... OK, maybe this theory doesn't explain everything. But this is still super important if you're a Potterhead!
Think back to the early years of our favorite wizards and witches. Remember how young Neville Longbottom struggled with magic for a large majority of the series?
Now, remember how he totally turns things around from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince onward and becomes a goddamn BOSS?!
Well, Tumblr user jamus-13 may have found a possible explanation for this change of pace. Get ready for your mind to be blown.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Neville mentions that his wand actually belongs to his father. Why is this tiny detail important, you ask?
UM, HELLO. THE WAND IS NOT HIS TO USE. DUH! We learned from the very beginning of the Harry Potter series that the wand has to choose the wizard, not the other way around. The reason Neville was such a slow learner was because the wand he was using didn't choose him!
His father's wand eventually breaks during the first battle of the Second Wizarding War (aka that epic battle in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries in Order of the Phoenix where -- spoiler -- Sirius Black gets killed), forcing him to finally get a new one.
When a wand at Ollivander's properly chooses Neville, he basically goes from 0 to 100 and becomes a total pro at Hogwarts. Don't bother looking for the old, clumsy Neville because ...
That's right. New wand, new man. And by man, we mean ridiculously attractive and talented wizarding hunk.
As jamus-13 puts it:
Neville was always a good wizard, it was just his wand.
Still not convinced? This theory even makes sense for Ron Weasley, whose first wand also did not choose him because it belonged to his brother Charlie. Do we seriously need to go over that uphill battle?
Didn't think so. Eventually he gets a wand, also from Ollivander, that presumably chooses him, and things get a lot smoother for him too.
Sure, puberty and maturity are also possible explanations, but there's no arguing that the wand is supposed to choose the wizard. And when these two characters had inherited wands, boy, did they struggle.
Check out the full theory below.
So what's the verdict, guys?
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