Snape the Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?!

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 93203

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Elihu Falk <falkelihu at y...> 
wrote:
> potioncat:
>  
> 
> <snip>GoF, US paperback p531 Padfoot Returns:
> Sirius is speaking, "Snape knew more curses when he arrived at 
school than half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang 
of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters."
> 
> I know our group can take that about 7 different ways, but it 
really sounds to me like Severus was in Slytherin.  
> 
> Sirius goes on to list 4 male names and Bellatrix as being in this 
gang.  So it could be that Rosier, Wilkes, the married Lestranges, 
Avery and Snape were in the same year in Slytherin.  He lists the 
others as having been found to be DE's (except for Avery who had 
claimed the Imperius curse and gone free) but goes on to say, "But 
> as far as I know, Snape was never even accused of being a DE--not 
that that means much...."
> 
> Elihu:
> 
> He doesn't mention Bellatrix by name; he said "the Lestranges". 
After reading OP, and later re-reading this section of GF, I thought 
that meant Rabastan and Rudolfus, who at the time were Lestranges, 
and not Bellatrix, who was a Black. And Sirius doesn't say they were 
in the same year; it's quite possible that Harry may be in a "gang" 
of students including Ginny Weasley or Luna Lovegood of a different 
year.
> 
>

Sorry, I was cutting corners. I mentioned Bellatrix by name, but 
Sirius doesn't.  In the actual quote, he says, "The Lestranges---
they're a married couple--they're in Azkaban."  

No, Sirius does not say anything about year group. What I should 
have said is that when I read this section I realized there were 5 
boys in the list (Snape and the 4 others) and 5 boys is what we 
generally see in one house's year group, debate about actual numbers 
aside.  So I wondered if this was a group of kids from the same 
year. 

Of course we don't know, but for some reason, it's been thought 
Severus was hanging out with older students. As far I know, canon 
doesn't tell us one way or the other.
 

Potioncat