Who is the oldest character in Harry Potter?

Question

Most of the characters are just children, but other characters are quite old.

Who is the oldest character (of any race) in the saga? He/she/it must be alive, at any moment of the saga.

Answer 1

The Grey Lady, The Bloody Baron or the Basilisk

The Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron may not be alive for the duration of the books but they do certainly qualify as characters. As ghosts they were extant throughout the series. We're not given their exact dates of birth. However, the Grey Lady was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, who was one of the Hogwarts founders.

“When I lived,” she said stiffly, “I was Helena Ravenclaw.”
“You’re her daughter? But then, you must know what happened to it!”
_{(Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31, The Battle of Hogwarts).}

Since Hogwarts was founded at least 1,000 years before the events of Chamber of Secrets that makes her roughly one millennium old (though we do not know whether or not she was born when Hogwarts was founded).

“You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age."
_{(Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9, The Writing on the Wall).}

The Bloody Baron was also alive in this time period.

"The Baron was always a hot-tempered man. Furious at my refusal, jealous of my freedom, he stabbed me.”
“The Baron? You mean-?”
“The Bloody Baron, yes,” said the Gray Lady, and she lifted aside the cloak she wore to reveal a single dark wound in her white chest.
_{(Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31, The Battle of Hogwarts).}

It's not really a character so I suppose it doesn't count but it's worth noting in passing that the Basilisk was also born at some point relatively soon after the founding of Hogwarts, since it was put in the Chamber of Secrets by Salazar Slytherin. This makes it the oldest organic being in the Harry Potter universe.

“Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic.”
_{(Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 9, The Writing on the Wall).}

Honourable mentions:

• Nicolas Flamel (665+)
• Perenelle Flamel (658+)
• Nearly-Headless Nick (505 during Deathly Hallows)
• Albus Dumbledore (116, according to his Pottermore factfile)
• Elphias Doge (116+)
• Gellert Grindelwald (116 during Deathly Hallows)
• Aberforth Dumbledore (114 during Deathly Hallows)
• Griselda Marchbanks (at least a generation older than the Dumbledore brothers since she invigilated Albus during his N.E.W.T. examinations)
• Muriel Weasley (107 during Deathly Hallows)
• Bathilda Bagshot (at least a generation older than Muriel since she was friends with her Mum)
• The Sorting Hat (c1000 but, again, I'm not sure it counts as a character)

Some of the very powerful beasts and beings may also be quite old. Dementors, Giants, Dragons and other such creatures may have very long lifespans but we're not given any details on how long they live.

Answer 2

In the books, the oldest character at the time of their death is Nicolas Flamel

Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight)

Though we have no way of knowing when that book was written, and by extension how old it really is, even if it was brand new, Flamel would have been born no later than 1327. Rowling has also stated on her website that Nicolas Flamel had died by the start of Book 6, set in the year 1996. This means that it's possible for him to have lived until he was at least 669, and his wife, 662, before they ran out of elixir and died.

The oldest character in the movies is a wizard by the name of Barry Winkle

In the Philosopher's Stone movie, the newspapers obviously had to be covered in stories, unlike the books, which could just mention the important ones being read by main characters. One such story was

Barry Wee Willie Winkle celebrates his 755th birthday in style tonight by throwing a huge party for all the wizards and witches he has ever known. 30 million are expected to attend tonight.

This story was published in The Daily Prophet in August 1991. It is unknown if and when he died. It's possible that he's still alive even today, making him 781. The name Barry Winkle is likely a reference to Wee Willie Winkle, the boy who refused to sleep.

It is unknown how Barry reached such an age, given that the only reason Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel reached their respective ages was because of the elixir of life.

If you include ghosts, the oldest character is likely Helena Ravenclaw or the Bloody Baron, with The Fat Friar being another good contender.

These characters were around since before Hogwarts was founded, each born "no earlier than 982", which would make them older than both Flamel or Winkle.

The story of Helena ends with her dying at the hands of the Baron in Albania, before he killed himself, at which point the two returned to Hogwarts as ghosts, becoming mascots for Ravenclaw and Slytherin houses. Without knowing exactly when either of them were born, we can't say which of the two was older.

As for the Friar, not much is known about his life, and we don't have an exact birth date for him, either. As such, he could be older or younger than Helena or the Baron.

Answer 3

The oldest living creature we know of is Slytherin's basilisk, which was born during the early days of Hogwarts (making her ~1000 years old).

A possible contender for oldest living creature is Fawkes the phoenix. We only know for sure that he's at least 80 years old (and it's perhaps unlikely that he would be tamed for the first time at an advanced age), but since phoenixes can be reborn any number of times, it is entirely possible that Fawkes has been alive since well before the founding of Hogwarts.

Answer 4

I do not know if it qualifies, but apart from the characters mentioned by others, Peeves is one the eldest. He came with the Hogwarts (c.a. 990). Poltergeists are classified as "Non-Human Spiritous Apparitions", so it's up to you to decide if he meets the requirements.

What is more, we may safely assume that after some time he will be one of the eldest creatures which are not dead, as it's very hard to kill him (if not impossible).

From the Anelli, Melissa and Emerson Spartz. "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two," The Leaky Cauldron, 16 July 2005 (emphasis mine):

ES: Why does Dumbledore allow Peeves to stay in the castle?

JKR: Can't get him out.

ES: He's Dumbledore, he can do anything!

JKR: No, no no no no. Peeves is like dry rot. You can try and eradicate it. It comes with the building. You’re stuck. If you've got Peeves you're stuck.

Although he's probably younger than ghosts mentioned by others, he's definitely older than the Basilisk, as the Basilisk was born in the Chamber of Secrets (as told by Aragog, but my only source is wiki).

Answer 5

The oldest character currently alive is Newt Scamander

Newt was born in 1897

Newton ("Newt") Artemis Fido Scamander was born in 1897. His interests in fabulous beasts was encouraged by his mother, a who was an enthusiastic breeder of fancy Hippogriffs.
_{Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - About the Author}

Newt is still alive as of 2017, and anticipates being alive for the release of the next few movies.

I am not yet in a position to tell the full story of my activities during the two decades that Gellert Grindelwald terrorised the wizarding world. As more documents become declassified over the coming years, I will be freer to speak openly about my role in that dark period in our history.
_{Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Foreword by the Author (2017 edition)}

This would make him 120 years old, which is older than any other character currently alive in Rowling's world.

Answer 6

Professor Marchbanks

At least one year older than Albus Dumbledore and probably a good twenty years older.

She was Harry's invigilator during his Theory of Charms exam in Order of the Phoenix.

I should know… examined [Dumbledore] personally in Transfiguration and Charms when he did his NEWTs… did things with a wand I’d never seen before.

~ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

If she's old enough to be alive now and examined Dumbledore personally...

Answer 7

Dementors are sentient and amortal and probably as old as magic itself. Along with Boggarts and Poltergeists, they are the oldest creatures in the Harry Potter universe.