Summary
- Dumbledore may have given Neville Gryffindor points in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to acknowledge Neville's bravery and redeem himself for his own past failures.
- The awarding of Gryffindor points not only made Neville a hero but also helped him gain the approval of his peers, encouraging him to continue standing up for himself.
- The moment of Dumbledore giving Gryffindor points has become a meme, portraying Dumbledore's willingness to do anything to ensure Gryffindor always wins the House Cup, even if it seems illogical.
While Dumbledore’s reasons for giving Neville Longbottom Gryffindor points in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone seem straightforward, the Dumbledore points may have had a deeper meaning. While Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2 gave viewers some insight into Dumbledore’s past, the Fantastic Beasts film series has been showing his early life firsthand. A prequel to the Harry Potter movies, Fantastic Beasts features Dumbledore as a young man, forced to confront the first Dark Wizard and his old friend, Gellert Grindelwald. The movies have helped explain some of Dumbledore’s actions later in life.
This includes the Dumbledore points awarded to Neville. In Harry Potter, the House Cup was presented to a Hogwarts House at the end of each school year based on the number of House points given based on students’ behavior and performance. At the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Gryffindor was in last place with Slytherin set to take the Cup. Dumbledore began giving more Gryffindor points during the end-of-term ceremonies, focusing on Harry, Ron, and Hermione's victory over Voldemort. Gryffindor won the House Cup when Dumbledore surprisingly awarded Neville 10 points.
Why Dumbledore Gave Neville Points
While the House Cup was unimportant in later Harry Potter films, Gryffindor’s win marked a triumphant ending for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and made Neville a hero in the process. Initially, rewarding Gryffindor and Neville for standing up to his friends seems to be Dumbledore’s sole motivation for this decision. On the surface, Dumbledore’s motives for awarding bonus House points centered on Gryffindor and Neville. Although Gryffindor lost many points due to Harry, Ron, and Hermione misbehaving, their actions prevented Voldemort from stealing the Sorcerer’s Stone, so the Dumbledore points rewarded them.
In addition, he wanted to specifically reward Neville for his bravery in trying to stop the trio from costing Gryffindor any more points. By giving Neville Gryffindor points, Dumbledore was able to reward him in a highly public way, which helped Neville gain his peers’ approval. Given that Neville had been the butt of jokes all year, Dumbledore’s actions encouraged Neville to keep standing up for himself even when others disregarded him.
Dumbledore's Secret Motives
However, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald revealed that Dumbledore’s reasoning may have gone deeper, connecting to his past failure to stand up to Grindelwald. Giving Neville Gryffindor points may have also been Dumbledore’s way of recognizing that Neville succeeded where he had failed. As a young man, Dumbledore was unable to confront his friend Grindelwald, which resulted in the death of Dumbledore’s sister, Ariana, and Grindelwald’s ultimate rise to power as a dark wizard.
The Crimes of Grindelwald revealed that Dumbledore could not face Grindelwald due to having created a blood pact not to fight him, which he ended up forced to break in the climax of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. This inability to stand up to his friend became Dumbledore’s greatest regret, so he was proud of Neville for having done so. Due to this, Dumbledore’s decision to award Gryffindor House points at the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was his way to not only encourage Neville to continue being brave but also honor him for showing a type of bravery that Dumbledore himself was unable to.
Dumbledore Giving Points To Gryffindor Has Become A Meme
While the Dumbledore points were a way to both honor Neville for his bravery and to make up for past sins, the moment ended up as a meme online. The meme basically showed that Dumbledore would do anything humanly possible to give Gryffindor points to make sure they always won the House Cup. The main Dumbledore meme showed him saying that Slytherin should win, but because he is the heaster, he can do whatever he wants. So, he gives Hermione points for being clever, Ron points for playing chess, and Harry points for saving everyone when the teachers couldn't be bothered.
Then, when Snape reminds him that Slytherin is still tied, he gives a random kid (Neville) the Gryffindor points for the "power of friendship," which gives his favorite house the House Cup. This led to countless similar Dumbledore points memes. One had Dumbledore saying that Harry Potter disobeyed every school rule, so that equals 50 Gryffindor points. There was another where Dumbledore said that Harry screwed everything up, and then he awarded Gryffindor 50 more points, showing he will do anything to ensure that his House always wins even if it doesn't always make sense.
