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Neville Longbottom

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Born on July 30 in 1980 to Frank and Alice Longbottom, Neville's destiny to be something more started at the very beginning.

During Lord Voldermort's original reign, his parents, both members of the Order of the Phoenix, were tortured with the Cruciatus Curse by noteable Death Eaters, including Barty Crouch Jr and Bellatrix Lestrange, when he was very young. Restricted to St. Mungo's and unable to recognize that they even have a son, Neville goes on to be raised by his grandmother, a strict perfectionist who often pushes Neville to be someone he is not, mainly his father.

When he first arrives at Hogwarts, he's a bumbling and akward kid with a large habit of attracting bad luck. He's clumsy, forgettful, and known for messing up horribly in his classes. The fact that he was sorted into Gryffindor, the house known for it's bravery, becomes a running joke among the Slytherins who live to torture and tease him. However, by the end of the first book (Sorcerer's Stone) Neville has taken Harry's advice to heart and starts making more of an effort to stand up for himself. The first time he does this is to Draco Malfoy during a Quidditch match and he ends up unconscious in the hospital wing. The second time is to Harry himself and he ends up being body-bound on the floor. He's rewarded for his bravery however with ten house points, ten points that end up winning Gryffindor the house cup against Slytherin.

From that point on, Neville is still shy and akward, but as each book progress, so does his character. By the time he joins Dumbledore's Army (an underground group of Hogwarts students who practice defensive magic) in his fifth year, he's become more sure of himself and the courage the Sorting Hat saw in him is starting to become more prominent. Around this time, one of his parent's torturers, Bellatrix Lestrange, escapes from Azkaban and Neville then devotes himself more fully to mastering his magic. In a short amount of time he is one of the strongest fighters in the Army and his loyalty and vigor even saves Harry's life in a battle at the Ministry.

Like Harry, the fight against Voldermort is personal for him, and he continues this fight for the rest of the series. When Harry leaves to find Horcruxes in book seven, Neville steps in as the leader of Dumbledore's Army at Hogwarts, despite the school being under a new regime of Death Eaters. He is subjected to cruel punishments that eventually escalade to a cruel and gruesome level. Eventually, Neville's grandmother flees to live on the run and Neville himself is forced into hiding with some other DA members.

This is how Harry finds him when he returns to Hogwarts for the final battle, bravely leading in the face of danger. When the fighting starts, Neville backs up Harry in every way he can. He directs other students in throwing harmful plants over the castle walls at intruders, and fighs one-on-one with various Death Eaters. Later, showing an incredible amount of trust in him, Harry confides to him the importance of Nagini and tells him that if he doesn't make it, to kill Nagini.

When Voldermort approaches the castle at the end, with Harry's apparently lifeless body, he offers Neville the chance to join the Death Eaters because of his Pure-Blood status. Despite facing the biggest danger he arguably ever will, Neville proves how strong he has become by not only refusing Voldermort's offer, but by taunting the Dark Lord with a cry of 'Dumbledore's Army!' His words ignite applause from the remaining students and this leads Voldermort to make an example out of him by using the Body-Bind curse and setting the Sorting Hat on Neville's head as a warning to others. Unforuntately for him, Neville manages to break free of the curse and decapitate Nagini while Voldermort is distracted. He then continues to fight alongside the other Order members until the battle is won.

In the epilogue of the final book, it's revealed that Neville grew up to be the Herbology professor at Hogwarts, as well as a close friend of both the Potters and the Weasleys.

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