harry Potter.
Barry Winkel: 755+ Years Old
Barry Winkel far surpasses any other known Harry Potter character who is not some sort of creature, and as noted in The Philosopher’s Stone, lived to be 755 at least.
Born on August 14th, 1236, it was noted in the Daily Prophet as seen in The Philosopher’s Stone that Winkel, born Barry Wee Willie Winkle, held a party attended by millions of Witches and Wizards who he had met over his seven century life. Nothing is known of Winkel beyond this, not his death, and not how he managed to live to this age, which simply seems impossible through natural living. He may well have had his own Philosopher’s Stone, or used a Horcrux. Who would have thought Lord Voldemort himself would be jealous of Wee Willie Winkel.
