Neville and stuff (Was: In Defense of Snape)

[dungrollin]

No: HPFGUIDX 122480


Dungrollin:
> I've found some canon to suggest that fear is actually a
> good motivator, and particularly for Neville:
>
> OotP, chapter 25 The Beetle at Bay:
> "Harry was pleased to see that all of them, even Zacharias Smith,
> had been spurred on to work harder than ever by the news that ten
> more Death Eaters were now on the loose, but in nobody was this
> improvement more pronounced than in Neville. The news of his
> parents' attackers' escape had wrought a strange and even slightly
> alarming change in him. He had not once mentioned his meeting
> with Harry, Ron and Hermione on the close ward in St. Mungo's and,
> taking their lead from him, they had kept quiet about it too. Nor
> had he said anything on the subject of Bellatrix and her fellow
> torturers' escape. In fact, Neville barely spoke during the DA
> meetings any more, but worked relentlessly on every new jinx and
> counter-curse Harry taught them, his plump face screwed up in
> concentration, apparently indifferent to injuries or accidents and
> working harder than anyone else in the room. He was improving so
> fast it was quite unnerving and when Harry taught them the Shield
> Charm - a means of deflecting minor jinxes so that they rebounded
> upon the attacker -
> only Hermione mastered the charm faster than Neville."
> Make of it what you will.

SSSusan:
Motivated by fear or by revenge, do you think?

 
Dungrollin

All right, all right.  I was being lazy.  I'll be drawn on this. 
To be honest, I think that one could argue for both interpretations, 
but since I proposed that his DADA improvement was motivated by 
fear, I'll argue against revenge.

Is Neville a vengeful character?  Does vengeance occupy a large part 
of his psyche?  Lets look at some examples.

In PS (chapter 15: The Forbidden Forest), Filch has just caught 
Harry and Hermione coming down from the Astronomy tower where they 
sent Norbert off with Charlie, and takes them to McGonagall's
office. "Harry caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without 
words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned
and hurt." Stunned and hurt.  Not angry.  And we don't even see
Harry apologise.

Then later in PS, (chapter 13: Nicholas Flamel) at the Quidditch 
match, Malfoy's insulting Ron and Neville.  Neville retains his 
composure, answering back with "I'm worth twelve of you Malfoy."  
It's only when Ron attacks Malfoy, that "Neville hesitated, then 
clambered over the back of his seat to help."  Not much more is 
said, but the implication is that Neville was helping Ron, by 
attacking Crabbe and Goyle (neither of whom had done anything other 
than laugh at Neville's comment, it was Malfoy who had insulted
him) rather than out of a desire for vengeance on his part.

At the end of PS, Hermione gets him with the full body bind as the 
trio sneak out of the common room to go down the trapdoor.  Again, 
we see no apology, but Neville doesn't seem to want any revenge
– they're all friends at the leaving feast, at any rate.

I can't think of any other examples except for one, which, to my 
mind, clearly shows Neville not to be vengeful.  In the DoM, faced 
with his parent's torturer: "STUBEFY!" Neville shouted again, 
pointing his wand at each Death Eater in turn.  "STUBEFY! STUBE-"

Stupefy???

Then Bella (apparently) kills Sirius, "SHE KILLED SIRIUS!" bellowed 
Harry.  "SHE KILLED HIM – I'LL KILL HER!" and Harry chases
after her and tries to crucio her.  That's more like it. 
*That's* wanting revenge. 

Neville, apparently, stays behind.  Having abandoned his injured 
friends to be loyally at Harry's side in the death room, when
Harry was facing the DEs on his own, he now waits behind leaving 
Harry to chase after Bella alone. If he were really motivated by 
revenge, he'd have been after Harry like a shot, to help.

I've certainly never interpreted Neville's character as
vengeful.  Courageous and loyal, yes (see above, the fight at the 
Quidditch match), vengeful, no.  The others in the DA were also 
motivated to work harder by the DE's escape, - even Zacharias
Smith - and I doubt that revenge was uppermost in their minds.  
Neville just had a better understanding than the others of what DEs 
running around loose meant, as he should.  He was afraid.  Nothing 
shameful in that, I'd be terrified.

Quoting my quote:
> In fact, Neville barely spoke during the DA
> meetings any more, but worked relentlessly on every new jinx and
> counter-curse Harry taught them, his plump face screwed up in
> concentration, apparently indifferent to injuries or accidents and
> working harder than anyone else in the room.
 
So why doesn't it work in potions lessons?  Why doesn't the fear
he feels for Snape motivate him to try harder in potions.  Why does 
someone with the courage to shout stupefy through a broken nose and 
point a wand that isn't going to work at a group of adult DEs 
(including one or more that tortured his parents mad) have a boggart 
in the shape of the potions master?  

Aye, there's the rub.

Dungrollin
(Whose new carpet looks lovely, but means that she's now getting 
nasty electric shocks from the fridge.)