[HPforGrownups] Re:new Professor/Neville's confidence in himself

[Peg Kerr]

No: HPFGUIDX 5768



Suzanne Burns wrote:

> --- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Sam  Brown" <find_sam at h...> wrote:
> > --- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Heidi Henshaw"
> > <hermione_heidi at h...> wrote:
> > > Hi I'm  Heidi and I have heard that the new professor at Hogwarts
> > will be
> > > Neville Longbottom, and that he will teach Herbology.
> > >
> > Do we even know that Neville *is* good at Herbology? Or did 'Moody'
> > just say that he was good at Herbology as a way of getting the
> > Mediterranean aquatic plants book (its exact name has slipped my
> > memory at the moment :) into Harry's dormitory?
>
> Somewhere is GoF, before Moody takes Neville aside, Harry is startled
> when Neveille raises his hand to answer a question in DADA because he
> rarely volunteers an answer, except in Herbology, his best subject.
>
> The big irony-- and I really noticed it, having been a teacher for six
> years-- was that altough Moody's only interest was in getting the book
> into Harry's room, his encouragement of Neville still had a striking
> effect. Later in the chapter it states that Harry was not the only one
> staying up late that night thinking about things. So was Neville.

I think it isn't the faux Moody's encouragement that's making Neville lie
awake that night.  I think it's because he's suffering post-traumatic stress
syndrome from seeing faux Moody perform the Crucio curse in class that day.
Someone floated the idea awhile ago that Neville might have had his memory
altered with memory charms because he witnessed the attack on his parents.
Neville's poor memory is notorious--but he's obviously struggling with
something after class that day.  Is it just the knowledge that his parents
underwent what he just witnessed?  Or did his original memory suddenly come
flooding back?

> I think Neville very likely has a great deal of ability which is all
> laying dormant because of his lack of faith in himself-- a big stickler
> is his relationship with his domineering grandmother, who doesn't allow
> him much space to grow.

Yes--but a too-intrusive memory charm could be part of the problem, too.

Interesting.  I hope Neville will tell us what he remembers in a later
book.  This plot thread has suddenly made Neville much more
interesting--just like Snape.  The mysterious past intrigues . . .

Peg