Inside the story · Tenth century
Four founders, one castle school
The tradition in the stories places the school's founding in the tenth century, by four witches and wizards whose names the houses still carry.
Inside the story
Chronology
Timelines
Two clocks, kept apart. Shelf dates and film years are real. The castle's centuries are fictional framing, drawn in a few strokes rather than a plot diary.
Inside the story · The previous generation
A supremacy movement rises and breaks
Before the central cohort starts school, a violent pure-blood movement terrorizes Britain and then appears to fall. The novels treat that history as the parents' war.
Inside the story
Inside the story · Seven terms
The school-year sequence
The main novels follow one student through seven years. Each book is a year. This line marks the shape, not a plot summary.
Inside the story
On the shelf · 1997
The first novel is published
The opening school story reaches bookshops in the UK in 1997. Publication dates are real-world facts, separate from the fictional calendar.
On the shelf
On the shelf · 1998–2000
Three more school years in print
The next three novels arrive by 2000, taking the published sequence through the tournament year.
On the shelf
On screen · 2001
The first film opens
Cinema versions begin in 2001 and give the castle, the train, and the houses a shared visual costume.
On screen
On the shelf · 2003–2007
The last three novels
The sequence finishes in print in 2007. Those later books are longer and darker than the first term.
On the shelf
On screen · 2011
The main film cycle closes
The principal film adaptations conclude in 2011, split across two features for the final book.
On screen