Snape's housemates

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 113766

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "meriaugust" <meriaugust at y...>
wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, juli17 at a... wrote:
> > Is it only me, or does it seem odd that we haven't heard of any of 
> Snape's Slytherin housemates from his own year, other than the 
> Mauraders? Assuming Snape was in Slytherin, why are all of his 
> friends/associates--the "Slytherin gang"--so much older than him? If 
> the older ones like Bellatrix and Lucius picked Snape specially to 
> be part of their gang, what did they see in him that set him apart 
> from the other Slytherins of his year? 
> snips
> 
> Do we know that Bellatrix is that much older than him? I don't 
> remember Sirius mentioning that she was older when he pointed her 
> out on the Black Family Tree, Though we know Malfoy is five years 
> older. But there is no reason not to assume that some of the other 
> DEs are not Snape's age or year. (Though, then again we have no 
> canon either way!) 
> Meri

Carol:
Sirius tells Harry near the begining of OoP that he hasn't seen
Bellatrix since he was Harry's age. Harry has just turned fifteen and
is between his fourth and fifth years. Most likely Sirius last saw
Bellatrix at the end of his own fourth year (the end of her seventh
year). Or possibly he last saw her at the end of his fifth year if he
was still fifteen then, but as he would have been nearly sixteen then,
the first explanation seems more probable. The chapter is "The Noble
and Ancient House of Black." (I don't have the page number handy, but
someone else has recently given it.) Since Severus and Sirius were in
the same year, the age difference would apply to Severus, too. (And we
can safely assume that Rodolphus was around the same age as Bellatrix,
maybe a year or so older.)

Carol