Cho is suposed to be a year older than Harry, but she’s in the Room of Requirement before the Battle of Hogwarts with the other students. Harry should have been in his final year (if he’d still been at Hogwarts), so shouldn’t Cho have finished the previous year?
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2I will have to double check this but I am sure she was part of the crowd of Dumbledore's Army that gathered in the Room before the battle rather than being a student in the Room when the trio first entered through the tunnel from the Hogs Head – BP_Phoenix Aug 07 '13 at 08:38
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If so, how would have she been called? – Kalissar Aug 07 '13 at 09:42
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2@Kalissar Didnt they have that magical coin to signals everyone. – KharoBangdo Aug 07 '13 at 10:08
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It was the magic coins that Hermione had given to them. Neville and Luna both had theirs and they used them to contact the other members – BP_Phoenix Aug 07 '13 at 11:52
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2Didn't the entire quidditch team appear- including Wood? – Adele- Nexus of Potlucks Aug 07 '13 at 14:06
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I think the OP is thinking of the movie. – Möoz Mar 27 '14 at 19:34
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In the movie she is there in uniform, though living in the Room of Requirement. Perhaps she returned to help the resistance and put the robes on, like Harry did, to not stand out. – Mac Cooper Jun 03 '14 at 20:47
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She came to play checkers! – user3459110 Jun 04 '14 at 09:32
2 Answers
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From the book:
"Harry’s mouth fell open. Right behind Lee Jordan came Harry’s old girlfriend, Cho Chang. She smiled at him.
“I got the message,” she said, holding up her own fake Galleon, and she walked over to sit beside Michael Corner."
They were all (Ginny, Fred, George and Lee Jordan) coming in through the tunnel to Aberforth’s.
E.T.
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The coin idea wouldn't work because she is standing in the dining hall in line with the current students as if she is attending. She doesn't walk in with the rest of the Order/Dumbledores Army – Sep 23 '15 at 19:43
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Cho may have actually been in the same year as Harry.
Why do we assume that Cho was a year ahead of Harry? Probably because such is indicated a couple of times in the series. In Prisoner of Azkaban we have:
"Harry, I've just found out who Ravenclaw is playing as Seeker. It's Cho Chang. She's a fourth year and she's pretty good....
So Oliver Wood explicitly tells Harry that Cho is a fourth year. But how reliable is Wood? He's a seventh year who has nothing to do with younger students in another house. It would be quite simple for him to mix up a third year as a fourth year.
In Goblet of Fire, when considering dates for the Yule Ball, Harry thinks:
Cho was a year older than he was; she was very pretty; she was a very good Quidditch player, and she was very popular.
But is Harry any more reliable than Wood? For all we know he is only basing this on the facts that Wood told him a year earlier!
On the other, we have a statement from Cho herself that strongly implies that she was in the same year as Harry. In Order of the Phoenix when they go on their date we find:
"Remember the first time we played against each other, in the third year?" she asked him.
Note the words "in the third year". This clearly implies that they were both in third year. If she had actually been in her fourth year she should have said "in your third year", or "in my fourth year", or "when you were in third year and I was in fourth year", or "two years ago".
Thus, it is possible that Harry and Cho were actually in the same year. It is not surprising that Harry did not realize this. At this point, it seems that Harry had never had a class with Ravenclaw, so he wouldn't have been with Cho even if she was in his year.
Note: in any case, as mentioned in the other answer, it is clear that Cho only arrived at Hogwarts for the battle and was not there before. But she might have left school for any number of reasons.
Alex
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But she might have left school for any number of reasons. But wasn't school attendance mandatory? – mikeazo Dec 07 '18 at 17:40
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Good point that they could be in the same school year. Regional differences may be a source of confusion for some readers. When I first read the books, I didn't realize that Harry was one of the youngest students in his school year. Where I live, the school year starts in September like in the UK, but the student birthday intake schedule starts with January (instead of September like Hogwarts), so I assumed that Harry's age was just about average for his year. – Gaultheria Dec 07 '18 at 20:52
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That last quote from OotP was changed in later printings to read: ‘Remember the first time we played against each other?’ she asked him. – ibid Jan 12 '23 at 12:27