Who did Bertha see kissing Florence? Lucius Malfoy, anyone??

[RSFJenny19 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 75748

I know it's been mentioned often enough that others think there's got to be 
some reason we saw Bertha in DD's pensieve in GoF.  The bit of her was the only 
thing from the pensieve that didn't appear to contain inportant info (because 
we'd already learned about Bertha's gossiping propensity from Sirius), but, 
of course, everything JKR includes is a red herring or important.  
So if it's important, whoever did the hexing is significant, and I think OotP 
finally gave us information leading to a possible (I think, probable) 
identity  of the mystery hexer, assuming it was not one of the Mauraders or Snape.  
We learned that Lucius Malfoy is 41 in OotP, and JKR said in an interview that 
Lupin (or Sirius, whatever, since they were in the same year anyway) was 35 or 
36 in PoA, making them 37 or 38 in OotP, which would mean that they would've 
been 3-4 years behind Lucius at Hogwarts.  Sirius said in GoF that Bertha was 
a few years above them at Hogwarts, and now we know that Lucius was as well.  
I find it much likelier that Bertha was hexed by someone closer to her own 
age, Lucius Malfoy, than by someone 3 or 4 years her junior (meaning one of the 
Mauraders or Snape).

Of course, even if this were true, it still doesn't mean it's important, but 
I'm really hoping it is!  One of my favorite things about JKR's writing is how 
things that appear to be chance comments in the book turn out to be hugely 
significant (one of my favorites is the chamber pot room being the 
ever-so-important Room of Requirement).

~RSFJenny  :)