Extra Credit Character post.

One character that I think underwent major character development throughout the series was Neville Longottom. Throughout the books, we the readers, and even the characters question why Neville was placed in Gryffindor.  In the first few books, he seems to play the role of the punching-bag-character. In the first book Malfoy and his cronies as well as Snape and other professors constantly pick him on. It falls on Harry, Ron, and Hermione to be the ones to boost Neville’s self-esteem. Neville shows some glimpse of bravery throughout the Sorcerer’s Stone, like when he fought Crabbe and Goyle singlehandedly at the Quidditch match. However his biggest stint of bravery came at the end of the book when he stood up to his friends who were leaving to do a bout of rule-breaking. He even gets rewarded 10 points at the end-of-the-year ceremony for doing so. At the time, we think it’s no big deal, Neville got awarded points to put Gryffindor in the lead so they could win the House Cup. But at the end of the series we find out why it was so significant that Albus Dumbledore awarded points to Neville for having courage to stand up to his friends. In the seventh book, we learn about Dumbledore’s past and how he had an extremely firm friendship with the wizard Grindelwald. When Grindelwald became obsessed with finding the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore did not have the courage to stand up to him. So, at the end of the Sorcerer’s Stone, Dumbledore is rewarding Neville for having courage that he never had.

Neville’s character doesn’t start undergoing development until really the fifth book. Perhaps motivated by the prison break that included the culprits who tortured his parents into insanity, he works harder than anyone to get a grasp on Defense Against the Dark Arts. He even joins Harry in the rescue Mission at the Ministry where he fought bravely against Death Eaters. He even resorted to tackling one when he was rendered useless with a wand.

The defining act of Neville’s character comes about in the final book, much as these things tend to do. Once Harry is seemingly dead during the battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort offers Neville specifically a chance to join the ranks of him. Neville is a pureblood afterall. However, Neville, giving possibly the cheesiest dialogue in the series, (“I’ll join you when Hell freezes over!”) defies Voldemort. He stays loyal Dumbledore and to Harry and he remains brave in the face of terror and evil. He becomes the paradigm of Gryffindor House.