Summary

• Neville proves he is brave and strong, capable of standing up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as well as Voldemort. He is not just another Gryffindor peer.
• The Harry Potter prophecy suggests Neville could have been The Chosen One. Voldemort's assumption that it was Harry led to his own demise.
• Voldemort's choice to make Harry The Boy Who Lived was his undoing. His choices and inability to understand magic and power caused his downfall.

A Harry Potter theory proves Neville could not have been The Boy Who Lived, despite what Professor Trelawney’s prophecy said — here is the Chosen One Neville theory explained. Throughout the Harry Potter franchise, Neville is often overlooked by his teachers and peers. However, he proves right from the outset in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone that he is a brave and strong wizard, capable of standing up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as well as Voldemort. Neville is not just another Gryffindor peer of The Golden Trio, and he ends up playing a big role throughout the Harry Potter franchise, even killing Voldemort’s last Horcrux, Nagini.

Harry’s survival earned him the “The Boy Who Lived” nickname and was the start of his essential battle against Voldemort, tying the two together. However, the Harry Potter prophecy that made Voldemort choose Harry as his equal was up to interpretation and also affirms the Chosen One Neville theory, as it equally could've applied to him. Professor Sybill Trelawney told a prophecy that caused Voldemort to seek out, and attempt to kill Harry Potter. The prophecy is mentioned throughout the series, however, it never exclusively mentions that Harry is The Chosen One and suggests Neville was another option. However, one theory explains why, in reality, this wasn't possible.

How Neville Could Have Been The Chosen One

Sybill Trelawney made her first prediction to Dumbledore during her Professor of Divination interview that could've seen a Chosen One Neville. The prophecy foretold a child born at the end of July 1980 who was capable of defeating the Dark Lord. Key parts of Trelawney's first of many prophecies were that the boy had parents who had defied Voldemort three times. He would have powers Voldemort could not comprehend, and Voldemort would mark him as his equal. Voldemort’s choice would set the prophecy in motion and would mean that neither of them could live while the other survived, which Harry did not find out until The Deathly Hallows.

Severus Snape overheard only the first part of the prophecy which he relayed to Voldemort. Voldemort’s assumption that it was Harry led to his own demise as he failed to consider a Chosen One Neville as an option. Neville was born a day before Harry, and as his parents were part of the Order of the Phoenix they had defied Voldemort which meant he fit the description of the prophecy. Also, Voldemort had not heard the second half of the prophecy which spoke of his destruction; Voldemort acting on the prophecy is the only reason one of them had to die and if he had ignored it then he would not have been tied to Harry Potter.

Neville Couldn’t Be The Boy Who Lived – Theory Explained

However, although there could've been a Chosen One Neville, a theory (via James Potter had died earlier for Harry, but this did not cause the protection charm which saved Harry. The reason Harry was able to survive the killing curse is that Lily Potter was given a choice to live, and she still chose to sacrifice herself – no one else was given that choice.

Snape’s love for Lily caused him to beg Voldemort to protect Lily and Voldemort stuck to his word. However, her unwillingness to trade her life for Harry’s caused the special protection which Voldemort never understood. If Voldemort had made the Chosen One Neville, then he would not have survived Voldemort’s murder attempt on him as a child. Snape would not have asked for him to protect anyone as he did not care for the Longbottoms, this may have meant he never became a double agent too. Therefore, Voldemort would not have given the Longbottoms the chance to survive, he would have just killed them as he did with James Potter.

Would Voldemort Have Succeeded If He Chose Neville

A Chosen One Neville would have made Voldemort successful in his goals. Snape would not have been driven by love to tell Dumbledore who Voldemort had chosen, or that Voldemort even knew of the prophecy, which means Dumbledore would not have known to put a Fidelius charm on the Longbottoms' house. However, Dumbledore is commonly one-step ahead, so, if he did protect the Longbottoms' house, then they probably would not have been betrayed by their Secret Keeper as the Potters were by Peter Pettigrew.

However, Dumbledore thought he was the only one that heard the prophecy so the Fidelius charm would most likely not be placed on the Longbottoms' house. Voldemort would have been able to kill Neville and there would not be any wizard that matched his power, even Dumbledore. Plus, Voldemort would have had more time to make Horcruxes and would have become unstoppable, achieving his goals of infinite life and power.

How Voldemort’s Choice Was His Own Undoing

Voldemort made some crucial choices upon hearing the prophecy, and these choices were his own undoing. Voldemort’s own narcissism caused him to choose Harry as he was half-blood like Voldemort, and this meant he viewed him as his equal. Also, Voldemort’s first choice to follow the prophecy was the cause of his undoing. Even if it was a Chosen One Neville, the moment Voldemort acted on the prophecy there was no way to stop it being fulfilled. Because Voldemort had only heard half of the prophecy, he did not know the consequences of acting on it.

Voldemort its in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, that the old magic of Lily’s protection charm on Harry was something he should have foreseen. However, Voldemort’s inability to understand magic and power like this, which saved Harry many times in the series such as in the Ministry of Magic in Order of the Phoenix, is the ultimate cause of Voldemort’s undoing. Voldemort chose Harry, and then never chose to understand why Harry was so powerful against him and these choices were the undoing of Voldemort from the very start of Harry Potter.

The Other Side Of The Neville Chosen One Argument

J.K. Rowling didn't introduce the Chosen One Neville theory by accident, and there are many Harry Potter fans that believe things could've played out differently. The prophecy only gives five rules of who the Chosen One could be: male, parents who have defied Voldemort thrice, born in late July, marked by the Dark Lord as an equal, and power the Dark Lord knows not. While it's true that Harry was saved because of Lily's sacrifice, nothing much is known about the Longbottoms' ties to other Death Eaters, meaning someone at some point objectively could've pleaded on one of Neville's parents' behalf, attaining the same outcome.

Reddit wentworth1030 lays out an interesting case for the Chosen One Neville argument, stating that the power that Neville could've had may have been Gryffindor related, rather than having to do with love. Both Harry and Neville were the only students who pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat, suggesting that Neville has greater ties to the house founder. In addition, there's no telling how differently Voldemort would've approached killing baby Neville as he did with Harry. While Harry's parents were Order , Neville's were accomplished pure-blood Aurors, which may have given Voldemort greater pause in Harry Potter.