Comments on: Episode #53: The Making of a Wizard - The Story of Neville Longbottom

By: Moe W27

Moe W27 — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:17:14 +0000

Yahoo is closing its Yahoo Podcasts. I found out when I went to rate your Podcast.

Yahoo! apologizes deeply, but we will be closing down the Podcasts site on Oct. 31, 2007

By: Kort

Kort — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:46:45 +0000

Even if no one knew about the snake being a horcrux, surely Neville would still become famous just for standing up to Voldemort, not to mention notifying everyone about the impending battle at Hogwarts. Without him, no one would have shown up to fight! He has my vote for a chocolate frog card.

By: Potters number one fan

Potters number one fan — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:19:19 +0000

I just want to say don’t feel bad for people who can not get braille book from local librarys. There are librarys for the blind in PA and many other states. I only have the first two books in braille that I own but I wood rather listen to Jim Dale any day!

By: Czech-Republic » Blog Archives » Hotel Pariz, Prague

Czech-Republic » Blog Archives » Hotel Pariz, Prague — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:06:47 +0000

[...] Episode #53: The Making of a Wizard - The Story of Neville Longbottom [...]

By: Sally

Sally — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 11:18:31 +0000

Harry would certainly have been on a chocolate frog card, but Neville? No one else really knew Nagini was a horcrux. Would they be told, or do they simply think he killed Voldemorts snake?

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:45:18 +0000

Don’t wizards get awards like The Order of Merlin or something? Wonder if he qualified for his own chocolate frog card?

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:43:00 +0000

I have heard from an inside source that Neville’s patronus is a hippopotimus. Of course by inside source I mean little voices in my head. He heheheheh.

By: Mizz Andy

Mizz Andy — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:13:25 +0000

Great point Shimon, because in the end it was a real weapon, the sword, not magic that he used to kill Nagini. He came across to me as a real soldier in war, especially the bit about him going around after the battle and helping the wounded and carrying Colin back into the Great Hall. Give him a purple heart I say!

By: Shimon

Shimon — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 21:22:26 +0000

With all of my love for dear Neville (and I do really love him) I still doubt if he is capable of producing a patronus (spells were never his strenghth). I really liked how his heroics in the book came out of his sheer bravery and not some newfound “magical” prowess.

By: Eeyore

Eeyore — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:18:49 +0000

I thought the same thing, but I looked it up last night and it was Luna (hare), Seamus (fox) and Ernie (boar–a little pun intended there?) who came to save them with their added Patronuses. Neville must have still been up at the castle. It’s in Chapter 32, “The Elder Wand”, on p. 649 (US edition).

I’m trying to remember that scene in the OP movie where we see some of the other students’ Patronuses and I only remember Neville producing silvery whisps. Can someone else remember that bit? The ones we see in the movie are the ones that Jo told them about, so it is based on canon and not just the director/screenwriter’s ideas of what they should be.

Ron has a silver terrier and Hermione, of course, the otter. It’s a wonderful scene where the importance of all of them working together is shown.

I hope that someone thinks to ask JKR what Neville’s Patronus is while she’s on this current tour.

Pat

By: Ginny

Ginny — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:03:38 +0000

I think that if you read the ending of the seventh book you will find out that Neville’s patronus is either a boar, a hare, or a fox, because I remember that Harry, Ron and Hermione are being attacked by dementors, and I’m pretty sure that it’s Ginny, Seamus and Neville who save them.

By: Sally

Sally — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:13:26 +0000

Neville’s patronus is Neville, because nothing else is badass enough to represent him

I got that from a neville longbottom internet list. it isnt really canon, but i think its still pretty hilarious!

By: Mizz Andy

Mizz Andy — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:14:29 +0000

I was just wondering if we know what Neville’s patronus is? I checked HPL but can’t see it anywhere. Wondering because JKR is so careful with her imagery, i.e Sirius is a dog, Man’s best friend, Pettigrew a rat - turns out to be one literally. Can’t really think of Neville as a Toad and that seems to be the only animal imagery JKR that she has attached to him, I don’t have my HBP and DH books at the moment as I leant it to my cousin (I is probably on her bathroom floor as we speak!)

By: Czech-Republic » Blog Archives » Episode #53: The Making of a Wizard - The Story of Neville Longbottom

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:31:17 +0000

[...] Episode #53: The Making of a Wizard - The Story of Neville Longbottom [...]

By: Sally

Sally — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 06:50:52 +0000

I like in Half Blood Prince how Harry is wondering, if the prophecy had been taken to mean the Longbottoms, would Neville’s situation have been the same as Harrys? Would Neville have survived when he was a child? And I don’t think that Neville treated Harry in quite the same amount of awe that we see Peter to James in Snapes Worst Memory. Neville wasn’t completly included by the trio and wasn’t always around them. Do you think that Neville would have assigned himself as leader of the DA, or would it just have sort of turned out that way? I think Neville’s turning point was in ootp, when Bellatrix escaped. Thats when he started to get better at magic, and started becoming more brave. Did Peter ever get good at magic, did he ever become bave? Prehaps if Bellatrix hadn’t been released or was already killed Neville would have remained the quiet little wimp, he may have even turned out scarily like Peter.

By: Shimon

Shimon — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 06:00:45 +0000

It is very easy to say that one should die for his friends. It is quite another thing to actually do it.

By: Mizz Andy

Mizz Andy — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 01:19:09 +0000

Wow, Aaron I just came on the board to say something to the same effect. I find it hard to compare the two persons because to me there are no real similarities, apart from the fact that both characters take a back seat in the book to the two main ones, Harry and Ron and James and Sirius. I hate Peter, I find his character deplorable, nothing redeeming in him at all whereas Neville has always been a kind soul with only good in mind right from the start.

I agree with Aaron Neville would’ve laid down his life for Harry and his friends this makes him a true Gryffindor, Peter on the other had would always be the one to run to the other side to save himself and ultimately he died a rat (Jo’s imagery for him was just perfect). Makes me wonder whether the sorting hat chose Gryffindor because Jo needed him to be friends with James and Sirius so he could betray them.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 20:56:24 +0000

I wanted to touch on the similarities between Neville Longbottom and Peter Pettigrew. I’m going to attempt a simple analysis. Both are in Griffendore House which is marked by courage and chivalry. Both were involved in a tight network of friends united in a common cause against an unspeakable evil.
When Sirius told Peter that he should have died for his friends, I had often wondered what turned Wormtail from Maurauder to betrayer. In the books I can see absolutely no qualities that would make him sorted into Griffendore house. Zip, notta he has always been the most despicable character in my mind as he has earned absolutely no respect from either side. A loser, an annoying extra useful for only the nasty stuff. This is not to say he isn’t powerful. He is an animagus. He did find Voldemorte and return him to being. Looking Harry in the eye while taking his blood and cutting off his own hand and possibly finger earlier. Voldemort said this usefulness was out of fear not loyalty. While he was cowering I believe if he was truely driven by fear alone he would have ran and hid from the whole scene. I am sure he wanted more. Perhaps a desire just to be on the winning side. Again nothing too Griffendore about that just self preservation and greed. I wonder what turned him against his friends. Could Dumbledore have been right when he said perhaps we sort too soon? To understand how Wormtail went from Maurauder to boot scrapings I would think would take more than a fear for selfpreservation but yet that is how he is portrayed. A useful but imperfectly developed Judas in the books.
Neville shares the same self esteem problem but with one key difference. He accepts himself. Good bad or bumbleing he makes no excuses and instead of looking for others to gain notiriety he finds the strength within himself to sharpen his skills and self esteem. He looks to his friends for help but not as the solution to what he himself deems as faults. He would have indeed died for his friends. In many ways Neville perhaps had a harder road to travel than Peter. I think he was less trusted throughout by his friends, and had a much more difficult time sharpening his skills. Maybe he was just driven by revenge in what had been done to his parents but the key difference between Neville and Peter is that Neville overcame fear. Peter was ruled by it.

By: elena

elena — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 18:22:50 +0000

still listening, but how about the snake slayer???

By: William

William — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 05:09:09 +0000

I agree with Sally. Snape mistreated Neville because he was angry at the fact that Voldemort chose Potter to fulfill the prophesy rather than Neville. If Voldemort would have chose the Longbottoms Lily would still be alive, but instead it didn’t turn out that way.

btw- NEVILLE IS THE MAN!

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 01:46:12 +0000

I love Neville. I almost wonder if the burden of leadership was thrust upon him more out of necessity. I am sure he never sought it but found it suited him and he wore it well. Sounds like a quote I have heard somewhere? Are leaders like him found only in fairy tales? I like to think we like Neville because he reminds us of ourselves and gives us hope for the future. The matter of factly attitude that he showed under pressure just added to his character. I really especially was touched by his grandmother’s support and pride near the end of Deathly Hallows. To me that more than anything showed what a hero he had become.

By: Shimon

Shimon — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:52:43 +0000

I really liked the comparison between Neville and Peter. I think one of the main contributing factors in how they eventually turn out is the way in which Harry and Ron always treat Neville with respect as opposed to how James and Sirius seem to look down upon Peter.

By: Mizz Andy

Mizz Andy — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:03:30 +0000

Oooh Sally I really like that idea, that was the one thing that nagged me about Snape, in all my Snape loving, was his treatment of Neville as I had a reason for all the other things that he did but I never saw that, thanks, I have just downloaded so will listen tonight.

By: Sally

Sally — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 02:54:16 +0000

You say Snapes poor treatment of Neville is just his natural Slytherin coming out in him, but I disagree- I thought Snape was cruel to Neville because he resented the idea that Voldemort chose the Potters and not the Longbottoms.