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Alice and Frank Longbottom were the parents of Neville Longbottom. They were both Aurors and members of the original Order of the Phoenix during the First Wizarding War before they were tortured to insanity by Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, and Bartemius Crouch Jnr.
- Overview
- Biography
- Physical description
- Personality and traits
- Magical abilities and skills
- Possessions
- Relationships
- Etymology
- Behind the scenes
"I'll join you when hell freezes over! Dumbledore's Army!"
— Neville bravely rejecting Voldemort's offer to join him
Professor Neville Longbottom (b. 30 July 1980) was a British pure-blood wizard, the only child and son of Frank and Alice Longbottom. Neville's parents were well-respected Aurors and members of the original Order of the Phoenix until they were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and three other Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse when he was about sixteen months old. They were placed in the Janus Thickey Ward at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, leaving Neville to be raised by his paternal grandmother, Augusta Longbottom.
At the time of his birth, Neville was marked by a prophecy as being one of two children with the potential to defeat Lord Voldemort, the most powerful and feared Dark wizard in the world. However, Voldemort's first attempt to circumvent the prophecy by killing Neville's later friend and classmate Harry Potter, ultimately established Harry as Voldemort's nemesis.
Neville began school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1991 and was sorted into Gryffindor House, along with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. Throughout his school years, he was mostly a shy, clumsy, introverted boy who was constantly being told by his grandmother that he was not good enough or living up to his parents' accomplishments. However, in his later years, he showed that he possessed great courage and perseverance: he became an important member of Dumbledore's Army, an organisation taught and led by Harry Potter with the goal of helping other students learn spells to attack and defend themselves.
Neville would later fight in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries (1996), the Battle of the Astronomy Tower (1997), and the Battle of Hogwarts (1998). During the Battle of Hogwarts, having refused Voldemort's invitation to join the Death Eaters, he destroyed the seventh and final Horcrux when he beheaded the snake Nagini. He also co-led the D.A. during his final year in opposition to the Death Eater professors.
Early life (1980–1991)
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies." — Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy Neville Longbottom was born on 30 July 1980 to Frank and Alice Longbottom, a pair of Aurors. Moments after his birth, Neville was able to adjust his blankets so that he was swaddled more snugly, but no one witnessed this unusually precocious display of underage magic. The midwife who attended the birth assumed that his father had tucked him in more tightly. Neville was born "several hours" before his classmate, Harry. As a pure-blood wizard, he was likely related to other wizarding families such as the Weasleys, Crouches, Potters, and the Blacks. Neville's parents were members of the Order of the Phoenix and in these roles, they defied Lord Voldemort at least three times. Neville was one of two infants referred to in a prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney about the person with the power to defeat the Dark Lord. The other was Harry Potter, and it was Harry whom Voldemort targeted on 31 October 1981 making Harry his equal and leading to his first defeat. Shortly after, a handful of Voldemort's most loyal followers attacked the Longbottoms. Frank and Alice were tortured into insanity with the Cruciatus Curse by Death Eaters Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus Lestrange, her brother-in-law Rabastan Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jnr. The four Death Eaters were all sentenced to Azkaban for their crimes, while Frank and Alice were sent to St Mungo's Hospital, where they would live the rest of their lives, not being able to recognise their own son. Neville was subsequently raised by his paternal grandmother, Augusta Longbottom. At some point early in his life, he also witnessed the death of his grandfather. Neville's grandmother was a stern and formidable woman who was concerned when her grandson did not exhibit early signs of magic (Neville did, however, show faint signs of magic in him throughout his early years, something which his family persistently missed — the first such sign took place moments after birth, when Neville managed to magically shift his blankets more snugly over himself, something which went unnoticed by midwife who attended his mother). She often chided Neville for not living up to his family's honour and was partly the reason for Neville's lack of self-confidence early in his school years. His relatives feared that Neville might be a Squib, though this was disproved when his great-uncle Algie was holding him out of a window by his feet when he was offered some lemon meringue and let go. Miraculously, Neville bounced. Previous to this, there were various attempts to make him show signs of magic, including dropping him off Blackpool pier, where, according to Neville, he nearly drowned. Neville inherited his father's wand at the age of eleven when he started to attend Hogwarts. This wand was later broken during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. During a Christmas season in the 1980s, Neville travelled with his grandmother to St Mungo's to visit his parents for the holidays. However, he soon became separated from her and ended up lost in the hospital. Fortunately, Neville encountered Jacob's sibling, who was searching for the Janus Thickey Ward in order to deliver Wizard Crackers to the patients there on behalf of Rubeus Hagrid. After explaining his situation to Jacob's sibling and introducing himself to them, Jacob's sibling recalled that two patients with the last name "Longbottom" resided in the Janus Thickey Ward and was able to help Neville locate them, to Neville's great relief. Neville offered to let Jacob's sibling meet his parents, informing them of their status as respected Aurors who fought evildoers until the end. He stated that he was proud to be their son and knew that they loved him, even if they couldn't recognise him. Neville asserted that he wanted to grow up to be just like his parents one day, but was afraid he would simply be a disappointment due to Augusta previously claiming that he had a lot to live up to. With some encouragement from Jacob's sibling, however, Neville promised to practise hard until he made his family proud. Jacob's sibling offered Neville a Wizard Cracker, which the boy happily accepted. However, he decided to wait to open it until Christmas morning so that his parents and grandmother could all see and to allow him to hold on to the happy feeling of the present just a little bit longer. Neville assured Jacob's sibling that he would be alright now and that his grandmother should be arriving at the ward soon, although he worried she would be upset at him for getting lost. Jacob's sibling reassured Neville that Augusta would simply be happy to see Neville again before the two wished each other a happy Christmas and went their separate ways.
After the war (1998–)
"Neville Longbottom, now a popular Herbology teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is here in Patagonia with his wife Hannah. Until recently the pair lived above the Leaky Cauldron in London, but rumour has it that Hannah has not only retrained as a Healer, but is applying for the job of Matron at Hogwarts. Idle gossip suggests that she and her husband both enjoy a little more Ogden's Old Firewhisky than most of us would expect from custodians of our children, but no doubt we all wish her the best of luck with her application." — Neville Longbottom's future career and marriage
Neville was said to strongly resemble his mother. He was round-faced, short, chubby, and had blond hair. He was also somewhat buck-toothed. Pansy Parkinson had once called him "fat", but this may have been an exaggeration, as she frequently made disparaging comments about Gryffindor students. During his final year at Hogwarts, when the school was u...
Bellatrix Lestrange : "Let's see how long Longbottom lasts before he cracks like his parents... unless Potter wants to give us the prophecy."
Neville: "DON'D GIB ID DO DEM! DON'D GIB ID DO DEM, HARRY!"
— Neville defying Death Eaters with a broken nose
When he was younger, Neville was clumsy, forgetful, shy, and many considered him ill-suited for Gryffindor house because he seemed timid. However, Neville proved that the Sorting Hat had seen the bravery beneath his insecurity, as he stood up to his only friends as a first-year and later became one of the D.A.'s most courageous members. Part of Neville's problem seems to have been poor self-esteem, as he referred to himself as a "nobody" and "almost a Squib" at times. This was likely caused by his grandmother's belief that he was not living up to his parents' accomplishments, and browbeating from fellow students and people like Professor Snape. Though he came from a pure-blood family, he held no prejudice against half-bloods or Muggle-borns.
Neville appeared to suffer from a degree of post-traumatic stress disorder, as the torture of a spider via the cruciatus curse by Barty Crouch Junior in disguise as Alastor Moody was enough to cause him a severe anxiety attack. This was likely due to his own experience with his parents being subjected to the curse's worst possible outcome: the onset of permanent and complete insanity. This familiarity of what the Cruciatus Curse could do in skilled enough hands was more than enough to terrify him.
"Neville, who had emerged from nowhere brandishing armfuls of Venomous Tentacula, which looped itself happily around the nearest Death Eater and began reeling him in."
"Apparently, Professor Sprout told Professor Moody I'm really good at Herbology."
— Neville's talent in Herbology
Neville was not an academically strong student in his early years, often requiring Hermione's help in class and with school-work. However (as confirmed by McGonagall), part of this was likely caused by his use of another's wand, poor self-esteem, and anxiety caused by the incessant bullying from many of his peers and Snape. When he found both courage and self-confidence in his later years, Neville's magical skills as a wizard grew and he proved to be a powerful wizard in his own right.
•Herbology: As confirmed by Professor Sprout, who taught Herbology at Hogwarts, Neville was particularly gifted at Herbology, with him seemingly being on par with Hermione Granger in this subject. In his first year, Neville's Herbology score was so good that it even compensated for his abysmal Potions grade, and he was the fastest worker in class: in 1996, he was the first to extract a pod from a Snargaluff plant. He later scored an "Outstanding" on his O.W.L. exam, helped Professor Sprout with organising the defences around Hogwarts with Devil's Snare, employed Mandrakes into the Battle of Hogwarts to attack the Death Eaters, and even worked as the Hogwarts Professor of this subject himself after the Second Wizarding War. Neville's skills in Herbology would later serve him well in his brief career as an Auror. Neville would improve his already considerable skills in the field to the extent that he was eventually hired on as the new Herbology professor at Hogwarts, succeeding his mentor, Pomona Sprout.
"He was improving so fast it was quite unnerving."
— Harry Potter regarding Neville's performance in the D.A.
•First wand: Neville's first wand was inherited from his father, Frank Longbottom. Its length, wood, and core material were unknown, and it was destroyed by Antonin Dolohov during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.
•Second wand: Neville's second wand was 13" long, made of cherry wood, and had a unicorn hair core. This wand was manufactured by Garrick Ollivander sometime in or before 1996, and purchased from his wand shop Ollivanders in Diagon Alley.
•Bedroom: Neville's bedroom was located in Augusta Longbottom's house. Augusta once joked that he had been given enough wrappers by his mother to paper his bedroom.
•Trevor: Trevor was Neville's pet toad. He was given to Neville by his Great-Uncle Algie upon Neville's gaining admission to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
•Remembrall: Neville was gifted one these magical items by his grandmother for the 1991–1992 school year, in an attempt to help him remember things, to counter his frequent absent-mindedness. His Remembrall would turn red in colour whenever he forgot something; the only trouble being, he could often not remember what he had even forgotten.
•Mimbulus mimbletonia: Neville was gifted a pot of this very rare magical plant for his birthday before the start of the 1995–1996 school year, due to his love and talent for Herbology. He was skilled in caring for this plant, and had knowledge of its species, including its Stinksap.
Family Trevor
Neville Longbottom: "Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all? I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" Harry Potter: "He'll turn up." Neville Longbottom: "Yes. Well, if you see him ..." — Neville asking Harry Potter and Ron Weasley if they had seen Trevor on the Hogwarts Express Trevor was Neville's pet toad. He was given to Neville by his Uncle Algie upon Neville's gaining admission to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Neville often lost Trevor, as he did the first time he rode the Hogwarts Express and Hermione Granger met Harry Potter and Ron Weasley as she helped him search. In Neville's third year, Professor Snape made him test his Shrinking Solution on the toad; though Neville's dubious potion-making skills could have resulted in the toad's death, Trevor was successfully transformed into a tadpole, much to the Gryffindors' delight. At some point, Trevor escaped into the Hogwarts Lake. Both pet and owner felt a sense of relief.
Draco Malfoy
"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something." — Draco Malfoy's opinion of Neville Initially shy and clumsy, Neville regularly found himself on the receiving end of insults from Draco and his gang, and was often the butt of their jokes and pranks — a fact which served only to make Neville clumsier and less confident. When encouraged by Hermione, Ron, and Harry to stand up for himself, Neville replied with "how I can barely stand at all" but, despite this previous mind set Neville grew to be someone who was much more difficult to bully by his later years at Hogwarts. He started resisting against not only the Slytherin students, but also Alecto and Amycus Carrow and Severus Snape. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Neville proved to have made an impressive and complete turn around from his earlier years of crumbling under Draco's bullying, when he openly defied Lord Voldemort and beheaded Nagini, effectively destroying Voldemort's final Horcrux.
Dumbledore's Army
"I liked the D.A.! I learned loads with you!" — Neville to Harry Potter on D.A. meetings Dumbledore's Army was an organisation led by Harry Potter that sought not only to undermine the dictatorial authority of Dolores Umbridge, but to offer students a means of learning the practical defensive magic Umbridge denied them in their actual Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Neville became a member at the time of its formation in 1995, and this marked something of a turning point both in terms Neville's relationships with other Hogwarts students, and in terms of his magical ability beyond Herbology. As the D.A.'s practice progressed throughout the course of the year, Neville showed marked improvement in his ability to disarm and stun, as well as perform the Impediment Jinx and Reductor Curse, among others. When several Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban in early 1996, all of the D.A. pushed themselves to improve their duelling abilities, but none more than Neville, as three of the escapees had taken part in torturing his parents into insanity. While training with the D.A.equipped Neville to face the Death Eaters in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the sense of camaraderie Neville enjoyed with them made him one of only three members (along with Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood) to answer Ron and Hermione's call leading up to the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. Neville, Ginny and Luna co-led the DA in 1997, when it was re-formed to oppose the reign of Severus Snape, Alecto Carrow, and Amycus Carrow at Hogwarts. Most of the former members reunited and spent ample time hiding in the Room of Requirement, awaiting the return of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were quick to mobilise against the invading Death Eaters, with Neville at their lead, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione were searching for Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem. While Fred Weasley, Lavender Brown and Colin Creevey were tragically killed, Neville fought valiantly and eventually beheaded Nagini on Harry's orders, destroyed Voldemort's final remaining Horcrux.
•Neville is an English name originally derived from Norman French for "new town".
•Longbottom is the name of one of the Hobbits' villages at the Shire, known for its best pipe-weed.
•Neville's initial lack of magical power could be deemed the result of his grandmother's overbearing presence as he acknowledges that she is constantly telling both him and others that he is not as talented as his parents and Dumbledore states that misery and lack of confidence can sap a wizard of his or her powers.
•On 18 February, Neville Longbottom's check-out of Quidditch Through the Ages from the Hogwarts Library ends.
•Neville never took N.E.W.T. level Transfiguration, since he only earned an Acceptable. However, like Harry and Ron, he was still recruited by Kingsley Shacklebolt into the Auror department after the battle to help track down any remaining Death Eaters. It is likely that Kingsley made the requirements less advanced, since Harry and Ron also did not complete their N.E.W.T.s, but displayed outstanding bravery and duelling skills in the Second Wizarding War.
•It is possible Severus Snape's hatred for Neville was due to him being the second boy in the prophecy, which means if Voldemort had chosen to go after Neville rather than Harry, Lily would still be alive.
•There was a feature named "Neville Longbottom, a true Gryffindor" on Pottermore.
•Rowling has revealed that the original last name for Neville's character was "Puff."
Mar 14, 2019 · Though Neville visits when he can, neither parent recognizes their son. Though they don't appear much in the series, the heroic efforts of Frank and Alice Longbottom are considered some of the bravest of all.
- Editor
Interestingly, it is believed that Neville had shown very early signs of magic in his childhood, including the time he adjusted his blankets when he was a baby, but all of these feats went unnoticed. Neville eventually inherited his father’s wand when he was eleven and went to Hogwarts.
Let’s take a look at Neville’s childhood. Neville Londubat was born on July 30, 1980 to two wizard parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom, two highly respected Aurors.
Apr 29, 2020 · While Neville didn’t shine at school, the one thing he was well-known to excel at was Herbology. He was the one who figured out to give Harry the Gillyweed and he demonstrated that this was his calling.
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Dec 20, 2023 · To better understand Neville’s heroism, it is important to know where he came from. His parents were Frank and Alice Longbottom, two wizards who attended Hogwarts.
