I guess I should rephrase it as, why would it be so imperative to them at sixteen rather than seventeen?
They're still too inexperienced at seventeen to pick up on those red flags, still plenty impulsive and susceptible to peer pressure, and still offer all those advantages of making sure they don't join Dumbledore and so forth. But they can also be slightly more useful as soon as they join, and will spend a little less time under Dumbledore's observation (less time to get caught). So, what would Voldemort gain from those few extra months that he can't get just as well by (special missions like Draco's excepted) recruiting only schoolkids old enough to use their wands off campus without getting caught?
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2021-04-29 01:14 am (UTC)They're still too inexperienced at seventeen to pick up on those red flags, still plenty impulsive and susceptible to peer pressure, and still offer all those advantages of making sure they don't join Dumbledore and so forth. But they can also be slightly more useful as soon as they join, and will spend a little less time under Dumbledore's observation (less time to get caught). So, what would Voldemort gain from those few extra months that he can't get just as well by (special missions like Draco's excepted) recruiting only schoolkids old enough to use their wands off campus without getting caught?