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Neville Longbottom: The Other Chosen One

by David Haber

On the night that Sirius died, after the battle at the Ministry of Magic at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore showed Harry the complete Lost Prophecy. It is then we learn that it was possible that Neville could also have been the Chosen One. Dumbledore tells us this, and then immediately insists it could only have been Harry. Why mention it then, in the first place?

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Reader Comments: (Page 12)

Good theory, Blake from West Chester!
It's interesting that the scar might be the letter N...
But the prophecy said that Voldemort would mark the Chosen One as his equal... And Voldemort name is Tom Riddle. There isn't any letter N there.

Posted by Thiago Leite Cruz from Bel�m, Par�, Brazil on June 9, 2007 1:37 PM

Hey, this sounds totally whack and all, but MAYBE Augusta is evil. I mean, we know Neville's never liked his grandmother, and if the Drooble's wrappers are a message, and Augusta doesn't want Neville to read it, well, maybe she's evil.

Also, Alice doesn't seem to relate to Augusta. At St Mungo's, it was only Neville she paid any recognition to.

"What's that you've got, Alice dear?"

Alice Longbottom definitely ignores Augusta for the most part...

Posted by Lana from Sydney, Australia on June 10, 2007 05:24 AM

Is it possible that Neville's Grandma is on Voldemort's side? It would explain why neville says "my gran would do anything to have a son like you" to Harry, she would want to give Harry to Voldemort. Also it would explain why she didn't like Neville's mum giving him the sweet wrappers, if there was a message in them. What do you think?

Posted by EML from Portsmouth on June 10, 2007 07:32 AM

there is NO 'other chosen one'. because to be the 'chosen one' Voldemort would have to chose Neville. He didn't. He picked Harry. He turned Harry into his enemy. Picked him, marked him, linked them. That Neville was another choice is moot now.

Why Neville was so slow, forgets stuff, who knows. maybe he's just a nerdy little boy like Peter. doesn't have to mean anything. even the Muggle world has boys that are forgetful, chubby, not as athletic etc. that could be all there is to it. that Neville is the Hogwarts version of a loser, just like Draco was the Hogwarts rich bully.

Posted by jaye from los Angeles, CA on June 10, 2007 5:58 PM

Well, a nicely considered and written article there, but I think you're seeing red herrings where frankly they are not swimming. The pure and simple reason that Albus mentions that it could have been one of two boys that the prophecy referred to, is that there were two boys who fitted the vague description it gave. Apart, and this is the crucial bit, that the Dark Lord would 'mark him as his equal'. It WAS Mr Potter whom the Dark Lord marked 'as his equal' by defying certain at the end of an Avada Kedavra... and as is pointed out most strenuously, there is NO DOUBT that the prophecy referred to Harry because it was Harry that Voldemort had decided was the dangerous one even BEFORE the 'marking'. And the prophecy, as the Headmaster so rightly concluded, was only important because Voldemort believed in it and carried out measures to destroy the one he feared. If it had been Neville that he had gone for, then things would certainly have been different, but it wasn't. The prophecy was ONLY important because Voldemort decided to act upon it, or at least on what Severus had heard of it.
As for Severus, I think one of the most important things JK has ever said in an interview was, in answer to a question which asked about the 'redemptive qualities' that Snape possesses, "You have stunned me by asking that; I am amazed, and you'll find out why when you read the final book." And that interview was between books 4 and 5.

Posted by Michael from Scotland on June 10, 2007 7:57 PM

In an interview, J.K. Rowling said,

"Neville gives his mother what she wants, and she wants to give something back to him...she's not trying to pass him secret messages."

What she gives doesn't have anyworth but in emotional terms, because of the actions and the thought behind it.

Posted by mmc from sa, australia on June 10, 2007 10:35 PM

jaye from la - Yes, people who are clumsy, forgetful, etc. do exist in the Muggle World, but (to sound too much like Umbridge for my taste) this is not the real world we are talking about. This is a story, and a story about a world of magic to boot. From a literary standpoint, it adds a bit of a twist for Neville's forgetfulness to have a deeper cause.

Posted by Monkeeshrines from orlando fl on June 11, 2007 04:05 AM

Great article,but I think the only chosen one is Harry if Neville was "The Chosen One" then Harry couldn't have taken the prophecy without getting insane. Moreover Lilly wouldn't be able to save Harry the night the Potters d.

Posted by Prongs from Athens,Greece on June 11, 2007 05:23 AM

I do not think Augusta is evil because Neville says that, concerning Harry saying Voldemort was back, his Gran says that "If Dumbledore says it is true, then it is true".

Posted by Amy from P. Kentucky on June 11, 2007 09:07 AM

Wow, nice theory. I must say its quite plausible that Augusta is on Voldemort's side.
Neville's parents were highly sed aurors. Remember the Prewett brothers? Gideon and Fabian? They were ed. Madam Bones? ed. Emmeline Vance? ed. Eaters KILL.

Why is it that only Neville's parents were tortured into insanity and not ed?

Maybe it was necessary for them to remain alive but forget something crucial. Memory charms wouldn't work because they can 'be broken by a very powerful wizard' as proven by Voldemort. If indeed Neville's memory has been tampered with, the same logic would follow.

Posted by Aditi Dani from India on June 11, 2007 1:19 PM

Amy from Kentucky,

Nice one. I wonder if that isn't JKR trying to tell us something about Dumbledore...

Posted by Jennie from Beachwood NJ on June 11, 2007 1:55 PM

Aditi Dani - That is a good point, but also remember that 1) Bellatrix and her friends were trying to get info out of Frank and Alice, so ing them before they got the info would have defeated the purpose, and 2) they were caught doing it, perhaps they didn't have the time to them. Same goes for why they didn't do anything as severe to Neville. Perhaps they planned to, or even started to, but were caught in the middle. Of course, I could be way off and you might be right. And, I agree with Amy that Augusta has shown too much loyalty to Albus to be a Eater.

Posted by Monkeeshrines from orlando fl on June 12, 2007 04:10 AM

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