NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM, THE GREAT HIDDEN LEADERSHIP

Today, The Grandma has been reading about a family's friend, Neville Longbottom, who is a great example of loyalty, friendship and leadership. Remember: the real leader is always in the shadow.

Professor Neville Longbottom is a British pure-blood wizard, the only child and son of Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Neville's parents were well-respected Aurors and members of the original Order of the Phoenix, until they were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and three other Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse when he was about sixteen months old. They were placed in the Janus Thickey Ward at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, leaving Neville to be raised by his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom.

Neville began school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Gryffindor House, along with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. Throughout his school years, he was mostly a shy, clumsy, introverted boy who was constantly being told by his grandmother that he was not good enough or living up to his parents' accomplishments.

However, in his later years, he showed that he possessed great courage andperseverance: he became an important member of Dumbledore's Army, an organisation taught and led by Harry Potter with the goal of helping other students learn spells to attack and defend themselves.

Neville would later fight in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries (1996), the Battle of the Astronomy Tower (1997), and the Battle of Hogwarts (1998). During the Battle of Hogwarts, having refused Lord Voldemort's invitation to join the Death Eaters, he destroyed the seventh and final Horcrux when he beheaded the snake Nagini. He also co-led the D.A. during his final year in opposition to the Death Eater professors.

Neville Longbottom was born to Frank and Alice Longbottom, a pair of Aurors. Moments after his birth, Neville was able to adjust his blankets so that he was swaddled more snugly, but no one witnessed this unusually precocious display of underage magic. The midwife who attended the birth assumed that his father had tucked him in more tightly. Neville was born several hours before his classmate, Harry. 

As a pure-blood wizard, he was likely related to other wizarding families such as the Weasleys, Crouches, Potters, and the Blacks. Neville's parents were members of The Order of the Phoenix and in these roles, they defied Lord Voldemort at least three times.

Neville was one of two infants referred to in a prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney about the person with the power to defeat the Dark Lord. The other was Harry Potter, and it was Harry whom Lord Voldemort targeted making Harry his equal and leading to his first defeat.

Shortly after, a handful of Lord Voldemort's most loyal followers attacked The Longbottoms. Frank and Alice were tortured into insanity with the Cruciatus Curse by Death Eaters Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus Lestrange, her brother-in-law Rabastan Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jr.

More information: Wizarding World I & II

The four Death Eaters were all sentenced to Azkaban for their crimes, while Frank and Alice were sent to St Mungo's Hospital, where they would live the rest of their lives, not being able to recognise their own son. Neville was subsequently raised by his paternal grandmother, Augusta Longbottom. At some point early in his life, he also witnessed the death of his grandfather.

Neville's grandmother was a stern and formidable woman who was concerned when her grandson did not exhibit early signs of magic.

Neville did, however, show faint signs of magic in him throughout his early years, something which his family persistently missed  -the first such sign took place moments after birth, when Neville managed to magically shift his blankets more snugly over himself, something which went unnoticed by midwife who attended his mother. She often chided Neville for not living up to his family's honour and was partly the reason for Neville's lack of self-confidence early in his school years.
 

His relatives feared that Neville might be a Squib, though this wasdisproved when his great-uncle Algie was holding him out of awindowby his feet when he was offered some lemon meringue and let go.

Neville bounced. Previous to this, there were various attempts to make him show signs of magic, including dropping him off Blackpool pier, where, according to Neville, he nearly drowned. Neville inherited his father's wand at the age of eleven when he started to attend Hogwarts. This wand was later broken during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

Neville began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While with his grandmother at platform 9¾, he lost his toad Trevor. Once on the train, he met Hermione Granger, who agreed to help him find his lost toad, and then Harry Potter and Ron Weasley when he entered their compartment tearfully looking for Trevor. After arriving at Hogsmeade Station, Neville managed to retrieve his toad from Rubeus Hagrid. 

Neville felt intimidated by Gryffindor's reputation for bravery. During the Sorting ceremony, he silently argued for a long time to be placed in Hufflepuff, but the Sorting Hat won in the end, and Sorted him into Gryffindor. 

Neville was so nervous that when the Sorting Hat shouted out his house, he ran across the Great Hall with the Hat still on his head; he had to return to the stool to hand the Hat to the next student. On the way to Gryffindor Tower after the Welcoming Feast, Neville had a bundle of walking sticks dropped on his head by Peeves the Poltergeist.

More information: Wizarding World I, II & III

During Christmas break, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny learned that Neville's parents were not dead, but patients in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, having gone insane after being tortured by a group of Death Eaters at the end of the First Wizarding War. Harry was the only one who already knew this, having found out in the Pensieve, but he had told no one, keeping Neville's secret safe.

Before Neville left, his mother handed him an empty Droobles Blowing Gum wrapper; while his grandmother wanted him to throw it away, Neville instead pocketed it.

When it was learned that ten Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban, including three of the ones responsible for the torture of Neville's parents, Neville did not speak of it, but it wrought a strange and even slightly alarming change in him, according to Harry. He worked harder than anyone in D.A. meetings, and was the fastest to pick up new spells aside from Hermione.

Neville participated in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. Along with Luna Lovegood, he was the only member of Dumbledore's Army to reply to the summons via the coins. 

Neville stood guard outside the Room of Requirement with Ron and Ginny, waiting for Draco Malfoy, who evaded them by using Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

Neville suffered an injury that kept him in the hospital wing for some time, though he was able to attend the funeral of Albus Dumbledore shortly afterwards, where Luna helped him into his seat.

Lord Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic. While Muggle-borns were rounded up and Harry, Ron, and Hermione went on the run to search for Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, Neville returned to Hogwarts, and, along with Ginny and Luna, restarted Dumbledore's Army.

The D.A. opposed the new headmaster, Severus Snape, and the two new Death Eater professors, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, who taught anti-Muggle propaganda and the Dark Arts.

Neville got in trouble with the Carrows for refusing to practise the Cruciatus Curse on other students as a method of punishment, as well as for standing up against their bigotry and cruelty.

The revived D.A. helped protect fellow students from being bullied by the Death Eater teachers, and generally rebelled against authority, such as writing Dumbledore’s Army, still recruiting on the Hogwarts walls and freeing students from detention.

Neville, Luna and Ginny also attempted to steal Godric Gryffindor's sword from Snape's office, but were caught on the way out. In his own way to subvert the Carrows' manner of discipline, Snape only gave them a detention, sending them into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid.

More information: Wizarding World I, II & III

Neville eventually decided to cease their open rebellion after Michael Corner was caught and brutally tortured for freeing a chained-up first year.

Neville was eventually left alone to lead the rebellion efforts, as Luna was dragged off the Hogwarts Express by Death Eaters around Christmas to coerce her father into ceasing his political dissidence in The Quibbler, and Ginny did not return to Hogwarts following the Easter holidays, as her family went into hiding following Harry, Ron, and Hermione's escape from Malfoy Manor. By this time, the Carrows were aware of Neville's role in the rebellion, and he suffered beatings and torture. The Ministry also targeted Neville's grandmother to try to intimidate him, but she evaded capture and went on the run.

Neville enthusiastically greeted Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and led them from the Hog's Head into the Room of Requirement. While in the tunnel he explained to the trio the nature of his injuries and the reign of the Carrows at Hogwarts. He also informed the trio that the D.A. had been reinstated and was currently resisting the new regime.

Believing that their return meant the overthrow of the Death Eater professors, Neville signalled the rest of the D.A. to return to Hogwarts. As students returned, along with The Order of the Phoenix, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eater army approached, laying siege to the school in the hopes of capturing Harry Potter.

During the first round of battle, Neville used various plants to attack Death Eaters, and helped transport the injured and dead when a temporary cease-fire was called. He briefly spoke to Harry, who told him that it was top priority to kill Lord Voldemort's snake and Horcrux, Nagini.

When the Death Eaters approached with a dead Harry, Neville stood up in defiance of Lord Voldemort. He was subsequently forced to wear the Sorting Hat as it burned because he refused to join Lord Voldemort. Fortunately, due to Harry's sacrifice, Neville was able to shrug off the Full Body-Bind Curse with relative ease.

Because of his tremendous bravery shown on the battlefield, Neville was able to pull Godric Gryffindor's sword from the burning hat, in the process proving himself a true Gryffindor, something that was doubted constantly throughout due to his apparently weak-willed, shy, and bumbling nature. In a single stroke, he carried out Harry's final order, slaying Nagini, destroying Lord Voldemort's last remaining Horcrux.

Neville subsequently teamed up with Ron Weasley as the defenders of Hogwarts and Death Eaters were forced into the Great Hall and defeated Fenrir Greyback. Also during the Battle Neville duelled Scabior on the Covered Bridge. Scabior fell to his death when the bridge fell down.

Neville witnessed Harry Potter's final defeat of Lord Voldemort and survived the Second Wizarding War.

Neville is an English name originally derived from Norman French for new town. It was the surname of a noble and a powerful warrior lineage family prominent in England in the medieval period, as well as the given name of a Prime Minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, whose role in history is controversial.

Neville Chamberlain is infamous for his policy of appeasing dictator Adolf Hitler just prior to World War II, which is ironic, considering that Neville Longbottom never faltered in his defiance of Lord Voldemort.

Longbottom is the name of one of the Hobbits' villages at the Shire, known for its best pipe-weed.

Longbottom is a family name around Bristol, where J.K. Rowling spent part of her childhood.

More information: Screen Rant

Trevor is Neville Longbottom's pet toad, whom he frequently lost during his first year at Hogwarts.

Trevor was a gift from Neville's Great Uncle Algie in recognition of the first time Neville showed magical ability and thus gaining admission to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Eventually, Trevor wandered off and joined the other amphibians in and around the Black Lake.

Neville's great uncle Algie used to own Trevor until he gave him to Neville as a gift from him for receiving permission to go to Hogwarts.

Neville lost Trevor many times. For example, the first time he came to Hogwarts on the Hogwarts Express, Neville lost Trevor but was soon helped by Hermione Granger who met Harry Potter and Ron Weasley during her search.

Neville eventually found Trevor once reaching Hogwarts in one of the boats after Rubeus Hagrid asked Neville about Trevor.

Professor Filius Flitwick once made Trevor fly around his Charms classroom to skilfully demonstrate the Levitation Charm.

During the night Harry, Ron and Hermione went to penetrate the Underground Chambers, the trio left the common room but was confronted by Neville and a croaking Trevor until Hermione froze Neville using the Full Body-Bind Curse.

In Neville's third year, Trevor was part of the Frog Choir when they performed Double Trouble.

Later on the school year, Professor Severus Snape made Neville test his Shrinking Solution on the toad with the warning that if made incorrectly, it would likely be poisonous. After Trevor drank the potion, he successfully transformed into a tadpole, much to Neville's delight. However, Professor Snape was displeased and spitefully deducted five points from Gryffindor because Hermione had helped Neville create the potion.

Harry used Trevor to practise the Summoning Charm in his and Neville's fourth year.

When Harry encountered Neville in the last carriage of the Hogwarts Express in their fifth year, Neville had a one-handed grip on a struggling Trevor. Later, Neville dumped the toad into Harry's lap so that he could demonstrate the defensive mechanism of his Mimbulus Mimbletonia. This was to Harry's regret when Cho Chang then visited the compartment, as he would not have chosen to be sitting with Neville and Luna Lovegood, clutching a toad and dripping in Stinksap.

Trevor made a bid for freedom on the Hogwarts Express, but Neville caught him again.

At some point, Trevor escaped into the Lake. Both the pet and the owner felt a sense of relief.

More information: Screen Rant

 

 The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...

Born to those who have thrice defied him,

born as the seventh month dies...

and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,

but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...

and either must die at the hand of the other

for neither can live while the other survives...

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord

will be born as the seventh month dies.

Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy