JKR's FAQ answer about Neville

[carolynwhite2]

--- In HPFGU-Catalogue at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:
> 
> "AHA" roared the codger, undoubtedly rubbing his hands together 
with glee at the prospect of juicy new canon to shape in his own 
image. 

Miss Havisham smiled too (very briefly), in the act of pinning up 
cataloguing decree #298405793457023750237520 on the subject of 
bringing children into the world, never mind the office, and grimly 
hoped Nora would be foolish enough to reply. 

Nothing like a good rumpus.....why only last night she had taken 
solace in the archives and come across the epic bar room fight where 
Cindy had kicked over the MD table, spraying the walls with ketchup, 
and whilst she did battle with Pip and Grey Wolf, Eloise et al had 
mounted a takeover bid for the Big Bang destroyer. Stirring stuff... 
much better than the real thing really.

Sighing, she paused mid-rant, something was not right..

> An odd look passed over Miss Havisham's face and she quickly turned 
> and rushed into her office, slamming the door.
> 
> "What the....?" Potioncat muttered, stunned her punishment was cut 
off so abruptly.
> 
> Jen snorted, "She can't find her desk anymore."
> 

Taking her newly-purchased pitchfork, Miss Havisham grimly started to 
spear the new crop of explanations about Neville and Harry which had 
flooded in overnight. Many of them had bunches of flowers attached to 
them, photographs and soggy teddies, unpleasantly reminiscent of the 
late Princess of Wales' timely departure.

The fluffies were clearly greatly heartened by JKR's latest. It was 
not only going to be about sacrificial mothers' love, but Dad's could 
join in too! (JKR says either Alice or Frank could have saved 
Neville).

How touching. So AK is not unblockable after all.. and is this a life-
long effect? Does it still work if a person in their 70s or 80s 
throws themselves in front of their (by now) grown-up child? You 
might have thought that people would have been reminded of this as a 
means of survival during VW1. People like Molly, for instance, kind 
of thing she'd have relished doing, I'd have thought, although of 
course with seven kids you do have the difficulty of knowing which 
one to throw yourself in front of when the time came. 

Miss Havisham paused, and considered something she had overheard as 
she came through the office:

> Jen, who continues to be amazed by how JKR can write so very much 
and yet say so very little. ;)

Ah, Jen..you are usually much more perceptive than this. Perhaps if 
you had not currently got yourself covered in dragons' blood ointment 
and entangled in a TURBAN you would have noted:

>>In choosing which boy to murder, he [Voldemort] was also (without 
realising it) choosing which boy to anoint as the Chosen One - >>

>> he [Dumbledore] believes Voldemort did indeed choose the boy most 
likely to be able to topple him, for Harry's survival has not 
depended wholly or even mainly upon his scar.>>

>>Neville, the boy who was so nearly King?>>

Remember the words from the broken prophecy orbs:

'...at the solstice will come a new...'
'..and none will come after..'

This little tidbit appears to be yet more confirmation that we appear 
to be going down the well-trodden route of a prophecied saviour, who, 
through no fault of his own, gets the crown bunged on his head and 
has to soldier and do his best when it happens to him, optionally 
dying in the process.

Yawn. Anyone read King Arthur, Narnia, LOTR, derivatives like the 
Belgarion series...The Once and Future King..

Can she really be doing yet another re-telling of the myth?? How 
dull, dull, dull, dull.

The only bright spot might be that Dumbledore has indeed twisted a 
whole lot of events to put Harry in the frame, and that Harry has the 
strength of mind to tell him to go to hell for his trouble. Is this 
likely? Nope.

Carolyn