Neville's Memory, PoA ?s

[Trina]

No: HPFGUIDX 20214

Not necessarily in that order. <VBG>

Firstly, a clarification regarding the Grim ? is needed.  *Of course* 
Harry sees Sirius, not a Grim.  You know that; I know that; everyone 
who has read PoA in its entirety knows that.  However, at *that* 
point in the story, before we know that Sirius Black is a big black 
dog who is hanging out in search of Peter/Scabbers, did you/Harry 
think that it was, indeed, the Grim?  

The speculation that Neville has had a memory charm on him has once 
again, IMO, reared its ugly head.  Yes, he is a very forgetful young 
man, no doubt about it, but I do not believe he has had a memory 
modification performed.  I don't think he was around when his parents 
were tortured. There is no evidence anywhere that he was (or 
wasn't).  Who's to say that the Longbottoms weren't on their way to a 
meeting at the MoM, dinner with friends, or off on a mini-break to 
reconnect as a couple when the DE's waylaid them?  The point is we 
don't have all the details.  In my opinion,  Neville's memory 
problems stem from his subconscious fear of magic.  He wants to be 
good at it and not so hopeless, but I think, deep down, he *doesn't* 
want to, on the grounds that if he just "gets by" nobody will notice 
him and therefore, not curse him.  He has a big self-confidence 
problem which inhibits his magical ability.  I am so longing for the 
day when everything clicks for him and he realizes that trusting 
himself and his magic is not to be feared.  I hope it comes soon.  He 
has had a few big brave moments--he takes on Crabbe and Goyle, he 
hunts Harry and Hermione to tell them that Malfoy is trying to catch 
them, he admits he left the list of passwords lying about, he asks 
Hermione to the Yule Ball (hey, for a timid 14 yo, this is big!).  I 
have high hopes for our dear Neville.  

I was going to tackle the Muggle question too, but I feel my thoughts 
on the subject are still too nebulous for submission as yet...

Trina