Did Neville have a memory charm placed on him?

[kaedequinn]

Neville is portrayed as a very forgetful child. He's always losing things and forgetting the password to the Gryffindor common room. When we first meet Neville it's hard to imagine why the Sorting Hat put him into Gryffindor in the first place.

 

We know that Neville has been brought up by his grandmother, and we later find out this is because his parents were tortured into insanity with the Cruciatus curse, and they now live at St Mungo's hospital. 

 

 

Could Neville have had his memory wiped after the attack on his parents, making him forgetful? Another thing we know about Neville is that for years people in his family thought he was a squib, as he wasn't showing much magical abilities. I wonder if the effects of a memory charm could have caused this? We now know that magical children who have suffered trauma can suppress their magical powers, turning them into an Obscurial. This doesn't happen with Harry, as he didn't even know he was a wizard until he was 11. If Neville had witnessed his parents being tortured, it is possible he could have suppressed his magic, but I wonder if instead his grandmother put a memory charm on him (maybe similar to the one Hermione used on her parents?) to erase that memory. We know that Neville says his grandmother "cried" when he showed he was magical, at the age of 8, after being dropped from a window and bouncing, but could she have been crying not because she was happy that he was finally showing his magical powers, but because she was concerned that he might now be in danger? We don't know much about his grandmother, but we do know it was his Great Uncle who kept trying to make him do magic. This says to me that his grandmother wouldn't have minded if Neville had been a squib - and may possibly have been relieved that he was unable to do magic! 

 

Neville struggles with a lot of magic, and this is clearly seen at the DA meetings. Whilst this in itself might not mean he is under any sort of spell (I'm sure there were others who were not great at magic!) I do wonder whether a memory charm may play a big part in this. If he is under a spell, I wonder whether it is added every year when he returns home for the Summer - this could certainly explain why he's so forgetful! 

 

It's interesting that he became the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts. Whilst he's always been good at Herbology, you'd need a pretty good memory to be a teacher! I imagine if he had been under a memory charm that this had worn off by the time he was an adult, or that his grandmother no longer felt the need to keep the spell on him. 

 

In the end, Neville proves to be a true Gryffindor, and whether or not he's been under a spell doesn't really matter. He's s loyal, kind and brave guy who stands up for what is right and I would have been proud to have him as my friend! 

[moonlightwishes]

Who is that hiding under the invisibility cloak? Harry... Is that you? No?
Well, you must be a Muggle... And, you've found our magical community!

In that case, I think you should join us.
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Edited April 1, 2020 by moonlightwishes

[haeju_ahn]

Who is that hiding under the invisibility cloak? Harry... Is that you? No?
Well, you must be a Muggle... And, you've found our magical community!

In that case, I think you should join us.
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Once signed in you’ll be ‘sorted’ into your Hogwarts house; where you can start creating your own personalised ‘topics’ straight away, or you can also join existing conversations with fellow fans by replying to ‘threads’ and discussions that pique your interest.

[Janplain]

Who is that hiding under the invisibility cloak? Harry... Is that you? No?
Well, you must be a Muggle... And, you've found our magical community!

In that case, I think you should join us.
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Once signed in you’ll be ‘sorted’ into your Hogwarts house; where you can start creating your own personalised ‘topics’ straight away, or you can also join existing conversations with fellow fans by replying to ‘threads’ and discussions that pique your interest.

[Dumbledore]

Who is that hiding under the invisibility cloak? Harry... Is that you? No?
Well, you must be a Muggle... And, you've found our magical community!

In that case, I think you should join us.
Enrol | Sign in

Once signed in you’ll be ‘sorted’ into your Hogwarts house; where you can start creating your own personalised ‘topics’ straight away, or you can also join existing conversations with fellow fans by replying to ‘threads’ and discussions that pique your interest.