DH Questions: Lovegoods/Ron's absence/blood status

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 188315



--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "spa76" <sandie.hans at ...> wrote:
>
> > zanooda: All we know is that Ron came back to Harry and Hermione right after Christmas, but it is unclear when exactly he left them before :-). When he returned, Hermione said something like "you come back after weeks..." <snip>
> > 
> > I had an impression that it was still autumn  when he left, but in this case it would be more likely "months" than "weeks", wouldn't it :-)? The Trio infiltrated MoM on September 2nd, right? This means that Ron left some time in October or November, but I can't be certain :-). More likely November, IMO.
> 
> Sandie responds: Another reason I figured it wasn't "months" is that it would've been much harder for Bill to keep it a secret from the rest of the Weasleys. We know he was able to avoid the issue of Christmas by claiming he and Fleur wanted to spend their first Christmas as a married couple alone, but had Ron been hiding at his house for 2+ months, it would've been significantly harder for B&F to keep it a secret, no?
>
Carol responds:
Sorry that I misunderstood which visit to Shell Cottage you were referring to. However, we do have some clues to how long Ron was gone. First, he clearly leaves in autumn ("Goblin's Revenge"). Also, the visit to the MoM in which HRH retrieve the locket Horcrux, takes place on September 2 ("Magic Is Might"). Dirk Cresswell, who apparently has just been exposed at that time as a Muggle-born thanks to the odious Runcorn, tells Ted Tonks that he's been on the run for six or seven weeks. That would place the conversation (assuming that JKR is paying attention to the time frame) at approximately October 21 (going with the seven-week estimate). If that's correct, Ron is away from Harry and Hermione for just over two months since he seems to return on the day after Christmas.

Bill doesn't need to tell his family about Ron, but he does need to make an excuse for not being with them for Christmas. Ron, it seems, leaves on Christmas Day and just misses them that night.

Carol, realizing that Dirk Cresswell could have fled later than September 2