Neville Longbottom

Neville has been played by Matthew Lewis in all of the Harry Potter films to date. Lewis' portrayal of Neville has been "clowned up", as he wears yellow and crooked false teeth, two-sizes-too-big shoes and has plastic bits placed behind his ears in order to make them stick out more.^[9] Prior to the release of the fifth film, Lewis commented on Neville's character development that he thinks "it's amazing that the character of Neville has really shaken off his klutz image (to an extent.) It very good to see him finally being a help as opposed to making things worse, I'm looking forward to the 5th film, it will be interesting to almost play a different character." When asked if he feels related to Neville, Lewis replied that he is "clumsy and terribly forgetful" just like his character is, but that he does not have "the same nervous disposition as Neville", and that it is interesting to play somebody that, despite being picked on at school, still does the right thing.^[10]

Appearance in other material

Although Neville does not appear onstage in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, he is mentioned as part of a pivotal plot element. Time travelers Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy prevent Cedric Diggory from winning the Triwizard Tournament, in order to save his life. But Diggory is publicly humiliated, setting him on a path to becoming a Death Eater. When Scorpius returns to his own time, he learns that Diggory's only significant act as a Death Eater was to murder Neville, who was considered unimportant; but Neville's absence from the Battle of Hogwarts results in a timeline where Harry was killed, Voldemort conquered the wizarding world, and Albus no longer exists.

Characterisation

Outward appearance

The narrative describes Neville as round-faced. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry draws some physical comparison between Neville and

For most of the first part of the series, Neville is described as lacking self-confidence and being shy. In the third book, his boggart is revealed to be Professor Snape, whom Neville is terrified of because of the treatment the potions teacher gives to the boy. Rowling said that the "worst, shabbiest thing you can do" as a teacher is to bully students.[12] Along with Luna, Neville is isolated within Hogwarts for most of the series. Although Professor Lupin is one of the first to encourage Neville, the character develops more self-confidence since the fifth book. In the final book, the situation pushes Neville's personality to unseen limits as he becomes the resistance leader within Hogwarts and is greatly admired by his fellows. However, since the first book Neville has displayed great courage, a feature that is recognised by Dumbledore for standing up to his own friends, and valued by Rowling above all other virtues.

Magical abilities and skills

During the first books of the series, Neville is portrayed as an incompetent wizard and as poorly skilled at school (with the only exception of Herbology). The character himself reveals in the second book that it was even feared by his family, especially his grandmother, that he was a Squib during his childhood. Neville's family is relieved, therefore, when he receives his letter inviting him to Hogwarts. Neville's magical abilities greatly improve in the fifth instalment,^[13] due to the character joining Dumbledore's Army, a group dedicated to practice Defence Against the Dark Arts. In Half-Blood Prince, Neville receives a new wand made of cherry wood and unicorn hair, as his previous wand (which was actually his father's) was destroyed while fighting Death Eaters in Order of the Phoenix. The wand appears to have added further improvement to Neville's school performance.

Family

Neville is a

Augusta Longbottom, Neville's paternal grandmother, raised him from a young age. Early on, it is established that Neville is terrified of his grandmother, who is a very strict disciplinarian, a perfectionist, and a no-nonsense witch, especially towards Neville, and sometimes complains of his lack of talent. She appears to want Neville to follow his father's example, regardless of his desires or suitability. Deathly Hallows is a definite turning point for the relation between Augusta and her grandson. Towards the climax of the book, it is revealed that the Death Eaters targeted Augusta when Neville was acting as leader of the reformed Dumbledore's Army. The Ministry official

Reception

Due in large part to the character's impressive character arc throughout the series, Neville is often regarded as one of the greatest characters in the Harry Potter mythos. IGN ranked Neville as the 6th greatest character from the franchise stating, "Neville Longbottom is the quintessential dimwit-turned-hero. When we first meet him at Hogwarts, Neville is a shy introvert who is simply not that good at magic. In fact, those close to Neville quietly wondered if he might nearly be a Squib, someone born into a wizarding family without magic powers. He's lovable, sure, but his early misadventures don't explicitly foreshadow the valiant defender of Hogwarts that he would ultimately become."^[14] Even Christopher Hitchens, who was often critical of Rowling’s writing, called his “gallantry” in the final book “well evoked” and labelled the question of whether Neville would “rise above himself” one of the problems in the books that was resolved well.^[15]

Neville was always considered to be a fan favourite character in the first four books where he provided a mainly secondary role, before The Order of the Phoenix where he became one of the main characters and eventual leader of Dumbledore's Army. Fans of the series admire Neville's bravery and desire to avenge his parents and assist Harry, Ron and Hermione.^[16][17]

Neville's role in the prophecy in Order of the Phoenix is frequently referred to in a hypothetical scenario where Neville was the Chosen One rather than Harry.^[18] It is often suggested that Voldemort chose Harry over Neville because of Harry's half-blood status. In the end, both were essential to Voldemort's downfall, fulfilling the possibility that both Harry and Neville were, in fact, the Chosen One. While Harry delivered the final blow to destroy Voldemort, Neville destroyed the final Horcrux which allowed Harry to end Voldemort.^[19] When asked about whether or not Neville was the chosen one, Neville's portrayer Matthew Lewis stated, "I get asked about the prophecy an awful lot, and Neville's potential as 'The Chosen One'. The contrast between the two people is that Harry was the reluctant hero who never wanted that on his shoulders and whatnot, but he just felt like he had to do it. Whereas Neville was kind of the hero that no one expected to be a hero, but still came out the other side being exactly that. Could Neville have been the Chosen One? Could he have achieved what Harry did? I think yeah, absolutely. But the thing is: nobody in this series did anything on their own. Even Voldemort didn't get to his level of power on his own. Harry saved the day because he had friends and people who loved him. I think, had it been Neville he would have had a similar experience. Both the characters are incredibly and fiercely loyal and that breeds loyalty in other people. So I think Neville would've had plenty of people getting his back, Harry would've been there in Neville's role getting his back. So I think, yeah, he'd have pulled through in the end."^[20][21][22]

References