Quote Originally Posted by OliveOil_Med
If her mother was a Muggle-born, though, she could potential have been killed just because she was a Muggle-born. It would have been a fairly well-known fact, and not everyone the Death Eaters went after was an enemy to them (Ollivander, Fortescue).
She certainly could have been killed simply for being Muggle-born, but I didn't think the climate had escalated to that degree in the first part of HBP, which is when that murder took place. It could be, though. I like to imagine that she did work at the Ministry, though (as Molly said) not in a glamorous job. Perhaps she was a receptionist or something in a position to hear things or witness things Voldemort could be interested in. I imagine her being captured and tortured for information... whether she gave it or not, I have not thought it through... but she was murdered in the end. Cheerful, huh?

Sorry to say, Hannah isn't described as being very bright, so I doubt her parents were intellectuals (Hannah grew up to be the landlady at the Leaky Cauldron).
She is nervous about school and tests and seems to suffer from some anxiety issues. While she is not Hermione, I can imagine her excelling in a certain subject area or another... she is very like Neville, and he is fantastic in Herbology. I see her as above-average in school, but very nervous about her abilities, and unlikely to be the best in any subject.


Dating:
I must preface this by saying that Hannah has become one of my favorite characters to write, and I have developed some of my own ideas here... in my mind, she and Ernie do not date, but they are best friends. I see no reason why she wouldn't have dated someone else, even if it was the Yule Ball or some other event. I don't know about a long-term boyfriend. But I don't imagine Neville being her first kiss or anything.

Ooh... I'm glad you mentioned that about her father being half-blood and the graves in GH. I had completely forgotten about those graves. Do you think it implausible that her father was a Muggle? How common a name is Abbott? Is it plausible that his father was a wizard and his mum a Muggle? And then he is also a Muggle? Just curious about this.