Mistaken identity - part three

[laylalast]

No: HPFGUIDX 81005

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Diana Williams" <diana at s...> 
wrote:
> From: "laylalast" <liliana at w...>
> 
> And then on to the age of Bertha at the time of the kissing scene:
> 
> >"K":
> I think it's important to remember the age of Bertha at the time she
> was snooping as we will see later.
> 
> GoF/Ch 30 Instantly, a figure rose out of it, a plump, scowling girl
> of about sixteen...
> 
> Lilian:
> 
> This is what Harry sees, he sees a girl who HE guesses is about
> sixteen. That does not set it as canon that Bertha was actually
> sixteen at the moment. She might have been younger, she might have
> been older. 
<snip>
 
> Me (Diana):
> Yes, but in GOF, Sirius states that Bertha was a couple of years 
older than
> they were.  Even if Bertha was in her 7th year and, assuming 
the "couple"
> means 2 so that Snape/Sirius/James were in their 5th year, we know 
from PoA
> that the "prank" took place in their 6th year.  Bertha was gone by 
then.
> And I doubt that Sirius would wait a whole year to get around to 
taking
> revenge on Snape by setting up the prank.
> 
> Diana W.

Lilian:

In GOF, Sirius actually says that Bertha was "a few years above your 
dad and me." Whether he refers to her age or classes above him, I 
find difficult to tell.

In Part Two of my thread Mistaken Identity I speculated that the 
Prank could have taken place shortly after 'Snape's worst memory' so 
at the end of the fifth year. Why? Because I have checked POA (and 
also PS/SS and GOF) on whether the Prank took actually in their 5th 
or 6th year, but all I could find was Snape saying to Dumbledore that 
Sirius was sixteen when trying to kill him (Snape).  
Students (Hermione being the only exception we know of) are 11 when 
coming to Hogwarts, so they are 15 when starting their 5th year. 
During the 5th year most students will celebrate their 16th birthday, 
so it is not unlikely that Sirius was 16 when sitting his OWLS 
(Harry's identification of his father as 15-year old in Snape's 
memory is IMO based on the fact that he himself is still 15). 
Examples that come to mind: Angelina, who entered her name in the 
Goblet while in her sixth year, Ron's birthday (March 1), Gred and 
Forge turning 17 too late to enter the TWC.

But my take on the timeline for the events to take place is:
Halfway June 5th year: Snape's worst memory and the kissing scene 
with Florence directly after;
Summer holidays: Snape wading in happy memories of Florence while 
Sirius is brooding over Bertha's gossip (who has now left Hogwarts) 
at his not so-pleasant home;
September/October 6th year: Sirius lures Snape into the Prank.

If you can direct me to the passage in the books where it is stated 
for sure that the Prank took place in their 6th year at Hogwarts, I'm 
grateful. I haven't managed until now, although I've seen in the 
Lexicon that the timeline also places the Prank in the 6th year (why 
oh why?)

Lilian, who has acquired a vessel and a snazzy name for it and even 
has discovered what CARP's are!