Hannah Abbott

Hannah Abbott was a witch from the Abbott family with a Half-blood heritage. She joined Hogwarts in the year 1991 and was sorted into the Hufflepuff house. She and her other Hufflepuff friends shared some classes with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Hannah was in Harry’s year, and they had Herbology classes together. Hannah was one of the first members of Hufflepuff to support and join Dumbledore’s Army, and even though she had to leave Hogwarts for a while after her mother was killed by Death Eaters, she returned eventually and also helped fight the Battle of Hogwarts. After graduating from Hogwarts, Hannah married her classmate Neville Longbottom, and they both lived in the Leaky Cauldron. She became the landlady of the same.

Personality and Physical Traits

In the Harry Potter books, Hannah is described as a blonde girl and pink-faced. She is believed to have tied her hair in pigtails. In the movie adaptations of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the role of Hannah Abbott was played by Charlotte Skeoch. In the movies, for the most part, Hannah was seen without pigtails with her hair left in the open.

Hannah is believed to be very timid and easily influenced by events. Although a brave and strong witch, as is proven by her tenure in Dumbledore’s Army, Hannah would get easily scared by occasional incidents like exams. Although she was on friendly terms with Harry and trusted him, she also easily bought into the possibility that Harry is the Heir of Slytherin after listening to her friend.

Appearance in the Harry Potter Series

Hannah Abbott boarded the Hogwarts Express in September 1991 and came to Hogwarts after a journey on the boats through the Great Lake. Hannah Abbott first appeared in the Harry Potter series in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the Great Hall when the sorting ceremony began. In the books, Hannah was the first to be called to be sorted. She was sorted into Hufflepuff house by the Sorting Hat along with her friends Susan Bones, Ernie MacMillan, and Justin Finch-Fletchley. She was a roommate of Susan Bones and Megan Jones at the Hufflepuff girls’ dormitory.

In her second year, Hannah Abbott considered the possibility that Harry might be the Heir of Slytherin after it was revealed that he is a Parselmouth. She was skeptical at first and seemed to be in support of Harry, claiming that he is very nice and he was responsible for the disappearance of Voldemort. Ernie MacMillan was a strong believer in the theory that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin and also tried convincing his classmates the same. However, after her Muggle-born friend Justin Finch-Fletchley was petrified, she started believing it. She again stopped believing this after Hermione Granger was petrified, as did Ernie MacMillan, as they all knew Harry would not hurt his best friend, Hermione. 

Furthermore, they suspected Draco Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin and asked Harry what he thought to which Harry responded negatively. At the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, it was revealed that Tom Riddle (Voldemort) and the Basilisk were responsible for the Muggle-born students getting petrified, and Harry defeated them both in the Chamber of Secrets.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hannah was in her third year, and when the news of Sirius Black roaming around near Hogsmeade came out, Hannah believed that Sirius was capable of transforming himself into a flowering shrub. Although it was a hoax theory, the transformation part was not entirely false, as Sirius was later revealed to be an Animagus.

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hannah was in full support of Cedric Diggory for winning the Triwizard Tournament due to house loyalty. Cedric was also a Hufflepuff student and was selected for the Triwizard Tournament. She was not happy about Harry being selected as the fourth champion for the tournament and, like most other Hufflepuff students, also wore the badge that said “Support CEDRIC DIGGORY – The REAL Hogwarts Champion” and later transformed to “Potter Stinks.” However, at the end of the tournament, Cedric Diggory died, and Hannah was distraught.

She most likely believed Harry’s claim that Voldemort was back and had caused Cedric’s death and that the Second Wizarding War had begun. Hannah also helped Madam Pomfrey collect Bubotuber Pus which was later used to cure acne among many students like Eloise Midgen.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the 1995-1996 school year and Hannah’s fifth year, Hannah became a prefect along with Ernie MacMillan. She also became a member of Dumbledore’s Army, which was created by Harry, Hermione, and Ron to teach defensive spells to students who wanted to learn them. Since Dolores Umbridge was not teaching any practical magic during the DADA classes, it made sense for the students to form a group of their own since Voldemort was back. 

Hannah was very frightened about the O.W.L. exams and broke down to tears during Herbology class and claimed to be very stupid to take the exams, demanding to go home. She was then taken to the Hospital Wing and given the Calming Draught. However, the pressure of exams eventually got to her, as during the Transfiguration practical exam, she ended up transforming a ferret into a flock of flamingos.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Hannah was summoned home early into her sixth year after she got news of her mother Mrs Abbott, being murdered by Death Eaters. Hannah’s mother was one of the many wizards and witches killed during the Second Wizarding War. She would not return for that school year at Hogwarts.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hannah returned to Hogwarts presumably as a sixth-year student since she had been absent for most of the previous year. Hannah joined the recreated Dumbledore’s Army, now headed by Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood, in the absence of the trio. Hannah took part in the Battle of Hogwarts and helped defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all.

Hannah would complete her seventh year after the Battle of Hogwarts along with Hermione, who had missed her seventh year due to the search for Horcruxes.

Later Life

Hannah became close to Neville Longbottom towards her final years at Hogwarts. It is possible that they both bonded on the fate of their parents due to the Death Eaters and Voldemort. A romance developed, and eventually, Hannah married Neville Longbottom, who had become a professor of Herbology at Hogwarts. She became the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, and the couple stayed in a room there. She eventually trained as a healer and also applied for the job of matron at Hogwarts.

However, in the film adaptations, Neville was shown as romantically interested in Luna Lovegood, which is an entirely different direction from the books.

Hannah Abbott and Exam Fever

One of the reasons that Hannah Abbott was strongly influenced by fear during exams was Examinophobia or Exam Fever. It is an ailment caused by a fear of exams, more specifically, the fear of performing badly or failing in exams. It is quite common, even among Muggles who take exams. It is an easily curable condition, and one can learn to overcome this fear through confidence and finding more fool-proof ways to practice and revise their curriculum due for exams. Fear of failure is linked to a fear of forgetting or losing the memory of topics that are learned. This can be counteracted by studying more engagingly, using mnemonics, or other interesting ways to never forget the topics learned.

FAQs