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Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Neville Longbottom

Overview
Neville Longbottom is a student in Gryffindor House and is in the same year as Harry Potter. In fact, they were born a day apart, Neville on 30 July, Harry on 31 July, a crucial element in the series' plot and one that significantly connects them. Along with fellow classmates Harry, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, Neville helped battle powerful Dark Magic at Hogwarts. He lives with his grandmother, who has raised him since he was a small child.

Despite being born into a powerful wizarding family, the young Neville appeared to have inherited little magical ability. He apparently did not display many bursts of magic in his youth, despite various attempts to coerce magic by his grandmother and uncles. For this reason, his grandmother and other relatives feared he might be a squib (a wizard who cannot perform magic). He also suffered from a poor memory, though just why remains unclear. However, under Harry's influence, his magical skills developed to where he became a valuable asset to Harry and his fellows in Dumbledore's Army. His memory also apparently improved.

Philosopher's Stone
Neville is first seen on the Hogwarts Express platform, telling an exasperated older lady with a stuffed vulture on her hat that his pet toad, Trevor, is missing. Aboard the train, Neville stops by Harry and Ron's compartment to ask if they have seen Trevor. We discover shortly that Neville has also enlisted Hermione's help to search; even with her help, however, Neville's search is not successful. Once the train ride is completed, the first-year students are paraded out of the train and shepherded into small boats to ferry them across a lake to the castle. Hagrid asks whose toad he has found; Neville recognizes it as Trevor.

At the Welcome Feast, Neville is Sorted into Gryffindor House. Harry notes that the Sorting Hat takes a long time before deciding that Neville is a Gryffindor. During the feast, we overhear that Neville's grandmother was extremely pleased when Neville received his Hogwarts letter. His family had feared Neville was unable to perform magic, and had applied some extreme measures on him to prove otherwise.

Very shortly, Professor Snape begins mercilessly persecuting Gryffindor students, particularly Neville and Harry. When Neville melts the cauldron that he shares with Seamus, Snape also holds Harry partly responsible, and penalizes him.

Neville's grandmother sends him a Remembrall, prompting Draco to try and take it from him. Harry and Ron rise to his defence, and Professor McGonagall also appears. Draco, outnumbered, departs.

Gryffindor and Slytherin houses have flying lessons with Madam Hooch. Neville, unable to control his broomstick, falls off and fractures his wrist, and is taken to the infirmary. In Madam Hooch's absence, Draco spots his dropped Remembrall, and states his intention to hide it in a tree. Harry mounts his broomstick to chase him, and when Draco throws the Remembrall, Harry catches it before it hits the ground. Professor McGonagall, witnessing this, recruits Harry for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Harry and Ron set out for the Trophy Room to engage in a Wizard's Duel with Draco Malfoy. Hermione follows, attempting to dissuade them, but discovers when she tries to return to the Common Room that the Fat Lady is away from her portrait, and she is locked out. Hermione decides to accompany Harry and Ron to the Trophy Room. On the way, they discover Neville, sleeping in the hall because he forgot the password. The four head to the Trophy Room, but Draco does not appear; rather, Argus Filch arrives, evidently tipped off that some other student will be there. As the group attempts to escape, Neville crashes into a suit of armor, but they elude Filch and Peeves, only to find themselves in a room with an enormous, three-headed dog. Avoiding injury from the dog, all four return safe to Gryffindor Tower.

Some time later, Neville enters the Gryffindor common room with his legs immobilized by Draco's Leg-locker jinx. Hermione frees him, and Harry gives Neville a Chocolate Frog. Neville returns the Dumbledore collector card inside the package to Harry. The card provides Harry an important clue about Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone that Harry believes Snape is trying to steal for Voldemort.

Draco uncovers the plan for Charlie Weasley's friends to take Hagrid's baby dragon, Norbert, to Romania. Neville overhears Draco boasting that he will catch Harry and Hermione in the act, and goes to warn them, but Professor McGonagall catches him out after hours. Harry and Hermione are intercepted by Filch and brought before McGonagall, along with Neville. She assumes the three students were conspiring to get Draco in trouble and penalizes each fifty house points and gives them a detention. Draco, who had been caught earlier, is also penalized.

Detention is served with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest. Something has been injuring and killing Unicorns, and the four students are tracking an injured one. Draco and Neville initially are teamed together, but Draco deliberately scares Neville. Hagrid then re-shuffles the groups, pairing Harry with Draco and Fang, and making up another group himself with Hermione and Neville.

When Neville discovers the Trio's plan to prevent the Philosopher's Stone from being stolen and given to Voldemort, he attempts to intervene, saying they have already lost Gryffindor enough House points. Hermione reluctantly immobilizes Neville.

At the Leaving Feast, Dumbledore awards Neville ten House points for having the courage to stand up to his friends. This is the first time Neville has won any points for anything, and it wins Gryffindor the House Cup.

Finally, it is noted that despite his abysmal Potions grade, Neville has passed his exams.

Chamber of Secrets
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Soon, there is a general assumption that whatever monster is resident within the Chamber is attacking Muggle-borns, those of non-Wizarding descent. When a brisk business in protective amulets ensues, Neville buys some. Though he is descended from old Wizarding stock, Neville fears his poor magical skills makes him practically a Squib, and the monster had first apparently attacked Filch, petrifying his cat.

In Professor Lockhart's Dueling Club, Neville initially was paired with Justin Finch-Fletchley. After that goes badly awry, Lockhart suggests having only a single pair compete while the rest watch. He chooses Neville and Justin, but Snape overrules him, cuttingly remarking that Neville causes havoc with every wand stroke. Snape suggests Harry and Draco Malfoy demonstrate instead.

Prisoner of Azkaban
After accidentally inflating Aunt Marge, Harry angrily departs the Dursley home. While pondering what he should do next, Harry inadvertently summons the Knight Bus. The conductor asks his name, and Harry, fearing the Ministry is hunting him, says he is Neville Longbottom. When he arrives at The Leaky Cauldron, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, recognizes him.

In Diagon Alley, Harry sees Neville, whose grandmother is chastising him for forgetting his booklist.

On the Hogwarts Express, Neville and Ginny make their way to Harry's compartment. A Dementor has boarded the train and enters the compartment, causing Harry to briefly lose consciousness. Later, Draco Malfoy overhears Neville mentioning the incident, and mercilessly taunts Harry about it.

In Divination class, Professor Trelawney has Neville hand out teacups, predicting that he will break at least one. He breaks two.

In Snape's class, Neville's potion is a mess. Snape forbids Hermione to help him with it. By class end, Neville's potion is reasonably correct, but Snape assumes (without proof, but correctly) that Hermione helped him, and he penalizes her five house points.

During Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Lupin teaches students how to combat a Boggart using the Riddikulus charm. After Snape had made another cutting remark about Neville's wand abilities, Lupin has Neville lead off the demonstration. The charm forces the Boggart to assume whatever shape the caster is imagining. Neville's greatest fear is Snape, so Lupin tells him to picture Snape wearing his grandmother's clothing. Professor Lupin says it is laughter that destroys a Boggart, so the charm works by forcing it into a laughable form. As "Snape" emerges from a wardrobe, Neville successfully transforms the Boggart into Professor Snape's image wearing Mrs. Longbottom's clothes.

When the real Snape hears that Neville caused the Boggart to assume his image, and how his image was changed by the charm, he mercilessly bullies Neville in Potions class.

When Sirius Black breaks into the castle on Hallowe'en, The Fat Lady's portrait refuses him entry into the Gryffindor common room. Black then slashes the canvas, terrifying the Fat Lady. Sir Cadogan takes over guarding the entrance, but changes the passwords several times a day. Neville, unable to remember them, writes down the entire list. Shortly before Easter, Harry finds Neville attempting to persuade Sir Cadogan to let him into the Gryffindor common room; it seems Neville has lost the list.

After Sirius Black breaks into Hogwarts again, Sir Cadogan proudly states that he had let a man enter Gryffindor Tower because he had the password; he had all of them on a list. Professor McGonagall, furious that someone wrote the passwords down, asks who was stupid enough to leave the list lying around. Neville shamefacedly admits he did. As punishment, Neville is barred from future Hogsmeade outings for the remainder of the year, receives detention, and is no longer allowed to know the password to Gryffindor Tower. He must now wait for someone to enter or leave Gryffindor tower to let him in. He also receives a Howler from his grandmother after McGonagall sends her a letter on his recent actions.

Lacking parental permission to visit Hogsmeade, Harry intends to use the secret passage revealed by the Marauder's Map while hiding under his Invisibility Cloak to accompany Ron there. Neville, almost painfully glad that Harry also is unable to visit Hogsmeade, nearly prevents Harry from getting to the secret passage.

At Easter break, it is mentioned that Neville looks strained. Like other third-years, he has received much homework to complete before Easter break ends.

In the Shrieking Shack, Sirius Black reveals that Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, had stolen Neville's password list for him.

Goblet of Fire
Aboard the Hogwarts Express, Neville envies Harry and Ron attending the Quidditch World Cup; his grandmother had refused to get tickets. When Ron produces his Viktor Krum souvenir figurine, Neville watches entranced as it walks back and forth across Ron's hand.

In Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Moody asks the students to name the Unforgivable Curses. Neville timidly mentions the Cruciatus Curse. After class, Neville, profoundly shaken by something during Moody's demonstration, is invited to tea by him. Back in the dormitory, Neville shows off a book, Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and Their Properties, that Moody gave him. Neville seems cheered, both by the book, and Moody's mentioning that Professor Sprout had said Neville was adept at Herbology.

When Harry opens the Golden Egg to solve the puzzle for the Second Task, it emits a loud, screeching noise. Neville, terrified, thinks it sounds like someone being tortured.

Neville invites Hermione to the Yule Ball, but she has a date. When Ron tells Ginny to go with Harry, she says Neville has already asked her. At the Yule Ball, Harry notes that Neville's dancing is even worse than his own; he seems to be treading on Ginny's feet rather a lot.

While left alone in Dumbledore's office, Harry discovers a Pensieve. It contains Dumbledore's memories, including one of a Wizengamot trial. Four Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jr., are being tried for torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom to insanity in an attempt to extract information about Voldemort. The Longbottoms, Neville's parents, were left incurably insane and now permanently reside in St. Mungo's Hospital. Neville has since been raised by his grandmother. Dumbledore cautions Harry never to mention this to Ron and Hermione—it is Neville's secret to reveal.

After returning from the graveyard duel with Voldemort, Harry is taken aside by Moody, who boasts he had smoothed Harry's path through the Triwizard Tournament, leading him to Voldemort. The book he gave Neville contained information on Gillyweed, and Moody had expected Harry to consult with Neville prior to the Second Task. As Harry had never done so, Moody mentioned Gillyweed's effect within Dobby's hearing, and Dobby relayed that information to Harry.

Order of the Phoenix
On the crowded Hogwarts Express, Ginny leads Harry and Neville to a compartment with only Luna Lovegood sitting inside. Neville shows Harry his birthday present, a rare Mimbulus Mimbletonia plant. When he points out the plant's defence mechanism, it suddenly sprays everyone and everything in the compartment with stinksap, just as Cho Chang arrives to say hello to Harry. After an awkward moment, Cho departs; Ginny cleans the stinksap off everyone.

Following the Arrival Feast, new Prefects Hermione and Ron, shepherding the first-years to Gryffindor Tower, have yet to arrive. Neville, however, knows the password ("Mimbulus Mimbletonia") to enter. Inside, Harry learns that Seamus' mother nearly prohibited him from returning to Hogwarts after the Daily Prophet smeared Harry and Dumbledore's reputations. Neville defends Harry, saying his grandmother believes Dumbledore; Dean is neutral. Everyone remains tense until Ron arrives, calming the situation with his Prefect powers.

Neville is an early member in Dumbledore's Army, and attends the group's maiden meeting at the Hog's Head Inn, during the first Hogsmeade weekend. When Zacharias Smith derides Harry's experience, Neville and others leap to his defence.

When Professor Umbridge bans all student groups, Neville is among the Gryffindors who Harry and Hermione reassure that the D.A. will still meet anyway, though in secret.

Later, while waiting to enter Potions class, Draco Malfoy taunts Harry over the Daily Prophet's claims that Harry suffers from mental problems. When Draco snidely remarks that people with mental disabilities should be kept in St. Mungo's, Neville, stung, leaps to attack Draco; Harry and Ron physically restrain Neville. Professor Snape appears and penalizes Gryffindor house for fighting. Harry, knowing about Neville's parents, understands why Neville flew at Draco, though he is unable to say anything to Ron, who is wondering what prompted Neville's outburst.

At the first Dumbledore's Army meeting in the Room of Requirement, Neville works hard and actually disarms. Harry leaves Neville to practice with Ron and Hermione.

In Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures, the class learns about Thestrals. Only three students there have the ability to see them: Harry, Neville, and an unnamed Slytherin student. Hagrid explains that only those who have witnessed death can see the creatures.

At Christmas, while visiting Mr. Weasley in St. Mungo's Hospital, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny run into Neville and his grandmother, who are there to see Neville's parents, Frank and Alice. Harry knows that the former Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members were tortured into insanity by Death Eaters. Now they are permanently hospitalized at St. Mungo's. Neville is embarrassed that his classmates now know about his parents, though Mrs. Longbottom says Neville should be proud of how his parents defended themselves against their attackers. After Neville and his grandmother depart, Harry admits to the others that he already knew Neville's secret, but Dumbledore had asked him never to reveal it.

After Christmas, there is a mass outbreak of Death Eaters from Azkaban Prison. Among the escapees is Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry expects Neville to react fearfully upon hearing that the Death Eaters who tortured his parents into insanity are free; instead, it motivates him to work even harder in Dumbledore's Army. Only Hermione masters the Shield Charm faster than Neville.

Harry worries if he did the correct thing in being interviewed by the Quibbler about Voldemort's return. Neville, Dean, and Seamus assure Harry it was the right thing to do, saying it took much courage.

Neville continually works hard in Dumbledore's Army, mastering every spell. As Harry is thinking about Neville's progress, Dobby arrives, warning him that Dumbledore's Army has been betrayed.

When Harry experiences a vision that Voldemort is torturing Sirius at the Ministry, D.A. members create a diversion so Harry can try to contact Sirius using the Floo network in Professor Umbridge's office. Neville, who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, is captured along with Ginny, Luna, Ron, and Hermione and brought to Umbridge's office. Harry and Hermione, after luring Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest, have escaped and meet up with the others. The students fly to the Ministry in London on Thestrals to rescue Sirius.

Sirius is not at the Ministry, and the students have been lured into a trap. When Ron finds a small glass orb with Harry's name on it, Death Eaters, led by Lucius Malfoy, appear and demand that Harry hand it over.

The Death Eaters target Harry during the ensuing battle, and the students run for the Atrium. More Death Eaters appear, tripping the students as they rush for the exit. Knowing Voldemort only wants him, Harry runs into an amphitheatre to stand alone against the remaining Death Eaters. Neville charges in, fruitlessly casting Stunning spells, though he is quickly subdued. In an attempt to force Harry to hand over the Prophecy orb, Bellatrix Lestrange sadistically tortures Neville, tauntingly saying she did the same to his parents. As Harry is about to surrender the prophecy, Sirius, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Lupin, and Moody arrive. Macnair grabs Harry by the throat, demanding the prophecy; Neville stabs Macnair's eye with a wand, freeing Harry. Harry has handed off the Prophecy to Neville, but when he is pulling Neville up the steps, Neville's robe rips, spilling the prophecy orb from his pocket to the floor, smashing it. The battle quickly ends after Dumbledore's arrival, though Bellatrix and Voldemort escape.

After the battle, in Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore tells Harry that Voldemort was seeking the Prophecy. Though the original was lost, Dumbledore knows its contents. The prophecy foretelling Voldemort's possible fate fit two boys: Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, who were born a day apart. Dumbledore believes Voldemort attacked the infant Harry because he is a half-blood like himself, and therefore possibly more dangerous; Neville is a pureblood. By deliberately choosing Harry, Voldemort "marked" him as his equal, leaving behind the scar on Harry's forehead.

It is noted later that Neville makes a full recovery. He is in the Hospital Wing when Harry visits Hermione and Ron, who are recovering. Ginny, Luna, and Neville are also there visiting.

Half-Blood Prince
On the Hogwarts Express, Harry sits with Luna and Neville, while Ron and Hermione report to the Prefects' compartment. Harry finds he is popular again. Romilda Vane, a fourth-year student, invites Harry to join her and her friends, but Harry declines, preferring his current companions' company. Romilda casts a disparaging glance at Luna and Neville before departing. Harry, noticing Neville's reaction to this, mentions that Romilda was not at the Ministry. This cheers Neville, and he talks about his OWL results, wondering if an 'Acceptable' grade in Transfiguration is sufficient to progress to the NEWT level-class. Harry, listening to Neville and thinking about the Prophecy, wonders what might have happened if Voldemort had chosen to attack Neville rather than him; would Neville have the scar and the popularity?

Harry and Neville are invited to Professor Slughorn's compartment for lunch. Once inside, it seems obvious that he only invited those students who are connected to famous wizards, or, like Neville, have distinguished themselves in some way. Slughorn asks about the Ministry battle, though neither Harry nor Neville is forthcoming, and Slughorn does not pry.

Professor McGonagall tells Neville that Professor Sprout will be delighted to accept him into her N.E.W.T. Herbology class with an 'Outstanding' O.W.L., and that he qualifies for Defence Against the Dark Arts with an 'Exceeds Expectations'. However, his 'Acceptable' O.W.L. grade Transfiguration is not good enough for her N.E.W.T. class as she fears that he may not be able to cope with the coursework, which could put him at a disadvantage. However, his Charms results with an 'Exceeds Expectations' grade is high enough for Professor Flitwick's N.E.W.T. level class. Neville, disappointed, mumbles that his grandmother thinks Charms is a soft option. Professor McGonagall acerbically retorts that just because Augusta failed her Charms O.W.L. does not imply that Neville should be denied that opportunity. She also states that it is time that Augusta appreciated her grandson for what he already was rather than the one she wants him to be. Adding Charms to his timetable, she sends Neville happily on his way.

Neville is seen little during the year, as he and Harry share few classes. Later, Dumbledore asks Harry to accompany him to where a Horcrux may be hidden. Harry, suspecting that Draco's sinister task for the Dark Lord has been completed, worries about leaving the school unguarded while he and Dumbledore are away. He has Ginny, Ron, and Hermione and any other Dumbledore's Army members they can recruit to guard the Room of Requirement and Snape's office.

After the battle with the Death Eaters, Ron tells Harry that the only D.A. members who responded to Hermione's summons were Neville and Luna. Ron, Ginny, and Neville were guarding the Room of Requirement when Draco emerged, holding a dried-up hand object. Seeing the three students, Draco tossed darkness powder into the hall, apparently while guiding others from the Room of Requirement. It was too dangerous for Ron, Neville, and Ginny to cast any jinxes in the blackness.

Neville, injured in the battle, is in the Hospital Wing. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione visit him there. Neville has recovered enough to attend Dumbledore's funeral.

Deathly Hallows
As Harry, Hermione and Ron roam the countryside on Dumbledore's Horcrux mission, they happen to overhear a conversation about some Hogwarts students breaking into Headmaster Snape's office in an unsuccessful attempt to steal the Sword of Gryffindor. Later, Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait that Hermione is carrying in her beaded bag, confirms that it was Ginny, Neville, and Luna who were responsible and received detentions. Phineas reveals a few more details: after a low-level, student rebellion, Snape re-instated Dolores Umbridge's former decree banning all student groups. Harry suspects that Neville, Ginny, and Luna have taken over Dumbledore's Army to usurp the Death Eaters controlling Hogwarts.

When Harry, Hermione, and Ron Apparate into Hogsmeade village, they set off an alarm. Aberforth Dumbledore rescues them from Death Eaters, and only reluctantly agrees to help sneak them Hogwarts, where another Horcrux is hidden. Aberforth sends a message via his sister Ariana's portrait. Ariana soon returns; as her portrait swings opens, a secret corridor is revealed with Neville standing inside.

Neville's battered appearance shocks Harry, though Neville is actually quite cheerful. Leading the Trio down a dark tunnel, Neville asks if they really broke into Gringotts and escaped on a dragon. Neville updates them on changes at the school. Any student refusing to Curse another student as punishment is beaten. The Muggle Studies teacher, Alecto Carrow, insists all Muggles are dirty and stupid. Neville received one scar after asking her how much Muggle blood she had, though the Carrows punished him relatively lightly because he is a Pureblood. Neville helped re-build Dumbledore's Army, and they were pulling pranks and creating disruptions, but after Luna and Ginny departed the school, the rebellion died down. When Neville was identified as a ringleader, the Carrows tried to kidnap his grandmother as retaliation. Before going on the run, Mrs. Longbottom put at least one attacker into St. Mungo's Hospital. Neville decided he should also disappear.

Harry does not immediately realize that they have entered the Room of Requirement, which has grown bigger and become more comprehensive as Dumbledore's Army members went into hiding. The room is unable to provide food, but when Neville's need became great enough, a tunnel leading to the Hog's Head Inn opened, and Aberforth has been sending supplies ever since. Seamus says Neville is the one who knows how to get the Room of Requirement to provide what they need.

Harry tells the group there is something that he, Ron, and Hermione must do, then they will leave. Everybody is dismayed, but Neville expresses what everyone is feeling: that they have shown loyalty to Dumbledore and have earned the right to fight Voldemort alongside Harry.

During the battle, Neville heads to the battlements with Professor Sprout carrying pots of Mandrakes to drop on the attackers. Neville's grandmother arrives to fight alongside her grandson, telling him how proud she is of his accomplishments. When Death Eaters breach the walls, Neville, in the Entrance Hall, is ready to lob Venomous Tentacula plants.

Harry, hidden under his Invisibility Cloak, heads to the Forbidden Forest to meet his fate. Along the way, he sees Oliver Wood and Neville carrying Colin Creevey's body back to the castle. When Neville goes to search for more casualties, Harry reveals himself, and tells Neville that Voldemort's snake, Nagini, must be killed if Voldemort is to be defeated. If he, Ron, or Hermione are unable to kill Nagini, then Neville must do the job. Neville does not understand, but agrees he will, if the opportunity arises.

After Harry's apparent death in the Forbidden Forest, Voldemort orders the captured Hagrid to carry Harry's body as the Dark Lord and his army march to the school. At Hogwarts, Voldemort singles out Neville, saying he is a Pureblood from an old Wizarding family, and entices him to join his side. Defiant, Neville refuses and charges, only to be thrown into a full Body-bind by Voldemort, who then Summons the Sorting Hat and pulls it onto Neville's head. He sets the Hat afire to show that there is no more Sorting and only one school House—Slytherin. Neville casts off the Body-Bind, then pulls the Sword of Gryffindor from the Hat and beheads Nagini, Voldemort's last Horcrux.

Neville is then seen helping Ron defeat Fenrir Greyback during the battle's confusion; after the fighting, Harry notes that Neville has survived and is sitting exhausted in the Great Hall.

In the epilogue, Neville has become Hogwarts' Herbology professor and has married Hannah Abbott. Neville remains a close family friend to the Potters and Weasleys.

Strengths
Neville is descended from a powerful magical family, and he has the potential to be a great wizard. His problems stem, in Professor McGonagall's opinion, from, "a lack of self confidence." Like Harry, he suffered an early childhood trauma. Despite his earlier lackluster abilities, Neville's magical power has grown substantially since his 5th year when he trained with Dumbledore's Army under Harry Potter's tutelage. With great determination, he worked harder than most to master defensive skills, and struggled to break through the fog that perpetually clouded his mind.

Neville has shown courage and nobility from an early age as he silently endured a personal tragedy without ever seeking attention and sympathy. In his first year, he bravely confronted Harry, Ron, and Hermione, protesting their decision to protect the Philosopher's Stone. He was among the few D.A. allies who fought alongside Harry at the Department of Mysteries, where he demonstrated immense courage and loyalty. He also showed leadership and bravery when, following Harry's departure, he helped reestablish and lead Dumbledore's Army (at great personal risk) to resist the Death Eaters' controlling Hogwarts during his seventh year. During the battle at Hogwarts, Harry relies on Neville to kill Nagini, Voldemort's snake Horcrux. Neville never wavers in accepting and fulfilling the potentially deadly challenge.

Neville is gifted in Herbology and received an "Outstanding" on his O.W.L. Further, he received "Exceeds Expectations" in Defence Against the Dark Arts, possibly because of his work in Dumbledore's Army. He also received an "Exceeds Expectations" on his Charms O.W.L., and is encouraged by Professor McGonagall to take advanced study in that course.

Weaknesses
During Neville's early years at Hogwarts, he could best be described as clumsy, shy, and had very low self-confidence. These traits seriously affected his Wizarding abilities and training. He was prone to mishaps or accidents, especially in Potions, due to his (fairly rational) fear of Professor Snape, who constantly bullied him, further eroding his self-esteem.

Due to serious memory problems, Neville was unable to remember the simplest things, such as the Gryffindor passwords. His difficulty with Potions were likely memory-related as well.

As a young boy, Neville displayed no leadership abilities whatsoever and rarely took initiative in anything. His only interest appeared to be Herbology, which he does excel at. His shy, passive nature resulted in him rarely standing up for himself. Slytherin students particularly enjoyed heaping abuse on him.

Relationships with Other Characters
Like Harry, Neville is an only child who was raised by someone other than his parents. In Neville's case, his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, became his legal guardian after his parents were permanently committed to St. Mungo's hospital after being tortured into insanity by Death Eaters. Neville apparently loves his grandmother, but her stern, overbearing personality has created a barrier to their relationship, and he generally fears her.

Neville also loves his parents, but, being a small child when Death Eaters tortured them, he has never known the people they were before. Whatever they once were, he now sees only their vacant shells and uncomprehending expressions when he visits them in the hospital. Neville was embarrassed by his parents' conditions, and became particularly distressed when Harry and the other Weasley children accidentally saw his family while at St. Mungo's. They, however, supported him. Eventually, Neville fully embraces the heroic sacrifice his mother and father made in fighting Voldemort, and he is proud to be their son.

The shy and rather nerdy Neville initially makes few friends at Hogwarts. Most students either tease him or ignore him completely. Harry and Ron, his dorm mates, always treat Neville cordially, but Harry tended to consider him as someone he would rather not be seen hanging out with. The two boys eventually become close, particularly after Harry discovers Neville's secret about his parents' fates. Having lost his own parents, Harry understands the emotional hardship this creates. Harry also learns that if circumstances had been a little different, Neville, rather than Harry, might have been "The Chosen One," when a prophecy involving Voldemort could have fit either boy. If Voldemort had targeted Neville, a pure-blood, rather than Harry, who is a half-blood like Voldemort, it is highly improbable that Neville would have survived the Killing Curse as Harry did.

With the many similarities between Harry and Neville's circumstances, and their tie to Trelawney's prophecy, it seems more than coincidental that they should also be assigned to the same Gryffindor dorm. Was this intentional on Dumbledore's part? We never know, but if it was, he may have intended that the two boys support each another in a way few others could. This hardly seems likely at first, as Harry has relatively little interest in or interaction with Neville. Their bond grows however, and Harry exerts a great influence on Neville, helping him overcome his magical handicap. Neville, in return, is among Harry's strongest supporters, risking his life in the battle at the Ministry of Magic, and stepping into a leadership role after Harry departs Hogwarts before his seventh year. It was only after Harry embraced Neville as a friend that most other students also did so; but as Neville becomes a capable wizard and a strong leader, he is acknowledged and admired for his own merits. During the final battle at Hogwarts, Harry tasks Neville to kill Nagini. Though not fully understanding why, Neville promises he will, and destroys Voldemort's last Horcrux. Harry never forgets what Neville has done for him.

Romantically, Neville remains challenged throughout the series. He becomes close to Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, eventually reviving and leading Dumbledore's Army along with them, but both girls are only friends. He is also on good terms with Hermione, though their relationship is more casual. While at Hogwarts, Neville never has a girlfriend, nor is it known if there is anyone he is interested in. Though Luna would seem a suitable match, her personality is probably much too eccentric for the more conventional Neville. He surprisingly mustered the courage to invite Hermione, and later Ginny, to the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire. Whether he was actually attracted to either or just felt comfortable enough to ask them as a friend is unclear. Hermione already had a date, and it was Ginny who accepted Neville's invitation, though she had no romantic interest in him, and was merely excited to be going to the ball. She was soon disappointed, however, upon learning that she could have instead gone with Harry, who was having difficulty finding his own date. Both Harry and Ron seemed mildly annoyed that Neville was able to procure a date to the ball before they did, even if it was Ginny.

Professor Dumbledore and Neville's teachers genuinely like him, though other than Professor Sprout who teaches Herbology, there apparently is little expectation regarding his academic performance. Professor Snape is overly critical regarding his in-class abilities, so much so that Neville becomes terrified of him. Under Professor Lupin's patient guidance, however, Neville is coaxed into performing quite well in the Defense Against the Dark Arts demonstration, infusing him with a much needed confidence boost that Harry is later able to build upon to improve Neville's magical skills in his own Defensive Arts class.

In the Epilogue, it is learned that Neville becomes Hogwarts' Herbology teacher, and in later interviews, Rowling stated that he had married Hannah Abbott. This makes him the first Hogwarts teacher that is known to have a spouse. There were likely other married teachers at some point, but they are never mentioned in the series.

Analysis
Early on, Neville could best be described as a classic "misfit." His shy, awkward nature, as well as his magical deficiencies, make him off-putting to the more popular students and an easy target for crueler ones. Indeed, it appears he has few friends, and those students who are cordial, are seemingly only being kind.

Neville shares a dorm with Harry and Ron, but in the early years, he and Harry are arguably more amiable acquaintances than friends; he and Harry grow much closer during their 5th year, however. Neville is seemingly clumsy and magically challenged in the first three novels, but by the fifth book, partially with Harry's help, he adopts a new persona, becoming a stronger, more capable character. Rowling may be saying that even the most seemingly hopeless student, given time and encouragement, can develop into a valuable asset. This is evident by Neville's growing role in Book 5, his extraordinary Herbology ability, and that, under different circumstances, he could have been "the boy who lived."

Initially, Neville seems an odd choice to have been sorted into Gryffindor, a House mainly known for bravery and nobility. Neville is certainly a noble character, but his timid, fearful nature, along with his poor magical skills and memory problems, seem out-of-place with the more assertive Gryffindors. Though it is hardly overt, Neville has always had immense courage, first by overcoming his parents' tragic fate, which he keeps secret and never seeks sympathy for, then working hard to improve his magical deficiencies, despite his family's and many others' belief he is nearly a Squib. As his skills improve under Harry's guidance, Neville's courage grows in more obvious ways, and he is always ready to fight at Harry's side when needed. Harry becomes so confident in Neville's abilities that he eventually entrusts him with a vital and potentially deadly task in book 7.

Neville's poor memory is ongoing in the earlier books. Another character, Bertha Jorkins, though never seen, is described in the fourth book as also having a deficient memory. Her severe problems were caused by memory alteration charms. Some fan sites have suggested that Neville's memory problems are enough like Bertha's that they may have a similar cause. In Bertha's case, her memory was suppressed by Voldemort's allies to hide something important regarding the Dark Lord; Neville's memory may likewise have been altered, though with Bertha, there was likely no concern about causing any long-term damage.

Prior to the seventh book's publication, there was speculation that a valuable secret may have been hidden within Neville's mind, and that it might be released via a Pensieve. No such secret ever emerged in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, however. Alternately, Neville could have been present when his parents were being tortured by Death Eaters, something that would likely have amused Bellatrix Lestrange while deeply traumatizing Neville. If that is true, Neville's grandmother, Augusta, may have liberally applied one or more memory charm to prevent Neville from repeatedly reliving that horrendous episode. Professor McGonagall does mention that Augusta failed her Charms OWL. While Augusta or other family members' intent would have been to alleviate Neville's anguish, the possibility that his memory issues stem from excessive or botched Obliviate charms is almost certain. Considering the damaging and apparently enduring effect the backfired memory charm had on Gilderoy Lockhart, these obviously must be applied with great skill and restraint to avoid permanent mental damage.

Greater Picture
Neville's character became more significant in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which it was learned that, as infants, both he Harry were targeted by Lord Voldemort as the potential enemy foretold in Sybill Trelawney's prophecy; but, Voldemort chose Harry over Neville, apparently believing Harry's half-blood status made him the more likely threat. In the seventh book, Neville, along with Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, re-form Dumbledore's Army and recruit more wizards to rebel against the new headmaster, Snape, and the Muggle Studies and Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, respectively. Overall, Neville is a round character, and he is essential to the defeat of Voldemort. Neville grows throughout the series without any support or love from his parents, proving that, although he has an extreme lack of self-confidence, Neville Longbottom is one of the strongest, most determined characters in the Harry Potter saga.


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Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Rufus Scrimgeour

Overview
Rufus Scrimgeour is the Minister of Magic during Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, replacing Cornelius Fudge after the disastrous events at the Ministry of Magic at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Scrimgeour is a former Auror.

Order of the Phoenix
Rufus Scrimgeour is mentioned in passing as Harry Potter and Arthur Weasley pass through the Auror's office at the Ministry of Magic, just before Harry's hearing.

Half-Blood Prince
In the first chapter of the book, Cornelius Fudge introduces the Muggle Prime Minister to Rufus Scrimgeour, saying he has been sworn in as Minister of Magic after the disastrous events at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the following summer. These events include the escape of many prisoners from Azkaban, the deaths of two wizards, apparent Giant attacks in parts of England, and the collapse of a bridge with many Muggle casualties.

We hear that there has been some sort of confrontation between Scrimgeour and Albus Dumbledore, but we don't immediately learn what that confrontation involved.

Shortly before Christmas, when Harry is taking Luna Lovegood to Professor Slughorn's party, Harry mentions that there will be a vampire there; Luna immediately asks if that would be Scrimgeour. Apparently, her father had written a story about how Scrimgeour is a vampire, but had had to shelve it on orders from the Ministry.

At Christmas, which Harry is spending at The Burrow, Scrimgeour visits, using Percy Weasley as a pretext. Scrimgeour takes Harry for a walk around the garden, during which he tries to get answers out of Harry about what Dumbledore is doing, and suggests that the Ministry would be grateful if Harry was to visibly align himself with them. Harry, who is revolted by the Ministry's hypocrisies, asks if they have freed Stan Shunpike yet. Scrimgeour waffles, saying essentially that they have to appear to be doing something. Harry refuses further assistance, saying that the new Ministry is as bad in its own way as the old one was.

In discussion with Professor Dumbledore immediately after Christmas break, Dumbledore tells Harry that what Scrimgeour had talked to Harry about over the break is what the earlier confrontation had been about. The plan to use Harry as the Ministry's poster boy had been initially suggested by Fudge, and had not died when Fudge had left office. Dumbledore had been refusing to allow Harry's use as a figurehead.

At the end of the book, Scrimgeour again talks to Harry, asking what Dumbledore was doing, and again trying to elicit Harry's visible co-operation with the Ministry. Harry again refuses, saying he has seen no differences in the Ministry since Christmas that would make him change his mind.

Deathly Hallows
Scrimgeour first re-enters our story when he appears at The Burrow on Harry's birthday. His arrival is announced by Arthur Weasley's Patronus, which causes Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks to depart hastily, as apparently werewolves are out of favour with the Ministry at present. Scrimgeour asks to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and tells them that they have inherited items from Albus Dumbledore, and he is there to present them. Hermione points out that he is only doing this because the Ministry is only allowed to hold on to bequests for thirty-one days, and they have used all thirty-one of them. Scrimgeour does not contradict her.

The specific bequests are: for Hermione, an original copy of the Tales of Beedle the Bard; Scrimgeour asks if there is any significance to this choice, and Hermione says she is unaware of any. For Ron, Dumbledore's Deluminator. For Harry, there are two bequests. The first is the Golden Snitch that was used in the first-ever Quidditch game that Harry played for Gryffindor. Hermione says that Scrimgeour wants to see Harry take the Snitch because of its flesh memory: it is designed to remember the first hand that touches it, to assist in determining the winner of a match that is disputed, and may react to Harry's touch now. Again, Scrimgeour does not deny this, but quite evidently expects Harry to take the Snitch, bare-handed. Harry does, and nothing happens.

Dumbledore's second bequest to Harry is the sword of Gryffindor. Scrimgeour says that it is property of the school, and is not Dumbledore's to give.

The following day, the Death Eaters take over the Ministry of Magic, and according to the message from Kingsley Shacklebolt, Scrimgeour is killed. We later hear from Remus Lupin, who heard from Arthur Weasley, that Scrimgeour was tortured for the whereabouts of Harry before he was killed. However, he did not give Harry away.

The official version of Scrimgeour's murder is that he resigned, and has been replaced by Pius Thicknesse. We learned in the start of the story that Thicknesse is under the Imperius Curse.

Analysis
It was inevitable that once the knowledge of Lord Voldemort's return became public, Cornelius Fudge's days as Minister would be numbered. When Voldemort was seen in the Ministry, it became immediately obvious that Dumbledore had been telling the truth about his return for a year, and Fudge had been trying to discredit him for what suddenly seemed very petty reasons. It is not surprising that Fudge's tenure was less than two weeks after this revelation; it is equally not surprising that, given the fact that the Wizarding world was suddenly under siege, the obvious choice for Fudge's replacement would be someone from the Auror's office.

Scrimgeour seems to be cut of the same fabric as Bartemius Crouch Sr., there to get the job done, and to tread on toes if that's what it takes. While we don't yet know if Scrimgeour has authorized the use of deadly force by Aurors, as Crouch did, he is keeping Stan Shunpike locked up without trial. Sirius Black told us long before that the same had happened to him; he had been sent to Azkaban without trial by Crouch.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Sybill Trelawney

Overview
Sybill (or Sibyll) Patricia Trelawney is the Divination teacher at Hogwarts. She was the great-great-granddaughter of the famous Seer, Cassandra Trelawney. She wears very large glasses that makes her eyes appear several times larger than they actually are, has a soft and misty voice. She is very thin and is always draped in a finely-woven, shiny shawl.

Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry, Ron, and Hermione choose to take Divination starting in their third year. Professor Trelawney opens with normal fortuneteller practices, vague predictions, including that Neville will break at least one teacup, that something Lavender Brown is dreading will happen on the 16th of October, and that around Easter, "one of their number will leave them... forever." Neville does in fact break two teacups while attempting to read tea leaves.

Professor Trelawney also sees the Grim, an omen of impending death, in Harry's tea leaves. The class is so upset by the revelations, that they are still visibly shaken the next period. Professor McGonagall mentions that Professor Trelawney has predicted the death of a student every year since she had been employed, and no students had yet died.

As far as the predictions go: Lavender receives news on 16 October that her pet bunny has died, and Hermione, fed up with Trelawney's babble, quits Divination just before Easter (leaving . . . forever). These events, tenuous as their connection may be, are linked back to Trelawney's earlier predictions by at least two students, Lavender and Parvati Patil, and greatly enhance Sybill's reputation in their minds.

Ron and Harry, though they stay with the course, are unimpressed by the prediction side of it. Unable to read the future, they start fabricating predictions from tea leaves and, later, crystal balls.

As Harry completes his Divination exam, Professor Trelawney suddenly seems to fall into a trance, talking strangely, and utters a prediction that the Dark Lord's servant will be freed, returning to him that night. When she returns to normal seconds later, she seems unaware that anything untoward occurred.

This prediction does come true; that night, following events in the Shrieking Shack, Peter Pettigrew escapes and returns to Lord Voldemort's service. Harry later comments to Dumbledore that Trelawney seemed to have predicted that night's events, and Dumbledore remarks that he should consider giving her a raise, as that increases her number of actual prophecies to two.

Goblet of Fire
While Professor Trelawney is still teaching Divination to Harry's class, this year primarily astrology, her interaction with Harry seems to be involved primarily with setting him and Ron homework. Harry and Ron, after laboring over their star charts, fall back on the usual technique: making stuff up. Their predictions of disasters for themselves are quite successful, with Professor Trelawney even reading them out in class, but backfire when Trelawney requires them to continue for a further month of predictions. Ron bemoans the fact that they have run out of disasters.

Later in the year, Harry, bored as usual in Trelawney's class, falls asleep and "dreams" an episode with Voldemort and Pettigrew. Trelawney tries to pin some mystical interpretation on it, inquiring details of Harry's dream, but Harry refuses. It turns out that Rita Skeeter somehow receives information about this episode and publishes it.

Order of the Phoenix
Professor Trelawney again is teaching Divination to Harry's class, this year concentrating on dream interpretation. Early in the year, Dolores Umbridge is created Hogwarts High Inquisitor by Ministry edict, and appears in her classroom with a clipboard, making notes. Trelawney, rightly, sees this as an intrusion, and is most upset by it. Umbridge asks Trelawney to justify her teaching techniques and requires a prediction from her; then is apparently unimpressed with the results.

Over the course of the year, we see Trelawney becoming more and more harassed and bedraggled in appearance, because Umbridge has placed her on probation. Harry also notes that she seems to leave a certain scent of cooking sherry behind her. When Harry stands up to Umbridge by giving an interview to the Quibbler, Trelawney breaks her usual pattern of predicting horrible death for Harry, instead predicting long life, many children, and election as Minister of Magic.

Finally, Umbridge fires Trelawney, and has put her and her trunks in the Entrance Hall, when Professor Dumbledore overrides her decision to eject Trelawney from the school grounds. Dumbledore says that while, as High Inquisitor, Umbridge has the authority to dismiss his teachers, she lacks the power to force them to leave the school, and it is his wish that Trelawney remain at Hogwarts. He also has to override Trelawney in this; her wounded pride compels her to leave and seek employment elsewhere, but Dumbledore refuses to allow that.

During the Battle at the Ministry, we learn that the thing Voldemort has been seeking, and the reason he lured Harry to the Ministry, is a prophecy concerning himself and Harry. Voldemort had earlier heard the first half of the prophecy, and as a result had attempted to kill Harry as an infant, unsuccessfully. In his office after the battle, Dumbledore tells Harry that the prophecy had been made to him by Trelawney. The prophecy, made shortly before Harry's birth, had been what persuaded Dumbledore to hire Trelawney as the Divination teacher; had it not happened, Dumbledore likely would not have allowed the course to be offered at Hogwarts. Events to date had made parts of the prophecy become true, and Dumbledore allows Harry to hear the entire prophecy. Harry is greatly disturbed, as it appears that the prophecy is saying that he must either kill Voldemort or be killed by him.

Half-Blood Prince
Dumbledore apparently realizes that Harry is reluctant to discuss Trelawney's prophecy with anyone, as it seems to be impelling him to become a murderer, so he recommends that Harry tell Ron and Hermione about it. He does so, and is relieved to discover that they do not think less of him for the revelation.

Harry's interaction with Trelawney is very limited this year, as he had failed his Divination OWL so dramatically. We learn that both Trelawney and Firenze, who was hired to replace her, are now teaching Divination. Parvati Patil seems somewhat disappointed that Trelawney is teaching sixth year. Trelawney still feels affronted, and seems to feel that Firenze is stepping on her turf, because we see her walking through the halls, smelling of sherry, and trying unsuccessfully to tell her own fortune. At Horace Slughorn's Christmas party, she is morosely drunk, and in mid-March we see her demanding, unsuccessfully, that Dumbledore fire Firenze.

Summoned to Dumbledore's office, Harry finds Trelawney sprawled on the floor outside the Room of Requirement. Helping her up, he discovers that she had been using the Room of Requirement as a place to hide her sherry; this time, though, she had heard someone inside "whooping". When she had demanded to know who was there, everything had gone dark, and she had been rudely thrust back out into the corridor. Harry believes that the evident joy in the unknown person's voice indicated that Draco Malfoy had completed whatever it was that he was doing in the Room of Requirement, and he asks Trelawney to accompany him to Dumbledore's office, to tell Dumbledore what she had heard. On the way, she starts talking about the day she was hired. Harry has already heard the story from Dumbledore, and is somewhat interested to hear Trelawney's version, but when Trelawney mentions that the eavesdropper had been Severus Snape, Harry leaves her standing in the corridor and runs off to confront Dumbledore with this information.

Deathly Hallows
With Harry not attending Hogwarts, we see very little of Trelawney until the final battle. Trelawney helps her fellow professors and students during the battle that ensues at Hogwarts when Lord Voldemort and other Death Eaters attack it by throwing crystal balls down from upper landings of the staircase. A thrown crystal ball knocks out Fenrir Greyback before he can resume an attack on Lavender Brown.

Strengths
Trelawney actually does have the gift of Sight to a limited extent. Twice, over the course of some eighteen years, she has made prophecies: one has come true, and the other had partially become true at the start of the series, and is completed by the end. She does have some ability to mislead and misdirect; Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown hang on her every word.

Weaknesses
She pretends to be a better seer than she is; knowing that she is supposed to have the Sight, because of her ancestor, she plays that up for all she is worth, using the same tricks Muggle fortune-tellers use. She annoys some people but she cannot be relieved of her residence at the castle because of her real prophecies. She is very insecure, trying to preserve her position as superior to Firenze after his hiring by bad-mouthing him and his techniques. When she is threatened with dismissal, and when Firenze is taking half the Divination classes, she also tends to retreat into alcohol; in the latter half of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and throughout Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we never meet Sybill without smelling sherry.

Relationships with Other Characters
Sybill Trelawney spends most of her time in the Divination tower/classroom and she is thus alienated from the rest of the staff, though the impreciseness of her subject, knack of overexaggerating, and questionable teaching methods often draw the ire of Professor McGonagall. Her relationships with students are not much better: she irritates Harry, Hermione, and Ron, but manages to gather a smattering of followers including Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. She also holds resentment towards Firenze when he is appointed as a second Divination teacher.

Analysis
Overall, Trelawney likes to make big impressions, most probably because of her insecure nature. She enjoys predicting the deaths of students, one in each year, though none have died yet. She constantly predicts a gruesome death for Harry, possibly wanting the grand effect of having such a famous person die and predict it correctly.

Ironically, Trelawney's two wildest predictions turned out to be the only ones that were true. These two predictions were so wild that "even [Trelawney] wouldn't say something as far-fetched as that", according to Trelawney. These two predictions also happen to relate to Voldemort.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, as mentioned above, Dolores Umbridge sacks Sybill and orders her out of the castle; Albus Dumbledore, while not disputing her authority to dismiss teachers, does dispute her authority to force people to leave the castle. He requests, quite forcefully, that Sybill stay in the castle, and has Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick assist her in returning to her chambers. There is no reason for him to retain her in the school, except that she has twice now uttered prophecies about Harry and Voldemort, one of which has already come true, and one of which Voldemort is trying quite hard to retrieve. Presumably, Dumbledore feels there is some danger, either to the Order or to Sybill herself, if she is allowed to leave the protection of Hogwarts. Sybill remains unaware of this possibility of danger, apparently; she does not seem to be aware of having made either prophecy. Of course, Voldemort may not know of her lack of awareness, and may mean to kidnap her to retrieve the prophecy direct from the source, as it were.

Questions

 * 1) How would Professor Trelawney react if she knew she had made the prophecy about Harry?
 * 2) What danger would she be in if others knew (i.e. Voldemort)?
 * 3) What does the way Trelawney treats Firenze say about her character?

Greater Picture
The fact that Trelawney can, even if only very occasionally, make accurate prophecies, and the revelation (in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) that there are enough prophecies made to fill what would appear a rather large warehouse, should inspire the reader to contemplation of the nature of time in the Wizarding world. We have already seen that there has been significant magical work done with time, as shown by the Time Turner Hermione had used in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The Time area of the Department of Mysteries shows that work in that area is continuing with some success. However, the fact that prophecies are so clearly valued would suggest that time travel, as performed by the Time-turner, is unidirectional; the time-turner can take you back in time to relive an hour or a day, but cannot take you forward to a future that has not yet happened. The value placed on prophecies, however, indicates that the Wizarding world does accept that some Seers can accurately predict events, and that it is an uncommon ability.


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Neapolitan/articles

The Indefinite Article

Ll'articulo ndeterminativo

 * na - In front of a singular feminine noun that begins with a consonant
 * nu - In front of a singular masculine noun that begins with a consonant
 * n' - In front of (any) singular noun that begins with a vowel

The Definite Article

Ll'articulo determinativo

singular
 * 'a - In front of a feminine noun that begins with a consonant
 * 'o - In front of a masculine or neuter noun that begins with a consonant.

With neuter nouns, the following consonant is phonetically doubled.

plural
 * 'e - In front of (any) plural noun that begins with a consonant. Feminine nouns phonetically double the word-initial consonant.

 * If the word is feminine, the first letter must be doubled
 * In the case of masculine nouns the doubling may occur also, in front of the consonants: z-, b-, br-, v-, and g-.

 * ll' - In front of a noun, masculine or feminine, singular or plural, that begins with a vowel

Napolitano/Artículos Napoletano/Articoli

title: Neapolitan/articles


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Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Acromantula

Overview
An Acromantula is a large venomous spider, covered in thick black hair. It is a carnivorous creature and has pincers which create a distinctive clicking sound when aroused. The female is larger than the male and lays up to one hundred eggs at a time. Acromantulae are intelligent beasts, capable of human speech, although not self-taught.

Extended Description
These creatures appear in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Acromantulae originated in Borneo dense jungles, where wizards were said to have bred them, and are one cause of the Ban on Experimental Breeding being put into effect. Acromantula venom is apparently exceedingly valuable, but it is nearly impossible to obtain from the living spider, and as acromantulae eat their dead, it is very uncommon to find one that can still be harvested. Their eggs — large, soft and white in colour — are Class A Non-Tradeable Goods.

Although it is not mentioned in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Aragog is an Acromantula. The Forbidden Forest population of Acromantulae are fathered by him, and he owes a debt to Hagrid, who raised him in a cupboard in Hogwarts castle fifty years prior. The fact that he is an Acromantula is discovered in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. During the Third Task in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, an Acromantula is one of the dangerous creatures that the Champions must overcome to reach the Triwizard Cup at the center of the Maze; Harry very nearly falls victim to it. Acromantulae also play a small role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where the Death Eaters drive them towards Hogwarts Castle as part of the battle at Hogwarts.

Analysis
Spiders in general, and large spiders in particular, have been a focus of human fear from time immemorial. Some theories suggest that fear of spiders may be inborn. Whether learned or inborn, extreme irrational fear of spiders, Arachnophobia, is one of the most common types of phobia people suffer from. The literary tradition is also rich in spider villains. One of the most obvious examples is the giant spider Shelob in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings


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Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Dreamless Sleep Potion

Overview
Dreamless Sleep Potion is a complex potion first mentioned by Severus Snape and later by Horace Slughorn. Both Potions Masters used this potion as an example of how powerful potions could be.

Professor Dumbledore recommended that Harry be given the potion after he confronted Voldemort at the end of the Triwizard Tournament.


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User:DavidBoden

Working on the Bicycle repair book

title: User:DavidBoden


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Learn Electronics/Alternating Current

A (coil of) wire and a magnet, generating AC
Magnets attract iron and a few other metals, but here we are concerned with generating electricity. A simple experiment with iron filings and a magnet shows that there is such a thing as a magnetic field; that field is strongest (the force of attraction is highest) close to the poles of the magnet, and gets weaker further away from the poles.

A wire is usually made of copper, and copper is neither attracted nor repelled by a magnet, however if a wire, usually of copper, is inside a CHANGING magnetic field, or if the wire itself is moved to a place where the magnetic field is of DIFFERENT strength, then a voltage is generated between the two ends of that wire. If there are two wires that are connected in series, then that voltage will be twice as much, and if it is a coil, in that CHANGING magnetic field, with n number of turns, then the voltage will be n times as large. If a voltmeter is connected to the terminals of that coil, and the coil is moved, or the magnet is moved, then the voltage will be shown on the voltmeter. That voltage's direction will keep changing, it will ALTERNATE, as the changes are made, therefore that voltage is an Alternating Voltage, and if there is a circuit completed between the two terminals of the coil, then an Alternating Current (AC) will flow in that circuit.

 * Usually one or more coils of wire are fixed on the outside of a circle, and an electromagnet is rotated inside, causing an alternating voltage and/or alternating current (AC) to be generated.

1 Think of a simple magnet that rotates; what happens? Starting with the magnet in a position so that the coil is half-way between the poles of the magnet, the magnetic field strength is zero at the coil, and therefore the voltage across the terminals of the coil is zero.

2. As the magnet rotates a little bit further, one of the poles gets closer to the coil, the fieldstrength changes, and therefore a voltage appears across the coil's terminals; the polarity of that voltage depends on how the voltmeter is connected; reversing the leads will reverse the indicated polarity of the voltage. Also the polarity depends on whether the North-pole or the South-pole is closest to the coil. Because the magnet rotates, its poles ALTERNATE getting closer to the coil, and therefore the indicated voltage ALTERNATES as well.

 * Normally the resulting AC voltage is connected to a transformer in order to increase the voltage to a suitable level for transmission over great distances, but in addition there are sensors and switches designed to switch off if the current is too high, and also to ensure the rotation of the magnet or equivalent is then stopped - or else the speed of rotation would increase, causing considerable destruction, even, maybe, loss of life.

title: Learn Electronics/Alternating Current


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Talk:Cellular Automata/Neighborhood

Boundary Conditions?
This book should mention the different boundary conditions, such as periodic boundary conditions (i.e., in 2D it turns the world into a donut). What section should that go in? MShonle 19:51, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Cellular Automata/Neighborhood


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Conic Sections

Types of Conic Sections

 * General Conic Sections
 * The Circle
 * The Ellipse
 * The Parabola
 * The Hyperbola
 * Lines and Points: Degenerate Conic Sections

Features of Conic Sections

 * Foci of Conic Sections
 * Conic Sections as Loci
 * Eccentricity

Conic Sections as Algebraic Relations

 * Intercepts of Conic Sections
 * Translation of Axes
 * Rotation of Axes
 * Rotation of Axes (examples)
 * Slopes of Conic Sections

Other Systems

 * Conic Sections in Polar Coordinates
 * Parametric Forms of Conic Sections

Example Problems

 * The Ellipse
 * The Parabola
 * The Hyperbola
 * Identifying Conics
 * Rotating Conics

Conclusion

 * Concluding Remarks
 * Acknowledgements and Further Reading

title: Conic Sections


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Conic Sections/Circle

The circle is the simplest and best known conic section. As a conic section, the circle is the intersection of a plane perpendicular to the cone's axis.

Standard Form
The standard equation for a circle with center $$(h,k)$$ and radius $$r$$ is $$(x-h)^2+(y-k)^2=r^2$$.

In the simplest case of a circle whose center is at the origin, the equation is simply a restatement of the Pythagorean Theorem: $$x^2 + y^2 = r^2$$

General form
The general form of a circle equation is $$x^2+y^2+2gx+2fy+c=0$$, where <-g,-f> is the center of the circle.

Polar Coordinates
In the case of a circle centered at the origin, the polar equation of a circle is very simple because polar coordinates are essentially based on circles. For a circle with radius $$a$$, $$r = a$$.

In the more complicated case of a circle with an arbitrary location, the equation is $$r^2 - 2 r r_0 \cos(\theta - \varphi) + r_0^2 = a^2$$, where $$r_0$$ is the distance from the circle's center to the origin and $$\varphi$$ is the angle pointing to the circle.

There are many cases that allow the equation to be simplified. If a point on the circle is touching the origin, its polar equation may consist of a single trig function.

.....

Parametric Equations
When the circle's equation is parametrized with respect to $$t$$, the equation becomes $$x=h + r \cos t$$, $$y=k + r \sin t$$.

Example
Find the center and the radius of the following circle: x2+y2+8x-10y+20=0 find by:

x2+y2+8x-10y+20=0 x2+y2+8x-10y= - 20 (x2+8x)+(y2-10y)= - 20 +16         +25         +16+25  (x2+8x+16)+(y2-10y+25)=21 (x+4)2+(y-5)2=21

Thus: C(-4,5) radius=$$ radical(21)$$

title: Conic Sections/Circle


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Conic Sections/Parabola

The parabola is another commonly known conic section. The geometric definition of a parabola is the locus of all points such that they are equidistant from a point, known as the focus, and a straight line, called the directrix. In other words the eccentricity of a parabola is equal to 1. The solid formed by rotating a parabola about the axis is called a paraboloid.

Graphing Parabola
The general form of a vertical parabola is $$(x - h)^2 = 4a(y-k)$$.
 * The axis of the parabola is the line perpendicular to the directrix which passes through the focus, and is the line $$x = h$$. It is also known as the line of symmetry.
 * The vertex is the 'base' of the parabola and is located at $$(h, k)$$. Therefore, a positive $$k$$ will move the parabola upwards along its axis $$k$$ units, while a negative one will move it downwards. This is the same regardless of whether $$a$$ is a positive or negative number.
 * $$a$$ is the focal length of the parabola. The focus is located at $$(h, k + a)$$. If $$a$$ is positive the parabola opens upwards, whereas a negative $$a$$ causes it to open downwards.
 * The directrix is located at $$y = k - a$$.

If the conic is horizontal, it is the same as a vertical parabola only along the x-axis rather than the y-axis. The general form is: $$(y - k)^2 = 4a(x-h)$$.
 * The axis of the parabola is the line $$y = k$$.
 * The vertex is located at $$(h, k)$$. A positive $$k$$ will move the parabola towards the right along its axis $$k$$ units, while a negative one will move it towards the left. This is the same regardless of whether $$a$$ is a positive or negative number.
 * The focus is located at $$(h + a, k)$$. If $$a$$ is positive the parabola opens towards the right, whereas a negative $$a$$ causes it to open leftwards.
 * The directrix is located at $$x = h - a$$.

Parametric Form
The parametric form of a vertical parabola is:

$$x=h + 2at$$

$$y=k + at^2$$

For a horizontal one:

$$x=h + at^2$$

$$y=k + 2at$$

For both of these forms:
 * The vertex is at (h,k)
 * The focus is $$a$$ units from the vertex along the major axis.
 * The gradient at any point on the parabola is t, which can be proved by differentiating the parametric form using the chain rule.

For information on how to graph the paramatric form, see Parametric Forms of Conic Sections.

Polar Form
The polar form of a parabola is given by $$r=-\frac{2a}{1+cos \theta}$$.

Applications
Parabola have a number of uses in everyday life:
 * Galileo showed in the 16th century that objects fired into the air at an angle to the ground followed the path of a parabola, a discovery which led to more accurate of targeting of projectiles.
 * In optics, parabola are particularly useful because parallel beams incident upon a parabolic mirror are all directed towards the focus, and conversely a light source placed at the focus will reflect off the mirror as a series of parallel rays. This makes parabolic mirrors useful in telescopes, headlights, satellite dishes and much more.
 * Another use of parabola is in training astronauts. A plane which follows a parabolic path into the air will cause passengers to experience freefall and therefore weightlessness.

title: Conic Sections/Parabola


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Conic Sections/Ellipse

The geometric definition of an ellipse is the locus of a point which moves in a plane such that the sum of its distances from the two points called foci add up to a constant(greater than the distance between the said foci). It can also be defined as a conic where the eccentricity is less than one. Ellipses have two directrices, one on each side.

Graphing an Ellipse
The general equation for an ellipse where its major, or longer, axis is horizontal is : $$\frac{(x-h)^2}{a^2}+\frac{(y-k)^2}{b^2}=1$$.

Where the major axis is vertical, it is: $$\frac{(y-k)^2}{a^2}+\frac{(x-h)^2}{b^2}=1$$
 * The center is located at $$(h,k)$$.
 * The foci are found at a distance of $$c$$ from the centre along the major axis, where $$c = \sqrt{a^2 - b^2}$$.
 * The eccentricity of the ellipse can be found from the formula: $$b^2 = a^2(1-e^2)$$ where e is eccentricity. A higher eccentricity makes the curve appear more 'squashed', whereas an eccentricity of 0 makes the ellipse a circle.
 * The directrices are the lines $$x = \pm \frac{a}{e}$$
 * The major axis has a length of $$2a$$ and the minor one $$2b$$.
 * The sum of the distance from each point to each of the foci is $$2a$$.

Applications

 * Assuming a perfectly reflective perfect ellipse, any light emitted from a focus of an ellipse will be reflected to intercept the other focus. This property is exploited in "Whispering Galleries" where 2 people stand at the foci of an arbitrarily large elliptical room and can clearly hear each other whispering.
 * The reflective property is also useful in medicine, where it is used to treat gall stones. A machine emits sonic waves at one of the foci in an elliptical bowl, and the area of the patient where the gall stones are located is placed at the other focus. The waves are reflected and focused on the stones, causing them to be broken down and become small enough to pass from the body.
 * The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci (Kepler's first law). The orbits of objects in space are mostly elliptical in shape.

title: Conic Sections/Ellipse


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Conic Sections/Hyperbola

A hyperbola can be defined as the locus of all points such that the difference between the distance of each point from two points known as the foci is constant. This is similar to an ellipse, however whereas in an ellipse the distances sum to a constant, here they subtract to one. A hyperbola can also be defined as the locus of all points such that the distance of the point to the closest focus divided by the distance to the directrix, a ratio known as the eccentricity, is a constant greater than one.

Graphing Hyperbolae
The general form of a hyperbola with a horizontal transverse axis, i.e. the axis on which the foci lie, is: $$\frac{(x-h)^2}{a^2} - \frac{(y-k)^2}{b^2} = 1$$ A hyperbola with a vertical transverse axis, on the other hand, is of the form: $$\frac{(y-k)^2}{a^2} - \frac{(x-h)^2}{b^2} = 1$$.
 * The centre of the hyperbola is $$(h,k)$$.
 * The two foci are found at a distance of $$c$$ from the centre in each direction along the transverse axis, where $$c = \sqrt{a^2 + b^2}$$.
 * The eccentricity of the hyperbola can be found by $$\frac{c}{a}$$. A higher eccentricity makes the hyperbola 'steeper', whereas a smaller one makes it more 'curvy'.
 * The vertices are a distance of $$a$$ from the centre of the hyperbola in each direction along the transverse axis.
 * The difference between the distances of any point from each of the foci is equal to $$2a$$.
 * Hyperbola also have two asymptotes. An asymptote is a line that points on the graph continuously approach yet never reach. If you extended the graph vast distances along each axis, you would observe it getting closer and closer to the asymptote, however it would never actually reach it. The asymptotes can be found by $$y=k\pm\frac{b}{a}(x-h)$$ for a horizontal hyperbola, or $$y=k\pm\frac{a}{b}(x-h)$$ for a vertical one.

title: Conic Sections/Hyperbola


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Cellular Automata/Sandbox

Some Definitions

 * Quiescent state
 * A cell is in a quiescent state $$a$$, if all cells in its neighborhood are the same quiescent state.
 * $$ f(aaa \dots a) = a $$

 * Nilpotent rule (of order n)
 * Any configuration evolves in at most $$n$$ steps into a configuration with all cells in any quiescent state $$a$$.
 * $$\forall C^t \; \Delta t \geq n \; : \; C^{t+\Delta t} = \dots aaa \dots $$

 * Idempotent configuration (of order n)
 * A configuration that in at most $$n$$ steps evolves into a steady configuration (C^{t+1}=C^t).
 * $$\Delta t \geq n \; : \; C^{t+\Delta t} = C^{t+\Delta t+1} $$

 * Idempotent rule
 * A rule for which all configurations are idempotent.
 * $$\forall C^t \; \Delta t \geq n \; : \; C^{t+\Delta t} = C^{t+\Delta t+1} $$

 * Superluminal configuration
 * A configuration for which the phase speed is greater than the speed of light. The phase speed is the shift of the configuration per time.

 * Glider

 * Eather pattern
 * A background for gliders, sometimes the most common background.

title: Cellular Automata/Sandbox


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Conic Sections/General Conic Sections

The general form of any conic section is $$Ax^2+Bxy+Cy^2+Dx+Ey+F=0$$. In most cases, B=0 because any other value would cause the conic to be rotated and makes analysis much more difficult. For the rest of this page we will assume that B=0. The general equation can be algebraically manipulated to become the standard form of the specific conic it describes. However, it would first be useful to know what that conic is. That can be determined simply by comparing A and C. If either A or C, but not both, equals 0, the equation describes a parabola. If A=C, it describes a circle. If A and C are both positive or both negative, but not equal, it is an ellipse. If A and C have opposite signs, it is a hyperbola. If A=C=0, it's obviously just a line.

title: Conic Sections/General Conic Sections


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User:StefenTower

Please see my user page at Wikipedia.

title: User:StefenTower


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User:Javariel/IntroToProgrammingC

Note: This is a sandbox for development of the course

Welcome to Introduction to Programming in C,

Goals
The goal of this course is to teach the basics of computer programming and software engineering, as well as the C programming language.

Prerequisites
You must have a decent understanding of algebra, be capable of using a computer (edit files in a text editor and know how to run a program), and have bought or downloaded a compiler. GCC, Visual Studio, or any other compiler should work.

No previous knowledge of programming is required. In fact, this course may go very slowly if you do have previous programming experience.

Enrollment
The teacher requests that you post your user name and where in the course you are on the enrollment page. This is for his conveniance, so he can judge how many people are taking the course, and how many office hours he needs to set and assignments he may need to grade. And so he can cry for help if it looks swamped.

Organization
Lessons in this course will come as a combination of reading from the C wikibook and lectures found here. The book will spend most of its time teaching the syntax of the language, the point of the lecture will be to explain the concepts behind the syntax and explain how to use them to write good programs.

In addition to lectures and readings, there are quizes, homework, and projects. Quizes are short series of easily answered questions and answers that you can use to check your knowledge. Homework is longer and generally involves a program to be written. Projects are large programming problems where collaborative effort is encouraged.

A lesson is not meant to cover a single lecture from a real world school. It is meant to cover a single topic. As such, some lessons will be significantly longer than others. Don't force yourself to do every lesson in the same amount of time, relax and take it at a comfortable pace

Other Resources
Sometimes static web pages just aren't enough. For more help with the material, we have office hours and our wiki forums.

Office hours are held at  on . You're welcome to stop in the room and see if people are there at any time, but we only promise to be present at the given hours.

THe wiki forums allows you to post a question to us, and we'l answer as we can. Feel free to answer a previous poster if you know the answer.

Lessons
Lesson 1: Introduction

Quiz 1: If applicable

Homework 1: If applicable

Project 1: If applicable

Lesson 2:

...

Lesson N:

title: User:Javariel/IntroToProgrammingC


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Emergency Medicine/D-Dimer

You want to make sure your lab uses an ELISA test rather than a latex agglutin test if you intend to use D-Dimer to rule out DVT/PE in low pretest probability patients.

title: Emergency Medicine/D-Dimer