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Algie Longbottom (fl. 19911995) was a wizard. He was the uncle of Frank Longbottom and the great-uncle of Neville Longbottom.[1]

Biography[]

Algie was born into the Longbottom family,[1] an old British pure-blood family considered to be one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.[2] He had one known sibling, a brother,[1] and may have had others.[3]

The Longbottom family initially believed that Algie’s great-nephew Neville might have been a Squib, but Algie was determined to catch Neville off his guard and "force some magic" from him. He once pushed Neville off the end of Blackpool pier; however, he nearly drowned. While over for tea one time when Neville was eight, Algie hung him out of an upstairs window by his ankles, and accidentally dropped him when he was offered a meringue by his wife Enid. Instead of getting hurt, Neville bounced safely down the garden and out into the road, thereby proving that he was in fact a wizard. They were all very happy and Neville’s grandmother Augusta Longbottom was crying.[4]

Trevor

Trevor, the toad that was given as a gift to Neville

In 1991, Algie gave Neville his pet toad Trevor as a present for gaining entrance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[4] In 1995, he travelled to Assyria and brought back a Mimbulus mimbletonia plant, which he gave to Neville for his birthday.[5]

Etymology[]

Algie is a short form of the name Algernon (the original name of Augustus Rookwood), originally a Norman French name derived from aux gernons, meaning "having a moustache".[6] This is the name of a main character in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Algie is also a homophone of the plant-like organisms algae, possibly referring to the interest in Herbology that Algie and his great-nephew seem to share.

Behind the scenes[]

  • It has been speculated that Harfang Longbottom's son was none other than Neville Longbottom's grandfather. If that is the case, it is not known how Algie would fit into that scenario, as Harfang is never mentioned as having another son, but a daughter, so it is very likely that Algie and his brother are related to Harfang Longbottom, but not as father and son. Another possibility, however, is that Algie is a half-brother of Neville's grandfather, which would explain his absence from the Black family tree, which lists Harfang Longbottom's children with Callidora Black (being his son possibly Neville's grandfather).

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 The Longbottom family tree from Pottermore
  2. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Pure-Blood" at Wizarding World
  3. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "The Quill of Acceptance and The Book of Admittance" at Wizarding World on Pottermore states that Neville had "disappointed great aunts and uncles." Algie and Enid are Neville's only known great-aunt and great-uncle. Thus, Neville must have had at least one other great-aunt and one other great-uncle in addition to them, who could potentially be unknown siblings of Mr Longbottom and Algie.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 7 (The Sorting Hat)
  5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 10 (Luna Lovegood)
  6. Behind the Name: Algernon
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