Summary
There aren’t many characters more famous in the world ofHarry Potterthan The Boy Who Lived himself. While every fan of theHarry Potterseries will know the adventure of the series like the back of their hand, some may not know that things could have been incredibly different. If one simple change had occurred, Harry never would have been the child of prophecy who rose up to defeat Voldemort.
It was just as likely that Neville Longbottom became the chosen one (no love potion required), but only ended up not being so by luck. Neville’s life wasn’t exactly the luckiest or happiest, but he didn’t have the pressure of being the only one to defeat Voldemort on his shoulders. Of course, it is worth wondering what Neville would have done if that was his task and whether or not he would have succeeded in defeating the greatest dark wizard of all time.
Could Neville Have Been The Boy Who Lived Instead?
The prophecy surrounding the chosen onein theHarry Potteruniverse is incredibly vague, so vague that it actually applies to both Harry and Neville. Identifying aspects of the prophecy are things like being born in July, having parents who’ve defied Voldemort, and that Voldemort will end up marking the chosen one as his equal. Believe it or not, the first two parts of the prophecy do technically apply to Neville just as much as they do to Harry, as it is important to remember that his parents were important members of the Order of the Phoenix. Additionally, Neville was born a single day before Harry, with both birthdays coming at the end of the month of July.
What this means is thatNeville absolutely could have been The Boy Who Lived, but he wasn’t simply because Voldemort decided to go visit the Potter family instead. In theory, if Voldemort had decided to swap things around and visit the Longbottoms personally, it’s likely that Neville would have suffered the same fate that Harry and his family suffered. This event would have marked Neville as Voldemort’s equal, leaving Harry Potter as an entirely unremarkable child and making Neville the true chosen one.
How Much Would Neville Have Changed The Series?
It’s hard to say how much the series would have changed if Neville was the chosen one, but the potential for a lot to change is certainly there. If Neville retained much of his unconfident demeanor,including all those times he gets mistreated, he would have a tough time breaking out of his shell and making the friends he needs to overcome the many struggles set out for the chosen one. He does demonstrate a lot of courage, even while lacking confidence, but young Neville would certainly need the help of smart and strong-willed friends even more than Harry Potter ever did.
An interesting thing to think about is all the different ways Neville would have tackled challenges in comparison to Harry Potter. InHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Neville likely would have sought some other means to retrieve the flying key than byusing a broomas he never demonstrates any aptitude for flying throughout the series. Though maybe he would give it a shot, hoping to redeem himself after his rough broom performance earlier on in that same film. Surprisingly, it’s probably safe to sayHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secretswould play out almost exactly in the same way.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkabancould be a bit different as Neville doesn’t seem to be too skilled with the Patronus charm, but as long as he had some help, he’d likely be just fine.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Firewould probably just see Neville using his brain and herbology knowledge to deal with the various tasks set out before him to retrieve the prizeof the Triwizard Tournament, leaving much of the remaining films to play out in relatively the same way as they do for Harry. Neville’s early struggles would definitely come early on in his wizarding adventure, but that is assuming that becoming a child of prophecy wouldn’t change his personality at all.
Could Neville Have Beaten Voldemort?
At the end of the day, Neville more or less demonstrates that he has the ability to do so in the canon events of the series anyway, so yes, Neville likely would have been able to defeat Voldemort just as Harry Potter had. InHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Neville is actually the person who destroysVoldemort’s last Horcrux in Nagini, rendering him mortal, meaning that he and Harry truly delivered the final blows to Voldemort. Considering Harry only really managed to beat Voldemort by luck, the same grace can be given to Neville to say that he’d be fine.
As long as events of the series played out much in the same way, with Neville disarming Malfoy at Malfoy Manor, he would become the true master of the Elder Wand and would be capable of defeating Voldemort whenever they dueled. The story has the potential to deviate at any time in any number of ways based on whatever different decisions the character of Neville makes, so there are too many unique variables to factor in, to the point that it is impossible to account for every potential outcome. It is simply easy to say that Neville, if all elements of the main series’ story remain mostly unchanged, would certainly be the same kind of hero that Harry Potter was. That dorky boy lacking confidencewould end up being okay.
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