A Harry Potter Moment Too Dark for the Movies Is Practically Mandatory for the Reboot

The Harry Potter television adaptation is still a long way away, but if HBO wants to make some magic, it has a lot of moments to adapt to the small screen, including Neville Longbottom’s greatest and most underappreciated move. Neville, who is portrayed by Mathew Lewis in the Harry Potter films, is a character whose role substantially develops as J.K. Rowling’s books progress. A fellow Gryffindor and one of Harry Potter’s good friends, Neville is one of many Hogwarts students who wholeheartedly believe in Harry after Lord Voldemort’s shocking return, at least physically, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

HBO’s version of Harry Potter isn’t expected to premiere until at least 2027, yet the television series’ anticipation is already at an impressive high. While some characters have yet to be cast, or at the very least remain unannounced, Rory Wilmot was announced as the actor chosen to play Neville in July 2025. Neville is no small Harry Potter character and makes a tremendous impact on the series, with one particular moment from Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows practically begging to be translated to the small screen.

Lord Voldemort Attempts to Torture Neville Longbottom

Neville Longbottom is on the bridge before it gets blown up in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Image via Warner Bros.

The Harry Potter movies are undeniably great, but the film adaptations cut a lot from Rowling’s books. Due to a mix of time constraints and creative liberties, many iconic or otherwise memorable Harry Potter book moments have yet to see the light of day. Almost the entire Department of Mysteries battle from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was cut, for instance, as was Albus Dumbledore’s funeral in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Then, on the other side, some Harry Potter movie inclusions were added for no legitimate reason. A famous example that has found its way around to becoming a breakout performance includes the random non-canonical character, Bem, from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

So much occurs in the final act of Deathly Hallows that many cuts still had to be made to the two-part movie adaptations, although one scrapped moment was most likely rejected for the screen due to its graphic violence. In Rowling’s book, Neville tries to personally take on Voldemort after Harry’s “body” is brought to Hogwarts. In response, Voldemort magically fuses the Sorting Hat onto Neville’s head, which he then sets on fire. Neville is freed from Voldemort’s enchantment by Harry, who reveals his presence and comments that Neville, as well as the rest of the Hogwarts fighters, can’t be harmed by Voldemort and his followers due to Harry’s ultimate sacrifice. This sacrifice, as Harry Potter fans know, was the same one that Harry’s mother Lily made 17 years prior.

The image of the Sorting Hat on fire is a creepy one for any Harry Potter fan familiar with its role throughout the series. HBO continues to express its diligence in bringing a more faithful adaptation of Rowling’s Wizarding World to the small screen, and when the time comes, this Deathly Hallows moment is nothing less than essential. For one, many Battle of Hogwarts moments were liberally translated from the book to the big screen, including the death of Fred Weasley and the general existence of Teddy Lupin. Considering that the Sword of Gryffindor magically appears in the Great Hall and not through the Sorting Hat in Deathly Hallows Part II, this dramatic moment automatically aligns HBO’s reboot much closer to the source material, as well as naturally raises the stakes.

More importantly, showcasing Voldemort’s attempt to torture Neville in Deathly Hallows fulfills two important character arcs at once. Neville’s brazen attempt to take on Voldemort one-on-one is akin to a suicide mission, yet it brilliantly showcases Gryffindor House’s key attributes: bravery, determination, cunning, chivalry, and the willingness to challenge the status quo. As for Voldemort, his ultimate goals of becoming immortal and achieving ultimate power (through seizing control of the Ministry of Magic, rounding up Muggleborn wizards, etc.) are almost completely diminished in just one instance. With Harry and Neville’s sacrifices meant to serve the greater good, Voldemort becomes unable to harm anyone. In the end, Voldemort dies at Harry’s hand, but through two things he never sought: love and empathy.

Neville Longbottom Is an Essential Harry Potter Character

Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter remember their lost parents in a mirror.

Harry Potter may be the Chosen One, but Neville is just as important to the Harry Potter series. Born to Frank and Alice Longbottom on July 30, 1980, exactly one day before Harry, Neville is another character who suffers quite a bit before arriving at Hogwarts. Frank and Alice, two Aurors and original members of the Order of the Phoenix during the First Wizarding War, were tortured into insanity after Voldemort’s initial defeat. Neville is subsequently brought up by his grandmother, Augusta.

Neville’s childhood with Augusta is briefly mentioned in the early Harry Potter movies, although the adaptation of Order of the Phoenix completely removes Frank and Alice’s backstory, as well as the entire chapter set at St. Mungo’s Hospital. By the end of Rowling’s fifth novel, however, it becomes clear that Harry was chosen to be Voldemort’s equal by the dark wizard himself: the contents of the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries referred to a boy, born at the end of July, to parents who went against Voldemort multiple times. Harry and Neville both fit this criteria, and, in an alternate reality, Neville could have been the one with the lightning bolt scar. Instead, Voldemort went after the Potters, with the rest being history.

When Neville was first revealed as the almost-Boy Who Lived as Rowling’s books were released, it was hard to comprehend that the character who heavily relied on a Rememberall as an 11-year-old possessed any capabilities of taking down Voldemort. As a child and up until Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Neville is largely shy, timid, awkward, and a solid background character with hit-and-miss comedic moments.

As Neville grows into himself at Hogwarts, however, readers and movie-watchers get to watch Neville’s transformation into a confident and talented wizard. By the time Deathly Hallows Part II comes around, in particular, Neville feels almost like a completely different person. Between Nevillie’s attempts to lead Dumbledore’s Army at Hogwarts, his large role in the Battle of Hogwarts, and the fact that he destroys Voldemort’s last Horcrux, the Harry Potter series would not be nearly as powerful without him.

The Harry Potter Movies Underutilize the Sword of Gryffindor

Neville Longbottom wields the Sword of Gryffindor in Harry Potter.

The Sword of Gryffindor, which first appears in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is an ancient magical artifact belonging to Godric Gryffindor, one of the four Hogwarts founders (although in Deathly Hallows, this ownership is disputed, since the sword is goblin-made). The sword, which can magically appear to any Gryffindor in desperate need, has several interesting properties: the sword can destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes, naturally absorbs substances that can strengthen its power (like Basilisk venom), and is nearly impossible to damage. In Chamber of Secrets, the sword of Gryffindor appears to Harry through the Sorting Hat; the sword, combined with tears from Dumbledore’s Phoenix, Fawkes, helps Harry overcome the teenage Tom Riddle.

In Deathly Hallows, it’s eventually revealed that three of Voldemort’s Horcruxes were taken from three of the Hogwarts founders: Salazar Slytherin’s locket, Helga Hufflepuff’s cup, and Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem. The Sword of Gryffindor is used to destroy three Horcruxes in total. Prior to the events of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore uses the sword to destroy the ring of Voldemort’s uncle, Morvolo Gaunt; this action causes a fatal curse to Dumbledore’s hand. In Deathly Hallows, Ron uses the sword to destroy Slytherin’s locket. Finally, during the final duel between Harry and Voldemort (in Deathly Hallows Part II, in the midst of battle in Rowling’s book), Neville destroys the last remaining Horcrux with the sword: Voldemort’s snake, Nagini.

While the Sword of Gryffindor gets its shining moment in Deathly Hallows and its two-part movie adaptation, Deathly Hallows Part I, in particular, leaves out some important information about the sword’s origins. Although Ron angrily leaves the trio’s search for Horcruxes, he reappears just in time to save Harry from drowning; Harry locates the sword at the bottom of a lake in the Forest of Dean, but dives into the water with the locket Horcrux around his neck.

Deathly Hallows Part I neglects to properly explain how the Sword of Gryffindor appears at the bottom of the lake in the first place, when it is supposedly under the guard of Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. In Rowling’s book, this is explicitly explained: the Sword of Gryffindor does not materialize out of thin air for Harry, but is intentionally placed there by Severus Snape on Dumbledore’s orders.

On that note, the question of how Bellatrix ends up with the Sword of Gryffindor (albeit a fake one) is another key explanation omitted from the Deathly Hallows adaptations. In both versions of the final Harry Potter story, Bellatrix is beside herself when she realizes the sword is missing from her possession, going so far as to kill over it. In another move that easily flies over movie-watchers’ heads because of the blatant lack of explanation, Bellatrix is given a fake, but convincing, replica by Snape. Neville’s possession of the Sword of Gryffindor in Deathly Hallows is ultimately one of the slowest build-ups in the Harry Potter books between the artifact’s importance and Neville’s character arc, and deserves to be explored in HBO’s reboot to its full capacity.