OOP: Neville Questions/Thoughts (Spoilers) WAS Re: re:oop questions and...

[ezzleberry621]

No: HPFGUIDX 66874

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jmgarciaiii" 
<jmgarciaiii at y...> wrote:
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Joe in SoFla wrote:
> Well, here are mine, and worth every knut you paid for them:
> 
> 1- Neville's parents are probably NOT being given the 
treatment they 
> need to get better at St. Mungo's (Isn't St. M's Lucius Malfoy's 
> favorite charity?) but rather are being warehoused there and 
KEPT 
> from getting better.

Me:
I agree with this, I'm sure there's a connection between this and 
Malfoy's wallet. That being said, I had a thought that maybe Mrs. 
L. has recovered to some degree, but is now faking it. Maybe 
some of the info she has could put Neville in harm's way, so she 
keeps up the act to protect him.
> 
> 2- Mrs. Longbottom (and THAT scene was a zillion times more 
moving 
> to me than Sirius' demise) handing Neville those gum 
wrappers is of 
> HUGE significance. These mean something, and something 
quite 
> important at that.

Me:
My heart broke for Neville when I read that scene. Going back to 
my reply above, if Mrs. L has regained her sanity, then maybe 
she's passing messages to Neville via the gum wrappers.
> 
> 4- Is "Gran" just mean, insensitive or perhaps something more 
> towards Neville?

Me:
Gran does appear to be rather mean & domineering, but maybe 
she's doing this to protect Neville. Up until LV "marked" Harry, the 
prophecy could have applied to either boy. The Potter's knew they 
were in danger, and took security measures, so I'm guessing 
that the Longbottom's knew as well. I don't know how much of 
the prophecy Gran knows, but perhaps she feels that by not 
allowing Neville to realize his full magical potential, she is 
disqualifying Neville (in her mind anyway), from being the "one 
who has the potential to vanquish the Dark Lord." A boy with low 
self esteem and poor wizarding skills surely can't save the 
wizarding world. Giving Neville his father's wand which may not 
be suited for Neville, and belittling him could result in Neville's 
lack of confidence, hence poor skills. 
> 
> 5- Just WHY is Neville's memory so bad? ([Semi]Permanent 
damage from 
> a Memory Charm??)

Me:
If Neville is the victim of a memory charm, it could be part of his 
Gran's plan to protect her grandson by limiting his magical 
abilities, or it maybe young Neville witnessed something as a 
baby that could put him in danger.
> 
> It strikes me that Neville's "lack of ability" is merely the result 
> of the unfortunate combination of factors, i.e., poor memory 
and low 
> self-confidence. However, in OotP, we see him progress and 
we rarely 
> (ever?) hear of his forgetfulness. We see him become almost 
as quick 
> a study at DA as Hermione, and we see him become 
*resourceful* (that 
> wand-in-the-eye thing was MARVELOUS!) Lastly, we see 
(again) his 
> courage, which has never been played up as it has always 
been 
> counterbalanced by his lack of ability. Anyone willing to stand 
up 
> to his friends and all...

Me:
It seems that Neville is finally becoming the wizard he was 
meant to be. I can't wait to see his role in books 6 & 7.

Erin