Students in the war

[Bex]

No: HPFGUIDX 115119


Dharma wrote:
> Also from what I could gather, the first war did not start in 
> earnest  until the Marauders were on the verge of exiting school.  
> There might not have been a great need to have school age people 
> working for Voldemort's cause on the inside, but now the children 
> in school include some of the victims of the first war (kids who 
> lost family members on both sides). Will the kids in 6th and 7th 
> year, really be detached from what is going on outside? I'm just 
> curious about other people's predictions.

Potioncat replied:
> I'm as bad at maths as JKR, but let me ask this:
> DD says in SS/PS something along the line of having very little to 
> celebrate for 11 years.  So wouldn't that put it at the Marauders' 
> first or second year?
>  
> I would think that by the time many of that generation were in 6th 
> or 7th, if not earlier, they had an idea of what was going on.  
> Certainly some of the students, on either side, would be chafing 
> at the bit to get out of school and take part. Was and will be. 
> Look at how badly Fred and George wanted to be part of the Order.

> Already at least 3 students have had family injured in the war. 
> (OK, they happen to be on the wrong side, but still...)  It's been 
> in the papers in such a way that even Susan Bones gets noticed for 
> events that happened in the last war.  So I would think most of 
> them will have an idea of what is going on...or at least, know 
> about the reported events.

Dharma replies:
> As far as I can figure out...the 11 years "marked with 
> disappearances and increasing violence," include the years of 
> Voldemort's rise to power. According to the HP Lexicon Voldemort 
> was at the peak of his power in 1979. It's not clear to me, when 
> an organized resistance began to move against Voldemort.  

Yb:
Hasn't been made clear yet either. It probably was around the time 
the Marauders got out of Hogwarts, I suspect. Just a thought.

Dharma:
> Sirius says, "..there were quite a few people, before Voldemort 
> showed his true colors, who thought that he had the right idea 
> about things..." This implies that there was some period of shady 
> goings on prior to the entire community being embattled.

Yb:
I had a nice, long, eloquent post to rely to this... and then I hit 
a side button on the mouse that goes BACK one page.

OK, here goes:
In response to the students-joining-in stuff, yes, I am /certain/ 
that they will be well informed. Harry/Ron/Hermione will have the 
most information from the good guys, and Draco will for the baddies, 
because of who their parents are. I doubt Molly would let the kids 
(Ron and younger) into the Order because they aren't legal yet, 
which could cause problems, and they are too young, IMO. LV probably 
has a rule saying you can't be a DE until you are legal, either. (By 
legal, I mean 17, as in legally allowed ot practice magic whenever 
you want). Not having this rule could result in some problems. Not 
to mention maturity levels /have/ to be considered. The members have 
to be able to make mature, adult decisions. So I doubt the students 
will be DEs/Order members. But that doesn't mean they can't help. 

I can see Draco and his crowd waging their own little "war" within 
the scool, mostly directed at the Trio, and undermining DD in the 
process. Rita Skeeter may have something to do with this, I don't 
think we've seen the last of "her." (If you wonder why I put her in 
quotes, read some of the descriptions of her in GoF :).) When an 
attack on Hogwarts comes (and we all know it's coming), these 
students will do battle, even though they aren't full members. Till 
then, it will mostly be slinging insults and hexes in the corridors 
and keeping up with the news on the front.

And yes, LV was starting to make waves around the time MWPP were 
starting Hogwarts, but people started being scared a few years 
afterward, when his real plans started showing though. He continued 
to grow in power because of people like Fudge, who refuse to admit 
that there is a problem and something needs to be done about it. 
DD was probably rounding up people to help in the war effort as soon 
as he realized what was going on, as was the ministry, but they 
weren't really organized for a long time. Students weren't necessary 
for either side of VW1, but they probably talked about it, shared 
news, and even thought about joining their side after Hogwarts.

~Yb