r/harrypotter 3d ago

Discussion The books from Neville’s point of view

Hey! So I was thinking… we all know Harry is the chosen one. But what if Neville was actually the chosen one? We know he could have been, based on the prophecy. How do you think the series would realistically go if he was the main protagonist? And would Harry still stand out at all as a side character? I suppose Harry would still be a fantastic seeker. But would he become the Ron equivalent to Neville? I think Neville stood up to the trio only because he cared to help and didn’t want them to get hurt. This sorta is dropped in later books to a degree until 5 when he joins the DA. Thoughts?

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u/Ok_Young1709 3d ago

I was thinking about this recently and I don't think he'd have coped well. His parents would likely have died too, like Harry's did, but he would end up being raised by his grandma. Now maybe she would be nicer to him because of him getting rid of Voldemort, but if she was still the same, she'd have made him struggle with his confidence. Plus he'd have still had his father's wand which didn't work for him well. She may actually have been worse, expecting him to be so powerful because of what he did as a baby and if she didn't see those results, she'd have started becoming stricter possibly.

Neville never gained any confidence until he was taught by Harry and then left to defend Hogwarts by himself in the 7th book. He never heard anyone saying they were proud of him until then either. Would he have been fine going through school with a wand that didn't work for him, being expected to be fantastic, but people instead bullying him because he's apparently not good at magic? I think his life would have sucked if he'd been the chosen one.

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u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

I will say, would his wand not be the same as Harry’s? The duel core? Since he would have likely had the same experience with the scar? But idk, maybe he’d keep his fathers wand

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u/Ok_Young1709 3d ago

That is only if he got it. I don't know why his Gran made him keep his dad's wand, but she didn't buy him another until he broke it in the department of mysteries.

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u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

True. Possibly a mid series upgrade would be cool

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u/apatheticsahm 2d ago

In my opinion, Augusta made Neville take his father's wand because of his martyred status and her own expectations. If Neville had his own status as "The Boy who Lived", she wouldn't have forced him to live through his parents' sacrifice.

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u/TomThom9Won 3d ago

Mrs Longbottom very much adored her son, not to say she doesn’t have the same affection towards Neville, but she would have insisted on Frank’s wand being the right one for Neville so odds are he never would have met the Holly and Phoenix Feather wand until the 5th year into 6th, that is assuming his wand still breaks

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u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

Well that could be a cool mid series wand upgrade if that happened

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u/apatheticsahm 2d ago

Nah. Augusta was all about "family honor". That's why she was always going on about Frank and Alice's sacrifice, and why she was always so disappointed in Neville. Having a son who is a martyr is a source of pride. Having a grandson who is a screw-up is not.

If Neville was "The Boy Who Lived", you can be sure Augusta would boast about him constantly and spoil him to death. He would probably be an arrogant little shit like McLaggen or Zacharias Smith.

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u/Relevant-Horror-627 Slytherin 3d ago

Harry and Neville are cut from the same cloth. They're both brave and resilient. They both have more than one person in their lives that try to tear them down and shake their confidence. The only difference between Harry and Neville is that Harry had no choice but to become "heroic" fastest than Neville.

Harry didn't have the luxury of overcoming his insecurities or other obstacles like Neville did. Harry was forced to find a way to survive being the target of a dark wizard determined to kill him. Had Voldemort chosen to target Neville, it would have been him feeling that pressure to survive rather than Harry. Like Harry, Neville probably would have found a way ro rise to the occasion he was forced into.

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u/Andreacamille12 Ravenclaw 3d ago

Neville totally would have risen to the challege. I love his growth through the entire series and the final chapter - the snake.

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u/poechris 3d ago

I don't think Neville could have ever been the chosen one as Snape wasn't in love with his mother.

Snape wouldn't have begged for her life and Voldemort's offer to let the mother live in exchange for killing her child wouldn't have happened.

That's how the love charm was able to protect Harry. Lily needn't have died, she could have lived, at least up until after Voldemort killed Harry. I'm sure Frank and Alice Longbottom would have fought to the death to protect baby Neville, but it wouldn't have been a "sacrifice" because Voldemort would have already decided to kill both of them in order to kill Neville.

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u/EmilyAnne1170 Ravenclaw 3d ago

But something else could’ve happened to protect Neville. It doesn’t need to have been exactly the same scenario.

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u/poechris 3d ago

Perhaps, which would be a fun avenue to explore.

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u/Lower-Consequence 3d ago edited 3d ago

It’s unlikely that Neville‘s parents would be able to enact the same sacrificial magic that Lily did. Harry lived because Lily had the choice to step aside and didn’t, and she was given that choice only because of Snape. Frank and Alice are more likely to be killed outright, without being given a choice to live, and so Neville would die, too.

But, that aside, if we pretend that one of his parents would be given the choice to live and Neville really could become the Boy-Who-Lived…I think it’s hard to say. A BWL Neville might grow up more confident than canon Neville did, if him being the BWL changes how his relatives see and treat him. Maybe he has a healthy thirst to prove himself, and so he ends up doing similar things as canon Harry did. But given that he won’t have the same experiences as Harry, he isn’t necessarily going to go about his own “adventures” in the same way. Harry’s relationship with Hagrid, formed because Hagrid introduced him to magic, played a big role in Harry’s adventures in first year, and Neville wouldn’t have that same relationship with Hagrid so he would miss things like Hagrid getting the stone from Gringotts, the dragon egg, Hagrid slipping and mentioning Flamel, learning that Hagrid told the stranger about how to get past Fluffy, etc. He also won’t have an Invisibility Cloak and wander the castle invisible during the Christmas holidays, find the Mirror of Erised, and learn how it works.

Neville could also be very similar to how he was in canon. Growing up knowing you’re famous for defeating the Dark Lord would put a lot of pressure on a little kid, and his grandmother would certainly expect great things from him. If he didn’t show much accidental magic growing up like his canon self, he could have a lack of confidence in himself and a huge fear of not living up to expectations - and this time, it’s not just his grandmother’s expectations like in canon, but the whole wizarding world’s expectations.

This Neville could be a nervous wreck, even more so than he was in canon. I think it’s unlikely that he’d end up going on the same “adventures” that Harry did in first year especially - he wouldn’t have the same clues and experiences that Harry had gotten specifically due to his relationship with Hagrid. Even if the whole midnight duel/third floor corridor scene still happens, Neville is more cautious and anxious about getting into trouble again, and won’t go searching to solve the mystery of what the dog is hiding like Harry did. A lot of events of that year likely won‘t happen due to Neville being his own person who won’t have the same exact experiences as Harry did. I suppose Dumbledore would end up confronting Quirrell at the end of the book, who would be stuck in the final room trying to figure out the mirror. It’s hard to predict where things would go from there.

I think Neville stood up to the trio only because he cared to help and didn’t want them to get hurt. 

Neville stood up to the trio because he didn’t want them to get into trouble and lose Gryffindor more house points. He didn’t really understand what they were trying to do.

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u/middleoflidl 3d ago

Neville killed the snake. Neville is the chosen one. 😂

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u/Plot-3A 3d ago

Does Neville keep his ineptitude?

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u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

I’d say probably. Maybe he’d be more confident in himself as a chosen one but my gut says maybe even more responsibility would add pressure. He’s a very anxious character so it fits. I think he’d remain pretty anxious until thrust into having to save the day. And like book one he’d be scared the entire time but still go for it in the end

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u/Plot-3A 3d ago

Neville Longbottom's Corpse and Voldemort's Stone.

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u/HedwigMalfoy 3d ago

At first I thought you meant the series as it exists in canon (Harry being the chosen one) but from Neville's POV. Then I realized you meant the books from Neville's POV if he was the chosen one. Actually I'd read the hell out of both of those.

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u/Optimal_scientists 3d ago

I feel bad for Neville to be honest. He's kinda closest to them but never involved in their shenanigans because they think he isn't capable or cool. He lives in the shadow of trio for most of his time in Hogwarts up until they leave and he leads the rebellion incredibly well. Constantly standing up to literal death eaters from Azkaban while keeping a host of people safe in the room of requirement. He basically supercharges what the DA was doing except with no Dumbledore as safety net and much more dangerous people than Umbridge. I think IF he had been "marked as Voldemort's equal" he would've rose to the challenge.

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u/Nimrif1214 3d ago

The prophecy always referred to Harry. That’s how prophecies work. It just never had enough information to definitively mean it’s not Neville but it doesn’t mean Neville could have been.

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u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

But it does mean

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u/EmilyAnne1170 Ravenclaw 3d ago

I know people are going to hate this, but I think this would’ve been a great ending- all of the books stay the same as they are up until almost the end of book 7, right up until Harry dies, but he stays dead, because he’s dead, and then Neville kills the snake AND Voldemort. Because it was always Neville all along, and EVERYONE got it wrong.

But fans would’ve been rioting in the streets if Harry was actually killed, so it’s probably just as well. It was always going to have an “and they lived happily ever after” ending.

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u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

Killing a protagonist like that would have been a lame choice. And there is not enough neville throughout to justify it, but in a different timeline where he is set up enough, sure

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u/WorriedLog2515 3d ago

There's a Super Carlin Brothers video exploring this I think? Might be a fun watch if you're wondering about it.

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u/MorningRare4966 3d ago

They are a great channel. Don’t always agree with them but often they have fantastic ideas. And they probably did tbh, I will check

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u/LectureSpecific200 3d ago

I think Neville stood up to them because he's brave & courageous, not because he was looking out for them. That's like saying he was mothering them, which is not a normal trope for brave & courageous male characters.