Neville: and some random thoughts.

[grey_wolf_c]

No: HPFGUIDX 38610

Dogberry wrote:
> Lots of Questions here! sorry if i repeat anything that's been said.
> Just been re-reading some of the scenes with Neville (despite having 
> a huge project to complete and exams to START revising for which 
> start next week!!)And there are a few things that still bug me.

I'm not, by my reckoning, a Neville expert, but still, offering 
theories is what I'm here for, so I'm going to give it a try. If anyone 
disagrees, feel free to say so (not that you need the reminder, but 
anyway...)

> In POA, before he takes on the boggart...
> Lupin says ... "Neville, I belive you live with your grandmother?"
> "Er yes" said Neville nervously "But I don't want the boggart to turn 
> into her either"
> Is Neville really that scared of his gran or is it just that he 
> doesn't want to hurt even something that looks like a member of his 
> own family?

He's definetely afraid of her. She's a very hard woman, and even Harry 
is afraid of her, and he doesn't even know her. I know she's Neville's 
family, but that doesn't mean that -even if Neville loves her- he can't 
be scared of her temper (or temper-tantrums). If you ever watched 
Heidi, think of Mrs. Rottenmeyer or even the Grandfather at the 
beggining of the story (especially the latter, since Heidi loved him 
but was afraid nontheless).

> And what is he nervous about, the boggart or people 
> asking him why he was bought up with his gran?

He would be nervous about the boggart, since Neville is not too brave, 
and he knows that, when facing his worst fear, he's going to loose the 
fight (until he gets a weapon against that fear, that is)

> WHY? I don't understand why Neville hasn't mentioned his parents to 
> anyone? Could it be that he is intimidated by Harry? Harry has had a 
> lot of attention because of his parents, Neville doesn't like 
> attention very much or feels that people will just see him as trying 
> to be a copycat?

It is very hard to talk about something like that to strangers. Having 
no direct family, and to admit you've been brought up by someone 
different than your real parents can be very hard, especially if you're  
afraid of people wanting to know more, as in Neville's case. Neville 
lives in a world of fear, since he's never had a loving mother or 
father figure that protected him form those fears and taught him how to 
face them. His grandmother, as far as I can tell, is not loving. 
protective, yes, and she's taken good care of Neville over the years, 
but she hasn't been a good substiute of a mother.

No, I don't think he's intimidated by Harry's fame or they 
similarities. He's, simply, afraid of strangers and, since he hasn't 
got any close friends he can trust (if I was him, I would NOT trust a 
group that hitted me with a "petrificus totalis" and then left me 
there), he hasn't confided in someone enough to tell those -so very 
private- facts of his life.

> Or does he feel responsiable in a way, to what happened, is there 
> more to his story then meets the eye?

There are, indeed several members who have devised theories that have 
any number of cruel and dark theories around that scene, incluing the 
famous TOADKEEPER, which has his parents souls infused into Trevor. Ask 
aruound, and you'll probably get many different possibilities of "more 
to the story than meets the eye".

> I think there is something for that last question because after 
> Moody's lesson in TGOF, Neville say (in a high voice)
<snip recounting of Neville's post-unforgivables class actions>
> Neville is in fact trying to say the same thing twice!!! A bit of a 
> silly thing to do especially as they heard it the first time and 
> acknowledged it. He phrases it the same why too! But why does he 
> repeat it and get the second time wrong. Is it something to do with 
> the fact that he is trying to forget what he saw because he had 
> witnessed or is it a side effect of of memory charm? If it is the 
> latter, then the who and why questions arise again. Also Neville 
> talks in a very high voice after the dementors enter the  train in 
> POA.

Neville's reaction is perfectly reasonable from a very basic point of 
view: he's been VERY shacken by the Crucio spell. He has heard the 
recounting of what happened to his parents (how else would he know the 
Crucio spell?), and he's terribly afraid of the pain that maddened 
them, since he has seen what it can do to a human being. He simply 
cannot overcome it, and is trying to think about something else 
-anything- but isn't working.

> *Sigh* I'm really worried about Neville, I'm really fond of him!!
> Anyway, answers to the usual address ;)
> One very anxious, confused and naughty (must get on with my project 
> and revision)
> Dogberry

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf