The Kiss

[Rita Winston]

No: HPFGUIDX 7364

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer 
<pennylin at s...> wrote:

> I think JKR's pretty darn good at getting in the minds of our
> adolescent heroes (and heroines), and I do agree with your students
> Ebony that 14 yr old girls don't often kiss a male friend lightly.
> High school & college is a bit different; there's a bit more 
> maturation there.  14 is roughly 8th grade over here, right?

At least in my day, 14 was generally 9th grade. I've been figuring 
that their 'first-year' is our 6th grade, second = 7th, third = 8th, 
fourth = 9th, etc. However, from what some Brits on the list have 
told us about the cut-off date for birthdays being Much Stricter in 
UK than in US, and Hermione's birthday being Sept 19, she may have 
been 15 during MOST of fourth-year.  
> 
> Then again ... it's been a long time since I was 14, so maybe I'm
> just not remembering it all that well.  I wouldn't have thought 
> twice about kissing my guy buddies on the cheek at age 17 or 21 ...
> but 14?  I don't think so.

I'm 43 now, so it's been longer since I was 14 than you, but I 
remember doing a hell of a lot more than pecks on the cheek... I've 
already mentioned that I occasionally get nervous that I might be 
banned from the list as a bad influence on the under-18 members.... 
If she was me at 14, she'd have hugged him tight and kissed him on 
the mouth and the only clue as to whether she was feeling friendly or 
sexual would be whether her lips were open or closed.