Character Analysis
(Click the character infographic to download.)
House: Gryffindor, 4th Year
We don't see so much of Neville in this book, but what we do see is delightful, as always. Neville is Harry's year in school and they share a dormitory. He's amazingly good-humored: when Fred and George feed Neville a custard cream that turns him into a canary, Neville "[joins] in the laughing" (21.36) at their practical joke. Neville's also a lot braver than Harry and Ron about the whole Yule Ball/girl thing. He asks Hermione to the dance right away, and when he finds out that she's going with Viktor Krum, he decides to ask Ginny Weasley. It's a shame that Ginny has her heart set on Harry in the long term. We'll just have to keep pulling for Neville to find someone who likes him back.
On a more serious note, we learn a bit about Neville's past. We've always known that his grandma raised him, but now we find out why: several Death Eaters tortured his parents with the Cruciatus Curse until they went insane. Since Neville was a baby, his parents have been permanently in St. Mungo's Hospital, and they don't even recognize their son. Like Harry's orphanhood, Neville's family life is another example of how Voldemort has torn families apart and has affected the younger generation of wizards.
(Click the infographic to download.)