Becoming Neville Longbottom: Most improved #MNBHP

…in nobody was this improvement more pronounced than in Neville. The news of his parents’ attacker’s escape had wrought a strange and even slightly alarming change in him. He had not once mentioned his meeting with Harry, Ron, and Hermione on the closed ward in St. Mungo’s, and taking their lead from him, they had kept quiet about it too. Nor had he said anything on the subject of Bellatrix and her fellow torturers’ escape; in fact, he barely spoke during D.A. meetings anymore, but worked relentlessly on every new jinx and countercurse Harry taught them, his plump face screwed up in concentration, apparently indifferent to injuries or accidents, working harder than anyone else in the room. He was improving so fast it was quite unnerving and when Harry taught them the Shield Charm, a means of deflecting minor jinxes so that they rebounded upon the attacker, only Hermione mastered the charm faster than Neville.”

OotP

In their seven years at Hogwarts, Neville Longbottom is clearly the most improved student of them all. He goes from barely magical to the leader of the inter-Hogwarts revolution against Snape’s administration. So much of a force that the Death Eaters end up going after his grandmother in retaliation.

What brought about this transformation in Neville? Firstly, his strong desire to change. When his parents’ attackers escape Azkaban, he gets a powerful bit of motivation to improve fast. Second is a characteristic most valued by Hufflepuff—hard work. Perhaps Neville isn’t the most talented, but hard work and desire trump talent when they come together.

CHALLENGE

If there is some area where you are the Neville of the bunch and you want to get better, take that desire and back it with hard work. You’ll be mastering charms nearly as fast as Hermione if you don’t give up.

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand. ~ Vince Lombardi

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work. ~ Colin Powell

There is no substitute for hard work. ~ Thomas A. Edison

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. ~ Stephen King 

Next Week: Becoming Ginny Weasley: Hopeful despite Umbridge