- "My son and his wife were tortured into insanity by You-Know-Who's followers. They were Aurors, you know, and very well respected within the wizarding community. Highly gifted, the pair of them."
- —Augusta Longbottom regarding her son and daughter-in-law[src]
Longbottom is the surname of a pure-blood wizarding family, and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They are related to the Black and Abbott families, and more distantly to the Weasley, Crouch and Potter families.[2]
The Longbottoms do not appear to hold prejudice based on blood purity, although there are indications that they are considered more respectable than the Weasleys. For example, Callidora Black was not disowned by her family for marrying Harfang Longbottom[2], implying that he was not considered a blood traitor. Their respectability may also stem from both Frank and Alice's popularity as accomplished Aurors.
The last few generations of the Longbottom family, however, had strong connections to the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army. This clearly opposed notions of pure-blood supremacy, as the organisations fought on behalf of Muggles and Muggle-borns.[3][4]
Recent family history
Harfang Longbottom was a pure-blood wizard who married Callidora Black. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter.[5]
First Wizarding War
- "You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law so that we may pass judgement on you, for a crime so heinous that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court."
- —Description of the attack on the Longbottoms[src]
The Longbottoms were placed in the Janus Thickey Ward for spell damage at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, where they stayed permanently. As a result, their son Neville was raised by his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom.
Between the wars
Augusta and Neville visiting her son and her daughter-in-law at St Mungo's Hospital
Throughout his school years, Neville was mostly a shy, clumsy, introverted boy who was constantly being told by his grandmother that he was not good enough or living up to his parents' accomplishments. He and his grandmother would frequently visit his parents in the spell damage ward at St Mungo's. However, in his later years, he showed that he possessed great courage and perseverance: he became an important member of Dumbledore's Army, an organisation taught and led by Harry Potter.
Second Wizarding War
- "I'll join you when hell freezes over! Dumbledore's Army! "
- —Neville bravely rejects Voldemort's offer to join him[src]
Neville slays Nagini during the final battle of the Second Wizarding War
Neville would later fight in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, and the Battle of Hogwarts. During the Battle of Hogwarts, having refused Lord Voldemort's invitation to join the Death Eaters, he destroyed the seventh and final Horcrux when he beheaded the snake Nagini.
He also co-led the D.A. during his final year in opposition to the Death Eater professors. Augusta later re-emerged at the Battle of Hogwarts to assist Neville when he called everyone to arms against the Death Eater army. She expressed great pride in her grandson for following in his parents' footsteps.[6] Augusta fought during the battle and survived.[7]
After the end of the Second Wizarding War, Neville briefly served as an Auror before becoming Hogwarts' professor of Herbology and marrying Hannah Abbott. It is unknown whether the two ever had any children.
Recent family members
| Wizard(s) | Notes |
|---|---|
| Harfang Longbottom | A pure-blood wizard who married Callidora Black |
| Callidora Longbottom
(née Black) | Wife of Harfang Longbottom, sister of Cedrella Weasley (née Black) and Charis Crouch (née Black)[2] |
| Algie Longbottom | Brother of Mr Longbottom and uncle of Frank Longbottom[8] |
| Enid Longbottom | Wife of Algie Longbottom and aunt-by-marriage of Frank Longbottom[8] |
| Mr Longbottom | Brother of Algie Longbottom and father of Frank Longbottom[8] |
| Augusta Longbottom | Wife of Mr Longbottom and mother of Frank Longbottom[8] |
| Frank Longbottom | An Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix, father of Neville Longbottom, son of Augusta Longbottom and husband of Alice Longbottom. |
| Alice Longbottom | Wife of Frank Longbottom; an Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix, mother of Neville Longbottom |
| Neville Longbottom | Son of Frank and Alice Longbottom; a member of Dumbledore's Army and professor of Herbology at Hogwarts |
| Hannah Longbottom (née Abbott) | Wife of Neville Longbottom and landlady of the Leaky Cauldron[9] It is unknown if Neville Longbottom and Hannah Longbottom had any children. |
Family tree
| House of Black | Longbottom family | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (relation unsure) | Mr Longbottom | Augusta Longbottom | Algie Longbottom | Enid Longbottom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Callidora Black | Harfang Longbottom | Frank Longbottom | Alice Longbottom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 son | 1 daughter | Neville Longbottom | Hannah Abbott | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Etymology
- Longbottom, in addition to being a compound word, means "long valley".
- The name itself is considered quite humorous, but "bottom" is an old word for "staying power." This seems to accurately fit Neville's personality and overall devotion to Harry Potter.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Pottermore
Notes and references
- ↑ Horace Slughorn claimed that all Blacks were Sorted into Slytherin, but it´s unknown if this included spouses.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Black family tree
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- ↑ "Harfang" at Wiktionary
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Longbottom family tree from Pottermore
- ↑ "News Article" from MuggleNet
