Okay as L/J stories can require a lot of research as we don't always know of the top of our heads the years people started and left Hogwarts and who was there when I thought it would be good to make a research thread.

Anyway basically you can post any good links that you think may be good, as well as anything you have discovered from the books or anything like that.

Anyway here is a list of those which were previously mentioned in the discussion thread (This thread was originally in the round robbin section).

HP Generator
Time Lines

Okay I think they were the only two from the discussion thread.

Gems

Hi. I'm new here, and so I guess I shouldn’t just jump into things, but that's the way I am. I was browsing through posts (I mean OLD posts) and saw a few questions that hadn't been answered in their threads. I really didn't want to necropost (is that word used here? If it isn't, it means bringing old posts back from the dead) because I couldn't find any rules against it, but couldn’t find any permitting it either. So I decided to make a new thread, and while I was at it, I might as well list all I know about James and Lily Potter. Then, I figured, as long as I’m doing that, I might as well add a few things about the marauders. (Side Note, written about 4 months later: Then, I went slightly mad, went overboard and created this as my second ever post.)

All my information comes from the Harry Potter Lexicon. They help a lot when trying to get your facts straight on the HP universe. They always cite, too, so you can double check their information.

I think I'll list things in a Q/A format of sorts.


1) What house was James/Lily/Remus/Sirius/Peter/Snape/other character in when they were at Hogwarts?

( a ) James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin were all in Gryffindor. JK answered this in an interview:

"Sirius Riddle: What houses were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Remus Lupin in? Everyone tells me they were all Gryffindor, but I won't believe it unless I hear it from Ms. Rowling herself!
JK Rowling says: This is JK herself saying that they were indeed in Gryffindor! "

Side note: I’m sure the original questioner wanted to say Peter Pettigrew, but messed up, and wrote Remus Lupin twice. Because of this, I can't say for sure whether or not Peter was in Gryffindor, but it seems rather likely.

( b ) Lily Evans Potter was in Gryffindor. JK also answered this in a pre-Order of the Phoenix interview:

"Q: Which house was Lily Potter in, and what is her maiden name?
J.K.: Her maiden name was Evans, and she was in Gryffindor (naturally). "

( c ) As mentioned in (a), Peter Pettigrew’s house is not concretely known, but it is widely assumed that he was in Gryffindor as well.

( d ) Snape-- J.K. has now confirmed that, yes, Severus Snape WAS in Slytherin. now this is the one that REALLY bugs me. Try as I might (and try I did--I even looked through the Pensieve and confrontation-with-Sirius-and-Remus sequence in OotP) Nowhere (that I can find) does it say that Severus Snape was in Slytherin during his years as a Hogwarts student. I mean, you'd think it'd say it somewhere, but, to my knowledge (which, granted, is not all-encompassing), it doesn't. I'd say it's most definitely safe to assume that Snape was in Slytherin, seeing as he's head of house. Still, it bugs me that it doesn't say it anywhere... maybe it's just me. (Side note: assuming that I'm not mistaken, and it really doesn't say it anywhere, that could be a unique premise for a story... provided you didn't mind being flamed to hell by people insisting that Snape was in Slytherin, and saying otherwise was nothing short of heresy, punishable by death by means of...but now I'm getting carried away)(Updated 10/19/04)


2) Who were the teachers during the time that Lily, James and Co. went to Hogwarts (herein referred to as the Marauder Years)?

( a ) Flitwick: Charms. He was in the Pensieve memory in OotP, Chp. 28.

( b ) Kettleburn: Care of Magical Creatures. It is announced that Hagrid will be taking over for Professor Kettleburn in CoS, as Kettleburn would like to live out the rest of his life with his remaining limbs.

( c ) Rubeus Hagrid: Keeper of the Keys and Grounds. He was NOT in the same class as James, Lily, and Co. He was given this job 28 years before Harry’s parents entered Hogwarts. For more explanation, go to the Harry Potter Lexicon, because they explain it a heck of a lot better than I do.

( d ) Albus Dumbledore: Headmaster. He was Transfiguration teacher up until a few years before Harry’s parents entered Hogwarts. The source of this info is listed in this timeline .

( e ) Professor Binns: History of Magic. This, though never explicitly stated, is a safe assumption to make. He died of old age in the staff room, and unless he started teaching at Hogwarts at age 150, there’s no way that he couldn’t have been there during Harry’s parents’ years at Hogwarts. (Side Note: Albus Dumbledore’s age was said by Rowling to be 150, and McGonagall to be 70. Therefore, I must conclude that Wizards live longer than Muggles.)

And finally, a few resounding NOs to teacher speculations.

( f ) Snape was NOT the Potions Professor. (I know this seems obvious, but I’ve seen some fanfics list him as such)

( g ) Trelawney was NOT the divination teacher. She was not hired until about a year or two before James and Lily died. (see spring 1980 (possibly fall/winter 1979) .)


3) Who were the other students during the time that Lily, James and Co. went to Hogwarts(which shall still be referred to as the Marauder Years)?

Let’s organize this by listing people who were students, then the people who weren’t.


People who were students during the Marauder Years

( a ) The obvious: James Potter, Lily Evans (Potter), Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape.

( b ) Lucius Malfoy-- though Lucius was NOT in the same year as the rest of them. He graduated from Hogwarts a year after the Marauder bunch arrived. Therefore, he was a 7th year while they were ickle firsties. (Slytherin)


( d ) Misc People: Davey Gudgeon, who almost lost an eye to the Whomping Willow (house unknown); Bertha Jorkins, who was two years ahead of Sirius (house unknown) ; Avery, who became a Death Eater (Slytherin); Radolphus Lestrange, who became a Death Eater (Slytherin); Rastaban Lestrange, (Slytherin); Evan Rosier, who became a Death Eater (Slytherin); Wilkes, who became a Death Eater (Slytherin); Sturgis Podmore (House unknown, 4 years ahead of MWPP).


People who weren’t students during the Marauder Years

( a ) Hagrid – He went to school about 28 years before the Marauder Years. During the Marauder Years, he was the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds. (Gryffindor)

( b ) Voldemort aka Tom Marvolo Riddle(Slytherin); Moaning Myrtle (house unknown); Olive Hornby (the last one who teased Myrtle before she died)(house unknown) -- Same time period as Hagrid.

( c ) Arthur and Molly Weasley -- Went to Hogwarts before Hagrid, Tom, and Myrtle, or graduated one year before the incident where Hagrid was put in the Groundskeeper position. Ogg was the Groundskeeper when they were at Hogwarts, and Apollyon Pringle (Yes, Pringle) was the Filch of their time. All of this information is in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. (Both were Gryffindors) (Side note: It’s interesting to note that if one applies the official timeline of the HP universe to real life, both Weasley parents were born in the Roaring 1920’s and attended Hogwarts sometime in the 1930’s. This would mean that they went through the aftermath of WWI and WWII, and the rationing that went along with it. This could explain the Weasley’s frugality and sense of happiness. But now I’m going off on a tangent, so I’ll stop.)

(d) Nymphadora Tonks-- No. She was 3 or 4 when the Marauder Bunch graduated. There’s no Hogwarts preschool, so therefore, she wasn’t at Hogwarts. (House Unknown)

( c ) Bill Weasley: He started Hogwarts the year after James and Lily died and Harry lived.


People who might have been students during the Marauder Years

( a ) Frank and Alice Longbottom -- This is quite possible, given that Neville is Harry’s age. That doesn’t prove that they were students during the marauder years, though: Ron is Harry’s age, but his parents are considerably older. However, they were fighting Voldemort possibly before the Potters, so I would assume they would be in 6th or 7th year while the Potters were in 1st. (then again, all of this is my personal speculation) (House Unknown)

( b ) Narcissa Malfoy -- The HP lexicon says that she was a year under Lucius, but lists no source. That’s why this is under the “might have been” section. Though, I tend to trust the Lexicon. To my personal knowledge, though, there is nothing to prove this right or wrong. But, again, it’s quite plausible. (House Unknown)

( c ) Regulus Black (Sirius's Younger Brother)-- Incredibly likely, but, again, not provable. (House Unknown)

( d ) Bellatrix Black -- Possible. Not provable. We do know that her sister, Andromeda (Tonks) Black had a daughter by the like the marauder bunch was in their 3rd or 4th year, so it’s likely that, like Lucius, she was on the older side of the school-years spectrum during the marauder years, if she was there at all. (Slytherin)

( e ) Mr. and Mrs. Amos Diggory -- If they were there at all, they were older students who graduated at some point. Cedric was born when the marauders were in their 6th or 7th year. (House Unknown)

( f ) Andromeda (Black) Tonks and Ted Tonks -- Same situation as the Diggorys, pretty much. Andromeda had a kid (Nymphadora Tonks) when MWPP were in 4th or 5th year. (Andromeda: House unknown; Ted: Not Slytherin[he's a muggleborn])


3) What were the physical appearances of James/Lily/Remus/Sirius/Peter/Snape?

Side note: Some, if not most, of these descriptions are taken directly from the Harry Potter Lexicon.

James Potter : Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Black, untidy, sticks up at the back
Build: tall and thin
Distinguishing Characteristics: wears glasses, has a thin face.

Lily Evans (Potter) : Eyes: brilliant green and almond-shaped, like those of her only son
Hair: dark red, long and thick
Distinguishing Characteristics: very pretty

Peter Pettigrew : Eyes: ? (PoA: small and watery, so blue is a good guess)
Hair: most likely blonde, because when it he was transformed from a rat back into a human in PoA, it was “colorless.”
Distinguishing Characteristics: Madame Rosemerta said he was “that fat little boy who was always tagging after [James, Sirius, and Lupin] at Hogwarts.”; easily influenced/impressed.

Sirius Black : Eyes: grey (JKR) (his eyes are described as "fathomless", PoA, Chp 19)
Hair: Black, wears it long-ish
Build: tall and thin
Distinguishing Characteristics: very good looking; “achieves a casual elegance without even trying”

Severus Snape : Eyes: black
Hair: oily, long, black
Build: round-shouldered yet angular
Distinguishing Characteristics: walked in a twitch manner that recalled a spider; skinny, pallid legs; long, hooked nose, scowl;

Remus John Lupin: Eyes: ?
Hair: light brown
Build: ?
Distinguishing Characteristics: suffers from lycanthropy (i.e., he's a werewolf); consequently often looks “pale and peaky” as the full moon approaches; Half-blood wizard (i.e. 1 muggle parent or grandparent)


4) What did the Marauder bunch (plus Lily and Snape) call each other?

I’m taking this all from the Pensieve in Chp. 28 (Snape’s Worst Memory) in OotP. Therefore, this will not be complete. It is just a snapshot of a much longer span of time, and therefore, it isn’t the know-all, end-all of nicknames.

Sirius: Calls his friends by their nicknames (Moony, Wormtail, Prongs)
Calls Snape Snivellus

James: Calls his friends by their nicknames (Moony, Wormtail, Prongs)
Calls Snape “Snivellus”, sometimes Snivelly on second reference, if he feels like being particularly degrading.
Calls Lily “Evans”

Lupin: Doesn’t refer to people by name in the Pensieve memory, so it’s all up in the air.

Wormtail: Doesn’t refer to people by name in the Pensieve memory, so it’s all up in the air.

Lily: Calls James “Potter”
When insulted by Snape, calls him “Snivellus” as well.

Snape: Doesn’t refer to people by name in the Pensieve memory, so it’s all up in the air.


5) Specific Character Info
This is the category where you find out stuff like what wand a character had, their accomplishments, their background, and any other interesting facts. It will be partitioned into categories for each character, with sub-categories (At Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Family, Possesions, Other). Information may be repeated.

Also, this category was not completely done by me. The only part done by me is James Potter's section. The rest were done by the following people: Sirius Black was researched by KrisLaughs from FictionAlley; more names to come.

James Potter (put together by yours truly, Chee)

At Hogwarts
( a ) Was not a prefect
( b ) Was Head Boy
( c ) Was exceptionally bright
( d ) Was a mischief-maker
( e ) Was an Animagus at least before 5th year, possibly earlier. Rational on this one: In the Pensieve scene in OotP, MWPP refer to each other as Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. This means that at then end of 5th year, they had already learned to be Animagi, had enough time to come up with nicknames, and found out that Lupin’s a werewolf. (Though I figured this out myself, the HP Lexicon agrees with me :-D oh happy day!)

Post-Hogwarts (A lot of this information concerns Harry, but is still relevant to James. And my god, was this info difficult to hammer out! It's still a bit confusing, but it's the best I can do for now.)
( a ) He and Lily Evans married right out of Hogwarts
( b ) He was married for less than three years at the time of his death
( c ) Harry was conceived about 4 months after graduation, and born a bit more than one year after James married Lily. Side note: it has been pointed out to me that it is also a possibility that Harry was concieved sixteen months after graduation, and was born a bit more than two years after James married Lily.)
( d ) The Potters still lived un-Fidelius-ed for at least 6 months after Harry’s birth. (Side Note: again, if the above side note is true, then they lived un-Fidelius-ed for one year and three months after Harry's birth. . . the math did work before . . .)
( e ) James died a bit after Harry’s first birthday
( f ) Post-Hogwarts occupation unknown. He may not have even had an occupation.

[i]Family
( a ) He was probably an only child.
( b ) His family was apparently quite rich.
( c ) Married Lily Evans right out of Hogwarts
( d ) Had a son (Harry), and lived to see him turn one.


Notable Possessions
( a ) Wand: 11 inches mahogany, pliable, good for transfiguration
( b ) An invisibility cloak (A family heirloom)
( c ) A two-way mirror that he used to communicate with Sirius Black in detention.

Other
( a ) From what we all can tell, he was independently wealthy.
( b ) A theory from where James got his wealth (which is sadly, not mine ): The creator of the Golden Snitch lived in Godric’s Hollow. If James lived in Godric’s Hollow after he was married, perhaps that was his hometown. Perhaps one of James’s ancestors created the Golden Snitch, and all his money came from Quidditch ball sales. That would also kind of explain why he was playing with a Snitch in the Pensieve scene, when he was supposedly a Chaser.
( c ) Played quidditch for sure, but it's ambiguous whether he was a seeker or a chaser. (Personally, I'm leaning towards seeker, because JK does get to see the scripts for the movies, and she is able to (kinda) veto things in the film, so I don't think she'd let them put something so anti-canon into the film if it weren't true. She gave the interview that said James was a chaser before OotP came out, so it's quite possible that, somewhere along the line, she changed her mind. She did it with Michael Corner. In her notes, it said Michael Corner was a Hufflepuff, but then in the books, he was a Ravenclaw. But back to the point: there are good arguements for both seeker and chaser, so I'll list both.)


Lily Evans (Potter)

At Hogwarts
( a )
( b )
( c )

Post-Hogwarts
( a )
( b )
( c )

Family
( a )
( b )
( c )

Notable Possessions
( a )
( b )
( c )

Other
( a )
( b )
( c )


Sirius Black (put together by KrisLaughs from FictionAlley)

At Hogwarts Fall 1970 to Spring 1977 (based on comment on JKR.com stating he was 22 in the autumn of 1981)
( a ) Was not a prefect (“spent too much time in detention with James” OOtP ch9)
( b ) Was a troublemaker
( c ) Was a Gryffindor
( d ) Was an Animagus by fifth year (took three years to work out)
( e ) Along with James, the cleverest student in the school.
( f ) Ran away from at age sixteen (mid-fifth year through sixth year)
( g ) Was like a brother to James Potter
( h ) After running away from home spent school holidays with the Potters
( i ) Was friends with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew
( j ) Least likely to go over to “Dark” (comment by Rosmerta Ch 10, PoA)
( k ) At seventeen got a place of his own with the money left him by Uncle Alphard, but was always welcome at the Potter’s for Sunday lunch. (OOtP ch 6)
( l ) Coauthor of Marauder’s Map
( m ) nickname Padfoot (used in public as early as spring fifth year)
( n ) Told Snape to prod knot on Whomping Willow the night of a full moon. (and says, in PoA, “Served him right... sneaking around”)
( o ) Easily bored.
( p ) Never depicted acknowledging girls.
( q ) Was admired by girls

Post-Hogwarts, pre-Azkaban
( a ) Owned and loved flying motorbike
( b ) Member of the Order of the Phoenix
( c ) Presumably lived in flat purchased when seventeen
( d ) Best man at Lily and James’ wedding
( e ) Present (as godfather) at Harry’s christening
( f ) Found out what he could of younger brother’s death (1980)
( g ) No occupation/carreer noted. Sidenote: even if he were accepted into the Auror training program immediately upon graduation, he would not have become a full-fledged Auror until months before being sent to Azkaban.

Involvement in events of Halowe’en, 1981
( a ) Suggested Peter Pettigrew as decoy Secret Keeper for the Potters. Suspected Lupin of being the spy.
( b ) ~1 week later, went to check on Pettigrew who was missing with no evidence of intrusion. Suspected treachery.
( c ) Flew motorbike to Godric’s Hollow
( d ) Found ruined house, dead parents, Harry Potter, and Hagrid.
( e ) Offered to take Harry.
( f ) Gave motorbike to Hagrid
( g ) Went to find Peter
( h ) Before he could curse, Peter blew up street, transformed
( i ) Laughed when taken away.
( j ) Sent to Azkaban without trial.

Azkaban Years
( a ) When things became to difficult, he transformed into dog
( b ) One of the most heavily guarded prisoners
( c ) On Fudge’s last inspection, he sounded almost “normal”
( d ) Asked for Fudge’s paper because he “missed doing the crossword”
( e ) Recognised Peter’s rat form on front page.
( f ) Slipped out of cell when they came to leave dinner, swam to mainland, and escaped in July 1993 after twelve years in Azkaban.

Family
( a ) Mother: pure-blood maniac, died c. 1985
( b ) Father: pure-blood
( c ) Brother: Regulus Black, younger, favoured, joined DEs, murdered on Voldemort’s orders 1980, Sirius investigated death afterwards.
( d ) Grandfather: Awarded Order of Merlin, First Class, presumable for giving money to Ministry
( d ) Great great grandfather: Phineas Nigellus, Slytherin, least popular headmaster Hogwarts ever had.
( e ) Mother’s cousin: Araminta Melliflua, campaigned to legalize Muggle-hunting.
( f ) Aunt: Elladora, began tradition of beheading house elves.
( g ) Uncle: Alphard, left Sirius money when he died (c. 1977)
( h ) Cousins:

• Bellatrix, eldest of three sisters (leftmost on tree), married Rodolphus Lestrange (brother of Rabastan), sent to Azkaban post-halowe’en 1981 for torture of Longbottoms.
• Andromeda, married Muggle-born Ted Tonks, mother of Nymphadora
• Narcissa, youngest (rightmost on tree), married Lucius Malfoy, mother of Draco Malfoy

( i ) Nieces/nephews:

• Nymphadora Tonks
• Draco Malfoy

( j ) Second cousin once removed: Arthur Weasley
( k ) By Marriage: related to Malfoy family, Lestrange family, Prewett family.
( l ) Godson: Harry Potter

Notable Possessions
( a ) Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
( b ) set of two-way mirrors
( c ) Motorbike (loved, gave to Hagrid halowe’en 1981)
( d ) Gringotts vault

Other
( a ) Sirius’ Hair

• Fifth year: falls into eyes with “casual elegance”
• post Hogwarts: still had short hair (Moody’s photo)
• PoA: Long, black, matted
• GoF, early: short and clean
• GoF, late: longer, untidy, matted
• OOtP: long, unkempt

( b ) pet: Buckbeak
( c ) wand: No information on type. Original wand presumably snapped when he was sent to Azkaban, but he has a replacement by OOtP.


Remus Lupin

At Hogwarts
( a )
( b )
( c )

Post-Hogwarts
( a )
( b )
( c )

Family
( a )
( b )
( c )

Notable Possessions
( a )
( b )
( c )

Other
( a )
( b )
( c )


Peter Pettigrew

At Hogwarts
( a )
( b )
( c )

Post-Hogwarts
( a )
( b )
( c )

Family
( a )
( b )
( c )

Notable Possessions
( a )
( b )
( c )

Other
( a )
( b )
( c )


Severus Snape

At Hogwarts
( a )
( b )
( c )

Post-Hogwarts
( a )
( b )
( c )

Family
( a )
( b )
( c )

Notable Possessions
( a )
( b )
( c )

Other
( a )
( b )
( c )




6) Misc Info

( a ) Edit, 12/11: There is now proof that James, Sirius, Lupin, and Wormtail called themselves "The Marauders" JK said it on her website in the FAQ section. (I LOVE that website.)

( b ) J.K. Rowling wrote their names in the actual non-conversational narration of the Pensieve scene as James, Sirius, Lupin, and Wormtail. That's what she did. I have multiple theories why, but we're not here to discuss them.

( c ) It's the Marauder's Map, not the Marauders' Map or the Marauders Map Notice where the apostrophe is. (See Chp 18, OotP, Last sentence) (Added June 25, 12:40, PST)

Ok, so maybe people didn’t ask all of those questions, but it’s where I see mistakes the most often in fanfiction. So yeah . . . wow this is long. I hope to hear from this community. Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place (didn’t know where else to put it). Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong about something.

Give Credit Where Credit is Due: While I did look up some of this stuff myself, most of it was scavenged from that wonderful site, the Harry Potter Lexicon. You all are probably sick of hearing about that site now, huh? Oh well. Too bad for you. :-P

Chee

Hey Chee welcome to portkey by the way.

All your answers are interesting and should be of help to people writing L/J and trying to work out cannon.

Anyway it's good to have all the answers in one place, so I don't have a problem with you doing it like this.

With the whole them calling themselves the Marauders I think it's plausible seeing as the map was called the Marauders map. Though I suppose it's not definate evidence.

Well done on finding all the cannon details. Yes the HP Lexcion is a very good resource for HP stories and you've summed up the L/J stuff quite well.

Gems

For those of you helping out with the Collab, here's the code to use for the " Specific Character Info" Section.

Where did you find this ? How could you guess that they married just after Hogwarts and became parents at the age of 18 or 19 ? It's not that I don't want to believe you or the Lexicon, it's just that I don't remember having read this in the books. Or maybe it was in some JKR interviews, if so, could you tell me where I can find them. Thanks

"Snape: Doesn’t refer to people by name in the Pensieve memory, so it’s all up in the air."
Um...I just reread the memory section of Book 5 and I thought that Snape called Lily a "mudblood". Also in Book 3, Lupin's eyes were called "alert and wary" (page 83).
I can't believe that all this information about Lily and James' lives have been sqeezed out of the original writer (JK Rowling). I'm impressed that you (thesmartditz) have accomplished so much!

Cheers!
jade

Thanks!

I'll have to go back and check, but i think that since Snape called Lily "mudblood" without a capital first letter, I decided it was like calling someone a racial slur. Or, I just didn't notice it. >.< And thanks for the info on Lupin's eyes! I'll add it right away.

I still have to update this for HBP and the subsequent interview (Because, as mad as it made most shippers, it does have some information relevant to MWPP. More than a bit, actually. It makes me giddy just thinking about it!)

And Patsy Stone: I feel terrible, but I can't remember any of the logic I used back then. I'll try to re-figure it out, but what I do remember is that I did it with all five books, the lexicon, and a calculator in front of me. I'm not completely sure how accurate my math is, but if JKR can mess up in maths, so can I! Ok, well, I have no valid excuse.

As for Sirius' profession...I believe that he wouldn't have been an Auror. He would have tried hard to get the job, but he's a Black! They would have made some excuse not to accept him. Sirius would have been completly into The Order of the Pheonix when it first started, finally being abel to help and all...

I think I posted this on someother forum, but I have an image in my head of Remus and Sirius in a bar, drinking to their sunken careers. A werewolf and a horrible family name. The outcast.

-Kara

In my own research for a fic, and I'm glad to say that I'm trying to stick to canon as much as I can (except for artistic license for sake of plot necessities) I found on HP Lexicon (I LOVE THAT SITE) an internview the JKR did that did indeed say that James and Lily were married right out of Hogwarts, so yes, they would have been about 18 when they were married.

My own timeline assumes that they graduated in June of 1978, so Harry was conceived late october, early novemenber of 1979, meaning they were married for about a year and 3-4 months before Harry was conceived. He was born July 31, 1980 and J/L died October 31, 1981.

My reasons for this are tas follows:
* JKR says Sirius was 22 when he was captured by the Ministry, which puts his graduation date from Hogwarts about 1978, assuming his birthday in between June and October.
* Snape has been cited as being about 35-36 in GOF (I think) which puts graduation at about 1978
* James and Lily are notable for defying Voldemort THREE TIMES before they died; a rather difficult and stupidly dangerous thing to do while pregnant (but I wouldn't put it past them). I propose that during the year and 4 months James and Lily were married and without child, they performed at least one, maybe two, or perhaps all three of their defiances, but this is personal speculation.

I really recommend HP-Lexicon to any authors writing any kind of canon-abiding fic. It's a great rescource created by people who have combed the books for every tiny tid bit, compiled all the JKR interviews, and read every supplemental book JKR has put out. I can find almost everything I need on that site, and a lot of things I didn't even know I was looking for, which is how I got the idea for my fic! :-D Brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT! Genius I say!