But what if it had been Neville
That the prophecy was about?
What if it had been Neville?
How would it have turned out?
For Neville fit the prophecy, too,
Simply in different ways.
For he was wizard through-and-through,
The kind Voldemort praised.
But Voldemort saw no threat in him,
Unlike the Potter boy,
Who reminded the Dark Lord of himself;
Neville was just a toy.
He could have killed them both, it's true,
But for some reason he did not.
He went solely for the Potter house;
It was their young one he sought.
But what if it had been Neville,
Who better fit the bill?
Perhaps Voldemort would have succeeded,
Perhaps he would not have fallen "ill."
Maybe Neville would be dead,
Leaving him to rise to power;
But then agains it could be different,
It might have been Neville's shining hour.
"The Longbottom boy," they might have whispered
The next day in the street,
"He's saved our world, he conquered him!
The Dark Lord has been beat!"
Lily and James may not have died
That fateful July night,
And Harry might have had the chance
To really be raised right.
But Harry might never have been
As close with Hermione and Ron
And then the legacy of the trio
Would be dead and gone.
And perhaps, then, without Harry,
Hermione and Ron wouldn't be
The lovers we have come to know.
And what about Ginny?
Surely Harry would have never
Been as close with the Weasley clan.
He'd have his own parents, after all,
And that's where it all began.
Without the Weasleys, Harry would not
Be with Ginny quite as often.
And perhaps their love would not have had
The chance it got to blossom.
And Sirius, too, might have been fine
If Voldemort had chosen Neville,
He'd have never tried to kill Pettigrew,
That rat-like little devil.
It would have been a different story,
Except that, in Godric's Hollow,
Voldemort decided that Harry was
The one the people might follow.
But still sometimes, it's hard to not
Wonder what might have transpired,
If Neville had been the Chosen One
From which the series was inspired.