The cause of Neville 's poor memory--theory

[Susan McGee]

No: HPFGUIDX 1995

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Kelley " <SKTHOMPSON_1 at m...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "milz " <absinthe at m...> wrote:
> > Neville has a notoriously poor memory. Could he be under a 
powerful 
> > Memory Charm? In GoF, we find out that Neville's parents were 
> > attacked by Death Eaters. First, his father was put under the 
> > Cruciatus Curse, then his mother. I believe Dumbledore said that 
> the 
> > attack on the Longbottoms occurred long after V.'s disappearance. 
> Did 
> > a two year old Neville witness this? And if he did, did his well-
> > meaning Grandmother put a Memory Charm on him to help him forget, 
> but 
> > also managed to mess up his memory in general? Afterall, two year 
> > olds can be scared by scary movies, sounds and people.
> 
> Milz--  I know this was practically 200 posts ago, but I've really 
> been wanting to comment here.  I think this is a great idea.  He 
gets 
> so shaken up about the Cruciatus curse, it sure seems like he might 
> have witnessed it being performed on his parents.  If he didn't see 
> it, someone must have told him about it in graphic detail.  And, I 
> can certainly imagine his grandmother using a memory charm on him 
so 
> he doesn't have to live with those memories every day.  But, when 
he 
> was in class and gave the Cruciatus curse answer, he sure seemed to 
> have some memories of something.  And, I looked in GoF, and Dumble 
> just says the attacks on the Longbottoms occurred after Vold's 
> downfall.  I couldn't find any other clues about when this might 
have 
> happened.  Well, no question Neville will figure more prominently 
in 
> the future, guess we'll learn his story then.
> 
> Kelley

Interesting..I think Neville might be suffering from some post 
traumatic stress, whether he witnessed the torture of his parents (I 
think he probably did) or just witnessed the result (remember he 
visits them in the asylum for the incurably insane and they don't 
recognize him).

My best guess is that he is repressing his magical abilities, because
he thinks that if he's a wizard, the fate that befell his parents 
will befall him (kind of like Regis Hastur who is repressing his 
laran because it's associated with his attraction to men.  Remember 
that his relatives kept trying to "surprise" the magic in him and all 
failed until a relative was hanging him by his ankles out of the 
window (don't have book in front of me), and accidentally let him go.
He could have been killed, but he bounced.

He consciously thinks that he wants to be a competent wizard, but his 
unconscious is determined to keep him safe. Also, has anyone else 
noticed that when one is under a ton of stress, it's hard to remember 
ordinary things?

Susan