Hermione's Magical Power - Molly and Arthur's age

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 55610

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "aja_1991" <aja_1991 at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Marina" <marinaj_22 at y...> 
> wrote:
> > mmboy (or was it Fox?) wrote:
> > <<
> > I agree with you that Arthur and James couldn't have gone to 
> > school together.  But, dude -- you like the odds that a 
> > 70-year-old Molly Weasley has a ten-year-old child?  :-)
> > >>
> > 
> > Me again:
> > 
> > I think ... Molly is in her 70s are more than good. In 
> >chapter 31 of GoF, not only does Molly say that the Whomping Willow 
> >was planted after she left school, she also "reminisced at lenght 
> >about the gamekeeper before Hagrid, a man called Ogg". 
> > 
> > We know Hagrid was expelled fifty years before CoS, ..., he became
> > gamekeeper right after, so that means Molly had either already 
> > finished school at the time, or was somewhere between her 1st 
> > and 7th year at Hogwarts (because if not, she wouldn't 
> > remember Ogg. That would make her at least 63 .... 


> 
> My turn: (aja_1991)
> You are making an argument similar to Steve (bboy_mn), namely that 
> Molly (and presumably Arthur) are older than Hagrid because they 
> remember the gamekeeper before Hagrid.
> 
> ..., Molly and Arthur could certainly be younger - or the same age 
> as - Hagrid. ... the argument you are making is that Hagrid 
> immediately became gamekeeper..., so if Molly can remember Ogg, she 
> must be older than Hagrid. .... Assuming this, Molly could remember 
> Ogg if she was at Hogwarts at the time, including ... her first or 
> second year, third year, or fourth year  up....  So even with that 
> reading, there's no assurances that she's older ... than Hagrid.
> 
> Secondly, let's take in to account the possibility that a 13 year
> old boy (Hagrid) might not become gamekeeper right away, ....
> 

> 
> ...this quote:  "reminisced at length about the gamekeeper before
> Hagrid, a man called Ogg" - I took into account ... the familiarity 
> factor.  If Hagrid was serving an  apprenticeship or was otherwise 
> employed at the time Molly was at Hogwarts, while she would know 
> Hagrid .....  It's entirely possible that she's shared memories of  
> Hagrid with her children - and Harry - around the dinner table at 
> home, but being back at school brought back memories of her days 
> there.
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> aja_1991, who sees Hagrid as mid-60s, Arthur and Molly as early 50s, 
> Lucius as mid-late 40s, and the surviving Marauders as mid 30s.

bboy_mn:

Well, you have as good as admitted Molly could be from 2 years younger
than Hagrid (perhaps 2 to 10 is more accurate) to 4 years older. In
GoF, Hagrid's age is estimated at 65,; that plus 4 years makes her 69.
We are only claiming a little more than 70. 

The difference is that we are estimating the likely age of Molly, and
you seem to be estimating the minimum age of Molly. I will admit that
you are right, Molly COULD be that young, but I don't think it is likely.

There is one thing lacking to make me support your position, and that
is a lack of familiarity with Hagrid. Based on that, I say her age
pre-dates Hagrid. Certainly, if Molly was in school with Hagrid, she
would have reminisced about Hagrid as she reminisced about Ogg. If she
had been there when Hagrid was expelled, if she had been there while
Hagrid was in training, given her current knowledge of Hagrid, and
knowing what good friends Hagrid and Harry are, I don't see how she
could have resisted talking about him. And if she did reminisce about
him, Harry would have certainly made a mental/narrative note about it.
 Given the Weasley families and Harry's current familiarity with
Hagrid, it seem nearly impossible to believe that the Weasley old
'school days' familiarity with Hagrid would not get mentioned.

So while I acknowledge it is within the realm of possibility for Molly
 to be similar in age to or younger than Hagrid, the lack of narrative
familiarity between Molly, Arthur, and Hagrid makes it more likely
that Molly and Arthur are older.

Sorry, but I just can't believe that under the circumstances Molly
wouldn't have reminiscing at length about Hagrid if they were at
Hogwarts together, even if Hagrid was only gamekeeper in training. If
that narrative changes, then my opinion will change along with it, but
lacking that narrative, I stand firm in my position that Molly and
Arthur are at least 5 years older, and as much as 10 to 15 years older
than Hagrid.

just a thought.

bboy_mn