Age

[ZaraG]

No: HPFGUIDX 188612

> Marianne:
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm thinking that Snape was a young DE turned Spy for Dumbledore.   

Zara:
Snape was the same age as Lily. So when the first war ended, he was 21. Perhaps 20 when he became a spy, probably 19 when he reported the Prophecy. (The Potters' tombstone gives their birth and death dates, in DH).

> Marianne:
> Is there any evidence that DE were recruited from other houses?  There must be some bad apples in other houses.

Zara:
There are many Death Eaters whose House is not known to us. However, every one we do know about except Peter Pettigrew (Gryffindor) was a Slytherin.

Personally, I think Barty Crouch Jr. was a Ravenclaw like his Dad (both speculation on my part!)

> Marianne:
> When was the Order formed?  Was there mixture of ages in the Order?  Were some of the OOP people were very young.  Am I correct in thinking that Lupin and Sirus, and possibility even Peter, was in the Order until things went to Hell?  

Zara:
Yes, the Marauders were all in the Order. So were Molly's brothers, the Prewetts, who were probably not too much older. As were some considerably older people like Aberforth Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, Arabella Figg, and others.

> Marianne:
> Last question.  Did houses always marry within their house?  Or did they look beyond what house they were sorted into.

Zara:
If we accept Rowling's statements in interviews, Tonks was a Hufflepuff, so her marriage with Lupin was a cross-House one. Most (book) canon marriages are within the same House, most prominently Lily and James (both Gryffindor), Arthur and Molly (both Gryffindor) and the Malfoys (both Slytherin). The one probable exception is the marriage of Andromeda Black (Slytherin) with Ted Tonks (unknown, but as he is Muggleborn, Slytherin seems very unlikely). We do see dating across houses - Harry dated Cho (Ravenclaw), Ron took Padma to the Yule Ball (again, Ravenclaw) and Ginny dated Michael Corner (Ravenclaw).