OOP: The One and Neville's Gran

[Grey Wolf]

No: HPFGUIDX 62115

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "aRk" <ark286 at y...> wrote:
> "And I know people will argue, well 
> > if Neville had been marked, but Harry's scar has never given him 
> > power, just knowledge he probably would have been happier without, 
> > and that didn't start until he entered Hogwarts."
> 
> ME:
> I thought that Vold *had* transferred powers to Harry through the 
> curse scar, including the ability to speak Parseltongue, and other, 
> still unrevealed powers that made the Sorting Hat consider putting 
> him in Slytherin in his first year. 
> 
> Is there a consensus?

In this list? You'll be lucky if you manage consensus in Harry's name: 
IMO, Harry James Potter. The great thing of this list is that almost 
always someone will provide a different viewpoint.

That said, I agree that Voldemort did transfer a copy of his powers to 
Harry through the failed AK; which explains Harry's abilities, like his 
ability to cast such a powerful patronus, accio'ing brooms from the far 
side of the school grounds, etc.
 
> And -- Neville definitely is coming into his own now, and I agree 
> that his wand breaking is important, because now his Gran will have 
> to take him to Ollivander and get him a custom one, and for sure 
> he'll be able to do better magic.

Unfortunately, we have little canon supporting Ollivander's claims. Ron 
got a new wand after CoS, and his powers didn't suddenly double. While 
I won't discuss that wands can be fine tuned to the individual (and 
that Ollivander could have foreshadowed Neville's new wand), I believe 
that Neville's powers will continue to improve thanks to Harry's 
tutoring and not thanks to the new wand. After all, what Neville really 
needs is confidence, and he's getting that in bucketfulls lately.
 
> I'm so angry at Gran for letting Neville use his father's wand all 
> this time, and for insulting him that he's bad at magic. Maybe if 
> she had got him his own wand, he wouldn't be having so much trouble. 
> I know, I know, she probably thought it was nice for him to have his 
> father's wand, but we all know that effective magic cannot be 
> performed without your own special wand.
> 
> Ugh, I'm so, so resentful of Gran!!!!

I believe that Gran gave him that want to improve Neville's confidence, 
by giving him something that reflected their trust in his powers (just 
like the toad). Unfortunately, I think that, just like the toad, it did 
little to improve his self confidence - the toad keep escaping and 
(IMO, no canon) he was affraid of not being able to do what his father 
could with the wand.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf