Neville Longbottom and Bertha Jorkins

[r_e_d_queen at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 22984

> Rebecca J. (Anderson) Bohner wrote:
 
> Of course, it may well be argued that Snape is going about it all
wrong, and I would even agree.  The way he treats Neville just makes
the boy *more* timid and leads to *more* blunders, so instead of
setting him free it just traps him in a vicious cycle (viciousness
supplied by Snape).  But nobody ever said Snape was a trained
psychologist.


Contrast this to the way Lupin treat Neville in the Boggart chapter 
of PoA. Snape is in the teacher's lounge and says something to the 
effect of, "Maybe nobody's told you Lupin, but this class contains 
Neville Longbottom who's incapable of doing anything right unless 
Miss Granger is whispering the answers in his ear." Lupin replies, 
"Actually I was hoping Neville would help me with the first part of 
this operation, and I'm sure he'll perform admirably."

Neville, shaking in fear at first, goes on to defeat the the Boggart. 
At the end of class he step up again and, with relish, blows it to 
shreds. This makes me think that Neville, far from being a squib, 
could actually have the makings of a powerful wizard, with a little 
encouragement.

That is, if he can overcome the powerful memory charm that has 
caused his forgetfulness, as has been postulated on this list. I like 
this explanation for Neville's foibles, and it's supported by the 
case of another notoriously forgetful charachter: Bertha Jorkins. In 
GoF35 Barty Jr. says that the memory curse his father placed on
Bertha Jorkins was too powerful - it damaged her memory 
permanently.

Red Queen