Neville's Role in Books Six/Seven

[augustinapeach]

No: HPFGUIDX 82610

Fernando Henning (with Manya Elf's help) wrote:

I have something to say about Neville Longbottom and his role in the 
Harry Potter series. I never paid any special attention to Neville 
until recently. In fact, my interest in Neville started when I read 
Chapter 37 of OoP, when Dumbledore is talking to Harry about the 
prophecy and says:

"Sybill's prophecy could have applied to two wizard boys, both born 
at the end of July that year, both of whom had parents in the Order 
of the Phoenix, both sets of parents having narrowly escaped 
Voldemort three times. One, of course, was you. The other was 
Neville 
Longbottom."

I, too,  never paid a lot of attention to Neville's role in the 
story either, until the statement by Dumbledore that you cited and 
until reading some of the posts on this list about the prophecy.  
Those things spurred me to think about him more, and I've hit some 
questions that I can't answer conclusively. 

First, I wonder about the Sorting Hat's process for putting Neville 
in Gryffindor.  On first reading PS/SS, I thought it was just that 
the hat was having a tough time deciding whether to put Neville 
*anywhere*.  But with the additional information from OoP, I wonder 
if Neville and the Hat had an interaction similar to Harry's – but I 
can't see the Hat seriously considering Neville for Ravenclaw or 
Slytherin.  From the song in PS/SS (p. 118 US), it would seem 
through most of the series that Neville was better suited for 
Hufflepuff ("just and loyal").  But I think we're just beginning to 
see what the Hat saw in Neville ("daring, nerve, and chivalry").

Next, I have a theory (go easy on me, please! I'm still new at 
this!) that Neville might know about the prophecy.  In posts 82276 
and 82282, members discuss the action Dumbledore reasonably would 
have taken after hearing the prophecy to try to protect the 
Potters.  Since at that point, Dumbledore didn't know whether the 
prophecy referred to the Potters or the Longbottoms, I think it is 
reasonable to assume he would have offered the same type of 
protection (acting as Secret-Keeper) to the Longbottoms.  Of course, 
after the attack on Harry and Voldemort's defeat, the Longbottoms 
probably assumed (as did everyone else involved) that Harry was the 
subject of the prophecy.  But I don't think it is too far-fetched to 
think that Neville's grandmother might have told Neville the whole 
story at some point.  (Well, ok, it's starting to sound a little 
crazy to me, too.) She seems proud of the family's role and willing 
to discuss these issues with Neville, or at least where he can hear 
her talk about them (see p. 219 in OoP).  Neville is certainly 
capable of keeping the secret – after all, after five years at 
Hogwarts, no one knows about his parents.    This theory might 
explain on an even deeper level why Neville was so insistent in the 
MoM fight that Harry hang on to the prophecy (p. 800, OoP).  If he 
*doesn't* know about the prophecy, he's willing to undergo the 
Cruciatus Curse out of loyalty to his friend and to keep Voldemort 
from getting something he obviously wants (even if Neville can't 
understand why).  But if he *does* know the prophecy, Neville 
understands the importance of keeping that prophecy away from 
Voldemort – to protect the only person who can overcome Voldemort.  
Now, *that* would place Neville squarely in Gryffindor!