Neville Longbottom

Neville Longbottom was born on 30 July 1980 in Great Britain to Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom, two Aurors who worked at the Ministry of Magic and were also members of the Order of the Phoenix. However, after a year of Neville’s birth, Lord Voldemort killed two other members of the Order of the Phoenix, James Potter and Lily Potter, whose one-year-old son Harry Potter strangely made Voldemort disappear. In retaliation, Frank and Alice Longbottom were tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr and two other Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse causing them to lose their mental sanity forever. They were transferred to St Mungo’s Hospital and Neville was brought up by his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom.

Neville attended Hogwarts in the same year as Harry, Ron, and Hermione and was sorted into Gryffindor house. He was seen as a scared and meek boy who feared almost everyone. He was bullied constantly by the likes of Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, and many others. However, eventually, as the series progressed, Neville seemed to gain some confidence in himself. He was an important member of Dumbledore’s Army and was among its members to fight at the Ministry of Magic in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. In the absence of Harry, Ron, and Hermione in Hogwarts during their seventh year in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Neville was the leader of what was left of the Dumbledore’s Army and managed to keep the Carrows and Snape away from their activities in the school. Finally, Neville also killed the final Horcrux, Voldemort’s snake Nagini, with Godric Gryffindor’s sword making it very easy for Harry to eventually defeat Voldemort and restore peace.

Neville Longbottom Profile

Affiliations

• School: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
• House: Gryffindor House
• Teams and Groups Allied with: Dumbledore’s Army, Slug Club, Order of the Phoenix, Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Herbology Department), Gryffindor House

Neville Longbottom: A Timeline

Early Life 

Neville was born on July 30 1981 to Frank and Alice Longbottom during the First Wizarding War. They were both known to be gifted Aurors and were very active in thwarting several Death Eaters from causing havoc. However, a year and a few months after Neville’s birth, Neville’s parents were tortured with the Cruciatus Curse by some Death Eaters as retaliation for the disappearance of Lord Voldemort. This was a major blow to the Longbottom family as they both had to be admitted to St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Neville’s grandmother, Augusta Longbottom took the responsibility for him after his parents were permanently housed in St Mungo’s for suffering from insanity after they were tortured with the Cruciatus Curse. She was a very strict witch who despite being kind and loving, wanted her grandson to grow up strong and fearless – a feat that took him quite some time to make peace with.

Neville never showed signs of any magic since his childhood and many of his family members believed him to be a Squib. However, Neville finally proved himself to be a wizard when his great-uncle Algie Longbottom accidentally dropped him after being offered a lemon meringue and he bounced repeatedly off the ground and escaped without a scratch. Interestingly, it is believed that Neville had shown very early signs of magic in his childhood, including the time he adjusted his blankets when he was a baby, but all of these feats went unnoticed. Neville eventually inherited his father’s wand when he was eleven and went to Hogwarts.

Hogwarts 

Neville joined Hogwarts in September 1991. He was aboard the Hogwarts Express along with Harry and Ron and Hermione first met Ron and Harry when she came to their compartment in search of Neville’s toad Trevor. Neville was sorted into Gryffindor house along with the others and was also the roommate of Harry, Ron, Seamus, and Dean. Neville was constantly bullied in school by Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. He was also terrified of Professor Snape. In his second year, Neville was scared of being attacked by the beast which was believed to hate muggles and muggle-born students. However, his classmates consoled him by pointing out that his relatives were all Pure-blooded and he too was Pure-blooded and not a Squib. In his third year, during the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes of Remus Lupin, Neville’s boggart turned out to be Snape as well.

In Neville’s fourth year, he seemed to have developed an interest in Herbology. He showed the Mimbulus Mimbletonia to Ginny and Luna, a plant that his great uncle Algie had gifted him. In the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, he helped Harry in the second task of the Triwizard Tournament by giving him Gillyweed. Neville was an essential part of Dumbledore’s Army in his fifth year. He along with Luna and Ginny helped the trio of Harry, Hermione, and Ron to fight the Death Eaters at the Department of Mysteries. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Neville played a crucial role in leading the students safely out of the punishments that the Carrows gave for disobedience. He also bravely threatened Voldemort claiming that he would only join his ranks when hell freezes over.

Battle Of The Department Of Mysteries

Neville was one of the most important members during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. He fought against the Death Eaters alongside Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Luna. He tried helping Harry by disarming Rabastan Lestrange but accidentally ended up disarming Harry as well. Antonin Dolohov eventually broke Neville’s wand that he had inherited from his father. He would go on to get his new wand from Ollivander after this battle. Finally, they all managed to safely make it out of this battle after the Order of the Phoenix came to their rescue. However, Sirius Black was killed and Neville tried to console Harry despite not knowing who Sirius actually was after he saw Harry sad.

Battle Of Hogwarts

The Battle of Hogwarts was fought between Voldemort and his Death Eaters and the members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore’s Army, and the students and faculty of Hogwarts. Neville led the members of Dumbledore’s Army into battle as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were busy destroying the Horcruxes and searching for the last one. Neville used his expertise in Herbology to attack the enemy with sentient plants. He also helped transport the dead and injured back into the castle after the ceasefire.

After Harry was presumed dead by Voldemort when Voldemort came to Hogwarts seeking the rest of the magical community in Hogwarts to either surrender or join his ranks, Neville opposed Voldemort and refused his offer blatantly. Neville was made to wear the burning Sorting Hat for his defiance. However, when Harry sprung out of Hagrid’s hands alive, Neville quickly drew Gryffindor’s sword out of the burning Sorting Hat and killed Nagini, the snake, and last Horcrux.

Later Life 

After the Battle of Hogwarts, Neville worked for a short while in the Ministry of Magic along with his other friends. The recruitment guidelines were changed by the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and students who had graduated from Hogwarts were encouraged to become Aurors. Eventually, Neville left his job at the Ministry and pursued a career in his favorite subject Herbology. He was invited to become a Professor at Hogwarts and took this position at the request of Professor Minerva McGonagall. He became a Herbology Professor and his former teacher, Professor Pomona Sprout was Head of the Department. Neville married Hannah Abbott and they lived in the Leaky Cauldron where she became the landlady. Neville was chosen to be the godfather of Harry’s second son Albus Severus Potter.

Neville Longbottom – The ‘Unchosen’ One

When Sybill Trelawney made a prophecy about the boy who would defy and challenge the Dark Lord, the specifics of the boy she mentioned fit two children. While one was obviously Harry Potter, the other was Neville Longbottom. Rowling did a great job of portraying the character that would almost have been in Harry’s place but wasn’t. While the Chosen One, Harry Potter had to undergo a lot of struggles and was ultimately the one recruited to stop the Dark Lord, struggle, in its purest form is not always evident.

Neville had an entire childhood ruined, quite similarly to Harry, after his parents were tortured by Death Eaters. While they were not dead, their state seemed to be very sad and tear-inducing. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny once came across his parents in St Mungo’s Hospital during their Christmas break and were surprised to find out what happened to them as they had no clue about this. However, Neville was not one to easily give up on life. As time passed, he seemed to fight back with grit and eventually was a major threat to the Carrows and Snape in his seventh year at Hogwarts.

Neville led the Dumbledore’s Army in Harry’s absence, he opposed Voldemort openly when Voldemort came to Hogwarts with a ‘dead’ Harry and he pulled out the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and eventually killed Nagini, Voldemort’s snake, and last Horcrux.

Character Development

Neville was always seen as a scared and timid kid at Hogwarts who was constantly bullied by Malfoy and other Slytherin students. He was given a Remembrall by his grandmother to remind him if he had forgotten something. He constantly lost his pet toad Trevor, and he seemed to forget the passwords accessing entry to the Gryffindor Common Room. He performed poorly in most subjects, especially Potions, and seemed to be very scared of Severus Snape. However, he had his moments too. He was rewarded ten points by Albus Dumbledore and was the decider in making Gryffindor the champion of the School Cup in his first year. He was given these points for standing up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione for breaking the school rules. Furthermore, with time, Neville started becoming a braver and more fearless soul than ever before. The character development of Neville proves that his character is arguably one of the most interesting ones written by J. K. Rowling.

Matthew Lewis, the British child actor, played the role of Neville Longbottom in the movie adaptations of Harry Potter. He reprised his role in all the sequels and played a very convincing Neville according to critics and fans alike.  

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