Neville

Biodata

Background / History

Neville comes from a family of wizards. His grandmother hopes he will enter Gryffindor because his father graduated from that house. Although familiar with the existence of magic, Neville does not know how the Sorting Ceremony works; his grandmother has not explained it to him 12.

His grandmother gives him his pet toad, Trevor, and later sends him a Remembrall at Hogwarts. She also forbids him from going near broomsticks, leaving him apprehensive about his first flying lesson 13 23.

Neville has loved plants and flowers since childhood. His father was an Auror, and both his parents were tortured into insanity by Voldemort’s followers. Neville visits them at St. Mungo’s with his grandmother, but is reluctant to tell others about their condition. His grandmother hopes that he will become an Auror like his father and protect the Longbottom family, rather than concentrate on Herbology 575.

Years after the war, Neville is married to Hannah and takes up a position as Hogwarts’ Herbology professor. Su Er accompanies him to the school after meeting the couple at the Leaky Cauldron. When Neville remains nervous about the appointment, Su Er emphasizes that his own ability earned him the position and that Professor Sprout would have recommended him even without Su Er’s suggestion 663.

Appearance

Neville is a chubby, round-faced boy whose nervousness is often visibly apparent 12 34.

• Frequent sweating and blushing: He sweats under Hermione’s questioning and flushes while asking Su Er for a favor 12 34.
• Awkwardly arranged school clothing: Before the Sorting Ceremony, Hermione corrects his cloak strings, which he has tied beneath his left ear 15.
• Careful preparation for Hogsmeade: For a third-year Hogsmeade weekend, he wears new clothes and washes his hair, leaving it damp. His strong fragrance makes Hermione sneeze, and Su Er uses magic to lessen the smell 222 223.

Personality

Neville is shy and easily overwhelmed. He stammers when Hermione questions him about the wizarding world, becomes frightened when mentioning his grandmother, and worries that losing Trevor will earn him a Howler. Before the Sorting Ceremony, he is so nervous that he begins walking with the same hand and foot moving together 12 13 15.

He is deeply attached to Trevor. Believing the toad missing, he searches multiple train compartments, imagines terrible things happening to him, and eventually cries. His distress turns immediately to delight when Trevor hops onto the table unharmed 13.

Despite his lack of confidence, Neville is attentive and considerate. He reminds Hermione to leave for class, listens closely to her flying advice, and expresses gratitude when Su Er helps him 12 17 23 24.

Repeated bullying reinforces his insecurity. After Malfoy hexes him, Neville refuses to report the incident because he fears retaliation and wonders whether he belongs in Gryffindor. He later admits that he did not resist another attack because he was afraid and believes that his limited magical skills leave him unable to defeat Malfoy 59 70.

His timidity does not prevent him from acting courageously in emergencies. His friends recall that he charged at Malfoy’s group without a wand during a match, and he later leaves his dormitory at night to warn Harry that Malfoy intends to catch him 70 72. At St. Mungo’s, he acts before Su Er to stop a werewolf from reaching a little girl, although he initially minimizes his contribution because Su Er and Hermione ultimately subdue the creature 575.

Neville becomes increasingly willing to speak and act on his convictions. He insists on helping Harry’s proposed rescue of Sirius despite the danger, challenges the idea that students should remain uninvolved in Hogwarts’ defense, and openly refuses Voldemort’s demand for submission 610 653 660.

Abilities & Skills

Herbology

Herbology is Neville’s clearest demonstrated area of interest. Professor Sprout is particularly fond of him and regularly assigns him greenhouse work alongside Hannah 25.

• Studies How to Grow Herbs More Effectively with Hannah in the library 25.
• Tends greenhouse herbs under Professor Sprout’s supervision 25.
• Knows Mandrakes’ restorative properties but initially answers quietly rather than raising his hand. Through practical greenhouse work, he discovers that gently tickling their feet makes them easier to repot, a handling technique Hermione has not found in her books 85.
• Correctly identifies a puffapod and explains its pod-shaped fruit, the use of its glittering beans in basic potions, and their ability to flower immediately upon contact with something solid. Professor Sprout awards Gryffindor ten points for his answers 210.
• Spends much of his free time helping in the greenhouses with Hannah. His Herbology performance supplies a considerable share of Gryffindor’s House Cup points 279.
• Joins Professor Sprout’s Greenhouse Club with Hannah 575.
• Becomes Hogwarts’ Herbology professor after the war. Su Er describes him as second only to Hannah in Herbology knowledge among those he is discussing 663.

Flying

Neville begins flying lessons without prior broomstick experience because of his grandmother’s restrictions 23.

• Listens attentively to Hermione’s explanations of flying techniques 23.
• Falls during his first lesson and breaks his arm, requiring an overnight stay in the Hospital Wing 23.

Defence Against Dark Magic

Neville participates in the Defence practice organized by Hermione and taught by Su Er under the identity of Professor Aibo. During a discussion of combat fundamentals, he correctly identifies a wand as a wizard’s most important piece of equipment and is visibly excited by Aibo’s approval 556 559.

• Impediment Jinx: Accurately casts the jinx to stop a werewolf from attacking a little girl at St. Mungo’s. Su Er praises both his aim and his willingness to act under pressure 575.
• Disillusionment Charm: Learns the charm alongside Hannah and offers it as a way to conceal the group preparing to rescue Sirius 610.
• Shield Charm: Shows considerable talent with defensive shielding. In sixth-year practice, he blocks Hermione’s nonverbally cast Densaugeo with a nonverbal defensive spell 632.
• Nonverbal spellcasting: Attains a basic grasp of the technique, although his practice is not uniformly silent; he quietly speaks the incantation for a Jelly-Legs Jinx before successfully defending nonverbally in the next exchange 632.
• Combat practice: Trains with Hannah in the Room of Requirement outside the group’s immediate crisis response 608.

Transfiguration

During his first year, Neville considers his Transfiguration weak and tells his friends that he still cannot properly transfigure a needle. He cites this difficulty when explaining why he does not believe he can fight Malfoy 70.

Power Progression

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Remembrall: Sent by his grandmother. The milky-white sphere turns red when its holder has forgotten something; it does so when Neville receives it, and Malfoy subsequently snatches it from him 23. In his third year, Neville fails to notice it glowing red on his bedside table when he leaves without his satchel 307.
• School robes and cloak: Worn for his arrival and Sorting Ceremony at Hogwarts 14 15.
• Dragonhide gloves: Wears protective gloves while working with Mandrakes 85.
• Wand: Uses it in defensive training and to protect a child from a werewolf. Its wood and core are not specified in these accounts 575 608 632.
• Class timetable: Keeps Gryffindor’s weekly timetable in his satchel. Su Er secretly takes it while investigating Hermione’s overlapping classes, realizing that he is responsible for Neville losing it 307.

Relationships

• Grandmother — A witch whose expectations make Neville anxious. She wants him in Gryffindor, gives him Trevor and the Remembrall, and prohibits him from using broomsticks before school 12 13 23. She wants him to become an Auror like his father, although she acknowledges his lifelong love of plants. Her anxious inspection after the werewolf incident shows her concern for his safety; Neville unusually finds the courage to resist being pulled about while insisting he is unharmed 575.
• Father — A Gryffindor graduate whose house affiliation shapes his grandmother’s hopes for Neville 12. He was an Auror and, together with Neville’s mother, was tortured into insanity by Voldemort’s followers 575.
• Mother — Shares her husband’s fate after being tortured by Voldemort’s followers. Neville visits his parents at St. Mungo’s, and Aibo reassures him that they would be proud of his bravery 575.
• Trevor — His pet toad. Neville repeatedly believes him missing when he is actually sitting on Neville’s head 13 14.
• Su Er Ellison — A friend met on the Hogwarts Express. Su Er interrupts Hermione’s overwhelming questions, reassures Neville before Sorting, and helps him evade the staff during the midnight outing 12 15 24. He later removes Malfoy’s hexes, rescues Neville from Ashwinders, encourages him to stand up to his bully, and helps him approach Hannah 59 65 70 184 223. As Professor Aibo, he teaches Neville defensive magic, praises his rescue of a child, and defends his achievements when his grandmother compares him with his father 559 575. After the war, he supports Neville’s appointment as Herbology professor and calls them comrades-in-arms 663.
• Hermione Granger — A friend and fellow Gryffindor who comforts him over Trevor, helps with his clothing, accompanies him to the Hospital Wing, and brings him safely back to their dormitory after the corridor incident 13 15 23 25. She angrily rejects Malfoy’s claim that Neville is too cowardly for Gryffindor, urges him to resist bullying, and helps him rehearse an invitation to Hannah for the Christmas ball 59 70 443. They also practice defensive spells against one another 632.
• Hannah — His Herbology study partner and fellow greenhouse helper under Professor Sprout 25. They exchange letters over the summer before third year, and Hannah accepts an invitation to Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop that Su Er conveys on Neville’s behalf 184. Their closeness develops into a romantic relationship: they spend much of their free time together in the greenhouses, and Su Er once startles Neville into embracing a blushing Hannah at Honeydukes 279 282 468. They practice defensive magic together and insist on accompanying Harry’s proposed rescue of Sirius 608 610. In the postwar period, she is Hannah Longbottom, Neville’s wife, and encourages him as he leaves to begin teaching at Hogwarts 663.
• Professor Sprout — A supportive teacher who takes a particular liking to Neville and supervises his work tending herbs 25. She rewards his detailed Herbology knowledge and includes him and Hannah in her Greenhouse Club 210 575.
• Draco Malfoy — Treats Neville poorly: his group drives Neville out while he searches for Trevor, and Malfoy later takes his Remembrall 14 23. Malfoy also hexes Neville’s legs and mouth, claiming that he needs someone on whom to practice, and later uses a Freezing Charm on him before the Ashwinder crisis 59 65 69. Neville’s fear of retaliation initially prevents him from reporting the bullying 59.
• Harry Potter and Ron Weasley — Fellow Gryffindors who encourage Neville after Malfoy’s attacks and cite his previous willingness to fight as proof of his courage 70. Neville firmly supports Harry’s qualifications to teach defensive magic and later insists on helping him reach Sirius 552 610. Ron prevents Malfoy from ambushing Neville and Hannah near Umbridge’s office, earning Neville’s thanks 611.
• Professor Snape — A teacher whose treatment causes Neville considerable distress. Su Er repeatedly finds him secretly wiping away tears after Snape’s targeting of Gryffindors, particularly Neville, intensifies during third year 200.
• Professor Aibo — Neville’s defensive instructor, actually Su Er in disguise. Neville is delighted by his praise and identifies him to his grandmother as a teacher after the St. Mungo’s incident 559 575.

Story Role / Major Arcs

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