Angelina/Ages of Hogwarts First Years (was Ron & Quidditch)

[Rita Winston]

No: HPFGUIDX 11811

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Ebony Elizabeth Thomas" <ebonyink at h...> 
wrote:
> [SML and others wrote:]--
> 
> > I guess in Book 5 we'll see a new Gryffindor Keeper (snip), 
> > new Team Captain, again replacing Wood, and possibly a Chaser or
> > two, since (snip)

Before we found out that there would be no House Quidditch in Book 4, 
I advocated Twins for co-Captains (as Michelle just did two posts 
ago!). When some people said they were too irresponsible, I said it 
would teach them responsibility. But since then they have started 
Weasley Wizard Wheezes, which will even more than Quidditch Captaincy 
require them to take responsibility, and I wonder if WWW will leave 
them *time* for Quidditch! The Gryffindors would freak if F & G 
resigned from the team! 

I also speculated on who would be the new Keeper. I like the idea of 
it being Dean Thomas, because he is Muggle-born and a soccer fan, so 
it would be funny AND irritate the pure-blood bigots. 

I like the idea of it being Hermione, Lavendar, and Parvati's fourth 
roommate, a girl whose relationship with Hermione is sort of an armed 
true, because this girl is anti-intellectual, and whose relationship 
with Lavendar and Parvati was open warfare, because they make fun 
of her for being big and muscular and flatchested and unfeminine, 
but when she becomes a Quidditch hero, suddenly tons of boys want to 
hang out with her, and then suddenly Lavendar and Parvati are all 
over her trying to be friends. Because THAT would be funny. But other 
people firmly stated that if H, L, and P had another roommate, we 
would have heard SOMETHING about her by now.

But I disliked those ideas because if Ron missed getting on the 
team yet again, this time when competing for an open position, he 
would have to hide in the woods so that no one would see him cry. 
(Which I think was what started this thread, someone asking if Ron 
would get on the team in Book 5.)

In SS/PS, Lee Jordan's commentary says (in addition to saying that 
Angelina is quite a Chaser and quite an attractive girl) that Alicia 
Spinnet is a 'find' of Wood's, last year only a reserve. CoS calls 
her fourth-year Alicia Spinnet (in the scene where Wood is making 
them crazy with flip charts before their first practise). That would 
make her a fifth-year in GoF, and probably younger than the other two 
Chasers. 

Ebony wrote: 

> This gets right back into our debate about the Hogwarts cut-off
> date for entrance.  *Must* the child be 11 on September 1?  If so,
> then Angelina is a sixth year in GoF.  However, that means that
> Hermione's almost a year older than Harry and perhaps older than
> Ron as well, since JKR has expressly stated that her birthday is
> September 19.  (Sidenote--*why* hasn't anyone asked JKR about Ron's 
> birthday?)
> (snip) paradoxically believes that Angelina was a sixth 
> year in GoF, but Hermione was 10 when she entered Hogwarts, and 
> has absolutely no textual evidence to back it up)

I believe that Angelina is a sixth-year in GoF and don't have strong 
opinions about whether Hermione is 10 months older or 2 months 
younger than Harry. If the cut-off date for birthdays was Sept 30 (or 
even Sept 20, or Autumn Equinox, a changeable date around Sept 20), 
then Angie with a birthday in October (one week before the Goblet Day 
which IIRC was the day before Halloween) missed the cut-off but 
Hermione made it, and then you would be right about Angie is sixth- 
year in GoF AND Hermione was 10 when she first entered Hogwarts.