I think Augusta Longbottom is afraid. She fears, more than anything, that Neville will end up like his parents and she'll have lost everyone. He's such a timid mouse, she's worked on him to keep safe maybe even before his parents ended up in St. Mungo's. She had to know he might have been The One, she did everything she could to prevent that. And while she might say things which lead Neville to believe she would prefer the hero to the schmuck, I personally think she would have coddled Harry just as much if she'd been given him to raise with Neville. My grandmother lost all but one of her children before she died. It's a tragic thing, as Theoden says, for a parent to have to bury a child. It isn't natural. And Augusta didn't even get the closure of a funeral - her son and daughter-in-law are living in a half-dead world, there to see, 'whited sepulchres', ghosts of the past. And, she's dumped this fear onto Neville. When he's brave, he's not only fighting his friends or DEs, he's fighting a lifetime of opposite training.
And, I've always seen Lucius as being a doting parent, in an authoritiative sort of way. He wants to be proud of Draco. He pushes him, maybe in the same sorts of ways as Crouch, sr. pushed jr. Draco, so far, has followed blindly. But, he's at an age where kids are rebelling, as jr. did, and he's had an eye-opening revelation about his father's guru. I think the entire Malfoy family has had that revelation, even Lucius sitting in Azkaban. Narcissa can seek Snape's help; Lucius can only hope she will. She seems to be the one who wants to keep Draco tied to her apron strings, while Lucius wants to set Draco free and be inspired by his perfect flight. Despite their skewed political views (which seems to color the way a lot of people see the family), I do think they're close, and loving in their own individual ways.
Speaking of family, my second-born has just gotten off the freeway and is on the way here. So, my mind has slipped off anything else I was going to say, probably to the relief of anyone slogging through this! :D
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I think Augusta Longbottom is afraid. She fears, more than anything, that Neville will end up like his parents and she'll have lost everyone. He's such a timid mouse, she's worked on him to keep safe maybe even before his parents ended up in St. Mungo's. She had to know he might have been The One, she did everything she could to prevent that. And while she might say things which lead Neville to believe she would prefer the hero to the schmuck, I personally think she would have coddled Harry just as much if she'd been given him to raise with Neville. My grandmother lost all but one of her children before she died. It's a tragic thing, as Theoden says, for a parent to have to bury a child. It isn't natural. And Augusta didn't even get the closure of a funeral - her son and daughter-in-law are living in a half-dead world, there to see, 'whited sepulchres', ghosts of the past. And, she's dumped this fear onto Neville. When he's brave, he's not only fighting his friends or DEs, he's fighting a lifetime of opposite training.
And, I've always seen Lucius as being a doting parent, in an authoritiative sort of way. He wants to be proud of Draco. He pushes him, maybe in the same sorts of ways as Crouch, sr. pushed jr. Draco, so far, has followed blindly. But, he's at an age where kids are rebelling, as jr. did, and he's had an eye-opening revelation about his father's guru. I think the entire Malfoy family has had that revelation, even Lucius sitting in Azkaban. Narcissa can seek Snape's help; Lucius can only hope she will. She seems to be the one who wants to keep Draco tied to her apron strings, while Lucius wants to set Draco free and be inspired by his perfect flight. Despite their skewed political views (which seems to color the way a lot of people see the family), I do think they're close, and loving in their own individual ways.
Speaking of family, my second-born has just gotten off the freeway and is on the way here. So, my mind has slipped off anything else I was going to say, probably to the relief of anyone slogging through this! :D