Neville Longbottom, the other chosen one

When we discover the prophecy that predicts the fall of Lord Voldemort in the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore explains that it could apply to two people, Harry and Neville. Then the headmaster specifies that Voldemort, having marked Harry as his equal, makes the prophecy applies to him. Then Albus draws Harry’s attention to the second part of the prophecy.

It’s curious to see how Dumbledore brings up a piece of important information before quickly changing the subject, especially when one knows J.K. Rowling’s tendency to prefigure. In this particular case, why does Dumbledore take the trouble to point out that Neville could also be the child of the prophecy, only to assert immediately afterward that there is no doubt that Harry is the chosen one?

Later, in the Half-Blood Prince, we can see Harry wondering about this: “If Voldemort had chosen Neville, he would be the one who would have a lightning scar and the weight of the prophecy on his shoulders…”. This is not the first time that doubts are expressed about Neville.

From the first book, our attention is drawn to him. Indeed, during the sorting ceremony, the sorting hat hesitates for a long time about him, before sending him to Gryffindor. Perhaps to suggest that Neville is more complex than we think?

It’s repeatedly said that Neville is a pure blood. It’s also pointed out many times that Neville’s magical abilities are far from extraordinary. Could it be possible that his magical abilities have been artificially inhibited? That he has been subjected to a long-term spell to force him to forget something for example, which could alter his magic?

Neville is often characterized by his memory loss, but it could have a magical explanation. When he receives his Remembrall, it immediately turns scarlet red, a sign that he has forgotten something, without us knowing what it is. Could it be that if the Remembrall immediately turns red, it’s because he forgot something very important a very long time ago, due to a Memory Charm?

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. He too, like Harry Potter, was concerned by the prophecy because it spoke of a child born at the end of July and who will be born of people who have defied the Dark Lord three times.

On October 31, 1981, Neville’s parents were tortured with the Cruciatus curse cast by Barty Crouch Jr., Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus, and his brother Rabastan. They were trying to extract information about the whereabouts of their Master, Lord Voldemort.

Neville’s parents went mad from the pain and were interned in the St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, while their captors were sentenced to a lifelong sentence in Azkaban. Neville was thus raised by his grandmother.

Then it’s a question for the fans to find out, if the theory is legit, what the Death Eaters tried to make Neville forget. The scene of his parents’ torture would seem logical, but maybe there was something else. Maybe, something else had happened at that moment.. something to do with the prophecy?

Some fans have suggested that some Death Eaters may have tried to put Neville out of harm, in case he had a role to play with the prophecy, and among those Death Eaters might be Snape. Why is Neville so afraid of Snape that the Boggart takes on his appearance? Perhaps because Snape played a role in torturing his parents, along with Bellatrix Lestrange, or did Snape try to make Neville forget that he was present that day?

Whatever Snape did is his former life, the story shows how he had changed following his deep regrets after the death of Lily. We all witnessed how he gave his life to help Albus Dumbledore put an end to Lord Voldemort.