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"She no longer had the plump, happy-looking face Harry had seen in Moody's old photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix. Her face was thin and worn now, her eyes seemed overlarge and her hair, which had turned white, was wispy and dead-looking. She did not seem to want to speak, or perhaps she was not able to, but she made timid motions towards Neville, holding something in her outstretched hand."
— Alice after being tortured into insanity[src]

Alice Longbottom was a pure-blood witch, an Auror who worked for the Ministry of Magic during Lord Voldemort's first rise to power. Alice and her husband Frank Longbottom, were also members of the original Order of the Phoenix and fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War.

At the end of the war in 1981, when their son Neville was only an infant, Alice and Frank were tortured into insanity by a group of Death Eaters. She and her husband were subsequently placed in the Janus Thickey Ward for irrevocable spell damage at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, where they were residing until at least January 1996.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Little is known about Alice's early life. She may have attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. During her education, she must have achieved at least five N.E.W.T.s, of 'Exceeds Expectations' or higher.[4] At some point, Alice married Frank Longbottom.

First Wizarding War (1970s–1981)[]

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."
Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy[src]
Order of the Phoenix

The original Order of the Phoenix

After graduating, Alice became a well-respected Auror, as did her husband. At the time, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters were growing increasingly powerful. In response to this Alice and Frank joined the original Order of the Phoenix to oppose them.[5] The Order was a secret society established by Albus Dumbledore in order to contain the present threat. It can be assumed that Alice and her husband played a vital role in the Order.

In time, Frank and Alice earned the wrath of Bellatrix Lestrange. They earned her wrath by being very efficient at their jobs. They were responsible for a lot of Death Eater captures, arrests, and imprisonments throughout the First Wizarding War.[6]

Alice gave birth to their only child, Neville, on 30 July 1980.[7][8] Moments after his birth, Neville was able to magically adjust his blankets so that he was swaddled more snugly, but no one witnessed this remarkable feat.[9] The midwife who attended the birth assumed that Frank had tucked the newborn boy in more tightly.[9]

As Aurors and Order members, Alice and Frank defied Lord Voldemort himself three times. This made their son one of the two young infants who was the possible subject of a prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney about the person who could defeat the Dark Lord. The other infant was Harry Potter, son of Order members James and Lily Potter. Trelawney's prediction was overheard by Death Eater Severus Snape, who informed Voldemort. The Dark Lord targeted Harry, perhaps because he was also a half-blood, and was defeated for the first time on 31 October, 1981.[10]

Permanent incapacitation (1981–?)[]

Augusta Longbottom: "Again? Very well, Alice dear, very well — Neville, take it, whatever it is… Very nice, dear"
Neville Longbottom: "Thanks, Mum."
— Alice gives her son a gum wrapper[src]
B4C30M1 Wizengamot trial Pensieve memory

Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange along with Barty Crouch Jnr are tried before the Council of Magical Law

Shortly afterward, Alice and Frank were attacked by Death Eaters: Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, and Bartemius Crouch Jnr. They were captured[11] and tortured extensively with the Cruciatus Curse. The Death Eaters were caught and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban for their crimes, but their victims would never recover.

Christmas at St Mungo's

Augusta and Neville visiting her son and Alice

Alice was deemed insane, losing her capability to function in society. She and Frank were placed in the permanent ward of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.[5] They would reside at St Mungo's for the rest of their lives, not even being able to recognise their son.[12]

Because of Alice's inability to care for her son, Neville was raised in the care of his fraternal grandmother, Augusta Longbottom. Neville regularly visited his parents for Christmas and other holidays. His parents did not overtly recognise Neville on these visits. Alice customarily gave her son chewing gum wrappers, which he kept.

Neville was taunted about his parents' state by one of their attackers, Bellatrix Lestrange. She taunted him during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.[10] Neville witnessed the death of Bellatrix at Molly Weasley's hands during the Battle of Hogwarts.[13]

Physical description[]

Alice was a round-faced woman with short hair, and her son Neville resembled her quite strongly. By the mid-1990s, however, her face became thin and worn, and her hair had become white, wispy and dead-looking,[3] which was most likely due to her insanity from the Cruciatus Curse along with older age.

Personality and traits[]

Alice was a well-respected Auror and member of the original Order of the Phoenix. She and her husband were much beloved among the wizarding community. After they were tortured into insanity, Alice was not able to specifically recognise her son, although she related to Neville as someone she was fond of.

Magical abilities and skills[]

  • Magical mastery: In addition to being a highly talented Auror, implying that she achieved the necessary grades in her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, Alice was a valued member of the Order of the Phoenix and a highly competent witch. She successfully defied Lord Voldemort on three separate occasions and survived the actual war unscathed, only afterwards was she subjected to horrendous torture by Bellatrix Lestrange and her cohorts.[5]
  • Auror skills: Alice was a highly respected Auror, and as such, a very accomplished and skilful witch. Along with her husband and Alastor Moody, she successfully rounded up many of the Dark Lord's followers throughout the latter's first rise to power. Despite her considerable ability, however, she was unable to fight off a group of some of the fiercest supporters of Lord Voldemort that targeted her and her husband shortly after Lord Voldemort's disappearance looking for information about the whereabouts of their fallen leader, who managed to capture them and subsequently tortured the couple to insanity by the Death Eaters, namely Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, along with Barty Crouch Jnr.

Relationships[]

Longbottom family[]

"Well, we'd better get back. Very nice to have met you all. Neville, put that wrapper in the bin, she must have given you enough of them to paper your bedroom by now."
— Neville's grandmother instructing Neville to throw away the wrapper his mother had given him[src]
Frank et Alice Londubat

Alice with her husband and infant son

Alice and her husband were Aurors and members of the first Order of the Phoenix. They had a son named Neville together. When Neville was only a year old, Alice and Frank were tortured to insanity by four Death Eaters. The Death Eaters were imprisoned for life in Azkaban, but Frank and Alice required permanent care at St Mungo's.

Neville was very sad about his parents, and visited them in the hospital; although they could not recognise him, he was also "quite proud" to be their son as he told Harry Potter in 1995. Augusta Longbottom, Alice's mother-in-law, was also very sad. She too had a high opinion of them and was very proud when her grandson fought in several battles; like his parents, she even stated that he was finally starting to "live up to his father at last".

Order of the Phoenix[]

Other members of the Order of the Phoenix appeared to have had a good relationship with Frank and Alice during the First Wizarding War. Some of them, such as Alastor Moody, were very sad that the Longbottoms were tortured into insanity. Moody also stated that the Longbottoms would rather die, instead of what had happened to them. Most members of the order had been slaughtered by the end of the First Wizarding War, and only a few survived.

Etymology[]

The name Alice is derived from the French name Adelais, which is in turn derived from the Germanic name Adalheidis, from the Germanic word elements adal, meaning "noble", and heid, meaning "type".

Behind the scenes[]

  • J. K. Rowling stated in interview the significance of the sweet wrappers: "That idea was one of the very few that was inspired by a real event. I was told what, to me, was a very sad story by someone I know about their elderly mother who had Alzheimer's, and the elderly mother was in a closed ward. She was very severely demented and no longer recognised her son, but he went faithfully to visit her twice a week, and he used to take her sweets. That was their point of connection; she had a sweet tooth, she recognised him as the sweet-giver. That was very poignant to me. So I embroidered the story. Neville gives his mother what she wants, and (it makes me sad to think of it) she wants to give something back to him, but what she gives back to him is essentially worthless. But he still takes it as worth something because she's trying to give, so it does mean something, in emotional terms."[14]
  • Alice Longbottom was portrayed by Lisa Wood in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.[15]

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 23 images related to Alice Longbottom.

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Longbottom family tree from Pottermore
  2. Neville was said to resemble Alice, so he may have her hair colour.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 23 (Christmas on the Closed Ward)
  4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 29 (Careers Advice)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  6. PotterCast Interviews J.K. Rowling, part one. PotterCast #130, 17 December 2007.
  7. J. K. Rowling's official site - F.A.Q. questions (archived here via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine)
  8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 37 (The Lost Prophecy)
  9. 9.0 9.1 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "The Quill of Acceptance and The Book of Admittance" at Wizarding World
  10. 10.0 10.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  11. In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Igor Karkaroff says: "I know for a fact that this person took part in the capture, and by means of the Cruciatus Curse, torture of the Auror Frank Longbottom and his wife!" thus confirming that Alice and and Frank were captured and then tortured.
  12. NBC Interview with J.K. Rowling: Beyond the Epilogue
  13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  14. 16 July 2005 Interview with J.K. Rowling
  15. http://www.starwarsautographcollecting.com/Autographs/HarryPotter/LisaWood.htm
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Order of the Phoenix
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Founder:
Albus Dumbledore
Leaders:
Albus Dumbledore | Alastor Moody | Kingsley Shacklebolt
Original Order of of the Phoenix:
Aberforth Dumbledore | Alastor Moody | Alice Longbottom | Arabella Figg | Benjy Fenwick | Caradoc Dearborn | Dedalus Diggle | Dorcas Meadowes | Edgar Bones | Elphias Doge | Emmeline Vance | Fabian Prewett | Frank Longbottom | Gideon Prewett | James Potter | Lily Potter | Marlene McKinnon | Mundungus Fletcher | Peter Pettigrew (defected) | Remus Lupin | Rubeus Hagrid | Severus Snape | Sirius Black | Sturgis Podmore
Reconstituted Order of the Phoenix:
Aberforth Dumbledore | Alastor Moody | Arabella Figg | Arthur Weasley | Bill Weasley | Charlie Weasley | Dedalus Diggle | Elphias Doge | Emmeline Vance | Fleur Delacour | Fred Weasley | George Weasley | Harry Potter | Hermione Granger | Hestia Jones | Kingsley Shacklebolt | Minerva McGonagall | Molly Weasley | Mundungus Fletcher | Nymphadora Tonks | Remus Lupin | Ron Weasley | Rubeus Hagrid | Severus Snape | Sirius Black | Sturgis Podmore
Order of the Phoenix allies:
Andromeda Tonks | Augusta Longbottom | Buckbeak | Dobby | Fawkes | Filius Flitwick | Firenze | Garrick Ollivander | Ginny Weasley | Grawp | Helena Ravenclaw | Horace Slughorn | Karkus | Karkus's wife | Kreacher | Lee Jordan | Luna Lovegood | McKinnon family | Mr Westenberg | Mrs Westenberg | Muriel | Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington | Neville Longbottom | Oliver Wood | Olympe Maxime | Rita Skeeter | Patrick Delaney-Podmore | Peeves | Percy Weasley | Pomona Sprout | Poppy Pomfrey | Sybill Trelawney | Ted Tonks | The Fallen Fifty | Westenberg family | Winky | Xenophilius Lovegood
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Long-term residents Agnes · Alice Longbottom · Broderick Bode (deceased) · Frank Longbottom · Gilderoy Lockhart · Zenith Xeep
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