Neville (was: More on Snape & a couple of questions)

[severin_szaltis]

No: HPFGUIDX 56469

Kathryn Cawte wrote:

> Neville - when the new Gryffindors are discussing their origins 
Neville sayd
> "Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch but the family 
thought I was
> all Muggle for ages" But a non-magical person born into a wizarding 
family
> isn't a muggle, they're a squib - like Filch. So why does he say 
muggle? We
> know his parents were tortured by Death Eaters and are in St Mungos 
so it's
> not like his mother was a squib who married a muggle. I'm confused. 

Katy: 
Well at that point in the series, we haven't been introduced to what 
a "squib"
is...and it probably would've taken away from the scene to have to 
stop and
explain it. So JKR used a term that we already knew and 
has 'basically' the
same meaning - a non-magic person. I can't imagine there being any 
deeper
meaning than that. 

Personally I think either (a) JKR didn't think of the term until book 
two, (b) it was an error not picked up by the editor or (c) 'squib' 
is such an embarrassing/shamful or derogatory term that Neville 
preferred not to us it in relation to himself.  

Though I think that (a) is most likely, I like to believe 
(c); 'squib' and it's associations/connotations are seen as more 
humiliating than 'muggle' ones and that Neville was using the 
term 'muggle' euphemistically - bless him and his errant toad.

SS ~;o)