Trevor, Neville and Gran (WAS Life Debts, Ambushes, Toads)

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 35673

Big Bang cruises easily through the placid waters, Jake Storm at the 
helm, MJollner manning the depth charges.  They tow a small rowboat, 
the moniker "ToadKeeper" neatly stenciled on the side.  The Captain 
reclines in her deck chair, her hat pulled low over her brow against 
the setting sun.

**Ka-BOOOOM!!!!**

"What was that?" cried MJollner, ducking the spray of salt water from 
the explosion.

"That was really close!"  Jake shouted, clutching the arms of his 
chair to steady himself, "Someone's firing at us, and it came from 
over there!"

The Captain rises from her perch, squinting toward the shore.  "Hard 
over, Jake. . . No, not that way.  *Toward* from the shore.  No, the 
other way!  Right, that's the ticket."

Big Bang slices through the water.  It slows as it reaches the still 
water, an eerie calm in the air.  The Captain reaches over the side 
and plucks a smooth, round object from the water.

"What is it, Captain?", asked MJollner.

"It's . . . it's a canonball, Sailor.  Whoever fired at ToadKeeper 
means business."  The Captain peered at the canonball, just able to 
make out a tiny inscription on the side.  "Serenity Now!" it read.

"Is it going to explode, Captain?  I think I have a right to know," 
MJollner demanded, her voice cracking.  "We *all* have a right to 
know!" 

The Captain surveyed her small but devoted crew, noting their young, 
sunburned faces and frightened eyes.  She smiled reassuringly.  "It's 
nothing to worry about, Sailor," she said evenly.  "It was just a 
Dud."

************

Judy Serenity fired:

>Anyway, Neville's uncle bought Neville the 
> toad after Neville got into Hogwarts; it says so in PS/SS. 

Yes, that is quite a powerful Scud missile Judy launched at the 
ToadKeeper theory.  After all, if Trevor was really purchased just 
weeks before Neville arrived at Hogwarts, it isn't likely that Trevor 
contains the souls of Neville's mother and father.  No, the 
ToadKeeper theory requires that Trevor the Toad have been around 13 
years ago when the Longbottoms were tortured.  So how does the 
ToadKeeper backstory sidestep Judy's clever citation to PS/SS?  

Very, very carefully, that's how.  In PS/SS, Neville says his family 
thought he "was all-Muggle for ages."  Great Uncle Algie seemed 
especially concerned with this, repeatedly trying to force some magic 
out of Neville.  This includes pushing Neville off of a pier, nearly 
drowning him.  Then, when Neville was 8, Uncle Algie dangled Neville 
out of a window, "accidently" letting go and bouncing Neville down 
the street.  "Gran was crying, she was so happy," Neville reports.  
Neville says that when he received his Hogwarts letter, "Great Uncle 
Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."  

Is that bit of canon enough to sink the ToadKeeper once and for all?  

Not a chance.   Actually, it is rather helpful.  Why on earth is 
Uncle Algie so darned concerned with forcing some magic out of 
Neville, anyway?  Indeed, the whole story seemed over the top to me 
when I first read it.  Would a grown man deliberately and repeatedly 
endanger a small orphaned boy just to spook some magic out of him?  
What's wrong with Uncle Algie, anyway?  Nobody is *that* bent.  It 
just doesn't ring true, does it?

The reason Neville's version of the story doesn't ring true is 
because it is not the whole story.  The *real* reason Uncle Algie 
desperately tries to force magic out of Neville (and the reason Gran 
cries when it finally works) is because Neville is the Longbottoms' 
ToadKeeper.  If Neville is a Squib, all is lost; the Longbottoms will 
never get their souls out of Trevor.  So Uncle Algie is hanging onto 
Trevor, getting increasingly worried and desperate that Neville might 
not be magical and so may never be able to restore the Longbottom's 
souls.  Eventually, due to Uncle Algie's desperate efforts, Neville 
is revealed to be a wizard, but a weak one.  Uncle Algie continues to 
fret.  

Then Neville gets his Hogwarts letter, establishing once and for all 
that Neville is not only a wizard, but a powerful enough wizard to go 
to Hogwarts.  Uncle Algie, overcome with emotion, finally gives 
Trevor to Neville, explaining to Neville exactly how important Trevor 
is and why.  Weeks later, Neville, not wanting to reveal any of this 
to his Hogwarts friends, says that Uncle Algie recently "bought" him 
the toad, which is a bit of a white lie.  

Indeed, I like this twist because it helps explain why Neville is so 
secretive about his parents and the importance of Trevor.  Whether 
Neville gets his parents back depends entirely on whether Neville is 
strong enough to work whatever spell is needed to restore them.  
Neville might well fail at this.  He doesn't want his friends to know 
what he is facing.  He doesn't need the pressure, the questions, the 
pity.  Neville is brave enough to be in Gryffindor, so Neville will 
tackle this little problem on his own.  So he leaves the impression 
that Bent Uncle Algie tormented Neville and recently bought Trevor as 
a gift. 

As for Neville's grandmother, Judy wrote:

> Also, Neville lost Trevor at Platform 9.75 in PS/SS, and his Gran 
>was just exasperated -- if that toad had her child's soul, I think 
>she'd be a bit more worried.  

Yes, there is that peculiar scene in PS/SS where we first meet 
Neville:

"Gran, I've lost my toad again."
"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh.

Neville's grandmother.  Gran, another female character lacking not 
only a first name, but a last name.  Gran, who Harry describes 
as "formidable looking."  Gran, who Harry hopes never finds out he 
impersonated Neville on the Knight Bus.  Why is it that Formidable 
Gran is merely exasperated that Neville loses Trevor if Trevor really 
contains the souls of the Longbottoms?

Because Gran is not the Witch Harry makes her out to be, that's why.  
Gran does plenty of loving, kind things in canon.  She sends 
Neville's Hogsmeade form to McGonagall directly.  She sends Neville 
the Rememberall.  And she doesn't come down too hard on Neville for 
losing Trevor because she knows just how painful all of this is for 
poor Neville.  She is hard on Neville because he needs to step up and 
learn enough magic to restore his parents, not because she is mean.  
Gran – the same Gran who cried when Neville received his Hogwarts 
letter --  has a heart, thank goodness.  

So, Judy's canonball did not sink ToadKeeper, although it certainly 
created quite a commotion on deck.  ToadKeeper, which is constructed 
of sturdy, reinforced Kevlar, survives.  Yet for some reason, people 
are not elbowing others aside for the opportunity to board 
ToadKeeper.  

So I issue a challenge.  Something Big must be going on with 
Neville.  Surely he isn't going to spend seven books as a timid, 
forgetful boy chasing after a useless toad.  What is Neville's 
backstory, then?  Any takers?

*****************

Big Bang listed in the waters, seemingly rudderless.  The Captain 
took a long, slow sip of her low-fat decaffinated mocha cappuccino, 
lazily wiping the foam from her upper lip.   "Jake," she called 
out, "take her out to sea."

"Captain, look!" MJollner cried, pointing to an empty plate sitting 
in Jake's chair.  "The Vienna sausages!  They're all gone."  

The Captain squinted across the open water and saw Jake climbing 
aboard the Good Ship George.  Its youthful, scantily-clad crew 
wrapped him in a velveteen smoking jacket, pressing a pipe into his 
chilled hands.  Jake gave the Captain a smart salute as he sank into 
a Barcolounger that appeared from a distance to be made of rich 
Corinthian leather.  

"Jake's gone! What are we doing to do, Captain?"  MJollner asked, 
looking downcast.

"There's only one thing we can do, Sailor,"  the Captain 
replied.  "Open another can of Vienna sausages."

************

--Cindy (who is not about to admit how close she came to raising the 
white flag over ToadKeeper)