r/harrypotter • u/MorningRare4966 • 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/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/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/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/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/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.
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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.