Should Neville Longbottom Be the Chosen One?
Inside the Harry Potter community there are many questions asked. Why is Hermione so uptight sometimes? Did Peter Pettigrew really want to serve Voldemort? Why did Narcissa Malfoy lie to the Dark Lord? And the questions can go on and on. One other question that we might want to ask is should Neville Longbottom have been the Chosen One rather than Harry Potter? Neville Longbottom excelled in acts of bravery and courage, therefore the actions that he performed throughout the series made him a worthy candidate to be the Chosen One instead of Harry Potter.
There are many similarities that can be found between Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter. There is an article by Pottermore called The Eerie Similarities Between Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom that goes into detail about things that both of them share. They share personality traits like their bravery and selflessness, and they both have experienced terrible losses in their life (Pottermore). The thing that they share the most is that they both share a prophecy about each other. The prophecy states that there are two wizarding boys both born at the end of July with parents in the Order of the Phoenix. These parents had escaped Voldemort at least three times. The evidence shows that either Harry and Neville could have been the Chosen One. Voldemort eventually picked Harry Potter to be the Chosen One, but Neville had the same opportunity to be the chosen one as Harry Potter did. One can argue that Neville is just as brave and courageous as Harry Potter.
There is another article that argue that Neville could have been the Chosen One. The article, Neville Longbottom: The Chosen One by Gabrielle Giglio, refers to the prophecy that Sybill Trelawney gave. The author uses quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She says that “if Voldemort were to simply decide Neville was more of a threat than Harry, Harry could have avoided all this and live a somewhat normal life” (Giglio). She makes the claim that if Voldemort had decided to kill Neville instead of Harry then, Neville would have been the Chosen One. She also blames the Ministry of Magic for naming the prophecy. The author proclaims, “they are known to be incorrect a lot of the time” (Giglio). She says this in reference to the Ministry of Magic. Since the Ministry named the prophecy it can be argued that they put a bulls-eye on Harry Potter’s back. This could have drawn Lord Voldemort to Harry eventually causing Harry to become the Chosen One rather than Neville Longbottom. An argument can be made about Voldemort choosing the Chosen One. If Voldemort had attacked Frank and Alice Longbottom instead of sending Bellatrix Lestrange to finish the deed then maybe Neville might have been chosen instead of Harry Potter.
Another argument can be made that takes a different point of view. Neville Longbottom might have eventually become a great hero but in the beginning, he couldn’t even act like a chosen one much less be like one. As we see in the Sorcerer’s Stone, Neville loses everything, forgets passwords, and makes a fool of himself on a daily basis. He constantly losing his toad and is a complete dunce in class. When he gets a Remembrall it automatically turns red because he has forgotten something and he claims that he “cannot remember what he has forgotten” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). We see several times in the books where Neville demonstrates how much of an idiot he is. In Herbology, he doesn’t put his earmuffs on right and ends up passing out after hearing a baby mandrake yell. In his first flying lesson with Madam Hooch in the Sorcerer’s Stone, he ends up flying on his broom and eventually falling off and hurting himself. Because of his seeming stupidity he got bullied constantly by Draco Malfoy and his gang. One time he got a Leg-Locker Curse placed on him. It was after this that Hermione Granger gave him the advice to stand up for himself. Neville took this advice and stood up against Harry, Ron and Hermione at the end of the book. It is here that we see the true bravery of a Gryffindor student. From here, Neville begins to prove his bravery and courage through out the rest of the books. The bravery that he continues to show throughout the books shows readers that he could have been a worthy Chosen One.
It is my opinion that Harry Potter is the true Chosen One not Neville Longbottom. Both Harry and Neville were chosen by the prophecy but, in the end, when it comes down to it Voldemort chose Harry over Neville and gave Harry his scar. Now this does not mean that Neville is less important than Harry. Neville is just as important as Harry Potter. He shows increasing bravery throughout the books like standing up to Harry in the Sorcerer’s Stone, joining Dumbledore’s Army and fighting with Harry against Death Eaters in the Order of the Phoenix, and later killing Nagini in The Deathly Hallows. Neville might not have been the Chosen One but he is every bit as brave as Harry Potter was and he continued to prove that to readers all throughout the series.
Works Cited
“The Eerie Similarities between Harry and Neville.” Pottermore, www.pottermore.com/features/eerie-similarities-between-harry-potter-and-neville-longbottom.
Giglio, Gabrielle. “Neville Longbottom: The Chosen One?” The Odyssey Online, 30 Aug. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/neville-longbottom-the-chosen-one.
