When were the Longbottoms attacked? (was Re: Did the Potters know the prophecy?)

[Eustace_Scrubb]

No: HPFGUIDX 117450


Potioncat:
> > Hope I've snipped this in a way that makes sense. 
> > 
> > I take the phrase "...managed to talk their way out of Azkaban."
> > to mean that they were never sent to Azkaban. Perhaps picked up  
> > for questioning, let go, then captured after the Longbottom  
> > incident.  I can't imagine how they could have incarcerated and 
> > let go.

Then Tim:
> I don't have my books at work, but I believe Sirius was the first 
> person to escape Azkaban. 
> In which case Bella and crew were not imprisoned before the attack
> on the Longbottoms.
 
Now Eustace_Scrubb:
I agree that Potioncat's interpretation of the phrase could
indeed mean that they weren't sent to Azkaban that time, anyway.

On the other hand, if they _were_ in Azkaban, and they _did_ talk
their way out somehow, that might not count as an "escape."

For now, I'll stick to a theory that I raised in Message #117424 a few
posts up, that Sirius may not correctly recall the timing and order of
events that occurred during his imprisonment.

And I'll hope fervently that the vagaries of his recollections in GoF
as compared to what he says in OoP (and to other canon) aren't just a
result of a change in authorial direction or something!

Cheers,

Eustace_Scrubb
"The trouble with normal is it always gets worse!"--Bruce Cockburn.