Why don't Ron and Ginny know? (WAS Gum Wrappers)

[littleleahstill]

No: HPFGUIDX 112947

Following through on the gum wrappers thread, I suddenly wondered why 
it was that Ron and Ginny were apparently as surprised as Hermione to 
learn that Alice and Frank were in the closed ward?

Coming from the Dursleys, Harry could not be expected to know what 
happened to the Longbottoms until he sees it in the pensieve, and the 
same goes for muggle born Hermione.  But Dumbledore tells Harry that 
there was an outcry in the wizarding world when the Longbottoms were 
attacked, 'a wave of fury', so all wizarding families must know what 
happened.  Dumbledore himself doesn't seem to have ordered secrecy as 
a protection for Neville- he appears genuinely surprised to hear that 
Neville has not explained things to Harry, and it is only the 
realisation that Neville does not want the matter widely known that 
makes DD enjoin Harry to keep it quiet. In fact, the sort of pathetic 
individual who could make bullying capital out of insanity ie Draco 
Malfoy, appears to have a fair idea already.

You would have thought that Ron or Seamus or other pure blood kids 
would have mentioned at home that Neville was in their class - he is 
quite a distinctive character.  We must assume that their parents 
know what happened to Neville's parents, so why does no one explain?

Is this silence (as I suspect)merely a literary device to develop 
Neville as a character?  Sympathy from other parents keeping them 
quiet is possible, but would they all react the same way? Or 
something else?

Leah