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

[macfotuk at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 112967

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Magda Grantwich 
<mgrantwich at y...> wrote:
> 
> --- littleleahstill <cmjohnstone at h...> wrote:
> 
> > 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
> 
> I view it as another sign that for all the toasts to the
> Boy-Who-Lived and McGonagall's claim in PS/SS that October 31 would
> be known as "Harry Potter Day", the WW put the Bad Days behind them
> as quickly as they could.  Voldemort was dead (hopefully), Sirius
> Black was behind bars and everything was back to what passed for
> normal in the WW.  
> 
> There's a lot of simply not talking about things, from what I can
> see.  I think the Longbottoms fall into this category.
> 
> Magda

Mac now: It is clear that in GoF trials (pensieve scene) the 
Longbottom incident met very widespread outrage and would have been 
WELL known - BUT among the adults and not the kids. The kids would 
not have been told about Neville's parents in part to pretect THEM 
(JKR writes an old-fashioned world where children are 'protected' as 
much as can be from the horrible' so yes Magda your last point 
about 'forgetting it') and it is also in my view to give Neville a 
level playing field so that his fellows don't constantly say 'there 
goes that poor Longbottom kid' - he has enough burdens as it is. 
Even HE keeps it quiet and it is clear that DD for one has had a 
policy of so doing.