Neville Longbottom Character Analysis in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

A classmate of Harry’s and another first year student in Gryffindor. Neville is often portrayed as nervous, inept, or cowardly. Over the course of the book, he loses his beloved pet toad, he falls off his broom immediately during flying lessons and breaks his wrist, he makes an error during potions class and ends up with inflamed boils all over his skin, and he is picked on endlessly by Draco Malfoy. But over the course of the story, Neville relies on Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s friendship in order to give him the confidence to stand up to Malfoy and to feel like he belongs in Gryffindor.

Neville Longbottom Quotes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone quotes below are all either spoken by Neville Longbottom or refer to Neville Longbottom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Magic, Difference, and Belonging Theme Icon

Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he’d found something he could do without being taught — this was easy, this was wonderful.

Related Characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, Madam Hooch

Page Number and Citation: 148

Explanation and Analysis:

Neville Longbottom Character Timeline in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The timeline below shows where the character Neville Longbottom appears in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

As Harry and Ron eat more candy, a boy named Neville asks if they’ve seen a toad he’s lost. When they say no, he leaves miserably.... (full context)

...the other side, arriving at the front door of the castle. Once there, Hagrid finds Neville’s toad in one of the boats, and Neville is overjoyed. Hagrid then knocks on the... (full context)

...notes that sometimes the hat takes a while to choose a student’s House, as when Neville is placed into Gryffindor after a long time; sometimes it takes very little time, as... (full context)

...Finnigan, tells Harry that his dad is a Muggle and his mom is a witch. Neville says that his grandmother (a witch) raised him, but that they thought he was a... (full context)

...students and sets them to mixing up a simple potion. He criticizes everyone except Malfoy. Neville makes a mistake, melting Seamus’s cauldron into a blob, and bright red boils spring up... (full context)

Seamus and Ron are also excited for flying lessons, but Neville is nervous about it. Hermione, too, is uneasy, as flying isn’t something she can learn... (full context)

...broom effortlessly jumps into his hand. Just as the students start to mount their brooms, Neville pushes off a little too quickly, and he rises twenty feet before tumbling to the... (full context)

As soon as Neville and Madam Hooch leave, Malfoy begins to make fun of Neville. He then spots Neville’s... (full context)

...Filch that she was trying to stop them if they are caught. They also find Neville sleeping on the ground in the hall because he couldn’t remember the password to get... (full context)

When Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville arrive at the trophy room, Malfoy isn’t there yet. Filch, on the other hand, is... (full context)

The dog starts to growl menacingly, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville immediately fling themselves back out the door, flying down the hall once again until they... (full context)

...package the dog might be guarding, although they’re not sure what could be inside it. Neville seems completely uninterested in what the dog could be guarding, and Hermione refuses to speak... (full context)

...at breakfast. By eleven o’clock, the whole school is at the Quidditch field. Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Seamus have painted a Potter for President banner to surprise Harry. In the locker... (full context)

Later that afternoon, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in the common room, Neville returns with his legs invisibly bound together by a Leg-Locker Curse that Malfoy had set... (full context)

Neville thanks Harry and gives him the card from the Chocolate Frog, knowing that he collects... (full context)

...hawk.” Up in the stands, Malfoy makes fun of Harry, and then of Ron and Neville, who are sitting nearby. Neville stands up, and stutters that he’s “worth twelve of [Malfoy.]”... (full context)

Filch takes Harry and Hermione to Professor McGonagall’s study. When they reach her, Neville is also there—he had been trying to warn Harry that Malfoy was going to catch... (full context)

The following evening, Filch takes Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Malfoy to Hagrid’s hut, announcing that they will be serving detention in the Forbidden... (full context)

Hagrid, Harry, and Hermione see red sparks—a signal that Neville and Malfoy are in trouble. Hagrid leaves Harry and Hermione on the path while he... (full context)

...the Invisibility Cloak and the flute that Hagrid gave Harry for Christmas—but there’s one hitch. Neville is waiting in the common room, and tries to prevent them from going so that... (full context)

...are now tied with Slytherin for the House Cup. Lastly, Dumbledore awards ten points to Neville for being brave enough to stand up to his friends. With this, Gryffindor wins the... (full context)