The character
that I will be discussing is Neville Longbottom. When Neville was first
introduced in the beginning of the series, Neville was always losing his frog,
was awkward in social situations, and was very clumsy in his magic practices.
Through the first four books, not much had really changed in his magical
practices, his organization skills, or him being secluded and not having many
friends, but Neville showed a few moments of great strength and courage. An
example of this is when Neville was trying to get Harry and “the gang”
(Including Ron and Hermione) to stop and not go to the chamber because he
thought it was too dangerous and they might get hurt. Seeing as Harry, Ron, and
Hermione, especially Harry, were the only people who truly paid attention to
him at Hogwarts, it was a very courageous and selfless thing to do to stand up
to his friends.
In the fourth
Book, Harry learns through Dumbledore’s pensieve about Neville’s parents, that
they were drove completely insane, past the point of functioning. Harry quickly
realizes that Neville is a lot like himself, exploited by some “prophecy”, void
of a true, functioning parental figure, and disliked by many just because of
what they have do and/or who they are. Neville did have his Gran, and Harry
have the Weasley’s, Hagrid, and Sirius (at this point in the book).
By the coming
around of the fifth book, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny find out that Neville’s
parents were actually at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
by the soul of Bellatrix Lestrange.
Neville and
Harry are now more intertwined more than ever, Harry and Neville were both
basically orphaned at the demented torturing and killing hands of Lord
Voldemort.
I feel as when
everyone found out about Neville’s parents, it was a great pinnacle point for
Neville’s character development. The discovery somewhat explains why everyone
expects great things from Neville as well, and what Neville has been going
through, and why he and Harry have come to develop a friendship, even at a
point when they didn’t even know why they were so intertwined.
During the fifth
book, Neville’s character develops immensely. Neville joins Dumbledore’s Army,
The DA, and was improving immensely in his spells with the help of his friends.
When duty calls, Neville is right beside Harry fighting the death eaters at the
Department of Magic, eventually facing the very person he didn't want to see,
Bellatrix Lestrange. While Bellatrix is chastising Harry about the prophecy
ball, it takes everything Neville can find within himself to tell Harry that he
CANNOT hand over the prophecy ball. Bellatrix also casts the “Crucio” curse on
Neville, which was the curse that shattered his parents in their moment of
weakness and made them to be forever insane. The curse has no effect on
Neville, and he was standing there, SOLID and RESILIENT. Neville faced the
person that brought his family to shambles, just like Harry had faced the eyes
of Voldemort so many times before. This was the very pinnacle for Neville’s
character development and courageousness. It showed exactly how much he was
parallel with Harry’s character and that Neville was a true and powerful
wizard, if anyone had ever doubted him before. Neville is developing into a
useful and key role in Harry’s life, along with playing a major role in the
books.
Under all of the
disorganization, frog chasing, messed up potions, detentions, and Howler’s from
his Gran, Neville is important and he is dealing with a lot more than a reader
might think if his character is just scraped on the surface. Neville is a
dynamic character, being headstrong and courargeous. Neville’s character development
has a great deal to do with Harry’s character development throughout the series.
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